Need help finding A School

[Kioku]

Here's my problem. My brother just got outta college and my parents now have to start paying off his loans. He spent 5 years at VT ( Vriginia tech) When we only expected him to spend 4. I had my eyes set on VCU ( Vriginia Commonwelth Uni.) For graphic Design degree till i relized "hey graphic desgin not what i want to do." Upon Serching i found SCAD And the Sequential Art Degree. I've been set on SCAD for the last 2 or 3 Months Trying to find out deadlines and Scholarships , etc. Well i got in my info booklet today and now SCAD is no longer an option. Housing and tution alone is my mother's entire paycheck for one year. :nohope:

So here's what I ask of anyone taking their time to read this. Are there any Colleges/ Universities That are public and in Vriginia or close to it that have simalar degrees to the Sequential ART degree of SCAD?

[Elwell]

If I remember correctly, VCU has an illustration department with some decent people teaching there.

[Mirana]

As Elwell suggests, you can go to school for illustration and still use it to get a job in comics/storyboarding. The program isn't going to be the same, though. A Sequential Art program is very specific and SCAD is one of the very few (the only other I know of is Joe Kubert's) that has it.

Illustration is going to teach you static images with a focus on conveying a story in one image. It'll teach you things like editorial, children's book, and other specialized illustration types. Also, there's more of a focus on different mediums you can do illustration in (oil, acrylic, watercolor, ink, digital, scratchboard...etc).

Seqa teaches movement, transition, storytelling, character design, maquette making, storyboarding, writing, inking, digital coloring, dialouge balloon placement, etc. It's electives offer things like advanced script writing, fantasy comics, superhero comics, manga, independent comics, etc.

One program is not comparible to the other, but you can go to school for a degree that will help get you a job in the field, and broaden your own Seqa interests at home.

Incidentally, the dorms and meal plan are a complete rip off. The dorms are all old motels (except for the brand new dorms that people slept in line for two days to get o_o)...with 4 people to a room. Four beds, four drafting desks...there's no room for anything else. I know it's scary for someone who hasn't lived here, but the most cost effective thing to do is get an apartment in Southside (the business district that's about 15 mins from the area where SCAD is). The apartments there run $500 and up a month--which end up costing you around what the meal plan is at SCAD. Not to mention you can live on your own without scary roommates...or make a few friends that quarter and have them move in with you to cut costs down further.

Scholarships also help a great deal. Mine pays for half of my costs.

Also, if you mother/parents don't make enough--that's normal. The feds will give you quite a bit of money to go to school based on that. Go fill out a FAFSA (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) form on the web and it will tell you what your EC is--or what the govt expects your family to be able to pay for your current year of schooling. They will give you a loan or grant to cover the rest of the amount. After that and scholarships, you just have to take out a private loan. Probably everybody here who's gone to a private art school is paying off a loan. All of my professors are still paying off their schooling loans. It's kinda like a mortgage--it's a debt that just never goes away. 9_9

Whatever you decide, G'Luck. Lucky for you comics and storyboarding is something people don't expect you to have a specific degree in. ^_~

[Usherwood]

Here's my problem. My brother just got outta college and my parents now have to start paying off his loans. He spent 5 years at VT ( Vriginia tech) When we only expected him to spend 4. I had my eyes set on VCU ( Vriginia Commonwelth Uni.) For graphic Design degree till i relized "hey graphic desgin not what i want to do." Upon Serching i found SCAD And the Sequential Art Degree. I've been set on SCAD for the last 2 or 3 Months Trying to find out deadlines and Scholarships , etc. Well i got in my info booklet today and now SCAD is no longer an option. Housing and tution alone is my mother's entire paycheck for one year. :nohope:

So here's what I ask of anyone taking their time to read this. Are there any Colleges/ Universities That are public and in Vriginia or close to it that have simalar degrees to the Sequential ART degree of SCAD?

Don't give up just because you think it's too expensive! A college application doesn't cost more than $50 or $100. That's cheap if you find out the school is willing to start throwing cash your way to attend. There's also tons of scholarships and grants out there. DON'T GIVE UP JUST 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS EXPENSIVE!!!! Go for it. My son is submitting 12 applications. Several are at schools clearly out of my ability to pay....IF I don't factor in financial aid. But if you don't try, you'll never know. AND YOU'LL ALWAYS WONDER, "WHAT IF...?" I know I do. I wanted to attend Art Center, but never applied because I thought my old man would never be able to afford it.

[BlackGuy]

yeah man, look hard enough and you'll definitely find ways to pay it. FAFSA, grants, scholarships, loans, do whatever it takes. I'm in the same boat man, and if I were you I would start looking all that stuff up NOW. fastweb.com is a really great scholarship website that I just found today. You fill out a bunch of questions and it sends you dozens of scholarships that you are eligible for, and you pick which ones you want to apply for. Use that, use google to find scholarships, there are tons of options. Money just isn't a reason not to go to school in this country. At least not anymore.