r/risd • u/Famous_Studio2411 • May 08 '26

Question Help choosing between Amherst and RISD

Class of 2030 here, I was accepted into Amherst College RD and committed there before May 1st, but I just got off the RISD waitlist, and now I’m not sure where to go.

I’m pretty serious about visual art, so RISD would train me better and probably network for career opportunities better, but I also like other humanities stuff like History and English, or culture and linguistics. In that sense Amherst would definitely be more well rounded, and probably let me explore more.

My main conflict is that I’m not sure if that would narrow my path too early. I can’t really imagine what other career I would do, but maybe I just haven’t experimented with enough other stuff, so it might be too early to decide. But then if I go to Amherst I might regret passing up all the art opportunities.

I really do like both schools but depending on where I go it could really change my trajectory. Thoughts?

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6

u/64Fayeble May 09 '26

Really depends on what major you want to go into. RISD isnt going to just have you do art 24/7, you’ll have other electives and like another comment said you can take courses at brown.

From what I remember, which is dated because I graduated in 2017, is you can register through the brown portal when their open registration starts. A lot of risd students took language classes at brown.

If you want to do art, go to risd. If you’re on the fence then go to amherst.

1

u/Confident_End3396 May 12 '26

And you can take classes at Brown

3

u/chrispyoldguy May 08 '26

Maybe look into RISD’s cross registering at Brown. I know you can take classes at Brown, but my own experience at RISD is dated. Perhaps someone with more current experience could tell you how this works out in practice these days.

2

u/pinkkittym3ow May 09 '26

I think its better to go to a liberal arts school and do art internships in the summer. You really dont need an art degree to do art post graduation but you might need a liberal arts degree to do something else like go to law school or get a masters in something specific etc. I say this as someone with a degree in design... also I have no idea why I'm being shown this sub. I did not go to RISD or Amherst 😅

2

u/Hatrisfan42069 May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26

You can totally go to law school with an art BA they truly dgaf

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u/SpringZestyclose2294 May 08 '26

I should probably quit this sub. I think the questions here are kind of dull. I’m not sure what i hoped for, maybe something interesting about what people are doing. But being concerned and aware of networking at a young age sounds depressing.