The Savannah College of Art and Design

A great place to learn great things from great professors (most of the time) while living under a fascist regime.

I was convinced to go to art school right after high school and I've spent every year since regretting it. I was not mature enough to navigate the absurd politics at SCAD or even ask the right questions to get what I needed out of my experience. I was advised to go into the Sequential Art Department to pursue work in concept art. That adviser had NO IDEA what I was talking about, the parameters of any of the programs, or any idea about job requirements. I don't mean to sound dramatic, and I did enjoy the Sequential Art classes, but this was probably the biggest mistake of my life. Had I gone into illustration, painting, or a host of other majors, I could have gotten what i needed out of SCAD. Sequential Art is only for people who want to pursue a COMICS career. Never let anyone tell you differently. Some classes crossed over into other areas, but very few. Also, if you DO choose to go into Sequential Art, there are a LOT of things about the department and curriculum they won't tell you.

For instance, you should read lots and lots of comics. For education, and also because a lot of people there are very elitist. If you don't know about classic comics or big name artists, some students and teachers will look down on you. Also, there is a HUGE rivalry between the superhero crowd (majority) and the manga fans. If you like quirky or indie comics, or want to pursue a different career, you will be shunted off into a third ragged group that is generally disrespected or ignored. Some professors will only let you pass if you draw in their preferred style. I don't even know why they let me pass my comics classes, and I felt like no one ever taught me what I really needed to know to do well at them.

The politics are really horrifying, too. They fired the best teacher I've ever had while I was in school, and some students were told (or implied that) if anyone protested that we would probably be expelled. It's happened a lot there. Check out some online articles and sites. Look for censorship and money laundering.You can go to SCAD and do really well there. Lots of people do and never hear about the bad stuff. But it's there. And as an unemployed alumni, their career preparedness is terrible. It was not worth the money. I could have done better elsewhere and you probably can too.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

SCAD-ATL is a good "general knowledge" school for artists, at about 4 times the price. The ONLY true good thing about this college are the professors and the other students. You won't spend enough time on one subject to really learn its nuances, and everything at this college is overpriced. What most students don't consider before going here is how they are going to pay off this massive student debt, especially because SCAD doesn't help you find jobs after graduation, and if you read anywhere where they claim that, they're lying. I'm sure there might be a few people they have actually helped, but they throw the mass of graduates to the wolves. The lucky ones, and I'm one of the lucky ones, clawed and scratched their way into their prestigious jobs, and SCAD did nothing to help. This school no longer cares about its student body, just the amount of money it can suck out of them.

This school is way too expensive for the jobs that it prepares you for. Irrationally expensive. You aren't making lawyer or doctor bucks, but this place seems to think you are. Also, if you aren't its "baby" major, it will neglect your major in whatever way it can.

Save yourself hundreds of thousands of dollars. Get a real-world degree (economics, business, etc.) from a less expensive college, and use all the money you would have spent on one quarter of classes here to buy art books, online animation/art classes, and supplies. Youtube is an amazing resource, and there are life drawing sessions all around Atlanta.

It sounds cheap, but that's what I wish I had done. I wouldn't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay back, and I would have gotten straight into what I wanted to do, not taking stupid electives that had nothing to do with my major or what I wanted to do. You don't want to pay thousands of dollars to watch a video of some stupid, naked guy crawling around on broken glass. Seriously, that whole class was a waste of my life.

Most of the time, in the art industry, the only thing that matters is your attitude and your portfolio. Most people just care that you have a college degree and don't care what it's in or where it's from. Get something that won't take your whole life to pay for, and use the money you would have saved to buy side resources that are teaching you what you want to learn.

There are plenty of sites out there that will let you get feedback from others in the industry and outside of it. Use those for real-person critiques.DO NOT GO TO THIS COLLEGE. The cons far outweigh the pros.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000