I am majoring in Graphic Designing. And want to know which school is the best for that major. Money-wise they’re both offering me the same amount. It is cheap to go to either one of them.
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It’s not about how much the schools are offering you in aid. It’s about how much in loans you’d need to take out for each school. So find out what the total costs of attendance is for each one. Subtract any non-loan financial aid the school offered to you. Then you’ll get an idea of how much in loans each one might require. Use that in your decision.
For example, both schools might have given you $10k in non-loan aid. But if Manhattanville costs $55k per year, and Purchase costs $25k per year, you can see the difference.
That said, Purchase is a stronger art school. Manhattanville isn’t bad, but Purchase is stronger. If they’re also cheaper for you, they’d be a good choice.
@RoaringMice I agree! But I feel Manhattanville is better, I’m not sure why. I think I’m going to go with SUNY although. Plus Manhattanville is an art school mainly, isn’t it? Not sure what field purchase stands under.
Purchase is an arts college, primarily. It offers majors in things like psych, bio, etc, but it is definitely an arts college, Its theater programs are top rated. It has a film program, but I don’t really know much about it. I actually didn’t realize there was a Manhattanville College. I was thinking of Manhattan College when I first read your post.
It appears that Manhattanville and Purchase are located in the same area and you said the COA would be the same for you whichever you choose. I would then focus on the differences. Manhattanville is very small, less than 2K students. Purchase isn’t that large, either, but is twice as big as M. Compare the actual classes in your program - print out the degree map from each school and see what is required, for the major and as gen eds and electives. How large are the classes? How many majors, how many instructors? What are the facilities like? Don’t be taken in by gorgeous facilities. Make sure what they have fits your needs. Is there a study abroad? One perk of SUNY attendance is that you can enroll in any SUNY school’s programs so if your school doesn’t offer the country you want, you can find it at another school.
Good luck with your choice. As for me, I am a big proponent of SUNY.
@AnonymousTuxedo - SUNY Purchase has a very well-established and highly regarded graphic arts program - much more so than Manhattanville.
Again, SUNY Purchase is the stronger art school, and I’d daresay by a LOT. It has a horrendously ugly campus, but a fantastic student environment, and it’s very artsy. Manhattanville has a prettier campus in terms of architecture, but it’s not as strong an art school. That doesn’t mean it sucks, but Purchase really is quite good.
Manhattanville.
The strongest schools for graphic design in your area are: Parson’s School of Design, Pratt, School of Visual Arts, the Cooper Union, Queens College, the Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY Purchase, SUNY New Paltz.