The Community College of Aurora

Date: Jul 07 2014
Major: Design Arts - Industrial Design/Graphic Design/etc (This Major's Salary over time)
I just graduated from CCA with a major in Graphic Design. It is a community college, so I wasn't expecting to make close friends or spend a lot of time on campus. However, because of the small program size, I became very close to almost everyone in my major.

Pros:

the student body: almost everyone was super friendly and easy to connect with. I learned a lot from people who had completely different experiences and backgrounds than I had (there's a lot of diversity in terms of race, age, LGBT, etc). They were also very committed to their education like I was. (some) professors: Most of my professors were very knowledgeable and seemed genuinely excited about teaching. This made class fun and also sometimes challenging. cost: I didn't have to pay a single penny out of pocket. resources: the art department has the latest design software and computers, as well as very flexible lab hours. Also, many of the professors are available by phone all day long.

Cons:

other professors: I had two bad experiences with instructors. One was very old and kept losing track of what he was talking about. This made class awkward - and I hardly learned anything. This guy no longer works there, however. Another professor was extremely condescending. He had very high expectations, and when they weren't met, he felt justified in humiliating you about it. Unfortunately, he still works there. campus: Lowry and Centertech aren't very attractive, and they are so far away from each other. transportation: if you don't have a car, CCA doesn't help you pay for RTD, which is pretty expensive.

Colorado Film School: when I entered CCA, I was an acting major. The professors said that the film students were required to give me copies of student films I'd acted in, but two years later, I still don't have a single clip. Clearly, this policy is not enforced. Also, the footage that you get to see is of terrible quality. When I was on set, everything was complete chaos. People didn't show up on time, "lunch" meant a bottle of water, etc. If you are planning on going to the film school, make sure you join a great group of friends as soon as possible, or you won't even be making student films.