<p>I am an international student split between the two, I know Parsons is very well regarded, but which is actually better? I am more of a conceptual designer(and SAIC fits that) but I still want to be a designer that's doing real world projects as opposed to being an artist. (hence Parsons) Parsons did give me $10k scholarship, and SAIC $6.5K, but as far as I can see they could match Parsons because they urged me to file an appeal second time. Which would be cheaper in total for a year? Boy, these schools are expensive :/</p>
<p>I’m a domestic student also looking to major in fashion and I’ve been accepted into those two schools. And like you, I’m torn. (Just to add, I’ve been waitlisted at RISD and at Pratt, but I’m going to not count on those following through.)</p>
<p>SAIC has offered me a $10k/yr merit scholarship. That’s very generous.</p>
<p>And Parsons has offered me a dinky $4k/yr merit scholarship. I tried to appeal to my admissions counselor but she told me to talk to financial aid. When I went to visit Parsons, I tried to talk to financial aid and they told me to talk to my admissions counselor. Rrrrr</p>
<p>I’m worried that SAIC’s fashion program is not up to par with any of the east coast schools I’ve mentioned. I’m really fretting the internship/job after graduation struggle because I wouldn’t be able to network as effectively in Chicago.</p>
<p>However Parsons is CRAZY expensive. Even if I take out a loan. (My parents are also supporting my brother in college. $30k.) Do I want to risk it?</p>
<p>In what way Parsons is more expensive except your scholarship amount? Costs of both seem the same to me but I could be missing something. I for myself have chosen Parsons and preparing for it right now. If I were you I’d choose Parsons because unlike visual communications (in which most are almost even and you choose by city) in fashion Parsons is the first by a wide margin, as far as I know. Talk to your family and see what they say. I’m an international and in my country parents are pretty protective of their children, I being the only child they didn’t even allow me to talk about costs, but in the US it might be different. </p>
<p>Also I have heard garment district in NYC is incomparable to anything and it seems to help fashion design students.</p>
<p>If you include the cost of living (dorms & food), supplies cost, and possible travel cost, Parson’s becomes THAT much more expensive than SAIC. Additionally, Parsons is offering less money despite it being the more expensive college. For me, Parsons = $60k and SAIC = $51k. Including scholarships.</p>
<p>Yeah, you’re right. I accepted that fact- Parsons is better, NYC is best, and I didn’t want to settle for less to save a few thousand each year.</p>
<p>Cost of SAIC according to their Website $53,085 but they also require purchase of a computer at probably around $1,000. </p>
<p>Also I notice that they have a line for estimated living expenses of $8,920 but nowhere does this $53,085 figure reflect the housing/dorm charge of $10,000. I guess estimated living expenses are going to be high because you will be buying your own food and/or eating out. SO adding $53,085 plus the $1,000 for the computer plus $10,000 for the dorm and you’ll really be spending $64,085. </p>
<p>Look at those figures for cost of attending carefully. Parsons lists room and board which I assume includes a meal plan. You’ll have some wiggle room at SAIC by budgeting your food bill carefully but if I’m correct, i.e. the figure they list for tuition and fees doesn’t include the housing fee of $10,000 it’s possible that the costs of attending the two aren’t all that different and it’s possible that SAIC is in fact more expensive.</p>
<p>It looks to me as if Parsons figures include a meal plan, do they require a computer purchase or can you bring your computer from home?</p>
<p>Strange Loops am I reading SAIC’s figures correctly?
What figures do you actually have (not including the deductions for your grants/scholarships) for each school that would include
- Tuition and fees
- Dorm/housing costs
- Food or meal plan (remember at SAIC you’re in an apartment, you buy your own food)
- Required computer cost</p>
<p>You seem to have some figures and I’m not sure my Parsons figures are current. I think it would be helpful for others facing the same questions if you could list them.</p>
<p>Well, Parsons dorms apparently include meal plan - but its cost is suspiciously low ($270) in all but one of the dorms (which does have a meal plan of $1700). Could it be that it’s only the price of the card that you can buy credits with?</p>
<p>I don’t think buying computers from the school is mandatory. If you have a computer it should be okay.</p>
<p>Thanks artsmarts for your response! I’m so anal retentive/stressed about this decision that I made an Excel spreadsheet. Yes… An Excel spreadsheet…</p>
<p>I hope you’re ready for my number crunching.</p>
<p>SAIC: $60,836 (Max 18 credit hrs = $68,222)
- Tuition: $29,544-$44,316 (per credit hour for 12-18 credit hrs, BUT for this, calculated at 16 credit hrs $36,930)
- Total Fees: $2,406 (Technology $420, Health insurance $1676, CTA U-Pass $210, Orientation-1 time $100)
- Housing: $10,100 (double)
- Dining: $0 (no meal plan)
- Supplies & Books: $2,740
- Laptop: $2,160 (required 1st year expense)
- Expenses: $6,500 (living $3700, personal $2100, transportation $700)</p>
<p>Parsons: $60,303 (*if SAIC’s more accurate expenses + Parsons transportation used here $67,351. Read below for why.)
- Tuition: $38,510 (flat rate for 12-18 credit hrs)
- Total Fees: $2,703 (University $260, Academic supplies per box $95, Student Senate $10, Student health services $285, Health insurance $2053 )
- Housing: $16,490 (double)
- Dining: $550 (lowest price option, other option is $3720)
- Supplies & Books: $2,050 (I estimate this to be MUCH higher esp. if in fashion)
- Expenses: $2,312 (personal $1064, transportation $1248 [figures supplied by Parsons]) (AGAIN, I estimate this to be MUCH higher due to location. SAIC’s expenses is probably more accurate here.)</p>
<p>When I mentioned the tuition costs here previously, I used the tuition figures that took MY SCHOLARSHIPS into consideration. But I didn’t use the more accurate Parsons figure (didn’t realize how unrealistic were the expense #'s that Parsons cited). Surprisingly, SAIC is quite expensive and can be EVEN MORE so if you take the full 18 credit hours (which is normal for the foundation yrs @ Parsons, Pratt, RISD).</p>
<p>For me, SAIC is cheaper due to the scholarships I received from them. Plus it’s in-state for me. (My parents LOVE that.)</p>
<p>If SAIC is in-state for you, it makes more sense, of course. Both of them are transatlantic flights for me, so… :)</p>
<p>Alright, you have encouraged me to the number crunching too. Here are my numbers.</p>
<p>Tuition: $38.510</p>
<p>Fees: $2703</p>
<p>Housing: $13.360 (Triple)</p>
<p>Meal Plan: $275</p>
<p>Supplies, Books: circa $1000 (I don’t expect much because I am a c. design student and I have most of my needs of technology already)</p>
<p>Expenses: $2.312</p>
<p>$58.160 Total, Minus $10k scholarship, $48.160. Notice that I didn’t include flight costs. I will be taking a 36k/yr loan each year, the rest my family is willing to pay. Several other factors: I can right now work as a professional designer so I will have income from that. You are probably directly out of high school so you have to warm up a bit. (I’m a freshman transfer) Also comm. design is more welcoming to student designers than fashion design, I suppose. Also I plan to get out of the dorms as soon as possible, these fees are exorbitant… I can probably find a nice room in Brooklyn for $500-600. $600x9 = $5400, while Parsons charges me $13.360 for a three person room. Ridiculous.</p>
<p>Excellent job. I love seeing art students using spreadsheets. Seriously. Many of you will essentially be running very small businesses (the business being you). A grasp of finances is really important. Plus those figures will be very helpful even to others not even attending those particular schools.</p>
<p>One thought about required meal plans. Not such a good deal often, especially for those with dietary concerns. Also you can really budget down some of your costs if you are preparing your own food and thoughtful about how you do it. However there is the issue of time spent obtaining groceries and how close grocery stores are. And the temptation to eat out can get costly. One thing I noticed at SAIC is that many of the local restaurants offer discounts or discount cards for students. And there are grocery stores not that far away.</p>
<p>I’m more familiar with Manhattan proper than Brooklyn but boy I’d really check out that $500 a room idea. That seems pretty low to me, remember that you’ll be walking all hours of the day so you want to make sure you’re in a safe neighborhood with a lot of street traffic at night on the main streets.</p>
<p>I love the Loop, that area of Chicago is just wonderful, the park next to the museum is a real treasure.</p>
<p>And of course I love New York, who wouldn’t.</p>
<p>Rolleiflex:
Parsons room/dorm charge seems to come out to around $500 per month also. Just keep in mind that you will also have travel costs and time if you move out of the dorm. Also I certainly “get” the issue of 3 in a room.</p>
<p>:) I can stay with three or four persons, not really a problem for me. (Done that for high school) The thing I don’t like with Parsons dorms is that apparently they kick you out first day the school ends in the summer, you can’t stay there for internships or something else. How did you calculate Parsons dorms to be $500 a month? I mean, 500x9= $4500, what happens to the rest of $13.5k?</p>
<p>Also I have an unrelated question: I have to borrow $36k, do you have any recommended lenders? I am ineligible for any and all federal aid. (for obvious reason of being an international) </p>
<p>Also I have to admit I’m kind of freaking out that I’m taking a $144k loan. ($36kx4) What do you think about it? Is it worth it, or am I doomed to be slave of the bank for the rest of my life? No idea in how many years I can pay that back. sigh</p>
<p>I don’t know what your different options are, but a $144K loan is enormous. I’m not sure any college degree is worth that much. Sorry, but that’s what I think. Do you have other choices?</p>
<p>I think you’re right about the dorm cost. Guess I shouldn’t be doing math at 5am or at least until I’ve had my second cup of coffee. Sorry about that.
I don’t know about getting loans. It does seem like a lot of loan to carry, I’m wondering what’s out there and what the interest rates would be. Does anyone know where an international student would go for a loan?</p>
<p>Well, I’m already enrolled in the university that has the best visual communications department in the whole county here with full scholarship. But I don’t like it, after all it’s a small world - and I want to get better. I don’t think I’m getting any better fast here. </p>
<p>It’s not that education doesn’t worth that much, I think it’s worth it - I guess I’m kind of classical european in that sense - but it’s if I can pay it back in a meaningful time. My other option was SAIC, but that was even more expensive for me. </p>
<p>The interest rates fluctuate between 3% and 11% as far as I can see, but nobody really gives a fixed rate until you’re bound. Most large banks accept international students with a permanent resident or US citizen co-signer, I can find that.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of taking a loan just for the first year here in my country, and then assessing the situation again. If I want to continue and I have enough funds I go on. If I don’t like it enough, I’d go back to my own school. And one year of loan isn’t much - we can pay for that much more easily than four years of debt.</p>
<p>I would think that they should be able to give you a fixed rate before you sign anything. In fact I think that it might not be legal for a bank to give you a loan and tell you what interest rate you’ve signed for until after you’re committed. Make sure you’re dealing with someone reputable.</p>
<p>3% isn’t bad, 11% isnt’ good. Good luck.</p>
<p>“give you a fixed rate before you sign”
I mean they should be able to give you the interest rate before you sign.
Of course it varies day to day but don’t sign anything before you’re told what your
interest will be.</p>