My son is interested in communication art/design. illustration or graphics design. People always mention RISD, Pratt, …etc. These are very good schools and are pretty hard to get in. Can anyone suggest any average arts school? I am going to suggest my son to apply some good schools and some average schools. Any suggestion is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I would add VCUARTS to your very good list. It is in fact rank as the #2 fine arts program in the entire country.
It is a school within VCU. Your child can get into VCU and still have access to many of the arts courses. They can apply directly to VCUARTS or to the easier VCU and attempt to transfer in. Either way its absolutely one of the top programs in the nation. Ranked higher than RISD or Pratt.
Hello there - can you expand a bit on what you mean by “average”? I.E. more forgiving on the portfolio review, or doesn’t actually require a portfolio submission, or less expensive, or doesn’t have the 2:1 studio focus, or has more of a regional than national reputation or . . . ?
Also, is his goal to obtain the BFA or something a bit less intense?
Thanks!
Many thanks to those who replied.
“Average”, in terms of ranking, like 20 to 40. RISD, VCU, Pratt … they are all top 20. Not sure if my son can get in. So I suggest him to apply 3 schools in top 20, 3 schools in 21 to 40 …etc. I assume lower ranking implies “more forgiving on the portfolio review”, correct?
My son’s current academics:
GPA 3.7 (top second quarter)
PSAT 1300
Any help is greatly appreciated.
My son and I visited VCU during spring break. I think it is a perfect school for him. Besides, his mom was an alumni .
@AskExperts if your son is looking for a studio-intensive BFA program, then there are many options and all of them will have the rigorous foundation year and MANY are actually very well known for graphic design and related. There are both stand-alone colleges of art and design (usually members of the AICAD so check out their website and you’ll find a listing) or they can be part of a university program (typically, but not always, accredited by NASAD). If the latter, sometimes they are direct admit or you apply to the university first (no portfolio review) and then apply to the major (via a portfolio review) after sophomore year like what @stones3 is saying. Lots of options.
Be sure to check out the ranking for the art program at your in-state flagship as that will be the cheapest option. Also, USNews just came out with their visual arts grad school rankings so you all can check those out. There will be a correlation between grad and undergrad in terms of reputation of program. Also, check out Animation Career Review and GDUSA for additional rankings of graphic design programs.
His chances at a top 20 (for graphic design) are actually better than you are thinking. You can look up admit rates on College Navigator to verify this but Pratt, SAIC, SVA, SCAD, MCAD, Ringling, and Parsons (just to name a few) actually have admit rates that are north of 60%. MICA is about 50% - 55%. RISD, CalArts, CU and CMU are the most competitive; however, they are not the norm. If your son has a decent portfolio, those academic stats (assuming he can replicate a similar or even better score on the SAT this spring) should put him in scholarship consideration at Pratt at the very least. The big issue is likely to be merit aid as that can vary widely among the institutions. He should check out the net price calculators and merit aid possibilities of his schools of interest. It’s not at all unusual for a smart kid with solid talent at the high school level to be admitted to all of his/her choices but choose based on the amount of scholarship.
RIT and DAAP (at Univ. of Cin) are two university programs that have great design reputations. UArts in Philly could probably serve as a decent safety school (not sure of the reputation in graphic or illustration).
Encourage your son to work on his portfolio over the summer and to speak to some of these schools at a National Portfolio Day in the fall so that he can receive some guidance and feedback on his work before he submits it. If he’s planning to attend a precollege program this summer so much the better as those are fantastic portfolio-builders. If he’s not, if he can at least supplement his current education in art and design with some continuing ed courses at the local art college or university, that would help as well. Some schools will offer a “Portfolio class” for seniors in the summer or fall to help them build up their portfolios, especially to add observational drawing (very important).
Good luck to him!
VCUARTS acceptance is between 20-30%. VCU the parent university is around 60%.
@Mamelot thank you !
@stones3 Thank you!
I’d also recommend RIT - their school of art (with Graphics) is excellent. Has your son considered graphics with a media focus? RIT has an amazing major, New Media Design, and the kids graduating from that major are seriously employable. I would recommend graphics instead of illustration only because of future employment/salary possibilities, as that is always a consideration. To give you a general idea of what “newly minted” art school graduates can make (from RIT, but this gives you a general idea) this is a great chart: https://www.rit.edu/emcs/oce/employer/salary search for “BFA” on the page. RIT is highly ranked for many of its arts offering, while also offering financial aid - both merit and for meeting some need; most stand-alone art schools don’t give much. Here is a table on their merit aid: https://www.rit.edu/emcs/financialaid/table_merit.html RIT has a great art school.
I also second going to National Portfolio Day (schedule: http://www.portfolioday.net/2016-17-schedule) - go with him, go early (long line) and stand in line at other schools while he has his portfolio looked at, then hold a place at the next school’s line. Different schools are looking for different things. Also, if you can afford it, it was VERY helpful for my daughter to attend a summer pre-college art program, the summer prior to her senior year. Doing so really helped her portfolio/acceptance, and I am sure helped with some of the merit scholarships which were offered - well worth the investment. She went to the Ringling pre-college program - she took Motion Graphics and Stop Motion animation as her “major focus” after trying out 3D Animation, which she discovered she didn’t like.
Also, the #2 ranking of VCU Arts is for their graduate program. Most rankings of art schools posted online are for the M.F.A. - We visited, and were surprised that they spent so much time on hand type (beautiful studio, but not used so much in graphics today.) The art studios for fine arts were amazing. We liked it overall, however it cost us more, (less aid was offered) and it did not have nearly as much in the “pro” column as did RIT - also, if your son likes or dislikes this, RIT is a very “geeky” campus.
If I could give advice to any artist going onto art school, it would be to draw a lot, look online on YouTube/other video hosting sites “submitted portfolios + the school name” - my daughter saw many posted. This can give you a frame of reference. I also STRONGLY believe that if your artist can take any computer programs related to art, he should. Learn Illustrator. Learn Photoshop. Etc. Once he gets to college, just knowing the programs will go a long ways towards saving time and getting to the art creation. Also, if he can learn to code (Java/Python/XCode), and go into graphics, he will be very employable. See my post above about New Media Design. Kids in that program at RIT get co-ops, and from what I have read all have jobs when they graduate. My daughter is not in that program.
Last, probably the least palatable, if your artist could take a year at Community College, take the first year art history classes, take the freshman writing course (he might want to ask at colleges if these types of courses are transferable) he would be WAY ahead. He wouldn’t have to take them in art school, and could concentrate on the art. He could also spend time developing his portfolio.
I’d be careful of blanket statements about rankings. Focus instead on the quality of the programs within the schools you’re looking at. If you’re interested in industrial design, you can’t beat RISD, but if you’re an oil painter, MICA might be a better fit. VCU is renowned for their 3-D art program; other areas not so much. Ringling is amazing in computer animation, of course. Then there is the matter of which program isn’t just well-known, but which one is the best fit for any individual student. Know thyself first; know thy program second; know the rankings third.
@Mamelot thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge, it’s like knowing an industry insider. Your posts are near publication-worthy.
@MazeArtCrew @Mamelot @spoonyj Thankssssssssssssssss!!!
VCUARTS is renowned for most of its art program. Its especially well known in graphic design and has unique opportunities available through its DaVinci center and at a graduate level its Brand Center is about the most renowned in the industry. The reason it has the #2 overall rank behind Yale is the strength of ALL its programs together as a whole.
Just want to make that clear as some here seem to suggest otherwise. When a program is top ranked in so many categories like VCUARTS you can be sure there is a reason. Feel free to research VCUARTS and its various majors, I think you will see its a great opportunity not to mention more reasonable tuition .
@stones3 - Are you on commission?
No , just a mission to get the word out. VCUARTS is the #2 ranked art school in the country with Yale #1.
it has 6 out disciplines ranked in the top 10 of all public and privates in the entire country. So when I see someone
mistakenly post its only renowned for 3d (sculpture is #1) and "not so much " for the rest . I will presume the poster (@snoonyj)
is simply ill informed and in an effort to shed light and truth I point out that 5 other majors it serves are also listed in the top 10 of the whole country. No commission, just supportive of their mission and plan on telling all. I know we were
well informed parents and only came to it late in the process. But after speaking to specific industry spheres of influence we learned a lot about the current offerings in art schools .
VCU is a wonderful school, and the word should get out, but you have a responsibility to do so accurately. What rankings are you talking about? If you’re referring to US News, you should clarify that those rankings are for graduate programs. Most folks here are looking for information on undergraduate programs. Rankings are a useful shorthand, for sure, but they are also as seductive as they are reductive–for students and parents alike–so unless we want the madness of college admissions to get even worse than it is, rankings should be approached with care, not cited reflexively by enthusiastic boosters, without any attention paid to source and context.
@Mamelot gave lots of good advice. It really isn’t that difficult to get into a renowned art school, as long as you have the passion for it. We can’t really tell how successful your son will be without looking at his portfolio.
In addition to the list he gave, I can also recommend CCA (California College of the Arts), Art Center, and LCAD (Laguna College of Art and Design). All are great schools with higher acceptance rates. In addition, LCAD is more affordable compared to most art schools
@neverbefore is it true that Art Center is not really suitable for freshman undergraduate admissions? I read someone on these boards describe it as a great place to transfer to for undergrad, but not to start as a freshman. I noticed there’s no student housing offered, so it does seem like maybe they are expecting enrollees to be a little older. I’m concerned about my son getting up on time to get to class without our help- dealing with landlords and off campus housing is borderline out of the question.