Where to go to college?

Country, city, suburbs, rural, financial issues, distance from home, competitiveness…some specifics would be helpful.

I like urban areas [edit, sorry i’m not fully awake] ... I need a place to walk around so I can get out a lot, but I’m not too interested in being in a huge city. My boyfriend is going to be in Vermont, so I would like to stay in that area (despite my dislike for cold climates). I’m not too worried about money at the moment, since I’m only a senior next year in high school I have a bit of time to work it out.

try princetonreview.com and collegeboard.com for college lists w/ stats and info. you can do some research there or take their quiz and see what matches you get. (my answers sucked but i have very specific needs)

If you wish to escape the cold, CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) is located in a lovely suburb of Los Angeles. CalArts was established by the Disney family and offers BFAs and MFAs in both visual and performing arts. It is a small college (under 1400 total students with an average class size of 12) and includes Schools of Art, Music and Film/Video. CalArts is world renowned and admission is tough. Do take a look, however.

Mass. College of Art? Rhode Island School of Design?

It sounds like what you want is a liberal arts institution. You’d be able to take courses in all of those areas and then choose whichever you end up liking the best to major in.

New York School of Visual Arts

THE Ohio State University :)

@namiru To your request of a “great art college that is more generalized” – great art colleges tend to be very specific and focused on the arts – ex: RISD, CalArts, Art Center (Pasadena). If you know early on that you want to focus on the visual arts, then that’s great. But if in addition to the visual arts, you also want to take courses in English, creative writing, performance art, musical theory, etc., then what you might like is a great art college in a larger university setting, so that you can take courses in both schools – the great art college, as well as the great liberal arts college. Off the top of my head, UCLA could be a good option. It’s far from Vermont, but their school of art is one of the best in the country, their liberal arts college is solid, as is their Theater dept.

@sweetzer…GA lurve from a UCLA alumnus (aside: and one of many alumni who were victims of identity theft when the UCLA Alumni Association database was hacked several years ago)

@whatthefluther Thanks! By “GA” do you mean Georgia? Sorry, I’m a bit of a newbie to all this. and re: ID theft: that blows! Sorry to hear about that. In any case, Go Bruins!

@sweetzer….No, GA as in Great Answer. You’ll see that there is a “1” after that notation at the bottom of your response and that your lurve score, which follows your user name, went up by 5 points, accordingly. By the way, welcome to fluther. My friends call me wtf…feel free to do the same. See you around…wtf

@whatthefluther ah! Thanks so much!

I had pretty much the same dilemma as you when applying to undergraduate programs. I knew that I wanted to study something art-related, but I had many non-art interests that I wasn’t ready to completely abandon. The answer for me ended up being a good liberal arts school with many strong, diverse programs and the ability to cross-register with the nearby art school. MICA and Johns Hopkins have this relationship. So do RISD and Brown. I believe Brown/RISD also now offers a 5 year program wherein you receive a degree from both schools. Cross-registering is not as easy as either school will make it sound, but it is possible to have a bit of both worlds. Going to a liberal arts school was the best thing for me because I discovered new things that I loved that I never would have found at a specialized school and it has brought me to what I do today.

sweetzer: nice answer

risd does have that dual program, i visited there not too long ago. but brown is harder to get into and you need good grades and sat scores. also, being enrolled in two schools is demanding on your schedule

Connecticut College and Vassar and Smith Colleges have outstanding liberal arts programs and very very strong visual arts. All three schools have beautifully endowed Visual arts bldgs; and I know that Vassar has a gorgeous museum. All of them are not too far from Middlebury (UVM, Middlebury, College of St. Michaels).

I hope that you have discussed finances with your parents. It’s never too early to think about a budget. Will you need loans, grants, work-study?

I go to The Art Institute of Atlanta. It’s pretty great.
I would recommend going to a community or state college first if you’re not really sure what you want to do. I went to college for a year just majoring in Art before I decided what I wanted to focus on. It really helped me save money, too. Art schools are a little pricey.

Its not the school you attend that matters it is your work ethic that matters. you get what you put into it.

@mzdesigns: While that is certainly true to an extent, the school also matters to an extent.

yep, a community college is no Harvard or Yale but their are alot of great schools unfortunately most of us need to go to what is feasible economically and in our geographic region

Yes, you have to do what is feasible economically. The end. Adding geographic region to that is bizarre. Either you have to go in-state because you don’t want to take out the loans to go out of state, in which case it is still economic, or you can go anywhere.

well the way he posed his question, made it sound like he was looking at the entire US. some people really can do this, if they have top grades,scholarships, and got some $ to live at the school or rent a place.

My school gives me the ability to take out loans to cover living expenses. So it’s really just a matter of if you want to dig yourself that deep in debt if you don’t have top grades to get a scholarship or whatever.

funding for education(college) in US really stinks.