<p>Hi, are you considering attending Pratt for grad school in the Fine Arts programs? Congratulations, you are hopefully quite independently wealthy.</p>
<p>I went to SAIC for undergrad (film) and spent several years working in the film industry before applying to graduate school in the field of photography, which was basically my minor in college and what led me to art school in the first place. Because I lived in NYC already, I focused only on NYC schools.</p>
<p>I applied to Columbia University and Pratt and was turned down by Columbia. Because I'd had very a positive visit to Pratt's Brooklyn campus, and based on the school's reputation and outstanding Fine Arts faculty (Allen Frame, specifically, in my department), I was very excited to gain acceptance to Pratt.</p>
<p>Here are the positives: Pratt is a renowned institution, and if you are looking to wave a name-brand diploma around and pursue teaching positions or otherwise remain in academia, this will serve you well. Your colleagues in the program will, if you are as lucky as I was, be driven and for the most part, mature individuals who've chosen graduate school as a step toward refining their personal artistic processes. I found critiques at Pratt to be less demanding than those at SAIC, and I was somewhat surprised by the lack of art history knowledge possessed by some of my colleagues, but I feel that any graduate art school that doesn't require its applicants to have a very specific BFA coming in makes up for that by stocking the pool with a diverse mix of opinions and voices. Pratt certainly has that in spades.</p>
<p>Many of the negatives pertain to my specific department within Fine Arts, the Photo department. We were without digital printing facilities, and were at the mercy of the undergraduate photo department to print our work. This meant a lot of headaches and a lack of access to crucial art-making equipment in your field is the last thing you want to be confronted with when you are paying a premium at a well-regarded institution. This, in my mind, was indicative of a generally fractured attitude toward interdepartmental cooperation that seemed to run rampant throughout the school, in spite of the best efforts of various people like Fine Arts head Donna Moran. My experience was that there is no "Pratt," there are a number of smaller schools within Pratt, all jockeying for the same, limited amount of funds, space, and resources.</p>
<p>I am glad I went here because it prepared me for life as an artist - the Fine Arts program is not the place to be if you want to photograph weddings or fashion shows - and equipped me with a crew of talented, hardworking colleagues who I'll hopefully be working with for years to come. The faculty, with very few exceptions, are great. Just great, solid artists and capable teachers with thoughtful feedback and the knowledge to back up that feedback. My only regret was that I attended Pratt during such a tumultuous time for the Photo program - my wet darkroom sat empty (I have not worked in a conventional darkroom since high school and do not plan on retrofitting my process just to hide from interdepartmental fighting) and I fought with bratty, entitled undergrads for access to overburdened digital printing facilities held by a department who actively wanted MY department out of their hair - and let us know that often and in great detail. I felt I was paying too much tuition to hear about the interpersonal and political drama going on behind the scenes - I am here to work hard and get out.</p>
<p>Overall, I know many of my colleagues in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and new forms had much more enriching, drama-free experiences, simply because they were not actively denied access to the tools of their respective crafts. This is a solid program that produces capable artists, but, as I've actually heard one of my professors say, "Pratt is what you make of it." Sometimes you'll have to fight to "make" something positive of your experience - this is an unfortunate mirror of how the art world works, but this is school, so it comes with something of a safety net. The faculty and instant peer group more than make up for the pitfalls.</p>