Hi! I was accepted to Washu’s Sam Fox and CMU School of Design.
I’m interested in studying fine art and design (communication and maybe industrial) though I’m also considering a minor in marketing…
Anyways, I visited both schools & instantly fell in love with Washu. It’s beautiful, the vibe was right, the breakfast torta was amazing… However Sam Fox, I understand, doesn’t offer any sort of product design? D:
CMU, I felt pretty neutral towards when I visited, however I was accepted to the School of Design, which I know is a very strong program.
WHICH SCHOOL?? I’m so stuck!!! I loved washu!! But why do they not offer any product design! But then again I’m not even sure if I like industrial/product design that much, so I don’t want to go to CMU just for that. I’m pretty laid back, and (correct me if I’m wrong but) I keep hearing about CMU’s stress culture, so I felt that maybe it wasn’t really my environment… Anyways thank u all for any feedback u have 
My S is at CMU in CFA and will be graduating this year. He is in ID. There is a difference in Industrial Design and Communication Design as you know with the emphasis on product design. I also researched some when he was looking at where to apply and it appears that Sam Fox does not emphasize the product design aspect.
My D visited WUSTL along with her father and they were blown away by the environment. Both aesthetically, educationally and supportive wise.
CMU had a very pre professional bent and kids there are very driven. They seem to know exactly what they strive for. The campus is pretty but not amazing although I do like that it’s a buzzing area close to Pitt, neighborhood shops and a great park. Yes, every major works pretty hard. My S spends tons of hours in studio and shop. Senior year is intense with projects where you need to collaborate with other majors.
Overall, my S had a great experience at CMU but he felt overwhelmed at times.
I think you need to try to decide if you want to explore ID or not. This may guide you the best. Good luck!
Thank you so much! You’re right; ID is the biggest determining factor at this point. Congrats to your son; it must’ve been hard work!
TBH, although I haven’t visited WUSTL appears to offer a more balanced college experience. There were so many adbisors there that my D said she would have felt very supported. The kids appear more extroverted - wanting the whole college experience package. At CMU, I get the vibe that the kids are more introverted and more focused on their goals for their educational experience. My S was chomping at the bit to get out of high school and do something real and meaningful to him. Not too interested in the experience of it all. Both excellent schools though but in different ways. These are broad generalizations though. But maybe useful.
Isn’t CMU more prestigious?
I meant advisors… Also CMU design is getting insanely competitive. It was like 9% acceptance last year. I think when my S was accepted it was still in the double digits but barely- something like 12%. Good luck!
From their Twitter, the acceptance rate of 2020’s BDes class was 9% out of an application pool of approximately 700.
CMU is very strong in industrial design and there is a affinity with other CMU programs (engineering, CS). They do work hard, as one poster points out above. My wife was a graphic design BFA, and I know how hard she worked! Good luck to you.
Product design isn’t the only concentration offered at CMU. There’s environmental design and communication design. You can even concentrate in two areas instead of being focused on just one.
I don’t know how this compares to Sam Fox’s program structure.
^ Yes, what I meant to say was that the ID is more product design than the other concentrations. When my S was looking at CMU, there wasn’t an environmental design. But it appears that they have revamped a lot. My S will graduate with a BFA but moving forward the next class will be BID.