<p>My daughter is interested in Interior Design. She also is interested in Fashion Merchandising and possibly Graphic Design. So we are looking at schools that have all 3 majors. I am trying to find a school for her that doesn't require a Portfolio for Interior Design. I would like her to be in a school that has other majors, along with the ones she is interested in, in the event that she changes her major totally. We live in New Jersey but unfortunately there are no schools with her major here. She does love Drexel University and they do not require a Portfolio for I.D., however I am very concerned about the cost as it is one of the more expensive schools and I don't think she would get much Merit Scholarship as her SAT's are more on the average side. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Lucky for you, there are many options in NYC where your daughter could potentially stay at home. SUNY FIT? It’s in New York City. The COA is $30,000 for OOS students, but if she stayed at home, the cost would be about $15,000. You can also look at The New School. I’m not really sure about the scholarship opportunities there, but again, she can stay at home and be a commuter student. </p>
<p>For schools that have options that aren’t related to the arts, she can look at Kent State.</p>
<p>A friend of mine in the design world has been impressed with the design programs at the U of Cincinnati. Their program in interior design does not require a portfolio and their ACT average is 26-29.
<a href=“http://daap.uc.edu/academics/said/interior.html”>http://daap.uc.edu/academics/said/interior.html</a></p>
<p>Have you checked out Philadelphia University? They are well known for their fashion design and merchandising. </p>
<p>Also, what do you consider a middling SAT? Drexel is pretty good with the merit for anything over 1800.</p>
<p>@snarlatron If cost is a concern, the OP is probably not interested in $40,000 OOS schools. It’s a great school, but it might be out of the OP’s price range.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Her SAT scores from her junior year were 1620 (1080 for reading & math). She is going to take the SATs again this Oct and Nov, so hopefully they will go up. She did look at Philadelphia University and does like it too, but Drexel is her #1 school, and she did the summer Interior Design program there this summer, but again it’s expensive and I’m concerned that her SATs will not be high enough to get any merit money from Drexel, so want to find other schools. Yes FIT and Pratt and New School in NYC are all great schools, but they require Portfolios, especially FIT who has a very specialized Portfolio for Interior Design majors. I found a school in Erie Pennsylvania called Mercyhurst University which has all 3 of her majors and the SAT/ACT have just recently become optional and her SAT scores are in the range, but I know she loves being in/near a city so don’t know if Erie, PA, will be someone she an see herself living for 4 years, but we do plan on visiting.</p>
<p>How much are you willing to pay each year? THAT will likely determine where she should apply and where she will attend. </p>
<p>kolv, I think you need to expand your daughters’s list to include LACs with strong art programs, state schools, in addition to Art and design schools. </p>
<p>She should also prepare a portfolio. My D was very reluctant on the portfolio piece as well. But in the end it really helped her gain confidence during the application process. </p>
<p>RIT gave great merit. Drexel and SCAD also gave her nice merit too. Her SATs wern’t stellar but GPA and other applcation aspects were strong. </p>
<p>Is there a reason she doesn’t want to submit a portfolio? Because she has months to get one together. Does she have any art pieces that could provide the start of a portfolio???</p>