Should you go to art school?
when I was in high school, I didn’t know what was the best choice for me as far as going to college, all that I knew was that I wanted to study graphic design. it wasn’t until I went to a liberal school and asked to study both art and business, where they told me that I would have a delayed graduation year. that is when I made the decision to go to art school, and in my case, I wanted to go to the best design school that I could get into. when I got accepted into SVA, it was my birthday and from a person from a small town being accepted to art school in New York, felt like a dream. from then on, I wanted to go to art school.
after graduating from SVA, so many people asked me so many questions as far as was art school worth it? to be honest, I feel that art school is mainly a personal decision. but what I realized is that so many people cannot afford to go to art school or go to a design school without investing a lot of money into the program. Which made so much sense because I didn’t know anyone around me who graduated from art school at the time, and I always wondered why there wasnt as much YouTube videos or blogs about going to art school in comparison to just going to college in general.
to just rip the Band-Aid off, our school was $200,000 for the entire four years, Now I’m going to be completely honest my family could not afford this at all, but I don’t know how I magically did it, but I ended up going to art school and finishing college. so many people feel going to art school is completely out of the question and parents especially for the fact that they are paying for a art degree and not a degree in law, or even the medical field. To be honest, I completely understand, Graduating college I don’t know why I decided to go to art school or why it was so expensive, but I feel like my story is important to share. I was not as fortunate as some of my classmates were going to school, and I began to notice that when I started entering my classes. I felt so left out, sometimes being the student that wore slipper slippers to class, and my hair halfway done in comparison to the person sitting next to me wearing Dior. it’s quite funny actually, But at the same time, even though I sometimes felt left out and felt bad, and always questioned myself as of why I was even there I would never regret this experience in my life. I felt studying in New York, really changed my mindset about everything in life And made me realize my potential of what I could be as a designer. And I feel like I would’ve never gotten to live that experience if I didn’t go to art school.
no, anyone want to ever ask me if they should go to art school, I would tell them to do what feels best for them. I don’t believe in telling people what they should, and shouldn’t do with their life or tell them what decision is best for them because it’s not my life. I would say, however, though, if you’re not sure about your major, or you’re not completely dedicated to pursuing that major for the rest of your life, then don’t go. I knew from the moment that I stepped foot and SVA, that this was going to be my career for the rest of my life, and I began to realize that figuring out my career early on was something that I was lucky to have in comparison to other classmates of mine, who really didn’t know what to do, or what’s a major in. But I would say to never let money or people or parents, or other teachers and faculty deny you of pursuing what you want in life. So many people at the time deny me and say that going to school is the complete worst decision of your life, and that you will be in debt for the rest of your life, but I decided to take that risk anyway. I’m still living my life, so I don’t know how this will play out, but I do know that I am dedicated to presuming my career, and I know that going to art school was probably one of the best decisions of my life.
on the dark side, though, something about my stories, completely different from everyone else’s, because during this time, I had to study school remotely from my room, and I actually didn’t get to experience the full full life of living in New York as a designer. Because of Covid and everything shutting down, I was forced to move back home and study in my room as I went to school online and because of personal reasons I did not feel comfortable going back to New York by myself, especially leaving my family behind for three of my college experience I studied at home. So it’s weird to even say if I ever actually went to art school. Sometimes I do see myself even as a self taught designer, because art school did not teach me how to run a design business it taught me how to be a great designer. I feel like an art school as well. There was a lot of favorites within the departments I felt certain students were favored than others, and that gave other students better opportunities in comparison to everyone else, but that’s just my personal opinion.
overall, if you want to go to art school or you were thinking about sending your child to art school, I would say consider the factors of how badly and how passionate you are going to art school.
