A reader recently emailed me asking me what my opinion is on studying design (her question was specifically graduate school for design & management) in New York City (Pratt, Parsons, SVA, FIT) vs studying at a State University or somewhere else outside NYC.

Yes, I was the same way when faced with the prospect of going to school in the city “Design is what I want to do, and
New York City has the best opportunities for me to do it.”—and still today I think that’s pretty true. But speaking from personal experience, there are opportunities everywhere, and while in New York they may be easier to find, sometimes you need to think of what kind of life is best for you. One 10-person dorm room, two nearly-terrible apartment situations, two semesters of commuting and three years of school under my belt makes it easy for me to say that living in New York wasn’t and may never be the best living situation for me.

The three questions I wish I had asked myself are:

1. Does this school offer the best program for me or is there a College/University elsewhere that may have a curriculum better suited to my needs? While New York may have great opportunities, you are looking for a school to learn and that should be your first priority. There is plenty of time to utilize New York City for internships or jobs during summer break or post-graduation.

2. NYC has many perks—but do I have the money/energy to enjoy them? I’ve found in my experience that NYC is very much based on ‘going out’ but at the end of a long day/week of classes I rarely had the energy to go out and enjoy the museums, parks, etc that the city had to offer. That’s not to mention that I prefer having people over rather than going to bars and never had the money or desire to drink so I never got a fake ID. Again, this is based on personal preference.

3. Are you ready to live dangerously close to the life of an adult? The reader who asked me was looking for advice to make a decision on graduate schools and probably has her share of ‘life experience’… so this is more for students looking for undergrad study—are you ready to grow up and sacrifice a ‘typical’ college experience? Going to school in the city is a lot like living like an adult (minus, perhaps, your parent’s financial backing and having an actual career). I’m not sure about SVA or Pratt but Parsons has limited on-campus housing, activities, parties, and community in general. Because of this and other reasons, friendships from classes tend to be hard to extend beyond the the campus.