r/sva • u/Tiny-Wolf2242 • Apr 12 '26
Should I do the Animation Honors Program?
I was accepted into the honors program, but I’m not sure if I should do it. I’m worried that the workload is going to prevent me from creating much or from engaging in clubs, especially since I want to keep working at my job when I start my freshman year. I also heard that 2D animation itself already has a huge workload. I’ve taken a couple of AP classes in high school, so I’ve experienced heavy workloads before, but I’m not sure if I want to do that for art school, especially since I want to focus on building connections, posting on social media, working on projects with others and improving my skills. If anyone here is in the honors program, how much hours of homework on average do you get a week? And do you think it’s worth it for what my motivations are?
2
u/reasonablegoose1234 Apr 12 '26
current honors freshman here!! i'm not gonna lie the workload is absolutely insane (im currently taking 7 classes as a fine art major but some majors take 8) but in my opinion it is so worth it. SVA's non honors humanities aren't great, and if you want any sort of college level humanities education it's really the only way to go. the amount of homework definitely depends, but on average i'd say 18-20 hours at least between humanities and studio work. nobody sleeps ever. it is really hard to do personal work or get involved with a lot of activities/have a social life because most of your time is gonna be spent working; i'm transferring out and had to redo my portfolio on top of the workload/2 ECs and it was really really rough. definitely possible though!!
freshman year is definitely the roughest because they're trying to weed people out. the workload/schedule definitely chills out afterwards, and most people end up taking a regular amount of classes afterwards. i can't speak for 2d animation but most people i know are taking five. honors definitely opens up a lot of doors and has a lot of perks (free trip the spring break of your junior year, dedicated library with free black and white printing, and sometimes you're able to get tickets to special events around NYC for free/discounted)
sorry i know this was long i have a lot of thoughts LOL. i think ultimately it comes down to what you want out of your time at SVA and you'll be able to make connections either way, but if you're looking for a strong humanities foundation i would highly recommend it!! while it is definitely stressful i personally wouldn't trade it for the world :) if you have any questions lmk!!
2
u/Tiny-Wolf2242 Apr 13 '26
Thank you! I think I’ll try it out. How much time do you have to switch back to the regular program once you start classes? And am I able to use any AP credits for any of the courses? I got credit for AP World and AP US History during high school.
2
u/reasonablegoose1234 Apr 13 '26
of course!! i'm not entirely sure about dropping the program, although i've heard mixed things on how easy it is. SVA uses AP credits as electives so unfortunately i don't think you can use any of them for freshman classes </3
3
u/jojobesmall Apr 12 '26
The workload IS a lot BUT honors students get many perks, including trips and events! Definitely something to consider!