I’ve been looking at some photography precollege programs recently. I applied for Tisch & got accepted. Sadly, I didn’t recieve any financial aid so I wont be able to attend. I’m looking at other programs and came across the Summer Sessions at UCLA. I can’t find any discussions about it anywhere though. Has anyone attended? Any reviews? It’d be very appreciated. I realize it isn’t solely on photography but it sounds fun.
I was also looking at RISD but 6 weeks sounds a bit overboard, the price is a bit high and Rhode Island could get boring for so long. I heard the program is very demanding though.
I’m also considering Lesley & Pratt. Please let me know if you have any experience with any of these programs.
My D did the RISD pre-college program last summer and absolutely loved it. It probably is the most expensive of them all due to the six week length but we felt it was worth it to see if art school is really going to be her thing (turns out it is).
Have you looked into SAIC? They have much shorter sessions, like two - three weeks long, and are pretty generous with aid. Unlike RISD and Pratt and some others which include several different studios (drawing, design, and major) as well as Art History, with SAIC you usually just sign up for one discipline (painting or photography, etc.) and spend every day in studio doing that. Our friends’ son attended SAIC’s program a couple summers ago and absolutely loved it - the peer group, the instruction, the high expectations and talent - everything was top quality and he emerged with several wonderful portfolio pieces.
Another one that comes to mind is SVA - was thinking of sending D2 to their screenwriting program over the summer because it didn’t seem all that expensive . . . but then she got into her first choice so I never looked into it further.
My D did the pre-college program at Pratt. It was about 5 weeks. She came out of there with some vastly improved “foundational” skills (drawing, painting, composition) and some great pieces that she used in her portfolio. Her elective was fashion design, and I don’t know that I would recommend that particular elective - it was the weakest part of her experience there (according to her). The program, overall, was very worthwhile and a good test of whether she wanted to pursue art school (she did). I mentioned in another thread that the experience she had at Pratt translated into credits she received at SAIC.