I went to Pratt undergrad, 1985-1990. It was an excellent program. Many of my instructors are still there, and they now have the new Higgins Hall so that is a big plus. I'm going to guess w/ the renovation they now have full studios for students to work in, that was the major drawback when I was there.

I cannot speak to the financial angle, but being in NYC was a great experience, the lectures @ Pratt brought us some of the best in the field, we would also venture to Manhattan and learn via osmosis from Cooper Union, Columbia etc....so in a way you are accessing that whole intellectual/cultural network.

The neighborhood could be a bit sketchy, it might have changed in the years, but suburban kids have to develop some "street smarts" to get by. We used to all pill up and rent local brownstones to live in, I think commuting from Jersey City might be a stretch, especially if there are studios present, where he will be spending much of his time.

I do have to say as an architect w/ 20 years, I have some reservations about young folks entering the field from a strategic standpoint, but if the decision is made, Pratt is an excellent path in my opinion.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Gibson. I think I understand what you mean about entering the field... Unfortunately , or, fortunately, there's never been anything else for my son- from the time he was two and could pick up a block his obsession was clear.

RISD...especially if its cheaper! Last time I saw student work from pratt they were watching Kung-Fu movies and creating form(s) based upon various martial arts sequences....seriously?

not that pratts bad...there are some talented people there, its just way overpriced compared to other architecture schools in NYC, and irecently has tried to identify itself to hard as an avant-garde architecture school.

for as long as I can recall (7 years) RISD has always ranked in the top ten, and mostly in the top 5 for undergrad arch education...not that rankings matter per se, but consistently ranking as a top school means something great probably is happening there.

What I find funny is that the surveys that rank RISD so highly get criticized on here for favoring larger programs or more practical programs, and RISD is somewhat of an odd duck in both those categories.

The only draw back to RISD is that its expensive, and they offer little financial aid...once you take that out of the equation there are no drawbacks unless you consider providece a gian step down. He'll move to NYC after school anyways..they all do.

Your son needs to suck it up and live in Providence...teachers will drive down from NYC, or fly out from California to teach him.

Pratt, its in NY with all the other schools and their resources. The best learning experience for a young architect in training

I know the feeling... I applied to both and would have been torn choosing between the two because NYC has always been home to my frame of mind, but I did consider RISD itself to be closer to the culture I liked. The fact that he got more financial aid from RISD is surprising to me as I got a fairly large offer from Pratt but nothing from RISD despite feeling the portfolio I sent to them (deadline was several weeks after Pratt) was much stronger.

What I decided though before I started receiving my decisions was that in case something like this happened, I would opt for the school first before the place. You can always move for summers and after graduation, and not being exactly where you want can actually have a positive effect on your work ethic (i.e. enjoy what you can but still strive for that other place when it becomes opportune). My advice: schedule a visit at both schools and, if possible, an interview with a professor, dean, chair, etc. of the architecture department at both schools. You can elaborate on your dilemma or keep it a secret, but treat it as though you'd never heard of either school and one had to win you over.

ismith, thanks for your thoughts and advise. I think I saw on another thread that you were accepted to Cooper- congratulations! that is very well done. I guess it is surprising the amount RISD gave my son- just shy of full tuition- as I've heard so many people say they generally don't give much aid. He does feel wanted there, not a bad feeling! I agree about school before place. He will have to decide soon.

I'm in Pratt's graduate program now and I say Pratt (surprise). First of all, have you negotiated fin aid with Pratt? I got a 50% better offer from another school and Pratt matched it. Check out the book "Paying for College without Going Broke" chapter "The Offer".

I also second what gibson says about being in NYC. Something I didn't fully realize until I came to Pratt is how much it draws on all the schools and firms of NYC for profs. Many of my profs also teach/have taught at Columbia, Cooper Union, or work at/have their own firms here. And the lectures, galleries, etc. are unmatched.

Besides the school itself, NYC is great, and the neighborhood is great, not to mention beautiful, and much better safer now than in years past. The commute would be pretty unreasonable on many levels. Rather than go home after late nights in studio, he would probably just opt to stay thru the night far too often, which would be soul draining. If he's adventurous in later years, he can live in Bed-Stuy, to the east of Pratt, where the neighborhood is not as nice, but the rents are much lower.

In response to tk.arch's comment about kung fu movies, that wouldn't entirely surprise me, but I would guess that despite the outward silliness the methodology is pretty rigorous. There is a really wide mix of professors at Pratt with a wide range of approaches (I mean that in the best possible way). The undergrads do get into more abstract work than the grads (since they have more time), but it's not bullshit. They do a lot of amazing work under a lot of excellent professors.

One final thought about Pratt. Pratt wasn't my first choice, but I've come to appreciate it more and more. I didn't know anything about this when I enrolled, but Pratt is the kind of school that hired Manuel DeLanda to teach a history/theory course (actual more like philosophy), and that's a very good thing.

RISD without a doubt... Not to take away from your main issue at hand, but if all things were at par, RISD is a jewel of a seed to have planted in you.
Besides, Providence is one of the nicest college towns and is a perfect setting for a Design School. The city thrives on culture.
As for the faculty, they are fantastic and there is certainly no dearth of visiting architects to enrich the education - the same that visit all the other colleges too... RISd brings them there because it's RISD and it doesn't matter whether it's in Providence or NY.
Sometimes being in a city like New York for an undergraduate program can be almost too distracting and divert one from focusing on their task at hand.

Wow, we are getting two pretty entrenched camps here, there is only one thing left we can do.......cage match.

Nice to see the active students and alumni support their respective schools.

Ede I would love to hear more about Pratt perhaps in a different thread. I visited the neighborhood several years ago, I'm on the west coast now.

I would say that if you dont want to be in the northeast after school then it doesnt really matter (maybe risd had a little better name outside the area). But if you want to be taken as seriously and compete with grad kids coming out of yale, gsd, gsapp, ect. working in the northeast (NYC especially) then pratt is the way to go. in my experience firms really respect pratt kids out of undergrad as if they had a grad degree. i got a job within a few weeks of graduating pratt at a top firm. all of my coworkers were from the schools i mentioned above. i was the only one without a grad degree and many of my friends had the same experience.

also be aware that pratt undergrad is in the process of selecting a new chair. this may really effect what happens to the school in the next 5 years.

You read correct rkxs, and thanks! Like I said, I'm glad to be in the city (and have that decision made for me in a way) but in regard to your son's dilemma, my own preference was RISD over Pratt. I think the advantage to being in Providence is that in addition to being right next to and surrounded by Brown students, the city there would be less distracting while still providing all the necessary outlets for whatever free time you get. ede's idea sounds good to me. If you give both schools another look and he is absolutely certain he'd rather go to Pratt then don't be afraid to contact them and explain your situation. The great thing about applying to any even moderately selective school is that you know there are humans on the other side who are willing to give prospective students (especially admitted ones) a little personal attention.

Wow, it's been great reading everyone's thoughts and experiences with these two schools. Ede- took your advise and tried for more $ at Pratt- we even have a close contact in the grad. dept. who went to bat for us but to no avail- and I'm really not surprised. I think there is more flexibility in the graduate programs. So....RISD it is! and no looking back. I firmly believe the experience you have in school is what you make of it- and I always thought my son would thrive at either school.
Thanks everyone.

Congrats, great choice, I'm sure he'll love it.