It's among the top ten schools in the WORLD for art & design education. They have a beautiful campus in Brooklyn, NY. I chose it because of the city. I had access to the best design studios, museums, art shows, live music performances, theatre, history and architecture. It really fueled my education.
Course Curriculum :
Very up to date. Pratt's faculty are all practicing designers and stay abreast of trends in the industry. There are constant lectures, talks and industry visits. Yes I had an on-campus research job and almost all of us had summer internships.
Exams :
GRE (optional) Verbal 155, Quant 156, Writing 4; IELTS 8; TOEFL (Mandatory) 116/120.
Placement :
There is one big campus-wide career fair every Spring semester and many companies reach out to individual depts. for Summer internship prospects. Like Pepsi, Apple, Google etc. There are study abroad programs and some research grants. There is a start-up incubation cell and a Career Centre that has been slowly growing its influence. There is NO formal placement procedure, the staff at the Career Centre is limited and is not widely advertised among students, they have however added several more student staff and have a weekly career-day friday where students can choose a slot to speak with alumni. Pratt has alumni at every top tech company, studio and firm. 2020 was a difficult year and several students left without using their OPT. But those who stayed behind eventually found jobs through networking. Usually the graduating batch puts up a final year-end exhibition showcasing their work and industry professionals are invited along with alumni, several on-the-spot hires are made and connections formed. Again, this was not possible for the batch of 2020. There are excellent chances for career growth, it's a well-known college.
Internship :
Summer 2019 - NYC Dept. of Energy - $18/hr stipend. They reached out to the dept. for a designer and that's how I got called in for an interview. (NYC pays minimum wage for jobs, all internships have a minimum stipend of $15/hr) Spring 2021 - Berlin Rosen - $15/hr stipend. I got an interview through a referral from a girl I met at my previous internship Spring 2021 - United Nations - $0. Applied through their website and received a reply in 1 month.
Events :
Not many clubs because the overall population is low compared to Columbia or NYU. Beautiful campus, 3 coffee shops and 2 dining halls, great wifi, up-to-date software, 30 3D Printing machines, 3 laser labs, large format printers, PHENOMENAL library. There's always a lot of events from open mics, late-night free breakfasts, coffee hours, lecture series, fall festival, spring outing, fresher tour to the Brooklyn bridge, and there are a TON of cats on campus that lounge by the sculptures.
Fees :
$88,000 for tuition alone (48 credit program). it's very very expensive because it's based in New York. Other programs cost even more because of the number of credits. plus food & living expenses, commute etc. I had to take on a loan.
Scholarship :
$600 scholarship given by the Design dept. at Pratt. We had to submit an essay on why we deserved to receive it.
Faculty :
1:10, but in popular classes 1:14. My course was in the Communications design dept. which is among their most popular offerings after architecture and fashion design. I loved all the professors except one(who wasn't a designer but part of the administrative staff.). Extremely knowledgeable, they've worked at very reputed firms, always available for a quick chat, coffee or in-depth discussion of projects outside of class hours. Eric O'Toole was/is an incredible mentor/guide. Kevin Gatta, Alissa Zamir who has taught generations of designers, Alex Liebergesell, Janine Toro, Gusty Lange, and Dara Kiesse.
Hostel :
Average rent for a shared space in New York is anywhere between $750-1200 (on the LOWER end of the spectrum in Brooklyn or Queens. It can sit in the $1600-2400+ range if you're looking at spaces in Manhattan. This is excluding facilities). A studio apartment starts at $2200 per month. On campus accommodation sells out early and the cheapest is $1000 but includes everything - gas,wifi,heating,electricity, water)
