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@huthuhle @ShiNiuWu Glad to see fellow ACCD MDP accepts! I would love to connect with you two I'm looking to make a decision soon as well. I'm also in the ITP Slack group, if you want to join you can send me your email!

@voxpop Ah I see! I came from a no scholarship undergraduate so when I got scholarships for graduate schools I was really surprised. My brain was like this is cool!! but also what's the deal??? Haha probably just my cynical side speaking. The refund discussion is a can of worms for sure. I agree that no academic institution is ever prepped for this kind of pandemic. But coming from an art school background, I know how expensive it is and how essential studio time is. To make/learn art during this time is physically and mentally challenging, so I understand the anger and frustration that the current students must be going through. Not to mention so many are going to graduate with debt with little to no job prospect. (also SVA just announced they will refund their students; they're currently the only art school to do so.) One good point you brought up is the professors, they're probably also finding a way to work around this too. Hopefully by Fall it will give the faculty and school enough time to develop a system that can support the incoming class. I can see the scheduling system being implemented, like 5 people in the studio every time slot, but it can get chaotic near mid-reviews or finals ? I wonder when is a good time to start asking about this? I know Parsons moved their deposit deadline to June 15. I'm planning to email both schools to ask about their upcoming plans on how to teach the upcoming class, but I feel like any emails right now will be drowned in COVID-19 related emails and complaints.

This is suuuper hypothetical and out there, but let's say we have to take first semester online. How do you think you will do it? @A Bawa @voxpop I can imagine the lectures being online, and the crits (oh god 5hr zoom calls for crits) are also doable. Coding/screen-based work can be shared and critiqued online. But what about collaboration? A big part that both NYU ITP and Parsons promised is collaboration. Like yes we can call each other, but I can't imagine working on group projects via zoom for a whole semester? (assuming we still have to perform some degree of social distancing then) And for NYU ITP which have courses for physical computing, it's gonna be difficult. It is possible to work on it alone in your room, but I know I'm gonna sucks at it (haha) and I would love to work near/around people and have the chance to learn from my peers.

@voxpop Yep that's right haha. They want to welcome the new students without the drama of the old ones. I also got the email but am too lazy to sign up for another FB group, but maybe I should. I will let you know if I see anything, but right now ... it's a lot of angry students telling incoming students they shouldn’t go to Parsons LMAO. I think Parsons is making all international students buy the school's insurance. They don't accept insurances from outside the country, but for many internationals who already have an insurance, getting a second insurance in the States is a (literal) crime. This, along with how they're dealing with the pandemic... I know these are circumstantial evidence but I can't help but feeling a bit skeptical towards Parsons (I also found their interviews very rushed) It's difficult to get a good, holistic impression of the school when everyone is so angry. For NYU ITP, the students are also asking for a refund, and the Dean responded .... with a video of her dancing... Also, while I'm grateful for the scholarship and think everyone who received scholarship deserves it, I do feel like Parsons handed out a lot of scholarship this year, which is a little bit... suspicious? I asked my colleague who graduated last year and she said almost all internationals are guaranteed to have scholarship of some sort. Apparently it depends on where you coming from (say, 50 coming from country A and 2 coming from country B, then the 2 people from country B will receive more scholarships) I personally know Parsons because I came from the art school bubble, so names like RISD/MICA/Parsons/Pratt/SVA are all familiar to me. But you're right! Parsons definitely have a stronger marketing team, and I wonder if the scholarships also play a part in this... Now that you mentioned it, I have only know of ITP through working designers. Really interesting point!

@A Bawa I agree, a physical classroom is still my preferred option (it's sad to say that considering that was the norm up until recently) delaying it to Winter or Spring is a good idea. still, I think that's highly unlikely. I have been lurking in the TNS Accepted Student Facebook group, and many current students, particularly internationals, are furious at how Parsons is handling the situation. I doubt Parsons will treat us incoming students any differently (unless there's a state-wide declaration or ban). Right now I'm just trying to wrap my head around starting online school in the Fall and see how it feels. Some days I'm ok with it, some days I just wanna bail out and defer to next year instead. It's also interesting to see how the schools are dealing with crisis, because it says a lot about their management system. To be fair, no school is well-equipped to respond to such a pandemic. Still, getting accepted and having to decide between schools amid this chaos is very difficult, especially for international students who have so many things to consider.

@voxpop Thanks for your insight! I was initially against online learning, since I don't think art school/or creative work in general can be effectively and productively taught online. I also don't think it's worth the tuition. But I appreciate and agree with your opinion, it's a global pandemic that is hard on everyone. At the same time, it's also introducing new, unexplored narratives that can be exciting to work with during grad school So many new questions to ask now that we no longer have access to "normal". And we still get to work on this together in some form so .. it'll be ok! Also thanks for sharing your intentions and what you plan to make out of grad school! It's a good reminder for me... I loved my BFA but I often feel like I took it for granted at times. Having to submit a statement of intent for grads schools really keep me grounded and focused on what I want to get out of this experience, online or offline. And I get to be with a passionate pool of people who fought to get in, so it will be challenging and rewarding.

@huthuhle I got the same letter for ACCD MDP. I did not see any indication of scholarship or funding.. I thought maybe there was a separate application for scholarship but I missed that? @taketwo Thanks for the info! I'm also reaching out to people I know, will let you know if I learn of anything new. I really enjoyed the interview I had with ACCD so I'm considering the program, but I also really want to stay in NY hahaha. @verynervous Just email and appeal first! You can always ask again after the webinar if it's still unclear.

Currently my top two choices are Parsons DT and NYU ITP, with ACCD Media Design Practice also in the run. I'm an international and is in need of financial support, and Parsons offered me a much higher scholarship. I also went to an art school for my BFA and Parsons' environment and teaching style seems to suit me better. NYU ITP is quite a stretch for me, both financially (they offered 5k/year) and skillset wise (I have very little knowledge in coding/physical computation/etc., and I'm also not intensely passionate about it, but am willing to learn!), but it's also a Pass/Fail system that seems to welcome experimentation, and I definitely want to challenge myself throughout my Master. For mer it's whether I want to go to another art school with similar line of thinking and training vs a different environment that going to challenge me

Hi guys! Congrats everyone for their acceptance! Just opening this topic so we can all talk about the classic battle between Parsons' Design Technology (DT) vs NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) for upcoming Fall 2020. Other schools/options are welcome as well. If you are also in a similar dilemma, would love to hear about: Your decision making process and why ITP or DT? Your background and skillset? What are you looking to achieve through the program? Any knowledge/information/tips/thoughts you have on each program and their respective facilities/faculties/curriculum/networking/etc. Some personal stats like scholarship, funding, are you an international/domestic student, etc. (optional) How is the school going to respond to COVID-19? If they're going online for Fall 2020, will you still attend? Other general questions

@sapphirelake Thank you for your response, it was super helpful! I'm really interested in hearing more about why or how people choose NYU ITP/Parsons DT, would really appreciate any insights! @voxpop@taketwo@A Bawa@verynervous Do you guys want to have a separate topic to discuss the NYU/Parsons decision? Would love to talk more to you guys @verynervous congrats on your acceptance! I got 5k/year for NYU ITP and 50% scholarship for Parsons. I was leaning towards ITP but the offering from Parsons was really unexpectedly generous. I have requested NYU to put me on their appeal list, not sure if I will get any more $$$ ... will keep you updated! But you should definitely appeal for more scholarship if you can, doesn't hurt to try! Especially during the pandemic.... How about you? How's your decision process? Also: ACCD/Art Center people anyone? Just got accepted into their Media Design Practices, 2-year track. I initially ruled this program out because a) I want to stay in New York b) thought they would put me in the 3-year track. But now that I'm accepted for 2 years .... Anyone have thoughts on the program? All I know that it's a selective program that has good industry connection, but is a bit more unconventional, and can be hard to graduate from?

@A Bawa Thank you, and congrats to you too! I was leaning towards NYU ITP since it's different from my BFA, but Parson's scholarship is very tempting. I also don't have cs or coding background What are you planning to do, and what made you favor Parsons? Just curious

Huge congrats to everyone for the Parsons acceptance! Just got the notice as well, accepted with merit scholarship

MPS is more towards learning a practical skills for a certain industry, it's usually taught by industry experts so it works best for people who are set on working in the industry. Grabbed this from Google: " In short, MPS is limited to a narrower band of education with a focus on practical skills rather than research." MFA is more open-ended and is concept and research-based, which I think better translated into teaching? Most of my professors from my BFA program hold a MFA, and many MFA students I met went on to work and/or teach on the side. They all have varying strengths and design styles, and all of them have very good critical thinking and research skills, but they do not specialise in one specific area. Teaching MFA requires you to be open, experimental and flexible, while MPS is also experimental but more focused and specialised (i.e. many people applied to NYU ITP knowing that they want to code/program/etc.) Not that I'm discounting any MPS degree holders, if you want to teach, as long as you're good I'm pretty sure you can do it with either degree. But it seems like MFA are preferred. On another note, still no info on Parsons.......

Haven't heard anything from Parsons at all, weird How did you guys receive the results? Also would love to hear more about ITP vs DT. I think the differences I have been told so far are: (these are coming from my colleagues who were DT grads, and one taught at ITP) ITP is a MPS, Pass/Fail system The course pushed you to build more physical things, to be more hands-on. Regardless of what route/idea/design you have you will always have something physical to show at the end (hence the Winter and Spring shows) DT is MFA, so you can teach afterwards? DT tends to be more abstract and open-ended, the work that came our of this course can range from physical models to concepts to screen-based media. Both MFA and BFA candidates in DT that I have met told me that you have to come DT with some sort of interest or direction, which will help to drive your projects/thesis. Since it's more open, a lot of people can just presented more abstract concepts or ideas (with or without the intention to create it or finish it), which ... may work for some and not for others? It's easy to get lost or confused in this setting. Reputation wise both are similar, courses are also similar. But I have been told that the good DT profs have all left, not sure about the current lineup. I have a BFA from an art school and was naturally drawn to Parsons because of its conceptual background, but I'm not sure if I want to graduate with more "concepts" in my portfolio. But I also severely lack the physical computing/coding/etc. skills so going to NYU ITP will be quite a stretch on my ability ... But maybe that's what grad schools are for? Please let me know if you guys have any thoughts, and feel free to correct me as well!

Thank you! I'm waiting for Parsons/Art Center and trying to see if I can appeal for higher scholarship from NYU, but I'm 70% set on NYU ITP.