<p>hey, i got accepted to RISD and CMU. i am thinking about majoring in Industrial Design. I know both colleges have the top ID programs in the country. I visited CMU so far, and i liked it. I'm going to be visiting RISD next week. so far, i cant decide between the two. if any of you know extensively of both colleges, can you list their strengths, weaknesses, any other advice, etc. to help me decide between the two? thanks.</p>
<p>Read my reviews of both CMU and RISD. It says "Overview of our visit."</p>
<p>Personally, I liked CMU better. My daughter liked RISD better. CMU is much more tech friendly since they are after all a computer oriented school. You will meet a much higher caliber of academically top notch students at CMU overall.</p>
<p>CMU seems to be more applied than RISD. RISD seems more into the zen of art; however, this may be just my take on the schools. However, not to be misleading, RISD does have a very rigorous program. It is higher rated than CMU in a number of artistic majors such as graphic design. Its ID department is very strong too.</p>
<p>CMU does a tremendous amount of interdiciplanary stuff especially in the senior year where ID and communication design kids get together and work on a joint project. Their projects are very sophisticated such as developing a graphical interface for a math tutoring program.</p>
<p>CMU allows a double major in human computer interaction which is very interesting, and you should check it out. CMU also gives out better merit and financial aid than RISD.</p>
<p>CMU is adjacent to University of Pittsburgh. Thus, there are lots of kids to interface with. From what I hear, the girls at Pitt love the CMU guys, but this is hearsay from several students.</p>
<p>CMU supposedly has the best job placement rate in the US. However, I can't imagine RISD grads having a tough time finding good jobs.</p>
<p>RISD: Is a stand alone art school; thus, unless you get out and meet a lot of Brown kids, you will be primarily associating with artsy kids. RISD does have access to Brown courses. </p>
<p>RISD does not have a campus per se. It is a city school, although I really liked Providence as a college town.It is a very charming place to go to school. CMU does have a nice campus.</p>
<p>RISD has a great winter session where you can take courses outside of your major such as glass blowing, metal smithing, computer applications or internships.
RISD is also a couple thousand dollars a year cheaper.</p>
<p>There is a poster here named Mackinaw whose daughter attended RISD but also saw CMU. They felt that RISD had better facilities at the time, although CMU has updated their facilities in recent years, especially computer rooms.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Each school has a VERY different feel.I get a much more no-nonsense, professional feel from CMU. RISD has a much more artsy feel, and from what I can see, has students that are more artistically gifted than that found at CMU.</p>
<p>By the way, my daughter got waitlisted at both school. Can I ask you what your GPA (both weighted and unweighted) were , and what your SATs were?</p>
<p>My undergraduate degree is in ID from CMU - if you have a specific question, I would certainly be happy to answer it.</p>
<p>Te~Chan--I'm glad you are going to visit RISD. The visit will help you to decide. Taxguy's comments are great...read his posts. He trys to give an objective opinion of each school he has researched and visited, which is not easy when you are dealing with decisions that affect your child's future :-)</p>
<p>Taxguy--do you really think that GPA and test scores affected your daughter's admissions decision at RISD? My daughter (who is a sophomore at RISD) did have a great portfolio and resume, but her test scores were low and her GPA was OK.</p>
<p>Taxguy, you're right. My daughter was admitted to both CMU and RISD. At the time she didn't have a particular major in mind, and so didn't choose between the schools on that basis. She ended up majoring in ID at RISD (and I have to add that it's pretty hands on, not "theoretical" -- hence the series of wood and metal shops that are part of that curriculum -- and has become quite a bit more computer intensive in recent years).</p>
<p>In the end her decision was based more on atmospherics than anything else. She was attracted to CMU by the possibilities of minoring in a subject outside of art/design. The on-campus people she met on her visit were very friendly (an assistant dean, and the admissions office). She was much turned off, however, by the attitude of the CMU rep at a Portfolio Day in Chicago. She didn't like the warren-like studios at CMU. This situation may have been improved recently.</p>
<p>Ultimately, however, her decision hinged as much on the sense that RISD had better art facilities overall, a better reputation, and was located in the east. But Pittsburgh definitely has its own charms; we've subsequently spent more time there. And I think CMU ought to be a strong contender for anyone interested in art/design for a career.</p>
<p>Ktwofish asks,"do you really think that GPA and test scores affected your daughter's admissions decision at RISD"</p>
<p>Response: Actually, we called CMU who told us that her SATs and even GPA hurt her a bit for the admission score. RISD tries to get a 3.3 unweighted GPA without taking art, gym, music, theater and other "non academic" courses into account. My daughter may have not had these minimums. I do know that the teacher that she used felt that she had one of top 5 or 10 portfolios that she has seen in 10 years among the 300 or so portfolios examined. Thus, I am at least curious. I do feel, however, that if her portfolio was amazingly outstanding, her stats wouldn't have been as important. However, maybe I am wrong even on this.</p>
<p>I would bet, however, that the original poster had better stats if they got into CMU.</p>
<p>Taxguy...That is very interesting. I'm not surprised that they look at academic GPA, but the GPA should be weighted for honors/AP classes. What kind of SAT score were they looking for? My daughter met RISD's GPA minimum (probably 3.5, 3.9 wtd.), but her SAT score was only 1070. My daughter also received a 4 on the AP 2-D and a 5 on the AP Drawing portfolios, but they do not give any credit for those...and the 5 was received after her admissions decision.</p>
<p>Her portfolio and required drawings were good, but then I'm not very objective in that area! My daughter's friend works in admissions (work study) and she was told they only hold the slides up to the light to review...they do not project or enlarge them. How can you make much of a determination from this kind of review? My guess is they weight the required drawings more heavily.</p>
<p>Maybe RISD had a more outstanding pool of applicants this year? I think your daughter will get offered admission eventually, but you may have to make a deposit to her 2nd choice school as a back up. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ktwofish, I was also VERY surprised that RISD used unweighted GPA in its calculation; however, they do say that they give a slight nudge upwards if most courses are honors and AP. I would bet that this slight nudge doesn't take the toughness of the courses into account. </p>
<p>As for SAT, they weren't as emphatic about having a high SAT as they were in having at least a modified 3.3 GPA. </p>
<p>Yes, I think she did a fabulous job on the bicycle but her other required drawings, although very good, were not up to the level of her other portfolio pieces or even the bicycle. She was running out of time and had a senior research project due for her magnet program. </p>
<p>My daughter isn't that crushed though. She likes her second choices at University of Cincinnati for design and RIT for New Media. WE will have to pay a deposit at one of these schools and see what happens at RISD. Frankly, I personally liked Cincinnati best of the bunch due to its fabulous coop program and cheaper tuition.</p>
<p>My daughter also got priortiy waitlisted at CMU ,but she doesn't want to submit the priority form. She just has some innate problem with CMU that she won't elaborate on. </p>
<p>Oh well, it's her life.</p>
<p>I'm not sure but there may be a lesson here for art school applicants: make sure to hold up the academic and test score side of your application. I don't know that this is true of your D, Taxguy, but I know that a lot of students who decide in high school that they're going into art, and who appropriately focus on developing a strong portfolio, may subtract some effort in other areas. For a few schools this can matter quite a bit. I think that in working off the waitlist, it's just as important in art as in other types of schools that the student who wants off the list should submit added materials or testimonials if she can. She shouldn't wait and see but instead execute a plan.</p>
<p>Mackinaw, you are SO RIGHT. We will be talking to our daughter to ascertaintain her interest in RISD. If she really feels that RISD should take precedence over Cincinnati, we have a battle plan.</p>
<p>Ktwofish, if you exclude all courses other than math, science, social studies, english, and language, my daughter's unweighted GPA wasn't that good. It might have been a 3.1. However, almost every course was either honors or AP because she was in a magnet program. It would be unfortunate if she were shafted because she took such a tough curriculum</p>
<p>That gives me an idea. Among things to consider in your battle plan would be to find one or two "graded essays" or other projects outside of art that your daughter is most proud of and represent her best work. You may know that some LAC's (such as my own alma mater) actually request a "graded essay" (with grade and comments by teacher on it -- evidence of origin or authenticity, I think).</p>
<p>Not a bad idea.</p>
<p>Taxguy--I agree...RISD should take into account your daughter's course rigor. I agree somewhat with Mackinaw's opinion regarding art students not relying totally on portfolio development. But I also think that putting too much effort on test scores would be a mistake. Because of my daughter's test scores (she is not a test taker), RISD required her to take a "placement test" when she arrived for freshman orientation. She was very offended that "they thought she was stupid" and was not ready for Freshman English 1...or whatever they call it. I told her in the scheme of life, this was not a big issue even if she had to take a "remedial or preparatory" English class. In the end, she passed their placement test and was able to take Freshman English I.</p>
<p>If your daughter decides RISD is still her choice, be proactive. Send more supporting materials. Perhaps a letter from her guidance counselor or an administrator which emphasizes the rigor of her coursework? The squeaky wheel...</p>
<p>Regarding test scores vs. portfolio and admissions: One thing we discovered after our daughter was admitted to RISD was that each applicant receives two admissions scores. One comes from the admissions dept. and is based on academics and other factors (tests, extracurriculars, etc.) outside the portfolio; the other score comes from faculty reviewers and is based on the portfolio and the three required drawings. These scores can influence financial aid, too, we heard. If you want a view of where your student stands, you might call the admissions dept. and ask what her entrance scores were. I believe they run from 1 to 5, with 1 being the best. Of course, that may be more information than anyone wants or needs, but it might set your mind at rest, Taxguy, about how they weighed your daughter's portfolio.</p>
<p>Oh, and finding out her admission scores might let your daughter know in what area she might want to concentrate her plan -- i.e., if her scores/grades hurt her, send the graded essays as mackinaw suggests; if her drawings hurt her, more artwork.</p>
<p>And back to the original poster's query...my daughter also chose RISD over CMU and, like Mackinaw's daughter, her decision was clinched by the environment. RISD has a special electricity that CMU didn't have for her. She's a really bright kid, and I think she would have enjoyed the educational challenges at CMU, but RISD is challenging in a wholly different way, one that stretches her in ways that CMU wouldn't have. This is in no way to disparage CMU. It's a terrific school. What it came down to was that she felt like RISD was where <em>she</em> belonged. The two schools are so different. Once you complete your visits, I'll bet you'll have your decision.</p>
<p>I also investigated/visited CMU and RISD with my HS senior D. My take on RISD is very different from Taxguy's: I though RISD was very focused on the career/commercial side of being an artist. If you really know what art specialty you want to focus on, I think it is a great choice. RISD's location is more urban, but still fun. The close proximity to NYC and Boston is a plus.</p>
<p>If you are looking for a more traditional college experience, CMU may be a better choice. Campus is more traditional, small number of fine arts and design majors than RISD. Broader student background and interests. Pittsburgh is a nice college town. Big enough to find plenty of things to do but small enough not to be intimidating. CMU is in a safe stable part of the city. Strangest data point I have is that among the CMU art, design and architecture alumni I talked to, the vast majority recommended RISD! </p>
<p>Regarding academics, there are far more merit opportunities for students with both good academics and portfolios. At the CMU orientation, we were told that a 50/50 mix is used to determine merit awards for fine arts majors. Know that academics also plays a significant role at MICA.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. If you have questions specifically about Pittsburgh, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>Thank you all. Your comments were very helpful. I think I might be leaning a little more towards CMU now since I am actually interested in that "traditional" college feel. And I think overall, CMU fits more with my personality. I wish I could've seen the classes in action and more of the campus when I visited a couple of months ago. Anyway, I'm still waiting for my financial aid package from CMU, and am hoping that it is a bit more nicer than RISD's. I live on Long Island, NY, so RISD is closer (2.5 hours away), and CMU is 7 hours away. It would be nice to live a bit closer to home, though. Plus, it seems as if practically all RISD students are very happy with their school (I'm not so sure about the students at CMU school of design). Moreover, my best friend is going to Brown, so we could be neighbors if i go to RISD. They're both very excellent schools; it's so tough to choose between them.</p>
<p>I'm just doing whatever I can to convince my parents to let me major in design and go to RISD/CMU. I got into Cornell U and Wellesley. They both offered me generous financial aid packages. Hopefully my father won't make me go to those schools instead (although I did apply for art to both schools, but how could they compare to CMU and RISD in design?). Ah... decisions, decisions...</p>
<p>Cornell's art school also has an excellent reputation. Can't speak to Wellsley...</p>
<p>Good luck on fin aid!</p>