My son was accepted into SVA, Prat, Parsons, SCAD and Ringling. Appears they are good choices for his degree but our decision will be based on Financial Aid packages first and school’s atmosphere once we tour the school’s campuses. Anyone out there also trying to decide between these schools?
What major is your son interested in?
What amount of financial aid did he get from each school?
What is your financial situation if he doesn’t get much aid?
Why did he apply only to these schools?
What were his SATs and GPA?
scrapgal, my daughter has applied and is accepted to SCAD and Ringling (and a few others). We have not received financial aid offers yet, (though some of the other schools have offered some merit at this point.) I do know that SVA is a “for profit” school, and gives little aid to freshmen. Ringling does give some help, but not much. We have not been impressed with SCAD. They gave a merit award, then two months later sent a very pretty letter on very expensive paper with silver embossing which said something like …
We love you! We want to give you this small merit…won’t you please send in your $700 deposit?..we also would love to pay for a hotel and meals if you come and visit…you will love us!..we love you!..by the way, this very small, small merit replaces any other merit you may have received previously…which was thousands more…but don’t worry about that…this is on expensive paper…aren’t we great?
In essence, it felt like a bait and switch. I have heard about odd financial aid dealings with SCAD, but this really took me aback. If they did this now, what would they do next year if my D matriculated there? We wondered if it is because they saw our FAFSA - our need is great this year because we have a son in college.
You can run the school calculators, and I also found this helpful;
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
You can plug in the name of a college to see past statistics - be forewarned, statistics can be very misleading. ( As I’ve learned on this board.)
We are trying to arrange visiting her schools, which are all far away - it is hard if you don’t have the financial aid awards yet. Our local state art school is good, but doesn’t have the specialized major, or many courses, in what she really wants, Motion Design/Graphics.
We are glad that she is being great about staying open to the different schools because of aid. Best wishes to you and your son.
MazeArtCrew, my son is also interes in Motion Design/Graphics.
None of the state schools have his desired major either. We are in South Florida, so the local art school is the Art Institute, which does not seem to have a favorable reputation…
We have also received merit scholarship and need to update our FAFSA since we just finished our taxes.
We will try to visit the schools once we get the final financial aid packages, but will see, as we would have to fly out…
Where other schools is your daughter applying too?
Taxguy:
What major is your son interested in? Motion Design/Graphics
What amount of financial aid did he get from each school? He has received merit scholarship from Pratt & SCAD.
What is your financial situation if he doesn’t get much aid? We will need to rely on loans…
Why did he apply only to these schools? These were the only ones that had his desired major and in the East Coast… None of our state schools (Florida) had any degrees that fit his major.
What were his SATs and GPA? GPA - 3.2 UW, 4.3 Weighted - SAT’s not the greatest - 1820
-He also has over 1k hours in community service, leadership position in church youth group and TV broadcast club in school. He has won several state and national awards.
scrapgal,
My daughter has applied to:
LCAD - Laguna College of Art and Design (nice merit, though I wish it was more - great school.)
Ringling College of Art and Design (just heard she got in - no idea if there is any merit - they don’t give much.)
DePaul College of Computing and Digital Media (new program, generous merit)
RIT (haven’t heard yet, though her portfolio was accepted at National Portfolio Day, and her SAT is high for her major.)
VCUArts (she is in - no merit yet)
MassArt (haven’t heard yet - she should get in for a variety of reasons)
Otis (haven’t heard yet)
SCAD (in, but weird merit switch - I am not impressed.)
My daughter has a 3.2 UW GPA - 2030 SAT.
She has an ld which makes rote memorization challenging - she has worked very hard for that GPA. Frustrating that art grades are not included in their GPA! (At least at her school.) It is a well regarded public high school.
She is also involved with community service.
Next year will be tough financially with my son in in his last year of college. We may need to take out a loan for then,
but we will not be able to beyond that.
We filed the estimate for the FAFSA, but my husband is self employed, so he has his taxes completed by an accountant. We put together the numbers/ receipts, etc, then send it all off to him. We are waiting for that now.
We are in the midst of trying to plan the visits as well. The frustrating thing is that LCAD requires an April 1st decision if you want to use their freshman dorms We will have just received financial aid awards from all of the schools, if we are lucky. We all would love to see her in a dedicated Motion Graphics/Design program.
May I ask if your son received any merit from Ringling, and if so, was it in the acceptance packet? (That was an amazing package design, by the way!)
Finding schools which offer Motion Graphics/Design is very difficult. Most have Graphics with perhaps one or two motion classes. You really need the broad experience with stop motion, rigging, computer animation, etc. Internship opportunities are also so important.
Best of luck in this quest!
MazeArtCrew : no Merit from Ringling yet & agree that it has been the most impressive package so far that we have received. They clearly spend a lot on their marketing…
The Ringling packets are mainly designed by students. I know because my D’s work was featured once. After all if you are an art school with great students that’s the best marketing of all!
MazeArtCrew, my son also received two different merit scholarships from SCAD. The first one was the Academic Scholarship and the second was the Achievement (portfolio) Scholarship. I believe they are stackable. Where it says it replaces a previous scholarship, I though that meant from the same category. I’m going to contact admissions and make sure.
Thanks ccsnocean64. I re-read the awards, and I am sure that you are correct. They are both listed as achievement awards - they should change their terminology! I wish I could send her financially to Ringling, LCAD or RIT - they all have amazing internship opportunities and excellent programs in her intended major.
Gouf78, that is so great about your D’s work being featured in Ringling’s marketing! Is she still at Ringling? Is she working in her desired career?
Our D just heard from MassArt today, and is waiting to hear from two other colleges, then the financial aid awards. Both my husband and I are artists, and know the importance of an excellent education in the arts.
@scrapgal Keep in mind that SVA/Pratt/Parsons are in NYC which means extremely expensive housing and living costs in upper class years, as well as significant travel costs for you. Pratt would probably be the least expensive of those since it is in Brooklyn and closer to LaGuardia for flights to and from home. (It’s a $30 cab ride from LaGuaradia into Manhattan.)Ringling is in a much less expensive city, and of course your travel costs will be much less there as well. SCAD students generally find decent off campus housing at a reasonable cost. But I recommend visiting there to see where most of your S’s classes will be, as some of their buildings are really far from the main campus and dorm area. It’s a very disjointed campus and some students really don’t like that.
If you can afford the tuition I would choose Ringling if I were you. New York can be a heck of a culture shock (and does your son really want to slog around in snowstorms for 2 months every winter?) for someone from Florida. The art programs at all of those schools are comparable I think, though I don’t know specifically about motion graphics. We looked at all those schools for my D for animation/visual effects.
@MazeArtCrew Your D will get a substantial merit scholarship from RIT with that SAT score, and it is a lower price school to begin with than most art-only schools. If you like the campus at all it will be a very competitive price and is a great program. You can also take advantage of RIT’s excellent computer science classes.
@honestmom, Thanks, that is hopeful. I hope she gets substantial merit, though they do say you need a B+ “plus” the high SAT score. We’ll see. I am hopeful because her art classes don’t count in the gpa, and she had done well in them. Her counselor is mentioning her perseverance (as well as her taking honor courses, though not AP, except for Art) in the face of her LD. Her SAT is very high for the major she wants. The person reviewing her portfolio at National Portfolio Day had great things to say as well. Fingers crossed!
By the way, has your D heard from her last school? I’m just relieved to hear from our state art school, because we know that we can afford it. LCAD gave a nice merit, but it will still most likely be out of our reach, Ringling gives so few merit scholarships that it would be like winning a lottery ticket, and the COA at RIT is still over $50,000.
It is good to know that in 4 years we will be paying our last college payments. Best of luck!
@MazeArtCrew My D has been accepted at Temple U./Tyler, Drexel, and SAIC. She got nice merit aid from all three. Still waiting on Syracuse. She just applied to Pratt after getting a letter from them last week begging her to apply and hinting that she would qualify for a $20k academic merit scholarship. Temple is by far the most affordable since we are in-state, but it doesn’t have the program she wants. But she LOVES the school and may go there anyway. Drexel is expensive but has the program she wants, amazing facilities, and she could get additional money there for choir or theater. It’s been quite a journey from when she started out in love with SCAD, and would not even look at Temple or Drexel!
She has a lower SAT but higher GPA than your D. We were told by RIT that she would get a Presidential scholarship which is about half tuition. She did not like the school when we visited so didn’t apply. If your D is accepted but did not get the scholarship her SAT would qualify for because of her low GPA, you should appeal.
Lots of good discussion! My son did the Pre-college program at SVA and really liked it. I know Ringling may be less expensive due to housing but all of the Art schools are pricey, since they are private. He did apply to our local public university as a safety. Based on the cost of the schools, even with the merit scholarships he has received so far, he will need to take out loans. Anyone able to provide advice on the process in obtaining loans?
@scrapgal Applying for federal loans is easy. The Department of Education website is where to start. You have to submit the FAFSA and then DOE determines your eligibility for loans. The college then will send you a financial award package which may include loans but also might include work-study options so your student can pay for some of the tuition that way. The student completes the loan application and normally is approved right away. The student signs a promissory note electronically and the funds go directly to the college. Parent PLUS loans are similar, only the DOE does a credit check first and notifies you if you are approved. The funds go directly to the college. In future years, the student loan is automatic if you submit the FAFSA unless you tell the college you don’t want it that year. PLUS loans have to be reapplied for each year. Private bank loans are different but I guess similar to applying for a credit card.
First of all congratulations to your son. Personally, I chose Parsons and I have to say it’s a kick in the nuts. Depending on the Major be it Fashion, Design and Technology (what I’m in for), Communications, etc it’s going to be strenuous like a lot of schools. The liberal art electives there which you are required to take are really really good.
MazeArt–D has been working a few years now. Most of her friends were hired directly after graduation.
@MazeArtCrew I read these posts even though my S is c/o '18 in high school! I was intrigued by the DePaul Computing and Digital Media program you mentioned. It seems like many schools are starting these new programs. We are in Connecticut and our state flagship UCONN now has a Digital and Media Design undergraduate school. Was your D interested in the DePaul program at all? Any other digital media programs at top schools we should start putting on our list?
@magnetnh It is great that you are involved early.
My D and I will be visiting DePaul to really take a closer look at the program. It is new, and I have concerns over their industry connections - those are so important for an internship/building a portfolio for later.
I recommend:
Ringling - excellent program and connections. A great drive there to prepare you for your future as an artist/designer.
LCAD - Laguna College of Art & Design - great program, great connections. Small, but only a dorm for freshman.
RIT - Rochester Institute of Technology - they have great programs as well as are considered a Coop/Internship school - they combine design and technology to a high degree.
Otis, though I am not as familiar with their program.
My D had a very helpful month at the Ringling pre-college program. I can’t say enough good things about it. She went into it thinking she wanted to be a 3D animator, switched over to motion graphics/design along with stop-motion, and came away feeling as if she had found herself and her future.
You can tell a lot about the connections a program has based on their students’ success stories:
UConn Success Stories: http://dmd.uconn.edu/category/success-stories/
Ringling Success Stories: https://www.facebook.com/RinglingCollege (notice the multiple Academy Award nominations/at least one win.)
Read this about LCAD: http://californianewswire.com/2014/04/29/CNW19357_093611.php/ceo-bob-hurley-to-inspire-students-at-laguna-college-of-art-and-design-2014-commencement/
RIT Portfolios: http://creativity.cias.rit.edu/index.php?major=ALL
Hope this helps! (Also, it is really challenging to find programs which offer Motion Design/Graphics because they all call it something different. It is not easily searchable, and is certainly not to be found on the traditional College Board site. You need to look deeply on the college sites, even into their syllabi in order to really find out what the program is all about.) Also, encourage your S to keep his grades up, and practice SAT’s, as well as work on his portfolio. Scholarship at some of the schools is determined by a combination of all three - you can get in with a great portfolio, but if you want that golden scholarship, grades and SAT do count at quite a few art schools.
Best of luck!
@MazeArtCrew thank you for the detailed information! It is very helpful. We had some on our list but others are new and will research. My son seems to be interested in animation but it is still so early it can change, but I know it will be in that realm. Being in Connecticut we may pursue liberal arts colleges with strong Art majors too. His grades are great and we need to focus on SAT prep. Our district administers a practice PSAT freshman year which he late last year but no results are released. He attends two high schools. One is our local comprehensive high school for his academic courses and an arts high school in the afternoon where his focus is visual arts. The latter is very helpful with his portfolio. Thanks again for your assistance!