RISD vs Pratt vs Chicago

Can anyone comment on which would be the better school for a major in painting, Art Inst. of Chicago, Rhode Island or Pratt. My son needs to make a decision this weekend - he has been accepted to all three

Your opinion appreciated.

That is a tough one since there all great schools. I my self went to Pratt and really enjoyed it a lot. And New York City is a great resource for art students.

I'm completely biased being from Chicago. I'd kill for a chance to go to the Art Institute, but classes never match up with the times I'm back in the US visiting. An excellent school so I'm told by the unbiased folk. It's probably worth looking at their websites to see how their course selections weigh painting, if that's your son's main interest.

Pratt is very expensive.

I'm a graduate of Risd, it was a great school. I studied painting. I have to admit to a major dissapointment with the teachers and If I had to do it all over again I'd consider Cooper Union, Cal Arts or UCLA. The problem with Risd was that most of the professors were not well known practitioners in thier field. Some might argue that this is not important to being a good teacher. I would dissagre, since meeting professional people and making connections is so important in the art world. Out of the three schools you mentioned R.I.S.D is the most prestigous. I never met an interesting Pratt student and I've lived in NYC for many years. It's kind of a low grade school in my opinion. I even met a couple of peers who tought at Pratt. I was not really that impressed. I'd go to Cooper Union or Parsons before Pratt... Chicago is too far away...