smfa at tufts vs. pratt institute

[sooshsoosh]

I have to decide between smfa and pratt for my undergraduate education.
pratt is a great school for their design and architecture courses, but I’m planning on studying film and fine arts.
also, I’ve received $18000 as opposed to none from smfa.
the advantage of being in smfa is the probably fact that I will be able to take liberal arts courses at tufts, but I feel like smfa at tufts is a relatively new concept so it’s a risky decision for now.
I’d like to know what you guys think!

P.S. I was also waitlisted from CMU. I think I might end up there if I get in!

[Mastadon]

The Tufts/SMFA concept is not new - the joint degree program dates back to 1945. In 2016, SMFA formally became part of Tufts (rather than a close partner) - that is the part that is new.

The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts (SMFA) is a distinctive studio art school borne of a unique proposition – an alliance of a major museum, a top-ranked research university, and the oldest art school in the country. Founded in 1876, the school was conceived at the same time as the Museum of Fine Arts itself, as the crucial second part of a mission to educate through the arts. In 1945, SMFA began granting accredited degrees through a partnership with Tufts University, a relationship that continued until June 30, 2016, at which time the school was formally acquired by Tufts.

https://smfa.tufts.edu/about

[MYOS1634]

Are both within budget or would your parents have to take on loans for you to attend?

[sooshsoosh]

@Mastadon
thanks for the extra information!
but I was just saying that even though they’ve had the joined program for quite a while, the stats for tufts and smfa are just way too different to evaluate the stature of smfa at tufts. Especially I haven’t heard many good opinions in regards to the art courses offered at smfa. I wonder if this has changed after they’ve officially announced their unification?

[sooshsoosh]

thanks for the extra information!
but I was just saying that even though they’ve had the joined program for quite a while, the stats for tufts and smfa are just way too different to evaluate the stature of smfa at tufts. Especially I haven’t heard many good opinions in regards to the art courses offered at smfa. I wonder if this has changed after they’ve officially announced their unification?

[sooshsoosh]

@MYOS1634 my parents told me not to worry about the money, but we’re not doing outstanding well. The scholarship would definitely take off a bit of burden. However, they seem to be leaning towards tufts due to the liberal arts education

[MYOS1634]

I’d lean toward Tufts too but costs seem too high for your family

[madgemini4]

Generally I would say Pratt is the much better art school if you’re comparing the two on that aspect alone. But it sounds like you’re looking for more than a BFA program? For a more hybrid approach, Lesley University in Cambridge might be a better fit (and probably more affordable – they offer what I believe is automatic merit based on stats). It might not be too late to apply. You can’t beat the location – it’s practically on Harvard’s campus. Lesley’s art school is well respected (they acquired the Art Institute of Boston – not to be confused with the scammy for-profit “art institute” chain).

[Mastadon]

Tufts is very strong for Film Studies, but many of those courses will be on the Medford/Somerville campus.

Malia Obama is a film studies major. Here is her short list of colleges:

So far, she has toured six of the eight Ivy League Schools — Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale — as well as Barnard, the University of California at Berkeley, New York University, Stanford, Tufts, and Wesleyan, according to The New York Times.

She ended up at Harvard

http://www.businessinsider.com/where-will-malia-obama-go-to-college-2015-10