afein

I emailed the graduate program director, who then emailed the financial aid officer. (I'm sure the contacts for all school are different. I would have emailed both the program director and financial aid directly, if the program director had not responded so promptly.) The email I wrote is below: Hello Bethany, I have eliminated all but two schools from consideration. RISD is my number one choice. I really believe in your faculty, the vision behind the recent curriculum changes, the whole ethos of critical making. I also related to the students I met, and I loved Providence. I have a hard time envisioning myself anywhere else. I am so excited by your offer. However, Parsons has offered me a 75% scholarship, which reduces total tuition for me to $12,500. I've attached the admissions letter from Parsons. Could you make this decision easier by increasing my fellowship aid? Again, I want to emphasize how grateful I am to be offered a place in the incoming class. At this point, I'm just trying to resolve whether the best choice is the best fit or the most economical. I was fortunate to receive a lot of offers, but it has been fairly easy to see that RISD is where I want to be. Sincerely,

Also, I made a list of questions to answer for a friend to help him decide on graduate schools. If you need something to help you narrow your choices, this might be useful: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mgpJgfwAf9Kp8J7Ze0V6DHx291OcXzUFdRuwkVBfFyk/edit?usp=sharing

My understanding is that these programs are total opposites. SVA is more business focused; CalArts is far more experimental. SVA is surrounded by activity; CalArts is more cloistered. SVA is more formal; CalArts is more informal. SVA will likely focus on more conventional design*; CalArts will likely focus on pushing the boundaries of what is possible in design. Both faculty are very successful: SVA has faculty active in the business world right now. CalArts has faculty that are hugely influential in the field, but who have decided to focus on being educators. SVA will likely a better network and employment opportunities; CalArts will offer intimate educational experiences and close access to faculty. You need to ask yourself, "Why am I going to grad school?" Are you going for a job? Are you going to develop a voice? Do you want to live on the east or west coast? Do you want to work in LA or NY afterward? *I have seen grad student portfolios with interesting work.

I have decided to enroll in RISD's three-year graphic design program. (For those of you concerned about cost, ASK FOR MORE MONEY! I was given 20k more by RISD basically with the snap of the fingers.) I spend the last 1.5 hours sending rejections to CalArts, MICA, Parsons, Pratt, RCA and SVA. If you've been waitlisted at those, I hope you get offered a spot now! @Pallavi.Daga

I am very, very likely going to turn down MICA, like 90% certain.

I've turned down SVA and Pratt so far. SVA is a good school, with a good reputation, and amazing faculty. But it is not the right fit for me — too entrepreneurial, not experimental enough. Pratt has a very good reputation, but my understanding is that the graduate program in graphic design is relatively new. I'm not very familliar with the faculty and few align with my research interests. I can't speak to BU or ACCD. The latter has a good reputation and at least historically had important people (Lustig) running the program. Currently, a CalArts graduate is running the ACCD graphic design program. I can talk to any of these more, if you think it will be helpful. Right now, I am deciding between RISD and CalArts, both of which I think are the best fit for my interests and are both highly regarded schools, and Parsons, which gave me 75% scholarship. Basically, do I take on a huge debt load to do exactly what I want, or do I take on barely any debt for a program that is not what I want? Anyone have good advice?

I received the offer on Wednesday, March 13 — surprisingly quick after the interview day.

I was accepted also. Is it your first choice?

Pratt offered me 40,000 (or 20k annually). I'm still waiting on funding from CalArts and RISD, which are probably my two top choices. I need to weigh finances for the other schools, but I guess that I'm leaning RISD. I honestly have no idea how to decide. Anyone have advice on how to make a decision?

They offered 20k (or 10k annually). What decision did you end up making last Friday? I'm not looking forward to making mine next week. Also, for what it is worth, graphic design may be different in outcome than other MFA programs, especially with less arty programs like SVA. Last year, I analyzed AIGA's census data and found that MFA's make $7,000 more per year on average. Of course, that is an average, but it is one reason that I decided an MFA may be worth the cost.

I received funding in my initial acceptance letter from Pratt for Com. Design.

Me too! Congratulations! Baltimore is the most appealing city to me — cheap and big!

RISD GD is holding their last interviews this weekend and told me they would send offers afterward, so probably next week.

Did you apply for painting or communications design?

Pratt is the only school I haven't heard from. @fiowwn said last Wednesday that they have not heard from Pratt either. Every other program will have made offers by the time they conduct interviews. I wonder what is going on?