I made the college app process suck for myself (mainly because I'm an indecisive stress prone freak). That being said, there's no need to get all bent out of shape about it. Looking back on things, I definitely applied to too many schools (including ones that I wasn't all that interested in). Sure it's good to apply around, but don't go nuts. Another thing to keep in mind is that where you go really doesn't matter as much as what you make of it. I know that probably sounds really stupid, but the reality is that regardless of where you go you're going to have a whole bunch of new experiences, meet new people, and learn a whole lot so you can't really lose. This year was hardly perfect for me, but I don't really have any regrets. There are a whole bunch of things I would have really missed out on had I not gone to the school I did.
As for the whole art school vs. university thing. I can only give you my perspective coming from somebody enrolled in an art department within a university, but I'll also try to pass on some info I've gleaned from Alex about his CalArts experiences. Both routes have their advantages and disadvantages and neither one is going to give you everything you want. Basically, I'd start off asking yourself whether or not you are fully comitted to going into an art related career. If not, I'd definitely recommend going to a university since you'll be exposed to more people of varying interests, and you'll just generally have more opportunities at your disposal. Also, a number of universities have really nice art departments if you want to keep the creative juices flowing.
However, if you know you want to go into an art related career (particularly an ultra competitive one like animation) then your decision may get a bit more tricky. The reality is that art schools provide much more rigorous, professionally oriented training programs that are designed to get you an art job. Additionally, your fellow students at an art school (generally) have better drawing skills etc. and will push you to improve faster than you might otherwise. This can be great for some, but it can also be really stressful and limiting in terms of the broadness of your experiences (I've heard that a lot of the general education classes are a joke at CalArts).
Taking this into consideration, I decided to go the university route. So far its been going pretty well, but I have to be extremely self motivated to keep my art skills on par with my art school friends. This means looking beyond the work of the people in my classes, and not being complacent with getting an "A" in the class. Ultimately, my grade doesn't matter if my portfolio isn't good. Animation is really important to me, so I've made the effort to take extra drawing classes in my spare time, to make personal animations and live action films with other students on campus, and to seek out the top notch faculty members who can teach me the skills that I really need to learn. This has been a really tough process (although rewarding as well), and I can't really say at this point whether my efforts will actually pay off.
Yeah... So after all that rambling I probably haven't clarified anything for you at all. If you can glean anything from this, just realize that no school is even close to perfect. You'll have awesome days and shitty days no matter where you go. Every school has something to offer, though it will take some effort on your part to compensate for the things that it is lacking. Just try not to stress about it or anything. In the end things will work out for the best
Posted on May 5, 2004, 9:30 PM from IP address 128.125.241.179
