I'm an 18 year old trans student in my final senior year in Highschool, and had been looking for art schools and colleges for a while because I couldn't nail down exactly what I wanted or where I wanted to go. I tried a summer course in my home-state, and enjoyed my experience and realized what I wanted to study was the general pre-production part of animation (especially concept art, character design, prop design etc)

But after having a real talk with my father, he convinced me to start looking for other art school out of state. a school that would not just give me the flimsy "find your muse" top dollar bourgeois, but something that could give me a strong lead into the actual industry, how things are done, processes beyond what I can just find online or on youtube. That's when I discovered SCAD also had a Summer Seminars experience. I went the summer of last year (2024), and immediately fell in love.

Never had I been surrounded by people who were not just passionate about their crafts, but they lived in it. reveled in it. I met people from all walks of life, from the high and low of the economic pyramid. I fell in love with Atlanta, the PCA's, the Professors. it was everything I could've ever hopes for from a school. SCAD became my dream school in a single trip.

Now, after paying my Enrollment Fee, almost done graduating High School, did my aunt sit me down to have a big talk about what I'm getting myself into. Its no secret this school is expensive. no school here is not pricey, but SCAD could make a banker shake in their shorts. And my family is on a much lower bracket when it comes to financial stuff. realistically, if I were to take out a loan right now I would be practically infinitely indebted for. ever. in a highly competitive field, fighting against folk who have much more experience than me and new faux-ai robot bull-carp, with the high likelihood that I'll be payed 2 pennies and a peanut. even if I do land that big break, I could die of hunger out here.

I have limited options right now, it seems. What we figured out is that I can go through community college or a trade school first, get some credits and a high paying job, and then go to SCAD and pay off loans with at least some work experience (if I even want to go by then.) I apparently have some sort of college fund but knowing my family it was probably gorged on for "personal expenses." I'm late to what could be most of my scholarships, and I aint eligible for the Pell Grant even though we can barely keep a roof over our heads. I dont have nearly enough professional looking completed portfolio work to submit for the SCAD scholarships, and I spent my last 4 years moving around countries and trying my best to keep ahead studying. I only arrived in the states about 3 years ago.

What I'm worried about the first option is if I spend 2 years away cooped up alone studying so I can gun for some extra credits wherever I can, I'll essentially still be lonely and probably in a hostile environment (I'm likely gunna have to back INTO the closet to get more job opportunities!), and then go to scad when Im 20-something and hope that there are other students my age to commune with.

I dont know what to do. Im lost, and I cant tell if im just being overdramatic or something. I want to look at this logically but I also cant shake the feeling like this is the school for me. I dont wanna lose my shot.

is there any advice ya'll can give me, Graduates or not?

hello! my name is jc, and i am a high school senior that is planning to apply to scad as a film major. i was wondering if you can tell me about the film and production programs, from firsthand experience. 

i only discovered my desire to become a filmmaker last school year and don't have a lot of experience. I write constantly and have many cameras that I love to use every day. film is my life and i want to make create a million of them.

is scad a good idea for a newbie? i understand that scad is a hands-on experience, and the workload is truly meant to prepare you for the industry. will i be too stressed out if i attend? the stress and hustle of the film industry is one that i really want to experience, but should i start small first?

i want to go to a college that will give me hands on experience and will truly help me prepare for my desired industries. i want to be a filmmaker and eventually start my own film production company. why should i choose scad and how will it help me, not only achieve, but push me to achieve my goals. 

i am also a black girl and am aware that the college is filled with majority white students. i grew up in nc and so i am not allergic to predominately white areas. i am just wondering if any other students of color felt actively threated by a lack of diversity on the campus.

thank you so much in advance :)

Running out and would like to

Those without fakes, where do you go to party 18+? Apparently ELAN closed :(

If I missed the housing applications am I completely screwed. I remember last year applications were set up a lot later. Did they change the housing schedule?

Hello all, it’s candidacy review season, and I was wondering how long it normally took for someone to get back with you to say if you passed or not? We submitted Wednesday, and it’s Sunday, if you did pass, did you hear right away?

I was looking into doing one of the sessions at the atlanta campus over the summer, but with how much it costs it would not be do able for my family. Does anyone know about how much the scholarship awards on average? I know that is you apply one it's not guarenteed, just wanting to have a general idea.

Hi:)! I'm an Illustration major student and want to make my own visual novel game, I have some experience with coding and was wondering if there's a class in Game Design that would teach student to use Unity/other game software? Any tips would be helpful tysm!!!

HELLO GUYS sorry I am making a post because I don't want to bother my friend any further but, is it normal for the reviews to take this long? it's almost February 2nd and I haven't gotten any updates from my advisor, it's probably normal they take too long like this but nonetheless it's just making me so nervous because they accepted my friend like two days after he submitted everything and it's been 2 weeks already for me !!

https://preview.redd.it/4pfcx45zonge1.png?width=1045&format=png&auto=webp&s=a95a7a662449b077178f33ef7e0ea858aec0fda6

I have no idea how to cite other people in my portfolio, but I know it’s mandatory.

What is needed for it? I was told i qualify for it, and I know I need a recommendation from a teacher (which I got) as well as my advisor. I also know the portfolio is due on Monday, I’m gonna turn mine in tomorrow. Is there anything else I need for it? Would my advisor need to see my portfolio then do work on her end, or would it be automatically considered if the portfolio is turned in before the deadline?

Whenever I try and make an account on passio go for safetyride when I click create account after I put all my info it says [object object] how do I fix that?

So, a few days ago they gave me the option of either becoming a non-degree seeking student, or appealing and sending in my final high school transcript once I’ve graduated. This is my dream school, so this was upsetting to hear. I assume it’s due to my GPA not being high enough (2.3). My Admission Advisor also hasn’t replied to me after this.

What I’m asking is it best to appeal? I also didn’t include my SAT or a Portfolio originally, will those things significantly raise my chances of possibly getting in?

i came here a few weeks back to talk about my toxic room situation and being able to move out of my room as soon as possible. my situation has gotten increasingly worse with my roommate starting getting hostile towards me to the point im starting to feel unsafe.

i have called and filed a hosing report when events happened, emailed my RM the entire situation, and my accommodation specialist has emailed housing. i have been approved for a room change but housing has told me that it will take a few weeks and they can't tell me any estimated time when i can move at all. is there anything else i can do?

I really want to do something entrepreneurial as i have so many ideas of things always in my head but i dont know what major at SCAD best aligns with this

Fashion - i love clothes and the design of them but im not sure i want to spend my life doing that

Social strategy and management - this sounds interesting and i feel like could be applied to a lot of things

Service design - this sounds right up my alley solving problems in the world

I don’t know how anything works at all. I imagine I’d give them my FASFA information, and they’d already have my scholarship info, but it is like a negotiation thing where I might be able to negotiate more financial aid from the college? Or no?

Do any of the 24 hr buildings at SCAD savannah have computers that support the use of Pro Tools? Adler isn't 24 hr but it's the only location I'm aware of that has Mac desktops with Pro Tools and Scarlett interfaces to match.

Does anyone know if I can have scholarships/financial aid on top of the half tuition from the Rising Star program?

Hi,

Does anyone take art history class (SCAD online class..?) Is it worth it? How was it...?

Hey. I’m working on a VFX capstone (not mine) and we are looking for a concept artist to make a suit of armor for the modelers to go off of. If you know anyone or are someone who is interested plz lmk

Was told by admissions today that they do not accept Full Sail credits. I have a B.S from FS and wanted to get a second bachelors. Really don’t want to have to take a bunch of general eds again. Funny thing is, I was told that they would accept my degree if I was interested in a Masters program, just would need the GRE and a portfolio. Is this just a money grab?

Hi everyone! I am working on my graduate portfolio for the MFA in illustration online. Has anyone been through or is currently in this program? I would love to pick your brain!

Also has anyone had any experiences with scholarships outside of FASFA for grad programs? Where do you even begin?!? I am qualified for the educators scholarship which pays half but sadly as an educator the remaining half is still rather a lot on my salary so any amounts help! Thanks!!

hi helloo, I'm a transfer student, got accepted for the fall but having trouble deciding the right major. This is my second degree and I want to make the right decision. I got accepted for film & Television but I'm interested in music video production and (fashion) art direction. Not making props or the set itself, but creating story concepts and pairing it with fashion designs, music, lighting, props into one scene/project as a whole. It's super niche so I'm not sure what degree would suit me best? Think fashion editorial campaigns, music videos with intense art direction, etc. Any recs on different major/minors that would make sense for this? Fashion major film minor? Film major, fashion and music production minors? Are these jobs even worth it financially? Help pls 🥲

Hi everyone! I got accepted to SCAD! I applied for Business of Beauty and Fragrance. SCAD has been my top choice since my freshman year. I know a lot of students say that the workload is a lot which doesn’t bother me, but I am from California and moving that far makes me pretty nervous. I want to make sure that I am 100% sure about my decision. What are the pros and cons? What is the student life like? Insight from out-of-state students or Business of Beauty and Fragrance majors would be great.

I am a junior in HS right now and will be attending SCAD's rising star program in the summer. I was thinking about doing DRAW 100 and DSGN 100, are those good classes to take together? If there are better classes to pair with either one please let me know.

I plan on majoring in Game development BFA and minoring in animation/illustration. I am wondering if those go well together? I am also considering double majoring as well, if i were to double major I was thinking about Game development and possibly illustration or interactive design? I want to double major only if it makes sense and lines up with Game dev.

I'm a dual enrollment student and was wondering what are some classes I should get out of the way and wait to take at scad from the foundation and gen ed classes? I am also thinking in doing scads joint enrollment next year as well. I know with doing dual enrollment and joint enrollment it will be a lot of work, im trying to save myself as much money as I can. My goal is to go in as either a late sophomore or a junior when attending SCAD. Can Econ replace BUSI 110: business fundamentals?

I've hard mixed reviews about which campus is better for Game dev. as well. I'm wanting to go to Savannah campus. I'm not sure what type of tech event happen down there because i know Georgia Tech, KSU, and SCAD are all right near each other in Atlanta and GT has a thing called hackathon and i feel like that might be helpful with game dev. I know some code and plan on learning more. At the end of the day I want to go to campus that offers the best for game dev.

How does dorming work with SCAD rising star? Do they pair you with people who have similar interest and have an idea of what field they want to go into and is similar to yours?
Does attending rising star increases your chances in getting scholarships? For rising star are you allowed to bring your car if you have your own? I plan on walking most places but I'm sure there might be places I'd like to drive to if the option is available.

When it comes to text books, does it really matter if you buy them at the book store? I have a friend who attends SCAD and they needed help finding books at a cheaper price and I found all the books for the first and second semester cheaper/free online. I saved them a lot on books. Do professors really care what type of text books you really have?

Sorry for the long post and all the questions.