Hello! I’m a senior is high school and I’ve recently been accepted to SCAD Atlanta, VCUarts, and CIA. I’m also in the process of applying to RISD. I was wondering if anyone had useful info to share about these schools. Anything would be helpful, but I am planning on majoring in either illustration, graphic design, or animation. Thank you for your advice!
I can’t help with useful information, but I do think you might want to consider UArts along with those schools. Good luck wherever you go!
Unless you’re a Virginia resident, VCU arts will likely offer you little merit aid. I agree with @CathJR that UArts is worth looking into.
Have you considered Pratt? They are a wonderful school and if you’re grades are good you’ll get generous merit aid.
I don’t know much about SCAD or VCU but as for CalArts, just keep in mind that there’s no illustration program - it’s something that they stress a lot. Their animation is super strong though, I’ve heard that when you’re looking for a job as an animator, being an from CalArts really ups your chances - a lot of people say that CalArts graduates are taking over the animation industry, haha.
I agree with the above; Pratt is a good school but they only have Communications Design which synthesizes illustration, graphic design, and advertising. I think the deadline already passed, though - January 5.
You could also consider MICA, SVA NYC, and Art Center - they’re all due in February, so you definitely have time to check them out.
My D attends VCUarts and just completed her first semester. She is also focused on graphic design. Its a great program , one of the strongest in the nation. Also the school is ranked as the #2 grad program in the United States just behind Yale and tied with UCLA.
I can tell you that our D was accepted to schools such as Pratt, Mica Rit, etc basically all the top Bottom line , after all merit awards and public vs private tuition considerations the schools were within 5-7k of each other so she chose the program that was the most appealing.
First year at VCUarts is spent in the foundation arts where you basically will cover many different areas and then you apply for your major. So it is competitive. But I imagine all the top design schools are competitive.
Richmond Is a really cool town and has a focus on arts. In fact , the art school is really treated as a crown jewel of the greater VCU so a lot ($$$) of resources goes just to the art school .
Thank you to everyone who has replied! @stones3 it’s good to know that your D is enjoying her classes, and that the art school is valued as much as their other programs since VCU is a pretty well rounded school when it comes to program choices. I know you mentioned she has only been there for one semester, but what does she think about the dorms and the area surrounding it? I’ve visited Richmond, but only briefly, and while I was there I didn’t get a chance to go inside the freshman dorm because of some remodeling that was going on. As for everyone else, I’ve considered most of the schools you’ve mentioned and have narrowed it down to these three based on program, location, price etc. Also, for any future replies, I think there was a bit of confusion, when I said “CIA” in my original post I wasn’t referring to CalArts I was referring to the Cleveland Institute of Art.
At VCUARTS they have something called the “artist colony”. Actually they have a “colony” for several different types of majors. The idea being that you can apply to live in a specific dorm of students with your major. D lives in the “artist colony”, her room is really great. My understanding is the building used to be a hotel many years ago . Anyway , it is close to the school and overlooks the park. She applied as soon as it open for applicants and has a huge corner room she shares with roommate.
We enjoy Richmond as well , it reminds of downtown NY -the cool parts like village, lower east side, etc,
Also has some great restaurants and hotels , so parents generally enjoy.
We are from Tristate area and our whole family has spent lots of time in nyc and Brooklyn so for my D she is 100% comfortable with Richmond in terms of its urban appeal. Also the weather is a bit milder than some of those other schools. So to some it up our D is very happy there.
I suggest you revisit on accepted students day.
Good luck
When we went to the SCAD presentation in our area, we were a little taken aback by the fact that they didn’t require a portfolio. It seemed like they’d be happy with any caliber art student.
Then I Googled the school and found some pretty strange issues with the administration and the faculty. There was the strong-arm attempt to drive SVA out of town several years ago and it just seemed better to focus on well-established, accredited schools of art.
Yet, there are several people on CC have gone to SCAD and praise the school. I would suggest going to an info session and doing your own research. Not everyone is going to be a fan of every school.
for what it’s worth, I’ve heard good things about the practical aspects of a SCAD education in the fields of fashion & game design.
@veehee you said you googled the school and found out strange issues with admin and faculty. Is this SCAD you’re speaking off? Do you remember what the weird stuff was? We are making out list to visit schools and we have SCAD on our list
@NYCMomof3 I can’t link directly to any info but if you search for “scad accreditation problems” or “scad versus sva” you might find some interesting reading…credits don’t transfer, administrative costs for family members are extensive, faculty are unhappy, things that make it a little suspect in my view. There must be others who feel the same because there’s a satire sight called scadsecrets out there.
But many people love the school and have made successful careers for themselves. We were just turned off that they didn’t seem to care if you could draw, since there was no portfolio requirement. Seemed odd for an art school.
@veehee thanks…I will google them. It seems like this would be a game changer for my daughter. She is pretty turned off by any program that doesn’t require a portfolio. I guess I will see what she says when I tell her the news. Thanks again
@NYCMomof3 glad to help. Navigating through the admissions process to art schools was crazy and I know how helpful this site was. We toured a bunch of schools on the east and west coast and learned a lot in the process. Feel free to message me anytime. 
@veehee I am sure that will take you up on offer. We have already visited SVA and PRATT. We both loved Pratt and I love that it’s not far (we live in manhattan). She will be taking an animation course this summer at SVA. Hoping she will get a better feel for their program and see if she wants to apply. She did the summer intensive at Cooper Union last summer and knows now that she won’t apply there (they don’t offer animation major). We also looked at FIT (a small tour) and she hated it. We will be going to MICA in two weeks when she’s home from boarding school on spring break and we will also visit MassArt. We will also visit UArts at the end of this month. Trying to get in as many schools as possible this spring. This Saturday we will attend a SCAD info session and meet an admissions person.
This is an overwhelming process but I know it’s completely doable. This place is so Valuable…thanks again.
@NYCMomof3 my D liked Pratt when we toured and they gave a good amount of merit aid. She ultimately wanted a full college experience so that left Temple and VCU. She really liked the Temple/Tyler tour we took and didn’t like VCU at all. When Temple came in with great merit aid (VCU gave practically nothing,) she and I were ready to commit! Have you considered Ringling in Sarasota? They have an excellent animation program.
I’ve heard the same stuff about SCAD. From what I understand it’s sort of “corporate,” meaning run more like a business than a place of higher ed. Of course, this produces a certain kind of student and certain programs are very highly regarded in the field. I think they also require students to maintain a 3.8 to keep merit scholarships. Their financial aid is pretty terrible, but it’s probably a great place if you’re dripping gold. The facilities seem amazing and Savannah is a cool place.
Have you already checked out Ringling?
@violaine we are definitely NOT dripping in gold [-X :)). Ugh the high GPA of 3.8to keep the merit scholarships? Wow such pressure. My dc has a 3.82 now this is huge for her. She has a mild learning difference and works her tush off to pull in honors every trimester. But I wouldn’t want her to stress about keeping such a high GPA. Without stress, she does well, it’s when stress is added, that it impacts her. Thanks for your post
suggest you research and visit VCUARTS for yourself. Our D attends and absolutely loves it and Richmond is a fantastic arts town. She had her choice of several top schools including Pratt (we even visited the upstate campus) etc
and for her, so happy with . GPA is over 3.80 and just loves the experience. In addition , faculty has helped her actually sell a few pieces which was great and surprising. Its the #2 ranked design school in the country behind Yale for grades, and she has had many opportunities to interact with the grad level prof, and uses the same facilities.
If your child is interested in an urban setting, a large college experience yet a small school treatement as only 3,000 in the art school you should consider it. Everything from housing to facilities has just been more than anticipated.
That’s our experience.
Hey @NYCMomof3 I’m not sure where they heard about the 3.8 GPA minimum, but SCAD’s official website said you only need to maintain a 3.0 GPA to keep merit scholarships.
Here is where I found it on their website:
https://www.scad.edu/admission/financial-aid-and-scholarships/scholarships/incoming-students
You might want to clarify this point with a counselor or current student, just to be sure. Good luck with your search!