<p>I was wondering how many people are actually planning on attending RISD in 2013? I have been accepted and I love RISD, but like many other people, looks like finaid is going to be a huge problem, so I am still unsure if I will actually attend.</p>
<p>I have spoken to some alumnis (some have transferred to RISD, others not) and the general concensus is that RISD is not worth the $200k debt if you can't pay for it, as other institutes can fulfill your education if you put the heart into it. :\ That sort of puts me off, as I have gotten partial/full scholarships to other school that are also reputed. And yet, students at RISD also tell me it is a very rigorous and satisfying 4 years.</p>
<p>My other choices are MICA, Parsons, SCAD, and Pratt. I received some form of finaid from all except RISD.</p>
<p>I’m sorta in the same situation except my options are SAIC, MICA, Pratt, and Parsons …</p>
<p>I think that my top 2 choices are MICA and Parsons … but I’m not sure which one I should go to although both my parents are leaning towards Parsons …</p>
<p>How about you? How would you compare these two schools?</p>
<p>I would say that MICA is better if you are unsure of which major you want to have just yet. I know Parsons is very strong in Fashion/Apparel Design, but I’ve heard that lately it hasn’t exactly parred up in the other departments. MICA is a strong and reputed school and it is a lot of my friends’ second or first choice, especially with the money that MICA gave them over RISD. </p>
<p>I know someone who graduated from Parsons in '07 and said that their facilities isn’t as up to par as she’d like, but I know people who enjoy being in the school as well.</p>
<p>Is finaid a factor? And what kind of environment do you like? (Cuz MICA def. has more of a campus feel than Parsons lol). Overall though, I think I like MICA better.</p>
<hr>
<p>No other RISD respondees? I’d really like an opinion. :] My art teacher loves RISD and so basically there are about 8 of us here who’re struggling with a decision, and I’d love to hear from anyone who is/isn’t in the same boat this year!</p>
<p>RISD is an experience.
I mean, it isn’t considered the “Harvard of art schools” for nothing.
Can you learn art elsewhere? Sure.
It’ll just be a different experience.
& obviously the RISD name helps a bit, but if that’s not important to you, then don’t go there just for that reason.
You can always do well at any school, it just depends how much you put into it.
Because at the end of the day, it’s your portfolio that matters.</p>
<p>That being said, I did pre-college at RISD and loved it.
I never would have done art at all if it hadn’t been for my drawing class there.
I think you get what you pay for.</p>
<p>“I think you get what you pay for.”
This is true–if you can afford to pay for it, that is. My D was accepted at RISD but they’ve offered her no real aid. You don’t say if finances matter to you. Also, do you say what you’re interested in? My D is mostly interested in painting; hence, MICA is better for her. You can’t visit? It’s just such a personal decision.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what I’m interested in, yet, though I am leaning to GD or illustration. </p>
<p>Finances do matter, in a way, to me. If RISD is a solid choice for me, I will pursue it and deal with the finances (My parents prepared a college fund and I am willing to work for what I want), but as I am still slightly unsure, finances will probably play a factor if in the end I’m still deciding between two or more schools.</p>
<p>And I have visited, I love the atmosphere of Providence, but that isn’t exactly a deciding factor for me. :)</p>
<p>My daughter is semi-struggling with the RISD/MICA dilemma. “Semi-struggling”, because RISD put her on the priority wait list, and told her not to call back until May 4th to find out if she is in. I guess traditionally kids on the priority wait list often get in, but this year, who knows. I wouldn’t be surprised if RISD sent out more admission offers this year than previous years, which may make the wait list less likely to end in an admission offer.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, MICA has shown her a lot of love with their admission letter, as well as bestowing some substantial scholarship $$$$.</p>
<p>I will support her decision no matter which way it goes, but I have to wonder how much RISD is “living off their reputation.” Moreover, I watched the interview and tour with Pres. John Maeda [CONGRATULATIONS</a> + WELCOME TO RISD!](<a href=“http://www.risd.edu/welcome.cfm]CONGRATULATIONS”>http://www.risd.edu/welcome.cfm) and was very put off by him.</p>
<p>My daughter attended the RISD Pre-college summer program, loved it and has made friends with some kids who will be in the RISD 2013 class. Good kids! But I am sure there are good kids at MICA as well.</p>
<p>Joeschmoe - I had a whole different feel about Maeda (new President of RISD) I think Dr. Maeda is changing the face of RISD. A seismic shift may not be too strong of a description. I feel this MIT trained president will only add to the excellent education that is offered at the college. John Maeda is a world-renowned artist, graphic designer, computer scientist and educator whose career reflects his philosophy of humanizing technology. His work has been based on the integration of technology, education and the arts. When he describes the RISD education, he gives words to exactly why I am spending the money to educate my child at this college. I think he could be RISD’s secret weapon right now. I guess this is why the student should pick the college for them and not the “name”.</p>
<p>My kid did say the rumor was that RISD would offer more slots to students this year than other years.</p>
<p>More slots? I heard they admitted about 70 more students than usual, the waiting list is kept the same, from an article but as far as more slots…? I didn’t hear about that. Is that true?</p>
<p>Interesting comment from Lucy King in the RISD Admission office on the RISD 101 Facebook page:</p>
<p>“I don’t have all the numbers right in front of me, but for a rough estimate: We had about 2700 applications and admitted just over 900. We’re anticipating that the freshman class will be about 430 (including the dual degree students).”</p>
<p>This seems like a higher acceptance rate than usual. There was an article in the Brown Daily Herald that RISD accepted 70 more applicants than usual this year, basically taking everyone from what would normally have been the priority wait list tier. (Meaning this years “Priority” waitlist would likely have been in the second tier in a typical year.</p>
<p>Should be interesting to see where RISD’s “yield” ends up. If it is the same as typical years, they won’t take anyone from the wait list, and may have some housing shortage for incoming freshmen. However, if the yield is substantially lower than usual (due to the economic situation), then RISD should be able to hit their target enrollment by taking a few off the waitlist.</p>
<p>My personal opinion is that there are a lot of applicants who never apply to RISD in the first place due to the high cost and reputation (deserved or not) of not giving out a lot of scholarship grants. Should this be the case, then RISD may have more (wealthy) incoming freshmen than anticipated. Good for the budget, but may tax the schools resources if they enroll more than their 430 target.</p>
<p>Well, RISD called this week, and the D got in off the wait list, which she is ecstatic about, of course. So now the question is whether RISD is worth the extra $48k difference over the package MICA is offering. Any opinions? And why?</p>
<p>I think I saw her very excited post on FB. Congratulations!</p>
<p>What is she planning to major in?</p>
<p>I think it depends on how much of a RISD fanatic she (and your family) is and your financial situation. If MICA offered a VERY good finaid package, it probably has the edge over RISD, especially when it is possible to transfer in sophomore year and possibly get some form of finaid at this point (knowing that you are getting nil/little from RISD.)</p>
<p>Personally, I love RISD, so that was that, and my parents are pretty supportive, but almost everyone around me agrees that if there’s a big difference (48k!) in finaid, it’s definitely more worth it to go to MICA since it’s actually (gasp) not a bad school! Haha. One of them was a MICA -> RISD transfer student, as well.</p>
<p>RISD is for snobs. Anyone who says otherwise is either A) a snob who goes there, or B) the parent of a snob who goes there.</p>
<p>Don’t listen to that “Harvard of art schools” crap. No one I know has ever even heard of it.</p>
<p>I turned it down for community college, and feel lucky. The only thing I wish I’d gotten was finaid from Parsons or Pratt so that I could go to a better school than the one I’m going.</p>
<p>But I wouldn’t spend my college years at RISD if they PAID me $200,000.</p>
<p>@ ohsnapdude - How do you know that? I know that RISD students have a reputation for being arrogant, but you can’t take that sort of stereotyping seriously. Do you know this from experience or is this just something you’ve heard?</p>
<p>RISD has reputation but is certainly not the “Harvard of art schools”
I mean if MICA offers the same or een better education, while being $48k less, than go to MICA. </p>
<p>At this point the social life and campus setting should be the issue. I heard MICA is more conservative (less spiky haired, tattooed, artsy type)</p>
<p>My child has been the 3 years, and its just not worth it. I’m not saying its not a good school, its just not worth the difference. </p>
<p>They excel at hype - far better than any other art school. But they are not Harvard, they are RISD - one of the better art schools in the country but ‘not’ worth the extra cash, especially over MICA.</p>
<p>I could write a novel about this place, but at this point, I’m just offering the opinion of a parent who, unfortunately, now has a lot of debt.</p>
<p>When I called Peter Riefler in their finance office and told them that my child had been offered a scholarship at MICA and asked whether was any chance that RISD might pony up some dough, he just about laughed at me and said I would be a fool not to send my child to MICA. Really… true story.</p>
<p>You know that saying, people want what they can’t have? Think about it for a while. And then do the research.</p>
<p>To Googly: I got this vibe from the school myself not from hearsay. I have visited it several times, talked to some of the students, and honestly they are very arrogant people. I think there’s a quote out there that says “RISD really is a very religious school. Everyone thinks they’re god.” And it’s true.</p>
<p>And, see, Blade, my child/young adult has been at RISD for four years, and I can’t say enough good about the experience – the studio work, the travel, the community. I’ve visited about twice a year over those years and met lots of students and haven’t yet encountered the arrogant ones I’m reading about here. The kids I’ve met there are dedicated and talented and honestly don’t seem to have a lot of time for anything not interesting to them or their work. (Maybe they don’t suffer fools gladly?) Yet, on every visit, my child’s friends, teachers, and colleagues have been unfailingly welcoming to me. I’ve visited studios and gone out for beers with them and been to potlucks at their apartments, and I’ve been thrilled not just by the abundance of talent at RISD, but by the way they care for each other. I’m sure there are self-absorbed people at RISD just as there are everywhere, but the broad brush (no pun intended) used here to paint RISD students as jerks truly seems like a false impression from my perspective. </p>
<p>As to whether it’s the Harvard of art schools, who really cares about the label? It’s about the experience, the work, the education – and for some, RISD is the best fit.</p>
<p>The teachers and admin are definately welcoming to the parents. They after all, pay the bill. </p>
<p>And of course, even though I didn’t post that the students are arrogant, they are definately lots that fit the rich kid, arrogant stereo-type. If you haven’t seen them, you’re either not opening your eyes, or you’re not meeting enough students. Maybe your child’s department is different. It’s unfair to compare architecture to say, painting.</p>
<p>I’m not really trashing RISD. I am simply responding to the post about whether its worth it. It’s a questions that ultimately can’t be answered by any of us, but it’s still fun to try.</p>
<p>I’d like to make 2 final points:
a) you don’t get a scholarship to MICA or PRATT, they simply cost less. They give scholarships and financial Aid like a bottomless pit. So rather than looking at it like, hey I got a deal to go to a 40 grand/year school, its really that you’re just going to a less expensive school.
b) if you buy that reasoning, than comparing RISD to MICA is not comparing equal cost schools, one is ‘always’ way more expensive and its RISD. But BOTH are in the top 4 US NEWS & WORLD school rankings of top art grad programs.</p>
<p>Your’re splitting hairs with the differences in education, with arguments on either side as which school is actually better, but you are NOT splitting dollars. MICA is insanely less costly for almost every single student that attends.</p>
<p>One last thought: seeing RISD costs the most, there is a much higher percentage of ‘rich’ kids there. And I mean ‘wealthy’ not just rich, the kind of kids that when they need a dorm room their parents buy them a condo. Many of them have an entitlement attitude that’s makes life unpleasant for normal people.</p>
<p>It’s just not the frickin Truman Show (although it appears to be from RISD’s marketing) and I don’t think its really worth the cost.</p>