SCAD or Ringling? What does CA think?

[Krato]

I have done allot of research in both colleges, more with scad though. However i'm still not completely sure where i want to go. I'm more interested in Ringing but im not sure if im good enough to get a decent scholarship to it. What do you think? Has anyone here attended one of the schools or at least been on the campus on a tour? what did you think? Plus what do you think of these schools?

Thanks!

SCAD:

Pros:
-Cheaper
-Closer to home
-Growing - rapidly
-Allot of positive feedback from past students
-Very easy to contact a rep
-Good amount of companies visit school (Like Blizzard)
-You can switch from campus to campus easily. (ex: go from SCAD savannah to SCAD atlanta or when Hong Kong opens you can go there --as long as you have classes set up at the school.)
-SCAD claims to have one of the best game art and design classes in the country.
-Website very easy to navigate.

Cons:
-Somewhat small amount of negatives reviews many talking about how the teachers there are jerks.
-SCAD/Atlanta Campuses are supposedly in/near bad neighborhoods .
-Doesn't show that SCAD has won very many awards.


Ringling:

Pros:
-School has received numerous awards.
-Many alumni move on to dream jobs.
-Has many "connections" with the professional world.
-Companies visit Ringling (Blizzard, activision, ect.)
-It said on the site that students get macbooks for free(?)
-Also sounded like this school was more focused on art then academics but im not sure how far that goes.
- Great amounts of positive feedback
- Most of the student artwork is great
-Easy to navigate website

Cons:
-Farther away
-Difficult to contact a rep
-I believe its more expensive to attend then scad

[Psychotime]

Heh. No clue. Maybe Ringling? (Lolz, mutiny.)

[rossipoo]

How about that new CA school program?

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2455668&postcount=231

[dwilliams]

what do you want to study?

[LuckyDevil]

flip a coin! but if i were you i would go with ringling so i could be further away from family :P

[Flake]

flip a coin! but if i were you i would go with ringling so i could be further away from family :P

I must admit when it came to choosing an art school, there really wasn't much between my options but I went for the one that was just a wee bit too far away for casual family visits..

Disclaimer: my family are cool, I just didn't like the idea of surprise visits every weekend..

[ChristianWeeks]

Where do you live? I live up by Charleston and one of my friends is actually going to SCAD. As for your query... im no help :( haha

[Krato]

Well i live in mountain brook Alabama, i want to pursue a major in game art and design and a minor in illustration. Also i found out today that the tuition at Ringling is about $3,000 less then scad and all students there a given a new up to date macbook pro.

[Troubadour]

i can tell you right now i doubt you'd make it trying to minor illustration AND major in gameart, tbh sounds ridiculous. The work load will overwhelm you. Ringlings Gameart program is about 3 years old but getting good funding.

[dwilliams]

Yeah what Troubadour said, you're definitely not going to minor in illustration (or probably anything actually) if you get into Ringling's game art or computer animation program. Both of those programs have ridiculous workloads.

[Krato]

Oh wow, well then i guess if i really feel like i need to do illustration ill do it some other time i guess. Also the extreme workload can't be bad for me in the end

[jellyswirl]

Ya it depends on what you study since I heard ringling is more into animation then anything else. But I went to scad and really enjoyed it. But some of the cons are correct like some area's of campus are in bad neighbor hoods but not all. Since scad as many buildings around Savannah so you not have to worry about it. But if you do just use common sense and others will tell you to be careful and what to watch for. Also I did see some good and some bad teachers at scad but that can be said for any school.

[drd]

Well i live in mountain brook Alabama, i want to pursue a major in game art and design and a minor in illustration. Also i found out today that the tuition at Ringling is about $3,000 less then scad and all students there a given a new up to date macbook pro.

It may be true that tuition is less, however, it is also true that SCAD is seemingly overflowing with scholarship money. Ringling is notorious for giving little if any, scholarship money, and only if you're insanely good.

SCAD offers 3-10k for Academic Merit, and 3-10k for Artistic Merit. If you are in the upper echelon for both of these, you can be considered for additional scholarships, the ones named after Board of Trustee members and the like.

[CKLamb]

Not sure if this has anything to do with anything....but a LOT of big names have graduated from Ringling...both on commercial and fine art paths. I can't think of any SCAD kids, not that they aren't out there. Look at who notable alumni are, they can be invaluable connections after graduation.

[drd]

That's true

However, if I end up going to SCAD, I'm making sure I end up one of those peeps

I don't care what school I go to
You'll be hearing 'bout me ;)

[jedininjaman]

RINGLING!!!
cause the onomonopia

[Jason Manley]

They are both lacking. I would not go to either. But then again I am biased as I am still paying off my student loans and learned more at the illustration academy and my community college than Ringling. SCAD is no better.

[Bill]

I can't think of any SCAD kids, not that they aren't out there.

This Guy can paint a little (http://www.fischart.com/FischartPersonal.html)

[CKLamb]

Yeah, if I could do undergrad over again, I'd probably take the money and study under a Water Street painter.

No BFA, but I'm sure I would have a hell of a lot better portfolio.

[rblitz7]

ohhh I can't wait until that days arrives for me Jason...:rolleyes:

The way I see it is that it takes more then 4 years to become a great artist. Remember not everyone at these schools graduates with a job...but everyone graduates with a bunch of loans to pay off. That being said I still recommend you go to college and regardless of what school it is you have to work hard, be proactive, and don't procrastinate....if you do want a job at graduation.

[drd]

They are both lacking. I would not go to either. But then again I am biased as I am still paying off my student loans and learned more at the illustration academy and my community college than Ringling. SCAD is no better.

Jason, what if I end up not making it? If I don't get a degree, does this mean I'll have to go back to college for anything else I might do in this world? Does it mean that I have devoted my life to art and if I choose to do anything else I'm screwed?

Oh, I plan on making it in the art world; I just need my parents to have the same perspective as you, and they want me to get a degree no matter what.

[Carl Dobsky]

drd- yeah the parents almost always want you to get the degree. But that's just because that's the way people are "suppose" to be educated. They're just trying to do right by you and want to see you have a fighting chance in the world. Unfortunately, being educated in the arts and having a degree don't necessarily go hand in hand, if you take my meaning.
That leaves the task up to you to show your parents who and what's out there and how they got there. Show them posts by professionals who don't have degrees. Show them their work. Explain ateliers to them. Etc. etc. etc.
It's tough but the burden is on you.

[Krato]

Hm, well today i just visited the SCAD Atlanta campus for "SCAD day" and im pretty impressed. -- At least with how the building looks. I went to there animation workshop which was located in a separate building and it was beautiful, they had cintiqs, macs, a brand new huge green room or something for special effects and so much more. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see the game art and design professor or take that workshop because it was unavailable. Also i didnt see very much work from other students, however what little I did see was impressive. I had a private portfolio review session and i asked the lady if i was scholarship material and she said that she wasn't aloud tell me but gave me several indications that i was :) . Since im also going to apply to colleges in a year + i should be able to get even better scholarships, i will also hopefully have a better understanding of where to go for college. I will likely visit the Ringling school sometime in December and take a tour around there.



Now what college would you recommend for having a strong and well known game art and design major? Ringling is known for its animation but its GA&D is pretty new..

[Eclypse]

They are both lacking. I would not go to either. But then again I am biased as I am still paying off my student loans and learned more at the illustration academy and my community college than Ringling. SCAD is no better.

I could not agree with Jason more. I am currently attending SCAD as a transfer student. There is only 2 reason why I've attended:connection and facility. I do most of my learning on CA :) If getting a degree wasn't an issue with my parents , I would've applied to CA's Atelier school right away. (I might apply after I graduate)