Community College and then Art School?

[Incendia]

Hi, everybody. I'm currently going into my senior year of high school, which means I'm going to be applying to college pretty soon. I've decided though to get my basic credits done at a local Community College and then transfer to the school I want to go to (either SCAD or Ringling).

This may sound a little dumb, but I'm a little confused about applying--will I still need to apply to these schools this year? Or do I just wait until I'm taking classes at the Community College and apply as a transfer student?

Also, is there a way to know for sure if my credits will transfer or not, or would I need to call the schools? I'll be taking them from Austin Community College, which is a fairly solid CC, but I've heard stories of Ringling not accepting credits because the school "probably wasn't good enough" or something.

Thanks in advance! :)

[Metalclay]

Hello Incendia,

Nope, you don't have to apply to these schools this year, unless you want to. What you can do (at least I think) is, since Ringling has deferment, if you get accepted this year, you can roll that over for two years so you're off and ready to go when you're done; no need to worry about getting accepted (well kinda).

If you don't, then you can try again next year with all that knowledge and experience you will have hopefully acquired. Not sure if SCAD does the same thing, but you should contact their admissions office for that. Do note however, that it seems Ringling reactivates your application on their whim, since you need to "request activation". In addition, they use your same portfolio, same essay, same everything, really, so it's better to just reapply instead of "reactivating" your deferment.

Also contact them in regards to transfer credits. For Ringling I was told, from a Community College, the following will transfer: drawing, figure drawing, 2D Design, 3D Design, color, art history, and english. I'm sure this all changes every year, so contact them.

I was told by my figure drawing teacher though, that most art schools for transfer students, really want to see those classes in there. So, for Ringling, SCAD, or any other college that you may try to transfer in to, you really can't go wrong with those.

As for the school "not being good enough" well then hell- I'm just gonna stop there.

[Taxguy]

Incendia, I fully understand why you would go for your first two years at a community college. It is a LOT cheaper overall. In addition, you can meet all the gen ed requirements without having to pay for the same gen eds at expensive art school rates. I do hear you!

HOWEVER, there are some possible problems with your plans that you should check out.

First, for some schools, it is actually harder to get admitted as a transfer than as a freshmen. I do know that this is true at University of Cincinnati, DAAP. This may also be true for the schools that you might want to go to. Please check out how hard admission would be for any potential schools that you would apply to and for the major(s) of interest.

Secondly, some schools are more particular ( or peculiar) about accepting credits as transfers. Some are great about accepting gen eds, while not very good at accepting courses related to your major. Some even don't like accepting gen eds unless those gen eds exactly match their offerings. Some schools have a very good relationship with certain junior colleges in which they will agree to accept all of your credits.

You REALLY need to check into these types of problems at any potential schools that you might want to transfer to.

[Incendia]

Thanks, both of you. :) I'll definitely look into it. I'll be visiting SCAD next month, I'll be sure to ask them about transfer credits, and will hopefully be able to do the same with Ringling later this year.

[Metalclay]

Mmm, very true.

Even within state schools, that hierarchy does exist. For example, I inquired to a UCF professor, whom I think is head of the animation department via e-mail what classes would transfer over to UCF's animation program.

He ended up telling me that the english, math, and art history should transfer, however the animation classes at UCF are 4000 level classes and the ones in my community college were only 1000 level, so I would have to retake those.

I know Ringling won't let you skip their animation classes even if you offer them tasty treats, so the best thing to do is ask the admissions department. That's what they're there for...I think.

[Storyboard Dave]

...so the best thing to do is ask the admissions department. That's what they're there for...I think.

Talk to the school that you want to eventually end up at's Registrar. They should be able to give you a Reciprocal List as to what they will accept from other schools.

I would strongly suggest doing this before signing up for classes at the community college. You want to make sure that the classes you're signing up for can transfer back to the place you want to get you degree from. If not, you could be wasting valuable time & money taking useless non-transferable classes. Ideally get it in writing or have some sort of proof that those classes can transfer and how long you have before they won't accept them. Some schools have time limits- just because you took a 400 level English class ten years ago, it might not transfer anymore because of curriculum changes, re-evaluation, or whatever.