Pretend like somebody's paying you thousands of dollars to write it.

I may be wrong, but doesn't a masters only qualify you to teach at the community college level? To be a professor at a higher level than that I believe you need a Ph.D. This may or may not be relevant to you; in my case, it is one of the reasons I am starting my Ph.D. work next year.

As for the money, wilked is correct. Until you learn what financial aid you can get, the whole discussion is academic. Usually the schools that cost the most also have the biggest financial aid packages. If they want you to come, they will make it happen.

Yep. I've said it before, maybe even in a thread of CPs, but companies like to see a degree, any degree, because it means you can jump through the hoops well. Granted, you have to have something to offer them, but between someone with a degree and someone without, they will almost always go for the degree'd, even if the degree isn't in something that actually pertains directly to the job.

Congratulations, CP. Revel in the fact that you got accepted . . . and then really sit down and think about why Pratt is right for you. You are a fantastic artist already - Pratt may have less to offer you than you think. I'm certain you will reach the same level of success in art no matter where you go to school. This is one of those things that will happen, no matter how, if you want it bad enough.

And being a professor? Might be a great idea - but remember that's going to be even more school on top of your BFA. And more debt!

Congrats CP!

As for all you guys bitching about how much fucking money she'll make after she gets out I wouldn't worry too much about that. Pratt is not just another "art school" or the same as going to a local college and majoring in art.. In the U.S. there are a few schools that produce the top artists, illustrators and designers. Pratt is among them. Think of it as the same as going to Julliard for music or Harvard for business. If nothing else it will provide a contact list of very prestigious alumni that she can draw upon. Much like going to any other good school. It's full of the best of the best, from there she can go on to Yale or USC film school, Columbia or a host of others for her graduate degree. it will give her much more credibility just by going there as opposed to some podunk local college.

Don't forget that it is in New York and that in and of itself will give her access to working for/in the top galleries, Ad Agencies and Marketing firms in the country. Not to mention many big-name firms headquartered there.

And yes CP you can do it in four years if you need to. but you will need to plan your schedule carefully. not all classes are offered every semester.

One bit of advice: DON'T say that you will do work-study until you have gotten as much as they will give you otherwise it may reduce your grants and financial aid you would otherwise get. If you do work-study it will mean that you can't take as many classes and you will have to be there for another semester or two. And they pay shit anyway, plus take time away from studies and your art. so don't do it if you can avoid it. you can freelance though! Pratt's placement office is full of job opps! and they can pay pretty decently. I was able to get some work out of Calvin Klein, And Matchbox toys and a bunch of others. The city is a great playground!

Most of all, HAVE FUN while you are there. Use the opportunity to experience and enjoy NYC! that is the most valuable part of going to school there.

wow, that's awesome chowgurt. i'd really like to go, and get it done in 4 years, and i'd LOVE TO GO TO YALE.

all of this stuff is fine and dandy to worry and think about but why do you want to do this in the first place?
it sounds like it's a passion of yours.
that maybe you can't not do it.
i know that's how a lot of musicians and writers and artists feel.
the other stuff is a royal pain but we all work around them the best we can.
things fall into place.
this is all about exploration and discovery.

i put myself through a private college for almost 6 1/2 years without a dime from my parents. i worked full time and part time and did whatever i had to do to finish because i loved it.

you're head is swimming now but don't lose sight of your original purpose.

god i hate when i sound preachy.

the journey is the reward.
not getting it done.

and the concept of yale might be appealing but it's really not all that.
graduate schools go in cycles.
yale's painting program was hot 10 years ago (john currin, lisa yuskovic)
now it's columbia but even that's coming to an end.
it will all be different by the time you get there.

okay, i'm sounding too parental and it's making me sick.
i'm done.
but congratulations again.

i appreciate all of the advice and encouragement from everyone.
thank you.

i'm so happy. but i'm sad at the same time.
this could mean the end of a lot of things that have made me happier than anything throughout the past four years.

i don't know.
we'll see.
pratt, pratt, pratt. so appealing. it's like the belgian eclair of art schools for me.

Congratulations! And welcome to New York City!

Ayah's right--Columbia is on the way out, which means one thing: my school, City College, is bound to be the next hot spot.

jesus fuck i go to work for a few days and everyone on this board turns to dipshit. undergrad art school is for retards.

All undergrad schools are for tards, the same goes for overgrad schools

thanks chase.

you aren't the only one i've heard that from.
in fact i was called a dipshit last night.

keep it coming.

Yes...if it's an MA or MS. An MFA, which presumably is what she wants to get, is a terminal degree and can get you a tenure track position at a 4 year university. You can lecture at some 4 year schools with just a masters, but you can't ever get tenure. One of the worst professors I ever had was a guy in Native American Studies who had an MFA and tenure, but was teaching a non-art class.

Oh, and CP, I don't think you get to be "Dr." with an MFA.

As for the debt, that's a shitload of money for a degree that doesn't "guarantee" you a high paying job. I have a friend who went off to Babson College near Boston and racked up lots of debt because he's not a rich kid like most going there. He's got a ton of debt now, and would have been just as well off--check that, better off--going to UCLA.

unlike other professions you can teach at the college level in art if you are distingushed in your field. Like if you are a famous painter or sculptor or potter or some other type of art that yo become famous for.
Of course a terminal degree does help. but if you are good they don't give a rats ass whether you got a masters.

I don't know of any schools that give a phd for fine art. maybe in art criticism or art history but not drawing and painting.

I have 350K in student loan debt, and will pay at least $1350 a month for the next 30 years.



Unless I pay it off early or something.




Be very, very careful and live cheaply.

Good Luck with your choice of schools. There is always ways to pay for college, but don't expect to people to just 'hand out money like candy'. It takes a lot of hard work, paperwork ect...Treat school like a job, have fun but don't have too much fun. And if all else fails, I hear the Air Force is offering 60Gs for college. Somehow you don't seem like the Army type

I was considering doing some form of service for money.


I doubt i'll go through with it.
I want to go into college in the fall.

Might be a good idea to invest in these

HEY. i meant military service!

Me too...

i have mixed feelings about art school.

part of me thinks that you can take all the money for school and rent studio space with professionals and just paint everyday for four years and hustle meeting people and learn the world on your own terms. And part of me knows that there is nothing like college and one great proffessor can change your life.

incase anyone cares.. an update on the college situation..
i got my financial aid letter from pratt and was awarded the presidential merit scholarship award of $9,000 per year.. but my parents really don't want me to go. on the same day that came in the mail, i was accepted in to the corcoran. the admissions counselor of the corcoran (the man who interviewed me) called my house and asked why i hadn't sent in a cd of artwork for the dean scholarship, (i didn't because my mother told me i was only allowed to go to vcu) and although the deadline has passed he said i need to send it and he will take it to the board himself and get as much money as possible for me.
what a nice man. so if i get enough financial aid to the corcoran i will be attending that school.
also, i was rejected by vcu's art program a week ago... after much confusion, crying, and frustration, they called me (yesterday) to notify me that they made a mistake and i got the wrong letter, and i was supposed to get an acceptance letter.
bastards.

so.. pratt is pretty much, sadly, out of the question.. but i figure if i go to vcu and don't go in to massive debt i can go to pratt or yale or the art institute of chicago for grad school.

congrats. what kind of school is pratt (a bit clueless)?

200k is a chunk o' change...a bit less than my house.

for law school i am dropping about 72k - i try not to think about it.

Don't go to vcu for art. If you're gonna do art school, do it right. Drop the money if its what you wanna do. You will only live once, and you will always think about what would have happened if you had sucked it up and made the plunge. Fortune favors the bold, my dear.

so you got a scholarship to pratt and may be able to receive one to one to corcoran but your parents won't let you go? even though you want to?

what are their reasons? and why don't you just do what you want anyway?

i just don't understand why parents want to keep their kids down. it's some kind of bizarre control issue and they better get over it soon because you are an adult and you are capable of making your own decisions and one day you will make a few that they don't agree with.

i'm just different. left home before my 16th birthday because i couldn't take their crap any more. i would rather die than ask my parents for money--even as a 12 year old.

i'm sorry this is happening but maybe you shouldn't resign yourself to going to vcu. unless that's what you really want to do. i so don't get this but i'm sorry it's happening to you.

i'm really pissed at your parents right now.