Ringling,SCAD,SVA,MICA,SAIC, or Uarts?

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>Hi there, I'm a high school senior, looking for advice about which art school to go to. I'm looking to go into either animation or game design, or maybe both with a major and a minor.</p>

<p>Ringling : I applied to Ringling for their Computer Animation major, but was not accepted into the program, but i was accepted to the school, so i'm going to reapply into Game Design. Their Game Design major is relatively new and their first graduating class was in 2011. I know that they're amazing for animation, but i'm not sure how their game design department is looked upon due to how new it is. I visited the school and I really loved it, but I live in NJ, and it's the farthest school from home that i've applied to. Plus I don't really think i'm going to get much scholarship from them.</p>

<p>SCAD: I was accepted into SCAD and I have not gotten my full scholarship offer as of yet. I've heard that the school itself is not as prestigious as some others, but that it's game design and animation programs are some of the best out there. I visited the school and actually found that their equipment and facilities were actually better than Ringling's in some cases. Savannah was an amazing city and is just my style, but it's still quite a bit away from home. Only downside of SCAD is that I didn't really like their dorms, or how the campus was so spread out, they have something like 70-80 buildings across the city that they use.</p>

<p>SVA: I haven't heard back from SVA yet on my admittance, but i'm pretty sure that i'll be accepted. As for SVA, there is the same situation as with SCAD. I've heard that their animation program is really good, and there's a lot of job offers because it's right in the middle of new york, but that the school it self is not that high in the ranks. I have not visited the campus as of yet, but i'm not exactly a fan of living in NYC.</p>

<p>MICA: I was admitted to MICA but I have not recieved any Scholarship information yet, they give it out in the first week of April I believe. I went to MICA's PreCollege Program over the summer for about a month. I love MICA and it's campus, as well as it's facilities and dorms. I've seen on these forums that MICA is not necessarily the place that you would want to go for animation, even though it is a highly ranked school. I agree with it somewhat, as being there for the summer program, they don't quite have the equipment and such that I saw at SCAD and Ringling.</p>

<p>SAIC: I was accepted to SAIC, and got a fair amount of scholarship. I don't know a lot about the school, but I do know that it is also a very high-ranked school. I'm not sure how it's animation or game design is looked upon, since their majors are interdisciplinary. I'm also not really a fan of living in Chicago, and I haven't visited the campus.</p>

<p>aaaand Finally, Uarts: Uarts is basically my back-up school. I'd taken a train into Philly on weekends for their saturday classes spring and fall of last year. It's in a good proximity to home, but I don't really like the school too much.</p>

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<p>As for SVA, the animation program is quite noticeable major here. The flaw of SVA as a whole, which I am sure you will dislike considering it is in NYC. The buildings here at spread apart too, if you do not mind walking 15-25minutes from dorm to your classes, you’ll be fine. Be in mind, this depends on where your dorm is. For the program in detail, I do not know much. I too was a senior last year and thinking about going to SVA, in Manhattan just got me “over-hyped” about it, not too much anymore…</p>

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<p>Can only speak for Ringling. Hard to believe anybody is more wired than they are–continual updating. Game design is new but the faculty involved in truly amazing. Game design is not far removed from animation.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I’m not too much of a fan of the buildings being so spread apart without transportation, at least with SCAD they have a lot of shuttles that take the kids around to their classes and such, and it’s not as busy and hectic. I do really like Ringling, but I’m just afraid that there won’t be as much networking for this major because they only have 1 or 2 years of students who have graduated from their program out in the field. Even though Game Design and Animation are similar, a lot of the time the companies that recruit from each major are different.</p>

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<p>Brookiecookie., ok listen up. I am familiar with the programs at SVA, MICA and somewhat familiar with USC.</p>

<p>First, USC. yes, they have a well known, great rated program. The problem is that I and my daughter wasn’t crazy about it. It is VERY 2D oriented! Moreover, you don’t get the same number of animation courses that you would get at places like SVA and SCAD. It also is the most expensive of the bunch absent scholarships. </p>

<p>MICA has a strong program overall. It is a well known school. The problem with MICA is that there isn’t a lot of animation business for internships for for contacts here in Wash DC area. Also, it is very fine art oriented and very 2d oriented, although there is some 3d training.</p>

<p>SVA. I REALLY like SVA. First, it has strong rankings.It IS high in most rankings. Secondly, you have a choice between normal animation, which is 2d oriented, and computer art, which is 3d oriented. In addition, I believe that you can take courses from both areas, but you should check this out for sure. They also have unbelievable connections for internships. My daughter, who is a grad student in Computer Art, has an interview with Dreamworks for an internship and has a professor trying to get her into Blue Sky. Hello! They have great connections. Again, it is in Manhattan. Thus, you need a fair degree of maturity if you want to succeed there. They can be tough school, give very tough critiques and getting top grads aren’t easy. You will have to ask yourself whether you are willing to be very self motivated and avoid the distractions present in Manhattan.</p>

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<p>My dd is at Ringling, but in Illustration. She loves the school and the people. As far as Game Design, most of her friends from this year that are in it are very happy, and one, who initially thought she would transfer for animation to somewhere else, has decided to stay in GD. Your first year, GD, CA and Ill are together for most of their classes. That at least is what happened this year. I don’t know about jobs at Ringling for CA, but I do know that the school’s philosophy is to train kids to be flexible as areas change, and the recruiters that spoke while I was there seem to like this and the seriousness of the students. My dd comes from Phillie area and it is pretty easy flight to get to Tampa or Sarasota. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Few are hired on the basis of the institution from which they graduated. Virtually everyone is hired on the basis of their portfolio. Choose the institution whose environment, department faculty, and economics are the best fit for you. You will determine your future, but these three factors will contribute substantially as well.</p>

<p>Rankings are a sham. The criteria are often very surface-oriented and don’t evaluate the quality of instruction.</p>

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<p>I can’t believe that I am saying this,but I agree with RainingAgain. The demo reel and portfolio trump all. However,even with that said, some schools have better training in 2d or 3d. Some have better industry connections for internships. All schools have different cultures,which should be checked out too.</p>

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<p>Thank you everyone. I do agree that the portfolio is what matters, but the institute that you attend helps to shape and mold your portfolio. I mean, that’s the reason why you go to art school, is it not? To improve your skills and become influenced by the people and environment around you so that your own body of artwork can become better. My main choices are still between Ringling, SVA, MICA, and SCAD. I’m going to have a talk with my high school art teacher on Tuesday in class, she’s really knowledgeable and will hopefully help guide me in the right direction. I never knew that picking a college would be so difficult, there are so many factors that are involved.</p>

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<p>BrookieCookie, I think your four choices are great. Each have their own pros and cons,but overall, I don’t think you can go wrong at any of these places.</p>

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<p>I think you should call SVA and ask what is taking so long (but phrase it more diplomatically). They may have mislaid part of your application package. That happened to my D with MassArt and she ended up getting very little scholarship money because they had already given most of it away.</p>

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<p>Well, I think that might happen with SVA with me. It turns out that my high school counselor never sent in my transcripts back when i had asked in early january. I got an email from the school asking where my transcripts were. So then I just had to resend them about 3 weeks ago or something. It’s not too long after their normal deadline, so i’m hoping that they will still have scholarship.</p>

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<p>My D majored in CA at Ringling. It was a wonderful experience (with a LOT of hard work) and she wouldn’t take back a minute of it (well, a few). Her portfolio would NOT have been as strong if she’d gone to a less rigorous program. I am truly convinced of that. Faculty makes a huge difference in your final product (as long as you can take the continual critiquing–and take advantage of it–it makes you humble). Great networking.</p>

<p>At the end of the day, it will depend on you. If you’re a super star from the get go, you’ll do well anywhere. Some people don’t go to school at all. But you may have been a great superstar with better instruction. And if you aren’t the superstar you will need a school to teach you. Talent does count. And trained talent is better for any company’s hiring purposes.
Look at the student work that comes out of each school and which companies go to the school to recruit. And where (and type) of jobs their alumni have.</p>

<p>Programming is part of everything these days. But you don’t have to know anything in particular to start school. Many companies have proprietary software anyways. You do have to be comfortable with programming and capable of learning it fairly quickly. But gaming design has two sides–the programmers and the artists.</p>

<p>Something that gets overlooked sometimes is that the skills taught in all the specialties (CA, gaming, illustration) fulfill many different needs for the industry. Majoring in CA (what I’m most familiar with) doesn’t mean you’re one of the few animators at the company. You can end up on the technical side, lighting, quality control, rendering, modeling–a lot. Illustration may land you in character design . The possibilities go on. Just don’t get stuck thinking that I majored in X and that’s ALL I want to do. Think across the board. The skills and experiences translate into different jobs. There are lots of possibilities. Just be open.</p>

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<p>I agree with many of the comments here, but I do need to clarify:</p>

<p>While we do hire people for my firm based on portfolio, skills, interests and the interview, many resumes are quickly screened before a decision-maker even sees them.</p>

<p>The school’s reputation is the important “Calling Card” for a recent grad looking for that critical 1st position out of school. As you gather more experience the school becomes a footnote and your real life accomplishments speak for you.</p>

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<p>BTW- I must say that of all the schools my daughter visited, SCAD was actually the best equipped with leading tech that is used in the real world. As much as I wanted her to attend Pratt, where I went, it was embarrassingly out of the loop. It’s facilities hadn’t improved all that much since I attended.
The fact that SCAD has become a real player in just 30 years speaks to the time, energy and $$$$ they have invested.</p>

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<p>Again, look at the student work of the schools you want to attend.</p>

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<p>My S is at UArts but we checked out most of the schools you are.</p>

<p>We really liked MICA. I like there teaching approach and the teachers.</p>

<p>SVA was a little wacky about getting back to us about admissions too. It’s like they put artists in charge of administration. It got done when it got done. Excellent school and reputation though.</p>

<p>Ringling - nice school in nice weather.</p>

<p>UArts - our ultimate choice - most scholarship money offered, S likes the ladies (singers and dancers). So he maybe was persuaded by more than academic reasons.</p>

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<p>What about MCAD?</p>