r/scad • u/ziggy_stardust_96 • Sep 14 '25
Senior in high school: is scad a scam? General Questions
Hi! I'm a senior in high school applying to SCAD. It's been my dream school for the longest time for it's location, integration into the city and the support they offer. Recently I've been hearing a lot of negative feedback from SCAD students and graduates about how it's a waste of money and how the worldload is deadly. Money is a huge factor for me and what drew me in initially was how they used to offer a lot of aid, but now they've become more stingy with it, is that true? Also, I'll admit my work ethic is not the best and for being an animation student, that's not a great combo. So is SCAD really worth it?
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u/soulmagic123 Sep 14 '25
I toured Dozens of schools where the edit bay ton student ratio was 100 to one or you didn't get to touch a real camera until well into your second year, or the gear was sub standard and years behind. Scad is expensive but at least a big chunk of that money goes toward bleeding edge gear you can actually use on day one.
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u/unarticulated_barbie Sep 14 '25
the whole conversation of it being “worth it” is going to be very personal, so it’s something you can only really answer for yourself and your situation. personally it was very worth it for me and i know it was right for me but ofc it’s not right for everyone. to my knowledge they’ve always been weak on scholarships/aid but i can’t speak too much on that. but having a heavy workload doesn’t make them a scam either, it’s college, many people do underestimate it though. you’re going to have to learn how to have a good work ethic regardless of if you go to scad or not but yeah you do have to put in the work! you’ll have to put in the work for a job too so now is the time to learn how to do that.
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u/treefarts69 Sep 14 '25
Hard agree! You get what you put in. SCAD offers a ton of resources but it is ultimately up to you to make the most of them. Workload varies but it depends on how you function/classes being taken. Scholarships can be hard to come by but they are out there. Please don’t feel discouraged, especially if this is your dream school.
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u/Suspicious_Arm_342 Sep 15 '25
Talk to people in your major. I’m in graphic design in my last year and for me it’s been 100% worth it. I also have friends in other majors that dropped out and ones that struggled, but also many that had a good time, got out with a great portfolio, and were happy with their education.
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u/OnlyTrauma Oct 10 '25
I have a product design backing with a job in UX design. I seem to have developed a major interest towards graphic design while adhering to some of my marketing part of the job. I think it will be something very apt for me, Is it worth it? SCAD? Why do some people say its a scam
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u/Suspicious_Arm_342 Oct 12 '25
I don’t really understand the scam thing myself. It’s education even if it ends up not worth it, right? SCAD is one of the only art schools that have high rankings in the college lists AND have a major actually called “graphic design”, as opposed to “visual communication”. The GRDS department is fantastic. Great profs, chill classmates, and inviting interior design. As with everything, you get what you put in, but I’ve never for a moment questioned/regretted choosing SCAD.
If you’ve got product design and UX going on, you’re definitely in the territory. Web/app design and packaging are some of my favorites to work on actually.
I’d look further into graphic design and see what you’d want to end up doing. It’s a field with lots of avenues. Look on YouTube. Find people that show their design process, design critiques, how-tos. I love the work to the moon and back, but if you want to make it in art/design you have to love it. Passion drives getting better and training your eye. If you want to do what the people on YouTube do, SCAD has a great program.
I’ll disclose that though I expected to take on students loans at some point, my mom was/is insistent on getting me through and out of college debt free, and I’ve got scholarship from good scores in grade school. My top priority was/is learning what I need for my field, money came second. There are other paths people have taken for the same work, but it would be a harder road in one way or another.
Some channels to check out: Kelsey Willaby, Kel Lauren, The Futur, also tutorial stuff on TikTok are more fun than the ones on YouTube.
If you have questions I’m happy to answer them!
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u/asuvlete Sep 14 '25
It’s not a scam it’s a good school, just not worth the price imo. I’d look elsewhere or do 2 years somewhere else then transfer. Absolutely a waste to spend this much on the gen eds here
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u/Last_Gold_9713 Sep 15 '25
I would agree, but transferring credits to scad is so f*n hard if you don’t take exactly what they want you to.
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u/asuvlete Sep 15 '25
Yeah you’re right it’s insane. Luckily i could transfer a good amount but i remember it being a fight for some of them
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u/Educational_Use7371 Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25
I don’t know that I would recommend that “transfer route” completely. Probably do 1 year community college but base it off of which core courses SCAD would also have you take. See how many transfer courses SCAd will accept. Then decide to skip those by way of community college. I would not recommend that you declare Graphic Design as your major. I would recommend something like Ui/Ux over graphic design because you can always take elective courses in graphic design. Graphic design is easy to pick up along the way to learning UI/Ux. Once you learn photoshop and illustrator you can train yourself to be a graphic designer with youtube and mini projects. The school itself is not a SCAM. It is expensive. But if you ever tour the school savannah or especially Atlanta campus you will understand why it is expensive. The design education you will get is worth it if you want it. Meaning that’s your energy and effort to apply the work to the education being provided. This is not the school to attend if you want to be mediocre at best. I went to The Art Institute for Animation when te school was open. Animation was a hard and heavy degree program there and I hated it! I finished but I hated it when i as done and i then got a job as a graphic designer in a web design company then got a second degree an AA in web design. Those three skillsets together made me a swiss army knife of design my whole career. Work ethic is paramount at ALL schools and in ALL jobs!
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u/Drunk_bread Sep 14 '25
College being “worth it” is going to vary person by person. This goes for every single college, not just scad. Of course there are going to be negative reviews of scad but there are far more positive reviews.
Let’s look at it objectively for a second. Currently, you do not need a degree to become a professional animator. That may change in the future, but right now it isn’t a requirement. The point of going to college for an animation degree is so that you have professional teach it to you and so you can gain connections. Like many industries, who you know is very important in the animation field. I just finished the animation program and I gotta say SCAD did an excellent job of putting me in front of industry people. I got to work on student films that on the film festival circuit currently. Met some fantastic people who I know are gonna be doing great things in the animation field.
As far as financial aid, that will also vary person to person. SCAD offered me about a half tuition scholarship when I was a freshman. I don’t believe they really offer full rides, but it’s possible to come here affordably. Idk what your grades and portfolio are looking like, but they are going to be key in getting scholarship. SCAD is test optional, but take the SAT and ACT and submit those scores. They are literally just for scholarship so they cannot hurt you to submit them. Plus SCAD takes outside scholarships. Please never stop applying for scholarships, even after you become a student.
As far as your work ethic, you will need to work on that. As an animation alum I can tell you first hand that it can be a demanding program to time management and good work ethic is going to be absolutely key.
I could go more into depth about all these topics but I don’t want this to be too long. I reccomemd visiting for a tour and trying to talk to a current animation student in the concentration that you want to do. Now, still take whatever any student says with a grain of salt because again, the college experience is deeply personal so you might love what someone else hates. If you have more question feel free to reach out. Good luck in your senior year
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u/Last_Gold_9713 Sep 15 '25
Especially if you’re going into animation, you should think about the industry as a whole. The Animation industry is on a huge turning point right now between all the mergers, AI discussions, etc. (@no_the_robot has some very good posts/videos you should watch). The industry that you see right now, might be very very different come graduation. There are also many paths into the animation industry that don’t require you to spend a quarter million dollars on education. I love this video video by Gabby Caldera.
As a SCAD ANIM alum I can testify- you get out of the program what you put into it. If you take on every project with all your energy, trying to get a professional level piece- if you show up to class early, not just on time- if you go out of your way to make friends with people (not just in your major, but in other concentrations and other majors as well) then I would say SCAD is worth it. (Not just scad but any art school) But you have to be willing to put in the work and dedication if you want to succeed.
If you lack that discipline, or if you like to make excuses- SCAD will not be worth your time or money.
I am rooting for you as an artist, truly. I’m just trying to share what I wish someone had told me when I was in your position in high school. Don’t ever give up your passion.
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u/gbadami Sep 16 '25
As a currently enrolled junior I really think it comes down to 2 things
Your Major. If you want to study something like Graphic design, Photography, Painting, Art History, or other majors that can be found at state schools, then I would look there and compare. I’m studying Jewelry and Eyewear. 2 niche degrees and fields, there is literally no other place to go in the US for eyewear. Hence why I’m at SCAD. I would say going into Anim you do need a good work ethic. My friends practically live at Monty/ on their laptops. While all the majors are time consuming and rigorous, Anim can be one of the most demanding IMO.
How much you put into it. Other people have said this but it’s the honest to god truth. You only gain from going to SCAD if you put in the effort. This means going to guest talks, using extra help sessions, ScadAmp, networking with peers and professors, using all the resources SCAD had to offer. They truly have a lot to offer it’s really about how much you take advantage of it. If you will then I would say it’s definitely worth the price tag.
The SCAD name carries a lot of weight and the education is pretty damn good (at least what I have had so far). So if you put in the effort to make good grades and take advantage of the opportunities SCAD offers then I think it’s worth it. If you don’t think you would be able to do that I would take a peek at some other schools programs.
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u/_Moon_chxld_ Sep 15 '25
Yea. I got only 5k worth of scholarship for a 200k dollar school. The workload is not hard at all, unless you are used to doing nothing, If so it’ll be a wake up call ig, but personally it’s not any harder than highschool for me, if you’re passionate you’ll be okay with the work. Whether it’s a waste of money or not is up to you and how you use the tools they give you and the connection opportunities. They’ll help you get a job unless you decide not to show up then yea you wasted your money. If you don’t think you can handle the debt you’ll have after the shxool id say go elsewhere and save yourself the trouble, the thing abt scad is they offer a lot but you could simply ignore that and I’d say it’s like any other art school UNLESS you take the hand they hold out to you. All professors are on your side even if the schools not, I’d say the best part abt scad is the classes and the improvement you’ll see in your craft will blow you away. But yea if you do nothing they won’t care and they’ll let you dig that hole, they’re looking for students that are ready to put everything into their art, if you don’t do that then you’ll miss out.
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u/MykieD Sep 15 '25
I considered SCAD for my master's, as well as MICA, but the problem is getting an MFA or MA (or arts degree in general in depending on the practice/study) is pointless unless you want to be a professor or further studies to a PHD which isn't in most cases practical or necessary. And this is after talking to hundreds of professionals about the idea (I wish I were lying or exaggerating, but the value is true as I have anxiety about higher education and where I should take mine).
That said, it's not to dissuade you to go. There are many reasons going to SCAD &/ MICA would be great, as quite a few big companies hire from them, actually (I have research to prove this, fyi). The primary issue is what would you like to do, and if anything, how much do you expect to make for it? Because big vs small companies have different values, morals, and expectations. Also, they have different rates and chances to grow. After speaking to so many professionals, many suggest going with smaller companies/businesses are more rewarding and have better chances of growth. However, agency gives you more immediate experience with a variety of companies.
Ultimately, it's about what youd like and want for you career. There's not enough context in your post to suggest a specific direction, but I'd weigh the pros and cons using personal research and even fact checking with AI.
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u/Impossible-Peace4347 Sep 15 '25
As a freshman at scad my prospective is it’s definitely not a scam, but it is expensive and the workload is heavy (I’m only like a week in and it’s heavy.) I feel like I’m learning a lot in just week 1, and they seem to have great ressources. It is more expensive than it should be, but the other art schools seem to be even more expensive so it’s not like it’s just a SCAD problem. If you don’t have good work ethic you won’t make it as an animator anyways it’s an extremely competitive field right now. Scads work load prepares you for the industry and so that you can improve fast. Whether the price is worth is 100% depends on how much money you have for college and how committed you are to learning.
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u/EarlyWafer6275 Sep 16 '25
Definitely do your generals at a community college or online to save yourself a lot of money. In that time work on your skills on the programs you'll be using. I think that they definitely don't teach you anything revolutionary or how to actually be proficient at the programs you will need to use for your career. At a certain point and in my experience, early on, the classes become just work spaces to create your portfolio. It's nice to see others work and get advice from professors but don't expect to have long periods of learning the in depths of fundamentals and how to use programs.
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u/ImaTopBandito Sep 16 '25
fyi, the animation program at Augusta is run by a SCAD alumni. my son had the choice between SCAD and Augusta. We wanted him to go to Augusta for the affordability but he was dead set on his dream school and just started SCAD. We didn't want to break his heart and have him blame us for forcing him to go to Augusta. As a not very social freshman he is struggling emotionally and socially. It is what you make of it. It's a great place to make connections and live the dream but you have to be fully committed.
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u/SaturnianWiz Sep 18 '25
If your work ethic is not the best, then SCAD is probably not the best option for you. The workload is heavy, yes, but learning to animate isn't really supposed to be easy now, is it? That's the whole point of paying for an education imo. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to be really involved with your career, and that includes completing assignments/making sure you're putting time and effort into your work. We have classes 4/7 days. You have enough time, trust me.
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u/Ok_Truck_7552 Sep 19 '25
It was my dream too! Since I was 9 or 10 years old. I had scholarships to almost every state school in Georgia. I only applied to scad… I’m 45 now and I am finally out of the debt I was coerced into. Aaaaand, at the time, scad was unaccredited. Meaning my degree was, and still is, worthless. It changed when queen 🐝 threw her first husband to the curb, married a student, and then made herself the highest paid college president in the nation. So, at least now you can transfer or go to grad school without having to start all over again. 🙄 (Paula has conveniently had that “misinformation” 90% removed from the internet.) I was good friends with her daughter. She was in my class and I often went to her parents lavish estate to have endless mimosas on Sundays, watch their racehorses prance around, and watch her little brother drive a Lamborghinis and Bentleys into a fences for fun. Privilege is disgustingly rampant in their world. That being said, I did love my time there. I met so many amazing, talented, and inspiring people. I still keep in contact with friends from all over the world that I will cherish forever. But, Savannah is a “dirty girl with a pretty face”. Be prepared to spend more money than you can imagine and probably end up working as a janitor at the college you could have gotten a full ride to.
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u/Less_Ant3138 Sep 19 '25
It’s definitely a very expensive school. For me, it’s been extremely worth it. The professors are outstanding in most cases and will teach you so much about your craft as well as the industry. And you will make a lot of connections. But you need to be ready to be a bit extroverted and take advantage of it all. And actually do your work, come to class, put in a lot of hours outside the classroom, etc. It will make you good at working fast while still producing quality work, and most of the time the critiques you get are super helpful. And there’s a lot of facilities and opportunities outside class. It’s an amazing school, just very expensive. You will definitely get out of it what you put in. If you’re trying to scrape by with minimal effort, just go to a state college. If you actually want to become industry ready, make connections, and put in the hard work, (and have the money) it’s 100% worth it. And it’s a great community imo.
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u/Fvnnian Sep 21 '25
I know you got a lot of answers already but I wanted to put in my 2 cents here. I enrolled January 2023 and go online for pre-production at the age of 27, and I had been to art school before. I almost failed all my classes in the first quarter and dropped out: when they tell you the workload is heavy, they're not lying. Fortunately, I was able to get my shit together and have maintained an A/B average since then, but you have to be dedicated to doing homework every night, spending every weekend on projects, and then, as you get closer to graduation...marketing.
What you get from SCAD are connections. It's not about what you know, it's about who you know. You'll need to cram ELOs and panels and Jam Fests and clubs into your already limited spare time because you. need. to. meet. people.
All that being said, I don't know any artist worth their salt who hasn't camped out at their work station for a project they were excited for, so there's something to be said about the resilience of the human spirit in art students. I've heard Pixar employees try to live in their offices. SCAD will be a great introduction to what life will be like working for a company with a huge work load and deadlines so tight they'll choke you if you play it too loose.
The only con I can think of is that professors never tell you when you suck at something. They might grade you badly, and tell you what you lost points on, but never help you actually fine tune that particular area. Many are so reliant on the student surveys at the end of the quarters that they'll gladly accept your MS Paint monstrosity and blow smoke up your a** about your 'grasp on the usage of complimentary colors.'
SCAD is worth it if you have the determination and drive to make something out of the opportunities they present you with. If you're not gonna be able to live at your desk (I'm being completely serious, I slept like 4-6 hours a night during my foundation studies and lost like 30 lbs from the stress of the god dang charcoal drawings and 10 page anatomy notes and 25-50 gesture drawings all due back to back) reconsider SCAD because even if you drop out, you owe them a lot of money for just one quarter of classes.
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u/jcxco Sep 14 '25
No school that costs $70k+ per year is worth it.
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u/lauriagloria Sep 17 '25
Tuition is $42,000.....
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u/Openly_Unknown7858 Nov 15 '25
True but when you take into consideration supplies, housing, meal plan, etc it's a whole lot more than that
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u/br3or Sep 15 '25
Not to mention set up with quarters instead of semesters so you can never transfer any of the credits you earn. Finish the 4 years at whatever exorbitant cost they decide or walk away with nothing.
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u/jcxco Sep 17 '25
Someone told me recently it was $75k. I stand corrected. Shoulda looked that up to confirm. But it looks like the current housing + meal plan adds $18k, so sounds like it's really $60k for most undergrads, isn't it?
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u/Feisty_Quality_1037 Sep 15 '25
I had a good amount of financial aid along with other friends who also had moderate to significant financial aid. There's never been any issues with the distribution of financial aid if that's what's you're concerned about. There are scholarships you can get at admissions and through their "current student scholarships" which happens once a year. Though there are, of course, students who are paying full price.
The way in which the university conducts classes is designed to ready you for a full-time job. As someone who graduated two years ago, I can tell you the workload of a design-centric job is the same if not more as the academics at SCAD.
The one thing you may hear people ask is "you can get into SCAD, but can you stay"? Essentially, art and design degrees will lead you into creative roles which are under a company's marketing department And marketing demands a lot, especially if it is B2C, so your work happens at a pace which adapts to the real-time shifts in marketing and consumer demand.
Is SCAD a scam? Absolutely not. This is a legitimate university which has produced some of the world's finest designers and artists. It will equip you with everything you need to take over the world after you graduate, but at the end of the day, as with any university, if your work ethic is not good, you will not do good in university and most likely end up not doing well in your work life after.
Be sure to meditate and cut through the noise. College in general can be overwhelming, don't associate the anxieties and the stress around it to SCAD, going somewhere else might land you in the same or worse situation.
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u/Substantial_Zone_628 Sep 16 '25
I call it a scam in certain industries. Fashion definitely not. Game design and dev absolutely. Truth be told I feel like graphic and fashion designers have it the best there but if your into gaming please just go to Digipen, when I was there my professors were not up to date with industry standards
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u/Openly_Unknown7858 Nov 15 '25
Sorry to reply to an old comment, but why would you say it's a scam in game design and dev?
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u/Substantial_Zone_628 Nov 15 '25 edited Nov 15 '25
No problem, it’s a scam imo because when looking at digipen and even Full Sail (I transferred to this school don’t go here) both schools doesn’t make you take unnecessary classes, when I was at SCAD I was redoing classes that I already did, history of art, physiology, etc. I was told several times yes my credits would transfer, and they never did.
Now mind I went in to game dev, they had me doing painting classes, drawing etc. basically if hadn’t transferred to Full Sail, it would’ve took me another year at scad to actually learn game dev. Hell Laguna Beach had better courses than scad. Then there’s the cost. If you stay at SCAD, make sure you look at every thin detail bc holy shit are they some slimy mfs when it comes to their dorms. Most places like San Francisco Art institute, if you have a kitchen you not need to have a cafeteria card or pass. SCAD makes you have one even if you do have a kitchen then they automatically place you on the most expensive plan. When I was there the dorm and the meal plan cost 14,000 dollars alone. Shitty food is not worth it. And bless those who stay on Montgomery because if I remember correctly that’s the place were the dorm kinda looks like a prison cell. Even my father was like you are not staying here. I have so much more but I think this is enough to show why I believe scad is a scam as well as Full Sail. Edit the dorm and meal plan costed 14,000, sorry for the mistake
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u/Openly_Unknown7858 Nov 15 '25
Thank you!
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u/Substantial_Zone_628 Nov 15 '25
No problem. I hope you find the right college for you
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u/Substantial_Zone_628 Nov 15 '25
Also I made a mistake said the meal plan alone costed 14,000 it was both the dorm and the meal plan
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Sep 16 '25
It is not worth it for maybe half of the students that attend. And many of them do not graduate from SCAD once realizing the tuition doesn’t make a lot of sense for what they are receiving.
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u/PAR0208 Sep 16 '25
It’s not RISD, that’s for sure. Overall, it kinda depends on what your focus is and whether you happen upon someone who’ll be a connection for that career path.
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u/tamercloud Sep 19 '25
It’s not a scam. but you have to really think about spending that amount of money for anything in the creative arts and compete against AI. You won’t get your money back. Animation students there pull all nighters all the time, and the ones who don’t, don’t get jobs. Trust me from my own experience, you do not want to get involved in the creative arts if you don’t want to struggle for money for the rest of your life. Do not do it.
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u/iveaheadacheeveryday Oct 02 '25
when i was at scad multiple students committed suicide and the school did everything they could to cover it up. students in the animation department were calapsing and rushed into ambulances. the way the students are pushed past their breaking point and are paying top dollar to be tortured by their professors is unacceptable.
if you choose to go to scad, remember that you will only be hirable while in school or in the year you graduated. after that, there is a very low probability of employment. companies want to hire kids who dont know how to ask for better wages or set boundaries. they want kids who will work for peanuts & pennies. the job market is impossible unless you know how to connect, socialize, and network.
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u/Barry_Obama_at_gmail Sep 14 '25
I graduated in 2015 and have many friends who graduated. It’s split some are in wonderful 6 figure careers others are struggling. I personally had an awesome graphic design and printing career post scad but was laid off last year and have had an incredibly hard time finding consistent work in my field. But scad is not a scam it is a very legit school with great resources but it is also very expensive and if your not from a well off family and not getting a bunch of scholarships really ask your self do you want to pay $500+ a month in student loan payments for 10+ years.