Hi everybody! I’m a high school senior and I’ve been accepted into SVA with a scholarship- still pending on RISD, but if I do get in I’d like to be able to make the right decision.
I went to the RISD pre-college program for animation and loved it, but I haven’t seen much of RISD’s facilities beyond the one room we used for animation, and that wasn’t impressive by industry standards. They’re expensive and also notoriously stingy and my family unfortunately straddles the line between making enough money that we won’t be considered for need-based scholarships, but not enough to put me and my two siblings through college. Having basically experienced a condensed foundation year, I know I love both animation and RISD, but I’m unsure how its animation program compares to SVA.
SVA has the benefits of being very close to home and less expensive, and they’ve offered me about a half tuition scholarship (not counting the “hidden fees,” but it’s still significantly less expensive than RISD). I visited the campus and I really liked it, and the student work I’ve seen has really impressed me. However, I know that there are a lot of unsatisfied former students, although I’m not sure for which programs. Can anyone offer me explanations for these two choices and help me decide, assuming I get into RISD? Thank you so much!
Gothfrog, you might want to take a look at online rankings. If you google something like “top animation programs” you’ll probably get a hit or two.
The top programs I’ve been hearing about are CalArts and CMU so if those are listed in the rankings near the top it’s probably a fairly decent review.
I don’t know much about SVA animation but the daughter of some friends of ours is an animation student who is there now She did not get into CalArts and I don’t think she applied to RISD.
One thing you might want to do while awaiting your decision is check out what RISD and SVA alums have done in the field of animation and whether you can see yourself doing that.
Thanks for replying to me! I have looked at and considered online rankings but I don’t want to put too much stock into them, as they could be written by biased reviewers. I prefer reading as many student reviews as I can to get a sense of each individual’s positive and negative experiences.
I’ve applied to CalArts but after visiting the campus I can say with relative certainty that I wouldn’t feel comfortable there, it’s too far away from home and I dislike the suburban campus, and while everyone was very nice I didn’t feel as though I would fit in. Even if I got into CalArts ((which is a HUGE if, they only accept 50-60 students into their animation program if I remember correctly)) I don’t think I’d go there. I haven’t heard of CMU, but I’m pretty sure that deadlines for applying have passed already, so if I was going to go there I’d have to transfer.
I have checked out what alums from RISD and SVA have done, and unfortunately for me alums from both schools have created and worked on two of my favorite television series. I want to go into television animation when I graduate and it’s difficult to chose between the schools when alums from both have produced shows that I adore, haha~
@Gothfrog that’s great news. If you actually like the output from alums of both then choose the place that YOU like best, taking into account facilities, lodgings, sense of community, cost of attendance, etc. you are already way ahead having spent time at RISD and having visited SVA.
One thing I’d look into is not only size of facilities but access to them. I seem to recall that being an issue at SVA at one point but not sure that pertained to animation specifically. I’ll PM you with our friends’ daughter’s tumblr account so you can ask her how the year is going. She’s in her foundation year now.
Fortunately you’ll have at least a month to make a decision should you get into RISD.
Thanks so much! I didn’t realize the abbreviation for Carnegie Mellon was CMU, haha- I was planning on applying there but I changed my mind at the last second because they seemed to only have cgi animation and I’m much more interested in 2-d.
SVA seemed to have accessible facilities when I visited, but I suppose tours are always pointing out what’s good about the school and skipping over the less savory parts. Anyway, thank you for helping me out~!
Yeah I looked into them! They seem to focus a lot on three dimensional animation and I’m a lot more interested in 2d. I’m actually in a 3d modelling class right now and it just isn’t my cup of tea
Anyway Ringling is known for their 3d courses and I know they offer 2d but as far as I could tell their 2d program wasn’t particularly strong. I could be wrong, though. In hindsight I should have put what type of animation I’m interested in the title…
SVA has a very good reputation for job placement for animation students. The person named “taxguy” here has a D who went to SVA for a master’s in animation and loved it, and is employed in the industry now. You might want to PM him for more info.
Oh yeah, RISD’s pre-college was essentially a condensed version of their foundation year, so I know it’s a lot of tough work. I also know I can handle it- I’ve heard that the pre-college is actually more demanding than the actual foundation year, since they have to fit so much into only six weeks, and I did well there. So I’m fairly certain that if I went to RISD I would be able to handle the workload.
SVA’s foundation is more of a mystery to me, but from what I’ve seen it looks good? It’s definitely not as intense as RISD, which is okay- I don’t think anyone’s as intense as RISD when it comes to foundation stuff, haha. Also, I got like, no sleep at RISD. It was a great and fun experience but I’m worried that if I get too much foundation work I’ll compromise my health (I get sick really easily, especially in the winter.) The animation programs of both schools are my main concern, and I’ve heard good and bad things about both.
Still haven’t gotten anything from RISD, though, so I don’t know if I even got in or not. The entire discussion could be moot.
HEY CASEY it’s mo!!! hehehe
i know from my own search that if i was gonna study animation i woulda picked SVA. I’ve taken classes there and the professors are rad as heck. the program there is more story based, whereas I’ve found that RISD is more animation-as-art based. both of which have their merits! it’s all about what you wanna study. and as much as i’d love spending four years in providence rather than our six weeks we got, they just didn’t really meet my needs in the long run.
however-- the cost of living in New York is MUCH more expensive than I’d imagine providence to be. but I bet I could convince my momma to rent you the apartment attatched to our house. just a quick ride from the school on a 1 train ;))))
Mo!!! omg hi!!
I thought you didn’t like sva? did it change for the better?
Yeah, my parents have told me that NY is really expensive, so I’d probably live from home at least some of the time- it’s only half an hour away so the commute hopefully wouldn’t be too bad. I’d want to live on campus the first year so I could make friends, haha.
I did actually get into RISD! So now I really do have to make this decision ; v ;
Both programs show up on most of the rankings you can find for animation. If you are 100% certain of the type of animation you want to pursue, SVA might be for you. If not, SVA can pose a challenge in that from early on they force you to choose computer or traditional (unless things have changed in the last couple of years). RISD takes a broader approach, teaching you traditional, computer & stop motion. If you can commute to a school, it will obviously be cheaper. If commuting is not an option, you have the terrible cost of living in Manhattan vs the terribly high tuition at RISD.
First, I don’t know much about RISD’s program to really comment on it. However, I do know that their main focus is 2d.
My child attended SVA and eventually got a great job with a major studio. She attended grad school there and focused on 3d animation.
SVA has two undergrad concentrations in both 2d and 3d. Their grad program in Computer Art is 3d only. Frankly, I think you should know both areas especially 3d. A LOT of work is gravitating towards 3d.
I do know that SVA does allow for independent study. Thus, you can take courses in areas that aren’t offered. You can also take courses in other artistic areas, both in animation and other art majors.
It also is in a great area for contacts. Let’s face it: NY is a big center for animation work with their studios, ad agencies and networks.
Ringling is widely considered the best undergrad animation program for 3d. It is not well known for 2d work. Cal Arts is widely considered to be the best program in 2d.
I don’t think that CMU has an undergrad program in animation,but I didn’t look at their offerings within the last 4 years.
Honestly I don’t think you could go wrong with any decent school since a lot of jobs are contract jobs and depend on your reel and especially contacts. If I haven’t answered all of your questions, you PM me.
