Reviews

The area and student body is so diverse you're bound to be entertained. There are so many areas around University Circle to explore including Coventry and Little Italy, and the Art and Natural History museum are excellent resources. So many studio spaces and amazing facilities to offer!

A bit pricey - contact admissions to get your personal financial aid information.

Work on a diverse portfolio showing skills in more than one medium. Also remember that it is better to have 10 strong pieces than 20 okay ones. Your portfolio is key in your admission to the Cleveland Institute of Art and should be your main focus from at least the beginning of your senior year in high school. All of the staff is extremely friendly so call admissions and ask away with any questions you might have. They knew me by name in that office before I had even applied, but I was able to get every step of submitting my artwork down pact and was granted a lot of financial aid. Good luck!

Those who want to collaborate with fellow art students in creative problem solving, dedicated art students willing to work, art history buffs, sketchbook junkies, those who aren't afraid to speak their creative ideas and get their hands dirty.

Personal, new dorms, and everything is in one building (no trudging across snowy campuses!). I received well over half of my tuition and fees in financial aid and scholarships. I'm so excited to matriculate in the fall!

Work hard on your portfolio, but don't worry too much about getting in. I'd only been drawing for four months when I applied, and I got $19,000 in scholarships.

From what I hear, it's definitely rigorous, but that's what I'm looking for.

NEW DORMS! Brand new dorms for the 2014 Foundation class, and every room has a bathroom en suite. Can't ask for more than that!

For the first year, they make you live on campus and get a meal plan with Case. There's not many vegan options at all (which is bad for me) but I'll work it out.

Students who are super enthusiastic about art and all that goes with it, and who want a more personalized experience. When I went to visit the campus, the head of the glass department spent almost an hour telling me tips for getting in and information about the glass major.

The Cleveland Institute of Art is a very unorthodox campus. Its students are varied and unique, and not afraid to let their true personalities shine.

I would definitely recommend you go in with a portfolio. Around a dozen different pieces as a minimum. Its not required, but it helps a lot.

Because the practices and projects are more professional than any art project you did in high school, you will end up being taught almost from the ground up. Be prepared to force yourself to break habits that may have been accepted in high school.

Critiques are a major part of each project. That being said, they can be quite painful to listen to. Just remember that they are meant to help improve your piece. It may sound hurtful, but they are actually a blessing in disguise.

You will be pushed. There are only five classes per semester, but each there are two different types. The first is liberal arts. These include your history and writing/reading courses. They meet two times a week, and last for an hour and fifteen minutes each.

The real work comes from the studio classes. These only meet once a week, but you are in the class room for the entire day. Usually starting at 9:30, you work until noon, then meet again at 2:00 and go until 4:30. A nice break, the homework is usually the activity of the night. On top of that, projects tend to be due around the same time in multiple classes, and the liberal arts can be before or after the studio classes, resulting in a long day. The trade off is worth it. You are allowed to work on anything you want, so long as the project meets the requirements. Professors are helpful, insightful, and many times, the assignments are enjoyable. Making a full length movie is a lot more fun than writing a 50 page paper for a final.

As a commuter, I cannot comment on this portion as much as one who has lived on campus, but I have visited them, as I have many friends who do live there. It's rooms are average, a desk and a bed for each roommate, four floors, about 20 rooms per floor.

There campus dining hall is huge. Three floors, buffet style kitchen, lots of ice cream and plenty of options to choose from. But there are better places to go.

You are right next door to Little Italy. A dozen Italian bistros line the streets, all original recipes and incredible atmosphere. Parks, outdoor dining, bars( if you're old enough) and probably the best pizza place in Cleveland, Mama Santas. Mm. Old clay oven baked, not too greasy, lots of cheese, and a dozen slices.

If Italian isn't your thing, there are other options. University Circle is another hot spot for food, and it isn't lacking in options. Sushi can be enjoyed at the new arrival Accent, and Chipotlle and Qdoba have all your taco and burrito cravings covered. Coffee shops are plentiful, as are sandwich shops like Subway and Jimmy Johns. And that's just between E117 and Mayfield Road.

At CIA, there is always something to look forward to. The Halloween party is excellent. (Unsurprisingly, the costumes are always top notch) Inter school challenges like Zombies is always a ton of fun. This is a competition around halloween where students from Case, CIA and the Cleveland Institute of Music all try to survive a nerf based zombie apocalypse.

Live entertainment is constantly coming through CIA, and the Cinemaque shows classic, and experimental films every weekend. CIA also goes to laser tag regularly, thought the spaces are limited, as is the annual trip to Cedar Point.

I looked at more traditional campuses, such as RIT up in New York, but decided on CIA because of the attitude of the representatives. They were professional, but laid back at the same time. They got the job done but had fun doing it, and that is the best way to describe my experience so far. The work has been challenging, but the time I spent doing it was some of the best years of my life.

This campus is for the student who wants to be creative or expresse themselves. Now that is for two different types of people. To expresse oneself is to be more of a fine artist, who want to do gallery paintings, look for the meaning of the world in a sculpture, or challenge established social protocols.

The creative people are the ones who are interested in drawing up new worlds to be expressed in the forms of animation, film, or game design. These people are good at coming up with ideas about how to do something for a specific task, rather than looking for meaning in an abstract sense.

Either way, you need to be able to juggle multiple projects at once and be able to work well under pressure, as deadlines tend to sneak up on you if you are not careful.

We are a small campus, so clubs tend to be tightly woven together. Usually there isn't more than a dozen in a club, but they tend to be more devoted to arts in some way. Artists for Christ is an example of this.

Another club is Game Club, whose sole purpose is to get gamers together, and shoot at aliens. If it's large enough, the club also competes against Case teams in competitive multiplayer tournaments, usually for a large trophy.

It exists, but in a roundabout way. CIA only has about 500 students at any given time. So our greek life is piggybacked onto CASE's. We are allowed to join any one of them.

There are campus police patrolling University Circle 24/7, and each of our buildings have several guards more than willing to protect each one of the students in any way they can.

They try to shove as much skill and information into you in one semester as they can. You are forced to produce a continuous flow of work. I find this very good. The professors know what they are doing, and are always willing to help you out with projects...

It was the summer and I couldn't wait to go back to school and work on art and learn. It is smaller than normal colleges, and therefore you get more input from professors and can get to know your fellow students easier.

Very very expensive, but I will find out if its worth it once I graduate. I have heard that it is easy to find a job once you graduate. The school does its best to prepare you for the 'real world' as and artist.

If you are sure that art is the only think you will ever want to do, the only thing you are good at, want a better chance for a job, and like the smaller school setting. Then apply to this school for sure. If you are afraid of debt, don't apply :).

As I mentioned before, its great for artists.

The campus is great and has such a close community. You feel right at home once you have been here!

Be prepared to do things you would never think of doing. The professors here love to get to know you and make you put yourself out there. It is a life changing experience to attend here.

This school is very serious when it comes to the expected performance of their students. No fooling around at this school.

New dorms are great! Way better than the old ones and a lot closer to the new building. Only slight problems here and there.

You are able to have what's called Case Cash here and it allows you to get groceries and eat anywhere that takes it on Euclid.

There are a ton of places and things you can do. There are museums, parks, a place called the think box where you can do fun projects and the school always has open studios every week where you can go and try out the crafts electives- I highly recommend!! The school also always plans events for students to attend and they are all fun!

The Orientation leaders will do a dance at freshman orientation and man is it a hoot! They also are starting to host drag bingo every year as long as people still love it! They have a huge halloween party every year for CIA students only where you can bring a couple of guests and they will even take you on a trip to thrift stores if you don't have a costume.

This school is great for all artists. The buildings are always open so you can always have access to majority of things you need!

There are so many clubs and activities it's crazy. Many great opportunities!

This has a very safe campus. There are blue emergency phones all around and there are constant security guards and policemen patrolling the area to ensure everyone's safety. On the other hand you still need to keep it smart and not go out alone defenseless.

The professors are great. They are always there to help, even outside of class.

I feel more at home at CIA than anywhere else. The environment is great for learning and creating. Because of the small student body, we consider ourselves one giant family; everyone knows everyone else! There are also a lot of extracurricular activities as well, including clubs, guest lectures, films, galleries, and student-ran activities (plus, there's always free food).

It's a tad bit expensive, but so far, it seems to be worth it.

Work hard on developing a good portfolio of 10-20 pieces. Observational drawings are a must, but when the board reviews your portfolio, they will take into account your intended major. Also, look for scholarships early! It's a pricey school, but it's totally worth it.

Any creative student who wants to make a living doing what they love.

Cleveland Institute of Art will help me out with gaming development

I myself am a commuter, so I don't exactly know much about the dorm life. Although some people I know love it and some don't so I feel it all really depends on the person.

The school is located in a great area where there are a variety of dining options. Plus, for residential student, CIA and CWRU share the dining hall that is definitely the best college dining hall I've ever been in. There's just so much to choose from and it's all pretty close to the buildings.

It's pricey, but well worth it. You can discuss your finances with people in the admissions office and financial-aid offices. They are extremely helpful and will do all they can to accommodate you.

Those who have a passion for art.

There's a pretty good amount of clubs for CIA. I know they brought back the Artists For Christ Club and then there's all the clubs for the majors. Plus I've noticed there's always fun and creative activities going on that you'll get emails for.

Security is always around. There are guards in the buildings always keeping an eye out on the entrances/exits and will occasionally roam around.