San Francisco Art Institute

Date: Dec 08 2014
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
As a nontraditional aged transfer student I've really enjoyed being able to pursue my art practice at my own pace and have found most of the faculty and administration to be helpful and friendly (friendlier than I was expecting from an art school having previously attended one in NYC). I feel that the school is really what you make of it. They provide enough resources to allow you to explore and experiment with different mediums as you are not confined to just use resources from your declared major ie very interdisciplinary where one can access everything from the dark room, sculpting studio, painting studio, print making, etc after receiving proper training. I also like that it has a relatively small student body (roughly 450 students in the entire undergrad program) making it an intimate setting - allowing you to receive more attention from professors (not just a number) and also giving you access to more resources (such as money for events or clubs that you can receive from the student union after presenting a proposal) as well as financial aid (I was only able to attend school because of the great financial aid package they provided). The neighborhood of the campus is also a plus as it sits on Russian Hill with views of the Pacific Ocean and Alcatraz. The setting is very relaxed and definitely feels like an art school vs a design school which can be more stressful, more pressure, more deadlines and more competitive. With that being said, I find that the classes are not that demanding at SFAI and the teachers are more relaxed about lateness and even late work. This isn't necessarily a negative comment but an observation (the teachers are pretty understanding). However, I have found that some of the professors are not that reliable (broken promises, empty words) and another I found to be a bigot (made racial comments under her breath and showed her blatant ignorance towards minority students, showing favoritism towards white students).

For the most part I've found the students to be relatively approachable and respectful. Naturally there are cliques but I don't mind being a lone wolf doing my own thing.