<p>Hey everyone. My names Mark, I'm 17 and love making graphics on my computer. It's my dream to get into a very good GD school after HS. A couple that I am interested in are RISD, MICA, Pratt, CMU and CIA since I'm from Cleveland. Anyways I have absolutely no way of paying for these however I do believe I am talented enough to get into any of them. I already know how to use the entire adobe suite I've made my own websites and tons of other graphic work, however I'm not great at drawing I just started learning and will probably take some classes. Well the main reason I came here was to ask about financial aid for foster children. about 5-6 years of my life have been in foster care, I don't know my father, my mom was addicted to drugs my entire life and ended up getting thrown into jail. Now I'm staying with my Aunt and Uncle (they didnt adopt me I'm still in the system) however they are only 26 and don't have any money for me to go to college and I have no money saved up. Anyways my GPA isn't that great due to not being in a stable home and missing tons of school. My CUM is 3.0 however since I've moved in with my Uncle its a 3.6 and I haven't missed one day. Next year itll go up to a 3.8. I believe I can get a 28 on the ACT as well.</p>
<p>What do you think my chances are guys? and I also sent an email to those schools just kind of explaining all of this, do you think that was smart? It's been about 3 days with no response.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi Mark, here’s what I would do if I were you. I would call the admissions office at Cleveland Institute of Art, and see if you can make an appointment to come in and talk to an admissions person–maybe do a tour, too–but mainly, be sure to ask for a pre-admission appointment to discuss the school. You will get better advice from a real person, in person, than from an email.</p>
<p>Dress nicely–as in, artsy is okay but not too wild. So they can see you are serious. Tell them about your passion for graphic design/computer design, and ask about steps to apply.You can ask them about what you will need to have for admission, and how the financial aid works if you get accepted. It is an expensive school. It might be out of reach; or they may have ways to help you.</p>
<p>If you have an art teacher at school, or a guidance counselor, also look to them for advice.</p>
<p>There are some good in-state design schools (not private)–ie, Kent State, Bowling Green, Ohio University and University of Cincinnati. You may have better luck affording those.</p>
<p>See if you can find an adult (maybe your relatives? or someone at school) help you look into the financial side of all this. I am not sure how it works for someone in the foster care system, but I would guess you would be considered ‘independent’ as far as financial aid goes. However, you may only be able to get pell grants and fed student loans to help you pay for school, which may work for a state school and may not work for some private ones.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!</p>
<p>Unfortunately, art schools are notoriously bad with financial aid, simply because they don’t have a lot of money to give away.</p>
<p>So, for kids in your situation, you really need to look at schools that give aid and that have good art departments. This might be your state school or a LAC or something like that. </p>
<p>You can apply to a few art schools “just to see”…but protect yourself by applying to a couple of your instate publics that have good art departments.</p>
<p>You’ll be considered independent for FA purposes, and that will likely give you full Pell (5550), but obviously, that’s not enough to pay for college. You’ll also be offered a student loan of $9500 because you’re an independent student. But, obviously $15k is not enough to pay for these schools. Nor should you rack up big debt as a graphic designer.</p>
<p>If the state of Ohio also gives need-based grants, you’ll probably get those as well. Anyone know how much those grants are?</p>
<p>You are lucky–Ohio has some great state schools for graphics. University of Cincinnati is one of the absolute best anywhere; but I have heard good things about many other state schools in Ohio as well, Kent State & Bowling Green both being mentioned often, and I know a couple graphic designers who went to Ohio U and really liked it (it was a while ago, but I think they have a good program). The state schools you have to choose from would (in my opinion) offer a better Graphic Design/Computer Design program than most liberal arts school that I know of (not to say there are no good graphics depts at LACs; I am just not familiar with any really great ones–maybe someone else can address that).</p>
<p>Art schools are of course also good, but honestly, for the money–you can get a fabulous gaphics education at a state school in Ohio! Start checking out the web sites of your state options.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for that info paperplane. and mom2college thanks also I will be getting the full pell grant so that will definitely help me out a bit.</p>
<p>But I’ll definitely check at DAAP now. It seems like a pretty great school. I also like the idea of going to a state school for the experience as well as saving a ton of money. I’m pretty confident that I can muster up 15k a year in financial aid. However do you think with my GPA they will still let me in? Will my situation growing up help me at all?</p>
<p>Again thanks for the response guys.</p>
<p>If admission to the design program requires a portfolio, your grades and ACT scores may not be as important as the work in your portfolio. The art and graphic design teachers at your high school should be able to help you put your portfolio together. If you read through what has been posted in the Visual Arts Majors forum, you will get more good ideas. [Visual</a> Arts and Film Majors - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/]Visual”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/)</p>
<p>UC/DAAP doesn’t look at portfolio–it is purely on grades and test scores. Your grades are a bit on the lower side, but if you keep the upward trend and if you can score as well as you are aiming for on the ACT–I think you definitely have a chance, and should try for it.</p>
<p>Some other schools will look at portfolios–ie, Bowling Green.</p>
<p>If you schedule a pre-admission appointment at CIA, see if you can bring some work along–getting opinions/feedback from them, or from an art teacher, will be helpful to you in putting together examples of your work.</p>
<p>I was curious and checked out Ohio U’s Graphic Design program–you don’t have to show a portfolio there either, for freshman entry; you do show a portfolio at the end of freshman year when you apply to enter the BFA/Graphic Design program.</p>
<p>All the schools are different–but it would be good to put a few on your list like OU that might have lower GPA requirements–but go for UC as well.</p>
<p>Apply as early as you can to all the state schools! If there are optional essays, submit them (it will give you a chance to show your character and determination). Get an English teacher or someone else who is good at writing to review what you send.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>