Question for AAC or other SanFran students

[SeraphSword]

Hey all, I'm looking into going to the Academy of Art College in San Francisco possibly fall or spring. My question is, having heard that SF has a good public transit system, do I need a car? Unless I have a job, the only real travel I forsee is back and forth to school, and maybe a few trips around town. Can you get by without one, or are they still a necessity, and if so, what's parking like?

Many thanks for any help y'all can provide.

[FlashFighter]

Driving is hell in San Francisco..... One way streets.... right turn streets only....... ugh....... and good luck finding a parking spot.... BART and MUNI is the best way to go

[jetpack42]

I've played Crazy Taxi, and getting around SF in that game is nuts!

[Tad]

heh, yeah
if you're not a "i gotta have a car reguardless type"

then definetely just use public transit.

I lived in SF for a while,
and i'm a car guy, so I had a car.

i'll never live there again,
those roads are SO bad its ridiculous.

you can be 1block away from where you want to go.. and you wont get there for another 20-30minutes cuz of the maze of 1way streets with 0 parking spots and dpt waiting to give you a ticket for ANYTHING you do wrong.

most people who own a car in the city, pay out hundreds a year in parking tickets. its ridiculous.

basically, you need SKILL to drive in the city, and even with that skill, it is no fun whatsoever.

public transit is good, so if you can, you might as well use it.

BY THE WAY,
I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you consider OTHER SCHOOLS,
i'm not going to knock the academy of art, but well.. there are better schools.. let me put it that way.

dont get sucked in just because their advertising campaign is more agressive than a guy on his highschool prom!!!

the school is VERRYYY expensive too,
personally i'd take my money elsewhere.

[SeraphSword]

I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you consider OTHER SCHOOLS,

Actually, I was accepted to the Kubert School and was revving up to go there, but financial aid seems to have fallen through, with the deadline closing quickly. I've heard good and bad things about AAU (but you hear good and bad things about every place), and seen some good artists that have come out of the programs there.

I've also given a lot of consideration to Watts Atelier in San Diego, but the only problem is that since that's not an accredited school, I'd have to pay out of pocket, while working a full-time job just to get by(which would certainly hamper the learning process). I still haven't ruled it out completely, but basically I want to be somewhere that I'm devoting all my time to art and learning, instead of working 50+ hours a week and trying to fit art education in.

If financial aid doesn't work out for AAU either (which it very well may not), I'm just gonna take a look at places I can go to in the spring(like SVA or others), or just looking at waiting til next year for Kubert's. Only problem is there's not much in the way of learning around here, so I just want to BE somewhere, with assignments to focus on, models to draw from, artists to interact with, and all the things that go with being an art student. The longer I wait the more it feels like it ain't gonna happen, you know? Spending another year working a dead-end job, trying to fit in time to draw, with no real input, just gets harder and harder.

But thanks for info, being able to sell my car and put a few more dollars in my pocket would be very helpful, especially given the price of attending.

[Jonny]

Academy of Art's illustration department is one of the best I believe. If you take your classes seriously and attend some of the workshops you'll get your money's worth and the school will teach you how to draw. As far as the other departments go, I don't know how they are. Cons of the school are there are too many students cuz they let anybody in and a lot of people are slackers. As far as transportation goes, all the AAU buildings are right near BART and Muni stations so it's convenient. Let me know if you have any other questions.