hey! I was just wondering if you could tell me about your experience at vcu? Im interested in being a communication arts major (or possibly trying to double major and take graphic design as well) there, so if you could tell me about what the classes were like, the workload, how you felt about the program and other general college student things if you have time, Id be so grateful!!
Hello anon, I’ll go into a few things but if you want a more in depth response, feel free to email me and we can chat. It’s hard to do an umbrella summary of art school, but specific question would be easier.
First thing, unless you’re rich and don’t mind being in school for a while, double majoring in ComArts and GDES (Graphic Design) is a no go. The programs were once one major years ago, but they’ve since been split, and almost none of the coursework is the same. You’d be here for seven years probably. My suggestion would be ComArts since it’s the most rounded and has a lot of options if you know what you’re after. Illustration, design, comics, 3d and game art, etc. GDES if your heart is absolutely set in just design. But you should ask a GDES major too.
As for ComArts, the workload is heavy, but not as heavy as it will be if you’re doing it right. If you go through the program without identifying what you want to do, at least narrowing it down to a field, you’ll end putting in a whole lot of work for not a lot of results. This major is more effective for those who figure out what commercial arts field(s) they want to go into, gear their classwork towards that field, form relationships with professors with experience in that field, and do a lot of extra curricular work and research about that field. There will be a lot of opportunities to learn and connect with people who can help you out, but if you don’t know what it is you want to do after college, you’ll end up just going to class and completing assignments and it won’t mean anything because it doesn’t build toward your career goal. So my suggestion is do some serious experimentation and research in your first 1-2 years of college, and in the last 2-4, get on your grind and do the dang thing. Even if you graduate without a sure fire plan of what’s next, your long term goals and confidence from knowing your shit will carry you through. That got a little sappy, but yeah.
As for general college things: have lots of experiences, utilize your school’s physical and mental health resources, do a lot of reading and research to find out what you’re passionate about because that’s how you’ll find friends you’ll keep and activities that matter to you, learn how to use the bus system if you’re not from a city, as soon as you can abandon meal plans and just get groceries, go to parties with at least one person you know, and if you like having sex: invest in lube and get tested to keep you and your partner(s) safe.
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