Kand11,
I’m not sure if pursuing a masters program will benefit you as far as job positioning unless your trying to teach. If you want to graduate well positioned to work at top firms, highly suggest you bust some serious ass in your skill set at the very least! Your own ambition will dictate how well you do period. I graduated from SCAD and I can give you my perspective on the pros and cons of the ID program and area.
Pros- They had pretty neat coops with Gulfstream, Little Tikes, Bombardier, Cat, Rubbermaid, just to name a few. It was the greatest experience for me personally. Some of my colleagues went on to work for these very companies. I myself interned with one of them and was offered a job in my junior year.The facilities were modern and new. Savannah Georgia is like a mini New Orleans. The downtown area is beautiful and historic, one block will have million dollar homes while two blocks over you might get mugged. All the students live basically in a 5 mile radius of the downtown area. There are great spots for food and the night life was bustling. The beach is about 15-20 miles away. Cost of living is low to average. Downtown area is great for bicycling.
Cons- Savannah can be straight up dangerous if you don’t know the area. Our home was broken into twice in the 4.5 years i lived there. St. Patties Day is insane and the whole town is drunk and overcrowded. Summers can be brutal and when it rains hard the town floods very easily. Program wise, I wished the professors at the time had more working experience. It seemed that many landed teaching positions straight out of school vs gaining working experience first. The whole campus is comprised of dozens of buildings scattered all over the downtown area. If your not driving, shuttle buses transport you from building to building, which is not always on time. You will learn very quickly you are in the deep south.