<p>Hey guys-
I applied to RISD, Pratt, Pratt MWP, MICA and the School of Visual Arts. Thus far I've heard and have been accepted to the last three. I'm pretty confident that I will be accepted into Pratt and RISD as well. So, what school would you personally pick? I currently am more into painting and fine art, but I'm open to learning anything. I am pretty much torn between RISD and Pratt, for RISD's reputation and Pratt's supposed laid-back lifesyle.
All opinions are welcome, I want to put alot of thought into this decision, so any informationand opionions are helpful.</p>
<p>only you can decide what school is right for you. visit the schools, talk to kids who go to each, talk to professors, it doesnt matter how great a program it is if it isn't a fit for you.</p>
<p>You have a wide range of schools, and that is great! Random thoughts... I went to Pratt for Grad School many years ago and loved it, and my daughter is currently in school at Brown, and is going to be a Visual Arts concentrator (major). One of the things that attracted her to Brown was the ability to cross-register at RISD. She didn't apply there because she wanted more liberal arts and other stuff. RISD students have that capability as well, though it is not always easy to do (scheduling and academic calendars are not in sync). RISD and Brown are starting up a dual-degree program for 2012 students. I am presuming that you did not apply to this program, from your post. Pratt is a city school, and is quite good, but I think RISD, also a city school is a better school. The other schools you mention are also very good. Probably MICA is better than SVA. I know kids who are at MICA and love it. I also know a kid who dropped out of MICA after a couple of weeks. Long story... I know kids at SVA and at RISD. You get a good art education at all of these schools. RISD probably has the best reputation but is the most competitive to get in. Once there, though, I think it's pretty laid back. Having Brown and all it offers is a great advantage. But being in NYC (Pratt and SVA) is also amazing. You really need to go visit both (all) to see how you feel there. Reputation means nothing if it doesn't feel like "home" when you are actually on the campus. Look at the work in the art buildings, talk to art students and profs, peek in on classes.</p>
<p>I live in Maryland and know a bit about MICA. Although I agree that all of these schools can give you good fine arts training in painting, MICA is specificallly known for fine arts especially painting. They take their painting department VERY seriously. They are trying to also beef up other departments such as digital arts,but painting is probably their mainstay department.</p>
<p>Also, MICA,unlike the others, have 5 year BFA/MFA programs that you should definitely evaluate. I would unqualifiedly recommend MICA over the others;however, I don't particularly like their location in Baltimore. It isn't the safest spot in our area, and kids just need to be careful walking around the immediate vacinity, although Baltimore, as a city, has a LOT to offer.</p>
<p>I should note that what I have said about location applies to other art schools such as Pratt. Even RISD seems deceptively safe with all the kids around. People have been mugged in Providence.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for the feedback!
I'm not crazy about being in a big city, so I don't think SVA is really for me. Also, they're system is known to be very 'loose', which I don't think I'd personally benefit from. What I like about Pratt is the campus and the fact that it is not directly in NYC, and what I like about RISD is the education you get out of it, however, I heard they are very serious and strict, and that everyone is pretty snobby there. I'm more laid-back, but I am very serious about art, and am willing to try anything.</p>
<p>RISD all the way. My brother goes there, and it's an amazing school. Apparently Freshman year sucks at RISD because you are required to do things like Industrial Design even if you are going to be a Film major. however after that it's great.</p>
<p>actually, RISD's foundation year is intended to ground you in a variety of basic art/design principles. Thus, you take classes like 2D and 3D, the latter of which is what I think you're referring to...but I can't see how any of that would do anything but help you grow as an artist, no matter what discipline you go into. (If you wanted solely to be a filmmaker and never wanted to touch any other aspects of art, you shouldn't be going to art school, but rather some commercial film school.)</p>
<p>p.s. did I mention how excited I am for the first year? art 24/7 :)
to the OP-- RISD all the way if you get in! If I were you I'd be torn between MICA and RISD, considering how strong MICA's fine art/painting departments are. I'm a more design person myself, but yeah.</p>
<p>I think RISD is the top of art schools in the US, or that is its reputation. If you really are into fine arts I would consider RISD or MICA over SVA because SVA really emphasizes commercial arts like graphic design, cartooning and illustration, though all the schools you applied to are great! I think Pratt and MICA have the most traditional fine arts educations, RISD is of course top of the line, and SVA is a bit more commercial than the others. I really want to go there for illustration myself though.</p>
<p>actually, MICA is more of a hybrid traditional and conceptual school</p>
<p>You should call the head of the painting department, Robert Salazar. He's a great man and I'm sure he'd be willing to spend a little time talking to you about MICA's painting program :)</p>
<p>I realize now that my aspirations for Pratt were for bad reasons and I should want to go to the best art school out there - which, according to most people, is RISD. Hopefully I'll get in. If not, I'll look more into MICA. I heard the location is horrible, and that's a BIG minus in my book.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your advice!</p>
<p>kalonity: I agree, for me (considering RISD) learning the foundations sounds great. The funny thing is that my Brother said he hated it, but he switched from drawing and animation to film because of that year :P</p>
<p>reptar: have you visited Baltimore? I think "horrible" location is subjective... To me, Providence was terrible, but I know a lot of people who love it. </p>
<p>I also have a "freshman year at MICA" thread on CC, you should check it out i've been chronicling my experience so far .</p>
<p>I exaggerated with 'horrible', but I have heard bad things about it. I haven't seen it yet, but I intend to look soon.</p>
<p>Benellis: If I go to RISD, I hope their freshman year program will give me that same help. I really don't know what I want to do yet, so it'll be good for me I think.</p>
<p>One more difference between RISD and MICA. RISD majors are fairly structured. Yes, you can take different courses in the trimester,but, for the most part, majors at RISD are planned out for you.</p>
<p>MICA is MUCH more interdisciplanary. You can truly structure your own four-year curriculum. In addition, because of the large number of combined BFA/MFA programs, you get a much more flexible feel to MICA. You should REALLY visit each school and talk with both kids in the programs and to the heads of the painting programs at each school.</p>
<p>When I visited each school, I found that they were more similar to each other than they are to other art schools. RISD tends to be more design oriented ( hence their name Rhode Island School of DESIGN). MICA tends to be more fine arts oriented. However, honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with either school.</p>
<p>Hi Everyone,
I've asked this before, but we always seem to be talking about the same schools. Is anyone else applying to Tyler at Temple, or to Carnegie Mellon? If not, why not?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>personally, I love MICA and Pratt. I also really like SVA, but they don't have enough academics for me. I went to a pre-college program at SVA and the facilities are really nice (as are that of MICA and Pratt, of course).</p>
<p>Trust me, you can get all of the strong academics that you want at most schools. MICA, in particular, emphasizes academics. If you want to go the extra mile, you can always take courses at nearby Johns Hopkins,which MICA has an arrangement with.</p>
<p>With Pratt you must take their liberal arts. I don't think that they have an arrangement with other schools for this. However, it is probably fine for you there too.</p>
<p>If I were you and wanted to go into the art/design world, I would pick the the best art school or art program that I could find and worry less about the pure academics. Art and design are VERY competitive areas. Having top notch skills is crucial and a lot more crucial than the quality of your history or political science course!</p>
<p>Frankly, if you really feel cheated, take some courses at a well-known college after school as a continuing education student.</p>
<p>AndreCarlos! I went to the SVA pre-college thing too and I believe we are friends on facebook.</p>
<p>RISD (+Brown) is a great place</p>
<p>FYI. I would strongly disagree with the comment about RISD being a just a design school and MICA being a "fine arts" school. In my city, a new modern art museum was just opened up to with fanfare. They invested in several new artists. RISD was by far the most represented school in the museum. I don't recall any MICA artists. (full discloseure: My daughter is a RISD freshman in painting. She is overworked, exhusted, and tired. But she loves, loves, loves RISD. I get an text message every 2 to 3 weeks thanking me for her education.)</p>