The Art Institue of Atlanta Review

Great experience. As a teacher, I love that the students get a real life experience from serving to food preparation and presentation. Kudos to the students and their instructor.

**If you are a Veteran (Especially Voc Rehab) PLEASE Read this:
If you aren t going to stay at this school to finish your whole degree, your credits DO NOT transfer to another Art Institute. You spent all that money and time and you can t transfer the credit. I completed an Associates at Ai-Hollywood, walked into Ai-Atlanta and they wouldn t even accept my Portfolio 1 credit. You are made to feel like you have to start over. They wouldn t even let me contact the Director at my last school to get confirmation of another class I took. YET, I am about to enroll in another Art Institute and they are giving me the credit for a few classes Ai- Atlanta wouldn t. Again, you will waste your Veteran benefits at the Art Institute. This is why our counselors don t want us to go. My recommendation is to check out the Portfolio Center in Atlanta. It is on the list for approved institutions. Had I known about the Portfolio Center I would of went there instead. BUT since I wasted my time at the Art Institute, I can t go unless I pay out of pocket. The atmosphere is more artistic, realistic for adults wanting to switch careers and the class setting is more ideal. They are very pet friendly and have a pet park in the back of the school. Great for Vets with PTSD , but even if your aren t you can bring your pet. Just go check them out and ask to sit in on a class. most of not all, of the teachers are actively working in the industry. Which makes a huge difference! Thank me later. Shout out to Dr. Folkman though. I complained about a teacher at the school, and talked about the wealth of information that Dr. Folkman gives out and an administrator said she was more like an auntie , trying to minimize her experience level. They don t even value good teachers. Save your money VETS!

we called them on the phone while waiting outside their building for a tour we had scheduled and they hung up the phone and didn t do anything. They called us back and hung up again right after. Before the phone call we tried to enter the building but nobody was there and it was locked

Hello I am a mither of a student that went there for four years and she Graduated Not understanding how her GPS was as liw it was for her to have worked so hard for this Bachelor degree in fashion .The Fashion director was no help at all ....And this school is to much money to have gotten very little out of it....still....My daughter have not received her Bachelor degreeYet .Really it does sound good to talk to the new president.Im sorry but this school is just Awful.....

My son study Media Arts and Animation here. They has other fields to study ss fashion, culinary. Great President Mr. Newton. I admire this College. I you are one want to study that is your place. No matter whats what's your age.

Don't go there unless you have talent or are willing to put your all into becoming talented. The school is not what makes you a great artist, you have to be a self starter and go outside of class to learn additionally in your field. The school will help shape you and there are good instructors, but yes it is a for profit school that will accept anyone for their money. Just don't go to any art school if you are going to suck in your field. Any artists thinking a degree will give the credentials is a fool, it's all about making a good body of work for yourself whether the school helps you or not.

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.

Very Rude Teacher (Farsley)- The Culinary Program

1. Horrible Teacher (A teacher had the nerve to insult a few students- I told the Chairman and he did nothing about it even though he said he would).

I know that the entire faculty are not all bad employees... but as humans the bad always stands out more than the good.

Overall the College is great. It's expensive but you're also paying for the known name. Is like getting a name brand of an item. The kitchens are well equipped and give you a good feel for the industry; I just feel they should be at a faster speed once you pass the basics. The class doesn't really prepare you for real life kitchens. It's so fast in a real business and during the classes they give you 2-3 hours to do one dish when in reality that is not the amount of time you'll have.

Pretty with all the bells and whistles. Started application and I do not intend on attending, my selected admissions counselor was a bit too pushy and tried to get me to start when SHE wanted me to start. I repeatedly said the time frame I was aiming for and she just wasn t listening at all and told my parent I was starting on the date she kept pushing for. Finally called around and cut ties with her and moved to someone a little more patient.

In the end, I don t believe we will be good fit, tuition is also a bit too much. I m sure it will work for someone else, but not me.

I have very mixed feelings about this place. A good number of the instructors were excellent, and took serious pride in their work. Some were utter trash. The attendance policy was, at the time I worked here, a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen; no idea if that's been adjusted since I left. The admissions criteria has also hopefully been adjusted; when I was there, it was sufficient to have a barely detectable pulse. Kids who had zero business being in a college environment were pulled in just to make the numbers.