School of Communication Arts: Raleigh, NC
April 14th, 2007 by 
mark
I’ve been playing around with recording software like Adobe Audition and GarageBand for a few years now and I enjoy both programs. But I was starting to think it would be great to learn how to use the software the “pros” use. a.k.a. Pro Tools. I considered a semester long program at Martha’s Vineyard, MA, but I came to find out that they don’t teach Pro Tools… They train everyone on a different program, Reason. Bah! I could plunk down $200 and get Reason right now. (Which I’m actually considering since it’s supposedly a pretty good non-pro tools recording suite)
Then one day when viewing my own blog I saw a Google ad for the School of Communication Arts that teaches Pro Tools classes. And they’re even in Raleigh, NC, near where I live. Granted, even though it is in Raleigh it’s still almost an hour drive.
So when I went to their website I annoyingly had to fill in a bunch of personal information before I could even view the website. They looked somewhat legit and claimed to be one of the few schools that teaches pro tools on the east coast. Well, I found out later in the week that because I filled in that information on their website that someone from the school called me twice that week! I was really busy so I didn’t think anything of it and didn’t bother calling them back.
It was later on that I found out that the Martha’s Vineyard thing didn’t do Pro Tools so I looked into the School of Communication Arts again. Once again, to view their website I had to enter more personal information. So I entered the minimum, name and phone number. I guess I entered my cell phone number because I received a call the next day asking if I wanted to schedule a tour. I figured, why not and so I scheduled a tour for the following Monday.
The tour… Ah… The tour…. I drive about an hour to their campus in Raleigh, which is affectionately known as “The Circus” because their campus is made up of 2 or 3 dome shaped buildings.
As soon as I walk in the door I see the receptionist desk, but I have to wait because she’s chatting it up with a middle-aged student with a sketch pad easel under his arm. I stand there for about 5 minutes until I start thinking maybe she isn’t the receptionist, so I walk around for a minute or two, but almost every room has a code lock on it. So I just return to the entrance. About 10 minutes later the guy finally leaves and the receptionist looks up and asks me what I need. I tell her I have a tour scheduled with Julie at 5:00. She calls her up and says Julie will be there in a few minutes. Since it took so long to get to talk with the receptionist I was already 10 or 15 minutes late for my tour, so I figured Julie had been waiting around for me.
So I just stand around for about 5 minutes and admire the weird paintings and sculptures around. I notice as a few students walk by that most of them look like gangsters…. Hmmm. Odd. While I’m waiting around 2 ladies, presumably employees, walk to the door and stand there and talk for about 10 minutes. Finally, one of the ladies leaves and then the other lady looks over at me and introduces herself as Julie. At this point I was starting to get a little ticked off with the lack of customer service…
Julie then proceeds to forcefully inquire, “Where’s your parents?” To which I easily reply, “at home.” And she asks why and I say because no one said they were supposed to be there. She asks me how hold I am, if I’m in high school, and who I talked to on the phone. I tell her and she says I still need my parents. I tell her, no one said anything about my parents on the phone and they’re not here and I can’t really do anything about that.
While we’re walking she hands me a clipboard and tells me to fill it out. So I continue walking and she quickly turns around, stops me, points to some couches and says, “No. You stay here. I’ll be back.” She walks around the corner and I hear her chewing out Debbie, the lady I talked to on the phone, with stuff like, “IF THEY’RE UNDER 24 THEN THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BRING THEIR PARENTS!!!!!!”
At this point I’m starting to wonder how much of this information form I really want this place to have. I went ahead and filled it all out because I wanted to be as cooperative as possible. Julie comes back with Debbie and I have to explain that, despite my parents absence, I pay for most of my education without student loans or financial aid because I work in good, computer related, positions all year long.
Finally I convince them that I could feasibly pay for the whole thing myself if I wanted to and my parents’ opinions aren’t a huge factor in this decision. So before I’ve even seen what their facilities are Julie takes me into her office and explains that they have 4 Pro Tools classes and that they’re $2,000 each, presumably in an attempt to scare me off by the price tag. I guess they figure no person could *actually* pay for their education without going into debt…. I don’t flinch, so she goes ahead and tells me how this could be accomplished in a year’s time by taking night classes. $8,000 later I could have knowledge in Pro Tools! What a deal! (sarcasm)
Finally, I get a tour of the facilities. Their first little “studio” was pretty much just a pro tools console behind a glass window. The second studio was mildly impressive with a pro tools console, a main tracking room, and an isolation room. Nothing very elaborate. I did get to talk to one of the professors, who seemed knowledgeable, and he was unable to list any major accomplishments or job placements their graduates had found. Not too encouraging…
Overall, my first impression of the School of Communication Arts in Raleigh was not a good one at all. The impression I received was that they pretty much just wanted my money. With their insane tuition I guess they assume that everyone has to be able to get financial aid or student loans, and since my parents were absent, Julie didn’t see any reason to actually treat me with courtesy or respect.
Well, School of Communication Arts, I shall not be calling you back. And if you call me, I’m going to either chew out the person on the phone, or immediately hang up. I would much rather use my money to a place that actually cares about me and not just how much money I can give them. “Digital Circus” is a great name for this school because its a joke.
Posted in Recording, Music Business, Training | 
April 23rd, 2007 at 10:51 am
Hi, I was considering looking into this school for classes. Is it really that bad? I am from out of state and was considering flying down there to check it out. By the sounds of it, the school seems like another ‘International Academy of Art and Design’. Do you have anymore information regarding the school you care to share?
Joe
April 23rd, 2007 at 11:12 am
The impression I got was that they mostly just wanted my money.
I’m sure if you come down in a suit looking like you have a lot of money they’ll be a lot nicer to you.
The facilities were decent. They had an older studio that pretty much was just a Control24 behind a glass window. And then they had a more studio like area that actually looked like a real studio.
I don’t know how well the actual teaching is. I talked to one of the teachers and he seemed nice enough, but when I asked what kind of jobs their graduates had found he couldn’t really list any significant placements.
May 1st, 2007 at 6:22 am
I’m a former student of the school and although I’d say the audio students probably have it better than anybody else at the school, you definitely made a good decision.
My first quarter there, I had 3 classes, Visual Construction(Drawing), Color Construction(Which for some reason is like a Photoshop 101 class) and Conceptual Design(Illustrator 101). I had a great teacher for Visual Construction so I continued to go to his class regardless of the fact that I didn’t want to attend the school past another quarter. I didn’t attend the last 3 weeks of class in my other classes, already convinced the school wouldn’t be giving me a several thousand dollar education. After that quarter, I went to the registrar, and informed her that I wanted to withdraw. I’m pretty sure it was once she saw I was a cash payer, she told me the Director of Education, Deborah Hooper, more affectionately known by students as Skeletor, wanted to talk to me first. She said stuff, pissed me off, told me to try the next quarter for two weeks and if I still feel the same way, then I wouldn’t have to pay. I also informed her that I certainly wouldn’t be staying for an Associates Degree either but just the 3 quarter Certificate program.
So I gave that a try, and thanks to one teacher, Marc Russo, I stayed. The one class I had in my 3 quarters there that I could say benefitted me whatsoever was his Flash class. So 10 months, a couple bottles of anti-anxiety medication, and several cartons of cigarettes later, I have a Certificate that doesn’t mean shit with the school’s name next to it and 5/8 credits transfered to a new school.
Sorry to rant about my entire experience. I could go on much longer. If you want to know more, you’ve got my email address. I’ll tell you, at least for audio students, they get to see their tuition money put to use. But for the other degree programs, you have to think that most of your money is going into pockets rather than equipment. I have friends that have graduated from the audio program and are very good at what they do but can’t find work in their field around here as far as your last comment goes. I don’t know even what to say, but thanks for sharing your experience and reading mine, hopefully other people will as well and not make the same mistake me and others have made.
May 6th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Hey, I’m another former student. (though I stayed all quarters and graduated with an Associates)
I took animation and graduated in December 06, just a few months ago. I can’t really speak for the audio department, but from what I’ve heard during my last quarter there, they weren’t giving anymore ProTools certifications anymore. Or at least, you’d have to take the test on your own time with your own money. (I think) So if you were looking to get certified, you were probably lucky they your first visit turned you off to the school all together.
As for me, I consider myself one of the few lucky ones to get out of the school. I’m currently an intern at a local game studio in Cary doing pretty much what I want to do. But it just depends on how much you put into the classes, your personal work, and time outside of the school you work on stuff.
I’ve met quite a few real cool people who got stuck at the school like me, so it’s not all that bad. The Administrative half of the school is the only problem that it seemed most people had with (and some of the teachers, though most were fine).
So yeah, that’s my two cents, hoped I could help/save.
-Mark
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:40 am
I attended the school back in 96. when it was just a 6 month certification program that taught 3D Studio and Photoshop. Back then it was 3DSTudio R4 (a glorifed version of Autocad). Halfway through the program, the first version of 3D Studio Max was released, making everything we were learning completely obsolete 4 months before we even graduated. That was lovely. Out $9000 for absolutely nothing. They wouldn’t even offer us a discount on another class.
Recently I thought about checking them out again, since the curriculum has completely changed (and they’re actually accredited now) and I’ve got a tour coming up, but I’m not so sure they’ve improved any, even with the shiny new facility. I get the feeling the education is not worth the outrageous amount of money they charge for tuition.
I know at least 20 people that graduated from there, going back all the way to their first class in 1992 and not a single one was ever able to get a job in the field.
May 25th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Knowing nothing about this place I applied for a position in their student services department and have an interview coming up. It sounds like there are nothing but horror stories about it. Should I be scared? Should I even go to the interview? It doesn’t sound like a particularly good working environment. Any thoughts or advice?
May 28th, 2007 at 12:35 am
J, I’m really sorry to hear that. they should definitely have offered auditing. At Full Sail down in Winter Park, FL, any class you complete may be taken later free of charge. These fields always evolve and that is a huge perk.
G, I’d say that’s on you, there’s probably worse jobs there, and worse bosses as well. I’d much rather work there than be a student there. I just hope you’re a people person.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I attended SOCA back in 1997-1998. I am having major issues with anyone accepting their “accreditation”. I will be emailing those of you who attended the school to see if our stories are similar. I don’t see how they can claim to be accredited by ICDS, whom I cannot find any information about online. I have attended other Universities and colleges which would not accept any of the work I completed at this school. I don’t see how they could charge the students for something that is not accurate to the workforce and not transferrable to a fully accredited institution.
August 7th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Same Mark who posted May 6th, 2007
Just a little update, I’ve moved on from the recent intern position I had the last time I posted and am now a 3D Artist at 3Dsolve in Cary. Sure it’s no Epic, but I’ve only been out of school for 8 months and I’ve had 2 jobs in the gaming industry making quite a good chunk of change (for only being 20 yrs old as well)
The problem I figure most people have been having is they’ve already got full time jobs and don’t spend enough time working on their 3D. The only way to get hired at a 3D company is to have a good portfolio. Experience isn’t always needed (but is helpful). So the only way to get a good portfolio is to have good work. And you can’t get good work if you don’t do anything.
Now in no way am I saying my work is the greatest, I know I can improve on lots of things.
Also about SCA being accredited.. I’m pretty sure it is. I’ve also heard stories of Interviewers laughing at interviewees because they have SCA on their resume (this mostly is the case for the digital media, I haven’t heard this instance happening for animation). But again, I don’t think the school really matters if you’ve got a good portfolio, they’ll look right past it.
But what I can say is that the year and a half I was at SCA (summer 05 to winter 06), the school improved a lot. Instructor wise, course wise..etc The instructors may not be perfect, but they do know what they’re doing. And they do know the software, and that’s all you’re going to SCA for anyway…to learn the software.
Everything else is up to you.
-Mark Lemmons
http://www.marklemmons.com
August 29th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
I am considering joining this school for an associates degree in audio.
Reading all the comments here, I wanted to find out if there are any other recommended colleges or schools in Raleigh or surrounding areas that offer education in audio engineering?
September 2nd, 2007 at 9:55 pm
SCA has an impressive Audio program and now offers an Associates Degree. The School is accredited and you should check out the facility and meet with Admissions and let them tell you about the Protools, graphic design and web design all in the Audio program. The Audio program includes FREE studio time on campus. Give it a try another person’s opinion shouldnt keep you from seeing and experiencing it.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:57 am
I graduated from this school on Spring 04. I was in the first digital film class and the first woman to graduate from the film program.
My class started with close to 30 kids, and when I graduated there were only three of us. Not too impressive. I believe this was due to the school accepting almost anyone. Also, I learned a lot of people were just not as dedicated (lazy) as the remaining three of us who graduated.
The classes were challenging, but I really enjoyed my professors and I felt they taught me well. I worked full-time while going to school and received my first paying videography and editing gig right before I finished school. Sure, SCA sued me for not paying my student loan (a word to the wise, they will sue you too!), but I know that I probably wouldn’t have the knowledge I do now if it weren’t for this school. Another drawback was they also liked to fire the film professors who were amazing… Michael Zingale and Brad Boll.
All in all, I currently have a great full time job doing internet video (directing, videography, writing, editing, motion graphics).
So basically, not a ringing endorsement. Sure, it was incredibly expensive, but I didn’t have to move to another city to get my education. With his school, as with the business itself, I believe you get out of it what you put in.
September 12th, 2007 at 9:59 am
I’m going to keep this short and simple. I am also a former student. I met quite a few great teachers at this school, but that is greatly overshadowed by the amount of bad ones. In fact, the school tends to fire good teachers for speaking out against bad practices. The school is a page out of 1984 with uglier carpet.
If you like alcoholics, horrible anime, and having your money mismanaged, then by all means, SCA is the perfect place for you.
September 29th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I attended SCA and graduated with a certificate in digital media. I was pleased with the majority of my experience there. As far as my teachers went, they were highly trained and very skilled. Most of their departments were very pleasant and helpful. The Professional Services Dept. were extremely helpful to prepare students for graduation and landing a job once out of school. I really believe that if you put 100% into it, then that is what you will get out of it. I graduated in December 06, and landed a good job less than a month later as a graphic designer for a clothing line. I also started up a successful freelance business, which SCA helped me create while I was in school. Without the experience from this school I would be nowhere near where I am right now. I’ve met people who have graduated from SCA that are currently working on major films doing CG work, and others who are extremely talented graphic designers leading their industry. My cousin is a member of the NC House of Representatives and was there to accredit SCA alongside other members of the board of education. Some people just don’t have their facts right. As far as the comments about the unpleasant people at SCA, there are those kinds of people everywhere you go. Most of the comments here seem to be sarcastic and result from bad experiences. Honestly, you will read of bad experiences from just about any school. Bottom line is hard work pays off. And if you want it bad enough, then you’ll do what it takes to get it, regardless of who or what tries to stand in your way.
October 4th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Has anyone gone to the school for the interior design degree program, that is what I am looking into. How much more expensive could it be than Meredith? How much was it?
November 1st, 2007 at 5:20 pm
So despite what I’ve read here, I decided to setup an interview with this school. I filled out the information card on the website and, just as expected, they called the next day. I work 3rd shift, so I sleep during the day, and missed the call. They didn’t leave a message, and proceeded to call back the next day, and the day after that. They called yesterday afternoon and I was up, so I answered. I got a nice guy on the phone (don’t remember his name) and we set up a tour for Friday at 3:30pm. Alright, so I’m going into this with an open mind. I recieve a call this morning at 10am, It’s Julie (the lady that gave Mark the tour). She is pretty forward on the phone and her tone is really unpleasant. She asks if I know that my tour is tomorrow at 3:30pm. I said yes. She asks if i will make it on time? I said yes. She then asks if I will be attending day or night classes. I tell her that I work 3rd shift and so day classes would be preferred. She asks what time I work until and I tell her 7:30am. So she asks how can I possibly make the 8:00am class if I just get out of work at 7:30am. (At this point, I’m starting to get perturbed whit this person). I tell her that I don’t know anything about the schedule of classes, or anything about the school, and that is why I scheduled a tour. She asked if I can reschedule the appointment. We agree on Tuesday of next week at 3:30, so let’s see how it goes. Keep in mind, that I am remaining optimistic, and hoping that she was just in a bad mood today. I will update again after my tour.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:30 am
I have been checking out the school since september and i am starting in january for the associates in audio. it is a little expensive but the networking possibilities plus free studio time on a pro tools HD rig sold me. I also say that it is all on the effort u put into it. I have noticed that they stress building your portfolio because that is how you will get a job. so, if your portfolio is not up to par when you graduate, then it will be a waste but,you only have yourself to blame.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
“The school is a page out of 1984 with uglier carpet.
If you like alcoholics, horrible anime, and having your money mismanaged, then by all means, SCA is the perfect place for you. ”
Couldn’t agree more. This school was horrible when I went there. I had one good teacher out of the 3 years I spent getting a 3d degree, and they fired him. The school is run by money grubbing morons, and the teachers are usually people who are need the money bad enough to put up with the horrible management; ie not the best people to be teaching in fields that are cutting edge.
If you are interested in learning CG, I reccomend avoiding this place, and learning on your own, possibly taking some classes at a school that just teaches CG and doesn’t waste your time making you take 200 dollars a night classes on business education. I am just lucky my first teacher knew enough to start me in the right direction, or I’m sure I wouldn’t have a job today in the field. Everything passed that first teacher I learned on my own, 100%. Terrible, terrible school.
February 11th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
So last August, I visited this school because I had considered going there to study filmmaking. I was given the tour by a very nice guy named Dylan who seemed very interested in my potential. The facilities seemed very good in my opinion and I thought that this would be the place for me. I never got a chance to have a chat with any instructors because they were all busy in class so I can’t comment on that. So fast forward to about 2 months later. We tried to contact Dylan about things and apparently he doesn’t work there anymore and they wouldn’t tell us why… hmm. So everythings going smoothly, I was planning to attend the housing event in December (I live no where near Raleigh) and just two weeks before the month, we called the school once more to get some things dealt with. Guess what, all the courses for the filmmaking degree has been cancelled leaving just the night time classes (that only go from Monday to Wednesday) and that doesn’t even offer the complete education. When I heard this news, it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. So now, I have to rush and find some new college to go to. Then all of a sudden, just one week later, I get a call from Julie, she tells me that what I can do is still come to the school and take the general ed courses until the filmmaking course reopens in April. What I want to know is, if that was an option, why didn’t she say so before? Well it just happens that my mom called the school in between the calls to let them know that I was going to go to another college for the year and we were going to try SCA again in 09. It seemed to me that they just wanted me to get in asap so they can have my money. Whatever, after being explained about the situation from my dad (who is very firm with decisions), Julie was able to understand why we came to that decision. Today I am in a very nice, small college up in the NC mountains where I am enjoying very much. In August we are going to visit the school once more to see if anythings changed for the better. As I said, the school looks very high tec, just the type of place I’d be interested in studying, however, with the exception of the former admin Dylan, the administrators only seem interested in our money and making sure SCA is our final decision.
Thats my view on the school.
February 17th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Skeletor. Haha… I’m so glad someone said that. That is what we called her. I remember she flipped on my stepdad at open house because we had to leave early.
I attended the school under the Animation program… but I only made it 3 quarters. I started out with high hopes, and as time progressed, those hopes diminished. I don’t know what it was but the school just seemed fake and I felt like I had made a very bad decision. Luckily some
instructors of mine understood, one of which really solidified the true direction I wanted to go with my career.
So I went to student services and told them I wanted to withdraw. They strongly urged me to stay and offered different payment plans and a looser schedule. Being that I was excited to leave and had already formed new plans, I denied.
They told me that I didn’t owe them any money and I was financially free to go (in fact, they owed me $1.50 or something like that).
A month later, I got a call from the school stating that I owed $800… and they couldn’t really seem to explain how. So, after leaving the school because I didn’t want to waste any more money on the kind of education I didn’t want… I ended up oweing $2000 in student loans and $800 to the school directly.
Despite that, some friends that I had at the school that stayed there later told me that I had made a good decision in leaving.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know how the other programs are, and I’m sure that if you are extremely driven towards animation you can get something out of their program… but for the most part, from what I heard from instructors and other people in the field… the place kind of is a joke. To me, the small chance at a successful career that they offer isn’t worth the work and the $50,000.
“If you like alcoholics, horrible anime, and having your money mismanaged, then by all means, SCA is the perfect place for you.”
^Pretty much says it.
Thank you Nicholas Coates
February 18th, 2008 at 9:14 am
The school’s not as bad as he’s stating. That’s a typical case of “being on the outside and looking in” Plain and simple: You’re NOT going to get into the mixing game without ample training first and this school offers JUST that! I’ve done tons of paid engineer work on Pro Tools and I owe it to SCA! They are kinda high, but it’s a speciality school so what do you expect? I’m moving to the West Coast in a month or so, and EVERY studio I went to wants interns that have been taught the process of mixing and navigating around Pro Tools. If youre just someone that decieded on day you want to be an engineer, and you go to a studio looking for work, your’e gonna get laughed at. So…in a nutshell, this school charges what they want because they know they CAN. What they teach is in a very high demand at the moment. As an alumni of this school, I say it’s a GREAT place to start your engineereing career!
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I’ve been going back and forth on this school for the pass two years. I want to major in comminication arts with a focus in digital filmmaking. I’ve heard awful things and great things about this school over the pass two years. I only have three semester of full paid tuition left for whichever school I choose and I don;t have my associates yet. So with that said, since SCA credits aren’t ALL transferable (infact very few are unless you choose to attend certain schools which are in different states, I think there’s like eight of them) should i try to go there or settle for a communication arts program at State or App?
March 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Wow, I am so happy I’m not the only one. I drove 3 hours from Charlotte on my spring break last week, and it was a wasted trip. I met with a guy named Brian who assured me over the phone that they offered Pro Tools Certification. I went inside with my fiancee’ and waited, much like someone else on the comment section, at the reception desk. Again, the woman, Ruth, was talking with her coworker and we stood there for a couple of minutes. Once Brian came out, he took me to the dreaded couches to fill out a long questionnaire. About 10 minutes after I had finished it, he came back and took us to his office…Boy, did he talk! I said a total of 3 sentences while he rambled about the “great school.” When he finally asked what I was thinking, I told him I didn’t want the degree since I will have a Bachelor’s in 10 months, and that I only wanted to take Pro Tools classes. He shut down at this point and started pouting that I would pay $2000 a class and have to write a one page essay to the dean. I said, “one page? I am an English major ya know?” He was totally pissed after this, at one point saying “maybe you should just stay in Charlotte.” This was over 30 minutes into his spill about the great school and he then took us on a tour. He was dragging his feet the whole time, not saying anything and pointing out the amazing classrooms with no ceiling and how superior they were to my “traditional” college upbringing, which is at The University of N.C.-Charlotte. He showed me the studios and they were fairly crappy. Small, cramped, and uninviting. By this time, I was ready to leave so to rattle him a bit more, I asked him if they carried the ICON board from Digidesign, the best created thus far in their history. He looked at me and said “what is that? who’s Digidesign?”
Let me tell you, this school is out to get your money. This guy Brian shut down when he realized that he wasn’t making commission of me. He’s a general course adviser and knows nothing about music, much like the school. Don’t go here and waste your money. I second the Full Sail route or trying to get into a studio in your town and learning. Just for good measure, I threw down the information packet behind the stupid sculpture outside. The Digital Circus…I couldn’t have picked a better name
March 21st, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I graduated in from the Digital Media program; the school has really come a long way over the past few years. Believe me I’ve had my share of problems and complaints, but some students have been very successful after graduating. It depends on the person and their drive to succeed — depending on what you want to get out of it; you can weigh the pros and cons. I already had an AA before attending so it was a good fit for me because only took 18 months to complete the program. After graduation, I freelanced for 2 years and then started my own design business, which currently services over 50 clients and employs 3 full-time designers. If you pay attention to what’s important while you are there and ignore the drama that surrounds you at the ‘circus’ (including the few ‘problem’ employees) you may do very well despite the negative feedback you’ve read. There are some great teachers who have been around for years and other employees who really care about you and your future.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Just how good does your art have to be to get into SCA? I mean I am good and they denied my portfolio and now I have to send in another one; are they just looking for art prodoges?
June 24th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Wow, some pretty harsh experiences here. I was at SCA today for an interview and tour. I met with Wayne Moseley and spent 2 hours talking and touring. I couldn’t be happier with the way that went. I’m an amateur videographer with aspirations to start my own production company so I’m interested in thier Digital Filmmaking certificate program. I thought the facilities and layout were impressive, albiet Wayne told me that alot of thier filming equipment was out on location. It seemed to me that all the tools were there for me to benefit from. I agree with previous comments that what you get out of anything is what you put into it. So I’m looking to have access to the tools and someone to just guide me in the right direction. Most info in these fields are available online….tutorials galor BUT to be able to apply what you learn in a working enviroment is priceless. With that said I was pretty shocked at the tuition $4k per quarter is pretty steep so if I can find any financial assistance to offset the costs I will give the school a go. With what has been said here I am leary to spend the full tuition costs oop. I will bring these coments up to Wayne and see what he says.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:36 am
This school is downright no good. It has ruined my credit and any hope I have of having my classes transfer to other colleges, since I cant have my transcript unless I pay $18K for leaving after a year of bullshit. Then have the local sheriff follow you to your place of work, and CFNC calling your cell everday. I did good in school, wanted to transfer,and was threatened with having to pay money practically to quit.
Have fun with that.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:12 am
i am currently a student at sca for digital animation and i can assure you that as far as teh teachers go they are top notch for my program. they care about their students and are great at hat they do,it really is a good school as far as animation goes, coming in i knew nothing about animation modeling rigging texturing i didnt know how to use photoshop, maya, vegas, aftereffects, basically any really good programs like that and now i can manipulate those to my desire becuase the lteahers have shown me the tools and have doen a great job showing me how to use them, if ur lazy then u wont get anything out of this program but if u actually will put good effort into it then u will come out pleased with yourself and youll see how helpful the school actually is
October 11th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
“Digital circus” is the proper term. I am a former student, and wish I had never stepped foot on the campus. Overall I would have to say that the establishment has no class or couth. Students pay to learn, not to be abused or taken advantage of. If you stand up for yourself and ask any questions, it is very probable you will be escorted off of the campus by an officer. For all of the parents that have a child who loves art, look into a different art school. SCA is NOT an art school. It is a business. Do not waste your time, energy, or money.
October 15th, 2008 at 8:15 am
I heard the same thing! I also heard that the faculty/students will remotely access students home computers. Apparently there are multiple lawsuits against SCA, and there are some terrible things going on there. A friend of mine works there, and despises every second of it. He says, “If the source is bad, the bad trickles down.” That is all I have heard about that place.
October 16th, 2008 at 7:43 am
I was a teacher at this insane asylum in the 90s. Beleive me, all the bad things you’ve heard are true. I saw alot of it first hand.
True, they took anyone who could pay the tuition regardless of abilities. True, they were VERY misleading to every applicant, leading them to believe they had an excellent chance for successful employment. And, true, the administrative part of the facility (from the loons running the place, Debra and Roger) all the way down to the receptionists were most often surly and had their asses in a knot.
I was thrust into a lose-lose proposition from day one. I was given no time to prepare myself or to refine my curriculum. Due to lack of planning or personal development, I was constantly under fire by both the students and the administrators.
Frankly, I was ill-prepared to be in an instructional position, but they didn’t seem to care. They just wanted a warm body to fill the void. Granted, I needed the job and the money, so I took the job out of necessity. But, Debra and Roger were never interested in having a good teacher for the class, they just wanted “somebody” to be the teacher. Honestly, I believe they would have put the cleaning lady in there if she spoke english well enough!
So, my advice is to steer clear of this place. I know of roughly 100+ people who attended SCA, and only 6 of them presently work in either the graphics or animation industries. 6% placement? See if they include that in their marketing materials.
And, don’t get me started about the people I know who sued SCA or received a settlement or refund to avoid going to court. Nasty place, avoid at all costs!! You’d be better off spending the money you’d use for tuition buying all the hardware and software for yourself and dedicating a few hours a day to developing your skills.
October 31st, 2008 at 7:46 am
Ai has a fantastic audio program in Atlanta. They have two recording studios, one with an SSL board, and literally 40+ something ProTools LE stations, 20+ Digi 003 control surfaces, and Logic Pro stations. If you are at all interested in an audio production school it would be beneficial just to drive down to Ai Atl. and check out the facility. They actually have entry requirements, SACS accreditation, AA and BA degrees, and tons of gear and mics….
April 17th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I went for a tour today and thougth the place was very decent looking. I didn’t like how Wayne interupted classes to show me what people were doing but outside of that, I thought it seemed like a legitimate school. I was considering the audio design section. After I got home I did some more research and found that their first campus, in Minneapolis, lost their accreditation. I won’t go into details b/c you can find this yourself with a search. But, there are just too many bad vibes from this school to consider spending $32,000.
May 23rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION FARCE…it is a joke. I was told that the teachers get promiscuous with students, that the workers in student services do drugs, and the owner is crazy and cruel. DO NOT GO THERE!!! Anyone who even considers working or attending school there, be prepared to have a bad name. They are all brainwashed.
May 27th, 2009 at 7:50 am
SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION FARCE…i like that. be prepared for that to hit the forums. I cannot wait to tell you all what really goes on there. Be prepared to sign a lot of papers! They are in looney tune world.
July 15th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Well, to play Devil’s Advocate here, SCA’s tuition of $42,000 is for 2 yrs. which is comparable to many private colleges and is actually lower than some specialty schools.
However, before you sign on with any school, find out what the retention rate is, and the percentage of students who get hired in your desired field shortly after graduation.
A trade school like SCA should have a much higher retention and placement rate than a regular college, since colleges are about providing an education and trade schools are about providing fast training for a job. Are they doing this though? And who are they recruiting? Is the school about talent or is it about filling seats?
Yes, this school does have lots of drama and issues (do a Goggle search), and an extremely high turnover rate (esp. in admissions). If you do there to visit, expect lots of hype.
They have also changed their name 3x in 5 yrs. which shows a lack of focus and long-range planning. Or they’re trying to stay 1 step ahead of the complaints…
Some of the instructors are quite good but they can only do so much. There are very few jobs in this area for many of their specialties, so you’d have to create your own opportunities - and a really good portfolio.
Be prepared, be forewarned, keep your eyes wide open…
September 18th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
They keep changing their name because the greedy owner cannot keep her demonic little hands out of the honey jar. They have to change their name to receive funding.
The teachers and administrators think they are rock stars too. I am sorry, but if you are teaching…it is because you could not get the job done in the field.
As for the other administrators…you are totally boring because you have no talent at all. It is pretty sad when you sit around all day and try to figure out how to protect your ass and YES…they are trying to stay one ahead of the complaints.
They are going to say that acceptance is based off of talent. They are grabbing at straws…Go around the corner to the Art Institute of Raleigh/Durham. Now that is a uniformed school that can turn anyone into a prolific designer/animator.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
One more thing…The administrators place recorders/cameras under the admissions desks to hear the sales pitches. Be prepared to have your crotch shot.
April 24th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Hello,
This post is a bit long, but for people who have only had the basic tour, but no real experience with these guys. You might want to read this one it’s worth it…*apologizes in advance*.
I went up there yesterday (April 23, 2010) with my brother for a tour. I have to admit all of the complaints I have seen concerning this school reflect my impressions. Obviously I can’t vouche for every single complaint on here, but based on our limited exposure I would have to say that it is a safe bet to assume that the complaints are factual. I will share our experience here for now and later I will post links to as much background information I can find because I have noticed that getting any background information on this school is like pulling teeth.
The website for this school is practically useless unless you want to give them contact information. In all of the colleges we have been thumbing over for the last 5 months this one is the most useless one I have found. All and I mean ALL of the other college websites include some basic information on the school along with events, associations, you know stuff like that. With this website you only get a flash movie and once that is over you get 5 main options that all lead to the exact same “Backstage Pass” form that asks for your name rank and serial number. There are other links that are one the webpage that are just as useless, feel around you’ll find them. It honestly feels more like a porn site than a respectable school’s webpage. Basically what I am saying here is that for such a high priced place, they don’t give you a lot when it comes to online content. Mostly just a bunch of flash and fizzle crap that asks for your contact information.
My brother got an invitation to tour the campus about a month before we actually went there. Apparently they had an event called “Junior Day” in which large groups of high school juniors are invited to tour the campus with an accompanying adult. So we get there and we are immediately put off by the small size of the entire campus. You could honestly mistake the place for a service building if you didn’t know it was there. We were placed in a small room that they called the “Green Room” and the introductions commenced. I asked for a college catalogue or maybe a brochure even and they didn’t have any available!!! They finally printed some out for the parents who requested them, but to top that off we were all informed that we may have to give the catalogues back after the tour, and that we could have one mailed to us at a later date if we wanted. Within the catalogue was nothing of importance like one would typically expect. Instead there were about 5 pages devoted to finances and financial aid and a map of the campus itself, there was also a brief, vague, almost incoherent mention of the classes available and their general course descriptions. Mainly though, it was focused on finances.
They told us that everything is included in the tuition except for student housing. That means books were included as well. Anyway that was the first thing that made me think that they don’t have their act together, simply because if they knew that they were going to be entertaining a large group of potential students and their respective parents and/or adult companions at least a month in advance you would think that they would have had catalogues ready to pass out free of charge like any other college usually has. Instead we had to pull teeth for a catalogue and we were then asked to pay a $5.00 printing fee!!! My jaw dropped at that point….but it gets worse!!!
During the tour, the tour guide constantly interrupted students and professors during class. Anyone who has ever been to any college for any reason whatsoever knows that interrupting a class and putting the whole class on the spotlight is a huge taboo…a real “No No”.
Anyway, once the basic tour was over we went back into the cramped Green Room where we were told that not everyone is accepted, and not everyone can get in. After that was said the person conducting the speech turned right around and said that they don’t even look at G.P.As or S.A.T. scores when considering applicants. Instead they look at portfolios. I have to admit I can see the logic in looking at a portfolio, but lets face it everyone I have ever talked to about college in any capacity has said “Get good grades if you want to get into a good school” I am sure anyone reading this has been told the same. SO my question here is this…Do they not look at grades because they simply do not have access to them as most colleges would?, or do they overlook grades because they just want to sucker any and everyone who is willing to attend this school? Of that I am not certain, but I am sure it is one of the two if not a combination of both.
Once this was said the person speaking said that they would be willing to waive the $25.00 application fee if we filled it out right then and their. WoW!!! then once he saw that not everyone was biting into the application fee pitch he BEGAN to say that they would be willing to also waive another $25.00 fee but I didn’t hear which fee that was because Debbie pulled him aside real quick and told him not to offer to waive the second fee he was about to propose.
To me that reeked of discention and lack of coordination on the administrations part.
During the tour they openly admitted that they had changed names recently. This was a red flag for me too because most renowned colleges want to keep their name, not change it or even admit it had been changed recently. They did manage to order a bunch of pizza from the local Little Ceasar’s where we got to talk to all of the instructors…odd I thought they would be TEACHING A CLASS!!! not having a pizza party with a bunch of tourists. One thing that happened here was, the teacher that said he helped the students develop a website for their “online portfolio” seemed to know very little of actual web design. Which is something I tinker with, so when I started bringing up terms like CSS, JavaScript, Python, Perl, HTML, xTML, MySQL, C++ and C# etc. he was staring at me like I was talking Greek or from another planet or something. And for those of you who may not know about making a website…anyone of those above mentioned “Greek words” is a must in most cases especially if your going to be “cutting edge” like this place claims to be.
In the end we both decided that my brother would NOT be attending this college. I will admit though that my exposure to this place was limited so I can’t even name all the names everyone else can. BUT…like I said earlier I intend to spend the next 6 hours taking key names and events from this forum along with others that I may find and post all of the details I can find on each name and event along with weblinks in hopes that other prospective students will stay away from this school.