SAIC Questions-- feedback appreciated

<p>My daughter was accepted to SAIC (85% acceptance rate) and offered $5500 per year in merit money (which is next to nothing). This week, she was then accepted to UCLA's Design/Media program (8.5% acceptance rate and half the cost of SAIC). We're not sure UCLA is a good fit, due to size, and she's not a big fan of Los Angeles (while she loves Chicago and does better in small schools). It seems odd to me that she could get into one of the most competitive design programs in the country, yet SAIC gave her so little in merit money.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if schools such as SAIC are negotiating their financial aid packages? (unfortunately we're in the bracket that doesn't qualify for much need based aid, yet we don't have an extra $50k per year to spend).</p>

<p>Also-- I'm concerned about the 70% drop out rate freshman year at SAIC-- are high achieving kids comfortable there? I also have concerns that the kids are on their own for food prep since there's no meal plan--- anyone out there have any SAIC feedback?</p>

<p>From what I've read SAIC definitely has no meal plan, but unlike most art schools I've looked at they have little kitchenettes in each dorm. (most art schools have one kitchen to share per floor, or something like that). </p>

<p>I personally think that's kinda cool -- I'm a health nut and I hate the idea of eating mysterious food from cafeterias. </p>

<p>And yeah, SAIC offered me a merit scholarship as well, but it definitely isn't enough to cover tuition. I have no clue if they're open to negotiations, but I figure you should at least try. Call up the school and ask for financial aid and see if it's possible.</p>

<p>Hey there TwinMom73, I'm a current freshman at SAIC.. I just started in Spring 09.... there are no meal plans, but that's because the dorms are located in the heart of the city (the Loop), and there's food everywhere round the corner. we do have kitchens in every single room with microwave, stove, fridge, sink etc.... (oh and a bathroom)... My mom had the same concerns as you do, since I had no idea how to cook. But since I came here, I've improved a lot, from a girl who has no idea about cooking to a person who can feed myself and make pretty delicious meals hahaaa :P.</p>

<p>With regards to cost, I'm an international student so I don't have FASA thing... I can only apply for merit scholarship. In our school, you don't apply for scholarship, rather the teacher decides whether you deserve it, and they decide the amount. </p>

<p>Indeed the acceptance rate is 85%, which did indeed led me to thinking.. is this really such a good school? But I must say, since the acceptance rate is high, the drop out rate is high as well... coz there are some people who just come to school just coz they got in... and they don't really give much effort. Just like any other schools, you should try your best and you know... just try and do well. I heard that usually the people who graduate are those who actually do well and are on the top (top 20% i heard)?</p>

<p>Just a note, this school stresses on being conceptual.... well at least that's what I'm getting from the first year program.. i'm sure the design departments arent AS conceptual hahaaa ;)</p>

<p>TwinMom73</p>

<p>I didn't see anywhere in the ranking information that there is a 70% drop out rate freshman year? Can you tell us where you got that informtion? I saw that the US News and World Report rankings indicated the Average freshman retention rate at SAIC was around 80%.</p>

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<p>I learned that SAIC has a 70% drop out rate from the CC boards-- do a search for SAIC in this forum and you will find several posts that reference a very high drop out rate.</p>

<p>I'm not sure how accurate this is-- in checking with SAIC, they report a 68% graduation rate at the 6 year mark for undergrads (this is a nationally reported statistic). It sounds like there's more like a 25% drop out rate after freshman year....</p>

<p>Hi,
My son is completing his sophomore year at SAIC and is very happy there. We did negotiate parts of his financial aid package in the end, and I have to say that out of the seven colleges he applied to, they were the nicest to deal with and the most on top of things. So don’t be afraid to ask for more aid and to be honest with them about any other colleges that are offering more money–that was the case with us and I told them that they were my son’s first choice but that money was an issue. In the end, he still had more loans than I wanted him to, but honestly they came up with the best package he got. Good luck, and don’t hesitate to ask me more questions.</p>

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<p>disregard… :)</p>

<p>I just noticed that the OP started this last year.</p>

<p>The dorm rooms have kitchens as well as a larger kitchen in each building with about 10 stoves and an eating area (but you must cook) (check out the housing web site, there’s an on-line tour that shows the larger kitchen area as well as the rooms. Also however many of the restaurants in the area have discounted prices for people with student IDs. And the area is full of reasonably priced restaurants perfect for students as well as some of the best and, of course, pricier restaurants in Chicago. Lots of food choices.</p>

<p>I haven’t talked to a single student at any of the schools in that neighborhood who didn’t absolutely love Chicago.</p>

<p>My DD was accepted to SAIC with a small scholarship around that $5,500 mark. She did two HS summers there and had a good feel for the school. In the end I think the conceptual angle and her desire to do a regular liberal arts education is why she turned it down. I was glad because the cost was very high to us. I was more impressed by the liberal arts classes offered by SAIC such as chemistry for art sutdents. When you think about it paint is all chemistry and physics of sound and light is taught at SAIC bent toward the artistic uses of science in arts.</p>

<p>Most art schools have a high drop out rate. RISD is low and very selective.</p>

<p>It stands to reason that the more selective the school the lower the drop-out rate would be, I imagine Cooper’s is almost nil. But as a current student at SAIC points out the drop-out rate would be in those in the bottom 2/3 of the class and I suspect that would be typical of art schools that aren’t as selective. The stats would probably show that those students who receive funding would be more commited students to begin with judging from their application and then also less likely to drop out (especially since the school has made a commitment also by offering scholarships). You probably don’t see anywhere near that high a drop-out rate in the group of students. Plus they would be more likely able to handle the workload which is what probably gets a lot of kids coming into art school.</p>

<p>“You probably don’t see anywhere near that high a drop-out rate in the group of students.”</p>

<p>And I meant
You probably don’t see anywhere near that high a drop-out rate in the group of students who are coming in with some funding from the school and/or the stronger portfolios at any of the art schools.</p>

<p>Oh and thanks for that info Theresa
I think those directed science classes sound fascinating. Wish I had had that opportunity.</p>

<p>Much is made of selectivity ratings of art schools. Let me offer to help one look at this a bit differently ( btw this is true of any admission).</p>

<p>Admissions staff sees this process in part as a business problem. They know, based on historical data, roughly how many applicants to expect, and how many they need to accept, in order to “yield” enough enrollments to fill out their numbers. Thus the issue is the relative proportion of total applicants to total enrollments Here are actual numbers ( v %) for RISD and SAIC, for last year, as an example. The YIELD in this example looks at enrollment as a % of total applicants ( v acceptances) RISD is 16%; SAIC is 15% .</p>

<pre><code> RISD SAIC
</code></pre>

<p>ApplicantsÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…2819 3114
AdmittedÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â… 987 2522
Enrollment* (accepted who enrolled) 453 454</p>

<p>i am looking into attending SAIC, but I don’t know if the Portfolio Days are for me as well seeing as I want to Major in Creative Writing or Emphasis on Writing. If anyone could give me some information on this it would be a great help.</p>

I’m getting to see the first year SAIC program from the inside now. And it’s a mess. Here’s what I’m seeing:

  1. Yes. There's a massive loss of freshman. Not because they aren't good - but because the first year program is really bad.
  2. In one of my son's classes (digital arts), 4 of 12 have dropped out after the first semester.
  3. The reason are the pair of classes "Core" and "Research". These classes impose mandatory styles onto students (post modernism) and there are no exceptions. These classes dismiss digital arts work (the foundation of the better visual art careers these days).
  4. In one class, a student observed "I don't think all art has to have meaning". The professor took him out into the hall and told him to never ever say that in his class. Pretty bad instruction.
  5. Overall, the Core/Research pairing dominates first year and is universally hated. The students who do well in them seem to rely on gimmicks like naked performance art or meme creation. Pretty sad for a school that claims to be so influential.
  6. But, it also makes sense because we don't see many great artists GRADUATE from SAIC. Disney took some night classes. O'Keefe ditched it after a year. Same is true for most moderns.
  7. Also watch out: Most first year classes seem to be taught by SAIC graduates. That's a very bad sign for a college. It suggests living inside a bubble and an unwillingness to be challenged. Both seem to be true about first year.