Virginia Commonwealth University- anybody got any info?

[brokk]

Surfing around landed me at the Virginia Commonwealth University site. I haven't talked or read any comments about it. The Communication Arts (Illustration · Drawing · Visual Studies) School it features seems pretty cool, they even give enmphasis to technical ilustration (for medical & scientific ilustration).
This is the site:
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/il...on/studios.asp

If anyone attended to this school or has any info on it, from a student's perspective, can you please share your thoughts on it? Thanks.

[dash shaw]

i have a lot of friends that go there and know some of the teachers. i know it has a really good sculpture department. i think that's their main thing when it comes to their visual arts department. i also know their "kinetic imagery" major combines film and animation and a lot of different things. that's supposed to be good. i'm afraid that's all i know. maybe i'll quiz my friends and post more later.

[brokk]

Thanks for the feedback, yeah it looks like an awsome school with killer departments. I live in Argentina, and the school here I'm hoping to go next year is supposed to organize events & workshops with VCU every now and then. I know the school here has exchange programs with foreign schools, I wonder if that means VCU is an option (hell I hope it is!)

[AnarchyAo2]

A couple of weeks ago we had a college student come into our high school art class. She is from VCU and while showing us her portfolio, she told us a bit about the college. She said they have a program where your expect to take every basic art class there is in your first year (I think). For example, if your majoring in fine arts, you still have to take sculpture and design etc. It a nationally reconized method of teaching.

Now, I wish she would have shown us some of her old artwork from high school and then her stuff from college so I'd know how much she learned. Some of her stuff was really good, some of it was really bad. Though, when your forced to take classes you don't want, your not gonna do as well in them as the ones you like. So I'm not going to hard the bad artwork against her.

A friend told me that VCU is ranked 6th on some art college ranking thing-a-ma-jig. Their best for their art program and their academic programs suck. VCU is located in the middle of Richmond. Its practically surrounded by ghetto. And my sister says that theres a lot of pot heads there (She goes to VT and shes a drunk so she doesn't really have any merit).

Now, I wish she would have shown us some of her old artwork from high school and then her stuff from college so I'd know how much she learned. Some of her stuff was really good, some of it was really bad. Though, when your forced to take classes you don't want, your not gonna do as well in them as the ones you like. So I'm not going to hard the bad artwork against her.

I'm thinking about going there, VCU is supposed to be into traditional media more then digital ( I dunno if they even have a digital art class). And I like that. Plus some of my friends are going there. I guess I better start get started on my portfolio.

**Here is more about the school and admissions**
VCU Art Department

[chudzta]

I live in Williamsburg, hour east of VCU. As an art school it is the best in the state, and there is no shame in going there. I just saw about 10 good friends of mine go there now and they are very talented kids. um metaphys cotron and metalwinds all live in richmond if you want to find their full s/n's and PM them about it. And yes, VCU academically (non art and non theatre) is one very trashy school. Party Party and richmond has more planned murders than any other city in the country (LA's are random homicides). But again, no shame in going there, but i wouldnt make it ur only choice as well. - ry

[Daissan]

Yeah, I applied there this year. Seemed like a OK school, but it was a little behind the times. They don't embrace computers as a valid artistic medium the way many other colleges across the country do. They don't outlaw them, but I didn't see any computer labs in the arts department, which is sadly dilapidated. The sculpture people and graduate students get pretty nice facilities, but things like illustration, kinetic imaging and whatever are confined to several small stories of a run down building. They've recently added a very nice Foundations studio on top of a parking garage (it really is nice. I'm not being sarcastic or anything, the view is amazing) but unless you're headed into sculpture you'll quickly find yourself crammed into tiny, dank, dimly lit rooms, using equiptment that was archaic when my dad went there.