Yale vs RISD

<p>First of all, I know this decision is mine and I have to make it on my own...but that doesn't mean I can't ask for advice. ;O</p>

<p>I got accepted into RISD & if I go plan to major in illustration. (Although after foundation yr, who knows? Things may change.) I am artsy...."quirky"...I love the "vibe" of RISD & all the RISD students I have met are very nice.</p>

<p>Also another thing to consider is that if I do choose RISD I can possibly take a few Brown classes. </p>

<p>I also was accepted into Yale. I don't know much about their art major, but I have heard mixed things. I am also academic. If I go to Yale & I dislike their art major, I could also major in something else (I love creative writing & who knows, again, what classes I may fall in love with!?)... </p>

<p>RISD is an amazing art school. One of the best in the USA.</p>

<p>Yale is an amazing university... again, one of the best.</p>

<p>They are both so different but similar in a few ways... I feel good about both schools & the students I've met at both schools love it & are happy, vibrant kids. </p>

<p>I would love advice, but again I know this is MY decision to make.</p>

<p>i will be visiting both schools (again) in April. This time I will be paying special attention to Yale's art program. </p>

<p>I know that, whichever school I choose, I will get a great education.</p>

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<p>Not for nothing, but I think it’s an obvious choice: Yale. I understand that it’s art program is excellent and you DO give yourself so many other choices as you evolve over the next four years. You can always go to RISD for a graduate art program if you find that is the route you want to go. Since you are expressing the possibility of falling in love with other disciplines, I think you are answering the question yourself. Taking classes at Brown will not be the same. Good luck in your decision – I know it isn’t easy and both choices are not only something to be proud of, but you will not go wrong either way!!</p>

<p>Thank you for the input. </p>

<p>I realize it may sound absurd to some that I am considering <em>not</em> choosing Yale, but RISD’s facilities, classes, and teachers (in the arts) are superior to Yale’s. </p>

<p>Also I did express a possibility of falling in love with other things…if I go to Yale…but I also know that I will /not/ get “sick” of doing art. It will always be a part of me. I am just a flexible person & know that if Yale’s art program is not what I am looking for but I still choose to go to Yale, I will benefit from majoring in another field.</p>

<p>When you visit Yale, make sure you can get a proper look at the facilities. It may be that you have to call one specific person, or can only go on Tuesdays or something like that. We toured a mostly empty building with mostly closed doors and an empty gallery last year because we hadn’t arranged things in advance and it wasn’t very helpful.</p>

<p>Thanks for the tip! Will do. :)</p>

<p>I was accepted to RISD this year too! I’m also not sure if I’ll be attending, but I think what matters most in this decision should be what makes you the happiest. Visit both schools and go where you feel most at home. That might sound a little idealistic, but remember that the choices you’re making now as a high school senior are not set in stone for the rest of your life. If you go to RISD you can always decide to transfer to Yale, and vice versa. There are millions of ways to get where you want to go.</p>

<p>Also from what I understand Yale has one of the most prestigious fine arts graduate programs in the world, but the undergrad art department is much less impressive. I think it would be a waste to go to Yale undergrad and major in visual arts considering all of the other incredible programs Yale has to offer, but hey if that’ll make you happy I say go for it. Just don’t stress about the decision. Nothing is final. Relax and choose what feels right and it’ll all work itself out.</p>

<p>Good advice above. Consider, too, that you could double major at Yale in art and something academic, providing a nice balance.</p>

<p>Thanks again for the advice. I will be visiting both schools again soon & “go with your gut” is something I am told time & time again.</p>

<p>I would say Yale.
Get a broad education as your foundation. And also Yale’s art is strong. As for more focusedart classes, that can leave to MFA degree.</p>

<p>Nothing compares to RISD’s foundation year, and you would be completely surrounded and motivated by smart and unbelievably creative peers. I think it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if you have regrets, anyone would take a transfer who made such a brave choice!</p>

<p>We are all probably confusing the issue more than if you were just mulling it over yourself! That being said, Yale is also a once in a lifetime opportunity and you could pursue more art on the graduate level if that’s where you want it to go. You get the broadest education in an incomparable place. Also RISD is a top art school, it is mostly art. And since you say you are academic, that will be satisfied and enhanced at Yale. A Yale graduate, who has already gotten into RISD, will surely get in for an MFA. Just saying.</p>

<p>What decision did you make? How has it been? Very curious. Thanks.</p>

<p>It depends on what you want to do. Do you want take your art to the next level or do you want to get a holistic liberal arts experience while also studying art? I dont see how one could a=honestly believe that Yale would even compare to Risd in terms of art. One is specialized in art, the other isn’t at an undergraduate level. Conversely, you will not recieve the breadth of educational experience at Risd as you would at Yale.</p>

<p>Furthermore, the notion that the poster can just go to Risd (or Yale) at a graduate level just as easily as undergrad is ridiculous. MFA’s are more competetive than MBA’s. The difficulty of getting into a good MFA is like getting into a good medical or law school.</p>

<p>It’s an exchange either way.</p>

<p>At Risd you will be a much more intensely devoted artist along your chosen discipline than at Yale. A Yale BA graduate with the same characteristics (determination, motivation, talent, intelligence etc) will likely not be on the same level as you are as Risd BFA graduate. Yet A Risd BFA (with similar abilities) will be outsripped by you in terms of breadth of knowledge in theory, than you as a Yale BA.</p>

<p>It all just depends on how you see your abilities developing and how you would like these abilities to be distributed. </p>

<p>Furthermore, your workload will be more intense at RISD as 2/3rd’s of your classes will be studios in comparison to 1/3 at Yale.</p>

<p>but if its all about prestige, then Yale all the way.</p>