i was looking through the forums and couldnt find much info, a couple of threads with a few posts but not much else...so i'll be a pest and make my own thread asking: is the academy of art university (AAU) a good design school?

i've heard that it's in the "top 3" along with CCS and ACCD, if a notch below those two, but what i'm essentially wondering is, is it a reputable enough school so that i'd have a good chance of getting a job in the auto industry (provided i had a good portfolio of course) after graduation? i hear that most of the big companies don't even bother looking at graduates from schools besides ACCD and CCS (which would obviously affect my college decision) but i don't know how true that is, if at all.

AAU's appealing to me because its tuition is cheap compared to ACCD (aka expensive, but not hideously so) and i personally prefer the location compared to the other two; though san francisco is an expensive place to live, i figure i could find a cheaper place in oakland or somewhere with roommates and commute via subway.

ANYWAY any and all feedback would be very appreciated.

what i would highly recommand you to do is research the schools reputation yourself, its not easy but thats how you get your OWN judgment. the reason im telling you this is simply because everyone has different perspective in judgment. before i applied to design schools around the country, i did extreme amount of research through what people think, through how schools are rated by design competitions, rated by companies and college guides. and also, observe their student's work. honestly, work really speaks for itself, meanwhile it speaks for the school. my suggestion is, if you want to challenge yourself as in INTENSIVE challenge, then apply to a low acceptance rate school such as CCS and ACCD. AAU is a great art school but for automotive design, they just started the program. AAU also has a open-admission which means anyone can apply, sadly speaking thats ANYONE. people who doesnt know how to DRAW can get into its industrial design class. rather CCS and ACCD, you're competing against students in there 20s to 30s some has previous industrial design BFA and others with MFA. but in the end, its really how much you want and how much you're willing to commit. like marriage.

Hi there. I am a student that is currently at AAU and I was too in the same situation you were not too long ago. I went to Art Center and I was close to going, but Academy of Art was a better choice for me because of the lower costs and on-campus housing, also I knew students that were already here(by taking their high school programs). We have great intructors and I have met many designers that are in the industry and that have graduated from this school. As far from the open acceptance rate, in the first few classes (before trans 1 even starts) there are some kids that have no idea what they are doing, and they fail. I have talked to graduates and they told me in the begining there are like 30 people in your class, but by like trans 4, there are only like 6 left. Also, the course disiplin is still very intense and it is deffenatly a lot better than it was 10 years ago. This place is defenatly getting reconised by the major companies and although Art Center has more sponcerd projects than we do; we are getting more every semester. And a last note, it is really dosn't matter what school you come from, but if you work your ass off in any design program and your talented, you will succeed. Also, choose a school that you will be happy living at.