<p>having lived in NYC all his life, my S wants to go to art college elsewhere. But, he wants to be in a city. we haven't got a lot of $$.
his first choice, underline that, is MICA. Distant second is SAIC. Both are part of tuition exchange, which he's eligible for because of my teaching position--BUT getting a tuition exchange scholarship seems extremely competitive (not to mention--first he'd have to get accepted.)
I hope he has a decent chance of acceptance at one of those schools, but they both grant very few tuition exchange s and not a huge amount of other scholarship aid. </p>
<p>Purchase is affordable, but not right for my S.
Mass Art isn't so affordable for out-of-staters . . .</p>
<p>Well, actually, for out-of-state residents Tyler’s over $28,000 in tuition alone.
. . . we may be looking for something that doesn’t exist . . .</p>
<p>RISD.
My d recently received an MFA in Painting and Drawing from Tyler. It is definitely worth your consideration. The new Tyler facilities are outstanding and the Temple campus is pretty nice. Philly has a lot to offer. The immediate area around the campus can be grim, but it is getting better and there are neighborhoods close that are rapidly gentrifying.
There are also many fine liberal arts colleges and universities that have strong art departments including BU, Skidmore. You can also look at SUNY New Paltz.</p>
<p>I love Philadelphia. But again, Tyler’s pretty expensive. RISD is VERY expensive and gives almost no aid.
We’re not looking for a LA college for various reasons, although I agree, many have very strong art depts, including those you mention.</p>
<p>Hi leslier, I would have said FIT for affordability and a great value, but your son doesn’t want to be in NYC. Then I would have said that maybe East Carolina might be affordable, but I don’t think it is anywhere near a big city and is not solely an art college! I have heard great things about their art program, though. I love Philly, too! Is it any more grim than Baltimore? Has he visited many schools? It is funny how kids can change their minds about their “must haves” once they spend time at a campus! Best of luck to him in finding the perfect match!</p>
<p>i’m following you to another thread here . . .
you’re right that FIT is a great value. so is brooklyn college, which just established a BFA program. but right, no NYC.
and EC . . .right.
much of philly’s great, just not where Tyler is now located. grim and dangerous.
East carolina–no . . I’m originally from NC, we spend time there in the summer, but it’s not where he wants to go to college. did i mention he’s gay? that’s one reason a city’s probably a better idea.
however, many college towns are liberal and progressive . . . and you are so right about kids changing their minds. But it tends to feel as if a mom’s the last person who can get a guy to open his mind.
thanks so much. it will be an anxious few months for many.</p>
<p>A friend suggested that you look at PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland) which they found the most affordable, especially after mixed grants and scholarships. it’s test optional, rolling admission, open-sh curriculum and in Portland which would be a city setting but very manageable city which is quite hip with a large “young” population and huge public support for the arts. The facilities are okay, program pretty good, might be an interesting and affordable option. Don’t know if they comp parents who teach at other facilities but I think Portland would be a great transition city for a NY kid, not out in the sticks and a very “with-it” city close to mountains, ocean. Will probably seem small if you’re from NY but it’s chock full of clubs, galleries, etc. Also just became the largest US city to elect an openly gay mayor so there’s a beyond just tolerance attitude towards different lifestyles.</p>
<p>I just checked tuition there is $28,000 also but it sounded as if my friend had a really good package offered. Might not be as competitive for aid and scholarships and I can check if you want but I pretty positive my friends kid was not one of those 4.9 grade average types, and was from the city also. They would probably be interested in a NYC kid just for geographical diversity.</p>
<p>Okay, I have permission to give you a little extra info.
My friend’s child definitely did not have anywhere near
what most would consider stellar gpa, actual GPA was
seriously low, SAT’s and ACT’s good, some
art awards but nothing major and the school alone
covered half the tuition with the majority being a scholarship.
If you’re interested in more details pm me and I can
give you an even clear picture. It was quite afforable
by the time they were done.
Child picked another school but package was doable
for someone with a moderate income.</p>
<p>leslier…just catching up here. My S is in his 2nd year at RISD. I know they are not known for giving good aid but for some reason they came up with the bucks for us…over half. Syracuse and Carnegie Mellon made great offers as well. It is good to apply to a number of schools so that you have enough offers to choose from. We had warned my son that RISD would most likely be the last possible place he would end up and look what happened. There is an element of mystery to this process.</p>
<p>Don’t be shy about going back to request more if it comes to that. Others here have had luck with doing so. You might want to check out Cal. Coll. of the Arts in SF as well. They didn’t offer so much to us but maybe they would be open to your tuition exchange in order to get an east coast kid. Also look at MCAD, Cleveland Inst. of Art and College of Creative Studies in Detroit.</p>
<p>Check out College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota. That is where I wanted to go, and they offered a hefty scholarship package.
Also, The Art Institutes of Minneapolis is in a nice downtown area. But they don’t offer traditional fine arts.</p>
<p>thanks so much to all.
artsmarts, PNCA sounds like a good place to investigate. You can’t get much more liberal than Portland. i appreciate the detailed info on flexibility re GPA. My S is late-diagnosed ADD and has had trouble finding effective treatment, and some of his grades show it. However i don’t know if he could interview at PNCA at this point–his intelligence comes across more in interviews than on paper. </p>
<p>Colcon, thanks again for your help . … I don’t know which is the right page! About SCAD–a place that big has got to have some good teachers and students, but i have too many concerns about it to want my S there. i would say it may be a better bet for design than fine art.</p>
<p>drae, wow, your son’s doing so well. That much aid at RISD is rare, i believe. sounds like they are lucky to have him. And you’re right, one really can’t predict. stats are just stats. And asking for more aid–true, they can only say no. Cleveland (CIA . . .!) and MCAD are on our radar.</p>
<p>My D is a sophomore at MCAD and loves it. Aid was OK, but not half, like some of the other schools mentioned here. Minneapolis is a very art friendly, hip town, school is LBGT friendly.</p>
<p>If Richmond qualifies as a big enough city, you should look into VCU. Out of state tuition is approx 22K before any possible aid, and Richmond isn’t an expensive city to live in.</p>