<p>ASSUMING that $$ is not a significant concern…</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted to NYU/Steinhardt, SMFA, CMU, and Parsons/New-School for Painting/Fine-art. Those are the ones one her current “short list”</p>
<p>She is leaning AGAINST the Tufts/SMFA 5 year cause it is 5 years. Against PAFA because to stoodgy, against Tyler because of Temple, against USC cause of L.A. location, and against Pratt cause the rumors are that it has seen better days…</p>
<p>SO WITH THAT IN MIND:</p>
<p>I’m thinking that CMU or NYU/Steinhardt gives her the most options in terms of Art + PLUS “other stuff”, that Parsons or NYU gives her the best location, that SMFA is maybe one of the most “flexible” (and ?best? is that true???) painting/art schools on the list, and that… ok… i don’t know!</p>
<p>I’m not arty… and can’t really evaluate the “quality of the art” work so that is really what this question is about:</p>
<p>PART 1: Quality of the “art education” and art skill at these schools?
PART 2: Given the list, where would you choose, and why?</p>
<p>We need a little more info…where does she lean aesthetically? I know she is young and much can change but…
Is making representational art? Abstract? Conceptual?
Does she have aspirations to go to grad school? Do commercial work? Teach?</p>
<p>OK…that helps. One more question. Is she the kind of person who needs to go see art in person in order to be inspired? Will she benefit from going to galleries and museums on a regular basis or would that tend to either overwhelm her or distract her or intimidate her? I know that most people would say it would help but there are some artists who need space in order to grow their vision.</p>
<p>With that in mind. Here are my humble opinions.</p>
<p>All of the schools at the top of her list will ask her to delve into conceptual ideas and even critical theory. It seems to me that Parsons used to lean a bit more towards craft but they recently changed their foundation year and it seems to be joining the others in pushing for interdisciplinary approaches and conceptual frameworks. This might shake her up a bit and cause her to question some of where she is coming from now (which is a good thing). If she ends up not being into that (too arty/too heady) she might want to be able to fall back on illustration as a major. If so then Parsons would be her best bet. If not the other three would give her a good platform to go deeper into her ideas and take some risks.
You are right that SMFA is the most open/flexible. They do not have a required foundation year nor do they require students to declare a concentration. It is the smallest of the bunch and good for a student who knows they want to stay focused on their practice and go deep within themselves. If your daughter needs more structure this might not be the best place.</p>
<p>If the constant stimulation of NYC would be too much for her I would suggest CMU or SMFA.
CMU offers a strong program but things are definitely more low key in Pittsburgh than NYC. That might give her the time and space to focus on her work.</p>
<p>If NYC would inspire her and she is sure she does not want to fall back on commercial work then NYU would be a good place. They have a strong faculty and as you said she would be able to take classes in other departments in the school. (that being said I think Parsons students can take classes at Eugene Lang School of Liberal Arts). </p>
<p>Here are some cons to throw at you too:
I have heard that Parsons students can be shallow and some teachers frustrating (this came from my son’s girlfriend who transfered out and I don’t know if I totally trust it)
While NYU’s program is strong, most serious art students choose to go to pure art schools for the immersive experience so I don’t know about the quality of students there. I would love to hear from some other people about this since my younger son is deciding if he will attend NYU Gallatin right now and would like to take classes at Steinhardt if he does.</p>
<p>Has she visited everywhere at this point? That is a crucial part of this. What were her impressions of the ones on her short list. Where can she see herself? What did she think of the students?</p>
<p>Going to CMU would be such a socially different experience from the others. She would have tons of engineering/comp sci people around her (as well as design, music and theatre people). Does that interest her? </p>
<p>Oh, I know I am rambling. If I think of more I will write later</p>
<p>PS. I will be visiting Steinhardt with my son on Friday…poking around, checking the vibe. I am an NYU alum but Steinhardt Art was not what it is today back in my day. I was surprised to find out it now has its own building in the East Village.</p>