School of Visual Arts

Seriously amazing, I graduated in 2014 with a BFA in interior design. It was extremely difficult but worth it. Be prepared for 9 hour classes (each) and a ton of work every day. You have to mentally prepare yourself for the amount of school work but if you manage your time well you’ll do fine. Amazing teachers, amazing people, amazing connections for your future. Definitely one of the best design schools in the city!

Pretty good school… but BFA’S tuition is expensive… fore c maple BFA film and video and photography is $ 1,340 per semester but I think it’s an affordable price for the equipments.

I’ve been going to SVA in NYC since 2006, as a guest actor and teacher’s assistant, and I love it. The school is specialized in film-​making and is nicely located on 23^rd Street, near the Flatiron building. The building is nice and the classrooms are comfortable. They have a few soundproof sets, including an apartment and a bar.
The amphitheater holds quite a lot of people, and I attended many lectures with celebrities, presenting their movie, followed by a Q&A.
The lobby host art exhibition that change on a regular basis and is open to all.

I graduated from BFA graphic design. Amazing classes, Amazing teachers! Most of my classmates were super talented and were hard workers. And of course most of them got the nice job after they graduated. Although i was like a zombie when i was in school (so much homework) but i had so much fun and i learned a lot. I really mIss SVA.

There are many great schools in New York City and the School of Visual Arts (SVA) is the première school for the arts. After attending a recent Society of Illustrators MOCCA event I was thirsty for some more work from new talent. SVA hosted a scaled-​down version of MOCCA at their 23^rd St campus with the exhibitors being exclusively SVA students. The event is similar to an industry show at a convention center where purveyors showcase products and services. In this case it is artists showcasing and selling their work. SVA is in short a Mecca of creativity, talent and the birthplace of the next generation of artists.

I have taken 3 continuing ed classes and the classes should be renamed «continuing practice» as the instructors do not give instructions. We are given exercises to complete and, in my most recent class, she would occasionally walk around and look (usually without comment) on the students’ work. I stopped going to class after 5 classes. However, the instructor was incredibly nice & knowledgeable about art. The highlight was the list she gave us of suggested art shows that we should go to every week. I saw some incredible art bc of her lists!

3.5 stars for John Rea’s Continuing Ed Summer Course on «Build an Integrated Portfolio” — a concept (and somewhat applied) beginner advertising class. This class is geared for those looking to go into an ad agency for either copywriting or art direction… and honestly, in John’s class, more art direction. I love, love John but I felt as an art director himself he catered to people who knew how to execution and were visually tuned in, rather than writers/​overall creative strategists like myself.
John is very great and experienced, but I give the class more a medium review because it wasn’t very intimate or personal. Yes I get that it’s hard to do with 27+ people, but you should probably know all of your students’ name… Also, so much of what is deemed good and bad is arbitrary based on the instructor (but that’s the industry I guess) — i.e. oh this is funny, that is too bland, etc. I guess generally speaking concepts such as develop a brand voice, and do something that’s thematic and can get applied to all media channels are good things to know but as a creative/​advertising professional I already knew these things. Based this is really better for newbies to the industry. I thought we were going to learn more about execution (portfolio making) but I learned that is a very long drawn out process that’ll rely on trial/​error and other classes that teach Photoshop and the like. In sum, you won’t take this class to land that job you want. but it is good high level learning.
The basic structure of the class is: lecture (usually one of John’s projects), The Hall of Fame– past student work that’s hit it off, and then critques of you/other’s work. I would have appreciated a big critique at the end, and John said he was going to do that on the last class but then we just ended up chatting… in fairness though, he did try to do things out of the box such as bring in a former student who landed a job at an agency, and held a bar outing for students to network and get to know each other. I guess that the end of the day, that’s what you have to do if you’re looking to transition.
All in all, good class for general concepting, but not geared for industry professionals looking to transition into a creative role into an agency. And especially expensive at north of $ 400 for something that doesn’t further guarantee results.
That being said– John seems to be the best. Definitely go to the Advertising Open House, and you’ll see. We had a guest lecturer– Matt T who is not afraid to bash your work and scare you but eh, while tyrants exist in advertising, the your way or high way method to critiquing doesn’t really add much value, I think.
Will probably stay away from SVA classes in the future– I may consider some more program classes, or photography but again I think that’s available elsewhere for much cheaper.

This review is for continuing education classes, not the credit program.
I’ve taken three evening classes at SVA and I found them all excellent.
In the spring I took Illustration basics (with Joo Chung). I learned a lot and I saw substantial improvements in my skills. This quarter I’m taking watercolor (Ruth Martens) and a 4-​weel Children’s book illustration (Monica Wellington).
Compared to class that I took in other places (Cooper Union and 92ndY), I found SVA classes more structured and helpful, because of the assignments and critique sessions, and because the bulk of the program is similar to the normal SVA classes.
Based on my experience so far, I highly recommend taking continuing education classes at SVA.

I did Fine Arts… totally dissatisfied. If you’re a rich kid and mommy and daddy pay for everything, you will do very, very well at this school. If you need to work to survive like the majority of the world, you’re fucked (aka deemed «unmotivated»). If you’re a party animal and have trouble showing up to class, that’s OK at SVA – kids who *technically* should have failed still passed with A’s. In fact, you will probably do better because the faculty will find you more intriguing.
The faculty seemed really hit or miss – I met people who seemed to get great faculty, who really cared about their students and pushed them… but in Fine Arts, I feel like that is an EXTREMELY small group of teachers. For the most part, they do all just laze around asking students how to work their iPhone, name dropping all of their connections, blah blah blah. I also find it kind of… frustrating that senior year the most repeated phrase amongst the Fine Art staff was «Most of you will never do anything in the art world.» Yes you say that $ 120,000 later! I even once had a faculty member that I emailed write back a very nasty, personal email against me and CC’d everyone in the department, writing about how I am never present at the school unless I have classes therefore I do not care (no shit – I have a job, asshole)
I found Career Services to also be a total waste of time. I went to the few meetings and lectures they had during hours I could make (also not geared towards people who have jobs – all of their presentations are in the middle of the day), the meetings were really geared towards Graphic Design and Animation. Whenever I’d ask questions about Fine Arts, the answers were «never tell a gallery you were a fine arts student, you won’t get hired».etc. stuff like that. I don’t really bother with the career services lately, but I know a friend who has tried to schedule meetings and she’s told she can’t come in to meet with anyone until she attends the career fair.
For the most part with Fine Arts, I (and some others) felt that they really just clung onto the few people they thought were promising and glorified the shit out of them. Some might say that is competitive, I didn’t find it competitive or inspiring or that it pushed me do anything but write a whiny Unilocal complaint. This place was a waste of money, it was awful. There’s a difference between it being a competitive school and being a school that just singles out a couple of kids who they’ll push to succeed. I thought I would go to art school and be CHALLENGED but instead it was more like «why are you here?»
If you are a rich kid and your parents can afford to pay for your supplies, for you to not have a job and work all day, this is the school of you. If you are the rest of the world who has a job and a limited budget, I would say do not.

I got my MFA in Interaction Design here. I think it’s probably quite difficult to review the entire college, as my experience as a grad student was almost entirely with my specific program, and not the college at large.
One thing that is for sure true is that SVA is a for-​profit school. That means it’s expensive and that you will likely need to take out student loans in order to pay for it. Loans mean potentially huge amounts of debt – and I have that in spades.
That said, my graduate program was extremely focused on the real world, and I’m now in a job that’s made my debt not only worthwhile, but also affordable. But I’m not sure I could say the same if I had been in a different program.
Regarding my program specifically, I was very happy with my education. Our chair, Liz Danzico, is one of the foremost voices in our field, and through her, all students in the program gain an incredible network of professional connections whose value can’t really be quantified. The rolodex you gain as a student in the program is by far one of the most valuable things you will come away with.
The coursework was rigorous in the extreme. While 50 hours a week might be the official line, I would say my time dedicated to school ranged between 50 to 80 hours a week (and in the final weeks, sometimes more). But, oh, worth it. My colleagues in the program were inspiring, intelligent, and awesome. I’ve continue to be in touch with most of them, and have no doubt that I will work professionally with them in the future.
Our professors were crème de la crème: Jeffery Zeldman, Nicolas Felton, Karen McGrane, Zach Klein… and so many more. The coursework itself was relevant and timely, and I use most of what I learned every day in my new job.
Of course, there are things that bummed me out about our program. I was part of the second class, so it was brand new. There were a lot of kinks around scheduling, work load, etc. And as with all things, it only takes one rotten egg to ruin a dish – so if you end up with a classmate who isn’t as invested in the work, it can really taint your experience.
Grad school is not something you should just up and decide to do. It takes two full years out of your professional development, and if the gamble doesn’t pay off, you might be saddled with debt that you can’t afford. You might not get a job that raises your income (or income potential) enough. But if you think hard about it, this is a great program to be in.

Great school for Fine Arts, you get a lot of freedom to experiment with any medium!

Dig it

Woo hoo! Review #100 for me.
Anyways, SVA is really cool if you have a day job and want to avenge your father who never let you go to art school… sorry, too personal.
Their continuing ed program is great. They have a huge selection of classes at convenient times, taught my faculty who actually cares.
I’m taking drawing for pastels with Shelly Haven, and the class has really helped me. I feel like an art student, rather than a throwaway learning annex student. The facilities are pretty good, and of course the building has a creaky old elevator, but that gives it character.
I encourage you to sign up for a continuing ed class… enrich your life and be around people.

guys here are pretty nice. It’s definitely not an art school for elegant students. We are that kind of savage children that will eat our pizza with chemical fingers. If you want to be a «commission» artist. It’s a great school. If you want to be a fancy kid, try our so-​called rival school Parsons.
You can develop your own style which is good. Some professors do not know how to teach, but they are great artists so why not communicate with them as a peer?

I took night classes here about 10 – 12 years ago when I couldn’t figure out what to do with my life after college. It was awesome!
I took a creative writing comics class as well as a silkscreen book printing class with David Sandlin. This school is so kooky. I highly recommend going if you were never allowed to go to art school because the students are cool.
I met one of the nicest people in the entire life here, Sege, a young artist, who tried to get me to submit to this zine called meathaus that later became full of a lot of famous SVA people like Tomer Hanuka, James Jean, etc etc. Man all of those guys kicked butt!
It does have a weird reputation sometimes because I also remember clubbing with a guy who was asked point blank by either an admissions guy from another school or an instructor: «If you have such high SAT scores why are you going here? This is for people who can’t get in anywhere else.» implying it’s a babysitting place for rich kids.
I dunno, only 8% of the population in any art school is any good and will treat art as a lifetime compulsion instead of a hobby (unless you’re going to cooper union). the night classes here are AWESOME. make sure to get a good instructor.
Sandlin had a great collection of French underground comic book art. You can do the art school experience without having to deal with creepy advisors dating female students half their age. stuff like that turns any promising female artist away from the art world.
You are just a night school thing, not real life. it is rad.

To commemorate the 10 year anniversary of September 11, SVA had a photo exhibition of random photographs taken during the day of the attacks. I was truly moved by the photographs and hope everyone can check it out before the exhibition ends next Saturday.
It’s free and open to the general public. Just tell the security guy you are here for the exhibit. No need to sign in either.

Quite pleased of my school here in NYC. I almost wish that I could fully compare it to other schools in the area but I think that I made a good choice coming here. The people are friendly both staff and students and everyone produces amazing work.
In the BFA photography program, quite challenging and stimulating while keeping a good amount of free time to just explore what NYC has to offer.
Im quite broke at the moment, but I think that in the end it will be worth it ~

i will forever promote SVA because I LOVE it.
I have some killer teachers, all who work in their respected fields.
i have some great work inspired by my teachers, who encouraged me.
and in turn i have work that has inspired some of my piers.
and when your friends tell you your work inspires them thats just so awesome.
challenging — yes
kick you in the ass because of the workloads — yes
broke because i spend so much on school — yes
worth it in the end — yes… not that i know. but i deffinetly have the vibe YES 100%
UPDATE ⁰⁸⁄₂₀₁₂:
I’m happy to report it was worth it!
I was hired right after graduation to work on hospitality branding projects, but then got a better offer 3 months later. I was recruited to Portland, OR to be the Senior Designer at Timber Press, a publishing company owned by a big NY publisher called Workman. By recruited, I mean that one of my teachers recommended me to his former employee, who was now a creative director… so yes, going to SVA had everything to do with me getting the job… I didn’t even apply. It really is all about connections and experience.
Just pointing out that a senior designer position at 22 yrs old is unreal… im crediting my massive amount of internship experience /​kick ass mentors from SVA for preparing me so well. THANK YOU!
Paying my loans back is tight, but do-​able b/​c of the salary + cheaper living in Portland. I technically have 10 – 15 yrs of $ 1000/​month to pay off school… but at the pace I’m working at, I should be making a lot more money in 5 yrs, and don’t imagine my lifestyle expenses changing much by age 28. Fingers crossed!

I took one job interviewing course here to enhance my interviewing skills several years ago. I was impressed with the vast variety of courses non-​matriculation courses offered to the public as they offer photography, advertising, film, theatre, art, business and traditional matriculation courses. Students does not have to be enrolled matriculate to register for a course as one does not need to have a degree to learn and be knowledgable in a forte. SVA rocks!
The course fees are somewhat pricey and they do not offer student photo identification cards for non-​matriculate students – thus the four stars.

I’m attending this school now. It’s not so bad. I’ve had a mix of good teachers and bad teachers. Sometimes what makes the classes terrible (like the critiquing classes) is the students themselves who think they are just God’s gift to this earth. But I have learned a lot going here… and I know I’ll have some pretty good connections in the working world after.
The one thing about here that absolutely, positively SUCKS about this school is the George Washington dorms! I’m in my 3^rd year of school/​living here, and I can’t wait for next year to get my own apartment. I could handle the place the first year and a ½, but in reality, this is just a very very VERY old hotel, that shows its age. Of course all buildings has its problems, but I’m pretty sure, as a student, I shouldn’t have to worry about my radiator leaking, the pipes freaking in winter, and the occational mouse or two that I’ve heard about. Yes… you read that correctly. My advice — if you come here — come here for the education but live in another dorm or get your own place (or commute).