Case Study
Scenario
Sam is seventeen, a high school senior facing a pivotal decision: engineering school or art school. His parents insist on engineering. Sam desperately wants art. Both sides have compelling arguments.
Sam’s Artistic Profile
Sam has exceptional artistic talent. At fourteen, he won a national young artists competition. At fifteen, his work was exhibited in a regional gallery. At sixteen, he completed a summer intensive at a prestigious art institute where his instructor—a working artist with gallery representation in New York—told his parents: “Your son has something rare. I see hundreds of talented students. Sam has both technical mastery and genuine artistic vision. If he commits to serious training, he could have a significant career.”
The professional art instructor has offered specific guidance: “Four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts from strong program, followed by two-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA). During college: summer residencies, build portfolio, start submitting to juried shows. After MFA: adjunct teaching for income stability while building gallery presence. This is the pathway for serious artists. It’s not a guarantee, but Sam has the talent to make it viable.”
Sam’s Academic Profile
His academic record in STEM is different. He’s competent but not exceptional: B+ average in AP Calculus and Physics, solid but unspectacular SAT math scores (680), adequate performance in chemistry but no particular affinity. His teachers describe him as “capable but not passionate” in technical subjects. He works hard enough to keep up but shows no intrinsic interest. He forgets formulas between exams, struggles with three-dimensional visualization in physics, and finds lab work tedious.
Parents’ Perspective
His parents are immigrants. His father is a civil engineer who worked his way from drafting technician to project manager through evening classes and certifications. His mother is a hospital administrator who started as a nursing assistant. They built a stable middle-class life through technical credentials and steady employment.
They watched cousins and neighbors struggle—the charismatic restaurant manager who lost everything in the 2008 recession, the talented musician working three part-time jobs in his forties, the graphic designer whose freelance income disappeared during the COVID pandemic. From their perspective: engineering is the path to stability. Engineers earn stable above-average income, have clear career progression, weather recessions better than most professions, and can support families reliably.
They’ve told Sam: “We will pay for engineering school. We will not pay for art school. If you want art, you can pursue it after you have an engineering degree and a stable job. You can take art classes as electives. You can paint on weekends. But you will not risk your future on something so uncertain.”
His parents counter with data: median income for fine artists is $50k, many earn far less, adjunct teaching pays $3k–$5k per course with no benefits or job security, more than half of art school graduates are underemployed relative to their education level, and the “successful artist” often depends on family wealth to subsidize the lean years. Even the instructor admits: “I teach to pay bills and make art on the side. That’s reality for most of us.”
Sam’s Perspective
Sam argues back: “I’ll be a mediocre engineer at best. I have real talent in art. Shouldn’t I pursue what I could actually excel at rather than what I’ll just be okay at? You’re asking me to trade excellence for security.”
The Decision Point
Sam is now seventeen, with acceptance letters from both the state flagship school ($30k/year) and an elite art school ($60k/year). His parents have made it clear: they will pay for an engineering education but not for the art school. If he wants art school, he can take loans, but they won’t co-sign. The financial structure makes engineering the only viable path unless he’s willing to graduate with $240k in debt for an art degree.