RISD and facebook

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Lucy King

I have been maintaining a RISD admissions facebook group for almost two years now, and have really enjoyed answering questions from prospective students on the wall, and in the discussion boards. One of the very first members of my group was a student named Rob. He didn’t end up coming to RISD as a freshman, but this past year, reapplied as a transfer student. Once he was admitted and decided to enroll, he became actively involved in the transfer community at RISD.

Not long ago he e-mailed me asking me why we didn’t have a RISD fan page on facebook. I e-mailed our Director of Interactive Media, Eric Meyer, and suggested it to him. 3 days later the page appeared. It now has over 3,000 members, and is a great source of information about things happening at RISD, and what our alumni and students are up to.

If you happen to be on facebook, check it out.

Contact me:

Lucy King

Assistant Director of Admissions

lking@risd.edu

Fall School Visits

Posted on November 21, 2008 by Meryn Hall

Visiting high schools across the country (and occasionally internationally) is one of the ways us RISD Admissions Officers occupy ourselves during the fall. One of the places my travels took me this year was to Dr. Bob O’Boyle’s advanced art class at Hopewell Valley Central High School in New Jersey. The art program there emphasizes observational drawing and painting, but students have a lot of freedom to experiment with different types of media and find a personal voice within their work. While I was at HVCHS, I reviewed two portfolios. Both students had nice work – one was very graphically inclined; the other much more interested in fine arts. I was particularly taken with these self portraits, done by one of the two students (a senior in Dr. O’Boyle’s class).

We come to high schools to talk with students, art teachers and guidance counselors about all the things we think make RISD a great place to go to college. Usually these visits entail a presentation that highlights student work from all of the different departments here, and, if time allows, giving students feedback on the portfolios they are putting together. Our travel season is winding down for the year, but if you are interested in having RISD visit your school next fall, have your art teacher or guidance counselor get in touch with us to request a visit. We try to honor visit requests whenever possible, and we are always interested in having an opportunity to travel to new places.

Meryn Hall, Admissions Officer

Contact me at mhall@risd.edu

NYC Portfolio Day at Pratt

Posted on November 18, 2008 by Lucy King

On Saturday, I went to the massive portfolio review at Pratt in Brooklyn, NY. This is our biggest portfolio day of the year. We have a giant crew of admissions officers and alumni to help us get through the incredibly intense line.

The event is CRAZY with a capital C. Held in the cavernous Pratt gym, tables face each other, lines intertwine and tangle, and sometimes people don’t know which line they are standing in. To keep our lines a little shorter (in hopes that we wouldn’t get mixed up with Cooper at the other end), we decided to begin with 8 lines, and then merge them into four. Can you tell where the RISD lines are in this picture? I can’t. Thankfully, we also had 2 excellent student crowd controllers to keep things in check. For most of the day, we had four RISD lines for 17 reviewers.

That’s right, 17 reviewers! We have an amazing group of alumni in the NYC area who are very excited to give back to RISD in any way that they can. They are practicing artists and designers who bring to the reviews the benefits of both their RISD experience and their professional experience. Our alumni make it possible for us move through our lines and see many more people than we would be able to otherwise. This year’s crew was especially great, and included a faculty member from our foundation studies department.

Through the deafening crowd, and the fast paced reviews, we managed to review everyone who made it to our line by 3:30. This is an amazing feat, considering that in some years we’ve had to cut off the line at 2pm.

So my thanks to our brilliant alums and faculty, to the fine folks at Pratt who organized and aided the whole event, and most especially to the students who were committed enough to show up.

Lucy King, Assistant Director of Admissions

Contact me at lking@risd.edu

Questions Answered!

Posted on November 4, 2008 by Lucy King

November is here, and the application year has suddenly kicked into overdrive. The reality of college applications is upon us, and questions are coming fast and furious. My mantra is that the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked, so no one should feel shy about asking a question, no matter how strange you think it is. Since everyone likes to ask their questions in their own way, here’s a few places where you can get your questions answered:

The Facts + Figures section of the RISD website is a great source of number-ish type information.

In the same area, you can find an FAQ

Call us. Our office hours are 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday East Coast time. The main number is 401-454-6300 or 800-364-7473.

E-mail us. The office e-mail address is admissions@risd.edu.

Finally, I run a facebook group called Lucy’s RISD Admissions 101. The wall is full of useful information, and every time someone posts, everyone benefits. I let group members know when our deadlines are coming up, when the notifications have gone out, and when I see interesting things going on around the school.

So if you have questions about RISD, the application process, or anything ask in any way that suits you!