Hi!
So I am one of many who just got left hanging after mount Ida college announced its closing. After looking at all my other option, I am facing having to pay 30,000 a year, help!!! One of the school is Parsons school of Design(which is my dream)
One option is to reapply for next year. If you start at CC, you will not be counted as a freshman applicant and won’t be eligible for merit scholarships. You can take a gap year, work, do productive things, and regroup for next year.
I read the article, and it says students will be graduates of U Mass Amherst. So contact UMA and ask if you are possibly eligible to become a student there. I know nothing about it, but maybe they will accept you as a freshman.
You can also look at the NACAC list, which will be released on May 1. The list will have colleges that still have spaces for fall. The issue is that there possibly won’t be a lot of FA available. When that list comes out, make a call to colleges of interest to see if FA is possible.
@mybird13 , you will not be able to get more than 5500 a year in loans from the government. You are not going to be able to get private loans without a cosigner. You can’t afford Parsons.
@Lindagaf thank you!!! yes there is that ability to be admitted to any oh the u mass schools however none of them have my major… all of the school that do, Suffolk, Cazenovia, Newbury and Parsons are around 30,000 and I do not live in a place where I can easily go get a job and earn a lot of money…
What is this unique major? Where do you live and how much can you afford?
@Lindagaf The guaranteed transfer option is UMass Dartmouth.
You posted that these were also affordable acceptances.
What IS this unique major?
@twoinanddone my major is Interior architecture/ Design. Most schools do not have it. I don’t know know exactly how much but for Mount Ida i would have been paying 15,000 a year and that was possible
@thumper1 Interior Design, however, the cost adds up to around 30,000 as well
Do you know what majors a college student can study to become an interior designer?
The BEST interior designer my husband ever worked with…actually had a degree in…English.
@thumper1 to work for a firm you must have an interior architecture/ Design degrees and pass the accredited test
Go and talk to an adviser at the school you want to go to (UMass?) and they will show you the courses you need to get the same training. It may not be called Interior Design, but will have the same classes. Ask the people at your office where they attended school and what they majored in. I bet they ALL didn’t go to Mt Ida. Some may have art degrees, or set design with a lot of courses in materials. If the Boston area needed people to major in Interior Design, every school in the area would offer that degree (they might, and just call it something else). Is there a community college that offers some of the courses you need?
I don’t actually know too much about interior design. I worked for a while for an interior designer who studied architecture at a CUNY, but never got an architectural license.
I’m quite positive that interior design is offered at other schools than the ones to which you applied.
Why did you bother to even apply to Casanovia and Suffolk if they didn’t have a course if study you wanted? Oh wait…they do!
http://www.suffolk.edu/college/undergraduate/15501.php Suffolk has an interior design major.
http://www.cazenovia.edu/academic-programs/interior-design and so does Cazenovia.
Are either of these colleges affordable?
Massachusetts Bay Community College offers a two year program in interior design. Maybe look into that. Would it be an affordable option?
https://accredit-id.org/accredited-programs/ lists the accredited interior design majors.
Are you a resident of a state with a public school that has that major?
@ucbalumnus yes I saw the list, I unfortunately live in a state which not a single college have my major…
I was so sorry to hear yesterday of Mount Ida’s closing. While none of my kids have attended, my son did consider it briefly. And the closing of any school is so very hard on all those students who attend or have been accepted to it.
For starters-- are you from New England? Will this help? http://www.nebhe.org/programs-overview/rsp-tuition-break/overview/
Here’s a list of schools in MA with prices similar to Mount Ida that have your major:
https://study.com/interior_design_courses_in_massachusetts.html
From the list @bjkmom posted, it appears that the place to target is UMass Amherst’s architecture school where there is a concentration in interior design. The question of course is whether it is too late to get in for next year. I assume the school of architecture is competitive and could be full. I think you should inquire about how to get into that program. Maybe you could start at Umass Amherst (or even Dartmouth) taking GenEds or more general art classes, and then transfer into the program next year.
I would imagine that many schools in the area would be willing to stretch or change deadlines to accommodate the Mount Ida kids. I know that Lassell has already sent out an email, though I don’t think they have your major.
Try to get in EARLY Monday morning and speak to an advisor, or contact admissions at UMass Amherst to ask.
And don’t overlook the Community College option!
What state ARE you in?
Some states have academic common market agreements with other states for majors they don’t offer at their own public universities.
It’s really impossible to help you when all we really know is that you want to go to college in NYC or Boston.
At this point…this isn’t even a financial aid question. Unless you have some affordable college that you didn’t mention here…none of these appear to be affordable for your family.
Parsons, IIRC, would cost you at LEAST $30,000 a year in loans. That’s a LOT of loan debt. You can’t take that yourself. You would need a cosigner for ALL four years.