My Daughter will be studying Design. She has not decided if she will go UK route or stay in US as she is waiting for all the acceptances to come through on the US side. With regards to UK approach it is very different than US undergraduate and art schools. I spent weeks studying and researching this. Her guidance counselor was of zero help. There is a company Across The Pond that works with certain uk uni and are helpful. Some uni have us reps. Goldsmiths and AUB have wonderful reps. UAL was the hardest to get info. I preferred working directly with their London admissions vs local rep. In fact we are heading home now from UK. It is highly specialized vs US. No minors - you only study your major. They do have a foundation year option but frankly for my daughter had taken equivalent already through local art schools and colleges in addition to her high school. Art University at Bournemouth, UAL (various colleges within and really pushes foundation), University of Edinburgh, and Goldsmiths are favorites of mine for Design but it also depends on the fit and living experience the student wants. Application process is different-UCAS for direct BA programs and direct option for UAL. Each uni outlines their US requirements for admission- certain test scores and portfolio. You can interview via Skype. Portfolio approach is more focused on showing your process vs just showing the perfect final piece. I highly recommend if your daughter is interested in this route take a trip during their fall open days. Meet with course leaders and students. Get a sense of the area where the uni is located and check out the student accommodations. This way it will give your daughter time to include and develop the process work in addition to the final pieces. Good luck!!!
@MBNAN Whatās your kidās personality like in regards to friends etc? My kids are MUCH different from each other in that regard, so itās hard to factor out individual personality from the school.
RISD kid is an introvert and struggled with this, but honestly would have experienced this anywhere. Wondered if maybe she should have gone to a smaller art program, BUT knew artistically and academically she wanted the rigor and intensity of RISD. So hindsight and all that. Dorm wise sheās lived in the freshman quad, a Hill House for two years and now an apartment on Benefit Street. She really loves old architecture so the Hill House and her apartment now are def her vibe.
Parsons kids more social, outgoing. Sheās in a suite in Loeb Hall. Suite mates arenāt necessarily besties, but they seem to get along fine. Has made friends in her studio classes and a few of them are now hunting for apartments together for sophomore year. We wanted her in campus housing first year, BUT oh my is it costly. So thereās a big $$$ savings to getting an apartment even by NYC standards. Thereās also an active FB parents page that gave us alot of info and advice for non-campus housing.
@ArtAngst Thanks for all the advice. My daughter is more introverted than super social. Only child so the thought of sharing space with a bunch of kids freaks her out. New Parsons dorms look nice. Cost is insane. So expensive for so small and a bunch of kids sharing one bathroom ewww. We toured 20th street last year and it really was unappealing at 28k. I understand why so many kids rent apartments. In London they have really nice student accommodations so different than US. Thanks again for all the information!!!
Just heads up that the āmathā of sharing a bathroom is pretty common all overā¦RISD kid had generally 2 bathrooms on her floor or wing, so even MORE kids mathematically were sharing than in the Parsons suites (4 kids to one bathroom). Tho RISD theyāre cleaned by the staff regularly.
Parsons I think they get cleaned by staff, honestly Iām note sure. Tho I did buy my kid more cleaning supplies last time I was there. 
My daughter and I were both sick for accepted students day, but my spouse went and he did NOT like the 2Oth (which is being closed this year with a newly renovated bldg taking itās place) or Stuyvesant. Daughter wanted to make sure she was in a dorm with primarily first year students (sheād read somewhere Kerrey tended to be more sophomores and juniors?) so prioritized Loeb on her application & worked out for us.
Also as much as we understood NYC pricing etc, those dorms are RIDICULOUSLY expensive, theyāre making a lot of $ on parents understandable needs to feel safe about their kidās experience in the city.
For My RISD introvert itās sort of been a pro/con situation of maybe more roommate experiences would have helped - but hard to know. She had a single freshman year which seemed rather isolating. In the Hill House was hoping people would socialize more in common areas, but they didnāt really (altho she did learn if she baked cookies people emerged!) - had a double, then single again junior year since she really liked the building and location. One thing with RISD tho is stay and work in the studio. Thatās how her friendships formed, when she forced herself to stop working in her room and instead hang out more in studio. Then theyād naturally go and get food together, go on breaks etc.
Hi there! We were in a similar position this year. My daughter is creative but also wanted the ācollege experience.ā I remember a quote from a YouTube video by an art school student who said something along the lines of, āRemember how you wished there were more artsy students at your high school? Well, here EVERY student is like that, and it can be exhausting.ā D did apply to one art school, SAIC, because they gave her a free application on Portfolio Day (which I highly recommend). Even with $17k a year scholarship, it was still by far her most expensive school!
Others have had good input regarding private art schools. We did a lot of research on graphic/communication design at traditional universities and came up with a lot of the same programs as @MBNAN. Some quick notes on schools we considered:
VCU: One of the top public art programs in the country, diverse, in a beautiful small city
University of Cincinnati: A top-ranked professional program, very well-prepared graduates because of multiple required internships
Temple: Also a strong art department, Tyler
Syracuse: The BA program is very well connected but less art focused; I read things about the BFA program that turned me off, but things may have changed
RIT: More tech focused than the others, huge job placement, but expensive!
Cal Poly SLO: Great job placement and ROI; we just eliminated it this week for reasons I could tell you privately
ASU: Kids at Dās school had a weird bias against them, but it seemed like a well-rounded program to me. I think an alumnus just donated a beautiful new building, which should give them a boost
Portland State: well-ranked program, creative
Drexel, Northeastern: Both good internship programs, both expensive
UCLA: Very selective (about 5% admit), dynamic and more experimental. Dās dream school; she got waitlisted 
UC Davis: The only UC with a comprehensive design program. Also waitlisted!
SDSU: As of right now, this looks like Dās choice and I feel good about it. What clinched it for me was looking at the faculty page. Their credentials and work both really impress me.
UT Austin, UW, Michigan, UI: all strong, but OOS tuition - oof!
I could go on and on. I have at least brief notes on about 50 schools (!), so if youāre thinking of any in particular, please ask. CC randomly stopped sending me notifications about a week ago, so I might not answer immediately, but Iām happy to give any input I can!
@hillcountryview ā You may want to check out Ringling College of Art and Design.
My D went for computer animation so I donāt know much about GD but it might fit your bill. They donāt require SAT but good grades are a plus. Admission is more portfolio based. Looking up the GD major it mentions that you can choose to specialize in an area or be a generalist (jack of all trades). My D loved her time there.
Just stumbled upon this thread and since Iām new I have to askā¦ with your experience, any suggestions for my D who is interested painting and illustration as her focus in an art school or college. Cost is an issue since we donāt qualify for aid. RISD and others similar are high for us. She would have a good portfolio ready. She heard about LCAD but very small and more gaming? Maybe something with a larger program.
For my household, cost was a big part of the decisions, but for kid1 RISD came through with a really big scholarship and made it the least expensive option (outside of a state school that wasnāt a great fit academically). Kid2 was offered same scholarship package by RISD, but preferred Parsons and was also given a large scholarship there. Parsons was kid2ās fav pick and the 2nd least expensive option (at the 11th hour MICA offered a bit more to sweeten the deal).
Both of my kids applied for illustration majors but other than RISD and MICA, they each had about 5 different schools than each other and the packages they received varied widely. Kid1 didnāt get much from MICA, but honestly didnāt ācourtā the school like kid2 did. And kid2 really liked Pratt, but they didnāt give us enough aid to make it do-able. Kid2 toured LCAD but eventually decided not to apply for a variety of reasons (mostly location, wanted a bigger school etc).
But itās hard to know how a school will respond, especially now in that yes, they are desperate to have enrolled students but many schools are facing some tough financial outlooks. If you can afford the extra applications, it may be worth it to apply to RISD and see what they can offer financially. Theyāve also been able to have a hybrid semester with in-person studio classes. No one knows if that will be do-able in the spring semester, but they seem to have been able to make it work out.
Not sure if Iām asking this correctly (as a non artist) but would you say that one or the other of the schools mentioned have a bent toward modern and contemporary vs. traditional oil, for example?
Kid1 says oil painting was part of required coursework for Illustration major (sophomore year) and says thereās a lot of crossover between the painting and illustration depts at RISD. She knew folks who switched majors from painting to illustration (or vice versa) and it was easy for their credits to transfer. Thatās NOT always the case for other majors. Thereās also professors who went to RISD as a painting major but teach in the Illustration dept.
RISD has a very modern/contemporary style, but the mediums they use are traditional (ie oil)ā¦she said itās a toss up foundation year based on what profs you get. Kid1 had experiences in both. Sophomore year it depends on the department. Painting classes in the Illustration dept were more āclassical trainingā - how to use the paint correctly, get the lighting right etc.
Not sure re other schools - for example Parsons is very commercial arts oriented and kid2 hasnāt had ANY oil painting, color mixing experience. Iād first check to see if there even is a painting major / fine arts dept at the other schools youāre looking at.
You might want to start a new thread asking about this, and then folks with other school experiences can chime in.
Looking for info on the graphic design program at Miami University
Hi all. I wasnāt sure where to post this to get feedback from all the art parents on here so Iāll try this.
My daughter is a senior and almost done with the college application process. Like most, she didnāt get visit a lot of places to get an idea of what type of campus felt right to her so weāve cast a wide net of all types of schools bc from past experience I know how much Seniors can change from summer before to decision time. My D decide this past summer sheād like to go into graphic design. She did not want a pure art school as she has only entered the art world.
She has been accepted to Tyler/Temple, JMU and we are waiting on VCU. At NPD, she learned that Miami has a program and we keep thinking she should apply there (she has two more days to get in app) just in case the city schools are not what she wants. Anyone know anything about their program?
I realize these schools are all very different from each other. Like I said, trying to make sure she has a variety of choices of environment.
I saw on CC that you have a comprehensive lists of art schools/universities. I would love to see that list if you donāt mind sending. My daughter is a junior and weighing the benefits of art schools v. Art programs a larger university
Lisa Travis
Hi Lisa - I listed some notes in the comments above about my daughterās final school list. The rest of my notes arenāt really in a presentable form that Iād share en masse, but as I offered, feel free to message me about any particular schools and Iāll let you know if I have anything. Best of luck.