Oh SCAD... where do I start? I am a photography major and also a transfer student from New Hampshire, and this upcoming quarter will be my third and last quarter at scad.First I will tell you about some of the foundation courses. So I guess I'm starting with the cons of scad.
Last spring I was required to take Art History: Survey of Western Art 1, which wasn't an entire waste of my time or money, but it was for several of my classmates. I had professor Hamilton, and he was the worst professor I have had at scad thus far. There were 26 students in my class, and 15 of us passed, most with a C at best (I earned a B). Several of my classmates (including myself) complained to the head of the department about him, and the department head gave us her promise that something would be done about him. Guess what they did? They offered him an extra art history class to teach.
The first thing you need to know about scad, is that they do not give a crap about you. You are a number, a wallet.
The 2D design class you are required to take is a total waste of money and time, along with drawing 1. Scad requires you to take endless foundation courses that are totally unrelated to your major. And for what? I still have no idea.
Each class is $3000, and I can most definitely say that only one out of six classes I have taken so far was worth even half of that, and that was intro to ballet. But that class wasn't even worth 3 grand.
Two, Paula Wallace is totally evil. She makes over $2 million dollars a year and only owns the school because she stole it from her husband via their divorce.
Scad may be the largest and 'most comprehensive' art school in the world, but it is most definitely not the best.
Three, the students. I have found a great group of friends here, but it took me two quarters to find them. I would say about 40% of the students here are arrogant, self centered rich kids who were only accepted because they could pay full tuition out of pocket. I would say only about 20% of the students here are chill, or, 'normal', and the other 40% are either totally socially inept or so broken spirited they just gave up on everything and everyone all together.
And if you live in the dorms, do not expect anyone in your hall to talk to you. No one EVER comes out of their rooms.
Four, the professors. I have had six teachers so far, and only two I felt really knew what they were doing. My photo 2 professor was a total joke, along with my black and white film professor. I learned absolutely nothing in either of those classes, and photography is my major. I am so disappointed with this school. On critique days in my photography classes, we would hang our projects on a wall and the whole class would critique them, and some of the work that was displayed looked like it took 20 minutes to make. Most of the students I have met here are not very dedicated or interested in being the best. I am not saying my work is awesome, I was just expecting to be a little more impressed, or at least challenged. My poetry teacher and ballet teacher were the only good professors I have had here. I am very disappointed with the professors in my major and also the curriculum for my major classes. I expected the classes to be much more challenging, but they feel like high school work.
And both of my photo classes consisted of nothing but conceptual work, which I did not enjoy.
Pros:
There are things I like about my school. MOST (not all) of the photo printers in the photography building work and are very up to date, and the library is pretty cool. The schools biggest club as far as I know is swing club, which is a lot of fun and this past quarter I went sky diving for only $120 with the outdoor adventure club.
The student activities council also hosts a yearly Halloween (Masquerade) dance, which almost all of the freshman attend.
Diversity!
I love scad for it's diversity, and that's about it. I have no American friends at my school, all of my friends are either from Korea, China, Africa, the Caribbean, India, Dubai, Hawaii, Switzerland, Afghanistan or Turkmenistan. Once I transfer this will probably be the one thing I will miss most about scad, the diversity and my awesome friends.
Savannah/Danger Factor:
Savannah as a city is beautiful, although the tourists can get annoying after awhile.
And I would say it's a relatively safe city, as long as you don't venture out at night by yourself. Three of my friends have been mugged on their way back from the library at night.
Last spring a seventeen year old boys body showed up in the disgusting river near the Weston dorms/Cafe scad, and last month a woman's body showed up in the river down on river st.
And three weeks ago there was a huge drug bust outside of Arnold hall, which is where all of the english/art history courses are held, and two scad students were killed during the burst.
I read online that there are 25 homicides a year in Savannah.
I walk around at night by myself only when I absolutely have to, but I'm from a town with a population of 4000, and I have never felt threatened or scared when venturing about Savannah.
Although I do carry mace with me!
Food/Dorms:
Never eat at Cafe scad, I had food poisoning for three weeks because of that place. I can't say JO's is much better either, but I live in Oglethorpe house so I have no choice but to eat there. I actually like living in O-house, with the exception of the huge price tag that comes with living on campus. The rooms in o-house are a decent size and the dorm is in a really good location, everything is within walking distance from o-house; CVS, Forsyth Park, awesome restaurants, etc
Oh and Health services is a total joke. I went there with a bad cold and the "doctor" told me I was pregnant! She didn't give me a urine test or anything, she felt my stomach and sent me on my way. And I was most definitely not pregnant! Crazy crazy crazy!!!!
I think I have said it all. Obviously I am very bias and anti-scad, but if you are still interested in attending, my advice to you is this...
visit the school more than once, talk to the students there about their classes and their feelings about scad, and sit in on as many classes in your major as you possibly can.
There are many students here that are totally in love with scad, it just isn't the right school for me. It is too expensive and the financial aid they offer is total crap, the social scene is lacking (I don't mean parties, although there aren't any of those either), and most of the students/professors here suck.
And I also know several alumni who graduated within the last three years that are still unemployed or are working in minimum wage retail jobs.Scad is just not worth the money. Spend your money on a school that deserves it, on a school that actually cares about you and whether or not you succeed.
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