2019 Art Transfers: From CC to any Art School or State School with Art Program

Hello fellow transfers! I made this thread to distinguish us from the freshman applying to art school. It’s rare for me to find a community college (CC) student transferring to an art school, so I hope to see many of you fill up this thread. :smiley:

About me: I received my A.S. in Computer Animation and Game Art from Miami-Dade College. Due to some setback, I’m also finishing up remainder of the A.A. in Computer Animation portion, so by Spring 2019 I will have two Associate Diplomas. This is to ensure I will be transferring with a junior status that the A.S. wouldn’t have allowed me to.

I’m looking forward to applying to several in-state colleges and a few art schools. I’m a firm believer that it doesn’t matter the school that you go to; only your portfolio will get you coveted industry jobs so I’m aiming for an in-state school since its cheaper. I’ll consider art schools only if they attach a decent financial aid package. Crossed fingers here because I’ve heard art schools are stingy with giving transfers any kind of aid. I’d rather have $60k loans from in-state added to my already existing $3k than dealing with $120k from art school. LOL.

Cons for art schools: I’ll have to stay an extra 4 years + expensive
Pros: Better art-based curriculum and better industry connections

Cons for in-state university: Weak curriculum, weak industry connections, hard to find notable student work
Pros: Stay for only 2 years + cheap as heck.

Term: Summer 2019 or Fall 2019
Transferring from: Miami Dade College
Transferring to: UCF - Character Animation (1st)
LCAD - Game Art (2nd)
FSU - Animation & Digital Arts (3rd)
Ringling - Computer Animation
Art Center - Ent. Design - Animation
UF - Digital Arts & Sciences
Transfer GPA: 3.3 (working to bring this up)
Industry Goals: Game artist making props or Game Cinematic Artist
Other: Fluent in Maya, Toonboom, 3DS Max, Zbrush, Adobe Suite. Had a 1 year mentorship with Viacom/Nickelodeon and have finished a 3D short film. I have a current Graphic Design Internship and had done lots of commissions that I’m including in my portfolio. I’m not part of any academic clubs or have fancy extra-curriculars so I’m hoping the experience I have will give me a leg up in my essay and portfolio.

Post your stats below! Looking forward to meet other transfers and keep track of our applications together. If you have any helpful tips or scholarships for art transfers, please inform us. Let’s do this!

There are two major sides to gaming if that’s what you are interested in. Computer science and programming and then the art side. You need to be great at both or excellent in one or the other. It’s very competitive.
You indicate you want the art side. The degree programs will award a BS or BA. Programs with the BS are usually focused on the computer programming side. So research each school and see what types of degrees they offer.

It’s great you have some experience, but you are right–you may be starting over at an art school. Or even at a state school if you don’t have all the prerequisites. Many of the state schools in FL have a focus on computer programming and the major is in the engineering department. Don’t be afraid to apply to an art school, many do give very good scholarship money. And many of the art schools are private so being instate or out of state makes no difference in tuition (although expensive). Like you say, it’s better to stay out of debt.

Look up conceptart.org if you haven’t done so already. It’s a good place to ask about schools and programs and see other’s portfolios or post your own for comments.
Good luck!

Not sure if you understood the intention of my post but I made this thread for other art transfers, thank you very much for your advice :smiley: