Master in Communication Design

[ivanav13]

Hi, my name is Ivana, from Novi Sad. I graduated from an American University, Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree Bachelor of Art, Visual Art With Concentration in Digital Design, and a minor in Italian Language. It is a 4 year program, that I finished in 3 years, due to the placement tests, testing out of courses, and getting the permission from the dean to have more then the allowed 19 credit hours a semester (I usualy had 21 credit hours...). My gpa was 4.0. I made President's list every semester, Dean's lists (naturally, since that is a result of a good gpa). I won a few awards at school art exhibitons for my paintings and designs. I won a medal of merit for being the best graduating student at my department... I was recently accepted to Pratt Institute in New York, for the program called Master in Communication Design. This is one of the best design programs in the States. However so far I have had trouble finding scholarships, fellowships, grants and other funds to pay for this school. It is very expensive, and I would really appreciate any help I can get in finding a way to fund the program. Everyone has told me that it is an opportunity that I cannot, and should not miss for anything. Thanks for all help in advance!!

[elz]

Dear Ivana,

I am afraid that the news that we have is not exactly what you want to hear. First of all, the really good news is that more than 46% of all graduate students have their studies funded directly by the school or department where they study. However, the other types of funding such as you are looking for breaks down as follows:

Home Governments world wide 2.6%

US Government 0.8%

US Private Sponsor 0.9%

Foreign Private Sponsor 1.0%

International Organization 0.4%

Current Employment 1.3%

Personal and Family 45.4%

and the remainder is made up from "other sources"

Open Doors 2007

In fact, we had another student who also faced this problem with Pratt, which is as you say an outstanding school, but the financial aid Pratt was able to offer was also not enough to meet her financial needs. However, she had also applied to several other schools and Cornell met both her financial and academic needs. She will begin her studies there this Fall.

Our work with students is to assist them in obtaining the direct institutional aid. Although we are trying to establish a mailing list for students already in the US education system with grants and opportunities as a sort of mail list that students can subscribe to with an .edu address. However, time and staff constraints do not allow us to search for grants for individuals.

Thus, here is what we generally suggest to students that has worked in the past.

First, contact the school and ask them about external funding sources. You need to make the situation very clear to their office.

If you are unable to solve this problem through external funding and they are unable to meet your financial need, it may be necessary to apply elsewhere, to schools that have more generous programs for outstanding international students that are seeking US graduate study. As difficult as this may be, even an international student with excellent credentials can do very little in working with an institution that is unable to adequately fund that international students.

When we work with students, one of the first things that we teach them concerns funding. It is important to apply to several schools and it is important to research the history of funding international students. We have a very successful track record in this respect, among the top in Europe, because we know that 9 times out of 10, the issue is not student talent, it is institutional money.

Just write to the school and see if they are willing to work with you on this issue. On the other hand, remember a dream deferred is not a dream denied - you may have to consider some other fine schools that have adequate funds.

Elz

Hi, my name is Ivana, from Novi Sad. I graduated from an American University, Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree Bachelor of Art, Visual Art With Concentration in Digital Design, and a minor in Italian Language. It is a 4 year program, that I finished in 3 years, due to the placement tests, testing out of courses, and getting the permission from the dean to have more then the allowed 19 credit hours a semester (I usualy had 21 credit hours...). My gpa was 4.0. I made President's list every semester, Dean's lists (naturally, since that is a result of a good gpa). I won a few awards at school art exhibitons for my paintings and designs. I won a medal of merit for being the best graduating student at my department... I was recently accepted to Pratt Institute in New York, for the program called Master in Communication Design. This is one of the best design programs in the States. However so far I have had trouble finding scholarships, fellowships, grants and other funds to pay for this school. It is very expensive, and I would really appreciate any help I can get in finding a way to fund the program. Everyone has told me that it is an opportunity that I cannot, and should not miss for anything. Thanks for all help in advance!!

[ivanav13]

thanks for the info and your help and support!

i will get in touch with pratt people and see what they say about my chances. otherwise i will have your suggestion about diferent school in mind. everyone in design business that i have talked to has told me that this is an opportunity that i should not miss though, that's why i've been trying to figure out any way to pay for this school specifically.

Dear Ivana,

I am afraid that the news that we have is not exactly what you want to hear. First of all, the really good news is that more than 46% of all graduate students have their studies funded directly by the school or department where they study. However, the other types of funding such as you are looking for breaks down as follows:

Home Governments world wide 2.6%

US Government 0.8%

US Private Sponsor 0.9%

Foreign Private Sponsor 1.0%

International Organization 0.4%

Current Employment 1.3%

Personal and Family 45.4%

and the remainder is made up from "other sources"

Open Doors 2007

In fact, we had another student who also faced this problem with Pratt, which is as you say an outstanding school, but the financial aid Pratt was able to offer was also not enough to meet her financial needs. However, she had also applied to several other schools and Cornell met both her financial and academic needs. She will begin her studies there this Fall.

Our work with students is to assist them in obtaining the direct institutional aid. Although we are trying to establish a mailing list for students already in the US education system with grants and opportunities as a sort of mail list that students can subscribe to with an .edu address. However, time and staff constraints do not allow us to search for grants for individuals.

Thus, here is what we generally suggest to students that has worked in the past.

First, contact the school and ask them about external funding sources. You need to make the situation very clear to their office.

If you are unable to solve this problem through external funding and they are unable to meet your financial need, it may be necessary to apply elsewhere, to schools that have more generous programs for outstanding international students that are seeking US graduate study. As difficult as this may be, even an international student with excellent credentials can do very little in working with an institution that is unable to adequately fund that international students.

When we work with students, one of the first things that we teach them concerns funding. It is important to apply to several schools and it is important to research the history of funding international students. We have a very successful track record in this respect, among the top in Europe, because we know that 9 times out of 10, the issue is not student talent, it is institutional money.

Just write to the school and see if they are willing to work with you on this issue. On the other hand, remember a dream deferred is not a dream denied - you may have to consider some other fine schools that have adequate funds.

Elz

[elz]

Just hang in there...Yes, it is a good school, but it is not the only good school. When in need of financial aid, there are certain choices that you have to make, but remember, programs need diversity and different points of view - especially with art and creativity. What a student of talent needs to keep in mind is that it is important to find a program that is willing to support that talent and to help it bloom. You will be surprised at how many programs are out there looking for someone with your talent.

As I said...Pratt was also a great opportunity for an architecture student, but they simply were not in a position to provide the funding, but Cornell stepped up to the plate...I am sure that you can have the same level of success.

Elz