Yale vs. Parsons for painting

[ElizabethBrown]

I got into Yale and Parsons for painting. I am scared that the isolation in New Haven will stunt my work - I need the stimulation of a city. Any thoughts on which school to choose? Yale has a stronger program but Parsons is in New York.....I got a good vibe from both when I visited. Thoughts?

[tink23]

I got into Yale and Parsons for painting. I am scared that the isolation in New Haven will stunt my work - I need the stimulation of a city. Any thoughts on which school to choose? Yale has a stronger program but Parsons is in New York.....I got a good vibe from both when I visited. Thoughts?

I would say don't assume that nyc can't feel isolated. Being inspired isn't always about location. Go for Yale!

[littlenova]

You are less than 2 hours away from NYC if you choose Yale. And, the program is elite...

[Bernardo]

I got into Yale and Parsons for painting. I am scared that the isolation in New Haven will stunt my work - I need the stimulation of a city. Any thoughts on which school to choose? Yale has a stronger program but Parsons is in New York.....I got a good vibe from both when I visited. Thoughts?

Did you get into Yale off the waiting list? I'm on the waiting list and I just want to hear some news, good or bad! By when do you need to let them know of your decision? Please let me know what you decide; I really want to move on. Good luck!

[floralcouch]

I got into Yale and Parsons for painting. I am scared that the isolation in New Haven will stunt my work - I need the stimulation of a city. Any thoughts on which school to choose? Yale has a stronger program but Parsons is in New York.....I got a good vibe from both when I visited. Thoughts?

Do you currently live in NYC? I think if you're sure about the city's influence on you, should seriously consider Parsons.

I have a friend who just graduated from there and her work is fantastic.

I also found New Haven to be pretty stifling. That was one of the reasons I chose RISD over Yale. I like RISD's relationship to Providence better. Of course, that isn't the only reason, but location is pretty important, IMHO, especially for graduate school.

[kmc88]

unless your work is about large cities, i dont know how being in new haven would stunt your practice. all of the faculty at yale are new york based artists, and from what i understand most of your class mates (if you go to yale ill be one of them!) move to new york after graduating. Personally I plan on taking a monthly train ride into the city to see whats going on. I would call peter halley and talk to him about your concerns, he seems really nice. But in the end i would follow your gut instinct, im sure your going to have a great two years no matter where you go, good luck!

[layintwait]

Are you kidding me? Yale is the highest ranked American program for a reason. Parsons is maybe the 4th or 5th best painting program in NYC. I'd guess around the 20th in the states. I heard they just fired all their visiting (interesting) professors. Seriously the fact that you are even debating between the two makes me wonder how you got into Yales MFA. When you have Yale you wont need new york. I feel like new york (collector/dealers) will almost comes to yale. After you graduate you'll have the rest of your life to live in NYC. Once your in the program you'll be so busy and focused on your work you'll forget about crummy new haven. Also i know its petty and superficial but Yales name will carry more wait throughout the rest of your career.

sorry for the rant

[floralcouch]

Are you kidding me? Yale is the highest ranked American program for a reason. Parsons is maybe the 4th or 5th best painting program in NYC. I'd guess around the 20th in the states. I heard they just fired all their visiting (interesting) professors. Seriously the fact that you are even debating between the two makes me wonder how you got into Yales MFA. When you have Yale you wont need new york. I feel like new york (collector/dealers) will almost comes to yale. After you graduate you'll have the rest of your life to live in NYC. Once your in the program you'll be so busy and focused on your work you'll forget about crummy new haven. Also i know its petty and superficial but Yales name will carry more wait throughout the rest of your career.

sorry for the rant

point taken. i suppose i am giving poor advice since I am a graphic designer, not a painter. I don't know much about painting programs. ignore me!

[brianmc]

Go to Yale. Build a network, then move to NYC. The network that Yale can offer is why they are #1. The rankings are voted on by a community of peers. Each program gets to submit two surveys. Yale is #1 because they have more people working at other schools who are high enough in the ranks to get one of the two votes. I went to MICA for undergrad. 90% of the faculty in the painting department had gone to Yale. The painting chair had gone to Yale. All of the students wanted to go to Yale. I'm pretty sure Carroll Dunham left Columbia to go teach at Yale, leading me to believe that Yale's network can even help established artists living in NYC and that is why they are able to get such a good faculty.

I moved to NYC once without a network and it was brutal. I had the romantic idea that it was going to be like late 19th/early 20th Century Paris or even 1940s/50s NYC. It wasn't. It was more like the world's most overly competitive, highly commercialized outdoor shopping mall. I love the stimulation of city life, but New York is not like other cities. It is not as livable and everyone sees you as competition. No one wants to help you. I'd go to apply for a bartending job and wait in line behind 70-100 other people. I finally got a job with help from a friend who had moved up there that I had forgotten about. I wish I had realized earlier that I had a network of one, but it was too late by that time. I had already fallen too far behind.

I'm sure Parsons is fine, but you got into Yale. If I were on the Yale waitlist I'd be telling you to go to Parsons. But I'm not and I generally like to see good things happen for people. So I'm voting that you go to Yale. I would.

[gallerina]

I may be too late on this - not sure. Yale is a better ranking program, yes. But buidling the NYC network after Yale as suggested by others is so much easier said than done. So it really depends on your goals. The prestige of a degree from Yale is invaluable and will always turn heads-- but it's not going to compensate for having mediocre work, which means you should truly go where you will be inspired and motivated to make great work. Likewise, you can have great work and it still won't get in front of the right people without the right connections. At Parsons you will be constantly working with and placed in front of the very people that have the power to make or break your career. Curators, Press, and Dealers in New York pretty much take the cake in terms of kicking off an art career (More in terms of sales than anything. In general, having your art outside of the US will spread your recognition, but only in the US, particularly New York, does your work have the potential to actually start selling.) I ran an NYC gallery and a low-priority, tiny part of my job dealt with filtering thousands of portfolios, which had to get past me before reaching those with their names on the doors. Never did I come across mediocre work and push it forward because of where the artist studied-- I was never instructed to do so. In fact where an artist studied hardly ever came up unless some tire-kicker at an art fair was trying to come up with a reason not to purchase a piece.

Ok I'm rambling... my point is that I think you are dealing with an extremely tough decision and you are absolutely valid in struggling with it. Yale is a stronger program in both reputation and rigor... but Parsons is in NY and that's where the connections and critical players are. Go where the instructors and environment are going to personally motivate you to make kick a$$ work.