The Art Institutes

I attended this school back in the day. They sell you a promise of a well paying career in culinary arts. You'll make more than enough money to pay off that loan from Sallie Mae they love to push. That was a lie. After graduating I would be hired making barely enough to make ends meet. This is common, very very very few of us from our class make a decent living if we stuck with culinary arts. I actually earned less than my neighbor who worked at McDonald's at the time. The degree is incredibly overpriced,... Read More go to a community college and learn for a fifth of the price. Seriously, DO NOT waste your money. I struggled for years, I felt like a failure. Also, if you lapse on your loan payment, Sallie Mae calls your about three times a day. I eventually enrolled in a 4 year state college(which was STILL MUCH CHEAPER). I make a great living writing software. Also, those classes you take at AI? Only 30% of them transferred. AIH was a HUGE mistake. I'm still paying the loan($400 a month), I have a degree I don't use professionally and I'm ashamed to admit I have.

They make you feel very welcome. When I first spoke to them at an open house, they seemed really excited at the idea of me applying to them, and I did. I was accepted very quickly, they didn't look at my portfolio or my transcripts, and I hadn't even gotten out of the initial interview with them before the admissions rep told me I was in. Well, fast forward a year. I took a leave of absence after the first semester, because the quarterly fees were bleeding me dry ($600 dollars every two/three months,... Read More on top of having to spend about $200 on supplies for several classes,) and I had other health reasons to focus on. It's been six months since then, and when I tried to get a forbearance on my loans to give me more time, they told me they couldn't. One semester, and I have about $16k in student debt. 9/10 times, the instructors don't give a shit about you. I had one instructor fail me because he didn't grade my final. I've dropped classes because the instructor refused to help me. It is a glorified business school with an outrageous price tag that "specializes" in art. Do not go here. Please, do not give these greedy bastards anymore money. If it wasn't so expensive, more specialized, and hired teachers that actually worked in the fields they were teaching, it wouldn't be half bad.

The classes and instructors are excellent and they really care about your success. But the price is ridiculous. Don't spent 90,000 getting a BA unless someone else is paying for it (VA, employer, etc). Art degrees generally don't pay very much so it's a bad investment. The only reason I'm going to this school is because I'm getting VA Voc Rehab and they are paying for 100% of it, including books. But I will admit, I LOVE the classes, they are very good and fun. There aren't any filler classes and... Read More the quality of education is far superior to that of other online universities. If you don't have outside funding, find another school or do an apprenticeship program, you'll be a slave to the student loan debt for far too long. College is a scam to create more debt slaves

I thought this school was great when I started but after leaving I realized what a scam they are. I only attended one quarter and had to leave for medical reasons. My first quarter was only $3000 but they tried to charger me another $9000 for a second quarter that I did not attend. After a month of pestering them to drop my second quarter charges I found out two of my grants were not accepted. They didn't inform me of this until after my loans wer ccanceled so I'm not stuck paying out of pocket to... Read More them AND my loan company. One grant was not accepted due to the fact that they did not finish filing the paperwork. I enjoyed my professors as people but as teachers they simply used YouTube tutorials for many lessons which I could find without paying $300 per credit hour to watch. Now that I'm not attending AI they call me atleast once a week to try to get me to come back and I have also realized the credits I earned are not transferable to any school. Whenever I first applied I was told that the credits were able to be transferred among other things that were untrue. I enjoyed being able to do what I loved and learn more about it but if I knew it was going to cause me this much trouble after leaving I would have never went.

Do not go here!!! It's a scam to get your money!! They pressure you to get loans that you'll never be able to pay off!! The terms change all the time. Please listen to me- go to a REAL school. At least your degree will be worth something. If you don't believe it then research for yourself. Just know that they do fake reviews to make their reviews better. You have to know that NO school would get 5 stars from any student so the fact that they do that should prove to you what a scam it is. I don't... Read More want to see any more young people go through what I and all the ones who graduated with me went through. If you need more convincing, call a place you want to work and ask them if they would hire someone with a degree from there. That's the real test.

The school is good but it is expensive. I live in student housing and we have our rooms searched at least once a month. There is no alcohol allowed in the apartments regardless of your age. I only recommend attending this school if you have money and you have a place to live outside of the student housing. My car has been vandalized due to the careless "security". I have no problem with the teachers they have taught me a lot since I first attended the school. DO NOT LIVE IN THE STUDENT HOUSING!!!... Read More THIS IS A WARNING!!

I loved going to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Unfortunately I was one of those students who transcended right out of high school and I really didn't take college very seriously. I am going back to school now for my MBA and I'm incredibly nervous. The Instructors at AIP and the Advisors were amazing! Things changed drastically after the de-expansion if you will. It was a little depressing. A lot of the staff was either relocated or let go. Major chunks of the building were empty and it did change... Read More the demeanor and atmosphone of the Institute. It is, after all the oldest in the country! EDMC bought the Art Institute and there were so many changes made. So the beginning was great! The last year.. EH. I did take a few online courses and I really enjoyed those.

I am currently a student at the art institute of Michigan and I am a victim of this school our school here is has broken so many academic law upon students by not updating ecompanion grades also we have no dean no president here this school is going bankrupt please new students don't come here the audio program is the worst program here and the sad thing about this school is that you can not take any art institutes to court if thereis anyone out there please help us god we have no dean or president... Read More

It all began during one of my summer breaks working at a Pizzeria. I quickly became head cook and was seriously thinking about a culinary career. Went to the open house and applied to the Art Institute and was accepted nearly immediately. I was feeling really good about the school. Went to my first classes and found that most instructors were terribly laid-back. That was cool and all but most of the class time was spent chatting and learning close to nothing. Then I was required to take a class that... Read More was all about learning about the city I moved to, nothing about culinary anything. Just the city. Then I found out how much I was paying for that one class and it was about $1,000. I felt that most of my classes were filler and the only real education I got was during the hands-on classes which was only once a week from 6 or so to 11PM. Yes, 11PM. The last bus to my dorm was at 11:15PM. I never received any financial help, as in applying for scholarships. I was told that it was very accessible at the school. Every time I tried, I never got an answer. Maybe it was just that the first year classes are so uninformative. I ended up staying only four months at the school and found that the only thing I learned about was how to use the cities skywalks more effectively. So, here I am, not even employed in the culinary field, hearing about how awful AI is every once in a while and I can only nod and wish I didn't have a $6,000 debt for attending the college for 4 months. I have also heard of many lawsuits against AI. It is worth a google search.

Interior Design always intrigued me, and I felt the degree would be a practical application for my art. Initial costs were reasonable for the first year with significant scholarships and grants. Each year tuition increased dramatically and "amazingly" scholarships no longer could aid me during my entire senior year (even with all A's). There came a time I had to choose to leave with debt and no degree OR stay and finish the degree with more debt. Teachers were disassociated from students. Work load... Read More was overwhelming and stressful. The school is designed suck the life and money out of its students. If you got an A you passed - just the same as the F student. I've been yet to stabilize an Interior Design at a firm. Let alone a job at Home Depot. Experience is all that matters and firms and government establishments could care less about a degree. I've been struggling to find work, paying hundreds of dollars a month towards my debt, and continue to get rejection letters to potential jobs. My resume is precise. My advice, "If you have a leg in the door -then be my guest." I wish I could have chose another degree every day. But, now I'm stuck. I learned how to professionally upholster to earn my living. It's dirty and hard labor, but it's what I have to do to make it.

Is The Art Institute a good School? Yes. Are they extremely overpriced? Yes. I really liked my time at the art institute. I felt like all of the instructors were very professional, knowledgable, & helpful. The challenge i had was with my degree. I did a one year diploma program. I chose the 1 year plan because i thought it would give me a focused direct classes pertaining to web dev/design. I was disappointed when i had to take intro to audio and video classes, just to fill my schedule. But overall... Read More my experience there was a good one.... at least on campus. Campus classes were great. The few online classes that i took were an absolute joke. They are still usting technology from the 90s for classes. Old Forums, old online ebooks. The really need to introduce new thechnolgoy to make the online classes better: google hangout, skype...anything really. However, once i left and started working, and the reality of how much my school cost me, it really hurt. 24,000.00 for one year of school. You can get a 4 year degree for that kind of money. Granted, i didnt want a 4 year degree. But it has not been easy paying that off, and i have been able to get good jobs making good money.

At first I was excited to go to this school because I enjoy animation and drawing so I thought to myself Ill pay my debt when I have a good job with my degree. Wrong. This school didnt help me at all this school has ruined everything and now I owe the biggest debt ever that I had in my life considering it my very first which means I cant get a good job or go to another school and wont be able to live in my own place thanks to the art institute. The financial aid is a joke and they are no help disapointed... Read More me and will never enter that school for any reason what so ever.

I am halfway through my Bachelor of Fine Art in Media Arts and Animation at The Art Institute of Atlanta. Whereas, I can agree with some of the posts here regarding the fact that Ai allows under achievers in, I have also been challenged, and learned a great deal more than I had ever previously learned at 2 other community colleges. I have had instrustors who have doen work on major motion picture,s, and I have been diligent, and accountable enough to my studies, and to the impression I leave on my... Read More faculty. This is because I take responsibility for my own success, and do not complain about a school or take all the credit when I succeed. I work full time to pay for my degree, and in my opinion, AiAtlanta is exactly where I want my Degree from. Anyone who talks down an Art Institute is either too lazy to do the work, or was not talented and let themself belive they were, or had family lie to them, and say they were. Admissions at a tech college like Ai is not qualified to even ask for your portfolio, so if you suck at drawing, or are not driven to succeed, then yes, stay away from AI. But I have met way too many successful grads, and faculty around the college at this point to sit back and let haters slam my College.

I graduated with honors. After graduating, the career adviser did precious little in giving me leads for potential jobs. Once I expressed my concern over the lack of interest, he offered a small amount of leads. In a six month time, he might have suggested 10 opportunities. Six months after my graduation, he send an email stating that the new grads take precedent over those of us still looking for a job in our field. After four years and thousands upon thousands of dollars, these people are quick... Read More to cut graduates loose after six months.

I am currently still enrolled with this school but once this semester is over I will be leaving. So let me start of with the fact I am a us veteran. Since I enrolled a year ago I have had nothing but trouble with reviving my GI benefits because of the school. Every semester I have gone through the same issues. They continuously forget to submit paperwork to the VA which causes me to not receive my benefits. I am among many of the veterans that attend this school who have the same on going issues.... Read More Next this school has got some of the worst instructors/teachers I have ever seen. The majority of them use youtube as their tool of choice when it comes to teaching. They spend more time telling you to youtube the class agenda for the day rather than physically teaching you. I could have saved the VA and tax payers dollars by staying at home and doing that. Then once you actually get a teacher who actually tries to instruct you, they have no idea what they are talking about. I have a history teacher who told our class that the earth is only 4,000 years old. That shows you the kind of intelligence these teachers have. Next this school will enroll anyone and I mean anyone just so they can make money. We have students there who struggle with simple tasks throughout the entire course and learn nothing and they will just push them along till they fail and move on to the next which is wrong. I am not saying that the mentally challenged don't deserve a chance to goto school and to try and make something of themselves but you can not throw them into technically challenged curriculum. If I could give no star's to this school on ratings I would. I do not recommend this school to anyone. I suggest a university or community college.

AiP, much like the other Art Institutes, is a pathetic excuse for a college. Rarely did I feel genuinely challenged in the entire four years I was enrolled because the projects were easy. This is because the school will accept absolutely anyone. You don't need actual talent to pass or even excel, and even with the more difficult majors like game design, your success is almost certainly due to skills you already had before you got there. Financial services are a joke - they just have you sign papers... Read More while telling you everything is under control and you have no idea what you're getting yourself into. Career services is worthless too - you might get an internship if you're really lucky. I was told I wasn't experienced enough to do freelance work via the school after I'd had my work published several times. The fact that I was getting a bachelor of SCIENCE degree in a field of art rather than a bachelor of art or fine arts degree should have been a big flaming red flag, but I was stupid and assumed the school was worthwhile. AiP is a worthless school - a diploma mill in college's clothing and what you'll leave with is six figures of debt and a degree you'll never ever use. I kid you not, I couldn't even get a job making coupons for the local newspaper with my AiP degree. Yeah, that BS is just that - BS. The only thing you'll be able to use your Art Institute degree for is to line your coat when you're homeless under the weight of crippling, unforgiving debt. Art majors aren't very lucrative career choices to begin with, but if you absolutely must attend art school, PLEASE don't go to an Art Institute. Actually, I would strongly suggest auditing art classes and majoring in something more practical. Learn from my mistake, folks. Don't irrecoverably bury yourself in debt at this horrible school.