I am a high school senior and it’s almost time for me to pick a school. My top two choices are Massart and SVA, but i’m not sure which one I should go for.
I was a part of the pre-college program at SVA over the summer for animation and I loved it to pieces. I liked the atmosphere and the teachers I got and the facilities were great, and I loved being in NYC! Despite this, I know theres a lot of mixed reviews about SVA and i’ve heard good and bad things about the teachers- plus it is really expensive and i dont know if i’m up for paying all of it off.
MassArt, on the other hand, is in my home state (about an hour away from my house) so it would cost a lot less, tuition is actually less than the cost of both of my brothers going to private school so it’s very much affordable. I love Boston and the campus is part of a few other colleges which I think its great, but I don’t know if the animation program is up to snuff.
Should i apply to a bunch of scholarships and go to SVA, or should I go cheaper and attend MassArt? If anyone who attends/has attended either school could add some imput that would be fantastic- thank you!
Have you applied for financial aid yet? Once you get that back you can go to SVA and demand more aid and see if they are willing to. I did this when I applied for college. I used aid letters from other colleges to try to appeal to get more aid. It worked and I got a housing grant.
I am currently a sophomore at MCAD studying illustration and I was in the same position as you when I was applying to art colleges as a senior.
My advice is to take out as little loans as possible if you can, if your college budget is important to you.
You need to think about the cost of living expenses as well as supplies for school. Living in NYC is very expensive. However, there are a lot of internships there, so you could keep that in mind. But internships are mainly in the summer between semesters, so that reason alone shouldn’t be the main reason for choosing a particular institution.
At both places, you are going to have a great education and meet important contacts and have great opportunities. I would highly recommend visiting Mass Art and learning about their animation programs. That in state tuition is pretty hard to beat and is very good for your circumstances.
have you gotten any scholarships from SVA? If they do not offer you a scholarship that covers at least half tuition I would not go there for undergrad.
Honestly, if I was in your position I would go to MassArt for undergrad and then go to SVA for graduate school.
And keep this in mind, being close to home is important. Being only an hour away is very beneficial.
Hope this helps.