The Academy of Art University

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
I graduated from here with a 3D Animation degree in June 2005. I am still job hunting, had small contract gigs here and there but am looking for something more stable.

At the time of joining this school, not many other schools had access to the expensive 3D animation equipment that I needed. What brought me here is that they had Game Design advertised as a major choice. I wanted to learn every aspect about creating video games and chose to specialize in the art side since I was not cut out to be a programmer/engineer.

So about the school. I was surprized to find how few of my classes where focused on games. It seemed as if I was lumped in with the Visual Effects Students who mostly wanted to work for Pixar and ILM.

Still I managed to do what I thought that I needed to do to get a good portfolio together. Often times I felt that, to the schools administration, I was just another opening cash register. I did however manage make the best out of the situation and worked at my craft. I stayed home many a weekend and forsake going out to allow my art skill to grow. I was blessed with having instructors who genuinely did care that students get better, and where honest about the whether the quality of their work was good enough to be considered professional.

As other people described, I was one of those kids who was well off and had the full loving support of my parents paying for everything. While I don't feel guilty at all for taking advantage of it, It did wise me up to the reality that if you have to work many hours to go here, you won't get as much out of school because instead of mastering your art you will be at your part time job. I spent all my possible energy into my artwork and still feel that I am mediocre.

If you are planning on comming here, make sure you can afford it.

A 3 Unit class cost's about $1700 in tuition fees, and if you are a full time student you will be taking 4 of those in a semester. Add in \(0-500 lab fee per class depending on if it is a computer or film or expensive equiptment.SRF:ELEMENTS:12xsrfI wouldn't reccomend going into debt to come here. Don't believe that the job placement assistance people will find you jobs or have any contacts for you. You have about 100 other students competing for the jobs they have listed, so you better be damn good if you hope to land it.(Still, try you must)SRF:ELEMENTS:13xsrfI was fortunate to have knowledgable teachers most of the time, but every educational instutute has it's share of hacks.SRF:ELEMENTS:14xsrfHere is what I would do knowing what I know. SRF:ELEMENTS:15xsrfGo to community college and take some Photoshop, Illustrator, Drawing and all the art classes relating to what you want to major in you can take before going there. Be sure you are dead set in your major before you attend the Academy, because changing majors is a co\)tly decision.

I would then take one class per semester for the specialty software classes not available at other schools.

Now the advisors will try to get you taking 4 classes and have you go through all the prerequisites. Resist at all costs! Make something up that you cannot afford 4 classes.

To bypass taking prerequisites, get to know some of the faculty while you are taking that one class and learn who is teaching what classes and who is the best for what you want to learn. Talk to the instructors teaching those classes and they will permit you to add thier class if you have the neccesary knowledge to be in that class, (you may have to show some artwork from community college). You may be able to bypass the salesmen ahem I mean advisors to get in those classes.

Go to all the workshops in your major. They are like free classes. Take advantage.

That way you would have access to the equipment and the computer lab at AAU. So you can work on a body of artwork to get you a job. The equipment and highly specialized classes (something like combustion or shake) are the best things about that school.

While you are taking that one class at the Academy, go to a more affordable school for your degree.