<p>Hello! When I was applying to VPA for the Fall of 2014, I was really curious as to what students thought about the school that were already there, or had already visited! It is very important to hear from the actual students--or people that have at least visited the program. So please, tell YOUR story about what your experience at VPA has been like, or when you visited!</p>
<p>Oh, and please answer/talk about [at least] these 4 things:
(CURRENT STUDENTS):
1) What MAJOR are you in? (And what year are you? Freshman...Senior?)
2) How has VPA helped you and/or hurt you? (Are there any good internships available..etc.)
3) If you could go back to your senior year of HS, would you make the same decision by going to Syracuse for VPA? Why or Why not?
4) If you could change one thing about your program/school, what would it be?</p>
<p>(STUDENTS WHO HAVE VISITED):
1) Are you planning on attending? What major?
2) Did you, or did you not like the program? Why not?
3) Name at least one good and bad thing that you noticed about the program when you visited. </p>
<p>I have been accepted into the illustration program for the Class of 2018 at Syracuse by the way! (If you know anyone that is in that major, I would love to know what they think of the program!)</p>
<p>Hi there! I’m a current junior at SU in VPA studying painting and political science. Coming to this school was one of the best choices I ever made. The professors are active artists in their fields, and the university vibe is amazingly creative. I know a lot of students in the illustration major. It’s a great program (as long as you’re willing to sell your soul for commercial art purposes as opposed to having the freedom you’ll find in the painting department ). You’ll spend a whole year in the foundations department figuring out what you actually want to major in, so don’t stress out about it too much now.</p>
<p>VPA is a great place to be. You’ll meet all kinds of famous artists who will come in to give lectures and have discussions. I personally have not had any internships that I found through SU, but I never wanted one because I’d rather spend my time working with galleries/meeting artists and curators/selling my paintings/having art shows over the summer. A lot of students do find internships through SU, though. We have a website and career services department devoted to finding jobs and internships for current students, and a lot of professors have great connections too.</p>
<p>I was originally accepted to Boston University, Syracuse, and a few other schools. The reality of the situation was that SU offered me the most financial aid. Looking back, I’m glad that I ended up here. I’ve met so many influential people here. It’s crazy. I feel like I’m really involved in a living campus with all kinds of creative students working toward a common goal.</p>
<p>Well, everything that I want to change is actually in the process of changing. We’re about to hire a new department chair who will replace our interim chair next year with new ideas and the ability to grow our program even higher than it already is. We’re looking at candidates from all over the world, and it’s really an exciting time to be here because our school is on the rise. VPA has a ton of potential, and a new director will be able to shape the program here for the 21st Century.</p>
<p>Hello, I’m a second year undergrad at VPA in film. After viewing the previous post I am wondering if it was a placement advertisement. I chose Syracuse as a default program as I had been privy to a lot of bad reviews from VPA grads I knew and thought they were probably being too critical of the program. After entering the program it wasn’t long before I knew I had made a terrible choice. The overall quality of the film program is very low by any standard of contemporary film education. The faculty are mediocre has-beens who are delivering the goods of say 1970. They are disengaged from the student population and make no attempt to be looking into the future of the medium, let along the careers of the graduates. The atmosphere in just about all of my classes is punitive, bordering on abusive. The faculty suck the joy out of the creative process and turn the students into b squad clones of themselves. I have spoken to many of my fellow students and their stories pretty much parallel my experience. This place has almost no success stories and the placement of grads in the field are embarrasing.
I am in the process of transferring to Newhouse and realligning my career goals accordingly. I truly regret my decision to attend VPA and can’t wait for this nightmare to be over. Attention PARENTS…be very cautious about putting your students into this program. Look for some success stories first…you better look hard. </p>
<p>@mickslim I am not an advertisement, and I am sorry that you’ve had such a bad career here. I’ve loved my time at SU, but I respect that your experience has been much worse than mine. However, a student interested in illustration will have a very different experience from a film student. Illustration is within the Department of Art while film is within the Department of Transmedia. These programs are entirely separate, and students in illustration are not likely to ever take classes with film professors. Illustration students will study closely with John Thompson, Bob Dacey, James Ransome, and Yvonne Buchanan. They’re also likely to take painting classes with artists who have work in the permanent collections of the Met, Smithsonian, Uffizi, MOCA (LA), PS1, etc plus printmaking, sculpture, and ceramics. Students in the Dept. of Art will have a foundations year during which they’ll learn the basics of working in many artistic mediums, and they’ll come out of that year ready to declare a major in painting, printmaking, illustration, ceramics, or sculpture.</p>
<p>Newhouse is also a great school, but it is certainly more commercially oriented and communications/media-based rather than art-based. If you want to make art, design, theater, or music, VPA is a great school. If you want to work in the communications sector, Newhouse is right for you.</p>
<p>@Visciousdirt my d is a junior and we are visiting Syracuse VPA next month. We are excited to see what is there. We had a great chat with the admissions director at NPD.</p>
<p>if cc blocks the link, it is on the 4th page of the cc Syracuse thread entitled “My Experience at VPA vs Newhouse”</p>
<p>As a parent, I can speak of the horrendous experiences that my daughter had as a Communication Design major. I don’t know if there have been any changes to the program or if the same person is still heading up that department. I also don’t know if the same professors are still teaching ComDesign. Hopefully, with a new Chancellor at SU, something has been done to address the abuse that was continuously handed out by the professors in ComDesign. </p>
<p>I can’t speak for the others majors within VPA but if your daughter has any interest in becoming a Comm Design major, I strongly, STRONGLY suggest that you arrange a meeting with the Dean of VPA (Ann Clark) and ask if anything has been done in recent years to address the numerous complaints about that department and their “Madmen” mentality. </p>
<p>Obviously, no matter what program your daughter is interested in, and no matter what school she is looking at, it is always best to ask many questions and even try to seek out current students to get their opinions.</p>
<p>If your daughter is thinking of majoring in anything that is also offered in Newhouse, I would suggest that she explore the possibility of applying to Newhouse. The Newhouse professors will go the extra mile for a student and a Newhouse degree, unlike a VPA degree, goes a long way within the many industries that its students embark upon.</p>
<p>I wish your daughter the best of luck in the college admissions process next year.</p>
). You’ll spend a whole year in the foundations department figuring out what you actually want to major in, so don’t stress out about it too much now.</p>