My sister had always wanted a dog, but my dad strictly enforced a “no pets” rule because I once had a kitten, we were all allergic, we gave the kitten away, and I cried myself to sleep for days. But my sister was a smart kid and scooped a cup of tiny brine shrimp from the Bay to bring home as pets. The shrimp died, so she asked for hermit crabs, and the “not pets” rule quickly became a “no furry pets” rule. The hermit crabs eventually died and she wanted something more significant for a pet, so we went to PETCO to look at reptiles when my dad gave in and decided that a hamster was at least friendlier than a snake. With a hamster in the house, the “no furry pets” rule was soon abolished, so my mom brought home two cockatiels (which technically have feathers, not fur). Eventually, the hamster and one of the cockatiels died, so my sister boldly asked for a dog in a very convincing manner. At age twelve, she wrote a detailed persuasive letter to my dad…and got a puppy.
My parents have loosely enforced a “no art school” rule on me. Architecture school was pushing the limits.
Dear Mom and Dad,
After just graduating from college a year early and experiencing the recession via unsuccessful rounds of job applications, I’ve decided…I need to go back to school. I am up against art school students and graduate students who have industrial design-specific portfolios and school connections—I stand no chance.
If I work at an unrelated company, it would be even more difficult for me to nudge my way back into the field I’m interested in once I’m off tangent and building experiences in another field. Time is also of the essence, since I would like to go back to graduate school for product design (and graduate) before I get married ideally before I’m thirty—not that I have anyone to marry in mind.
I understand the desire for me to go to a B-school rather than a D-school, but Harvard says the MFA is the new MBA and BusinessWeek has many convincing articles on why I should go to a D-school after all. BusinessWeek has also compiled a list of the top 60 D-schools in the world that incorporate business and design strategies and have partnerships with major firms. Because my first-choice graduate program and dream company are both in the Bay Area, networking within the community of design students, professors, and companies is really not a bad idea, and I am willing to live at home and commute this time.
With a geographic filter and a focus on design (not business), I’m limited to the following options from the list:
- California College of the Arts
- San Jose State University, School of Art & Design
- Stanford University, Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, and the Product Design Engineering Program
Although San Jose State is the most cost-effective option and offers a Bachelor of Science in Product Design, it is a 4.5-year program, which is neither time-effective nor ideal. Going to a CSU after just graduating from the top UC is also a little hard on the ego (plus you both hated going to San Jose State!), so I’m crossing this option off the list (although I might consider it as a backup if all else fails).
The Joint Product Design Program at Stanford is my first choice graduate program, but it is extremely competitive and requires students to have at least one year of life experience after the Bachelor’s before applying (the average is four years). “The school has historically been the most selective program at the already highly selective Stanford…approximately 4% of applicants were offered admission.” Keep in mind that if half are doing the MSE, an MFA candidate’s chances are even smaller. I need a major edge…like two bachelor degrees, excellent letters of rec, and major experiences and connections on top of a spectacularly spankin’ portfolio. (For comparison’s sake, Harvard Law’s acceptance rate is 11.4% whereas Wharton’s is 9.8%.)
Of course, this leaves me with California College of the Arts in the meantime, which is my ideal choice for many reasons.
- A few of my architecture professors at Berkeley also teach at CCA; I can ask them for advice and recommendations
- There is a special application for second-degree applicants, and I may transfer credits and waive core courses and humanities and science requirements and just focus on the product design courses. I think I can complete the four-year program in two.
- There is an internship program, which would be tremendously helpful for the school-career transition
- The faculty chair is Yves Behar, the founder of fuseproject (which I applied to and realize why I heard no response), a TED speaker, and a huge name in the realm of design
- CCA has academic partnerships with the Haas School of Business and CED!—I’ll still be able to see my college friends at joint lectures and events
- CCA still makes the top 30 list of the world’s best design programs
With school projects, I’ll be able to build a product design portfolio and then look for a desired job when the economy is much better. If I can eventually work at IDEO (my ultimate dream company), I might not even consider grad school anymore. So, what do you think?
I just overcame a short-lived quarter life crisis, please don’t send me back to the ledge. We should also break up expectations—I’m making compromises.
