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Today I went to National Portfolio day, and I wouldn't have thought Pratt would really be anything close to a safety, but they approved my portfolio on the spot and said with my gpa and sat scores (4.03 and 1460) I would get in with around 12,000 a year in merit aid.

Should I consider this a safety now? I wasn't really planning on applying just because I had another school sort of like it as a safety, but I wouldn't think Pratt would be classified as a safety...any input?

By Celebrian23 (Celebrian23) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 06:13 pm: Edit

if accepted (and rejected everywhere else) would you truthfully have no problem with attending? there's no point in applying somewhere just becuase you can get in, consider whether you would actually be happy there

By Notgollum (Notgollum) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 10:39 pm: Edit

Check out Pratt on
www.studentsreview.com

From what I have heard their merit scholarships are really "discounts" off the full tuition price.
With your scores you should look at RISD.

By Cama (Cama) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 11:03 am: Edit

What so you want to major in? My D goes to Pratt and loves it. She is going to major in Interior design which Pratt is consistently ranked 1, 2, or 3 by the industry and is FIDER accredited for that fiedl while RISD is not. For fashion I would consider Parsons, Pratt or FIT, the three power houses in the industry. Also the proximity to the city gives great advantages for internships. So there are alot of variables to consider especially for specific fields within art and design.

By Liek0806 (Liek0806) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 01:28 pm: Edit

Based on stats I wouldn't doubt you'll get merit aid from pratt. If you have a good portfolio then most likely it would be a safety.

What was your other safety?

The thing with art schools is that you can't really call anything a reach/match/safety because all of it is based on portfolio and you never know what the person next to you might have up their sleeves talent wise.

By Celebrian23 (Celebrian23) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 02:26 pm: Edit

i would call pratt a safety, but not a sure safetu like a state school becuase you can't predict how good the art students will be in a particular year

By Tagran86 (Tagran86) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 05:36 pm: Edit

Well they accepted my portfolio, and so that's 50% of the admission--so I'm 50% in. The other portion is based on recommendation and grades and test scores which I am far above the median, and I'll have a good recommendation from a painting professor at Centre College. That's why I was wondering if I should call it a safety. My other safety was SUNY Purchase which is also considerably cheaper than Pratt. Pratt looks like a good situation if all else fails for me. I wouldn't be unhappy there, just the other schools that I'm applying to would make me happier.

And what do you mean by their merit aid is really a discount--isn't that what a scholarship is...he said I would get between 12,000 to 15,000 in merit scholarship, in addition to typical financial aid. So what exactly did you mean...

By Notgollum (Notgollum) on Sunday, October 03, 2004 - 06:52 pm: Edit

Cama...While you are certainly correct on Pratt's advantages in being in NY and the ties to the industry their are other things to consider as well.
RISD students generally give much higher marks for it's administration and facilities. Also Pratt's surrounding area can be a bit imtiminating for someone outside of New York. I am only suggesting that one read the many opinions from both students and alumni which is available online.

By Cama (Cama) on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 01:04 pm: Edit

Notgollum, you are correct, though the best advice I would give is to visit the schools quite a few times so that you can actually see for yourself. D found the info on line about Pratt very different from her visits (the visits turned out to be more positve then what she expected, i.e. the area is much better then she originally thought it would be).