Glad to help. And I totally understand your worries. DD was applying to MICA during the protests and safety was definitely something we were watching. I was impressed however with how the school communicated about it via SM (ie local safety issues, lock downs, etc) and also how they involved themselves and addressed the larger issues both within the campus and supporting various local events.
But DD not only loved RISD but really loves Providence too. It’s just the right size for her - not too overwhelming but she’s figuring her way around with buses, uber etc and gaining confidence venturing out more. My brother is a researcher at Brown too, so as much as they try to give her space, it’s nice to know there’s a built in safety net of family literally just a few blocks away.
My daughter wouldn’t even consider NYC schools (even though we visit a lot/have family there) whereas my son is a much different personality and is looking at 4 schools in the city and other schools long plane rides away. As much as I don’t like the reality of the difference, he’s a 6’2 broad shouldered young man & I probably don’t worry about his safety as much as his sisters’. Also his big sister is kind of a space cadet. 
@KCHWriter, @ArtAngst, @gouf78, @madgemini4, @cag60093
It is decision time for us! We have visited Ringling, RIT, VCU, MICA, RISD, Pratt and CMU, and it comes down to CMU, RISD and Pratt for me (most likely for animation or digital arts and time-based media).
CMU’s BCSA program is fantastic, and it will be the best choice if my D is somewhat interested in computer science. She is OK with her math in Calculus BC and has good grades overall, but she is not really sure she will like computer science. BFA alone in CMU does not add much benefit compared to art schools like RISD or Pratt and it does not worth the extremely high costs of attending.
RISD is overall a great art school with good opportunities in liberal arts and Brown, but its animation department looks quite shabby, and they are still mandating 16mm films on an antiquated machine. And it seems that they do no care much about the job prospect part as internship is “not required” for students in the Film/Animation/Video major.
Pratt appears to be a better fit as it appears to be more balanced between general education and trade skills, and it is in New York which is most likely the type of cities that offer job opportunities for animation and digital arts or arts in general in that matter. In addition, Pratt Institute has a campus in a decent area, includes a School of Liberal Arts that offers a creative writing major and minor, which should be a great combination with the digital arts animation majors.
Ringling and SVA have better ranked animation programs but the general education part is lacking.
RIT is great and actually comes up on top if we consider overall reputation, fine art ranking, animation ranking, curriculum, dorms, campus safety, transportation, overall costs and Payscale reported earnings. The only thing is that it is a bit too close to home in western New York and far from NYC, Los Angeles and the likes that have the career opportunities. My D grew up in a quiet suburb in upstate New York and she is going to needs to get used to the cities if she wants to work in animation.
MICA is out (i think) as I am a bit scared by the numerous posts of muggings and thefts in the area. Otherwise it is a great school with balanced education programs, and it is by far the best choice in terms of costs. Though its animation programs does not rank high in most of ranking list.
VCU arts appears to be great, but for unknown reasons my D could not get excited about it. Maybe it is the animation program.
In summary, my first choice recommendation to her is CMU with Bachelor of Computer Science and Arts if she is willing to put into the efforts. It is the most costly option but I think it worths it if she likes it. My second choice recommendation is Pratt BFA in animation with a creative writing and/or a painting minor. My third choice will be RISD, a BFA in illustration with animation. For the other schools, I will be happy if she chooses RIT. I am OK with MICA but I think I will be constantly worried about her safety. Ringling and SVA is not on my list but it is not me who is going to school, and I will support her if she chooses to go to either one.
Thank you all for your inputs! It has been a great experience traveling with my baby D to see those schools! I will miss her and happy for her no matter where she goes!
By the way, her two top choices are Pratt and RISD for now, but it still can change.
Wow, your kids are being accepted to prestigious programs, all right! Any portfolio advice for a 15-year-old who loves illustration and is open to digital arts but isn’t sure?
Isn’t sure about art school 100 percent either (still young!), but does mention it, so it can’t hurt for me to gather info in a preliminary way. 
About to turn 16 and a sophomore, in fact. Not pushing in any direction, just being a sponge on my teen’s behalf.
@TheNicePolice
We know our daughter loved arts but never expected.that she will go to.an art school. When we were looking at colleges, we.mostly visited liberal art colleges and comprehensive.universities in the northeast. As we did not expect that she.would apply to art schools,.we did not do portfolio reviews with any of the.schools.she eventually applied to and.we did not go to any of the nationsl portfolio days though there was one in our hometown. This certainly put her in a disadvantage. I think that she was.afraid that we will object so she.did not mention that she was applying to art.schools.until after she.submittrf her applications. In fact we did.expect that.she.will be in the science side of arts and sciences. So I could not.give.any advice about portfolio because I do not really know what she did include in the portfolio. She.has pretty good foundation skills and has decent pieces in oil, acrylic, pastels, charcol pencil, and digital arts,.and.a couple of.20 seconds animations. In handsight we.should.have expressed and provided our support to her in the whole process, if we had known that she was determied to apply for art schools. If you know that she is going into illustration or graphic.design,. my advice is go to portfolio reviews as early as you can at the.schools.she likes to apply, and they should be able to point her in the right direction.
@Janfrank. I enjoyed reading about your impression/perspective for each school. Thanks for sharing. Did she decide on which school yet?
@TheNicePolice Welcome! The sooner your kid starts learning how this all works, the better! It is a LOT of work to apply to art schools so the more you can plan ahead the better.
A lot of us on here work in creative fields in addition to our kids who’ve applied and/or are currently enrolled in art school. So feel free to hit us up with lots of questions! I have a BFA, work as a part-time instructor in an art department, have a sophomore at RISD and a HS junior applying to art schools too. So I’m sort of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of all this work! ;D
Tag teaming off of what @Janfrank said above - if you have a regional or National Portfolio Day nearby, have your kid go as a junior in the Fall. Make sure they tell the school rep that they’re a junior and that person will give your kid advice on what to work on, classes to take etc. Have your kid take notes too so that if later on they really like that school, they know how to tailor/tweak each portfolio submission to that particular school.
@KCHWriter, @ArtAngst, @gouf78, @madgemini4, @cag60093
Update: My DD.paid her deposit for Pratt!
@Janfrank Congrats to your daughter! I enjoyed reading your pros and cons after visiting each of the schools she was considering. Please come back next year and continue to share her experience at Pratt. Since my D is a HS junior, learning about students’ experience at various institutions is always very helpful and encouraging.
Congratulations to you and your daughter!!
It is a loss for RISD, which seems to be stingy and rarely gives out large scholarship. It lost lots of talented students to its peers. RISD is the most prestigious and should have large endowment, and really should open its wallet.
hey, both are great choices but have you visited VCUARTS? D attends and I can attest that it is a awesome program and really great city. Richmond is totally an arts community, with a lot going on. Big enough to be a city ,and small enough to be a community. Also, while VCU is a large university, the art students are treated extremely well as the art school is one of the crown jewels along with the med school(separate campus).