Yeah, I’ve been chasing myself in circles weighing the pros and cons of a whole bunch of programs in my head. Upon reflection I realize that while there is a shortlist of “great” ID programs that everyone can agree on (Cincinnati, Academy of Art, SCAD, etc.) there is a very large group of “good” programs out there that are hard to differentiate from over the internet. Clearly the best way to judge each one is to go visit each of them. However, criss-crossing the country from California to Iowa to Colorado is expensive, so that’s why I got the idea of apply-first-then-visit-if-you-get-in. And since I don’t have the money to apply to every one of these 7-10 “good” schools I have to make a decision of 3-5 based off of things heard on the internet and gut instinct. That’s not an ideal situation, but I suppose some of that can be resolved with more digging on my part through e-mailing each school, looking at portfolios, etc.
BTW I am considering product design because while I am interested in transportation, I’m interested in a lot of other stuff too. So I’m assuming product design is a more well-rounded track that would allow more freedom to pursue personal interests.