<p>Hi, in less than a month, I'll have to decide on which college to attend. I've gotten so lucky, too lucky in fact, that now I'm struggling choosing between Cooper Union for Art or RISD with a full tuition scholarship. While I always dreamed of entering the Fine Arts field, I still would like to be able to feed myself. On that note, RISD requires me to choose and stick to only one major, which in my case would be Painting. I would also like to note that I'll be visiting both schools in a few weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to decide by then.</p>
<p>While being a fine artist is my goal and dream, I feel as though learning design is also essential in order to make a living.</p>
<p>What I'd like to know is:
Which school is better for me (education, job, opportunities)? Personal experiences and stats would be awesome.</p>
<p>Have you made your final call yet.
This will be a really hard one to make.</p>
<p>The connections you will make with a RISD degree are unmatchable.</p>
<p>This will be VERY hard to make.
Both are good. Cooper should have Cooper’s connections. Why RISD got better on this?
I can see RISD have a nice campus and Cooper don’t. RISD may have better college life and Cooper treat all the students like adults, which is hard sometimes. I know so little about RISD.</p>
<p>I think you will see this advice running through the forum: Do what you love and what your talents permit. Success will ultimately follow. </p>
<p>It sounds like the cost is about equal. Choose the school where you will be the happiest. What a wonderful dilemma you have. </p>
<p>You can always get an MFA to bolster marketability.</p>
<p>Congratulations!!! What an impressive accomplishment! Under the circumstances, I think your decision comes down to where you want to spend the next four years: NYC or Providence. The connections you will make at Cooper are incomparable. It is in a fabulous area of the city, among a lot of other colleges. But it is definitely a city campus (read: you are living in the city). I can’t think of a better way to spend four years, but I am not your age! RISD is in a beautiful area and shares a campus with Brown – if that’s what you are looking for. You will not go wrong either way – and should be very proud!!</p>
<p>I am guessing here, if your gap at RISD is more than 15K (count all hidden fees) you might save money by going to Cooper. RISD’s price will only go up, Cooper not so.
RISD would make you live and eat their food for two whole years no matter what. Providence near RISD proper is limited and not cheap.
NYC can be chap once you know where to go and you can go anywhere anytime you want.
now
if you do visit back to back and look around you should see that they are polar opposites. far as I know hardcore Cooper wannabe don’t usually cross apply to RISD unless parents or GC, teachers make them, or themselves are somewhat prestige trophy collectors, or international kids with no visiting option but internet search.
I am guessing you must have super academic stats and super tech portfolio but somewhat conceptual smell in it. You write well, do math OK, dirt poor or near that.
This means it really don’t matter where you go. You’ll make it, if not art or design, you can find the way to make living and be happy.
Go visit with open mind, take your time and see kids and works around. you’ll know. and please don’t pick Cooper because it is “harder” to get in. Pick Cooper because you felt right.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, and I still haven’t decided yet. I’m visiting Cooper on the 11th and RISD on the 20th. I love NYC and would like to spend the rest of my life there, so I’m leaning towards Cooper as of now. RISD appeals to me because it seems much more diverse than Cooper, simply because there are more students. It also seems like transferring from Cooper to RISD is much easier than transferring the other way. The worst that can happen is me falling in love with both schools when I visit.</p>
<p>The only thing I’m worried about with Cooper is that while it’s very reputable to those that know about it, there may be many who don’t. Is this true?</p>
<p>your square job-ed parents, normal HS GCs, neighbors, relatives, normal friends and dates might never have heard of it. or only know it as
Engineer school
Free school
Cult school
something to do with some union</p>
<p>I am not kidding, if you grab HS students in NYC randomly and ask, chances are they don’t know what it is.
Is it important to you? that you can not impress upon people who don’t count anyway?
Then maybe going to Cooper would only make you wonder further what is really that big-o-deal.</p>
<p>CooperRISD, I’m very interested in seeing your portfolio that has granted you a full tuition scholarship. Just to compare with mine and such. Thanks.</p>
<p>Which school did you pick? I was in a similar situation (full scholarship to RISD but didn’t get into Cooper) …I’m going there for painting. IMHO, the only thing Cooper has going for it is free tuition and maybe location, but like everyone else said, go with your gut!</p>