<p>I am a junior and positive I would like to attend an art school and major in some form of design, definately not fine arts. I recently visited Risd and MassArt and am familiar with Pratt, Parsons, and SVA through classes I have taken. </p>
<p>Risd apparently has the 2nd highest workload in the country, and this terrifies me. I would like to have at least some kind of social life in college even if it were only one day a week, but apparently at Risd even one day off is impossible. Are all art schools this bad? Does MassArt have a lighter workload? I couldn't really get this information from the tours.</p>
<p>you listed some pretty big names there risd, parsons pratt. I go to MICA. At MICA foundations students take 15 credit semesters, then their sophomore year, students can start 18 credit semesters, that is what I am on currently. </p>
<p>I'm not going to lie it will be tough, but you can do it, your time management skills have to be at there best though. It is also a good idea to not over stress yourself, and not to panic about getting it all done, professors will not freak out as much as you think they will, they understand that you have other classes and that sometimes other projects take precidents over theirs.</p>
<p>plan work breaks. for example you work for 3 hours take 30 minutes to walk away and refresh yourself, eat something, or watch tv. That's what I do. I also treat myself once a week, usually friday night to noon on saturday, I go to the dance party at a club and then sleep till noon and go to brunch, then I start working again.</p>
<p>Spoonfull of peanut butter + spoonfull of chocolate frosting and wash it down with a swig of black coffee. Repeat process. Repeat process. Repeat Process, etc. Stay awake for 72 consecutive hours.</p>
<p>Good advice. I would add to it that the OP shouldn't be choosing a school based on the workload. It's in the nature of things that when you have numerous and sometimes competing projects to complete on a deadline, you are often going to be working long hours. It's also in the nature of things that even in the less demanding programs you are going to crash (and maybe even crash and burn) occasionally, but you need to try to do your best under the time and resource constraints, which doesn't mean you can afford to be a perfectionist. (Keep in mind that in the real world, your clients/bosses will also have deadlines, and if you can't meet those deadlines with quality work you will lose that client. So art school is good practice for life.) </p>
<p>I should add that it's human nature that you are going to find time to relax, socialize, party, or whatever -- even in the most demanding programs.</p>
<p>So choose your programs according to your interests, their capabilities, your financing, their willlngness to offer you admission, etc. -- not on how hard you will have to work.</p>
<p>BTW/ that line about RISD having the second highest workload probably derives from RISD having the second highest number of scheduled classroom/studio hours per week. I heard that mentioned at RISD but never saw it proved. In any case, your scheduled class/studio hours amount to probably less than half of the hours you will actually work.</p>