Advice for direction

[beardog]

Hi all, I'm pretty sure a lot of you are tired by this same question :) but I couldn't resist, and I really needed something personal. I've read through a couple pages, and I'm a bit relieved that a lot of people are in a similar situation.
Basically I’m completing a BA in biology this coming summer, and I wanted to know if I can be a ‘transfer’ student even after I’ve graduated college. The decision to switch just arose this past summer, and I’ve only started to scrap up information. I’m currently busy with classes, so the process is going pretty slow. I’m looking into illustration majors, but I am definitely interested in movies, video games, and other entertainment media. Is there an organized list of art colleges I could refer to?
I know arts education isn’t necessary, but I want to learn and experience at a pace. Also, I am not an American citizen. A relevant degree helps a lot going through visa application, and I ultimately want to stay in America. The BA in bio is to prepare myself in case I can’t find a job here that will support a visa for me. I’m 2/3 done anyway, I just need one more semester plus summer courses. Art careers aren’t prospective back home, and I would rather find a job with a bio degree until I could possibly get back in America.
Another question is how good are art schools that don't require portfolios? Or, should I consider them seriously? Basically I have maybe 5 paintings to put in a portfolio, but I have no sketchbooks filled out, no figure drawings, etc. If I had to make a portfolio, I could only work on it after graduation, meaning back home. Graduating means I am no longer a full time student, and my visa will not be valid anymore. Should I just go back and work on a portfolio?
Sorry this became such a huge chunk, I tend to get really wordy :/
Thank you all for reading, and I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

[Metalclay]

http://www.aicad.org/byname.htm

About schools...hmm. I'm going to make this short since my last reply got lost in the processing.

There really is much to say about schools, so many anecdotes to cite and things to link to, but we're all busy people right? I guess I'm just going to reiterate what's already been said in the sticky at the top of this page on art schools. Take my replies very lightly as I have no idea what I'm talking about, these are just my opinions:

The school you go to does not matter, that's if you even go to school. There are many people who work their way up, and many people who go to schools where anyone can get into since they don't require a portfolio. Because a school does not require a portfolio does not make it bad, because anyone can get it in, that does not make it bad. There's a point where you really just gotta realize that the preconceived notions people have about art schools, upperclass institutions, and acceptance rates are all...when it boils down, nonsense.

Yes, the fact that some schools only accept 20% of the people that apply probably does correlate to higher quality work, and maybe the fact that they charge a lot of money does correlate to better teachers and better equipment, and as a result better networking.

What determines a good school is, for me: the teachers, the student body, the networking, and the tuition. I go to a community college here in the states, anyone can get into it, in fact, it's the #1 most populated community college in the entire US. Let me rate it for you:

Teachers are fairly knowledgeable, they both work in their fields and are very enthusiastic in what they do. They invite you to go to events in the area and get involved.

The students are not too enthusiastic about what they do. Yes, they "love" animation and fell in love with it when they saw Toy Story, however, they don't spend too much time with it. This is due to the fact they have to work to pay their bills since the government only bails out big time corporations. This is because they did not have an easy upbringing since most of them, if not themselves their parents, are immigrants. This is because the arts, in our area are not really encouraged (at least not as much as in the big time Metropolitan areas like New York and California).

The networking is nonexistent apart from the few events the teachers tell you about (for example: Kelby Photoshop Seminar and AIGA events).

The tuition is ok ($80 a credit). We have cs3 and maya 8, computers with 4gigs of ram I believe and probably a nice dedicated graphics card with 256mb and a intel duo probably 2ghz (this is all speculation since I can't run dxdiag on it due to restrictions).

Out of 10 this school ranks: 2*

*All ranks are made up

Why so low? networking is non existent (this is very important for me), student body is not that interested in what they're doing, in fact, there are only about...20 people pursuing the animation major and about 30 taking the class. However, the tuition is alright, and the teachers are pretty good.

Whatever you end up doing, just make sure you love it, since in the worst of times, that is the only thing that's going to keep you going:

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill.

[aguilas990]

Hi, I am in a very similar situation as you. I will graduate this spring with a business degree and am applying for art schools as a transfer student, so yes this is possible. PM me with any questions and I will do my best to answer based on personal experience!

[Maxine Schacker]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it if you have any BA and are offered a job in the USA, you can apply for a green card.

I'm the Director of Max the Mutt in Toronto and protocol prevents me from saying anything more than check our thread on the forum, check our website, and feel free to contact me by posting on the thread if you have questions.

[beardog]

Thanks for the messages :) this helps my thought process and how I should go with things a lot.

aguilas990, I will definitely contact you later on! I think I need to do some of my own research too.

Maxine, a BA sure helps, but it doesn't guarantee a green card. I know some people still get rejected for legit jobs. There is also a hierarchy of priority, with doctors and such at the top :(

[Maxine Schacker]

Just a word or two of encouragement. The "networking" thing is over rated. if you have good professional attitude, social skills (team player), a good demo reel and portfolio the odds are greatly in your favor. Even in the early days when Max the Mutt wasn't as well known, we had students hired by top companies on the basis of their work.

It does help to have working professionals as instructors, small class size, and a serious environment.
Animation is a skill driven industry.