The Delaware College of Art and Design is a sister school of the Pratt Institute. Our two-year program has a contract deal with Pratt that helps students get into the New York school faster, easier, and with some benefits. Every year, DCAD takes second-year students up to the campus to have a special tour with some extra scenes. Still unsure if I am going to this college or not after my last year at DCAD, here is what I learned from my tour to help you or other’s who are looking to transfer.
1. Long, long, long trip.
Coming from Delaware, the trip was basically horrendous. Being on the highway wasn’t too bad, but after getting off of it... traffic, turns, a lot of one ways. Our bus got lost and had to make many, many U-turns, and we ended up being a little late to our tour. It was about 3 hours long with the traffic and the confusion.
2. Remote Location
I always thought Pratt would be in, to say the least, a nicer part of the city: larger and away from townhouses and less-then-welcoming shops and streets. Maybe we entered a strange way because our bus got lost, but the surrounding area was very remote. They advertised that there were train stations nearby to take you to the cities filled with galleries and museums, but that is where I assumed Pratt would likely be. However, I’m not a New Yorker, or a city person at all, so it might just be my unexperienced self that didn’t find the location so appealing.
3. Beautiful Campus
Despite the previously two negative points, the campus was really nice. Old, mostly brick buildings, brick pathways, a plaza garden, and Pratt installation art welcomed us when we got off the bus. Even on the rainy day, it was still nice to walk around. It was very much like a mini college campus, which I have yet to experience at my current three building city college.
4. Safe Campus
To boot, the campus was extremely safe. This is usually a worry for parents, but it is extremely important to me who is a bit of a worry-wart. There was security at all the exits and entrances (by the way, most of the campus is fenced), and also in every school building. And I know they do their job because one DCAD student got lost, walked off by her self, and the security stopped and checked her promptly.
5. Terrible Dorms…
We took a tour of the dorms, and they were awful to say the least. The building we toured, which I believe was mostly a first year student building and housing for the RAs, had 17 floors. Tiny hallways were lined with about two dozen small dorm rooms that typically house doubles and triples. At DCAD, we are very spoiled with our apartment sized dorms for both our first and second year, but this was worse than other colleges, if I may say so. They were tiny, very dirty, and cramped. Students at Pratt agree too; I happened to pick up a newspaper made by the Pratt students, and it had a section about the dorms. In description of the dorms we looked at:
Be willing to kill a roach or twenty: adapt to waiting five or more minutes for the elevator, or taking the stairs to the 17th floor. Find contentment in living with up to five people — six if you’ve found yourself a squatter… Prepare to drop $150 on an A/C because the rooms don’t have it and, trust me, you’ll need it.
– Kai Smith, Pratt Student
How encouraging… There are other dorms, but I don't know if they'll stand up either.
6. Okay Food
Pratt has the same type of dinning service here at DCAD. While I love the DCAD food, and it’s definitely better in variety and quality than most colleges, I don’t know if I would want to continue eating it for another two years if I have the option to change it.
7. Dining Plan
A meal plan is not required, but it’s pretty nice to have. They offer and have a few convenience stores and café’s you can use your dining points on other than the cafeteria. So you can buy toothpaste, toilet paper, etc. I think this is typical in other colleges, but still cool they also offer it.
8. Exercise Things
Apparently, Pratt has a big sports program for an art school. They have from swimming, to track, to tennis, and offer exercise facilities, yoga classes, etc. There are also non-competitive sports clubs. I love tennis and would love to get back into it. Also, exercise is just in general important, especially for the art student who is hauled up in their room constantly. Don’t know if I’ll actually use these extra exercise offers, but it’s still nice to have.
9. Teachers Are Still Working
It’s both great and bad in my opinion. Having working teachers is great to build connections with the business world. They will be experienced in their field and also exploring new innovations in art. Their criticism is probably willing to change if you explain your ideas. My concern is that their business will distract from one-on-one time. But it’ll all depend on the teacher.
10. Technology
Being a Graphic Design major, I attended the Communication Design lecture and saw those facilities only. They have nice high tech printers, but seem to lack desktop computers to work on (however, I only saw one floor of the building). Animation friends who attended the trip were amazed with their tech; tablets and cintiqs everywhere and several rooms dedicated to stop motion film. Pratt has the tuition and budget, so I’m sure their technology is of the highest quality.
Final thoughts on the school: it’s great, but super expensive. The tuition is about $45,0000 a year, not including rooming and other fees. The location is okay, but if you’re willing to give it a try, go for it. Terrible dorms, but it's the education that counts. The learning seems valuable and has the name to go with it. It’s honestly all a matter if you can afford it or not. And hopefully I can.
