Savannah College of Art and Design Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

Mikhaila

Before coming to SCAD, I wish I had known that I was not the only one who was completely lost about the college experience, or the idea of it anyway. Most people were like me: not knowing what to expect and timid to actually admit that they had no idea of what was going on during the first day. Also, I wish I had known that even though Savannad is near the coast, it still gets pretty cool in autumn and winter. All in all, even though i did not know about these things before, I still love the college.

Kersten

n/a

Elizabeth

That the financial toll can be very overwhelming. I wish I really knew how hard it would be to pay for this school. I understand why it is so expensive and they do help with some scholarships but it is still so much.

Tierra

When I first entered SCAD I didn’t know anything. Because of financial reasons I was not able to attend orientation, but I made it time for my first day of class. Despite that, not attending orientation left me in the dark . I am of a homeschool background so navigating threw school was completely new to me. There was also the financial stress that comes with attending a private school. I wish I knew everything would be okay and not to compare myself to the other students; also, I wish I new how to properly save for collage.

Madison

The lack of care for the student from the financial aid department. Various paperwork has been "processing" for months and when I've tried to follow up they can't locate it or they need additonal information. I've been waiting for my financial aid to be processed since January.

Alexandria

I wish I had known more about the scholarships so that I could apply sooner. I had a hard time understanding how to apply for the avilable scholarships when I visited their website. It's important to talk to your counselor as much as possible as soon as possible so you can learn more about financial aid opportunities.

Shelby

I wish I had better prepared for the financial difficulty I would meet. However, things have always been able to be handled.

Rodney

I wish I had known a master plan to live out a perfect path to success.

Brittney

If I had known about the finanical crisis before hand... that would have been helpful. But seriously, you try to perpare yourself for the high standards you're coming into, but it's really not possible. However, most of the early classes do just that so later, as the years go by, you can rise to the occasion.

Cassandra

I wish I had a true understanding of just HOW much money I was borrowing for this educational experience and how that would have weighed to my chances of obtaining a job shortly after graduation.

Brittany

I wish I had known that my class schedule would not be very flexible as there are not that many classes available to freshman. Also, living on campus has been a bit difficult for me because I am vegan and have very few food choices in the cafeteria. So, after spending a lot of money on room and board, I am still stuck buying food anyway. it's expensive!

Rodney

How important finances truly were to fully prepare for all expences I can't currently afford.

Mia

Absolutely nothing. I was fully prepared with knowledge of the university.

Heather

I wish I had a better understanding of financial aid and scholarship practices. While the administrators at SCAD are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, having studied these topics on my own would have helped me be in a much better financial situation.

Kersti

I wish I had known what I wanted my major to be. The course book was vague on what the Visual Effects major was, and it seemed bland so I focused on other majors and took classes in those, which I loved. Then when I discovered I wanted to be a Visual Effects major, I had used class slots in other majors when I could have been using them for classes that I loved even more. I also wish I knew how heavy the work load would be in some classes so I could take more classes in some quarters.

Amy

I wish I had gotten involved with campus organizations earlier on in my student career. I missed out on getting to know people I really like today because I was slightly anti-social/shy when I first arrived. The great thing about the campus is that because there are a variety of ages and walks of life represented, you can make friends with someone who just graduated from high school or someone who owned their own design firm for years who simply wanted to return to school and chose SCAD.

Lillian

How expensive supplies would be.

Taylor

I wish I would've known to organize myself better and to work more hours at my job before I came to school. School is not easy, and you have to really work hard at it both in your classes and working for it financially.

Ashleigh

I wish that I had been exposed to more art classes such as drawing, sculpting, and painting. I found out this year that people sometimes do not always tell the truth on their questionaires. Knowing how hard or easy a teacher is can be useful. during these 10 weeks I wasn't expecting books and art supplies to be so expensive. SCAD also has a strict policy of attendence like there are no sick days and you can only miss up to four classes otherwise you fail.

Michael

How rigid and terribly organized the advising, financial aid, and bursar departments are. They really have no interest in helping students, and are more focused on getting them in and out with as little effort on their part as possible.

Akil

If anything, I wish I had known to make a more extensive porfolio. Good portfolio's here are often rewarded with substantial finacial aid. Also I wish that I knew a bit more about art and the art industry I am headed in. Prior knowledge of this really helps you understand the work ethnic you need to adapt to while being at school here. The majority of students that fail classes here are usually students who don't understand this, and end up working hard last minute to produce mediocre results, or not working hard at all.

Anai

I guess I would have liked to know how many different class options I had in able to get my degree. The only thing that is very hard is to choose between which courses to take because they are all so sweet. Creative classes on so many different fields, just wish you could study all of them.

Katie

I wish I would have known how hard it is to get around without a car.

Erik

I wish I had read more into a specific field of study so the choice would have been easier

nae'

severval things come to mind but in the end if i had known them ahead of time it would not be a learning experience.

Hannah

How much time was to be spent on projects and the cost of doing those projects. And that NOTHING is included in that large amount you pay for tuition. That every machine, computer etc. you use, you have to pay an additional fee.

Emily

How to manage time more wisely for the high work load that the school's studio classes require each quater. I am used to the load now, but it was a rough adjustment. I also wish that I had been more sure of my intended major before I came to my school because several students there seem to be ahead on specific knowledge in certain classes because they found their interests a lot sooner than others. Since my school is extremely competitive, previous knowledge is an enormous contributing factor in class.

Danica

I feel I was very well prepared for SCAD. Having friends who already went there, I got an insiders opinions and knowledge. I cannot think of anything that really surprised me about my school.

Marshall

I wish I knew that the bussing system was attrocious, so that I could bring a car and that there was a fair amount of crime activity in the surrounding city. I wish I knew more about the dining services, particularly that they use an outside company to serce their food. I also wish I had known there were opportunities to travel to other countries and take courses there. But most of all, I wish I'd have known what awesome friends I was going to meet.

Jordan

That the administration was underqualified, and basically paid to tell you no. The professors have always been fantastic, save one or two, but the entire other staff is terrible and insulting.

Zachary

More about artist and art movements to explore them deeper.

Terran

The academic advising department is not as prepared as they should be to properly aid the students in following the correct career path. Also, many of the teachers are very bias and grade on how much they like a piece and its style, rather than the quality of work or how well the guidelines have been met. It tends to be really tough to do well in a class with a professor who's artistic style and method is very much unlike your own.

Emily

I wish I would have known to take more AP classes in high school, because those credits help you to be able to graduate sooner and/or get a better time ticket for registration.

Melanie

I wish I had known how time consuming school was going to be. Many think that art school is a breeze, but that certainly isn't the case at SCAD. In order to master your artistic skill and truely learn one's field takes a lot of commitment.

Vanessa

I wish I had known that the Atlanta campus financial aid was not as organized and helpful as the office on the Savannah campus. Also wish I knew how much materials were going to cost before hand as they dont talk about any of that. WIsh there were sports on this campus also since the Savannah campus is really developed and has EVERYTHING but this campus only offeres the education.

Karin

I wish I had realized how much I should have invested in getting scholarships, especially since now that I'm out I have so much debt to repay. Also, you will need money for art supplies or computer supplies outside of just tuition so take it into account.

Matthew

I wish I had submitted a portfolio. I also wish I had better understood the work load and extracurricular opportunities exclusively available to freshmen.

Yidi

The art world is very difficult to succeed in. It may be a little cliche, but if you aren't willing to put forth the full 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} effort, you aren't going to do well. A lot of freshman drop out early on because they don't realize just how much work it actually is to be in art school.

Mario

I wish I knew about more scholarships prior to attending school.

Abigail

I would have liked to have known more about the processes of scheduling classes. I have run into many problems each quarter.

Travis

Nothing.

Chris

Just how awesome it is.

Amanda

Just how many bored, rich kids would be attending it.

Zoie

Before entering SCAD I wish I would have know how high art supplies actually are. :-)

Julia

I wish i had known more about the work load in specific courses. The quarter system is much different than what I had experienced before (the semester system). I feel that I knew the expectations, I just feel under prepared about the work load for this quarter.

Christopher

Nothing. It was pretty spelled out for me in the catolouges.