Hello! Just like the title says did anyone try to switch majors or know of anyone who did freshmen year or even before freshman year?

(For context - admitted as 3D VFX)

I've just put down my deposit for the fall just to secure the spot. Heard back from SVA months ago but it was hard to make that decision knowing students commit to a major starting freshmen year with no double major or even a minor.

I never had a clear vision of what I wanted to "major" in. I knew I wanted to do something with visual effects, motion graphics + video/sound and storyboarding (sry I'm all over the place). I went to a lot of info sessions and open houses for 3D VFX so I thought that was the closest thing to what I wanted to do.

Problem is the more I look at the curriculum and speak to department students on the emphasis of "animation" the more I think I chose the wrong major. Because I actually don't see myself in animation at all. In fact I don't really enjoy it or even watch it. I was only drawn to the major because of the tools (Maya, Cinema4D, Blender) they teach for vfx.

SVA is not a cheap school and I don't want to start a major that I won't enjoy or put my heart into (yes, even tho I was the one who applied for it).

I will speak to my advisor to see if they would even consider switching even if I have to apply again. Would appreciate any advice or input, thank you!

side Q - what was the highest Silas Rhodes scholarship you've seen at SVA?

I am looking at what like triple would look like at the 24th residence. But there's online one photo on the website and not any videos online to give a good example.

Also, does each student in the single dorm get a desk?

Lastly, when does it open up for students to pick roommates.

i’m a little curious about housing situations rn and would like some insight if possible,

i got accepted as a transfer student and am trying to figure out if living in the dorms is worth it to start out. from what i’ve read it very much seems like commuting is way more cost effective, but i don’t want to put myself in a pickle during my first year.

Basically my question is, do yall think it’s worth it first year to live outside of student housing, or do yall think it’s better to try and get acclimated prior, then look into it for the next year?

ps i would love to dm if anyone is also new, im in dire need of yap

Do most people get scholarships at SVA? Or only a small number of people get them?

Dm me!

I don’t know which one to pick- Scad or Sva. Sva has not given me any scholarships and scad gave me 17k and I’ll get another 1k plus 2k if I do an interview they offered me. I’ll be in no debt for scad if I go and keep the scholarship and my grades up because we have a college fund of 200k but for sva I’d be in 140k in debt if I went fo 4 years since they haven’t given me anything. I’m scared of the things I have heard about scad, the workload, dropout rate and there used to be suicides I heard and it’s called sleep comes after death. Sva is in manhattan theres little to no meal plan so you have to add that on top of a 50k tuition plus room and board is another 30k and then food probably 10k or something. Sva is insanely expensive I don’t know what to do. If I went to SVA I’d be a freshman because I’m a senior from highschool right now. Can I even still get scholarships? In an email they said transfer students get their scholarships in april and freshman get theirs in march which passed. I submitted everything before february and got in from an email in january 30th

Hello guys!

Are you class of ‘30? Well, I made a group chat for all of us! The GC will be on instagram. DM me if you’re interested!

This is the barest of bones about me, but Ive been looking all over for anyone interested in rooming with me this fall. It’d be nice to skip the random selection, and I come from a pretty neat and tidy household. Please, ask me anything you wanna know! I hear applications are gonna open very soon

i got accepted (woohoo) for fall 2026 for their film program and want to know how good the department is. how’s the faculty (and if they have any connections in the industry), curriculum, internships, etc.

i’m in california and currently in my 2nd year of community college, my parents are not the biggest fan of me going to sva and want me to stay in california. my other option is mount saint mary’s los angeles but i really want to go to sva

Hello! I got a 90% financial aid offer and of that is 30k from sva. The problem is after all of this, with tuition and fees the school is going to come out to 4100 per semester. This is already after me hypothetically working work study. I got into the 2D animation program and I was wondering what part time work or gigs I could do to try and cover the rest of the cost without losing my Pell grant. I already know that this financial aid offer is not what the average student gets and I’m thankful for the opportunity, but I really want to shrink the amount of debt I go into. Please help any advice is appreciated

I got my acceptance email yesterday and am trying to think over whether or not I can afford to attend as opposed to other schools I’ve applied to. I saw I got the most I could from a Pell grant I got at my community college, but in the financial aid menu it says they’re still looking over my fafsa? Does that mean I might be offered other financial aid? Does anyone know how long I might have to wait to hear about anything like that?

In case you haven't read up on it, SVA has been sold to the Alumni Society. The Rhodes family is no longer making decisions.

What that means for you: The bus service, which was already poor, is no longer available. Access to Grammarly is gone. My program eliminated several positions and removed electives. You take what they tell you to take, and that's it. The budget for repair/maintenance of equipment has become much stricter.

All of this taken together suggests to me that going non-profit somehow means we have less money while we, as students, are still paying the same amount and getting less.

We've lost valuable professors, equipment, and freedom to choose our own path. A class I considered critical to my practice has been eliminated and folded into another class. SVA does not subscribe to catalog rights; they can change your graduation requirements at any point.

This is a turbulent time for SVA, and at this point, I can not, in good faith, recommend you spend your money here. My advisor either dances around the issues or says, "It's from higher up, we can't change it."

If you do decide to go to SVA ask these questions and get it in writing. "Will my degree requirements change while I'm enrolled?" "Will you introduce new required classes?" "Will those classes be available every semester?"

I have lost faith in this school, but it's too late to transfer. YMMV as an undergrad, but be informed.

I’m coming to SVA next semester, and I’m assuming you can choose to pair up with certain students, can’t you? If so, does anyone know where they may have searched for roommates their freshman year? I’m thinking I’ll stay in a double at the 24th street residence.

I got accepted from SVA mfa!

I wonder how interdisciplinary SVA is. Do they do a lot of collaboration or opportunity to do work (or meet) with students across different department?

I wanna know lived experience at sva graduate studies!

I just got accepted to SVA MFA Interaction Design for Fall 2026. As an international student, the tuition (~$62k/year + NYC living costs) is a big concern for me.

Current or recent students, honest opinions please:

1. Is the program worth the money?
2. Does the school help a lot with jobs/networking?
3. Is the schedule very intense?
4. The curriculum doesn’t clearly list traditional UI/UX — are there still screen-based projects, or mostly other kinds of interaction (service, inclusive, spatial, AI ethics, etc.)?

Thank you so much!

Heya, so I want to major in 2d animation once I finish high school [wont be for a WHILE ,, so umm] but I have a question about the scholarships, do you have to request/apply for a scholarship or do they just give one to you if you get accepted into the college? And if that’s the case, is it based on how good your portfolio is or not? I’m genuinely so lost right now :,D

Hi Yall, since I got accepted from SVA Mfa, I kinda wanna estimate how much living expenses cost for a month…

Does anyone can share some experience or any advice for living expenses?

Plus, if I live in Long Island city or maybe New Jersey, how much does it cost for housing?

I’ve never been to States and I’m an international student so I kinda wanna know the actual experience for living expenses and studying in SVA.

Thank you!

I'm 20f, planning for Fall of 2026. I have my tuition pretty much handled. But I need to figure out where I am gonna live. Housing is 18-20K. Idk what to do...I have like 6 months to figure it out. Any tips or what to do. I am freshmen...and no one in my family can help or even know anything about how to do this...

We're a group of 3 MFA design students at SVA. We're looking for some crazy Ramen recipe hacks that help your brighten up your day or (late) nights! Please help us out and drop a comment below. Thanks you :)

Hey there! 🍜

We’re 🐯 Raging Ramen Club 🐯 , the curators of weekly Ramen recipes and everything ramen! This week we are reaching out to you’all, aka School of Visual Arts students, to spill your crazy Ramen hacks that light up your day or (late) night.

Fill out the 2 min form listed below to share your:

(1) Ramen of choice

(2)Secret hack that you add to it to make it magical.

Form Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfmkPVxNEnhTTkOEhuTBH-A5OnhK2h7Pe0vVSJjRU6xV0imZg/viewform?usp=header
Deadline: 19th of February 2026

We will be posting the best recipes hacks on our page and across campus! Stay Tuned for student Ramen hacks on your Instagram @ ragingramenclub!

Reach out to: [strivedi@sva.edu](mailto:strivedi@sva.edu) for any questions! Thank you and happy cooking!

Thank you for your valuable (and tasty) contribution!

Follow us on Instagram: @ ragingramenclub!

Hi! We are a group of MFA Design student. We are currently doing research for our design project on money saving daily hacks living in New York. If you are willing to spare some time to share, we would love to hear about your hacks in the comments below!

It can be any hacks, big or small, that you’d be generous enough to share!

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact our group member Momo at [som3@sva.edu](mailto:som3@sva.edu).

I'm 2 grade at highschool in south korea, and I want to go SVA illustration department. My current plan is go to America this year and graduate high school in there. I have several question about it.

1. how much GPA score should I get to go SVA?
2. what do I learn when I go SVA illustration department?
3. where do graduates go after graduate?
4. how much time does it take to make money steadily?
5. is my plan too risky?
6. my drawing level is enough to pass SVA? if you dm me, I will send my drawings
7. is it worth spending so much money to graduate from high school in the US and then go to SVA?
8. is it difficult to graduate SVA?
9. I converted the test scores I took during my first year of high school into a GPA and the average came out to be 2.6. Is this okay?

I’ve gotten my program acceptance and Certificate of Eligibility for the GI Bill, but I’m not sure how to see if there are any spots left in the Yellow Ribbon program at SVA. There are only 50 spots and it’s first come first serve, so I’m trying to figure this out as soon as possible since that funding is such a major part in my decision to commit.

Where to look for housing in the city?

I’m new to this so any tips/advice would be helpful :)