take the cheapest option.

illustration is a completely different field from architecture, not sure anyone here can say much useful about the schools vv illustration majors.

risd's illustration program is one of the best.. lots of well known artists have graduated from there, and the rank means something in this case.

however, for 4 years w/o any scholarship, the debt burden will be insane. on money alone, i would choose pratt.

you might also want to try approaching risd with the offer from pratt- you never know if they will match.

Don't forget to consider the cost of living. Providence is a really nice town, and far cheaper than New York City. $27,000 divided by 4-years is $562 per month... it may cost much more than $562 per month in rent for NYC vs Providence. I understand the lure of young people wanting to live in major cities during college, but I believe those cities can also distract a student from the opportunities and limited time on campus.

As a pratt arch alumni I would personally recommend not to come to Pratt if you have RISD as an option. Housing in NYC is not cheap. So is the Pratt tuition.  (maybe visit both schools first and decide). I have never been to RISD, but I personally consider it as a better environment for artists to grow. 

The art programs at Pratt feels really unstructured to me but again I'm in arch so I don't know much, maybe I'm biased.

Personally I think it's really important for artists to pick the right program. If finance is not a major concern (I'm assuming it's not for you since you are already considering all these expensive art schools), I would go to the best one. 

The RISD illustration program is tops.

The department has a new (4 year old) building and is one of the most - if not the most - highly respected programs in the country. As has been pointed out Providence is a considerably less expensive place to live. It is also a college town whereas Brooklyn is NYC.

RISD is more intimate with a smaller student population (2,500, about half of Pratt's) and it has and a much higher retention rate. Both take security seriously, but Pratt seemed like an armed camp in comparison to RISD.

Illustration is the most 'open' department, meaning there is more access to other programs of study. My daughter (RISD Illustration 2017) made toys and did jewelry and metalsmithing among many other things. She too was accepted at Pratt, The Art Institute of Chicago, etc. - RISD was her top choice. Many of her classmates have gone on to fabulous jobs at prestigious companies. She headed in a another direction and is pursuing jewelry - the result of the wide exposure to different experiences she was able to get at RISD.

Full disclosure: as a RISD alumni (Industrial Design, 1980) I groomed her for it from the minute she could hold a crayon.

If money is not an issue there is no question. If money is an issue do your due diligence on NYC cost of living before making a choice.

as a RISD grad (91,Apparel), my ed experience was amazing, i felt prepared for the industry, and I don't regret ny choice in schools. As an alumni I well-connected to other alumni from my year, the experience is uneven in that many people didn't feel that they received sufficient if any training in the business of their chosen major to prep them for post grad. Other grads I've spoken to from other art schools have had similar complaints. And the pay as a beginning creative professional will not kill that tuition debt quickly. As an art teacher, I recommend to my students:, go to the school that gives you the most money to attend it and leaves you the least in debt. Your success in life equates to your ability to creatively problem solve and your drive to succeed , in the end the art school you attend is a smaller part of the entire life equation.

RISD alum (ID) and while I have many beefs with RISD (mostly around the lack of financial aid) it is an amazing art education.  I often hear people worrying about how their kids are going to survive with a BFA but no one in my graduating class left Providence without a job, a well paying job and the ones who went straight into freelance or still made a more than decent living.  Not only does it make you a good artist with a focus on problem solving and outside of the box thinking, it makes you valuable in the industry with a thorough grasp of technique and marketable skills.  

Aid is a big issue but the work load makes it VERY hard to work while in school.  Trust me I tried it and my grades dearly suffered.  The work load in every discipline is insane compared to nearly every other school I have attended.  The hands on approach and complexity of many of the  projects require far more hours to complete with many studios open 24 hours.

I did not finish my degree because I simply could not afford it but when I went back to school a few years ago, I found myself head and shoulders above my peers, not only with technical skills, (wood working, model building, casting, metal work etc) but also planning and executing projects.  A Risdoid knows how to get things done