Having to Decide...RISD,MICA, and SCAD

<p>May 1st is slowly approaching and that means it's time to pick a school. I've been incredibly lucky and have been accepted to the 3 three schools I had applied to. In order of preference, one being my favorite:
1.RISD-got a $5,500 scholarship for the first year, must be renewed each year.
2.MICA-$44,000 scholarship over the course of 4 years
3.SCAD-haven't recieved financial aid package yet.</p>

<p>I'm somewhat interested in doing something in film or video, possibly graphic design. Mostly undecided.</p>

<p>I've pretty much ruled out SCAD. Its a good school, but I didn't really enjoy my visit. I love both RISD ad MICA, its been a little over a year since I've visited Providence and I'll be going up this friday to refresh my memory. I have a slight bias towards RISD becuase it is more selective by the percentages and is a little more famous.</p>

<p>I am aware there is an on going thread about going into debt for your "dream school". But, I'm really interested in what people think about those two specific schools. I think RISD's film program is a bit larger than MICA's. They both are very strong schools and I am having a very difficult time ruling out one or the other. I really enjoyed the visits I've had at both places. I'm also slightly afraid that I may not be as well developed as alot of the other students if I attend RISD. Any advice?</p>

<p>i just sent in my acceptance to risd, decided i wanted to go there because it is in my opinion the top art school, and the only art school that has landscape architecture. for me, a big part of it was the town, providence is amazing, and also the guest lectures that the risd name can pull in, i am looking forward to meeting so many amazing artisits. as for the financial thing goes, money is not going to get in the way of me and my dreams, but i am a grad student, I wouldnt have gone to a private school undergrad only becsuei wanted to save that for grad school</p>

<p>You've got great options to choose from! Which one would give you more flexibility to explore different areas before you have to declare a major? How easy is it to get into the program if you do choose film or video? </p>

<p>And I'm curious what you didn't like about your visit to SCAD.</p>

<p>My daughter had these same choices several years ago (plus CMU and KCAI), but only SCAD offered merit money (discount). She was undecided at the time whether she would favor fine arts or design; this was one factor in favor of RISD, that it was equally strong on both sides. She ended up studying industrial design, which is particularly strong there, after briefly considering illustration. She also developed a strong interest in environmental design (green design), which, however, isn't a strong emphasis at any of these places, though awareness of growing.</p>

<p>Anyone else looking at the same schools as options might decide differently, of course, whether because of the money or if they have clearly set interests in a particular specialty. For example, both MICA and RISD are especially strong in painting.</p>

<p>My son was in a similar situation. He was also fortunate and had to choose between some wonderful schools. After narrowing the list, he had the most difficulty choosing between Pratt and RISD. We took "one last look" in March and he decided to attend RISD in the fall! He is thrilled and it feels so good to have that decision behind us!! </p>

<p>Allisonart, is there one school that you can "see" yourself attending more than the others? Moominmama brought up a point that was very important for my son - - he is having difficulty deciding between graphic design and photography. At RISD, you don't declare your major until the spring of your freshman year. Therefore, he will be able to take classes in both areas before he has to decide.) </p>

<p>I know this is so difficult and I truly wish you the best of luck!</p>

<p>Before you decide, go to the top of the CC forums and check out the featured thread, "Should you incur substantial debt for that dream school." If CC takes it off the featured thread, it can be found at the top of the Parent's forum. REALLY read over most of the posts in that thread. Depending on your financial situation, MICA might be the better choice.</p>

<p>First off, Thanks to everyone who replied.</p>

<p>To answer one of the questions, I can really "see" myself at RISD, I think it is an incredible place and the people seem to be extremely diverse and interesting. Getting acceptance into RISD has been a long-term goal for me. Its something I've worked toward for a couple of years and it’s a chance that a lot of people may not get. However, (and this is where it gets fun <em>rolls eyes</em>) I could imagine myself going to MICA and still being very content. As far as my financial situation goes, there is some concern. I will be in a considerable amount of debt no matter where I attend school. I suppose I am a little less concerned than other people may be because my mother attended a private art institution with almost no money saved. She paid off her debt, although slowly, and is now debt free and has a good job. It may be difficult but it is something I am willing to go through.</p>

<p>Also, MICA is definitely more flexible as far as class choices and deciding a major go. I think you may have to declare a major during your sophomore year (correct me if I am wrong), while as meandmyboys said RISD makes you declare your choice in April of your freshman year. At the same time I'm fairly certain I'll major in one of two areas so, an extensive amount of other… I guess I'll call them "exploratory" classes… aren't necessary. And RISD offers wintersession to help you decide.</p>

<p>Neither of the schools are particularly known for their film programs, but I know that I don’t want to attend a film school. I’d like to approach filmmaking in a different, hopefully more artistic way or may end up pursuing graphic design. RISD I think has the better Graphic Design program. ANYwhooo. J I think I’m starting to lean more heavily towards RISD. I can’t wait to visit on Friday.</p>

<p>Oh, and Moominmama- My SCAD visit wasn’t enjoyable for a number of reasons. Although I found the school itself to be rather impressive, Savannah as a whole left me with a bad taste. First off, we stayed two nights at a very over priced hotel-the whole place was kind of a tourist trap in a way, crappy food, overpriced little shops- and there was a disgusting odor, I think there was a paper factory. It was unbearable, it made me want to vomit and was there almost our entire visit. The students around town were also kind of rude. Within Savannah there is another college, I think is called Savannah State College or something so it may have been students from there, you can’t really tell. I received a lot of mean looks and the guys acted like they have never seen a female before. I was conservatively dressed, I promise you and not to mention I was walking around with my mother. So, SCAD itself wasn’t bad, just Savannah. Its just not somewhere I want to spend four years of my life.</p>

<p>alisonart-
Your visit to Savannah was definitely a sign that you should not go there-LOL.<br>
I say this because I know hundreds of people (including myself) who have visited Savannah over and over because they find it to be extremely friendly, beautiful and intoxicating. You are the first and only person I have ever heard describe Savannah the way you did. Oh yes, it was a sign... I'd say something big awaits you at either MICA or RISD. Best wishes on your decision.</p>

<p>alisonart, thanks for the candid reply about your visit to Savannah. That can be a problem with an urban school which has the city as its campus.</p>

<p>Do come back and tell us about your visit to RISD!</p>

<p>The lady from SCAD just called me to ask if I had any questions and to tell me that I am offered an $18,000 a year scholarship. Thats a $64,000 total scholarship. EGJHWSGHJiugjkh. Its really good but at the same time kind of a cruel joke. The school I want to go to offers me almost nothing (speaking in relative terms here) and my last choice offers me a large scholarship. :/ Jeeze.</p>

<p>It is rather annoying, I submitted my complete application in December and SCad started calling me like two months later asking if I was still going to finish my application. They didn't have my highschool transcript or my teacher recemmendations. So, I had them sent again. The next month I get the same thing, they are missing my transcript and recommendations. So, I was just kinda like "screw it" and I get my acceptance letter yesterday, 5 months later.</p>

<p>It is cruel, but typical. Usually your last choice school is a 'safety' of sorts where you are more qualified than the average applicant there, resulting in tempting scholarship offers. Your top choice is usually a reach for you, you're just happy to have gotten in, and they know they don't have to offer you any money for you to consider going there. </p>

<p>I think the situation at MICA sounds like a nice balance between the dreams and the realities of the art world.</p>

<p>I would let MICA know about the SCAD offer to see if they would match it, or at least sweeten theirs. Could try the same for RISD, but I wouldn't get your hopes up too much there.</p>

<p>I think you'd have more luck with RISD by telling them about MICA's offer, not SCAD's. RISD may see MICA as competition, but knows they're better than SCAD.</p>

<p>oh BTW appreantly I can't multiply and SCAD's total scholarship is $72,000 not $64,000. I don't know my 18 times table too well.-sorry</p>

<p>Some well intended advice...let's say SCAD makes you an offer financially that is hard to resist, but it is not your first choice. Perhaps you do or do not get into RISD, and if you do...the cost is of concern. MICA perhaps offers some money, etc, but...you still prefer RISD.</p>

<p>There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of SCAD's financial offer for the first year and then perhaps applying and transferring to RISD. You will have paid significantly less for roughly 25% of your education. And perhaps you are able to improve your portfolio to a degree that RISD offers money? Many schools do offer transfer scholarships.</p>

<p>Or, you may discover that your visit to Savannah was atypical. Granted the paper factory smell once or twice a week is irritating. Moving and living southside or on the islands resolves that issue. There is a mill in Garden City which is right next to Savannah, and they stink up the city every now and then. I have found the students here to be friendly, open, and relaxed, so I have no explanation for your experience. We also have a lot of tourists downtown. And not every young man or woman goes to SCAD.</p>

<p>Or, let's say you are accepted to RISD immediately, do not go right away. Stay near home and commute to a state college and take the liberal arts courses at a substantially reduced rate (or do this during summers). Do not pay private college rates for English 101. It makes no sense whatsoever.</p>

<p>Hope you find the best opportunity possible.</p>

<p>Decent advice, except that RISD doesn't necessarily accept coursework taken elsewhere as satisfying their requirements. Oddly enough, this may be true of their non-art courses, as my daughter found out when she had a couple of courses to make up during summer due to illness.</p>

<p>In our experience, RISD was great about accepting credits for community college classes (these were all liberal arts) my D took in her last two years of high school. She nearly fulfilled her liberal arts requirement with those credits. I don't know that this saved any money, but it sure has opened possibilities for other classes for her.</p>

<p>Certainly you would want to cover this with an admissions rep, and perhaps a student advisor - if available, and perhaps get pre-approval. I suspect it would be a pain, you might need to obtain and submit syllabi for review prior to taking courses outside of RISD or wherever. Especially if you are dealing with quarter vs semester systems. You can only ask.</p>

<p>I can tell you that at SCAD it was - and maybe still is - the policy, that if studio work submitted toward transfer credit was evaluated as sufficiently meeting and demonstrating ALL of the criteria and topics covered in the SCAD course, then transfer credit would be applied. However, the goals of a Drawing I class at a liberal arts college may be very different from those at an art college, so - my advice is primarily that if you do not get into the school of your choice, you can always reapply as a transfer student. Hopefully libral arts classes are accepted directly, and even if you are not given credit for studio course work, perhaps, it may enhance your ability to get a transfer scholarship. </p>

<p>I'm just throwing ideas and scenarios out there.</p>

<p>I just got back from RISD last night and it was AMAZING. I had visited once before and really loved the school and visiting again helped me to make my decision. I will be attending there this fall.
I have visited several art colleges including RISD, MICA, SCAD, the Carnegie Mellon School of Art, VCU (it is the only public college in VA with a halfway decent school of art), and the Corcoran in D.C. and I have to say that for me they just cannot compare to RISD. MICA is a very close second and SCAD a close 3rd but, RISD just impressed me on almost every level. They had redone their library since my last visit and it is HUGE! and beautiful as well. Also, yesterday there was a large Student Art Sale and I got to walk around and look at all the work. Almost everything there was really original and cool; unfortunately I only had a credit card with me so I wasn't able to buy anything. Another deciding factor was that I felt that I really would fit in with the RISD kids. I don't mean that I felt out of place at MICA or SCAD. It’s hard to explain but, I guess I felt more at home in Providence. I was also impressed by the fact that all these major companies, across all mediums and majors, were there reviewing RISD student work and giving interviews. On Friday, Abercrombie and Fitch was holding interviews for the apparel design department and on my last visit Martha Stewart was there giving a lecture (for what I would assume was the product or industrial design majors). There was also a very elaborate list of companies and designers the tour guide named off that I don’t feel like typing.
Although some may argue that RISD's prestige doesn't necessarily make them a better school as far the instruction and education itself goes, the fact that it is more famous, than say MICA for example, will draw in more companies, designers, lecturer's, etc. and will create more and possibly better job opportunities for their students. For those reasons I have decided to pursue an education there. Thanks to everyone who offered advice. :)</p>

<p>Alisonart, do update us with your experience at risd. i have asked to be deferred to fall 2008 and would be quite interested in hearing about your experience as a freshman student. </p>

<p>Good luck at RISD!</p>