Has anyone received their financial aid package from Pratt Institute yet? My daughter was accepted into the architecture program and has received notification of her merit award, but not a financial aid package yet.
@277field I have just received it this morning (applied EA) Don’t expect much, if any institutional aid. Almost all of their aid is merit-based.
Also watch out for glaring errors (my package did not include NYS Tuition Assistance Grant for some reason. Trying to clear it up)
S received his today, also applied EA. Included Presidential Merit and Pratt Grant plus $5k work study per year.
We received it Presidential Scholarship, Pratt Grant and Work Study, still more expensive than others.
@JuneOsborne same here (Parsons was the most generous offer so far)…waiting on final #s from MICA and if accepted at RISD and FIT.
And that $5k work study from Pratt is kind of impossible to pull off, especially foundation year at an art school. Where I work the students are capped at $2k ($1k per semester). Oldest has same work study at RISD and $2k is do-able sanity/homework wise.
@ArtAngst so far Pratt was the most generous but also the most expensive. Probably an additional $20k to $30k in loans over the 4 years. Curious to see what happens with RISD. What’s your son’s 1st choice?
@JuneOsborne son seems to like Pratt/Parsons/MICA equally for various reasons. He did get into RISD today, so not sure how much that will tip the balance or not (especially when we know $). Also still waiting on FIT.
hi…can someone please explain what the Pratt Grant is? thanks
@awaitingoffers I believe in regards to Pratt that their use of grants is ‘need’ based. Our letter wasn’t very specific about it tho, just listed it in a separate line after the Presidential Merit one.
@ArtAngst : thanks for the info.
Is the work study guaranteed? Or first come first served? We were told (when we emailed to inquire) my son could contact the student employee office about it but nothing specific was mentioned for him on his award letter for example and he would like to do it if possible.
Hi @awaitingoffers - my oldest has work study at her college AND I supervise work study positions in the art department where I teach, so while I don’t know specifics of Pratt, here’s how some info from my experience. The amount of work study is set by the school and the student must take the initiative and get the position. HOWEVER, most colleges have an office and website that lists all the positions. As a freshman they might be able to find/apply before arriving on campus.
Generally a freshman hunts for the job during orientation/first week or so of classes. At my school we have a full department meeting with all students the first week week of classes, announce available places with jobs, and fill in the shifts on first-come first serve. Returning staff (so upper classmen) get first dibs but I’m always looking for more staff. There’s also a bunch more positions on campus which students find via the financial aid office too.
Similar routine at Ds school (RISD) - her first one was off-campus (by choice, it was the Children’s Museum, she visited as part of a pre-orientation event, one of the counselors worked there too and gave her the info to apply). Ds also worked as a TA and in their mailroom (she caught on that this was an easy job where she could study!).
The student is NOT guaranteed the full amount listed on your financial aid agreement - have to WORK those hours and student is paid directly by the school. Our D uses it as her spending money, school supplies, savings etc. Some semesters she hasn’t made the full $1k per semester due to work load and/or illness. It does not roll over per semester either. And a student can NOT go over the allocated amounts. They just won’t pay you OR if they’ve already cut the check for that pay period, students have to pay it back. Yikes. Altho to be fair, our financial aid office forewarns them when they’re getting close to running out.
Not sure what Pratt allocated for your student, but my son was given $5k…which frankly is an impossible amount of hours. So honestly, not much of a plus to his financial aid package (and the school is off his list since it’s just too expensive). Most art schools consider $2k ($1k per semester, about 10-12 hours per week) doable. Art school expects LONG hours of homework (way beyond most majors) and freshman year is a big acclimation to that.
Thanks @ArtAngst for the detailed info. Actually my son was unfortunately not officially allocated any Work Study. But the school is way over what we had hoped/planned to spend so we emailed to ask for any suggestions to make the whole thing work and we were told son could try to get a job on campus and there are various options. So he will try to do that asap. He is an Arch major and will also do the foundation year (although it may be slightly different by major we thought we were told) so we don’t anticipate him having too much free time to work but he’ll have to figure it out as he goes along. Of course he would like to do some sort of sports/theater or something fun in off hours too. But money is an issue so hopefully that will come through. Off topic: both your kids are into Art? And you work at an Art school? What fun! Where will your son go now? My son was accepted at RiSD too but they offered nothing and it’s just way too pricey. Cooper Union is half free tuition and he also got a small scholarship making it the most affordable (save for the schools in UK he got into) but he felt Cooper was just too small and intense…for ARCH anyway. He really liked Pratt and they gave him the Pres scholarship. ANd it’s New York. So we finally committed last night and sent in the deposit! ANyway good luck to your son…and Thanks again.
@awaitingoffers yep, they’ll eventually be 3 BFAs in my house surrounding my math major/IT hubs. I also have a Biology/Journalism BS & my bro (who runs a lab at an Ivy League) and bro-in-law (who’s head of a college neurology dept) joke that somehow my art genes were stronger & won out in the kids. 
Son is about 90% sure he’ll go to Parsons, finally visiting tomorrow (after being sick for accepted students day a few weeks back…ugh).
S really liked Pratt too, but it was over our budget even with the Presidential Scholarship. Ds year too it seemed so random which school gives out $. I’m guessing some is based on intended major, random activities etc.
Good luck to your S - I think Pratt has a great approach to foundation year for the Architecture students. I teach in our school’s Interior Design department and we discuss that alot since there is SO much material they need to cover and computer programs to learn.