Core77

[rjb1437]

Heading off to SCAD in a couple of weeks as freshman...anyone have any tips or anything they did when they were in school...let me know!

[Cyberdemon]

Experiment with everything.

Take a road trip.

Learn to love cheap beer.

[TaylorWelden]

I'm a SCAD ID Alum from 06.
Which dorm will you be staying in?
You can get into nearly any bar in Savannah without an ID- as long as you continue walking directly past the door guy (this works for many other situations in life as well). The user above mentioned getting used to drinking cheap beer-- yep. I read a stat that Savannah drinks more PBR (you'll find out what that means soon) per capita than any other city in the US. Wow. What an honor.
You will love Savannah, perhaps the most romantic city in the US, dare I say? Ask around, about how to climb the rooftop of the abandoned insane asylum, it's on Abercorn street. Eat at Zunzi's deli- probably the best food on the planet. Oh and it's cheap. Take 'the big bridge' (you'll see it) over the river to South Carolina to see the nature preserve... a 3 mile driving path through the marshes, it's free, and you'll see at least 30 gators in the right season, some up to 8 feet long. There are no fences, and sometimes the gators come up on the driving path, you can touch them, but I don't recommend it. There's many any pearl to be discovered, so enjoy the hunt.
Be prepared to not sleep during projects, and if you do plan on sleeping, it will be a few hours a night at the Gulfstream Center of Design.
Do not plan on walking to the ID building. Car, or SCAD bus. Don't bike unless you're brave. Montgomery, Martin Luther King, and Jefferson streets are not places to walk or hang out on. They're for crack and prostitutes. Otherwise, you're perfectly safe and sound downtown under the scenic canopy of quiet live oaks covered in the Spanish moss that isn't Spanish and isn't moss.
You'll work on many client sponsored projects, and be expected to present at a level of high quality. SCAD ID has easily one of the top 3 best facilities compared to any of the other major ID programs (from my research back in 02 and from discussions with other grads).
I have my dream job- for me- for right now. I know several other of my grad friends who also are living their dream. So take from that what you will.

PS- I occasionally drive up from Orlando to the SAV, I'll PM you next time I am planning on coming into town.

[rjb1437]

thanks alot....ill be staying in dyson with one of my friends and then hopefully getting an apartment some where....any info on the dorms....did you like them ?

[yo]

Don't make college your heyday. Save that for the real world, use this time to set yourself up for success as much as you can.

Use school as a means to an end. It is not a destination, it is the first stop on a long (long) journey

Know that your education will not be handed to you on a silver platter just because you pay tuition. Knowledge and experience are earned, so take your education into your own hand and ensure that you take what you need to be successful.

Do whatever (WHATEVER) it takes to get at least 2 internships, even if you do one for free a couple of days a week in the summer.

Have a dream, and sketch out a plan to make it real. Both the dream and the plan will change radically by the time you graduate (several times in fact) and will continue to evolve once you start working, but having both will get you though the rough spots and the low times. There will be some of those.

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Have fun. It's design, not accounting. Have fun with what you do.

Don't let the people around you define you.

Push yourself as hard as you can. Come back in the next day, throwaway what you started and push yourself further.

Remember that no one thinks about your future as much as you do.

Know that professors and instructors are great guides on your educational journey, but they are not the ultimate authority on good design and what it is all about.

Know you can't always have it your way all the time, but learn to compromise to get what you need. Negotiate. From student loans to class schedules, there are no hard rules that have not been already bent.

Take time to remember you don't know what your doing, and that is an excellent reason to break the rules.

If you ask an instructor if you can do something on a project, he might say no. If you don't ask, he didn't say you couldn't!

Always know it is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission!

Seek advice and input from your upperclassmen, give unsolicited advice and input when you become one. Pass it on. Your peers are the most valuable asset at your school. Their success raises the value of your diploma.

[Cyberdemon]

Great advice...this tidbit got me through most of my college career.

If you ask an instructor if you can do something on a project, he might say no. If you don't ask, he didn't say you couldn't!

[yo]

That one is priceless:

Here is a bit of an addendum:

Get 8 hours of sleep before a presentation. What you lack in work you will make up in being able to communicate coherently and you will be able to listen and learn from feedback.

Eat well. I had a friend who got scurvy because he only ate dried mashed potatoes for a year. How you going to design with scurvy?

Stay in shape. Exercising the body is good for the mind. It will energize you mentally.

Take a presentation class. I took one taught by an actor. It paid off.

Take time to get drunk with friends.

Be on time. Your paying for it, and nothing is more disrespectful to an instructor (and future employers) than being late. Being late is the easiest thing not to do, and the first negative people will point out, no matter how talented you are.

No matter how big of a fish you are in the little pond called school, remember you will be heading out to the ocean soon.

[Cyberdemon]

Lol, more great advice. Scary how much it rings true. I also had a friend get scurvy from surviving only on ramen noodles...another one had to stop eating fish for a year because he ate tuna every single day and ended up having a dangerously high amount of mercury in his system that it was making him sick.

The sleeping before a presentation is also key...2 of my good friends would always be in studio till 8am the morning of a project. Go home, shower, try to wake themselves up with coffee only to present like they were zombies.

One piece of advice I'll add (which may depend on your schools facilities). Invest in a wide format printer. Split the cost between you and a few friends and have everyone chip in money for ink and paper.

Too many times we had projects that had to be pinned up on 11x17 and half the class would either be fumbling with the always broken school printers, or waiting in line at office max to get somebody who had no idea what a PDF file was.

If you have your own you can print all your own pinup pages, portfolio sheets, and charge your classmates if they want to use it. Makes a great christmas present also.

[rjb1437]

thanks for all the advice yo!....this will definately get put to good use

[rjb1437]

thanks for the advice cyberdemon..that printer idea is great because ive had times in high school when stuff like that has happend..thanks alot

[yo]

A few more:

promote yourself. If you don't believe in yourself who will? Coroflot, designspotter, the core77 boards, get your work out into the world outside of your school.

Don't be surprised when harsh feedback comes in from that. Take it and role with it.

Learn what feedback and input NOT to listen too, there is plenty that should be ignored.

Remember that nobody thinks about you, your career, and your life more than you. Don't be lead down a path you don't want.

Grow a thick skin, but also a good set of eyes and ears....

Know when to shut up and nod.

Sketch everyday, even if it is just some doodles while you are on the phone with your mom.

Learn when NOT to answer your phone or that text message... don't be THAT guy. The text will be there later, and what your professor is saying is more important that who's going to lunch, or if Bill hooked up last night.

Don't wish for a particular project to come your way. Be proactive and do it on your own. If it becomes big enough, meet with the head of your department and see if you can get independent study credits for it.

Learn how to respectfully disagree. That skill can be he most valuable tool in you box.

If a professor suggests you go down a path you don't agree with... at least try it. He or she probably knows more than you on the subject, and you can always fall back to where you are now.

[PackageID]

Hey Hey,

I am a SCAD Grad from 2002. It is a great school. There is one Prof that you will want to take as much knowledge as you can from him is Bob Fee. He is kind of conservative and doesn’t say much but he is Mecca of design. This man is probably the biggest hero I have when it comes to this career. If there is anyone that knows the industry it is him. I was told once by another Prof that "Bob will forget more about design than we will ever know!" and that is true.

Other than that, I suggest you take as much in as you can. Make sure you document everything you do. Try to take some furniture classes because you get to build a coffee table you first class and that’s cool. Listen to the Profs (they do know what they are talking about). And most important when they post flyers that different companies are coming in for a sponsor project or for internships pay attention and sign up. These companies are looking to hire students and if you are a slacker it is only going to hurt you. Trust me I have been on both ends, both applying and going back and taking a project back to the school.

SCAD is a great school. Is it the most well known school in the country probably not but it is a great school and the ID department IS top notch. They have great opportunities for the students and a great facility. I think SCAD has already started to make a name for them selves and will be rated up there with RSID and AI, Pratt, etc.... very soon.


Good luck and have fun. By the way I lived in Dyson its great but get out and get your own place next year. It's cheaper.

[marymoocow25]

If a professor suggests you go down a path you don't agree with... at least try it. He or she probably knows more than you on the subject, and you can always fall back to where you are now.

I cannot more fully agree. My best projects came from listening to the professors advice, even when I didn't want to! I took her comments, and worked through it creatively to make it into something I wanted to present. Not only did I get in with the professor (which was my original goal in following her advice) but my design the best of the project, and one of my best most creative designs yet.

Another note: don't just follow the critiqu blindly to make someting you hate, work through the critique, figure out why you hate the critique, how you can accept and follow the critique while removing the aspects that you absolutely hate about it.

Lou Smith