@Samsung Thank you so much!!! I’ve not talked to anyone who actually has a child/or went to this school! My girl solely based her decision to apply there after Portfolio Day her junior year. There was no line, so she hopped in line to get another opinion and advice on her portfolio. The girl who reviewed her work, LOVED her, gave her great advice and stayed in contact. Then she went back the next year, and the same girl was there. She strongly encouraged my girl to apply because she knew she would fit in. I’m going to PM you!
@Samsung what other schools did your son look at? I’ve got a freshman at RISD (she only looked at schools on the east coast) but my son wants to do more concept art/illustration and work in film, gaming or animation so is looking more at West Coast schools. West Coast schools all new to me, other than CalArts. Any other schools you’d recc’d or impressions from visits?
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@ArtAngst My girl is applying to CalArts, USC, and LCAD on West Coast. She based that on ranking of schools for animation, looking at student work (their film festivals are amazing), looking at the work of their faculty, the access to internships, employment after graduation, and honestly being in or close to large urban areas. She is ready to get OUT of our small southern town, LOL. USC and CalArts also have strong appeal because of access to music (daughter is an All-state vocalist and plays 5 instruments as well… and most art schools don’t have access to continuing her music along with her art)
Thanks @moonpie for the West Coast info. I know both of my kids based alot of their impression on what they saw of current students work too.
And continued good luck for your daughter & let me know if you have any questions re RISD as things move along for her. Everyone warned us they’d be stingy with aid, but in the end my kiddo got a merit package that made them very competitive (& a much easier choice since it was my daughter’s first choice/dream school).
We are looking forward to hearing from RISD as well! She LOVED Providence so much!
@ArtAngst most of the other schools we toured were traditional universities with design majors. SJSU has a very good GD Dept w/ great connections to Silicon Valley employment, but students aren’t accepted to the program their first year. Also, graduation seemed to be taking around an average of 6 years. Cal Poly SLO was his second choice. Very competitive program, great professors & staff, good intern placement, & not too big of a school.
He was accepted to UC Davis’s Design program, but that program is much too broad for what he wants to do, but may interest your son. UC Santa Cruz didn’t have a Graphic Design program as a Bachelor degree, only a masters. He was accepted to the Games & Playable Media Design program, but decided against that route (that campus is gorgeous).
I have a nephew who attends Cal State Northridge. He is a transfer student and is excelling in the Cinema & TV Arts degree.
Hope that wasn’t too much info. Sorry I couldn’t give more details about west coast “art” schools.
Touring schools is really important. If you can’t tour before applications are due, be sure to tour schools after acceptances are out. We toured 5 schools in 5 days from San Luis Obispo to Monterey Bay. If you do end up heading out to Calif, I’d be happy to help you plan routes & places to stay, eat etc.
There are several CSU’s with very strong art/design programs. SJSU in particular has a very well regarded illustration/animation program, and the eligibility index to be admitted rivals the more traditional popular majors such as engineering, CS, etc. My D16 was admitted to SJSU from OOS but didn’t attend. Definitely more than 4 years to graduate and OOS won’t receive merit aid.
Thank you @samsamg for that info! We’ll be visiting relatives in the summer in CA and I’m hoping to get my son to do some more research by then to narrow down visiting a few schools. Definitely agree that visiting is a must. With my daughter it made a big impact on her decisions on where to apply and her eventual choices (just soooo much easier since she didn’t want to be more than a few hours from home!).
I wish my daughter only wanted to be a few hours from home!!! But our only choice in state insMemphis College of art (she went and visited, but their animation program is not at all what my daughter wants) and state schools offer no choice at all.
This waiting is KILLING me… My daughter is just relaxed and enjoying her senior year. She got additional money from SCAD this week, so now the school that offered the least aid is more in line with the others. As we come closer to decision time (still waiting on 5 schools that won’t release til mid-late March) I’d love any thoughts particularly on character animation - good or bad- on Laguna, SAIC, SCAD, and SVA. Our state school (ETSU) has a great digital medial design program, and she got a full scholarship to there this week. She is going to go meet with the chair of the department over break, even though she knows it is not exactly what she wants, her interest was peaked when a recent (10 year) graduate won an Oscar. There was an article in the paper last week about him, and my mom sent it to her. I guess it helped her see anyone can make it, if they’re good enough. She just feels without the school name and internship possibilities, she won’t get her foot in the door anywhere!
@moonpie, once you are selecting among the best schools in terms of reputation, then it’s really a matter of fit and finances. SVA and SCAD both have great reputations for animation (including 2D/character animation). Not sure about SAIC or Laguna for that major.
One advantage SCAD might be able to provide is campus housing for the freshman. The Hive continues to add new buildings and it’s a definite plus to have that secure freshman community. Of course elevators break, etc. but that’s true in all dorms! (D16 told me that “E” at the Hive stood for “Everest” because everyone has to use the stairs). The main complaints are the food and the lack of timely busses (although there is a difference of opinion on this one. I think that the more on-time and organized you are, the more likely it is that you won’t have to uber to class!). The Hive is actually a bit far from the foundation classes which are over near Forsyth Park - so you can’t just roll out of bed 15 minutes before class time. The animation building is kind of off on it’s own, 2 miles south of the historic district and the other classrooms. However, there is a dome on-site and the dining hall is supposed to be pretty good.
Savannah also has its crime problems and I think it’s worse this year. The school is doing a great job with safety and security, thankfully, but I’m going to be checking with my D16 come spring break and get her thoughts on this issue. It’s a beautiful city but I actually feel a bit more uneasy this year than I did when we visited last year. There were a couple of very violent incidents at the beginning of the school year (neither of which impacted a student, fortunately, but both involved armed robbery and one was a murder of a resident right in the historic district in a neighborhood where a lot of SCAD students happen to live). Usually it’s the opposite - you feel uneasy at first, but as you or your kid gets used to the place, you feel a bit more comfortable. SCAD classrooms are open 24/7 with security shuttle late at night if you stay after the regular shuttle ends service. If you are in SCAD housing and stick to using SCAD-provided transportation you don’t have to worry about being the victim of a crime.
I’ve updated on another thread, but felt like I should update here as well… for future parents and students. Here’s where she stands so far:
SAIC: admitted, $74,000 scholarship over 4 years (gonna say no)
SVA: Admitted, $50,000 over 4 years
SCAD: Admitted, Academic Honors, $42,000 over 4 years, Achievement $20,000 over 4 years ($62,000 total) (likely no)
LCAD: Admitted, $28,000 over 4 years (likely no)
Pratt: Admitted, presidential scholarship $104,000 over 4 years ($26,000/yr)
ETSU: Admitted, full scholarship tuition (not going, not for her)
CalArts: rejected
RISD/Brown/USC: waiting LOL… a few more days!
We are traveling to visit Pratt and SVA in a couple weeks, unless something shakes loose in the miracle “waiting” decisions, Pratt and SVA are going to be vying for my girl in a few weeks! ACKKKKKKK so nerve wracking and exciting!
Congratulations on your daughter’s acceptances!
My son is a freshman at SVA and in the end it came down to SCAD and SVA for 2D animation. He ultimately chose SVA for a variety of reasons:
- SVA’s 2D program does not have a freshman foundation year. Animation students take classes in animation, illustration, history of animation, Story Pitch, Digital Composition, etc. Most other art schools require a foundation year - which is great, if that’s what you’re looking for. But, for him, he knew he wanted to study animation and was ready to dive right in – It also helps you figure out sooner (rather than three years down the road) whether this art form is what you really want to pursue.
- SVA has a designated 2D curriculum. SCAD’s animation curriculum is more combined and seemed a bit more tilted towards 3D. At SVA he will be able to take some 3D animation classes as electives if he wants, but will have more of a 2D focus.
- Location - Savannah is beautiful, but SVA has a lot of connections in NY with advertising and graphic design firms, as well as animation studios. We live an hour train ride from NYC, which is great - more for the convenience for us to go in to visit, than for my son to come home. He has only come home for long breaks and spends most of his weekends in the art studios.
Our son has had a positive experience his freshman year so far. He enjoys his classes and professors and has thrown himself into his work. Basically, it all depends on what is the best fit for your daughter. Whatever she decides, I wish her the best of luck!
@Mabarkley my daughter is taking computer animation this summer at SVA. This will hopefully give her an idea of she wants to apply there. We toured the school and I liked it a lot. She was impressed with their program. We live in NYC (not far from SVA) and I’d love to have her close by either at SVA or Pratt. I’m glad to hear your son is happy there.
@Mabarkley thank you for your reply!!! The reasons your son likes SVA are the reasons my daughter put it at the top… mostly being able to start off with animation!
My son did the pre-college animation program at SVA as well (traditional 2-D, though - not computer animation which I think is 3-D). I highly recommend it. He is not really a city kid, so we thought that the 3- week program would be a good test to see if he could live in a big city while he attended college. By the end of the program, he felt much more comfortable with the idea. Given that you live in New York, I doubt that will be an issue for you. But it also gave him a taste for what he’d be doing as an animation student. At the end of the program he attended, each student had completed a short animation clip and all the families were invited to a viewing of the students’ work at the SVA theater. It was great seeing all their work on the big screen 
@Mabarkley thanks so much! Glad he enjoyed his summer at SVA. I’m hoping she also enjoys it. Since she’s raised here in the city, she is looking for a school with a real dedicated campus. The thought of being in manhattan for school is a bit off-putting to her. She’s been away for three years at a boarding school which is in the middle of farm country and she’s enjoying the tranquility but loves coming home to NYC on the weekends. That’s why I think PRATT would be a perfect combination since it’s in NYC but has a dedicated campus in Brooklyn. I’d also love her to attend SVA since she could walk home from there on nice days. I’m already looking foward to her end of summer animation clip and seeing the work they all have done