SCAD Review: Atlanta Campus

Another quarter has come and gone and boy has it been fun. The only difference this time is that I spent the quarter at SCAD Atlanta! That is correct — I decided to kick off my sophomore year by switching it up and attending the SCAD Atlanta campus. There is quite a lot to talk about, so put on some gloves and grab a mop because I’m about to drop some serious insight.

If you are an inquiring high school student, or a SCAD freshman trying to decide which campus to choose I would highly suggest you check out “SCAD Review: Freshmen Year”. This freshman review article covers, in depth, a lot of concerns most freshmen have such as scholarships, acceptance, and campus life in Savannah. As a current freshman at the time (2016–2017), I hope the article provides some valuable insight and proves to be a successful aide in guiding your decision about joining our family here at SCAD.

Personal Brief

As soon as I arrived in Atlanta I was right back to square one. New people, New classes, an entirely new world. From what it seemed, I was once again a freshman.

Since I️ was a transfer student from Savannah, I️ got last pickings for dorms. I ended up in Spring House. Both of my roommates were upperclassmen which meant that they were always out with friends and never in the room. I️ didn’t mind that too much, I️ can be a bit of an introvert at times, but by them being away it limited my social options and made it difficult to find new friends.

Fortunately, the lobby in Spring House is equipped with ping-pong and pool tables. Needless to say, my amazing pool skills along with my respectable ping pong game allowed me to meet a lot of amazing people while making a few friends along the way. It was a good time.

As for classes, I had a similar experience. At first, I was concerned about the lack of academic buildings that SCAD Atlanta held. There were only three. I was afraid that the lack of buildings meant a lack of resources compared to Savannah. However, I soon realized that I was wrong. In comparison to what I have seen in Savannah, it seemed that the DMC (SCAD Atlanta’s digital media center) had all the same equipment available as there was to students in Savannah along with a few outliers. In Atlanta, I saw full sized professional green screens and production rooms resources of which I have not seen nor believe are available in Savannah.

The thing I liked most about the DMC versus Monty (Montgomery Hall-Digital Media Center in Savannah) is that there were a lot of windows. One thing I absolutely loathe about Monty is that it is so dark, I can’t stand working in the dark. Also, a major pro about the DMC is that since it is in the heart of Atlanta, our class constantly had presentations from local networks and studios. There were 4 presentations in class this quarter alone not to mention a few others outside of class. It was pretty sweet., I received some valuable insight into what my near future might look like.

Ultimately though what pulled me back to Savannah was my friends. As much as I loved the city, it was not worth being away from those who I enjoyed being around the most. I am still very glad I was able to visit SCAD Atlanta; I met some great people; had some great times, and thoroughly enjoyed a great city. If I was to be presented with a job in ATL right after graduation I would be more than excited to start my career there.

Common questions asked by High School Students

1.) How is the food?

Shockingly, SCAD Atlanta’s food is much better than Savannah’s. My guess would be that the answer resides in quality over quantity. Since there are fewer students at the ATL campus, it results in more time to focus on the food being produced. BUT there are no seconds in SCAD ATL, so make sure to pile everything you can onto the one plate you receive.

*Side Note* All SCAD Atlanta has is the hub, and the hub has some pretty skimpy hours as it is. So once the hub closes you’re SOL, keep that in mind.

2.) What are the facilities like?

Of the three classes I had, two were in the DMC and one was in Ivy Hall. As mentioned in my personal brief I quite enjoyed the DMC. I thought the layout was very professional and that the atmosphere was conducive to working long hours (as us SCAD students tend to do). The DMC is open 24/7 and is littered with comfy couches and chairs that I know a countless amount of student took advantage of and appreciated. Not to mention it was packed to the brim with Macs, PC’s, Cintiqs, Camera’s, Production Equipment, and much more.

Ivy Hall, on the other hand, is quite different. Ivy Hall was basically a haunted mansion with a set of desks within each room. Yes, imagine an academic hall complete with a rickety grand stairwell, lots of antique furniture, an assortment of knick-knacks, and a butler named Gerald. OK sadly Gerald the butler is a lie, but the rest is spot on. I know that description could be misleading, but I actually found Ivy Hall very intriguing and a good source of inspiration in a lot of my writings. Even if you don’t have a class at Ivy Hall I would highly suggest you check it out.

3.) What is the sports life like?

None. There is absolutely no sports life in SCAD Atlanta. I was already a little sad when I gave up tailgating and football games when coming to SCAD. But at least Savannah had intramural sports. Even the gym in Savannah held athletic competitions. Unfortunately, none of these options are available in Atlanta.

This might be my biggest criticism to SCAD Atlanta. While their gym was adequate there was no noticeable concern for physical activity on the Atlanta campus. I don’t even feel like I went outside that much. The park was a 25 min walk away, and there was no lawn available to play on, just concrete everywhere. This bothered me quite a bit, I love being outside. Being out in the sun, feeling the breeze, and smelling fresh air gives me energy and makes me overall a happier student.

4.) Study Abroad?

You may be surprised if you did not know that SCAD has five campuses; Savannah, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Lacoste (France), and the, “online campus” as SCAD puts it. On the admission tour, SCAD will gloat about all the opportunities you will have to travel to these campuses. While there are many pros, there are also some cons, I will start with the cons.

First, off not all majors are offered at all campuses. For example, Lacoste is mostly for students with non-digital related majors. They don’t have too many computers over there so expect to waste two or three electives if you apply to go to France. Likewise, with other campuses make sure to check beforehand to find out if your major is offered at the location you would like to study. In addition, SCAD will heavily imply that you will be able to transfer to the campuses for no additional cost and that is a load of malarky. Lacoste is around an extra 6000 dollars and Hong Kong will cost you I believe about an extra 4000 dollars. While to me it is worth the extra money, I didn’t like the fact that SCAD claimed study abroad was expense free when in fact it was not.

Now onto the Pros! A friend of mine just returned from Hong Kong and she said she had a great time. She loved the atmosphere of the city and also loved the convenience of easy travel to neighboring countries such as Thailand and the Philippines. As for Lacoste, I’ve heard the campus is beautiful and the extra 6000 dollars entitles you to a week in Paris which is even cooler.

Questions I Found Online:

1.) Is the city that the college is located in one that you enjoy living in?

Atlanta was quite a change from Savannah. For one, biking is out of the picture. Atlanta is way too spread out and hilly for a bicycling. If you want to get anywhere, I would recommend using the metro or uber/lyft. Or if you would like, you could bring your own car but don’t forget about the fees that come along with that (gas, parking, etc)

As for nightlife…there is an endless amount of things to do. Clubs, bars, go-karts, arcades, insomnia cookies, you name it. It is quite difficult not finding something to do on a Friday night in Atlanta. But forewarning, the city isn’t cheap so get ready to dig deep into those pockets.

2.) Is dorm life, as portrayed on a school’s website or seen during your campus visit, the experience you’re looking for?

Oh man SCAD really does like shooting the most deceptive angles for dorms, but then again what college doesn’t? I stayed in Spring House in SCAD Atlanta and honestly it wasn’t much different than the dorm I had in Savannah. A small hotel room with three grown men is not exactly the definition of luxury, but we made it work with what we had. The only problems we faced were ants and the sink not working. Other than that I really cannot complain.

ALSO, I also discovered that the room and board in ATL was 1,000 dollars more expensive than it was in Savannah. Make sure to look out for that.

3.) Does the school have the major you want and is the program sufficient? If not, is there a similar major offered?

During this quarter SCAD was voted the #1 Motion Graphics School in the country… So yeah we’re pretty good.

4.) Is it a city that will have internships in your field or will you have to travel for that experience?

I tried to search for an internship like any millennial would…I googled, “Internships in Atlanta” And there were pages upon pages of Internships available (mostly offered by Turner Studios). I applied for quite a lot but sadly once again my skills as a sophomore motion graphics student did not make the cut. Although, I did see a lot of juniors and seniors being offered Internships left and right. If you are a junior or senior transfer student or current SCAD student, I would highly recommend looking into the Atlanta campus for internships or job opportunities.

5.) Is it a social campus, a commuter campus or a quiet campus? Which do you prefer, and are you willing to compromise on this point?

I would say this might have been the biggest pro about SCAD Atlanta. The Spring House lobby was my sanctuary. It seemed like no matter what time I came down there was always either people playing pool, working on homework, or just relaxing in the lounge chairs.

In Savannah, there was no designated social spot that I could remember. There was the Student Center but hardly anyone went there to hang out, it was only to work. But I guess it is all relative because the majority of people who were in the Spring House lobby lived at Spring House. Very rarely would a student from ACA house, or off-campus student come to the lobby just to hang out. I’m assuming this rule of thumb doubles for Savannah.

In the end, it was the nights where I came back from the DMC at 2 am, fresh off a hardcore homework session, just to stay up to 4 am with friends in Spring House Lobby that I realized were the most memorable nights. I would love to see a similar setting be introduced in Savannah..just so I could beat everyone in pool there as well(;

6.) Is the school within your price range or worth going into debt over? Are they offering you scholarships or grants if you go there?

SCAD gives out scholarships like they are candy but it’s only two scholarships (The Academic awards and Artistic achievement scholarships) that I ever hear people receiving. Also from a certain perspective, it seems that SCAD specifically likes to favor athletes for the larger scholarships. It annoys me and makes me mad, but hey, if you can bowl, ride a bike, kick a ball, or ride a horse more money to ya.

7.) Is the campus visually pleasant and a place you’d be okay spending a good chunk of your time on?

I’m going to have to say SCAD isn’t exactly the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. Now don’t get me wrong, the buildings are very nice inside and out, but as a unified campus, there is definitely something lacking.

8.) If you end up landing a great job in town before or right after graduating, would you be okay living there? Same question for if you get married or meet the love of your life.

I would love to live in Atlanta. Honestly I wish I had more time with the city for there was so much more to explore. Being offered a job in Atlanta right after school would be perfect, I’m now familiar with the city, the housing is affordable, and the film industry is blowing up there which means there are lots of jobs.

As for the “love of my life”, I’m assuming since most of our digital careers are heavily sought after in major cities such as Atlanta, I don’t think the love of my life would mind living in Atlanta as well.

9.) What’s the weather like there? Is there a lot of one kind of weather, like snow or rain, that you love or can’t stand?

It’s called Hotlanta for a reason, it’s hot. But what surprised me was how cold it could get. In Savannah, the ocean kept us lukewarm during the winter, but the same cannot be said for Atlanta late into the fall quarter. Learn from my mistake and bring more than just a few sweatshirts.

10.) Are the professors at the school renowned in their fields? Do they have doctorate degrees or books published? Do you care?

My major teacher was is quite well known. Her work was fairly popular plus her husband had worked for Adult Swim at Turner Studios (what seemed to be the biggest studio in ATL). By having this connection, I learned that my professor had been able to help several of her students land job opportunities at Turner Studios.

Conclusion

Pioneering into the unknown is not always an easy task. Atlanta was a fresh new start for me, new people, new classes, a whole new lifestyle. And even though I had my ups and down, I’m very glad I decided to give SCAD Atlanta a try. This experience opened my eyes to a whole new world of opportunities that lie before me, some of which I believe I will be taking up in the not so distant future. But until then you will find me at home in Savannah.