Kitty920

Review of The Art Institue of Atlanta

Me and my step grandfather went to this college ye...

Me and my step grandfather went to this college yesterday to sort out financial aid. We did not want to accept loans, so the plan was to take a class or two at first. A financial aid officer pretty much said that it'd be better to go to a community college due to the expenses or possibly dual enroll. Out of everyone we've met at that college, she was by far the most honest about the colleges' situation and stated that the quality of the Art Institutes have indeed declined throughout the years (she has been there for 20 years). We could tell she wasn't lying.

We found out that the enrollment counselor was listening to the entire conversation out side of the door, because when she came back into the room she was fuming, stating something like "we can't keep going back and forth with this". She lied about the state of the Institutes, which we could both see since she was blinking her eyes rapidly as if to avoid eye contact. She was also dancing around our question instead of being direct about the college closings. The woman even had the nerve to rush us out without saying goodbye or wishing us a good day. This was EXTREMELY off-putting to us both, and creepy of the enrollment counselor to eavesdrop on this. The other enrollment counselor I had before this was was disorganized and also had no idea what she was talking about. I also didn't quite like how she was speaking to us. It felt like she was talking to a kindergarten class; not an adult student and parent.

The enrollment counselors care more about their pockets than helping the students. I highly recommend NOT attending this college. It'll likely go out of business anyway. Please go to a community college or take a mentorship. You'll be seen as a joke if you attend here, and your credits might not transfer to other places if you choose to transfer. This may be way the transfer rate is as low as it is. It even has a low retention rate. Attendance has declined throughout the years for a very good reason.

On a side note, the security doesn't seem to be the best. We all know drugs are on every campus, but when students are clearly smoking weed and possibly consuming alcohol (me and my step grandfather have smelled strong vomit and weed both times that we've been to the college where the students hang out), this is a possible sign that nothing is regulated here, and it's a small campus; that's inexcusable. What would security do in more serious causes like weapon possession?

Anyway here are the pros and cons I've seen so far:

Pros:
-There are some professors from SCAD there.
-If you're passionate at what you do, then you have the potential to be successful. If you procrastinate, then definitely don't go here because from what I've heard there's not much room for absences and they can SEVERELY hurt your grades.
-The college on an aesthetic level looks nice, with each floor matching the theme of the specific program.

Cons:
-It's VERY expensive; even if you attend a quarter with one class (it's around $2,000+; this doesn't include books and the kit). You can get a quality education at a community college, which is MUCH cheaper!
-Credits might not transfer.
-Based on my experience, the enrollment counselors seem to be more interested in your money than your best interests.
-A good portion of the staff there seems unprofessional, with some helpful people mixed in.
-Security is questionable.
-A lot of students mention having LOADS of debt and say that the
college doesn't help them get jobs.
-Degrees here are said to be worthless, and considering the Institutes are likely not going to be around much longer, it might not be a good idea to invest here.