<p>My son is interested in the Savannah School of Art & Design. Anybody know anything about it? What is the rumor about the students suing the school some years back. Has it turned the corner? What are the popular majors?
Any students out there want to weigh-in?</p>
<p>The school name is SCAD = Savannah College of Art and Design...:)</p>
<p>Anyway, my friend did a summer program there a two summers ago and loved it. I also have a friend who trasfered to SCAD to do some sort of computer graphic design. He is very, very happy. There really isn't much of a campus from what I remember...but it still is a great place. It is one of the top 5 best art institutions in the country in its class. Savannah is a great town. What does your son want to major in?</p>
<p>Read over the comments posted in students review.com. You can do a search for their site since I can't give it here because it violates Terms of Service. Go to the Scad forum site there in the state of Georgia.</p>
<p>The comments are very mixed. Many kids like the school. However, there are lots of comments about VERY unsafe conditions. In addition, Most major art programs such as RISD, Parsons, Pratt, MICA, FIT, UCLA , CMU, RIT and many other top rated programs are also accredited by NASAD, which is the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. This accreditation tries to provide uniform standards of quality for art programs. SCAD is NOT NASAD accredited. I don't know the reason,but it is bothersome. They do, however, have the normal regional accreditation that most college have, as do the other schools noted herein.</p>
<p>My husband's nephew is thrilled with it. He is excited about a study abroad option in France. It's been a great match for him. He has a car- not sure whether he is in an apartment with friends this year or still in a dorm. Says it's a great opportunity to experience a different part of the country. It is expensive, though.</p>
<p>Do any of you know how their MFA in Graphic Design is? I'm getting confused by all of the mixed reviews I've heard, and wonder if some of the more negative stuff (that they'll let anyone in, etc.) might be more applicable to the undergrad programs than the grad. I've lived in Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Long Beach, so frankly the supposed 'dangers' of Savannah are laughable to me. The curriculum looks great- I love that they have print studio, typography studio, and digital studio, and the breadth of electives includes key things I'm looking for, and options to explore different media. But the great debate over SCAD has me concerned. It worries me that so many people seem to hate it so vehemently.</p>
<p>taxguy- I noticed that you seem to have access to the design intelligence rankings. Do they rank Graphic Design specifically, or even 'art' schools in general? If so, could you possibly share that section of the rankings?</p>
<p>The "campus" is spread out all over various buildings in Savannah. Not much central campus feeling.</p>
<p>I can tell you what I experienced there - A friend of mine's daughter attended the Rising Star Summer Program (I think that is what it was called). She is from the West coast and 2 weeks into the program she was miserable - homesick. I ended up driving to Savannah and spending the weekend with her since her parents were unable to and they really wanted her to stick it out. The program seemed great and the work she was doing looked fabulous to me (I am not an art person, so who knows!) </p>
<p>The downside to it was there is no central campus and so there was a disconnected feeling in all of the spaces. The dorm she stayed in was an old hotel (or looked like one) and it also had a wierd vibe. I understood why she did not want to attend school there - even though she was interested in art she wanted to have that "college" feeling which, in my opinion, SCAD does not have. That is my LIMITED experience, oh, and I did not get the sense that this high schooler ever felt like it was a dangerous place - she was confident navigating the city day and night by foot/bus/cab.</p>
<p>My feeling as a recent tourist was that you might need to be a bit careful in parts of Savannah but I did not feel unsafe in the historic area where most of the school is located. The town has a slightly seedy feel not unlike New Orleans before the hurricane. Even the good parts need some paint and fixing.</p>
<p>My cousin is going to SCAD for Film. He visited it, and from what he told me, he loved it. He wants to get out of PA. GA seems like a very different environment that he might like.</p>
<p>i've heard scad for film is fantastic. one of the best.</p>
<p>i think there fashion program is one of the stronger ones in the country, i would rank their fashion in the 5-10 area.</p>