Where I went to school there was a strong critique culture. Students were encouraged to participate heavily in critique, picking apart other students work, or at times siding with the student and arguing with the professors. I remember getting into a 20 minute argument with a professor over a detail. We hashed it out, loudly. At the end of the conversation the professor walked up to me, shook my hand, and said “you believe what you say, I wanted to make sure, you’ll do well.” Another professor would walk around on crit day with a coach’s whistle, try to BS him and the whistle would be blown and you were done for the week. There were professors who were more encouraging, but I don’t remember learning from them. If you want encouragement, call your mom on Sunday morning. In school they shod be separating the wear from the chaff. Every semester a few kids would drop out. My sophomore class was about 65, my graduating class about 40. Of those 40 maybe 10 or 15 made it as industrial designers. A rigorous critique culture teaches you how to defend your ideas, make your point, and to know when you’ve missed something, to know when to shut it and listen.
A couple of years ago I was pitching to a German auto exec who had been 30 years in the industry. We got into a rather loud argument during which my coeavues seemed a bit horrified. At the end of the discussion he walked up to me and said “very good, I trust you, how much do you want to do this project?”
I’m not going to lie, school was hard, emotionally, metally, and physically, but that is what I was paying for. To rip me down and build me back up. The tougher professors I am indebted to. Find the tough ones, get extra time with them. It will be worth it!