I don’t believe that all of the graphic design majors at those colleges are getting degrees without acquiring any useful skills. Have you talked to the colleges to see what types of jobs their grads are getting? Or spoken to anyone in the industry to find out what qualifications they want? What exactly are you looking for in a program other than proximity to NYC? You don’t have to live in a city to get a summer internship there.
How much can your parents afford?
What’s their EFC?
How much have you earned so far, freelancing?
Have you run the NPC on colleges listed on this thread and did they include merit aid?
You should call the school or look on their website. There are ways to be eligible as an in-state resident ( it might take two years instead of 1 ) and it’s likely you would have to be independent ( able to prove that you lived and provided for your own needs) You would also have to ensure that your parents would not declare you as a dependent.
Perhaps you could work outside of NYC which is very very expensive. I think given your options you would do best going to a program outside of NYC somewhere with a low cost and low cost of living. Get a job during college to keep debt at a minimum (even better if you continue work in your field). Then when you graduate make the move to NYC ( assuming you can make enough to pay your bills and loans).
Op, is not going to get in-state residency in NYC/NYS especially if:
- Parents do not have a physical presence in NYC/NYS
- Student has not graduated from high school in NYC/NYS
- Student is still financially dependent on parents for financial aid purposes (24 for federal aid and 35 for NYS Aid
If op is hell bent on attending school in NYC/NYS be prepared to pay as an OOS student
Just as a side note on this specific metric: except for places that are super proximate (eg, NYC/LA type places), actual proximity during term time should be a lower-weighted factor. It is very common to have internships far from your college campus during the summer. Summer internships are a big, big part of that career path, and you can get them from anywhere (just start looking early!)
And to go with what @collegemom3717 said, just attending a college in one of those super proximate places (NYC/LA) does not guarantee you one of those internships. You could just as easily get one from instate as long as you have the grades and apply early.
@MYOS1634 Yes I’ve run NPCs on all of these schools. The lowest for a school I’d have to relocate to was 15k, and for a commuter school was 6k. However that last school, which I’ve toured and gotten this info in person, only gives a limited amount of the scholarships that would actually make it that price. Theres no way of knowing but to apply. My EFC has ranged from 28k to 32k. My parents can actually afford maybe 10k, but honestly they are so irresponsible with money that I can’t trust that. My older brother ended up having to take out loans in his last couple years of college because they couldn’t pay as much as they thought. With the art sales, I’ve made only about a thousand, but it’s not something I’ve spent much time on at all. I’m going to be developing it over the next year to see if is anything that could really influence my ability to pay
@austinmshauri I asked on a few of the tours. Some of my emails are still pending, but I’ll send some more. Until I get full responses, I have to depend on what they have available to me. UAH is one of my cheapest options, so let’s use them as an example. It has a handful of grads mentioned on their careers in arts page, people I assume are among their best alumni. The entrepreneurs from other majors seem to be doing well. One of the 2D designers works at Fruit of the Loom which is good but he doesn’t many other accomplishments for being the industry for over a decade. The other one’s LinkedIn only had one job on it.
https://www.uah.edu/ahs/departments/art/careers
Compare this to SUNY New Paltz: “Students graduating from the SUNY New Paltz Graphic Design program have met with success in the field. Graduates work professionally in established design studios, while others have founded and run their own design businesses. Recent graduates and alumni are employed at NBC Universal, Google, CNN, HarperCollins, General Electric, US Tennis Association, Simon & Schuster, United by Blue, NYS Assembly, Coach, and Time Inc., among many other notable agencies, companies, and studios. Many go on to attend nationally and internationally regarded graduate school programs.”
https://www.newpaltz.edu/graphicdesign/about.html
I couldn’t find any student work from UAH outside of instagram posts that location tagged their art department, which were mostly fine arts pictures:
Compare this to New Paltz’s large and accessible collection of examples, specifically within their gdes department:
http://sunynewpaltz.zenfolio.com/p537615973
@sybbie719 I had pretty much accepted that I would have to pay OOS, but I would take the steps need if there was chance.
I don’t necessarily have to go to school in NY, but so far the SUNYs have presented really great programs for being on the more affordable side of OOS schools. The proximity to a major city was because of industry and internships, even though I know that I’m not guaranteed them @austinmshauri @tsickles
@gekaia New Paltz is over two hours to NYC. Not exactly a hop skip and jump.
I would have to pay OOS<<<
How exactly does this look to you, how do YOU pay?
@thumper it looks closer to an hour and forty each time I checked Google maps in the last few weeks, but I realise that has it’s margin of error. If I got an apartment at some point, I could even be closer but still a commuting distance from school. It wouldn’t be convenient, but it’s much closer than I am to any big cities at the moment. When I was still considering FIT, which is in Manhattan, my commute still would have been 45 minutes by car and and hour and some minutes by train if I lived in the more affordable neighborhoods of other boroughs. That would have been year round, a summer internship would not.
You do understand that you can apply for and get internships in NYC as a student from just about any college.
There is summer lodging in NYC at a lot of the NYC colleges, the 92 st Y, and sublets. You do not have to go to college in NY state to do an internship in NYC.
Driving into Manhattan is beyond insane. Plus the cost of parking daily could exceed your rent. Many internship places do not have parking for employees because frankly, most people working in NYC either live in NYC or take public transportation to get there.
I think you are very ill informed about what it takes to live and work an internship in NYC. It is not required that you attend college in NY anyplace to apply for and get an internship in NYC.
Have you looked at Auburn’s graphic design program? What about Alabama’s?
You could also look into community colleges in AL and get an associate’s degree, some work experience, and then move to NY.
As a parent, I would not suggest you go into debt for a graphic design degree. Also, not trying to be ugly but you have said art is a recent interest and I don’t think that you’re in a position either financially or skills-wise to be “not impressed” by any accredited program that you can afford. You would be able to learn a lot, and develop your portfolio, at any of the schools in Alabama that are affordable to you.
New York will still be there when you get out of the affordable college you attend and you will be on safer footing moving there for a job if you have no undergrad debt.
How would you pay $30k/year for a SUNY? You can only borrow ~$5500/year. If you work summers you can earn ~$3k. That leaves ~$22k and you said your parents can’t really afford to help you. Where’s the money coming from?
@thumper1 and everyone else that may be getting frustrated with my naivety by now. I made this post because I know that I am making decisions with real-world consequences with practically no life experience. As can be inferred, the adults in my life aren’t the best source of financial advice either. When I disagree with you, I’m just making sure I give myself a chance at a reality check. There just aren’t things I would think of if I had let these ideas stay in my head instead of pushing. I guess it’s like playing devil’s advocate. For example, I didn’t know that internships offered lodging or consider the actual difficulty in the commute outside of the distance alone. If I had just agreed with you guys earlier about in state schools, I could convince myself against it later with ease. I know it takes a lot for me to learn, and I’m just setting up protections against any future impulsive moods. This is my attempt at a thank you for the help you’ve given me so far. The more resistance I’ve given you, the more you’ve impacted my perspective.
In NYC…some internships might offer lodging…but for most, students need to find their own lodging. This can be found at some of the NYC colleges, or places like the the 92st Y or International House…or by looking for a sublet on Craigslist.
None of these is a bargain! But they are available.
@GnocchiB I was excited to see the work produced at Auburn and even stayed on campus for a week as part of a summer program. Unfortunately, the NPC price is too expensive, even with merit. I’ve confirmed that it’s accurate because I know about 7 seniors going there next year with much better stats than me.
I am actually heavily considering the associates degree and working. I was afraid that including every option I’m thinking of would make this post too long for people to respond.
As for my skills, I dont think I’m amazing but I do belive have reason to believe that I am somewhat competive. My art teacher doesn’t hold back critiques, especially for students considering art majors. He has seen many students under him get into dedicated art schools for big scholarships (but not big enough for ME to afford them). He was actually surprised to know that I haven’t been doing art for very long and offered me special permission to take AP art early. I’ve also recently met with a representative from Savannah College of Art and Design that said I was promising. However he warned me that he couldn’t give me a full judgement because I only have a few complete pieces right now and it was a quick meeting.
Despite this, I do agree with you on the finances end. However, if I ended up choosing these schools just because they were cheap, there are even cheaper options. Community college is one, but there also are local art classes, online classes, paying for consultation from professionals, working for free under a mentor. Nevertheless, I think I am much more willing to wait for the big cities, no matter which option I actually end up choosing.
@austinmshauri Yeah it’s a lot, but let me tell you what I was thinking when I first made this post.
~taking the gap year and working at least 40 hours a week. That would be about 21k for the local average for full time, taxed. (covers about 5k per year)
~working hard my senior year to set up a passive income for my art. I only hoped for about 2k a year from it, but it is the only thing I can think to do until I’m allowed to work (rules from my school).
~working part time during the school year. 12.75 min wage, 16 hours a week, 30 weeks = about 6k
~bumping work hours up over the summer (didn’t bother calculating because I would have to figure out and subtract cost of living over the summer)
~magical fairydust to grant me a couple thousand in scholarships, reducing my personal expenses
~whatever my parents could contribute. at least 2k because they’re paying that already for me to go to a (public) boarding school.
In my mind, that was 17k a year covered. Leaving about 5k up to working more than planned, any savings from summer months, unexpected success with my art business, and prayer. All very idealistic.