The Savannah College of Art and Design

I first heard about SCAD from a college rep who came and did a presentation at my high school, i was impressed by this as few other schools did this. Being uncertain about the other schools I had applied to (small schools, low acceptance) I decided i would apply there as a back-up. When my mom found out she immediatly pressured me in to choosing that school despite my desire for a small school and my acceptance to several other schools i wanted to go to more, she did this because of the the city:

SAVANNAH IS A HUGE TOURIST AREA!
the top 3 things going on in savannah are
1.SCAD
2.Tourist(EVERYWHERE)
3.Crime.
if you do any reasearch regarding the schools layout you will see that they have bought random buildings within the city, the industrial design building, and animation/game design buildings can take up to 45 minutes to reach from the dorms(you will need to take the bus or drive). If you do choose this school i strongly recommend a bike, they can be incredably helpfull, but be carfull

SAVANNAH DRIVERS ARE DANGEROUS!!!!
most of the upper classmen i know have had very rough times with savannah drivers as well as the savannah tourist trollys. the trollys are everywhere. you will hate the trollys if you have anywhere to go in a hurry as they stop frequently in many areas leaving you no way to get around, also the horse drawn buggys do this(but they usually give you enouph room to squeeze by).

Althought the tourist areas a very pretty the rest of savannah can be downright dangerous. the freshmen dorms are sandwiched in between two ghettos, the sounds of sirens in the night is a very common ocurance. There are ghettos all over savannah, and lucky for us many of the buildings(especially the foundations buildings) require you to travel throught them. one night my first quarter i rode by 4 seperate shootings, on the way to 1 class, i found out later that night there was five shootings that happened mear minutes before i rode down to class at 4:30 in the afternoon.

ABOUT 80% OF THE STUDENTS OFF CAMPUS THAT I KNOW HAVE HAD THEIR APARTMENTS BROKEN IN TO.
but the dorms arent safe either, winter quarter of last year two students in the dyson dorms where robbed at gunpoint in their own room. I have heard tales that there are gangs in savannah whose initiation rights are to kill as scad student(even thought i find this hard to believe, there is still alot of animosity twords the students by locals).The local population is for the most part very poor, seeing hundreds of spoiled rich kids wandering the streets blasting there ipods and taking many of the jobs in savannah isnt a welcome sight. Despite the sterotype of "southern hospitality" i found many of the locals to be jadded and short with alot of SCAD students.

SCAD WILL ACCEPT ANYONE!
The "#1 art $chool in the country" doesnt even require a portfolio of any kind to get in. you will meet lots of kids who wanted to to go to an art school to avoid math and science requirments and are floating along on mommy and daddys trust fund. Lots of BMW's, Audi's, Corvettes and other very expensive cars can be found in the freshman parking lot.

IMPORTANT.
SCAD will give you a scholarship, but beware, they only do whole letter grade's for class's meaning a 2.97 is a C, and dont think that the professor will bump it up just to give you the grade cause you will find alot of them are very harsh graders. Also, if your GPA drops beneath a B average you will lose your scholarships till your average returns.

SCAD has also introduced a program called FYE(first year eperience) in this program they show you the ropes on how to sign up for class's, where different buildings are located, college resources and such, also they give you a "passport" which you are required to complete to pass FYE. The passport is a tiny replica passport that you are required to get stamps in for different events and places (EXAMPLE, sporting events or gallery shows), not a bad idea for the first quarter. If you fail FYE however you are required to take it again, till you pass, and they will charge you somthing like $2000 dollars each time, if you miss more than one FYE class(you cannot pick the time of the class, and its one a week) you will fail it.

MAKE SURE TO GO TO FYE IF YOU GO TO SCAD!
The school is very expensive, and they dont skip out on showing of how much money they have to spend. there are hundred of flat screen plasma TV's around the school as well as "sleep pods" and all sorts of usless crap that is not needed for students. Palla Wallace throws huge gallery show partys for invessters often to show off her #1 art school. There is little resources for items such as light tables and other expensive materials that can be extremely helpfull in foundations class's and superfolous for students to buy.

IF YOU PLAN ON GOING TO SCAD NEVER EVER COUNT ON EX LIBRIS(campus book and supply store) FOR ANY THING YOU NEED, IT IS EITHER OUT(lots of foundations teachers assign projects at the same time, and there are alot of students) OR EXTREMELY OVER PRICED!

there are two places in savannah(aside from wallmart or micheals wich is about a 30-45 min drive)that you can buy general supplies for class, Ex Libris and Primary art supply. Ex Libris will jack up the price (they made me pay 9 dollars for a can of spray paint) on any item and usually has specific items out of stock. Primary, thought better priced and more reliable for supplies, is still somewhat expensive and further away, if you can buy as much of your supplies online before hand, www.dickblick.com is a great website.

DO NOT WORK FOR SCAD AS A WORK STUDY STUDENT.
the hourly wage is somewhere between 4 and 6 dollars an hour. i was given $75 dollar pay checks bi-weekly! there is not way that you can survive down there on the min wage if you are trying to go to SCAD.

Savannah(besides being poverty and crime striken) is also the foulest smelling city ive ever been to in my entire life, the river it borders houses several paper mills, the horses often leave crap all over the road, and the garbage from the numerous buisness's creates a stink that will make your eyes water. combine that with the humidity of the south and it becomes unbearable.I wouldnt recommend SCAD to anyone, let alone a serious artist. the school is nothing more than a overpriced day car filled with spoiled rich kids. I transfered far away, and i have no regrets.

1st Year Male -- Class 2010

Extracurricular Activities: B, Useful Schoolwork: F

SCAD doesn't prepare you for outside in the real world, especially not computer majors. It's full of hope and a "you can do it!" attitude until maybe 5 minutes after all your parents drive off during orientation. Yea, the idea of being an actress or a fashion designer SOUNDS cool, but after 4 years of pretending youre the best thing since sliced bread and having teachers all tell you that and never really critique you...you'll get a rude awakening.

Plus, the school is full of far too much drama. In my 4 years there I knew one student who the school lied and gave 2 quarters worth of "A" credits for classes they never took (even with people I knew in the class who saw his "attendance" continually checked as present. But its ok, they made the school look good in the real world!) I saw teachers hired with no experience in their subjects and degrees. The higher up's are money grubbers. I had many friends robbed or assaulted and it never saw the light of day...Trust me, if you REALLY think an art degree is the way for you, there are much better schools. Go to RSDI or Ringling or a community college- anything else. It'll be cheaper and you'll learn more.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000