<p>My son is about to enter his high school senior year. He wants to be a studio artist. I want him to attend a four year school with other emphasis besides art in case he changes his mind. He wants to attend a large school near to or in a large city. What are the best Fine Arts schools?</p>
<p>Some to possibly check into are NYU, SUNY Purchase, University of Arizona, Boston University and Syracuse.</p>
<p>magic, it would be helpful to know your son's academic background as colleges vary quite a bit in selectivity. Some large and medium, urban or reasonably near urban, with good fine art are: Yale, Brown (note the RISD connection), CMU, WUSTL, UMich, Tufts (with the Boston Museum School), NYU. </p>
<p>If he would consider small, then I'd add Wesleyan. There are also plenty of really good small liberal arts colleges with excellent academics and excellent art but these tend to be non-urbans.</p>
<p>Oh, I forgot to mention that he's interested in RISD but I don't think we can afford it. Thanks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. His academics are good: 2220 on the SAT and 32 on the ACT. He will try the ACT again. We need something affordable (with scholarships!). Also, he's 1/2 Hispanic, which may help, I believe. Thanks!</p>
<p>it never hurts to apply to these schools like RISD if he really wants to attend - they might offer him a great financial aid package.</p>
<p>Brown instituted a new joint program with RISD, where the student graduates with both a BFA from RISD and an BA/BS (or whatever Brown calls it) in an academic field. When looking at art programs, have your son check into the actual curriculum and studio space/equipment. It varies tremendously from one school to another. Some smaller schools don't offer many choices outside of the main studio classes and classes aren't always available to non art majors. There's also a big difference between earning a BFA and a BA. Which one is better depends on the student's future plans. A BA certainly prepares a student for grad school and provides a more balanced liberal arts undergrad. A BFA is more professional and is better preparation for a job. There is an art forum on CC where you may get more opinions.</p>
<p>Bard is a small school but has amazing an amazing fine art program while also being very strong in the humanities and social studies.</p>
<p>You might have your son check out Tufts University. They have a joint program with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts that combines the best of both worlds. Washington University in St. Louis and Carnegie Mellon are two other excellent universities with very good art programs. Some good suggestions already given as well.</p>
<p>By the way, my daughter is a studio arts major at a mid-western liberal arts college. She opted for a liberal arts college instead of a strictly art school or an art school within a university because she wanted a chance to explore a lot of areas before committing to studio art. Ironically, she was somewhat worried about majoring in art -- she was afraid it wasn't a "real" major. A very wise professor at her school helped her see that the problem-solving skills and analytical ability required to major in art actually can be applied to a variety of jobs, not just that of a "starving artist." It's been a very good choice for her and led her to interests and career possibilities we would never have imagined. </p>
<p>I definitely agree with jerzgrlmom about not assuming that all art programs are created equal. We found wide differences between schools, and also differences in the focuses of programs. One thing my daughter is very happy with at her school is that almost all of the professors are practicing artists themselves. They also have two excellent museums on campus with extensive collections, which has proven to be a real plus in terms of drawing visiting artists and lecturers to campus. Do also see if you can have your son sit in on studio classes -- at some schools she visited, my daughter was turned off by the low expectations of faculty for the students. I would also check very carefully about the difficulty of getting into art courses - at some schools, art classes can be tricky to get into.</p>
<p>Magic, Before he gets much further in his list making, I’d suggest that you get a handle on your financial options. </p>
<p>If your family qualifies for NEED based aid, you may find that some of the most selective colleges and universities are also the most generous. Try an on-line calculator to get an idea of how much need based aid you may be eligible for. It will vary from college to college, but this will give you a ballpark of what to expect.</p>
<p>If it turns out that you won’t get enough need based aid to make a private college workable, then you should start exploring colleges that offer merit aid. These include some very good schools, but it will be a different list for the most part from the need based list. It’s confusing, but there are many parents on this board who can help.</p>
<p>Your son’s credentials are excellent and his ethnic status will be a plus at many colleges. In my opinion he will find being an URM (unrepresented minority) especially helpful at colleges that have a hard time attracting high achieving minorities. As a general statement, these tend to be in non-urban or mid-Western locations so try to keep an open mind about location.</p>
<p>He should plan to submit an arts portfolio with his application. The individual college websites have information on what this should include or you could ask for further guidance here or on the Arts Board of this website.</p>
<p>Do settle the finance part first, though.</p>
<p>carolyn -- I just wanted to chime in about the comment you shared from the professor about the background an art major can gain in analytical skills that can be useful in other areas. I got my BFA in graphic design at CMU many years ago, and after not finding a job in graphic design I ended up going to law school. Fast forward about 20 years and I was asked to speak to law students about a law career and one asked me which law school classes I found to be the most helpful in my career. After thinking a while I answered that the most helpful classes were my art classes as an undergrad because that is what developed my problem-solving abilities and analytical skills. So, you can tell your daughter that the professor is spot on! (Sorry for hijacking the thread.)</p>
<p>magicwestie, he may want to look into Virginia Commonwealth University's School of the Arts. It is in Richmond, Va. VCU has a wonderful art school and it is a Va public. </p>
<p>Regarding merit money, you never know, but my son has a two friends whose stats were similiar to your son's; one was offered a full ride (T,R,B) and the other 1/2 T, R, B. The downside is that its urban location in downtown Richmond is a turnoff to some. However, President Eugene Trani is really a go getter and they have bought up much of the downtrodden areas and are putting up new buildings all of the time. It may be worth looking into. Good luck.</p>
<p>Fine arts in a large city---you cant beat UCLA.New York Galleries regularly scout talent at UCLA's MFA exhibits.</p>
<p>Meadow School of the Arts in Dallas. SMU appears to be generous with merit (academic & fine arts) aid.</p>
<p>Meadows</a> School of the Arts - Meadows School of the Arts - SMU</p>
<p>As previously mentioned check out U of Arizona. Generous with merit $$.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the advice. My sisters think a smaller school is best. They maintain that the students will be taught by professors rather than graduate students at a smaller school. Regarding financials, we could afford about $16,000/year without getting a loan. We have saved very little, as he has attended a private school for 6 years and all the college savings went to middle and high school.</p>
<p>Somebody mentioned Suny Purchase earlier. It is an arts conservatory and not thought of that well for Liberal arts. Suny New Paltz has a great Art Dept. within the university, and is becoming the rising star of the SUNY schools. Named one of the 25 hottest by Newsweek.</p>
<p>Dear Carolyn,</p>
<p>What school does your daughter attend?</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Magicwestie</p>