My daughter is a junior in high school and we have begun looking at colleges. Since she was a child, she has been gifted with art and her art teachers and college counselors have told her that she can probably get into any art school that she applies to. She really wants to do illustration or animation. I am trying to help her decide where to apply and we have narrowed down our list to: SAIC, SVA, Parsons, Pratt, RISD, and MICA. I don’t want her to apply to too many since the app fees are high. I’m trying to get her to narrow it down.
One of our family friends was really pushing SVA, saying that it’s great to be in New York for art and that they have a great program. We are definitely focused on her going to a school with a strong reputation.
Any thoughts on these schools? How should we decide where to apply?
SAIC, SVA, Parsons, Pratt, RISD, and MICA. That’s a good list of very good art schools. My daughter earned her BFA in industrial design from RISD (she was also admitted to several others you’ve mentioned). In recent years she has taught part-time at Parsons and SVA. She studied at SAIC in summer programs in high school. I think SVA started out a long time ago as a “cartoonists” college, and illustration remains a strong focus. We’re fans of a graduate from there who is doing well as an illustrator especially of children’s books.
Pursuing a career as an artist requires talent, perseverance, and luck. Connections help in various ways but talent will out, I think (but be prepared to partly subsidize your daughter after she graduates). The technology has changed a lot in recent years and doubtless will continue to evolve. Creativity and the ability to draw are at the root, but the ability to use new media is increasingly valuable. I have a brother who works as an artist-animator in Hollywood (degree from UCLA). You daughter should seek out some artists in various lines of work – if she knows any – and ask them what it takes to make a CAREER in the business. Good luck to her!
If you are concerned about application fees, I suggest looking at Virginia Commonwealth University. It has a great art school and is often considered the best public art school in the country. People like Richmond.
" I suggest looking at Virginia Commonwealth University. It has a great art school and is often considered the best public art school in the country. People like Richmond."
No, it isn’t. The ranking is for a GRADUATE program.
Are finances a concern? If so, then she may want to include some of the broad, traditional universities that have strong art programs as a part of them. They can sometimes be in a position to offer better non-loan aid than some art schools can be. For example, broad unis with good illustration programs include USC, Carnegie Mellon, RIT. Not to add more college to your list.
Of those you listed, each one has a very specific location and personality, as well as, I’d imagine, distance from home. She might narrow down her list based on those types of factors. How far from home does she really want to be? Does she feel a certain environment suits her better? Etc.
Your daughter should attend a local National Portfolio Day event near you with her portfolio to help her with her choices. While the schools you listed are definitely excellent ones and will have reps available, she may find less popular options (many Universities send reps which is how we found out about Temple U.)
Absolutely go to portfolio day!!! It’s a great way to “visit” schools without traveling. The guy who critiqued my daughter’s art at SVA her junior year remembered her, and was so excited to see her again her senior year. Her portfolio was accepted for admission to SAIC on portfolio day when she went back her senior year, which made her feel really good! She knew as she headed into “application season” that she was good enough to go to art school. (she knew she had the grades). My daughter is a sophomore at SVA, and like yours was very talented through high school, and encouraged to apply everywhere. She is majoring in animation and LOVES it. She toured all the schools you mentioned, and got very nice offers from the ones she ended up applying to. If you can, go visit! The art on the walls and exhibits of current students really helped my daughter “see” herself at her school. She is not the Ra-Ra college type and had NO desire for a campus, football, greek life, etc. She sees school as a job, and works VERY hard. In the end, it was a fit and finance decision, and with a few thousand dollars difference, we decided to help her go where she truly felt she belonged and she has thrived. In fact… she’s on a plane back to NYC right now! If you would like to PM me, she loves to talk to prospective students, and I’ll give you/your daughter her information. That being said… we have friends who go to/went to RISD, SCAD, Pratt and Parsons, and everyone who graduated is employed in their field, and those who are still studying, LOVE their schools!
