School of the Art Institute of Chicago — Local services in Chicago

This is for the school portion of the Art Institute of Chicago. This place is absolutely amazing. The course layout and way students are able to pursue the things that make them the best artist/creator/person they can be is incredibly well thought out. It lets the artist, become the best they can possibly be. My daughter has dreamed of going here and got accepted. The visit to the campus and staff, even in horrible weather, was excellent. If there is any one place in the entire US that my daughter could thrive, where she can be with people that understand her, students and staff alike, it's here. It's very expensive though, at least for me as a single father. Even with the nice Scholarship my daughter got, it breaks my heart that we may simply not be able to afford it. We're trying to find any scholarship opportunities we can, but the alternative would be to finance more than I owe on my house, which is scary. This is such an amazing place, and I know she would do so well and it would literally be life shaping for her, so it hurts to my core that we may not have a way to send her. Don't let our struggles stop you though. If you can afford to attend or send your child, it's definitely worth it. People that come out of SAIC go on to change the world and give us the images, ideas, concepts, etc that we see in all parts of our lives. If you want to give your child the best possible chance to be the best they can be, SAIC can certainly help them become...

Rude staff. There is not nearly enough benches to let people rest when they walk through a large amount of rooms. You're aren't allowed to drink from your water bottle which is absurd, even when the ground is stone.

You're not allowed to wear a backpack on your back, instead they force you to wear it on your front which is boubd to hurt your back. This seems to be an excuse for them not properly adding barracades to protect art.

People were using chairs that looked reasonable to use and the staff rudely told them they weren't for public use. If they aren't for public use them lock them up. The only reason people are rushing them is because there is not nearly enough benches to sit in the first place.

I found one nice staff member that let me drink my water bottle.

And to top it off you are also not allowed to eat anywhere in the building. They used to have a cafe but it was roped off.

Needless to say, I had a terrible head ache by...

A very shoddy operation. Very unorganized. My daughter attended the architecture program and she had more knowledge than the instructor. There was no syllabus, no rubric and no formal discussion on the fundamentals of architecture. It was basically a money grab, from the $11 a day allotted for food to the instructor who was there as a “summer gig”. The administrators are rigid and condescending when try ti get info on the school. I’m sure the program has some good traits we just did not see any. Be very leery of sending your...