CMU is also a weed out school - even in the arts - which puts a lot of stress on everyone.
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Possibly. But I don’t perceive NYU to be a stress-free institution/setting.
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It’s definitely not stress free but from my D’s perspective-or at least the friends she had - people are very serious about their studying and aiming to do well, but also fully enjoy the fun the city has to offer and there is a lot of socializing in free time. This does sound more like what OP is looking for ?
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You note in your other thread that you’re full-pay. As a parent, I personally wouldn’t be looking to keep paying close to $50K per semester for my kid to have the experience you’re describing, for the sake of an art degree they’re not even sure they still want.
Keep in mind that you do not have to stay in college continuously. It is completely fine to take some time off and regroup! In fact, that is a better approach than rushing into a hastily-chosen Plan B just to get out of Plan A.
NYU might be the best transfer plan, or it might not. Having an amazing time as a visitor doesn’t necessarily prove that you’d find it to be the perfect place to be a student. Explore your options; there are many! You have some excellent ideas about potential majors and career plans; keep researching that and considering what you’d like to do.
Since you like kids and are considering something education-related, you might consider applying to City Year, and doing that while you’re exploring your options and applying. The website says they’re accepting applications for mid-year starts… and they have a program in NYC. So it might be possible to be near your friends in the city this spring, rather than dropping another 50K on spring semester at CMU, do something career-related, and give yourself time to make well-considered choices about your next steps. Just a thought.
Or, for less than you’re spending on CMU, you could do a spring semester abroad (though you’d have to move quickly) through a program that accepts students directly, such as Parsons Paris - priority deadline to apply for spring is Oct 15.
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Damn. My mom and I argued so much last year/semester just because I didn’t really want to do art anymore. She felt like it was the only thing I succeed in, and that I was just bored. My mom also acts like she got me into college, and I don’t even want to think about how the conversation would go if I told her I wanted to transfer. She’d probably blame me for not wanting to study and not wanting to work hard.
My dad, on the other hand, is much more understanding. When I talked to him, he told me to just focus on getting into IS. I don’t think he understands.
Thank you! It really helped me this summer to sort of think about what made me happy and what I wanted, which I kind of ignored throughout high school (since my goal was just getting into college).
This looks interesting! is it a gap year program?
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Art is a tough way to make a living. The few artists that I have known generally made a meager living some other way and sold a few paintings here and there, or had a spouse who was very successful and still sold a few paintings here and there, or just plain went into some other career. I also would be very reluctant to spend $50,000 per semester to do this if you do not really, really want to do it.
In contrast, I think that your idea of focusing on user interface / user experience makes a lot of sense. This is at least an area where a talent in art can be valuable, when combined with other skills.The idea of using your abilities in art to help with user interface / user experience to me makes a lot of sense.
And this is a very good point.
I know some people who have been very successful, and many who have been relatively successful. As far as I know none of us have taken what might have seemed like the shortest path to get there. We all try a bit of this and a bit of that. Eventually we each find what is right for us, but this will often take a while.
I am also concerned that you are spending a lot of money to stay at a university that does not sound like a good fit for you.
There is one thing that I learned years ago, but perhaps learned it the hard way. Just because a school is famous, and highly ranked, and hard to get accepted to, and expensive, does not necessarily mean that it is a good fit for you or a good fit for me.
I am assuming that you are already enrolled for the current semester. I would be tempted to finish out this semester as strong as you can. If I am remembering properly you are taking an introductory course in software engineering / computer programming. I would try to do as well as you can in this course. Keep in mind that debugging software can sometimes take time, longer than you expect, and therefore you should try to keep way ahead in your work. While you are at it you might want to think about possible schools to transfer to as possible alternatives to both CMU and NYU.
I would try to finish well for any semester that you start, but I would not be hesitant to take a semester or a year off.
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This is the specific page I was referring to, that says “We are current accepting applications for positions beginning in October or December, 2025 or January, 2026.”
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