The
foundations education is thorough and useful. I find that some
majors are better than others, and some are ignored more
than others. The professors are most likely to be highly
studied in their field, but can't be said for them
all. The administration is corrupt and impossible to contact.
They have a fancy beautiful newly remodeled building (York Hall)
in which they do their work, but the students have
to live in awful dorms. Some are better than others,
but I'll talk about that later. If you want to
try and change something, or give suggestions on how to
improve things, too bad. It will not happen, no one
is there to listen. The academic advisers are quite plainly
lacking in knowledge. I went to see mine and knew
more about the classes and requirements for graduation than she
did.
The safety is pretty lax. The guards look
at your ID from far away where they are smoking
a cigarette instead of at their post. They also spend
large amounts of time gossiping with each other instead of
actually checking our IDs. I definitely got back into the
building after forgetting my ID by just waving a driver's
license or credit card. Most of them are too far
away to tell the difference. Only once did they actually
read our IDs last quarter and that was because someone
“dangerous” was trying to get into the school and attack
someone. If you're smart and only go out in large
groups you'll be fine. Numerous times I went out with
just one or two other girls and we would get
followed for blocks by strange men wandering the shadows. It
was quite terrifying. There was only one announced rape at
SCAD last quarter and it's an awful story. I knew
many people who had been mugged, sometimes at gunpoint. Just
be smart and be careful after 6pm. The stores close
(even CVS!!) and the general population leaves the street.
The
bus system can be useful but it's really terrible. They
don't have enough buses for all the students. Especially the
ones going to the foundation buildings and you will be
late on numerous occasions because 2 or 3 buses went
by and didn't pick anyone up because they were full.
If you do finally get picked up after waiting in
the rain for half an hour you'll be squished up
against someone in a packed sweaty smelly bus only to
arrive back at your dorm just as they stopped serving
dinner.
The food... oh the food. This section may get
a bit vile so if you get grossed out easily
move on. During the first quarter I had food poisoning
once, and others had it more. I permanently had an
upset stomach. I became conditioned to the food so that
if I walked into JOs or scafe I would instantly
feel ill. After 2 weeks to put it plainly you
don't shit correctly. Constipated for days and then diarrhea for
days after that. I had a grilled cheese that was
sour because the cheese was rancid. The pizza was good,
a little greasy, but fine... if you can stand eating
it everyday. The burgers were good, but I was worried
about eating the meat. The food would sit out for
ages before you go to it, the pasta would be
sticky or hard. Maybe it was also undercooked. The sauces
they use for the pasta is greatly overseasoned in attempts
to cover up how bad it is. All the stirfrys
takes forever to wait for and the rice with it
would be hard or way to chewy. I ate the
shrimp alfredo once for a bet, the shrimp was dry,
crunchy and very very chewy. It was gross. The salads
come out of large tubs where its been sitting for
unknown periods of time. Its always wilted and soggy. One
time in class I felt so ill after eating that
I had to lay down on the floor for an
hour to avoid vomiting and my teacher didn't even ask
why. The other students instantly understood when I said the
food was the cause. Now, I never went to byte
cafe because it was so far away. I never went
to the sub shop because the only time I wanted
to was when the closer places weren't open, but no
one would walk to Turner with me after dark. I
never went to Streamliner but I hear it was the
same as Bobby's. Bobby's was raved about by classmates, but
I didn't find it that great. We sat there for
15 minutes waiting for service. I found that the chicken
was dry, and bland. But in comparison it was fantastic
compared to the larger dining halls of JOs and scafe.
Bobby's did have FRESH lettuce. I was stunned. Basically after
become sick of the food I lived on microwave meals
made in the only microwave in my building. It was
such a waste of money, and will continue to be
until I'm in a dorm with a kitchen.
As
for the dorms, I can only really speak for the
one I live in... so here goes: I live in
Oglethorpe House. Every room has grime built up in the
corners and along the edge of the room where the
linoleum is peeling up off the floor. I mopped the
floor (with bleach) 3 times before I could even think
of walking on the floor without shoes on. We have
tiny little ants crawling around on the floor that you
wouldn't notice unless you were sitting on the floor, but
when you realize they're there you can't help but see
them. The sink and bathtub drains will clog very quickly,
then you have to wait ages for maintenance to come
by. The room is covered in stains of all sorts
and not just from paint. I bleached the tub and
the tiled bathroom floor multiple times but to no avail,
there is just that much grime built up. Many rooms,
especially on the six floor have trouble with flooding. I've
heard a few accounts of flooding coming down from the
room above, and it's sewage from the toilets, not water.
The washing machines are very often broken and almost every
dryer will leave your clothes just as wet as when
you put them in. The building is falling apart, and
even chunks of concrete have fallen off the building as
you walk along the balcony to your room. The elevators
are dangerous. The close super quickly and slam hard. You
have to wack the rubber in the door as hard
as you can to keep it open, the button won't
always work.
The town has very little to do
if you're under 21 apart from the few school sponsored
events that are actually interesting.
If you still decide
you want to go, you better be extremely passionate about
your major. So much, that nothing else will bother you.