<p>I just registered after a more-or-less glowing review from my art teacher. It seems like a really great program, but not as good as RISD in terms of graphic design. </p>
<p>Has anyone else gone before or planning to go?</p>
<p>Daughter went to ECP this past summer, in painting, not graphic design. Were there particular questions you had about it?</p>
<p>What was her experience like? Was it positive? Would she choose to go again? Something I’ve been wondering about was roommate selection. Do you typically get someone with the same major as you, or is it completely luck-of-the-draw?</p>
<p>I have plans on applying as well.
Is it too late? I read on the website that there isnt a deadline, but I want to apply before it fills up.
Also, does anyone have any information regarding scholarships? I dont think I will be able to attend unless I recieve one.</p>
<p>Any info would be much appreciated :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>She was there for the 3 week program, in painting. She was residential – lived in the Chi cago Building dorm. She flew there by herself, took transit to the school, lived on her own (with a roommate), doing her own food shopping, etc. At the end, she flew home. For two of the three weeks, the Chicago food festival was going on in the park immediately adjacent to the school and dorms, which meant there were huge crowds every day. </p></li>
<li><p>She absolutely loved it. She did two programs last summer; ECP and CSSSA Innerspark. ECP was the winner, far and away. She loved it because of the freedom to manage your own time and make choices about what you were doing, as opposed to the more structured and restrictive format at CSSSA and other programs she’s heard about. She frequently stayed up overnight in the dorm studio with other students, painting all night. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes, she would choose to go again. It’s not possible for her to do so – she got a full tuition scholarship and now that she’s a graduating senior, that’s not likely to happen again. But if she had gone as a sophomore, I am sure she would want to be there again. </p></li>
<li><p>Her roommate was the same major she was, but they were not in the same section. However, that was just random and not purposeful. She really loved her roommate and they are still friends. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Other things: they painted in oils, starting on day one, and did at least one painting a day. The school provides the paints, so the instructors encourage students to work BIG, on large canvases, because it’s a rare opportunity to use a resource usually too expensive for students to do that. There was a lot of out of class painting work, and a big culminating series project to do. Her work at SAIC is some of the strongest in her portfolio and always gets great comments from admission reps. She took advantage of the open campus – students are allowed to go where they want when they’re not in class, as long as they take the public transit orientation and are back by curfew. She went grocery shopping, visited other parts of the city, stuff like that. She packed a barebones kitchen setup and cooked pretty regularly, though she also ate a lot of sandwiches.</p>
<p>Barnsey2011: Here’s what I can tell you about scholarships. They’re need and merit based, they offer them to strong candidates with financial need. If your initial award is not enough, don’t be afraid to ask if they can help more. They have considerable flexibility in providing scholarships to students with real need. My daughter got full tuition, but not housing. We did some fundraising to make up the difference. The biggest suprise was the supplies expense – she needed more money halfway through. </p>
<p>If you haven’t already applied, I would do so ASAP. The earlier you apply, the more chance of scholarship funding.</p>
<p>Thanks TrinSF!! I will keep that in mind.</p>
<p>i went to SAIC ECP this past summer as well for Advanced Projects and absolutely loved it. Random roommate, but he was actually one of the best friends i made in the program. another of my close friends was there for graphic design and did some amazing projects, but you are correct in assuming it is nothing like risd’s. not that either is bad, they are just different approaches. i highly recommend it! especially if you are considering saic for undergrad. i am going in the fall with $88,000 presidential scholarship, which only happened because of the relationship i built with the admissions office that summer.</p>
<p>Anyone else care to share their experience in the program?</p>
<p>I decided to apply for the painting major. I’ve heard their undergrad programs tend to be more creative and experimental vs. technical skills (which are what I really want to improve)… but I don’t know if this applies to the pre-college programs. TrinSF or valtergeorge, do you know if there were lots of extra opportunities for figure drawing outside of studio hours??? Also, was painting class held on weekends??
I don’t know anyone who’s been to SAIC… so it’s really hard trying to figure out if it’s worth it vs. cheaper programs such as MICA.</p>
<p>Valtergeorge, you said you were an Advanced Projects major. That is the class that I signed up for, just because it seemed so conceptually interesting to me. However, I have never done anything like that before, in terms of sculpture or anything. Is it hard for people who dont have much experience with 2D, 3D, 4D work?</p>
<p>Also, could you give me a little insight on what the class was like?</p>
<p>any advice would be much appreciated :)</p>
<p>My DD went to SAIC ECP twice. We live in CHicago so I cant speak to the dorm life. The school was very careful about warning kids of city life. They really worked the kid hard. She had to go back inot the studio to work late nights. After spending the whole day on those hard stools bent over a light table she would come home for dinner and then back. some days just work right thru and call for a late pick up after 9 or 10 pm. The exhibition at the end of the summer session is good. It’s good to see the kids works exhibited. While she was there someone from admissions came around to talk to them. She applied and was accepted but went to a state school with a newer facility and better scholarship.
SAIC did a good job developing the portfolio for the student and emphasizing work and production values for apprenticing artists.</p>
<p>"Valtergeorge, you said you were an Advanced Projects major. That is the class that I signed up for, just because it seemed so conceptually interesting to me. However, I have never done anything like that before, in terms of sculpture or anything. Is it hard for people who dont have much experience with 2D, 3D, 4D work?</p>
<p>Also, could you give me a little insight on what the class was like?</p>
<p>any advice would be much appreciated "</p>
<p>The advanced projects course really doesn’t require any training at all in 2d 3d OR 4d, just an interest in it. the class size is small (think no more than a dozen kids) and there are two teachers so there is tons of one on one time. I went into the program with only 2d background, mostly drawing and collage. I decided I was interested in video and sculpture work there, and the teachers taught me to use final cut as well as tons of new tools (my teacher in particular also happened to teach sculpture).</p>
<p>it’s not for everyone though, like my classmate who went with me felt she didnt learn a single thing but will be going to cooper in the fall. i, on the other hand, saw it as a great way to learn the school and learn new skills and ways to approach art. in fact, the sculpture installation and video series i did over the summer there are still in my portfolio, and are actually still some of my strongest pieces. all the work i have done since then has stemmed from that work as well.</p>
<p>the projects are fun and crazy and so interesting. for example on the very first day we were given a copy of the chicago yellowpages and were told to create anything out of it, but we were only alllowed to use the book and adhesives, and we had to use the whole book. other projects were creating animate objects out of the inanimate, a sculpture that incorporates sound, and a series based on a function. there are mini-trips after class to the art institute and the MCA as well as workshops in capturing and using sound for sound art. for the kinetic sculpture we took a trip to a store called american science and surplus, basically a giant science and mechanical parts store. so much fun.</p>
<p>at the end of the program our course is the only one to receive real gallery space (as opposed to showing the final show in a classroom) and we get to curate the show together, which is really exciting. and every day the teacher would give us like an hour lecture on important contemporary artists that related to our projects, and i discovered tons of my current favorites in that class. by the end when the teacher is familiar with your work, she will custom tailor the lectures to fit your work as well.</p>
<p>my favorite part was staying in the studios until 2 AM every night because i wanted to keep working, not because i felt i had to. i was ALWAYS working, hauling chairs and TVs from thrift stores across town, going to fabric stores to buy leather and beauty supply stores to buy weave, not eating, i did more work those two weeks than most of my senior year. my friends in the other courses had to literally force me to go out into belmont on saturday, and even then all i could think about was what i needed to keep working on.</p>
<p>but you really really really need to be self motivated and open to a course that isn’t really what you expect. the assignments don’t straight out seem like potential portfolio pieces; it’s really up to you to twist them into something that is yours. 75% of the kids in my class probably didn’t get too much out of it because they were expecting a structured class with teaching, but it’s really guidance that you should be expecting instead. just go in with the mentality that while it would be nice to make friends, your number one priority is WORK WORK WORK and become a better artist</p>
<p>sorry if i rambled, but i really enjoyed my experience at ECP and i hope that was enough to convince you</p>
<p>Valtergeorge, Thank you so much, that really gave me a good insight as to what the course is like, and I am very exited now!</p>
<p>My daughter will attend the 3-week ECP this summer (she will be a junior next year). We are hoping she will be able to attend this or a similar program again next summer before making that final college decision. Any experience out there at Ringling’s ECP?</p>
<p>My daughter’s strengths are in drawing and painting. While she got a small merit scholarship and equally small amount of financial aid, I actually cashed out my 401k to pay the rest. Wish I had known I might have been able to negotiate that. </p>
<p>Whether student or parent, please tell me anything you think would be helpful in her securing assistance for next summer’s programs… Thanks!</p>
<p>My D did the ECP last summer, 3 weeks. Had a great time. Loved Chicago (not her first visit). Very comfortable getting around, enjoyed the freedom afforded them. Program concentrates in one discipline – unlike some others, which give a “mini foundation year” (i.e., RISD). Both have value – depends what you want to do. All schools give some sort of merit aid, with a portfolio submission. Also, attending these programs gives you an “edge” in their regular program (whichever school you go to). There are so many great programs out there – she can try SAIC this summer and another one next!</p>
<p>My daughter is thinking about SAIC ECP for this summer. All of the posts on this feed are older. I would love to hear some comments from people who attended or had kids attend in 2013. Any input on the experience positive or negative would be great, Thanks!</p>
<p>@dkmlamom did you apply? have they gotten back to you yet? i would also love to hear from others who have attended saic ecp in recent years</p>
<p>anyways i just got an email from them today and was admitted and offered some aid…but rly not enough by any means.-.</p>
<p>reading other comments on this thread it seems that saic can be very generous, guess ill just have to shamelessly ask for money and hope for the best/sigh </p>
<p>I realize that this is an old thread, but since it was revived this past spring, I thought I’d add in my two cents worth: My daughter, who’s a rising HS senior, recently attended SAIC’s ECP program this summer and had a very positive experience. She was in the figure painting class. The class sizes were small, which allowed for a lot of individual attention for the students. The critiques, from the instructor, & fellow students, was constructive & helpful. Over the course of the two weeks, her painting skills further improved which, in turn, bolstered her confidence as an artist. I can’t say enough good things about this program.</p>
My son went for two weeks summer 2015. Had a great time, made friends from all over the world that he still keeps in touch with through social media. He did the architecture camp and got a merit-based scholarship. Highly recommend.