Is RISD Illustration the best?

We’ve been saving for college since our D was a baby, and she’s our only child. We can afford to send her to her choice. She’s down to RISD and MICA. MICA is offering her $96K in merit money, but we really want her to go with her heart…and she’s very torn. MICA and RISD illustration seem neck-and-neck in many ways. Any advice? One important thing: she’s not afraid of hard work, but she doesn’t like cutthroat competition.

Also getting reports that RISD is very high stress during the foundation year. Is it good sweat? Or is mental health compromised?

I would recommend posting your question under the visual arts and film majors message board… You can find it under College Admissions and Search - College Majors - Visual Arts. That board gets the most traffic from people considering these schools. Good luck!