<p>She’s considered it. She’s just really stuck on this one LAC.</p>
<p>Interior design is a field with a lot of tangents and a lot of different paths to success. You know your daughter so you can probably predict whether she will stay with this career course, or if this is just one of many ideas to pop up. </p>
<p>I think it’s very difficult for a 17/18 year old to understand fully the breadth of the world of work. Some jobs evolve organically and others require graduate school degrees. Interior design relies heavily on taste and talent which are not wholly teachable, but can be developed. I haven’t researched the field thoroughly, but I believe that an MFA is not strictly required, and that there are one year associate degrees that could be piggy-backed on top of a BA and that wouldn’t break the bank. </p>
<p>If your daughter has contacts in the field perhaps she could find summer jobs or internships with an interior design firm. This is what will really get her started along her career path. </p>
<p>I’m a great supporter of a liberal arts education. It certainly was the right course for my son (BA art + art history, MArch architecture). In high school – and even earlier – he was fairly certain that he wanted a career in architecture, but wasn’t ready to commit to the narrower more focused professional undergraduate degree. Without doubt, his liberal arts education will make him a better architect, but the downside of graduate school debt is undeniable. (As it turned out, my son’s summer internships were in museums, not architecture firms, but again, this experience enhanced his overall design/art resume.)</p>
<p>But putting the money to the side for a moment, I would agree that the benefits of pursuing a wide and diverse liberal arts degree before settling down in a profession are great. So many skills that are reinforced at college apply to our work lives – e.g., clear communication, in depth analysis, effective presentation and lots and lots of collaboration. A good foundation in art history is essential to any career in design; so much that is current draws on the past. You have to learn how to look.</p>
<p>I think what @bromfield2 wrote is exactly right
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<p>You don’t mention the school that she has selected for ED, but still she needs to be prepared with a wide list of reach/match/safety just in case she is denied or deferred. These are some Northeast LACs (and two in the midwest) that I would recommend for strong art studio and art history.
Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Vassar, Haverford/Bryn Mawr, Oberlin, Kenyon, Conn College, Skidmore, Smith. </p>
<p>Lauriejgs, you can send me a PM and I will reply as best as I can. She is out of college and grad school so her experrience is several years ago. FYI… she had already graduated but was one of the initial leaders in the fight to save the Rose which at the time was an incredible resource to have on campus right out the door for studio art/art history students. Not only was the Rose a great resource, it also offered employment and growth opportunities for student workers, an invaluable credit on your resume and great at developing leadership skills. </p>
<p>So the department was primarily focused on drawing/painting and sculpture and is well respected in the field in terms of grad school admittances and careers in the art world. At the time there weren’t course offerings in graphic design, illustration, photography, ceramics and you would have to check the department website now for course offerings and requirements-there are plenty of other schools that offer those disciplines, both art schools and other university art schools. She did a Post-Bac year at Brandeis which is either a 1 year or 2 year program (depending on whether you get accepted to grad school after year 1, which is not a given. The post-bac program is a great resource for undergraduates as you are exposed to older art students, some like my D straight from undergrads, others who have been working/studying or are career changers from all over the U.S. and international. The purpose of the post-bac program is to prepare your portfolio for grad school as well as learning how to manage/organize your art studio, as not a given that all will have that experience in undergrad art classes. </p>
<p>Again, send me a PM and I can fill you in on other undergrad schools she considered and why she selected Brandeis. Of course it is different today but at the time she had nice merit money for academic reasons, not art based and that certainly helped but she had equal merit money offered from other schools. </p>
<p>My daughter has just started a BFA in theater. I’m not thrilled, but it is her choice and she can switch to a BA or another major entirely. The theater dept is part of Arts and Sciences, so she does have core classes that she must take. A BFA might be better if she stays in theater, but my prejudice is that a BA is ‘better’ in general, that more employers will relate to a BA. </p>
<p>But I’m okay with her trying it. She’s at a flagship, so she has a lot of other options during the next 4 years. Although she looked at some art schools (SCAD), there is no way we could have afforded an art school, and I’m glad that she still has a lot of options to try out other courses and interests without having to start over at a bigger school. She’s also loving the ‘big school’ feel, the football games (although she’s not a football kid at all), the sororities, the clubs. </p>
<p>D is getting a BFA in studio art at NYU. While there are many studio requirements, the program has a very strong academic bend and offers the opportunity for a broad range of minors. So a university based art program may work. I seem to remember that George Washington University offers an interior design degree. </p>
<p>She’s considering applying ED to Skidmore College, which is known for its studio arts. If she doesn’t get into Skidmore, then she doesn’t have any other LACs on the list. The closest “full college” experience would be at Syracuse, to which I think she’ll be accepted. She’s convinced that with a 3.63 weighted GPA and a 30 on her ACT that she would not get into NYU. She does not want to leave the northeast, either. So she’s got just five colleges on her list.</p>
<p>D got accepted at NYU (to study studio art) with a 29 ACT (35 English), 1330 SAT (720 V, 610 M), and a 90.12 weighted average. If she is going for art, her portfolio accounts for 50% of admission. Grades, tests, recommendations, EC’s account for the other 50%. They absolutely look at students holistically and obviously liked D’s strong verbal skills and overlooked her not too great math score… D is an art/ music/ theatre kid who wants to teach (and be a sculptor.) She fit Steinhardt’s profile perfectly and was actually put into their scholars program. Skidmore was high on our list too. If D hadn’t made NYU, she might have applied there ED2 (despite early action acceptance and $14K merit scholarship from Pratt.) But D was impressed with GW’s art program, too. </p>
<p>I will chime in again. Skidmore is a great choice. Older d was accepted there as an Honors student but zero merit money. She had studied there summer before her senior year in high school in their AP Studio Art program. So some of her friends from that program went to Wash U, another went to Brandeis, another went to art school at MICA. D did not apply to Wash U as she did not want to travel that far from home. She applied and was accepted to double program in science/art at Carnegie Mellon but without any merit money. She was waitlisted at a few Ivies. </p>
<p>Another school with a good undergrad/grad art program is BU. </p>
<p>Thanks, uskoolfish, for the reality check about NYU. And thanks, too, bookmama22. My D actually spent last summer at Skidmore also, which is why she fell in love with the school and wants to apply. </p>
<p>@lauriejgs, My observation is that Skidmore offers good career counseling in the broad spectrum of arts related professions. I know several fashion designers and merchandisers who are alums. The same may be true of interior design.</p>
<p>If your daughter likes Skidmore’s size and environment why doesn’t she add a few more small liberal arts colleges to the mix? Some have better studio art programs than others, but they all have art departments and many offer merit aid.</p>
<p>In a similar range of selectivity as Skidmore I’d look at Conn College and Smith which have very strong studio and art history. Colby isn’t particularly known for art studio but it has a lot of cultural overlaps with Skidmore.</p>
<p>Vassar, Haverford and Hamilton would be more selective, but have a strong art commitment and may respond to your daughter’s accomplishments.</p>
<p>Thanks, Momrath. I’ve thought of all these schools. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have grades for the last three. Conn College was on my radar for awhile, and it’s beautiful–I went to a wedding there. She won’t consider an all-girls school, though, so Smith is out! I think Skidmore has just clicked for her because of the summer she spent there, and also because it is so well known for art. I’m really happy to hear about the alums you know in fashion and I believe there are interior designers out there as well who are grads. I haven’t been able to interest her in any other LACs–I think if she doesn’t go to Skidmore then her next choice would be art school.</p>
<p>Not a small LAC but I know somebody who is very happy studying Interior Design at James Madison. </p>
<p>Our list of schools that D was going to apply to included NYU (ED acceptance), Skidmore (possibly ED2 if she hadn’t been accepted to NYU), GW (they have $15K a year merit art scholarship and a nice art building/ program), Brandeis, Goucher (people look there as more of a safety for Skidmore–artsy vibe), Pratt (accepted EA), SUNY New Paltz (inexpensive, great location, highly regarded art program). We considered Syracuse and BU, but D hated both. Only self standing art program she would consider was Pratt or even FIT where she had taken weekend classes in high school. If you haven’t looked into FIT, I would. Know several kids who have gone there, lived in their dorms and have gotten excellent internships and jobs. Good luck!!!</p>
<p>Actually just looked and FIT does have an interior design program.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fitnyc.edu/2429.asp”>http://www.fitnyc.edu/2429.asp</a></p>
<p>In addition to Suffolk, which someone mentioned, I believe that Endicott college in Beverly MA offers an interior design major.</p>
<p>My 2 cent … Wants to be an interior designer? Go to a school that offers classes in that field. Period.</p>
<p>It is never a mistake to get a liberal arts education. It will only inform her art and make it more interesting. I also vote for applying ED to Skidmore. (I’m trying to get my son to consider it as well.)</p>
<p>I know nothing about interior design as a major, but I can tell you what our HS theatre director said. He encourages kids who think they want a theatre degree to pursue a liberal arts degree and do theatre as a minor. This advice seems applicable to other arts degrees, too.</p>
<p>Great advice from all. Interesting twist–after two months of us intensively researching interior design programs, she said to me last night, “Hmm…maybe I should consider being an art director because they make more money than interior designers.” Okay, do we now need to reevaluate her school list??? I’m thinking Skidmore ED but she isn’t willing at this point to rule out the chance to go to RISD or Pratt.</p>
<p>I don’t know a lot of 17 year olds who are ready to commit to a particular profession with a high degree of specificity. if your D had been playing the cello since she was 9 years old and was a gifted musician, you guys would need to discuss “college with a music performance major or conservatory”. That’s a big decision- in part of course, made by the fact that most kids who audition for conservatories do not get admitted.</p>
<p>If we’re now discussing interior design (which is a field including the person who helps you pick out upholstery fabric at Calico Corners to the person who leads refurbishment of a chain of 2,000 fast food restaurants or creates the interiors for a new pediatric cancer wing) vs. Art Director… seems to suggest your D needs to be somewhere which offers enough course work in the visual arts to expose her to lots of different disciplines without forcing her to commit to a career at the age of 17. </p>
<p>Dumb question. You said she is already admitted to NYU. Isn’t that binding? So why ae you applying to other schools?</p>