<p>My daughter and I have spent the past year looking at illustration programs. She applied to 4 schools (SCAD, Otis, SVA, CIA (Cleveland)). She was accepted at all, but even with considerable grants, the cost of attendence is ridiculous ($30-$40K a year), completely out of reach for us. Does anyone know of a good BFA program for illustration that is not so expensive? Like, no more than $15-20 cost of attendence per year (after grants and scholarships)? We live in Georgia, and there are no state schools with an illustration major. She's interested in concept art and storyboarding for film and games, and graphic novels (she'd like to write as well as draw). CalState looks less expensive and I think being in California would be a plus for her, but is it even possible for an out-of-state student to be admitted to CalState? Right now she's considering beginning a BFA in drawing and painting at Georgia State and then transferring in junior year. Anyone else done this, and what was the result?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Beware… you may find yourself in a tricky situation. Once you start at another university, then you will be considered a transfer student, and may not qualify for the entering freshman scholarships. This might be different from school to school. I checked a few schools on-line and it varied, so please look into this.</p>
<p>But others on this forum may know a lot more about this than me, so I hope they will chime in. Also create a thread in the Financial Aid & Scholarships section to ask this question: Will being a transfer student kill chances for freshman scholarships?</p>
<p>It will be extremely important to check on this.</p>
<p>Kendall College of Art and Design sometimes offers in-state tuition for students they want (based on portfolio and maybe grades). A friend of a friend’s son is there.
It is in Michigan. But even that is probably high 20s, so might not be inexpensive enough.</p>
<p>Watkins in Nashville has a Graphic Design degree with a concentration in Illustration. Their costs look a lot more like what you are looking for. I don’t know a lot about them but my D talked to them at NPD and liked the reps–however, she is focusing on other areas of the country–but I sure like the look of their price vs SCAD, etc. Maybe someone on here knows more about Watkins? Work on their web site, etc looks great but hard to judge by that. Could be a great value.</p>
<p>Another note of caution. Most of the art schools have that pesky foundation year and it varies from school to school as to whether that can be skipped. Make sure the target transfer school is going to let her come in as a Junior and not make her start all over again so she gets/doesn’t miss that foundation year.</p>
<p>I know nothing about OOS admission policies/tuition for CSUs, but Cal State Long Beach has a well-regarded Illustration major. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Will take a lot of research to find just the right place for the BFA, but here is a good start: in the Google search box, type the following:</p>
<p>“illustration major” site:.edu</p>
<p>If your home state has no program for illustration, maybe you can go to a neighboring state that participates in the southern regional common market, and get in-state rates. I did a quick search and came up with this… They didn’t list illustration as a major, but visual communication can’t be too far off. </p>
<p><a href=“http://home.sreb.org/acm/SearchResult.aspx?state=GA[/url]”>http://home.sreb.org/acm/SearchResult.aspx?state=GA</a></p>
<p>Also, I know Towson U in Maryland has an illustration major (and you can take a class or two at neighboring MICA as well). OOS tuition, fees, r & b, and expenses total about 33K according to them although they do give merit aid. </p>
<p>I’m wondering if you could lobby to pay in-state rates there since GA doesn’t have any schools with illustration? I know that MD doesn’t have any state schools for interior design and we could go to UGA for that and pay in-state rates. It might be worth a try. </p>
<p>Virginia Commonwealth U also has illustration/visual communication. Their oos rates look to be similar to Towson’s (but a little more difficult to understand). I don’t know how they are for merit aid. </p>
<p>[Illustration</a> Track - Art + Design Major - Undergraduate Programs - Department of Art + Design, Art History, Art Education - Towson University](<a href=“http://www.towson.edu/art/undergraduate/artstudio/illustration/]Illustration”>http://www.towson.edu/art/undergraduate/artstudio/illustration/)</p>
<p>The 2 most reasonable schools we found were Northern Michigan University and New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH. </p>
<p>NMU which has a beautiful brand new stand alone art building. My D is from Florida and she was offered some good scholarship money to go there, they are interested in diversifying their student body. My guess is that being from Georgia would offer the same. OOS tuition is one of the most reasonable I’ve seen for a state school.
[Costs</a> to Attend | NMU Admissions](<a href=“http://www.nmu.edu/admissions/node/274]Costs”>Northern Michigan University - Transfer Campus Visit | NMU Admissions)</p>
<p>NHIA offered D great scholarship $$ as well, that put the cost of attendance very reasonable, came to about half.
[NHIA:</a> Tuition & Fees](<a href=“http://www.nhia.edu/tuition-fees-2/?src=admissions]NHIA:”>http://www.nhia.edu/tuition-fees-2/?src=admissions)</p>
<p>Not sure if they have the specific programs your D wants, tho, but they both have illustration and might be worth a look. I know MCAD in Minneapolis has all of what she’d like and their comic program is one of the top rated, but COA might be a little higher than you’d like. </p>
<p>It’s hard to figure sometimes, because all schools offer different types and amounts of financial aid, so sometimes you end up comparing apples and oranges.</p>
<p>I found Winthrop University in SC has an illustration major, and it does give IS tuition to Georgia residents. I’ll have to find out more about this school, and who knows if they have space for this fall, but this is the most encouraging thing I’ve seen in months. Thanks so much, greenwitch!!!</p>
<p>You’re welcome! I hope everything works out for you and your D. Keep us posted.</p>