I was curious what people may think about where it would be better to get a BFA degree from …RISD or Cornell. My son currently attends RISD but was recently accepted into Cornell. The studios and classes at RISD are great but he struggles with the social aspect of such a small school. If he was to get the same exact grades at RISD as he does Cornell and lets say he does the same exact internships while at both places, what would employers feel with someone who graduated from either place against one another. I know RISD was very difficult to get accepted into and is regarded as one of the top Art schools in the country…even the world for that matter. Cornell on the other hand, isn’t as well known for its Arts as much as some other programs they offer. However, also a very difficult school to get into. Are there any employers out there that would like to weigh in. We are going to visit Cornell very soon and he has to make a decision in like 3 weeks. We would hate to see him make the wrong choice now that would really hurt him in the future. It seems like a very tough call.
What does he want to do with his BFA or what industry is he interested in? For graphic design it is all about the portfolio, same for illustration etc.
Hi- Maybe illustration. he isn’t 100% sure yet but did pretty well after 1 year at RISD. he is very creative and has a pretty strong portfolio. But if everything were exactly the same (portfolio included) I am wondering which school is more preferable for an employer. I’m not talking about comparing him to a different individual with a different portfolio. I’m wondering if his credentials were identical, having a degree from which school would be more impressive? Perhaps it would be equal…?
My opinion…they arw going to look at his skills…not at the school from which he graduated. In the arts, that is usually the case. Musicians don’t get jobs because of their college…they get jobs because of their auditions. Actors and dancers…ditto. Visual arts…it’s all about the portfolio.
I have to ask…what makes him think he will be happier at Cornell?
Cornell may offer more options outside of art and obviously allows for him to major in or study something completely different.
Thus why I would vote for Cornell.
I personally would never spring to be full-pay for a pure art school if you can gain those skills other ways much more cheaply (which you can).
I’d think that RISD would have more prestige than Cornell in the art world, but as others have said, it’s all about the portfolio.
Have you explored cross registration with Brown to both get the “Ivy flair” as well as increase social options?
Is there a large cost differential between RISD and Cornell? Cornell does meet full need…if you have financial need…while RISD does not.
If going to Cornell would mean less loan debt at the end of college…that might also be a positive consideration.
A BFA from RISD does not guarantee anyone a job. Talent does. Go somewhere where you feel comfortable.
Your S should consider if she’d prefer to be in an art school or a school with a larger, more varied student body.
Cornell’s art department is part of the School of Architecture, Art and Planning. While the art department is vibrant and well funded, the dominant force of the AAP is Architecture, sort of the reverse of RISD.
As mentioned Cornell is a large multi-discipline university; RISD is a design focused art school. Even though students at AAP tend to devote an inordinate amount of their waking (and sleeping) time in studio, the culture of the university – sports, Greek parties, academic excellence, research – pervades. If your son ventures outside of the AAP bubble, he will find a whole world of intellectual achievement, as only a great American university can offer.
Also, Providence is a major east coast city and not too far from Boston, while Ithaca is a lively college town with spectacular natural scenery, but far away from any arts-focused urban center. The AAP’s programs in New York and Rome try to counteract the isolation, but Cornell still suffers in its ability to attract talent – visiting instructors, critics, working artists – from the New York art world.
I think your son will have a better idea of which environment he prefers after he’s had a chance to visit, see the facilities, the campus and current student work. Ask where recent graduates have ended up working and what kind of summer internships they’ve secured. He should also make sure he can fulfill Cornell’s non-art distribution distribution in three years.
My impression is that Cornell is more fine art driven versus RISD’s equal emphasis on design and fine art. I would think that RISD would be stronger for illustration and pure design, but I may be wrong on this. Overall the Cornell name carries a high level of of influence in New York and worldwide. Cornell’s academic requirements (e.g., writing, humanities, social studies, math/sciences) are what sets it apart from art school, but whether that will make a difference to an employer would depend entirely on the specific job.
Hello- Thank you all who have responded. So much to take in. But I appreciate all the opinions very much. Cornell is a bit more expensive and we(he) wont qualify for aid based on income. It’s too bad the school he is in and the one he is looking at possibly transferring to offer no merit scholarship money. So- it really comes down to where he would be happy and what his future would hold after graduation. My son loves the studios and classes that RISD has to offer but he just feels his surroundings lack what makes him happy as a kid. When he was in high school, he played baseball, basketball and soccer. RISD is not a school big on sports (although he does play on the basketball team that they do have) He just feels he doesn’t fit in as well as he had hoped. It’s very small size and small number of kids similar to him (for a lack of a better way to put it) sort of hampers his enjoyment of being a college kid. Cornell has 7 times the number of students, and is 3.5 hours closer to home so easily drivable as we do live in central NY already. My wife and I would love to see him more but our happiness lies with what is better for our son and his happiness and future. We realize that what makes him special is his creativity and what he will have to offer to an employer and the world around him as he grows up. We know that his portfolio and his experience doing internships will carry most of the weight when he moves on after college. We just weren’t sure if switching from RISD to Cornell would hurt him when that time comes. It’s tough for us as parents as we knew how badly he wanted to get into RISD and the prestige that college holds in the art/design world. But I suppose the bottom line is, if he can’t be happy there, we don’t want to make him suffer and be miserable for 3 more years. Especially, if the back up plan is to go to terrible Cornell! lol I suppose Cornell is nothing to sneeze at in it’s own right and thinking about it- I am betting that future potential employers won’t say- “you ONLY graduated from Cornell” right? haha I really appreciate all the input and anything else anyone may want to offer is great
Prestige really is in the eye of the beholder.
Many people wouldn’t see RISD as prestigious at all simply because they don’t care much about art. Even in the art world, it seems like many people may not care much about prestige as much as what you can produce.
So when you look at it that way, being unhappy just to attend a school because of it’s supposed prestige (which may not even be relevant in the school’s field of strength) seems a little loony.
Concentrate on the training/education instead. Is the training at RISD so much superior that you would sacrifice fit/happiness for it?
Maybe prestige wasn’t the right word. or…maybe it was. If you search pretty much anywhere regarding the top art/design schools in the country or even in the world, RISD is ranked in the top among them all. Of course you can’t go there and flunk out and you do have to produce at a high level. But, there is certainly no denying that RISD is a very high caliber school in it’s field. That is really not disputable. I see you clearly lean towards Cornell which is fine, but RISD has a proven record for being at the top and it’s graduates that do produce at a high level are rewarded. Your last sentence says it all…that’s where ours and our son’s struggles lie. It’s not worth being unhappy (at such a critical time in a kids life in college) if what you are giving up is just a little bit. The difference between two very good schools maybe wouldn’t make a bit of difference. But you cant tell me if an employer was looking at two different candidates for a job and the portfolios and qualifications weren’t similar, they wouldn’t look at where they graduated from to at least weigh in a little bit.
^ I’ll let people in the art world judge that, but in a field I do know (CS), no job candidates are exactly the same and I feel that I can get a good enough grasp as to each candidate’s skills/strengths/weaknesses that it’s really hard to say that a school’s reputation matters.
So on a subconscious level, it may matter (confirmation bias), but in a field where your employability rests almost entirely on your skills and the work that you do, choosing a school because of it’s name really doesn’t make a lot of sense.
My take is that whenever you have to resort to an “between two indentically qualified candidates, it will top the scales” argument, you’re grasping at straws because no two candidates are ever identical. Most aren’t even that similar.
I think the suggestion earlier to look into cross registration at Brown is a good one. My D went to Brown and took some courses at RISD and many do the opposite. I also believe that RISD students can join Brown clubs. I recall my D tried out for a club at Brown and didn’t get a spot, but some RISD kids did.
We did discuss the Brown option a little bit but it’s really past that point now and I think it will depend on how the visit at Cornell goes .It’s really about the very small campus life. Brown is right next to RISD and he does spend some time there but not sure it would make enough of a difference. Purple Titan- I get it with the candidates. But in this case the candidates are identical- exactly identical- MY son! If he were to go to either school, have the same GPA, do the same internships, have the same portfolio-but only one difference- a degree from RISD or a degree from Cornell! This is the question- which would look more favorable? I guess the answer would be “in the eye of the beholder” to quote you from earlier. My son should be able to perform well at either place and produce equally. I guess maybe I’m just looking for someone out there to tell me that both schools should yield similar results if he produces the same quality portfolio and experience coming out of either place. Can anyone out there do that? haha
Yes, but your son is never competing against himself for a job.
A school like RISD might have companies your son finds more desirable recruit on campus. The company I work for recruits from RISD, and I don’t think we recruit at Cornell. I work with people from both schools though. You sometimes have to put more effort in to your job search at a less well known program.
^ And that is something concrete. Cornell would offer more opportunities outside of art while RISD may offer more opportunities in art.