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The fall 2020 acceptance rate for California College of the Arts is 64%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020 , _____ students were offered admission. The number of males who applied was _____ vs the number of females which was _____.
What should every freshman at your school know before they start?
I have learned many things since beggining college in 2007. One thing I have learned the most is to attend class and participate. I realized that when I was in high school i never did either of these things. It hindered me when i first began college but i am beggining to grasp it as i hopefully head on to a 4 year university next fall. It has been valuable to attend because if i wasnt in school, i would be completely unhappy. It has given me many more oppurtunities already and will continue to do so.
Read all 20 answers Describe the students at your school.
Everyone there eats, sleeps and breathes their art.
Read all 12 answers What are the most popular student activities/groups?
All of the students here share a passion for art. Students go to local gallery shows, and theaters. Students who enjoy some partying go up to Berkeley or other students' homes. A lot hop on BART and head over (under) the bay into SF and enjoy what it has to offer too.
Read all 12 answers What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?
I attend an art school and there are two stereotypes that come to mind, the design students and the artsy-fartsy students. Design students are thought of as up-tight, rigid, and elitist. While artsy-fartsy students are flaky, pseudo intellectuals, and also elitist. These two stereotypes can be subdivided by majors or departments as well but those are just more refined versions of the two branches of art students.
Read all 10 answers What is your overall opinion of this school?
Coming to CCA has been the best thing to happen to me so fat in my life. It feels great to be around people that are like you and to be in a creative environment. We are a smaller college and we benefit with smaller class sizes and a close community. The faculty as well is nothing less than fantastic. I have a lot of pride in CCA, especially the Illustration department.
Read all 10 answers What are the academics like at your school?
What's great here is that all the teachers are working professionals. You know that you are being taught by people who are successful in the industry. As an Illustration student and I find the faculty to be incredible. They know their stuff and really help you develop technical and conceptual skills. You really develop a relationship with your teachers and it feels good to know that they still care about you after having them as instructors.
Read all 9 answers What do you brag about most when you tell your friends about your school?
I love to brag about how small our classes are and how easy it is to connect with our professors. Eventhough it may seem weird the professors here are easy to befriend and in a way it's a great connection in the future. I also brag about how awesome the people are here, everyone is unique in their own way. Many of them were outcasts back at their school and yet they were given this amazing talent! 100 words can not discribe how amazing my first year was at this school! Too much to brag about!
Read all 6 answers What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?
California College of the Arts is far too expensive. The cost of tuition may scare away true artistic souls. It certainly scared me away initially.
Read all 5 answers What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?
I wish i had taken required classes such as math and science at a community college so that i could take classes at CCA that focus on my major
Read all 5 answers What's unique about your campus?
The art studios, which are equpiied with all sorts of different types of supplies and high tech equiptment for whatever specefic type of art you are interested in.
Read all 5 answers Describe your favorite campus traditions.
My favorite campus tradition is probably the annual mascot design competition! Our school has a really unique mascot – a chimera (a mythological creature with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a snake for a tail). Every year, students are given the opportunity to redesign the face of the mascot! The winner of the competition has their design on all the school merchandise for a whole year! It's pretty great! Being an art school, I think it's great to be able to allow the student community to harness their creativity in all kinds of different ways! This is a pretty fun & unique tradition the school has!
Another tradition that I quite enjoy is the annual Chimeratopia fair, where there's just a bunch of great people, food and fun! There's also a taco truck that comes by every year and we get free tacos at Chimeratopia which is so great!
Read all 4 answers What are your classes like?
Most of my classes are pretty small - especially my studio classes. There are 15-20 students in each of my classes. It's really great cos' we get lots of one-on-one time with the professors to review our work and give us individual critiques. It's also nice, cos' in each class, we become like a mini family, and it's always nice working with other students and bouncing ideas of of each other. It's a really great environment to be a part of since we all support and help pull each other through, which in turn makes us all individually stronger designers.
Read all 3 answers What's the most frustrating thing about your school?
the cost. it's highly unrealistic to attend without rich parents.
Read all 2 answers Tell us about your professors.
The instructors are knowledgable, supportive, and approachable. They really know what they are talking about and you really develop a bond with them.
Read all 2 answers Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!
California College of The Arts was founded during the Arts and Crafts Movement; A movement where social issues influenced art. These ideals through anti-industrialized processes have remained unique and important aspects in CCA's development. Because of the individualized attention due to the small college size, each student is given the opportunity to flourish within their specified major. What is prevalent at CCA is that art studies are critical and will create the fabric of a successful and creative career.
Read all 2 answers What kind of person should not attend this school?
everyone
Read all 2 answers Where is the best place to get work done on campus?
I find that the best place to get work done on the Oakland campus is on Macky Lawn, or at the library. They're both really quiet and good places to focus and concentrate and get stuff done. I prefer Macky lawn, cos' I like sitting in the grass and all the "green" around me feels really inspiring. On the San Francisco campus, the best places to get work done are either in one of the "N" classrooms in the Nave if they're not occupied, or in the lounge (living area) or library. I find that if the N classrooms aren't occupied, they're a great place to get work done because you can spread out all your stuff and really step back and look at your work.The other great place that I always like to work at is at the Graphic Design Studio workspace. It's a really great place to work where all the Graphic Design students generally work outside of class time. Since there are Graphic Design students from all levels working there, it's always a good place to get feedback from the upperclassmen, or talk about projects and receive peer feedback. I think it's nice to work alone, but it's also nice to work among people, because it's a lot less stressful, when there are many people doing the same thing and going through the same thing with you. Also, its nice to work with people because you can get tons of feedback and critique. Generally, upper class-men have normally done the same projects that you're currently doing or they have experience with similar things, and it's always good, because they have experienced it, their feedback is really valuable and helpful, and more often than not strengthens your work!
Read all 1 answers Why did you decide to go to this school?
I decided to go to CCA after attending the Pre-college program in 2009. I chose to go to this school, because of it's concern with sustainability and engagement with the community. I think a large part of what I want to do as a designer involves affecting positive change in society, be in environmental or community based. CCA's core values really tied in with the things that I wanted to do. I also chose CCA because I really enjoyed the pre-college program and the general culture of the school, when I was at pre-college.
Read all 1 answers Describe your school to someone who's never heard of it.
It's really just a great place to be! There's a diverse artistic culture and people around school and in school are really open to diverse opinions and always happy to engage in enjoyable conversations with you! CCA is the site of hustle and bustle of critiques and constant movement! People are always around and because the community isn't that large, it's a tight knit community that feels somewhat like a family. CCA is just one big very diverse but amazing family. It's an absolutely wonderful place to be and I've really enjoyed being a part of such a great school. It's been hard work but lots of fun and I've met some of the best people here!
Read all 1 answers Describe a typical weekend.
my typical weekend is normally a weekend of homework - lots and lots of homework! it can be tiring, but since I really enjoy the program and the work I'm doing, it's doesn't bother me that I get tied down with a lot of homework during the weekends. I actually quite enjoy doing homework during the weekends. Most of the homework I have, are normally studio projects. They're quite time consuming but they're really fun to do, and as long as you're enjoying what you're doing, why not do it during the weekends too? right? :)
Read all 1 answers