<p>I'd be interested in hearing comparisons of these programs for pre-college:</p>
<p>RISD
Maine College of Art
Mass Art
Montserrat College of Art (I never hear anything about this one)</p>
<p>We're looking for a program for next summer. My daughter will be entering her junior year. I know people say RISD is great, but I wonder if it is too fast & pressured for a junior...? Seems like a small program might be good too.</p>
<p>Any opinions out there?</p>
<p>I can't make any comparisons among the four programs you listed because I have only had experience with RISD's, but I can tell you about that one. My son attended RISD's pre-college program between his junior and senior years. He worked harder than he had ever worked before, he learned a lot, and made some very good friends. The experience convinced him that art school was what he really wanted to do. Next month he starts his senior year at RISD!</p>
<p>If your daughter has had some experience being away from home by herself (even a week or two at summer camp), I think she'll be OK. My son had really never been away from home before that and RISD is over 2600 miles from here. There was a tearful phone call after the first day of classes -- "Mom, it's just too hard! Everyone here is so much better than me! I'll never be able to do it! I want to come home!" Which, of course, I wouldn't let him do after we shelled out all that money for the program, not to mention airfare. By the 3rd or 4th day, the conversation went something like "Mom, we did some really cool stuff today in the wood shop!" and "Some friends and I went over to Thayer Street last night to get a pizza." By the end of the six weeks, he was reluctant to leave Providence because he was having such a great time there!</p>
<p>As for the speed and pressure issue you raised: My son went to the pre-college program with absolutely NO art background. (Up until then, we thought he was going to be an engineer so he was taking a traditional college prep courseload, heavy on math and science.) Yes, he did struggle but the teachers -- and fellow students too -- encouraged him, and he just blossomed there. He came home with some incredible work; I was just astounded.</p>
<p>Another thing you might be interested in: The RISD's pre-college students are probably supervised outside of class more than they are at other schools. I got a letter from RISD telling us that he had missed his 11 PM bed check one night and that he would be subject to disciplinary action if it happened again. I appreciated knowing that the staff was actually keeping an eye on him and was communicating with parents to head off any potential problems.</p>
<p>I hope that helps.</p>
<p>Yes, that does help. My daughter has been away from home, to camp and whatnot. I was just concerned about her being with 500 highly charged artists and minimal supervision. She has some art background. We live in the Boston area and she takes classes at MassArt. Her high school has a decent art program also.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I'd love to hear from anyone who has attended the smaller programs - Maine, MassArt, or Montserrat?</p>
<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I am a current Senior, and this past summer I attended the SAIC Early College Program (The School of the Art Institute of Chicago). </p>
<p>I HIGHLY recommend this program. It was beyond amazing. I love art, and have been drawing and painting for years, and in a three week program was able to create 9 large paintings that I am very proud of. Not to mention there is also a five week program. The program is very worthwhile, and Chicago is a fabulous city to experience. </p>
<p>As long as your daughter is ready for an intense devotion to art for a period in the summer, there is honestly no better option. It was fantastic, in every respect. Lots of kids from across the world, and just an amazing opportunity to be surrounded by so much talent. </p>
<p>It goes down as one of the best experiences in my lifetime so far. And I did another pre-college art program the summer before, to compare, it just doesn't. </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>I'm sorry, I just realized I answered to a school that you had not really posed interest for. But anyways, its a great option if you're interested in her spending some time in Chicago next summer.</p>
<p>And if you're worried about supervision, its very strong at this program. Weekday curfews are mandatory 10 PM for the whole entire teenage population of Chicago. While weekends are 11 PM. So late night endeavors, were definitely a no no.</p>
<p>I'll echo worried-mom's RISD endorsement. My son attended RISD's precollege program between his sophomore and junior years. He had a great time, and the experience strengthened his resolve to become an artist. My son told me he wished I had sent him to a program earlier, as he would have applied himself harder in school knowing what he was working towards.</p>
<p>From what I gathered, RISD supervised the kids well without being overly strict.</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted to SAIC with a scholarship this past spring, but it still wasn't enough for us to afford it. This coming year she's hoping to go to CSSSA, but will also apply to RISD pre-college, I think.</p>
<p>Last winter we looked at (online, not in person) quite a few pre-college programs and Maine College of Art was definitely on our short list. The small size of the program made it seem nurturing and welcoming. The curriculum looked fairly rigorous but the program as a whole also sounded fun. Thankfully, like a lot of summer programs - CCA, CMU, Otis, Parsons, Pratt, RISD, SAIC, Uarts, Wash U - it didn't require a portfolio to apply. (BU, SCAD and SF Art Inst did. I really don't understand this requirement, because isn't the main purpose of these summer programs to create/develop a portfolio?) We didn't look at Mass Art or Montserrat.</p>
<p>My daughter ended up going to RISD, mainly because she wanted to immerse herself in art for 6 weeks and discover if she'd love it enough to want to major in it. The kids in the summer program do work very hard; my D's observation was that the architecture kids work the hardest, followed by fashion design kids, followed by the illustration kids. Many kids were frequently in the dorm workroom working on their projects into the wee hours. But it sounded like many of them thrive on this creative work and didn't mind the long hours all that much. At least that was the case with my D, who in general hates to miss out on sleep, but found out she'd rather be working on her various art assignments. (When I came to pick her up, the RA had put all of these little quotes and poems on every door about how important it is to get enough sleep.)</p>
<p>Anyway, I think MECA sounded good, and I know RISD was good for my D and everyone she was in class with there. Good luck - you're way ahead of the game researching this early. It seemed like a lot of programs didn't get their info on the web until over the Christmas holidays (or maybe that's just when I started looking last year).</p>
<p>My daughter attended MassArt's pre-college program in July/Aug 07 - the summer between her junior and senior year. Her experience there solidified her desire to go to an art school (as opposed to a LAC college or a university setting majoring in art) She had never been away from home more than 2 nights - she was homesick at first but after the third night or so she started feeling more comfortable and felt at ease with being around fellow artists and kids that were like her. ( she attended a college prep focused private high school with very little to offer as far as art classes ) </p>
<p>She worked very hard in all her classes and took the work very seriously. Massart was one of her top choices and she wanted to make sure she presented herself in a good light. She did some work that ended up in her college admissions portfolio. She also utilized the reviews she obtained from her teachers as additional material to her application to Massart last fall.</p>
<p>There were a few issues with kids not taking the experience seriously - not handing in work or giving it any effort - but that was the exception not the rule. They were strict with curfews and safety - but there were a few incidents with kids breaking rules in dorms etc.</p>
<p>My daughter applied to 7 schools and got into all of them. She decided to attend Massart and is currently there as a freshman. She was not nervous at all about going away to school having attended the pre-college program. several of her friends who attended pre-college are also there now as freshman - conversely some who attended pre-college were denied admission to the school. </p>
<p>Overall I would say it was a very positive experience for her. She is our "only" and having her away those 4+ weeks also eased our anxiety as nervous parents on how she would do going away to college - so it helped my husband and I as well !</p>
<p>what other colleges did she get accepted to? I went to a precollege program at scad this summer and loved it so much that I'm only reluctantly applying to RISD and a few others because my heart is telling me to go to Savannah.</p>
<p>Artmom08 - </p>
<p>MassArt is one of our top choices. My daughter is a sophmore now so she might be interest for the coming summer. Did you feel that your daughter had enough supervision on campus? We actually live within commuting distance of the school. But living in the dorms might be a good experience.</p>
<p>What was your daughter's grade point average? Did she attend any other pre-college art programs? </p>
<p>many thanks,
NewtonArtMom</p>
<p>Hi NewtonArtMom - we felt there was adequate supervision. The kids had to sign in and out when they went somewhere. The security at the door of the dorms is quite good. There was an incident where kids violated a couple of rules and had to be disciplined. I learned about it thru my daughter and when I asked the RAs - they were reluctant to give me details citing privacy issues - suffice to say I was a little disappointed when I found out the kids who violated the rules were allowed to stay - but the kids who were caught were watched like hawks after it happened and were not allowed the freedoms afforded the others- so at least it was handled.
I actually saw it as a good thing because it afforded me the opportunity to talk to my daughter about what happened - she was not directly involved but the kids who were - I know their parents were informed. </p>
<p>My daughter applied to Art Institute of Boston, Pratt, NE school of art and design at Suffolk University, NH institute of art, UMASS Dartmouth and Montserrat. Her GPA was 3.4
She got accepted to all schools she applied to - but once the Massart acceptance came - there was no question in her mind where she wanted to be. </p>
<p>As far as other summer programs - she attended a high school program at the school of fashion design on Newbury ST in Boston - it was a great program which featured instruction in fashion design and fashion illustration. She attended this the summer between her sophmore and junior year.</p>
<p>She also took a Saturday class at Massart and classes at the NH institute of Art and the Currier museum in Manchester NH. </p>
<p>Good luck ! You are wise to check this all out early - senior year comes up fast ! </p>
<p>I hope this info helps you !</p>
<p>Artmom08 -</p>
<p>You mentioned Montserrat - did you check that out? What were your impressions? Did you ever check out the Maine College of Art?</p>
<p>NewtonArtMom
My daughter visited with a rep from Montserrat at NPD last year - when she was a senior. They encouraged her to apply via a letter shortly after - She was scheduled to take a tour right after she was accepted in January ( she applied to all her schools right before Christmas - well ahead of all the deadlines ) but when her Massart and AIB acceptances came in - she was not that interested in Montserrat.</p>
<p>My cousins daughter attended school there for her foundation year - but transferred to Massart. She liked the school but felt that there was not much of a community feel there for the student population ( the housing was all in apartments - mostly in old houses in the neighborhoods in Beverly ) Ultimately - like my daughter - she was drawn to the idea of being in Boston and all that offered .</p>
<p>She did not consider Maine College of Art - I don;t think the location would have appealed to her .</p>
<p>Does anyone know of any liberal arts colleges that offer strong programs in fashion design or merchandising?</p>
<p>Repost your question as a new thread. It’ll never get answered in a pre-college discussion.</p>
<p>Hi, my daughter attended the RISD pre-college program last summer (between her sophomore and junior year). It was a wonderful experience for her. It was also great to see her navigate being on her own, juggling her responsibilities and proving to herself as well as her parents that she was ready to be on her own. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.</p>