Student reviews of their schools strike fear in my heart!

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
1

<p>Alright. As some of you may know, I was in the process of applying to a number of art schools (after having been accepted by SAIC and MCA). Well, I happened upon studentsreview.com and read up what students think of their schools. YIKES! You would not believe some of the stuff these kids had to say. Pratt was one of the most maligned and let's just say my impression of the school went WAY down. :( Man, I'm scared to finish my app to that place...eeks.</p>

<p>Parsons had okay reviews--not too many. SAIC had decent reviews, MCA had horrific reviews, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston had no reviews. I was surprised by what the kids had to say about Maryland. Again, the reviews weren't very encouraging.</p>

<p>Blah... I don't know what to think now.</p>

2

<p>College-ish, People who are dissatisfied post more than those that are satisfied. I wrote a large review of Pratt in both the Arts forum and in the alphabetical listing for Pratt. I have also written a more current in-depth review in students Review forum for Pratt. </p>

<p>Parsons has too few folks who have posted. Thus, I wouldn't trust their reviews as accurate.</p>

<p>The bottom line is that you have to see the schools yourself. Interview a number of students,and, if possible, attend some classes.</p>

3

<p>I figured some of the people posting are just disgruntled, but I am not sure all of them were. Some people seemed to give concrete examples of misbehavior or what have you by the school they attend.</p>

<p>At any rate, I understand what you are saying. Visiting is important and attending classes/speaking to students is a no brainer. I just hope what I read on studentsreview is not all together true. Yikes ;p.</p>

4

<p>You apparently don't have to give a campus email or otherwise give proof that you are actually a student at a school to post on Student Review. Sometimes it's actually people from rival programs that post the bad ones. Remember also that elite art schools can be very intense and some kids might post in a moment of frustration. You'll get slightly more accurate scoop from [campusdirt.com[/url</a>]. To get the REAL scoop as to what life is like, monitor the schools' Live Journal communities.</p>

<p>Also, beware of [url=ratemyprofessors.com]ratemyprofessors.com](<a href="http://www.campusdirt.com%5Dcampusdirt.com%5B/url"&gt;www.campusdirt.com). A lot of those reviews will be by nonmajors who got mad that the prof teaching "X appreciation" didn't turn the class into a crip. I know for a fact that one theatre prof whose BFA students adore him has an awful rating on there.</p>

5

<p>Thanks, bohemian. Good info.</p>

6

<p>Z, honey:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/generated_images/again/1232.png%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentsreview.com/generated_images/again/1232.png&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>THIS is what counts. You compare that to all of your other art schools.</p>

7

<p>^ "Rated by 5 students."</p>

<p>Do they offer a statistics course at RISD?</p>

<p>Jokes aside, places like art schools require an unusual dedication and tremendous passion for art from the students for them to make the most of it and come out satisfied with themselves and the school. Kids that complain probably don't have the drive or enthusiasm (evidently) to do well, thus causing a downward spiraling effect and becoming dissatisfied with the school but truthfully more with themselves. I think this type is definately a minority; all of the art students I have encountered are some of the most driven people I've ever met.</p>

8

<p>Yes, interestingly, RISD is the only school (art school or otherwise) that has no negative coments in Student Reviews. In fact, it is the only school where respondants would unanimously come back if they did it again. Maybe this isn't a correct statistical sampling,but this lack of negative responses is very unusual.</p>

9

<p>i think it definitely is an uneven sampling of people... I mean, after taking a statistics class even in HS, I can say that those stats are pretty much meaninless. From a non-scientific viewpoint though, it is interesting to compare them.</p>

<p>Just from having my dad as a Pratt graduate and watching several of the most untalented kids in my school apply to Pratt for art and get in, oh and also applying an a portfolio review with only half of my stuff (and nothing from AP art) and getting accepted on the spot, I instantly realized that Pratt waa definitely, definitely not for me.</p>

<p>If you have good SATs (at least above 1350 maybe?) consider carnegie mellon for art. It gives great scholarships if you call them up, plus the art program is amazing, if extremely hard.</p>

10

<p>SOTs, I would like to suggest that you can't judge an art program by basing your judgment on some kids that got accepted. If you read my post on "Overview of our visit to Pratt" in the Pratt forum, you will see that Pratt does have a slightly lower admission policy than that of some other schools such as RISD, CMU etc. However, they are t he largest art school in the US; thus, they take in more kids. This is also remedied by a very tough foundation year that weeds out less qualified or less motivated kids. Pratt has a very strong reputation among design firms and art related employers in NY. I am sure that most Pratt grads will attest to this.</p>

<p>This is not to say that Pratt doesn't have problems such as plant deterioration,but they do seem quite good academically.</p>

11

<p>That's a good point. My dad also mentioned several very talented kids in school with him as well. I guess it just bothered me that they accepted me without any of my grades or sats or anything (my SATs weren't even back yet). One one level, I still dont really approve of that, but on another, that could be a far nobler approach to art.</p>

12

<p>SOTS, when it comes to art or music or theater, you can't judge a kid by their grades or SATs. In fact, these have little merit. It is even questionable whether SATs are indicative of anything.</p>

13

<p>Uh, I appreciate
everyone's responses and find the discussion to be really great
thus far. And I had a long post nearly written but my browser got
hungry. Er, anyway... I'll type up a better response l8r.
;)</p>

14

<p>CMU does give good merit scholarships. They have several different colleges within the university so you can interact with other types of kids too, which is great for a not so provincial experience. But it is a rigorous school, much like Cooper Union in many ways. Plus, Andy Warhol came out of CMU.</p>

15

<p>Ok, I deserved the Warhol comment, lol.</p>

<p>It is absolutely fine if a school does not take into account grades or anything of the like, but the selection process applied by a school does create a different pool of people within that schools departments. CMU art students, while I'd bet anything that we have work loads comparable to Cooper students, are different from students at Cooper. Cooper students are different from RISD students, RISD students are different from MICA, SCAD, Pratt, the Museum School... and on and on. The reasons for these differences in populations are of course related to area the schools are in and several other factors, but I still believe that non-art academic expectations and offerings do play a part. </p>

<p>Also, on a side note, I very much enjoy the fact that I am an art student, but easily 85% of the people I know at school, close friends included, are different majors (Chem, CS, Music, Voice, Engineering, etc).</p>

16

<p>Just wanted to add...</p>

<p>I do not mean to say that my school is at all BETTER than any other school, and I hope it didnt come sound like that. I merely meant to express that CMU better reflected what I, personally, was looking for a college.</p>

17

<p>Hey A,</p>

<p>RISD has it going on so it seems lol ;) </p>

<hr>

<p>Replies to others below...</p>

<p>
[quote]
posted by theinvisiblehand</p>

<p>Jokes aside, places like art schools require an unusual dedication and tremendous passion for art from the students for them to make the most of it and come out satisfied with themselves and the school. Kids that complain probably don't have the drive or enthusiasm (evidently) to do well, thus causing a downward spiraling effect and becoming dissatisfied with the school but truthfully more with themselves. I think this type is definately a minority; all of the art students I have encountered are some of the most driven people I've ever met.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I really cannot believe that the majority of the kids who posted about Pratt (one of the worst offenders) were just disgruntled. A lot of them <em>could be</em> but they may also be telling somewhat of a truth. Pratt might just have some issues, which they feel need to be addressed and have not been. At any rate, I do agree with you that artists are generally very driven people and I feel usually we are willing to forgoe many of the conveniences in life for our passion.</p>

<p>
[quote]
posted by sots</p>

<p>If you have good SATs (at least above 1350 maybe?) consider carnegie mellon for art. It gives great scholarships if you call them up, plus the art program is amazing, if extremely hard.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I am considering applying to Wash U for the spring semester. Currently, I am not sure which school I will attend in the fall. I am planning on applying to a few more art schools to see where I stand (or fall). Um, Carnegie Mellon sounds good, but my ACT is probably the only thing that would make it difficult. I have a decent score, but it could have definitely been higher. I might take it again in October, but it would not help me for Wash U. They don't accept tests taken during college. What about CMU?</p>

<p>My beef with going straight to art school is that I am also fairly gifted in academics. I feel I can do an equal amount in both art and another area or two. Therefore, I am now double-minded about going to just an art school. The only way I see myself sacrificing everything else for art would be if I feel that I can become the best artist that I could be. I feel this would probably entail going to a top art school RISD or SAIC. </p>

<p>SAIC has already accepted me and that is all good and dandy. I am going to compete for more money in the fall and God-willing get it. RISD seems to be out of my reach because of my earlier shortsightedness. I should have just applied when I had the chance, but I did not give it much thought. The only way to get to RISD now would be to transfer from a professional art school after a semester or stay two years at a regular college and then transfer. Both paths seem like a hassle and RISD basically told me there is no guaranteee I'd be admitted even if they wanted me (for the spring at least).</p>

18

<p>I don't understand the part about RISD not being able to accept you even if they wanted to make the decision- must have something to do with mid year transfer? Could you not take a year off and reapply for sophomore standing, regardless of what level you are at coming from your current school?</p>

19

<p>RISD has very set policies about things like spring admission and transferring. It's their right, but I think the policy could definitely be a bit more flexible. Students would appreciate it; that's for sure! </p>

<p>I emailed admissions a while back and they basically said spring enrollment is very limited, no new financial aid offerings, perhaps think about going to one of the schools you've been accepted to for a year, etc. There was not any real change in their policy--even though I feel I have something unique to offer (pocketdictionary who is going to RISD in the fall already knows this and perhaps even taxguy). Anyway, I tried to tell them genuinely how I feel and I do not believe I was able to sway them. Perhaps I should not have allowed myself to arrive at such a situation in which I would have to "sway" admissions. Because I honestly do not feel myself to be that shabby at all.</p>

20

<p>Persuade them through your portfolio? Definately take the next year to work on that extensively if you are planning on reapplying.</p>