My Situation for SVA
JonnyB33
11 replies3 discussionsRegistered User Posts: 14 New Member
I am not a parent, but I suppose I am seeking advice/suggestions from parents.
I would like to attend SVA (School of Visual Arts), but I am a Florida HS student and my parents have my college paid for via Florida Prepaid, as long as I choose a public school in Florida. Obviously, me choosing a NY school throws off their plan. As for the Florida Prepaid situation, though, realistically, there was only (and has ever been only) a 1 in 50 chance that I would choose to stay in Florida.
My parents are divorced and both make a steady income. I fear that my dad will refuse to put forth any money once I announce my intent to go out-of-state. My mom will put forth as much money as she can, without drastically altering her lifestyle. That doesn't sound great on my mom's part, but I didn't know how to put it and I am appreciative of the money she is willing to contribute. My parents both attended the University of Florida, so of course they are going to urge me to go there.
I doubt I will be ruled eligible for any FAFSA aid, but nothing bad will come out of applying, so I will go for it. SVA offers various scholarships for incoming students who carried at least a 3.0 GPA in HS (I qualify for that) and submit a portfolio that they consider to be impressive. Of course, I will send in my portfolio and hope that I am selected to receive at least some partial aid, but there are a lot of applicants and the chances are slim. My mom mentioned today that I would need a scholarship to attend SVA because of the price of tuition, so that has me a bit worried.
I am not overly worried about being admitted (I believe SVA admits 74% of it's applicants), but rather my situation with Florida Prepaid and my desire to attend a school out-of-state.
How can I express my points/thoughts without stepping on either of my parents' toes or burning any bridges? I don't want to ruin my relationship with either of my parents, but this is a HUGE deal and is very important to me.
Thank you for your time and any suggestions you may have to offer are greatly appreciated!
14 repliesI would like to attend SVA (School of Visual Arts), but I am a Florida HS student and my parents have my college paid for via Florida Prepaid, as long as I choose a public school in Florida. Obviously, me choosing a NY school throws off their plan. As for the Florida Prepaid situation, though, realistically, there was only (and has ever been only) a 1 in 50 chance that I would choose to stay in Florida.
My parents are divorced and both make a steady income. I fear that my dad will refuse to put forth any money once I announce my intent to go out-of-state. My mom will put forth as much money as she can, without drastically altering her lifestyle. That doesn't sound great on my mom's part, but I didn't know how to put it and I am appreciative of the money she is willing to contribute. My parents both attended the University of Florida, so of course they are going to urge me to go there.
I doubt I will be ruled eligible for any FAFSA aid, but nothing bad will come out of applying, so I will go for it. SVA offers various scholarships for incoming students who carried at least a 3.0 GPA in HS (I qualify for that) and submit a portfolio that they consider to be impressive. Of course, I will send in my portfolio and hope that I am selected to receive at least some partial aid, but there are a lot of applicants and the chances are slim. My mom mentioned today that I would need a scholarship to attend SVA because of the price of tuition, so that has me a bit worried.
I am not overly worried about being admitted (I believe SVA admits 74% of it's applicants), but rather my situation with Florida Prepaid and my desire to attend a school out-of-state.
How can I express my points/thoughts without stepping on either of my parents' toes or burning any bridges? I don't want to ruin my relationship with either of my parents, but this is a HUGE deal and is very important to me.
Thank you for your time and any suggestions you may have to offer are greatly appreciated!
Post edited by JonnyB33 on
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Replies to: My Situation for SVA
Thanks so much for the suggestion, I will surely look into it. I am a bit concerned that it says "any private OR out-of-state college." In my case, SVA is both private and out-of-state.
I have an S in art school now so I've been through the search myself. First of all, Ringling College of Art and Design is a quality school in Florida. I suggest checking it out.
If you are going out of state, RISD is top ranked, usually at or near number 1. My S didn't apply there because of geographic reasons that we have but would've if it was an option for us. MICA is a great school, UArts has a high caliber illustration dept., Pratt is also in NYC and has a great reputation.
I'm mentioning other schools partly because I'm curious why you are singularly focused on SVA. I'm not biased against SVA either. They have an illustrator their that creates art that my S is really in to. It was our number 1 choice but and he was accepted but they were the stingiest of all the schools. MICA and UArts were the most generous and Pratt was so-so and Pratt's attitude wasn't a match. We had to say no to SVA.
Depending on the type of art you're into, you don't have to based in NYC necessarily to make a living. You can live anywhere and be global which is a wonderful thing. You could also strategize getting a BFA in Fl and a MFA in NYC.
Im just throwing stuff out there in case it hasn't crossed your mind already. I will say this though for consideration...if you have to take on debt to become an artist in NYC, is it worth it based on income and career potential? Especially, if you have the option to be debt-free in Fl.
The artist is the life of a freelancer. You get gigs, not jobs. Money you earn today has to stretch until the next chance to earn more. After 10 years, you will either be known well enough to make a full time living or not.
Good luck to you.
@Madaboutx Thanks for suggesting Pratt. I have heard of it, but haven't looked into it too much. I'll do that now
I know I don't have to be NYC-based to make a good living, but that is where I would like to reside, so the abundance of opportunities in the art culture (culture might not be the right word, maybe community is better) make it convenient.
And no, I don't plan on taking out ANY student loans. If my parents refuse, then I'll just have to suck it up and go to a Florida school.
School of Art | Cooper Union You'll pay to live in NYC, but tuition is free or almost free. http://cooper.edu/admissions/tuition-fees
Academics | School of Art & Design That's Pratt.
Parsons The New School for Design
It is INCREDIBLY hard to get into Cooper Union. It's a very, very pre-professional place, from what I've heard. (I know zilch about art but one of my young neighbors, now in her late 20s, went there.) It is an amazing deal.
At SVA, MICA, UARTS, Pratt, etc, the instructors are required to be active, working artists. Many of the professors are adjunct which is a negative at most universities but a plus in the Arts.
I know kids that started out pursuing arts at non-art universities and all of them end up doing art therapy, art teaching, Starbucks, retail or going back to school. And the quality of work didn't advance as much as work produced by art school students. By the way, in the economy of the last few years, I've seen art school students struggling as well. There is no guarantee in art business.
NYC is an expensive city to live and SVA is an expensive school. Unless a student comes from a wealthy family, s/he will graduate with a lot of debt.