Pratt Institute

Date: May 02 2011
Major: Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc (This Major's Salary over time)
Pratt, like any other art school, has its unavoidable flaws and its irreplacable perks. The faculty is for the most part helpful and nice, and the students can be if you find the ones who aren't getting trashed or going nuts.

Listen, basically the reason you go to art school, is so you can redefine your meaning of expression and hopefully find a job. IF you are looking into the commercial arts (illustration, animation,fashion, etc..) art school, and Pratt, can be great. You can get your BFA and start your 40k/year career which will hopefully be a good experience for you. IF you want this, go to Pratt or somewhere else, and just endure the crappy aspects as best you can (they are going to be everywhere. Pratt is particularly worse in some places, but you will find the negative no matter where it is presented.

IF you want to be a FINE artist, like painting or photo, my advice is to just take classes and skip the whole BFA route. Go study in an Atelier or an Academy like me for painting where you can actually learn something you can come away with. A BFA doesnt do shit for you in these fields (unless you want to teach, but you will most likely end you like the bad teachers you already have because your technical strength will be limited), so save your money and make your shot as an artist on your own. You will save money, save it to travel and look at the paintings you like, the artists you appreciate-don't get sucked into spending all that money for a degree you don't need. ALL artists, with the exception of art stars who thrive off the corrupt and wicked art market (which some good art comes out of, but only because the perception is so swayed), work day jobs. Whether it be making potboiler paintings, or tending the bar and cleaning the stalls back to back, you have to do it. Its just a part of life if you are a normal person, and Art school will not save you from that. Almost all the artists of the past died at least somehwhat poor, its never been about money.

Creativity is seen by others when someone bold and courageous enough expresses intelligently the way they see what they've exposed themselves too. IF you want to go to school, be bombarded by many tasks and feel young and trendy, feel free to try, some do excel at this and it proves the be the best times they remember. But, if you are a more genuine person, who is disuaded by unnecessary trifels and mediocrity and desires freedom to feel, don't do this to yourself-go your own way and make it work for you-learn to express yourself on your own terms and speed-no one can teach that to you anyway. Much of being successful is about putting yourself in a place where perception is unnecessasry, so that you can only concentrate on you and what you surround yourself with. If your window's glass can endure much unecessary pain, go to art school, if you want to spare yourself, do something that is more individual and likeing to you conscience. Successful people have come out of both, but think long about this before you choose.
You learn to think on your own, and if 120000 dollars gives you only that, then think twice.