University of Cincinnati vs SCAD vs CCS

Hello core77 users,

Thanks to your posts, I applied to many good ID schools and I got admitted to several. Among those list, I got admitted to UC, SCAD, and CCS!

Now, you would have already figured what I am going to ask, but my situation is very different from other people.

Although I did get into the schools, all of them has one fall back for me except for SCAD. Because the fall backs I have for each school, I am having a hard time choosing where to attend.

To tell you little bit about me, I live in Washington State going to local college near by my house. I finished 90 quarter credits based on Arts and Science Degree. This makes me if the credits are all transferred as is, I am supposed to be a Junior.

The list below will be my status at the school ,

UC
Out of State
Sophomore
Exploratory Studies (Not ID [ They told me I could not get in for some reason, thus they put me into that program])

CCS
Freshmen(All the classes I have taken at my colleges were not transferable)
Product Design

SCAD
Sophomore
Industrial Design

As you can see, except for SCAD I have one fall back.

I have talked to the adviser at UC, and he told me that it is very hard for me to get into the program. I do not know if there is anyone who took the same path as I did if I were to go to UC. I do not have a guarantee to get into the program if I confirm to spend my time at UC.

My family is not rich enough to pay private design school back from the start. Therefore, CCS can be big issue in terms of finances.

Could you tell me why I should go to the schools you guys are suggesting?
Is it worth it to pay all those money and time to go?
I have to pay large amount of money for all of those schools above. If I graduate from one of the schools, are there higher chance for me to be able to pay the dept I will be making for attending school?

Thank you for reading this long post, and I hope you guys can help me with the big decision I will be making for my life career.

Well I can tell you that those hours won’t mean much at UC in their ID program either. It will be similar to CCS. Those hours will count towards something, but they won’t count towards ID class and they probably will make you start at the second semester freshman year. Basically you might be able to skip foundations of design (not ID) but will still have to take the rest of the 4.5 years of school for ID. As far as admission to the program, you’ll have to get in to take the classes. You can keep applying, but I’d ask if they are full for the year. They may get you in starting next year, but you will still have to start from the beginning.

I’d talk to SCAD to see if they still review at the end of sophomore year. When I applied they said everyone got reviewed at the end of year two and they picked from the group who actually got in to the ID program. May be different now, but something to consider.

Sounds like SCAD is the best bet for your situation.

What kind of design are you looking to do? What about design interests you? Have you visited any of the programs? It might help to tell us more about what you’re looking for from the program before recommending one. Plenty of people here can give opinions on which school is good at what and how you might fit in.

Thanks you for responding so fast!!

I am currently not sure what kind of design I want to do. I am looking to do product or graphic design. I had a chance during my internship to work on graphic design projects and I found myself enjoying doing the project.
I was going to find out by taking classes at the school, but I am going for product design for now.

And no.
Unfortunately, I did not have any time to visit any of the programs due to trips and internships.

If you were to ask me what are things I like(to draw or itself), then it would be shoes, motorcycle, bicycle, and electronics products.

Addition: I prefer suburban, but I like urban settings too. I would like to learn wide range of designs not just one.

My advice only applies to UC, I can’t speak in depth about others.

It’s OK to not be exactly sure, but you don’t really be able to just switch or take sample classes of design majors at UC. This is why I still recommend a visit to programs. It’s a relatively small cost now that could save you from making the wrong decision. You will get the chance to do as much or as little graphic work in ID, however you will not get the formal training on it. Packaging, branding, portfolio, etc. can all be applied to your projects at school.

Since UC merged it’s two ID tracks you’re going to be able to be more flexible with what studios you take and what type of variety of projects you design. You’ll be taught more about making products real, manufacturable, model making etc. It’s a very practical program that goes hand in hand with the co-op program at the school. Apparently you’ll also be able to pick from things like UI/UX, transportation and tradition product design. You might even be able to take mixed major classes as well (I heard the rumor before graduating). Outside of your major what you learn is totally up to you and your motivation.

In terms of settings it’s as urban as Cincinnati gets. Small compact campus right next to downtown. There’s 35k students there, but it won’t feel like it most of the time. It’s a pretty cool campus. The architecture is famous and fairly unique. SCAD is similar though I felt it was more spread out.

I’d be hesitant of UC unless your seriously committed to the time invesment mentioned, because of so few transfer slots allowed each year.

I’m wondering why you didn’t apply to Western Washington, it’s small, but very competitive and I’ve worked with a number of graduates - all very good designers…?

Thanks Jurassix! Your information is more than helpful. Are you a graduate student like MFA MA? or undergraduate grad? If you are currently MFA for ID I would like to you how that is.

@No_Spec There were several reasons why I did not apply at all. I recently started art. So my skills are way below than any freshmen that would be attending design schools. I wanted to be in the program where I can be motivated with all these creative and talented people around. I thought being in a design school or top tier ID school would drive me to reach my full potential. I have no hard feelings towards WWU. I have friends that are from WWU ID who are currently attending at my college. They did not like it there. I was going to go to UW if I was accepted in their ID major, but I was not able to. UW was only choice for me in Washington State

While I’ve seen some nice portfolios of graduate students at SCAD, I have not generally been impressed with their graduates. I see some really nice portfolios form UC and CCS. If my kid wanted to go to ID school, I’d be tempted to send them to UC because of the strong internship program. However, CCS is my alma mater. In the end it is all about your portfolio and the contacts you make. Hope this helps.

I personally had a fantastic education at SCAD and an amazing experience living in Savannah, GA.

Not enough can be said about the city you’re choosing to live in for four important years of your life.

Visit every school!

This appears to be a spam account pushing an essay-writing service?

If you are on the west coast, have you considered schools in your part of the country? Art Center (good environment but expensive), BYU (more affordable and good alumni record), University of Oregon …

good catch SHIELDS. I hit the “ban hammer” button… yes, mods have an actual button called the “ban hammer” that we reserve for these sneakier spam accounts that make it through my approvals. Sometimes it is hard to tell when someone asks to be a member. Sorry that one got through.