Summer Pre-College Art Programs - Pratt??

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>This is my first excursion to the Arts Majors forum, and I’m hoping for some good advice in this new to me area. Daughter is a sophomore in HS and is interested in majoring or double majoring in art (studio art, at this point). She has been taking lessons pretty much all her life, and definitely has some ability and enjoys it, but I don’t know how good she really is. In any case, she wants to submit a portfolio as part of admission to colleges, but doesn’t have much of it ready yet. H and I are steering her to more practical degree than studio art (psychology is her other interest), and she says that art is the only thing she likes and “is really good at” and that’s why she should major in it. To find out if she would really like being an art student, to see how she compares with other aspiring art students and to help her with portfolio I suggested that a summer program at one of the art schools would be useful. She is enthusiastic at the prospect. Now the question is where to go. </p>

<p>We would be looking on the East Coast because we have family in NJ who could help in emergencies. I did search through past threads and learned about some options. Naturally, I would prefer a program in or around New York since it would be easiest for her (and family) to get to. I understand the choices are Parsons, SVA and Pratt in NYC; some further away options are MICA, RISD, MassArt, and UArts in Philly. If there are any other programs I missed, please let me know!</p>

<p>I’m particularly interested in Pratt, because of its campus environment. I’m not thrilled with the idea of daughter hanging around in Manhattan by herself without a campus which would be the case with Parsons or SVA. She is used to big cities and loves NYC, but I think there will be better supervision on campus, and better sense of community. What I am not sure about is the seriousness of Pratt program. I read kind of mixed reviews here. How good are the teachers? Are most students working hard, even after class hours, are there deadlines for assignments? Pratt’s online info doesn’t say much about workload, whereas RISD and MICA, for example, explicitly state that their programs are rigorous and students work very hard. My daughter tends to do well in a focused environment and rises to the challenge, but is not so good at self motivation when lots of distractions are present. I want it to be as close to serious art school experience as possible, and less of a fun camp. RISD looks to be “the best of breed”, but it’s 6 weeks, very expensive and 3 hour train ride from NY (I’m still not writing it off completely). Another question, is it hard to get in? From Pratt’s web site info, it seems that as long as you can pay and apply early, you will get in, but maybe she should apply for several programs in case she won’t get in? I would love to hear any feedback on Pratt as well as any other programs I mentioned. Thanks!</p>

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<p>You are saying isn't there anything in London?
If she is wanting to come to college here and know what area of arts she wants to study, then she should go to pre college there, it helps.
She sounds like RISD kind girl more so than Pratt, there too, you are in if you apply soon and pay full being a good girl.
I don't know why but have this feeling MICA could be rough, for you'd need portflio and hard to get first choice class if you are late.
If she doesn't know for sure that she wants to do visual art, one with performing arts classes that she can be friends with those kids might be good, like U arts or innerspark at Calart campus done by Cal state.
Do tell us about England, school, art schools, museums!!!
There was an old thread once something about fashion school that is THE best, way better than Parsons without much details.</p>

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<p>bears and dogs, she is dead set on going to college in the US, she never warmed up to the whole UK experience and can't wait to graduate and move back to the States. We're going back every summer and she loves her time in NJ/NY area. Because she will be applying to American schools, it makes more sense to learn portfolio requirements for US schools rather than English schools. She is definitely into visual arts, no interest in drama or performing arts. I agree that MICA may be hard to get into due to portfolio requirement. </p>

<p>I don't know much about UK art schools, except the highly regarded University of the Arts London and Slade School of Art. The fashion school you're referring to could be London College of Fashion, part of said University, but D is not into fashion either. For the summer program, she needs to focus on classical drawing and painting to produce some portfolio worthy pieces.</p>

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<p>Oh, you are not british, just happened to be there? then she won't be an international student or how that work?
It was called central martin or something, I will look up.
My son was rising jounior and did MICA but went Tuscany instead. they had to stay in Baltimore few days before travel and the experience was not a nice one. He loved the program but written off MICA from his college list. I am trying to convince him that they were summer kids, not actual college students, wait, maybe some of them do marticurate,,, could he be thinking that far? I doubt.
when we dropped him off at common, it was when kids are coming out of classes and pretty girls are crustered in groups gossiping and nerdy sorts are carrying tons of works back to their dorm in hurry.
I can't say that is what's gonna happen to everyone but it was like 7th grade again.
When we visited RISD, everyone was nice, well mannered and friendly, but that was not summer.
I guess it is up to her, rocation, program, how much work, how big is the program
some small school has less than 100, MICA 250 plus, RISD 600 last year info. And there are always more girls than boys, mean or nice.</p>

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<p>Oh, so you mean Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design! Yes, it's also part of University of the Arts London. I'm actually thinking of signing my daughter up for their short courses over Easter holidays. </p>

<p>You are correct that she won't be an international student, she will be considered US citizen living abroad. I'm not sure how it will affect college admissions, because we won't qualify for any fin. aid and other than that, there is probably no difference between US and international students. Thanks for the feedback on MICA, I also heard very positive opinions. I guess it's like with any program, people will make their experience whatever they want. As long as opportunity for serious study is there, I can only hope my daughter will use it, but peer influence is important as well. That's why I am asking about atmosphere at Pratt - are the majority of kids passionate about art and wanting to improve, or just spending time hanging out, gossiping, etc.</p>

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<p>Has she thought about art therapy? It would combine her interests very well, although it does take a lot of schooling. It might be something she can consider as she gets older. </p>

<p>If your D is a sophmore she has MORE than enough time to work on her portfolio. Tell her to relax a bit and have fun while she can :) </p>

<p>What are her specific interests? It would be good to choose a school with a strong department in that area if you can. I'm applying as a transfer student and I'll place right into the Illustration major, and as such I like the work of SVA and MICA students MUCH MUCH more than the Pratt and Parson's students. But I'm keeping all my options open.</p>

<p>Unfortunately with art school, there is little time to be social and party and all that typical college stuff. But if community is very important for your D, she can try to look at schools with a lot of student orgs she can get involved with.</p>

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<p>I think it's a great idea for your daughter to attend a pre-college art program for all of those reasons you mentioned. Because she's a sophomore, she could do a shorter course this summer and if she is still into art next year, she can try a longer course next summer. I'll tell you what I have heard from friends and what I know from experience about the schools you mentioned.</p>

<p>Pratt (4 weeks): Had a mom-friend whose son studied architecture there 3 summers ago. He loved it and worked hard, but the mom would not have let her daughter attend a similar program there because she thought it was unsafe for her daughter. (The son apparently hung around with a big friend whenever they went off-campus or something.) </p>

<p>Parsons (4 weeks): Had another friend whose daughter attended NY Parsons the summer before last and then the Paris Parsons (?) this summer. Her daughter absolutely loved it and came home with some great pieces. </p>

<p>MICA (4 weeks): A friend of my daughter's went there last summer and really got a lot out of it. There were some roommate/suitemate problems that put a damper on things, but the workload was good.</p>

<p>RISD (6 weeks): My D went there this past summer and loved it. She was a rising senior and we were ready to let her be gone for that long a time, plus her younger sister was at a summer program at Brown, which made us all feel better. Older daughter absolutely loved her time at RISD and came away with 3 important things: 1) self-knowledge that she wanted to major in some kind of commercial art (illustration/graphic design/visual communication), 2) confidence that she could "keep up" with her peers and with a somewhat grueling schedule (lots of late nights to finish those projects), and 3) some really good portfolio pieces. </p>

<p>By the way, out of those 4 programs, only MICA required a portfolio for admission to their pre-college program. Others requested only transcripts, a teacher rec and a short essay, if memory serves.</p>

<p>Two other programs to consider are Boston University's and Maine College of Arts. Last summer, BU had both a 2-week "Summer Challenge" that had a morning seminar with visual arts and an afternoon of something else like mass communications or persuasive writing. BU also had a completely separate Visual Arts Summer Institute that was "all art - all the time": drawing in the morning and painting or sculpture in the afternoon. To apply to that program, you needed to submit a 6-piece portfolio. MECA in Portland, Maine, is probably too far for you, but their program was appealing because they only admitted 40 or so students, and it sounded rigorous but fun (even nurturing, I'd say).</p>

<p>Hope this helps. There's a lot to look into!</p>

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<p>I second Maine
MECA had most lovely people working for admission and listed students' works are what I thought we were looking for. I would nave sent him if we had $.
Chicago SAIC was also very helpful, choice of two and three weeks and convined 5 weeks.
There is dorm but no meals, which was the biggest issue for him, and maybe the location. Again, I would have sent him if MICA didn't work out.
Pratt is too local and asks for non refundable high deposit $ for fin.aid applicant upfront, we couldn't do it. School is nice, I wouldn't say super safe.</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone, especially Austinhills! We have few more months to think about it and decide. Maine and Chicago are definitely out - too far, and it seems unnecessary to branch out so far given the choice of Pratt, Parsons, SVA in NY, plus MassArt and RISD. By the way, RISD is still on the table - it would be a little more hassle with transportation, but she did go to Brown's summer program last year and was fine (of course, it was only 2 weeks vs. 6). It's more me feeling uneasy being in UK and her being in RI alone, far enough from relatives in NJ to come up quickly if needed. And the cost is a bit more than I would have liked. Daughter would definitely prefer RISD, she knows it's a fantastic program, and her hero Bryan Konietzko went there :). And she loved Providence last year. So she is making a case for RISD, now she also needs to make this case for her very pragmatic father who is not too thrilled with this whole art as a career idea!</p>