<p>I am not a parent, but I suppose I am seeking advice/suggestions from parents.</p>
<p>I would like to attend SVA (School of Visual Arts), but I am a Florida HS student and my parents have my college paid for via Florida Prepaid, as long as I choose a public school in Florida. Obviously, me choosing a NY school throws off their plan. As for the Florida Prepaid situation, though, realistically, there was only (and has ever been only) a 1 in 50 chance that I would choose to stay in Florida.</p>
<p>My parents are divorced and both make a steady income. I fear that my dad will refuse to put forth any money once I announce my intent to go out-of-state. My mom will put forth as much money as she can, without drastically altering her lifestyle. That doesn't sound great on my mom's part, but I didn't know how to put it and I am appreciative of the money she is willing to contribute. My parents both attended the University of Florida, so of course they are going to urge me to go there. </p>
<p>I doubt I will be ruled eligible for any FAFSA aid, but nothing bad will come out of applying, so I will go for it. SVA offers various scholarships for incoming students who carried at least a 3.0 GPA in HS (I qualify for that) and submit a portfolio that they consider to be impressive. Of course, I will send in my portfolio and hope that I am selected to receive at least some partial aid, but there are a lot of applicants and the chances are slim. My mom mentioned today that I would need a scholarship to attend SVA because of the price of tuition, so that has me a bit worried.</p>
<p>I am not overly worried about being admitted (I believe SVA admits 74% of it's applicants), but rather my situation with Florida Prepaid and my desire to attend a school out-of-state. </p>
<p>How can I express my points/thoughts without stepping on either of my parents' toes or burning any bridges? I don't want to ruin my relationship with either of my parents, but this is a HUGE deal and is very important to me.</p>
<p>Thank you for your time and any suggestions you may have to offer are greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>I have a friend whose children did not go to a Florida school but were able to use their Florida PrePaid in an out of state school. Look into this, there may be provisions that allow you to use this account in out of state schools.</p>
<p>@photomom5 Via Florida Prepaid’s website: “The beneficiary may use their Florida Prepaid College Plan benefits at any private or out-of-state college or technical school that is an eligible educational institution by simply completing a transfer form. The Board will transfer an amount that is equal to the average rates payable to Florida state universities and colleges in Florida under your beneficiary’s plan.” </p>
<p>Thanks so much for the suggestion, I will surely look into it. I am a bit concerned that it says “any private OR out-of-state college.” In my case, SVA is both private and out-of-state.</p>
<p>You will be able to use your FL Prepaid. However it will only cover a small portion of your costs. You can talk to your parents about wanting to go out of state but if they don’t want to pay you really can’t make them.</p>
<p>Seriously, why are you interested in SVA? Because it’s fairly easy to get in? There are lots of better art schools out there. If NYC is the attraction, there are better art schools in NYC.</p>
<p>I have an S in art school now so I’ve been through the search myself. First of all, Ringling College of Art and Design is a quality school in Florida. I suggest checking it out.</p>
<p>If you are going out of state, RISD is top ranked, usually at or near number 1. My S didn’t apply there because of geographic reasons that we have but would’ve if it was an option for us. MICA is a great school, UArts has a high caliber illustration dept., Pratt is also in NYC and has a great reputation.</p>
<p>I’m mentioning other schools partly because I’m curious why you are singularly focused on SVA. I’m not biased against SVA either. They have an illustrator their that creates art that my S is really in to. It was our number 1 choice but and he was accepted but they were the stingiest of all the schools. MICA and UArts were the most generous and Pratt was so-so and Pratt’s attitude wasn’t a match. We had to say no to SVA.</p>
<p>Depending on the type of art you’re into, you don’t have to based in NYC necessarily to make a living. You can live anywhere and be global which is a wonderful thing. You could also strategize getting a BFA in Fl and a MFA in NYC.</p>
<p>Im just throwing stuff out there in case it hasn’t crossed your mind already. I will say this though for consideration…if you have to take on debt to become an artist in NYC, is it worth it based on income and career potential? Especially, if you have the option to be debt-free in Fl.</p>
<p>The artist is the life of a freelancer. You get gigs, not jobs. Money you earn today has to stretch until the next chance to earn more. After 10 years, you will either be known well enough to make a full time living or not.</p>
<p>@Jonri, yes NYC is the attraction. That is mainly the location of the schools I would be interested in attending.</p>
<p>@Madaboutx Thanks for suggesting Pratt. I have heard of it, but haven’t looked into it too much. I’ll do that now :)</p>
<p>I know I don’t have to be NYC-based to make a good living, but that is where I would like to reside, so the abundance of opportunities in the art culture (culture might not be the right word, maybe community is better) make it convenient.</p>
<p>And no, I don’t plan on taking out ANY student loans. If my parents refuse, then I’ll just have to suck it up and go to a Florida school.</p>
<p>It is INCREDIBLY hard to get into Cooper Union. It’s a very, very pre-professional place, from what I’ve heard. (I know zilch about art but one of my young neighbors, now in her late 20s, went there.) It is an amazing deal.</p>
<p>Parsons is 80% fashion design and 20% everything else. You have to decide if that’s for you. To me that means that 80% of school resources are focused on fashion design.</p>
<p>Make sure you have an affordable school you are happy to attend besides all the schools mentioned. You might make it into them and your parents may just say they can’t afford it. Art schools are NOT known for giving good aid.</p>
<p>Art School is not the only option for learning art skills. A well rounded education can be better for you in the long run. Art may be your passion but it won’t necessarily pay any bills. Look at what is required of art majors at various Florida U’s and related subjects such as art history courses available. Look at the biographies of artisits you admire- find out where they were educated. I’ll bet you find a lot more diversity than you expected. Many people have a passion but need to make some compromises along the way. A college education at a more comprehensive U may yield more job prospects while you hone your art skills in decades to come. Life experiences plus talent will allow you to produce art others will want to own.</p>
<p>^The challenge with what @wis75 is saying is that making money as an artist is the most important lesson an artist needs to learn. Instructors at most liberal arts/state schools make the bulk of their money “teaching.” I will say that they are not as attuned to the economic challenges and opportunities as actively working artists.</p>
<p>At SVA, MICA, UARTS, Pratt, etc, the instructors are required to be active, working artists. Many of the professors are adjunct which is a negative at most universities but a plus in the Arts.</p>
<p>I know kids that started out pursuing arts at non-art universities and all of them end up doing art therapy, art teaching, Starbucks, retail or going back to school. And the quality of work didn’t advance as much as work produced by art school students. By the way, in the economy of the last few years, I’ve seen art school students struggling as well. There is no guarantee in art business.</p>
<p>I have a niece who completed 3 semesters at SVA before she decided that she owed too much money to finish. She loved her art courses as well as her academic courses, but she had gone through just about all the academics and still had another 2.5 years to finish. She decided to transfer to a CUNY (City U. of NY, tuition $5.5k/year for NYC residents) school and pursue her art education elsewhere.</p>
<p>NYC is an expensive city to live and SVA is an expensive school. Unless a student comes from a wealthy family, s/he will graduate with a lot of debt.</p>