Is RISD the Harvard of art schools?

It depends. My son is a senior at Ringling. He got into RISD and decided it was not for him.

They are number 1 or 2 depending on the source for animation. They only accept 6%-8% into that program and for those that get in 1/3 will drop out. The students that make it of around 70-80 have over 100 companies with good offers often before they graduate.

A little advice. Have her get her portfolio together if she hasn't already. Real life drawings are what they want to see. Figure drawing, etc... For animation they also want a traditional portfolio. They don't want anything computer generated.

I would highly recommend precollege if they are having it this year wherever she wants to go.

Take a look at SCAD in Savannah, GA. Better part of the country IMO. Savannah is beautiful. Beaches are close.

Alan

SCAD also has a campus in LaCoste, France, where they have all the shirts with the little alligator on them.

I will just share a little anecdote with the original poster.

A few years ago, I was hiring a nanny for my daughter. One of the people I interviewed was a graduate of the University of Washington (the flagship state university in WA) with a degree in art. The nanny job paid $15 an hour and was full-time. Previously, she'd been working at a preschool, I think, maybe with a focus on doing art with the kids. I don't remember.

I'm sure some people with degrees in art succeed, but I think there are many others who end up working low and minimum wage jobs. There's a lot to be said for having a well-paying, cushy job to support yourself and doing what you love as a hobby.

arunnerinwa wrote:

I will just share a little anecdote with the original poster.

A few years ago, I was hiring a nanny for my daughter. One of the people I interviewed was a graduate of the University of Washington (the flagship state university in WA) with a degree in art. The nanny job paid $15 an hour and was full-time. Previously, she'd been working at a preschool, I think, maybe with a focus on doing art with the kids. I don't remember.

I'm sure some people with degrees in art succeed, but I think there are many others who end up working low and minimum wage jobs. There's a lot to be said for having a well-paying, cushy job to support yourself and doing what you love as a hobby.

As I said before it depends heavily on what their focus is. My son's entire class will be leaving with well paid contracts at the end of this year. He has several friends who are also majoring in game art that have jobs lined up.

I'm sure you can find many nanny's that majored in something else also.

You mentioned a rundown of colleges for comparison and one of them was FIT,

what is that an acronym for?/please

U don't know how to google?

Fashion Inst of Technology

Some good advice here for dad.

As a commercial artist and graphic designer and a dad, let me add my two cents.

I got my art degree from a major university which didn't cost me anything (but my running pride).

I parlayed that into a successful art/design career by hard work, lucky breaks, and lots of hutzpah.

My daughter was a very talented musician and got several music scholarship offers to major universities.

However, we were told that if she ever wanted to be a professional musician (symphony) she'd have to go to a music conservatory (the equivalent of a RISD).

SO she went to the New England Conservatory of Music (the Harvard of music schools).

$250,000 later she couldn't land a chair (and she is very good) and works in retail in Boston.

Moral of the story: you can go to a much less expensive school, get a good education and have just as good of a chance of success with hard work, luck and hutzpah as a fancy private school and not go into debt.

I have heard that Stansbury is the Harvard of the West

kw1954 wrote:

My daughter was a very talented musician and got several music scholarship offers to major universities.

However, we were told that if she ever wanted to be a professional musician (symphony) she'd have to go to a music conservatory (the equivalent of a RISD).

SO she went to the New England Conservatory of Music (the Harvard of music schools).

$250,000 later she couldn't land a chair (and she is very good) and works in retail in Boston.

Moral of the story: you can go to a much less expensive school, get a good education and have just as good of a chance of success with hard work, luck and hutzpah as a fancy private school and not go into debt.

The classic music business is an impossible thing to do. I know that, because my wife is doing it.

Everybody aspires to be in a Symphony. Only 1 in 5000 maybe makes it. And then you are miserable for life. 100% Perfection is just the minimum every day. And right now a lot of them are laid off anyway.

You daughter could start a Classic quartet and teach on the side. A lot of good musicians are doing that.

Yep. My beef with NEC was that they practically promised you a job after graduation which we found out, many auditions later, are nearly impossible to get. Buyer beware!

There are lots of smaller orchestras and quartets in the Boston area which she played in on the side but those all died due to COVID.

She's a violist. I'm very proud of her even though we were led down a primrose path.

She got her masters in music performance from McGill.

A smarter path for the arts in a traditional liberal arts college with a degree then get your masters from a specialty school.

Violin is even worse. You are competing with Chinese borne players who started at the age for 4 the latest. For the matter of fact, I just had dinner with one of those last Sunday.

LOL. I think my daughter was the only non Asian in the entire NEC string department!

Her husband was a tuba player there who played professionally until COVID.

He now has a successful online teaching business which he developed during the shutdown.

She doesn't have the temperament to teach.

Providence is an absolute cesspool right now. Outside of the East Side the place is like the wild west. Total disregard for the place by political leaders.

So where did she go?

the original post was July, 2019,

My sister went to RISD. She was a mediocre artist before she went, and remains to this day. Her principal qualification for admission? Our dad could pay the full freight.

Yes, she had some friends that were/are truly talented—the kind of painters that could sell something for $5000 as a high school student. They might have been there on the scholarships pops was subsidizing.

Scratchy wrote:

My sister went to RISD. She was a mediocre artist before she went, and remains to this day. Her principal qualification for admission? Our dad could pay the full freight.

Yes, she had some friends that were/are truly talented—the kind of painters that could sell something for $5000 as a high school student. They might have been there on the scholarships pops was subsidizing.

....so you're saying it's the Harvard of art schools

i graduated from risd with a bfa and barch in 1980/81. it was an amazing experience. my daughter went to scad and fit. she especially loved scad