By Anthony W. Mayhew Jr., 11th Grader at Brien McMahon High School
Savannah College of Art and Design, affectionately known as SCAD, has its main campus in Savannah, Georgia and multiple locations for students in Atlanta, Hong Kong and even the South of France. SCAD was founded in 1978 and its doors officially opened in 1979, making it a relatively young school.
Today, we visited the Atlanta, Georgia campus in the heart of the city. As we stroll to meet our tour guide we passed by students with purple hair, expressive outfits and confident self-expressions. As we entered the building where our tour guide was awaiting us, we knew very quickly that we were in an environment filled with creative minds.
SCAD Atlanta includes classroom and exhibition space, computer labs, library, photography darkrooms, printmaking and sculpture studios, a dining hall, fitness center, swimming pool and residence hall. SCAD's efforts to work with the city of Savannah to preserve its architectural heritage include restoring buildings for use as college facilities. Most students live outside of the residence halls (in Atlanta the university provides two residence halls, ACA Residence Hall of SCAD and Spring House).
Our tour guide shared many important facts about the school with us. The minimum admissions requirement is a 3.00 GPA and 1080 on the SAT or a 21 on the ACT. If you don’t have a 3.00 GPA, a letter of recommendation is required with a portfolio of your experience and work. The tuition and fees are around $37,000 per year (which is about 30% more expensive than the national average for a private four year college). Scholarships can bring the price down. SCAD works similar to a normal high school schedule with quarters instead of semesters.
The job acquisition rate of students following graduation and even pre-graduation is 99%. Students have been accepted to jobs with companies such as Google, Sony, Pixar, and Netflix. Many juniors work on real-life projects. SACD also works closely with some of the companies such as Delta Airlines, the super bowl in 2014, and presently with Uber on a project the company is launching in 2022. They keep up with emerging trends and create new trends of their own.
Graduates of SACD have also worked on movies such as “Wreck it Ralph” and also Marvel's Black Panther costume designs. Stan Lee came to SCAD and critiqued some of the students’ designs. SACD has a program called SCADpro+, an on-campus internship that allows students to work with companies alongside the school’s alumni.
Students also have the opportunity to sell their artwork and clothing at fashion and art shows. Some artwork and clothing sold for prices ranging from $215 to $32,000, therfore students can pay off their tuition with the work that they produce on campus through their art and projects.
We were thrilled to learn that Carver alumna Sophia Lubin was once one the creative minds attending SCAD. Sophia made her mark here when she designed a dress made of turquoise sunglass lenses and peacock feathers that won $50,000 for a Georgia charity. Sophia is now an art teacher in Stamford Public Schools, a freelance designer, and she participates in Carver events like the annual Career Fair.
SCAD is an excellent choice for a student with a passion for the Arts in any form, from business to fashion.