I’m not sure how to word this specifically but we are struggling with the cost of school right now and the choices we have. My daughter got accepted in all 4 Art programs she applied too. VCU Arts, University of Michigan STAMPS Art, University of Cincinnati DAAP and Kent State. She is interested in Painting and Drawing. Both VCU and Michigan required a portfolio to get in and Cinci and Kent did not. We are from OH so obviously Cinci and Kent are the cheapest for us. My daughter is very talented artistically and academically. So far she got offered scholarships at Kent and VCU. We were thrilled to get a letter yesterday from VCU and my daughter was offered the provost scholarship (full in-state tuition) and an additional $8K for OOS. However, that would leave us with about $20K to pay a year. Kent offered a similar scholarship which would leave us 10K a year to pay. I suspect my daughter will get offered something similar from Cincinnati. We are uncertain about Michigan but is is more expensive than VCU. I guess my real question is when it comes to Art schools how much of a benefit is it to go to a more established school where the students need to have a lot more skill to get in and the reputation of the program and alumni are better? Is VCU and/or Michigan worth the extra cost? Thanks
It sounds like you are talking about approximately $40K over 4 years. I am not privy to what your family can afford or not, but I would say that for that differential, the more established art programs are worth it. The courses will be higher level, with students who are screened for talent. The professors will be higher caliber overall. The networking potential will be stronger. There will be more connections for job placement and the degree will look better for graduate programs, residencies and grants (especially if it is a BFA vs. a BA).
Have you visited any/all of these? The only one I have passing knowledge of is VCU, which I personally think would be worth 20K per year, but it also depends on where your child feels she fits and what your family budget is like.
We have visited all of them. Thanks everyone. She wants to go back to VCU now to see it again. We can swing contributing 10K a year so it would cost her 10K a year but we would have to factor in extra art supplies and cost of travel back and forth from Ohio. It’s exciting but we are so nervous as this is all new to us since this is our first child to college. I really think both VCU and Michigan would be her best fit and the caliber of faculty and students would be much better, but its just a matter of affording it.
VCU Arts has a good reputation. If your daughter gets into the Honors College, the housing is great - private bathrooms! Find out whether she could establish residency in Virginia. It’s a big school, and an urban campus, which is not for everyone (This is based on what I hear from moms of students there.)
How is the Art Department at Kent State? My son was accepted there with a scholarship but we don’t know much about it.
Congrats to your D’s scholarship offers. Following; I have a junior D. I didn’t realize VUC offered merit scholarships.
My daughter did get into the Honors college at VCU and applied for another scholarship from the honors program so we will see. I did read about the honor dorms with their own bathroom- very nice. I guess the Honor dorms used to be a hospital that’s why they all have their own bathrooms.
Kent State is very nice. The Arts building is brand new and is fantastic- offers a lot in one place. We met the new director and she seems very good and has good credentials. However, Kent requires no portfolio and from the freshman Art we saw when we toured the building it kind of showed. I don’t want to seem arrogant but we were taken back how bad some of it was. Kent is known for their clothing design program and they have a decent reputation for Fine Arts too. Their campus is very nice and it has a cool small town feeling to it but is close to Cleveland and Akron. That is kind of the issue with my daughter- it’s everyone’s “goto” school and she doesnt want to go that close. We will see, thanks for everyone’s input.
@DBY2017. Congrats on your D’s acceptances and scholarships! My D was accepted to VCU Arts a couple of months ago and got a “certificate” saying she was being considered for merit, but we haven’t gotten anything in the mail yet. Did you get one of those? Or did they just send the offer?
We got the same certificate a few months ago also. The certificate said we would know early Spring and we were quite surprised to get a notice so early. My daughter also got into the honors program at VCU.
Does she know ultimately what she wants to do job-wise? It might be worth talking about that more especially if she wants to pursue a masters degree (example art education) and factor that into how much debt either you or she can shoulder.
ok so congratulations on getting such a generous offer from VCUARTS. Know , it is in fact one of the top art/design schools in the entire country (including all privates). Our D attends and is a GD major. First , look into the artist colony for housing. D had the grades and was accepted to honors but chose the artist colony and had a huge room overlooking the park. She loved being with so many of the foundation year students and it was a great experience.
In our case (and it worked out wonderfully) we quickly learned the Art classes hold the most weight for a art major, period. If you choose to attend also look into Ram Camp . Its a leadership program that takes place about a week 1/2 prior to freshman coming back . Only a limited # of students are accepted and its free. Well worth it.
Good luck
Thanks but daughter decided on Michigan- daughter ended up getting a large grant and scholarship to UM STAMPS College of Art and Design making it slightly cheaper than even VCU.
@DBY2017 Michigan is an excellent art school and obviously an excellent university! Good luck to your daughter!
@DBY2017 Congratulations to your daughter’s acceptances and her decision to attend U of M. That’s super wonderful that U of M gave grant and scholarship to Stamps for an OOS student. We’re also OOS and didn’t think U of M offered aid to OOS students. Our oldest did not get any need or merit aid from the college of engineering. Can you share if the aid is Stamps School specific?
Thanks. We were fortunate to get some grant aid. Grants are given because of income and need. My assumption is you must have a lot of income and a high EFC? My daughter got 1 of only 8 scholarships they give to new students at Stamps Art and Design. She got $50,000 total, $12,500 per year. Stamps accepted 150 students and gave out 8 of those scholarships. With the UM grant, work study,and scholarship we got a total of about $40K a year.
@DBY2017 Thanks for sharing. That’s a wonderful aid package; she’s very fortunate. What is her art concentration.
Both my sisters are graduates of U of M; one who attended Stamps. Good luck to your D. Please give us an update next year on her experience. I have a HS junior who is interested in art in a larger university. After visiting LACs, she decided she may prefer larger populations.