@snowbirdmom Thank you so much for replying. We are also from LA. My son spent 3 years taking Art Center Saturday High and Art Center at Night classes. Although he loved those programs, he couldn’t see himself being a full time college student at Art Center. It was too hard core and cold. He completely fell for Otis when we visited. He is specifically interested in their toy design major. He also had a very good portfolio review there. Additionally, he likes that they have fashion if he wants to head in that direction. We weren’t thrilled with the Digital Media department because the students with whom we spoke were generally not happy in that discipline. However, the toy design students were very happy.
We just returned from NY and Boston. Parsons was the only school that we saw in NY because are time was so limited. He loved the school, had a great portfolio review and was super turned on by the Design and Technology major. In Boston we visited MassArt and SMFA. Even though he had very strong reviews at both, he ruled them out for different reasons.
This trip gave him a new perspective on what he is looking for. As a result, we are looking at more schools now. Keep in touch.