correction - D&AD arranged concepting and copy classes I*ve been too. They were great, but that*s in London.

Well... It*s ben [censored] years since I was in School but I started out at Parsons, a few blocks away from SVA.



At the time that I was at Parsons I was "in a hurry" to learn as much as I could about advertisings needed skills, typography graphic design commercial production etcetera. I envied those who spent more yeras in school (I felt I rushed through everything) and I definatly envied those over at SVA. For much less money they seemed to have more school tools to use, rooms where they could work and leave their work in progress, silkscreen machines etcetera. Meanwhile I*m rubbing down letraset on my tiny-dorm room kitchen table and never had space to do anything big.

(Ok so it was a long time ago).



So, if you have the time and funds to go for say a BFA, I*d look at SVA or a school upstate even, I*d use that time to learn everdamnthing I could, use all the tools available at the school, and I*d enjoy it.



However if you already have lots of art school dabbling behind you, and you*re now looking for a fast track towards a job I*d head straight to the Miami Ad School. Why? Well, there*s that year of ads ads ads and more ads where you learn how to think, and have some tools available to execute your ideas (they even have a little TV-editing suite). Then there*s the grand tour year, where you get real-life placements at real agencies. This is where you really learn things. It might be a bit real world to live with your classmates in a house in Amsterdam, but having placements at real agencies is a great foot in the door and your book - and contact list - will be ten times stronger for it. AT my second school (School of Communication arts, London) we had two placements, much shorter ones, and that was not nearly enough. I think Miami is worth looking into for the placement deal alone.



So what it boils down to really is what you want out of school. The onger BFAs certainly have their merits too - you can develop yourself and your skills. A well rounded AD is worth their weight in gold (and perhaps you*d end up being something else, Like an animation director!).



Haven*t taken night classes anywhere so I*ll keep mum on that part.

Took one Adhouse night class. Loved it. Totally hardcore.



Took six SVA night classes. Liked four of the six.



But in the end, wherever you go, just put all your energy into your portfolio and you*ll ultimately land a creative job....

what are your opinions on these ad schools?



AdHouse (New York, NY)

VCU Adcenter (Richmond, VA)

Portfolio Center (Atlanta, GA)

Brainco (Minneapolis, MN)

The Creative Circus (Atlanta, GA)

Miami Ad School (Miami, FL and others)

School of Visual Arts (New York, NY)

Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, CA)

Academy of Art College (San Francisco, CA)



im sure theres no right or wrong answer, but which school do u think is the best in terms of pedigree?



can u list the pros and cons for these schools? grin