CDIA:BU, Anyone been there?

Hey everyone,

 

I'm moving off to Boston this fall to attend the CDIA:BU, Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University,

photography course and I was wondering if any of you have been there before or know anyone who has? After placing

first in the SkillsUSA National Photography Competition and winning a $10,000 scholarship I have no doubt as to

whether I'm attending there or not but I'm just looking for some pointers from people who know the program.

 

Thanks all,

 

Justin DiPierro

Just found basically the same post on here, sorry guys. Mods can delete.

Justin, a $10,000 scholarship might seem like a lot, but BU is very expensive. I don't want to spoil your plans, sound negative or pessimistic, but be really careful with that cash. CDIA is new without a proven track record. Believe me, BU is a profit making school. Repeat, profit making, and so the cash comes from students. A college is just one of many ways to gain an education in photography, and by no means is it necessarily the best choice. Here's one hint: if the professors are so great, why are they teaching and not making a living with their cameras?

Thank you for the advice Robert. The CDIA program is a 9 month program and tuition is 22k, so 10k is about half the tuition. I also received and turned down a 20k scholarship to the Art Institute (They send me spam mail and email almost every week so that killed their shots of getting my money). To my understanding, and I may be wrong, the teachers at CDIA are working photographers.

BU is definitely a pricey "profit making school". The loaded students from out of state, such as NY and CT, contribute greatly to the local economy. CDIA is located well away from the main BU campus and is more like a trade school. I suspect its association with BU is in name only, i.e. no shared curriculum, staff or administration. I attended a CDIA open house a few years ago, and found the small brand new facility well equiped. A few chosen staff with recognizable names gave their pitch about the courses, etc. but seemed to miss the key point - their competence and desire as *teachers*.

 

BU has a great photo resource center and gallery right across from its main campus, and may have its own photography program.

 

http://www.bu.edu/prc/

 

A block or so away, there is a well established photo (trade) school. The facility is old, but I have met many good instructors and grads from there:

 

http://www.nesop.com/

 

A few more blocks away there are:

 

http://www.artinstitutes.edu/boston/

 

http://www.smfa.edu/

 

And I'm omitting a few more that don't come to mind. You will be coming to a City loaded with educational institutions, and full of talents and competitions. Be very careful in choosing a school for either for a trade or for art. You definitely don't want to end up in an "inferior" one, and become the laughing stock among your peers. In the local market, employers will also screen similarly based on schools.

 

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any of the above institutions.

All schools are in the business of making money and CDIA is less expensive than many. I was getting called by several schools very often, even after I told them I chose another school (CDIA). I am currently a student (p/t student with a BU ID). I can tell you that all of the teachers I have had are working professionals, most with many years (15+years) in the profession. Also, there are several teachers and faculty have worked for or learned some of their skills at other photog schools. So, hopefully you are at CDIA and maybe we will cross paths.

<p>I attended CDIBU (aka CDIA at BU) with the $10k Scholarship and her is the straight forward answer... first off this school is NOT Boston University whatsoever besides the fact that they were legally able to use the name in the schools name (perhaps because the owner graduated from the actual University many years ago). The degree you receive there is not actuall a degree but rather a "certfiate" which could mean anything or nothing. It's nothing that a potential employer would recognize as something of higher standard, and the fact that it can be obtained within 9 months with no previous experience makes it less worthy. So... don't expect to have employers busting your door down with job offers if you graduate from their programs.</p>

<p>BUT... the school does have very tallented and experienced instructors and you will learn a great deal of the industry and many of the skills employers are looking for. Though the school will pass anyone even if they have mediocre work and sluff frequently, and your pretty much on your own when it comes to finding a job which very few of their students end up getting notable jobs in the respected field... a few end up with temp or low paying jobs but very few obtain full time high pay jobs. You must be someone who has a great deal of modivation and determination to make a good impression with this school, they teach you the skills but your on your own when it comes to putting it all together into something employers are looking for. As far as money goes... is the school worth $15k?... umn yeah. Is it worth $25k?... sort of. Just keep in mind that the odds of you obtaining a job through this school are minimal and your pretty much on your own, but the school is not a scam or a complete waste.</p>