Chance Me: MO Male, Rising Senior, 4.0 GPA, 35 ACT, Computer Animation. Dream School = Ringling

Exactly. You might get a better deal from a traditional university, and have more academic flexibility.

Check Syracuse’s NPC too - they don’t guarantee full-need-met aid, but they come very close, and I’d expect them to fill any gap with merit for a student with your stats: Net Price Calculator

DePaul’s aid isn’t full-need-met (only 70% of documented need met on average), but with your stats, according to their NPC, they would offer 25K in merit, plus additional need-based aid if you qualify. I put in a 30K SAI, and the resulting Net Price (before any loans) was 35K: Net Price Calculator This is a terrific school for all types of crossover between CS and the arts.

Here’s RIT’s: Net Price Calculator

Truman State’s in-state full-pay cost of attendance is only 27K/year, and at minimum you’d get 5K in automatic merit, so your worst-case price would be only 22K/year, and larger competitive scholarships are possible. Tuition & Costs - Truman State University

I would be concerned about the price of the art schools you’re considering, for a family in the 100K income bracket, unless you were offered a significant scholarship.

I would strongly encourage you to take on as little student debt as possible. Breaking into the animation field can take time, and students with big loans can be at a huge disadvantage because they can’t afford to take a lower-paying entry level opportunity or to wait out a dry spell.

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