RISD Class of 2013?

niftydesign
Sat, 16 May 2009 19:21:42 +0000

As another soon to be RISD parent, this thread has been extremely helpful in laying out the different perspectives regarding the whole art school thing.

Hearing both the good and the bad, the bottom line is still the same: what is the best place for the student? I too have concerns about the cost and the proverbial return on investment. When we were there I must have asked every senior I could what they were doing after they graduated. Most said they were planning to be creative and strike out on their own. Naturally this concerned me, but this is a bad year no matter what your major.

I agree with joeshmoe that some of the facilities could use a facelift, especially in my D’s prospective major. But then I realized, this stuff is messy, the buildings are a hundred years old, etc. Did you check out the ID building? That was really nice. So are the new painting studios in the Chace Center.

Since RISD was the only art school my D applied to, her choices were between traditional universities that offer a broader education (which would make me happy) and the opportunity to immerse herself in a concentrated, challenging art education (which would make her happy). In the end, my D is an artist, and to her, the idea of working 40 hours a week on art projects is beyond fantastic. We’ll see how it goes.