Art Institute of Inland Empire (San Bernardino, Fontana: fit in, find a job, safe area)

[villavillacola1111]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if the school's location is a safe area.

Also, I would love to hear any student's perspective of the school and the housing that they offer. (Or anything else you would like to add).

It's been awhile since I've lived in California, I use to live in Fontana.
I've been to San Bernardino before, it's a very big county so I have no idea which areas are good and bad. Plus like I stated before, it has been awhile...so maybe things have changed.

[sandiegan]

I used to do online advertising for the AIIE. It is a for profit school, and most jobs you are going to be able to get upon graduation are going to be very low paying. Average graduating salaries are less than $30,000 a year. I might consider trying to go to CSU San Bernardino. School is what you make of it, but for most (and there are exceptions), the Art Institute does not really help them that much in life.

[villavillacola1111]

...so, are you trying to say that the Art Institute is a rip off?


I think the only reason why I want to go to this school is because I can get my BFA in three years and they have a pretty good reputation (for the most part).

[serialdriller]

Art institute is definately a rip off.... Go to cal state like the above person said... infact with the way the economy is.. there probably isnt many jobs in the art industry....

Go into the healthcare field..... Become a nurse.... there is always demand just my 2cents

[eclipxe]

Agreed - Ai is a ripoff.

[villavillacola1111]

I know that if I go into the healthcare field, I will not be content with my job (that's not what I want to do). You are right, they usually can find a job easier.

...but isn't Cal State the same price as the Art Institute?

Hey "eclipxe", thanks for your two cents too. Not to sound "slow" or anything, but how is the Art Institute a rip off? Are the teachers not teaching the students what they need to know?
What is it?

I don't know if you guys have ever heard of SCAD (Savanna College of Art and Design), but I heard that they are a rip off too.

Is every Art school in the U.S a rip off?

[sandiegan]

Admissions: Tuition & Fees: Inland Empire
::CSUSB Department of Accounting:: Bursar : Fees for Winter 2009 (http://admnacct.csusb.edu/bursar_fees.htm - broken link)

"Bachelor's" degrees at AI run about 90 grand. Cal State is a lot less than that -- about $1300/quarter. That's a far cry from 90 grand.

Again, AI is a for-profit institution that admits anybody. Holding a degree from the school is not particularly useful because employers recognize that anyone is admitted, and students are simply put through the motions so that their tuition checks (from the government) can be cashed. If you are spending $90,000 on a tuition to get a job that pays a salary of $30,000 a year before taxes, that's not exactly a great return on investment in my opinion. Might as well get a blue collar job, because many pay better than any sort of position one can attain with a degree from The Art Institutes.

I don't know much about art schools, I know there are some prestigious ones like RISD RISD : Rhode Island School of Design . I don't know about any in Southern California.

[eclipxe]

Originally Posted by sandiegan

Admissions: Tuition & Fees: Inland Empire
::CSUSB Department of Accounting:: Bursar : Fees for Winter 2009 (http://admnacct.csusb.edu/bursar_fees.htm - broken link)

"Bachelor's" degrees at AI run about 90 grand. Cal State is a lot less than that -- about $1300/quarter. That's a far cry from 90 grand.

Again, AI is a for-profit institution that admits anybody. Holding a degree from the school is not particularly useful because employers recognize that anyone is admitted, and students are simply put through the motions so that their tuition checks (from the government) can be cashed. If you are spending $90,000 on a tuition to get a job that pays a salary of $30,000 a year before taxes, that's not exactly a great return on investment in my opinion. Might as well get a blue collar job, because many pay better than any sort of position one can attain with a degree from The Art Institutes.

I don't know much about art schools, I know there are some prestigious ones like RISD RISD : Rhode Island School of Design . I don't know about any in Southern California.

What he said. Same as degrees from many specialized healthcare vocational schools and University of Phoenix. When the barrier of entry is low, the resale value of the degree is reduced. A California State school or University of California school offers a MUCH cheaper education that has more long term earning potential. Most for-profit schools do whatever they can to keep students paying and therefore reduce the quality of education and rigor of program. Employers know this and know that you can pretty much slack your way through many of these programs without gaining the skills you'd need.

I'm in the tech industry and it's the same store for Devry, Westwood, other vocational tech schools. The degrees are fairly worthless.

[villavillacola1111]

Okay thanks, you guys answered my question very well and made a lot of good points.

Although, I have already paid the application fee for the Art Institute.
Haha, oh well.

Again, thanks.