The Alberta College of Art and Design (Canada)

Date: Mar 01 2015
Major: Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc (This Major's Salary over time)
I can't speak for the design side of the school, (which by the way, you already need to have decided that before even entering the school.)

If you are into drawing like I am but don't wanna do design, then this place is shit. They DO NOT teach any drawing technique whatsoever unless you are on the design side. The Fine Arts drawing program here is a joke. To this school, "Drawing" means do whatever the fuck you want, so like any other media other than drawing, which is great for everyone else except for people who are actually serious about drawing.

They don't care at all about technical drawing skills. This school focuses EXCLUSIVELY on "conceptual" bullshit. But they DON'T EVEN FUCKING teach how to work conceptually. They just expect you to automatically know how to. So essentially by graduating from here you will have a completely useless BFA, a vague-at-best understanding of how to market yourself as an artist, and any existing drawing skill you had before entering will be completely gone because they pile so much fucking useless work on you that you wont even have time to pick up your sketchbook.

If you want to learn to draw this is not the place for you.

All the other programs are fine, at least from my limited perspective. I love the ceramics department for example, and If you want to do a ceramics major, then this school is great. All of the ceramic teachers are super sweet, friendly, and incredibly helpful and understanding.

The students here are great. They are super open minded and for the most part they are very nice people. Even if you are a total weirdo you will probably fit in here. Since everyone at art school has interesting quirks, you don't ever feel like you don't fit in.

Honestly this school isn't all bad I guess. I just wish that I had known going in that design and fine art are COMPLETELY separate at this school, even though in the real world they are intertwined. I should have gone into the design program and I regret not doing it every day, but its too late and I'm too fed up with this school to start over.

IF YOU PLAN ON GOING HERE!

Know from day one what your plan is,Go on the school's website and find the planning guide for whatever you think you want to do, ESPECIALLY if its design.

If you go into the drawing program expecting to learn anything, you can forget it.