<p>OP, this is a great question, and one that we wrestled with in our family for my kid. I felt that if he was really going to try for a career in animation, which has been his passion since he was about 11, he really needed to go to a true art school. Of course, as his mom, I had misgivings that he would miss out on that classic “liberal arts” college experience that I had, and his father had. But Iin the end, we decided to go the art school route. I agree with all of the observations about a liberal arts education and its benefits, and I still to this day wonder if we are making a huge $250k+ mistake. (That’s another issue – the cost of these schools is out of control and ridiculous!) </p>
<p>That being said, I do think these art schools are all very different and shouldn’t be lumped together. I know exactly what you mean about the “artsy” art school…in fact, since I can only draw stick figures, I only have stereotypes about all of this. But when we started doing research, we realized they are all known for different things and have very different “personalities”. My son is not one of these artsy kids who runs around in paint-spattered clothes…in fact, he hates painting! He’s going to go to SVA, which was begun as a school, mostly for returning GIs, who wanted to go into advertising on Madison Ave (during the whole “Mad Men” era). There is no campus to speak of at SVA, it’s really just some office type buildings in the 20s in Manhattan. No campus green, no stone buildings with Gothic architecture (I went to BC, and that’s what I tend to think of when I think of a college “campus”.) But SVA has a pretty serious animation program, one of the strongest in the country, so that’s where he chose to go. </p>
<p>He also got into The Museum School (actually called the “School of the Museum of Fine Arts”) in Boston, Mass Art of College and Design, and Pratt. (He only applied to these four schools.) The Museum School might be worth a look for you if your academic record is strong because you can do their “dual degree” program with Tufts University – you have to be accepted at each school independently, but you then get a five year degree. Also, one of my son’s friends is very interested in advertising and is going to Boston University, where they have a marketing/advertising program with an emphasis on art. So there are all sorts of options here – the art school where you can get a liberal arts degree, the liberal arts school with a special art program, etc…</p>
<p>You do have time, which is great, so do some research and talk to people. This forum gave me a lot of great information, and we also talked to graduates about the different schools. It’s funny, the SVA grads we spoke to seemed to remind me of my kid, while some of the graduates of the other schools I thought were way more artsy than he is. So, just as with any college selection, it’s all about fit.</p>
<p>Sorry to prattle on so long. I hope some of this helps…and best of luck to you! </p>
<p>(P.S.: We did a tour of SVA and they have awesome photography facilities, so if the lack of campus doesn’t deter you and you do decide on art school, be sure to check them out.) </p>