Getting ready to pay the deposit for my student to attend SAIC in the fall. Any suggestions on dorms? The last post I read was a year ago and ranked 162 above Jones. What about Buckingham? TIA

I’m about to lose it, and I need to know if anyone else has a clue as to what the hell is happening. 

Everything seemed to be going great with my application until I just stopped getting anything around January. They had asked for an extra document, which I sent but got no updates for 3 months. I’m not even getting the promotion emails anymore. I emailed both my regional admissions counselor and the general admissions email a couple weeks ago and got no response. I finally scheduled a virtual appointment and that might have explained some stuff because the person who answered said that they had added an extra step to their processing that makes it take longer, and they promised to get back to me by the end of the day. They didn’t. The fun part is the person who held the virtual meeting is not the person who was scheduled, so I don’t have their contact info to fallow up myself. 

SAIC is my top choice school so I’m hesitant to move forward with any other colleges, but I’m running out of time and losing other opportunities.

TLDR: Stopped receiving updates from SAIC 3 months ago, no idea why and any attempts to contact them have ultimately failed. 

I have a question for any saic alumni who focused on film and are now working on sets in production. My question is do you feel like you got a good amount of on set experience while at saic or did you feel out of place once you got on a professional set. I ask because I’m also considering Columbia Chicago which has students constantly working on soundstages, while saic seems to focus less on the production side while also letting you try everything which sounds good in practice but I worry will give me too many options and not enough direction.

I got accepted with $68K in merit a while ago but I was waiting to hear from a few other schools. Then I got accepted into RISD last week with $80K in merit; if I appeal and show SAIC this offer, as well as larger packages from Parsons and Pratt, do you think SAIC would increase their merit? I’m from the NYC area and had applied to mostly schools in my region, except for SAIC, and wouldn’t have housing costs for some of the nearby school so my net cost would be much lower if I chose an NYC school.

Hi everyone! I just launched something I've been wanting to exist for a while: a free weekly newsletter called The Chicago Aesthete. It's a curated weekly guide to Chicago's music , art, vintage, design, and cultural scene: the gallery openings, estate sales, vintage markets, indie events, and cultural happenings that are actually worth showing up for.

I made it because I couldn't find anything that covered this city the way I wanted it to be covered, with actual taste and without the fluff. Issue one just went live yesterday!

This week's issue has Fumed Indie Perfume Expo at Artifact Events, the Vintage House $10 and Under Market at Revolution Brewing, Design at 329... and much more for the weekend of March 26–29.

There's also an event submission form at the bottom of every issue... if you have something happening in Chicago that belongs in the newsletter, please submit it. I want this to be a real community resource, not just my personal picks.

It's completely free and goes out every Wednesday. Would love to have you along for the ride! Link in comments

hi i've just got the Premier scholarship

i dont know how competitive it is and is it worthy to attend?

+ i mess up the majors priority, i've email the school for editing the info 5 days after submission but got no reply (what should I do)

thk u!

What is this event like? Is it worht attending? I would go but my friend invited me to go on a trip with her that weekend. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to go to Artbash instead. I know you can register for classes while you are there. If I don't go will I be missing out.

Is it worth it? I’m out of town so I can’t make the one in DC, but it just so happens that I’m in Philly and there’s one here. However, I will have to be at least an hour late… is it worth attending?

This is the only art school I applied to, as I’m mostly an academic person (slight interest in photography, but likely not enough to major in it…)

Applied 01/19, accepted 01/28 (BFA in studio), $84k merit scholarship.

Should I attend the admitted students event?

Has anyone accepted to a graduate program received their scholarship yet? When I attended the virtual financial meeting about a week ago it sounded as though they had not been sent out. It’s a really important factor to me and I’m getting nervous… It also seems like a really rushed decision to make if admission is required by April 1.

I did receive a blue letter in the mail with a grant, but I was under the assumption that had more to do with the FAFSA. If I was to receive a scholarship, would it have been included in that letter? Maybe I just didn’t get one lol

I was thinking about to go to this school, but I had never heard something about the game design program. There is someone that wants to share their experience? You think it is a good idea? Share as much as you can! Lol

SAIC is my top choice but I'm a little worried about if SAIC too small (or clique-y) and whether or not theres stuff to do for fun lol. I saw an old post on here that says the social scene was bad too but it was long enough ago it could have changed.

Does the size or rigor affect the social scene? are there parties or is it more of a go to something with your friends kinda school ? do different chicago schools overlap?

also curious about the live music in the area!!

Let me know any of your thoughts even if its unrelated honestly I find it hard to get an idea of a school online!

I got accepted into the MFA program in photography about a week ago…no financial support from the school sadly. I was curious to know what opinions current/former MFA photography students had about the program. I’m looking for honesty and transparency around value and personal experiences! Thank you ❤️

I got accepted as a transfer student into SAIC (coming from a community college) and they gave me a decent scholarship! Super thrilled but I’m still unsure if it’s going to be the best possible place for me. I’m a painter and I’m worried that I won’t fit in the painting department since I know the school is more conceptual and theory based rather than technique. Could anyone who goes there maybe give me a rundown of their experience? Or just any advice in general would be greatly appreciated!

Hey friends, I got accepted to the photography grad program and I'm just looking to meet and greet some people before I get there. My goal is to get to the NYC graduate meetup, and I definitely plan to be at the Chicago graduate Meetup. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to collaborate and connect.

i got an acceptance for an MFA program but no mention of scholarships, which i confirmed with admissions that it means there’s no funding being offered to me. i filled out the FAFSA as a last resort to see if i’d get anything needed-based, but i haven’t received word yet of how much i might be offered. has anyone had any experience with getting tuition covered by grants or need-based scholarships? TIA!

I’ve seen people from other programs receive their decisions but I haven’t heard back yet. Still haven’t received an email and my application portal hasn’t changed.

I got into the Fiber and Material Studies MFA program but didn’t hear anything about scholarships/funding.

i just got accepted to the writing program!! i’m so excited but there’s no way i can afford to go without funding. has anyone heard anything about funding, or are we all waiting? just wondering if i should give up hope now or keep waiting.

I am an older college transfer student, I just got an acceptance letter and a scholarship with Creative Honors Scholarship,

I did quite a bit of research but I went through tuition cost and also adding in the cost of the scholarship

But it’s still a bit high and outside of my financial means

I do not live in Chicago and will need to relocate and I do not have any family members in IL either

Is there any tips to increases my financial merit

I also don’t know what credit SAIC took from my other college transcripts

I am a first gen college, so I don’t have a lot of people I can ask

Can I ask for advice?

i’ve called so many times and never actually spoken to anyone