Well whoever posted the last review is totally overreacting about the situation downtown. I've been to a lot of big cities, and the area that the school and the student housing is in is not that... More

Well whoever posted the last review is totally overreacting about the situation downtown. I've been to a lot of big cities, and the area that the school and the student housing is in is not that bad. The bums and yes even the drug addicts and hookers are harmless. They are going to be in every big city. Iâ??m a pretty tiny girl, and walked passed them every night, and had no feeling of a need of any protection. I'd walk home by myself at 1 in the morning and feel perfectly safe. If you're coming from a small town in the middle of nowhere, yes, I'm sure it's a bit intimidating, but you'll get over it. White Center (South Seattle) and First Hill as well as parts of 99 are areas to be scared of here, and that's nowhere near the school. I will say this school is full of a lot of crap. Those people who are going to be giving you tours don't have any idea what the heck they are talking about. Please, whatever you do, don't listen to anything they say. Ask the students, ask the teachers,
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There are many different areas of this school that I could discuss, but I think I'll concentrate on the housing. I attended AIS for two years, working towards my BA in interior design. At first I... More

There are many different areas of this school that I could discuss, but I think I'll concentrate on the housing. I attended AIS for two years, working towards my BA in interior design. At first I was excited, but soon found that there are many things which they dont tell you about the school. First off, the location of the student housing, though convenient is set in a high crime area. During the time I spent living in the Lenora(the better of the two choices) I witnessed around 50 stabbings, muggings, shootings and fights. Not to mention that a girl living down the hall was strangled, by another resident and survived(thankfully). The walk down to the school goes under the viaduct and an area known as heroin park. It can be scary, especially if you have evening classes. Also,I will mention that the amount of drug use, especially in the Cornelius is outrageous. What bothered me the most about it was the fact that all of the people working in the housing knew about it and did nothi
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I have previously gone to an AI in southern California and I must say, you get more than what you pay from that campus. AIS, however, has got to be the worst school I have ever been in. As stated in... More

I have previously gone to an AI in southern California and I must say, you get more than what you pay from that campus. AIS, however, has got to be the worst school I have ever been in. As stated in the previous posts before, they are all just money hungry schemers. The readmissios lady basically begged me to not drop out of that school in the beginning. During the process of transferring over, the classes were all mysteriously taken up. I am an animation student and I know myself that there is NO WAY that ALL the classes can be filled up! After I told her I decided to sit this quarter out, she said there were classes again! After ONE day of school, every class was free. Might I add, that I did not get to pick ANY of my three useless classes. Now onto the teachers. One out of three of my teachers is working in the cartoon/printing industry right now. He is the only one I respect and the only one prepping us for the industry. The other teachers I have, have self taught themselves and have NO degree in anything! They have not worked in the industry and the 2-D animation lady is a happy go-lucky woman that only talks about Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' dance. The student cafe is outrageously pricey! I paid $2.60 for a small soup and they put it in a small paper cup. Come on now, seriously!? A slice of pizza is $4.75!!! It has only been three months since I've been in this crappy school and now I owe $8,500 for one month alone for the most useless classes ever. Three classes don't even equal up to that amount per quarter, let alone ONE month! DO NOT go here unless you want to graduate and become a true 'broke artist' and thousands of dollars in debt. If you are going to pay 1k++ to learn from people who self taught themselves and become beyond poor, then be my guest. I dreadfully regret ever leaving California. I suggest going to the Cali campuses where real industry professionals teach. Pros: Beautiful view of waterfront, advanced equipment. Cons: Snobby self taught teachers who just don't care.
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Got money but can't get into even a Community Collage? Anyone that thinks this is anything other than a scam better ask themselves why they think this about art or design. RISD takes eight... More

Got money but can't get into even a Community Collage? Anyone that thinks this is anything other than a scam better ask themselves why they think this about art or design. RISD takes eight years to complete but AI is going to do it in two years. Why do people think that being a cook is art, it's a craft just like a bricklayer or a plumber but pays a hell of a lot less!
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I'm not one to start something and not finish it, so I finished my "degree" with AIS. When I began the program, Multimedia and Web Design, had no director and was in transition. Halfway through my... More

I'm not one to start something and not finish it, so I finished my "degree" with AIS. When I began the program, Multimedia and Web Design, had no director and was in transition. Halfway through my attendance they switched curriculum and name on the program so I was stuck behind in all these classes that no one else was taking in my program. I learned the very tiny surface of a ton of different media subjects and not enough to really have any talent in anything. This school is great, if you already went to a Community College somewhere else and learned everything already and want to hone your skills and waste $40 grand on it. I was forced to take BASIC COMPUTERS when I'm the person my friends all go to for computer help and to have one built from scratch! I taught the teacher throughout the class, helped her teach and aided the students who really needed the class, and then proceeded to tutor at the school in the subject! But still had to spend $1k on it. The director was rude to me and many of the classes were a complete waste of money. One of the teachers even went as far as to INSULT us by calling us all idiots on a daily basis and NO ONE did anything. When I approached the vice principal he talked to the teacher and the teacher in turn confronted our class saying he was disappointed we turned him in! He was obviously on something throughout each class being totally pompous when we didnt understand his rantings and ravings about some subject and he'd totally lose track of his progress in the demos that it was impossible to live up to his expectations. Many teachers refused to show me how to do things saying I should already know. None of the teachers have teaching degrees, they are just nobodies from the field they are teaching in hired to try to teach students this. If you want to learn something new, don't bother going here. DO NOT go here unless you want to show off your abilities to a bunch of full of themselves teachers and have $40K down the toilet. Pros: Location is beautiful, friendly recruiters Cons: Everything?
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What a rip off! I moved up here JUST to go to the AI, and everything I researched on the internet said it was "the best." Upon attending one semester, I realised that the staff is just a bunch of... More

What a rip off! I moved up here JUST to go to the AI, and everything I researched on the internet said it was "the best." Upon attending one semester, I realised that the staff is just a bunch of talented salespeople. Once they know they have taken your money, you aren't worth the dirt on their expensive shoes. WHAT A RIP OFF!!! Unless you are a very rich trust fund baby, don't even bother. Many of the classes are totally useless, they just make them up to take more of your money. (A photography class where, the ENTIRE semester, all you do is tear out magazine pages? For a thousand dollars? Give me a break!) And the staff is rude, uncaring, snobby and pretentious if you actually ask for any help. Also, FORGET about getting sick! My daughter had pneumonia for two weeks, so I could not attend. When I came back, and asked the teachers what I missed, they said, "Too bad." When I, a single mother of two, asked for help finding grants, they gave me a badly photocopied paper which was essentially just a "google" search that they did, and all the sites wanted me to "give them $300 for info on how to get grants." What a joke. All they care about is money. A few of the teachers are nice, but most everyone there is blatantly rude and uncaring. They have ripped off EVERYONE that I have known who ever went there. Literally. I don't know how they get away with this. (But luckily for them. their marketing is GREAT!) I now owe $3500.00 for schooling I never really got! In short, SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE! (And the money!!!) YOU know whether you have talent or not, so just go to another small college, and gain the knowledge you need. You'll thank me. Pros: The ability to say snobbishly, "I graduated from the AAHT Institute" if you can afford to be financially taken advantage of for 2+ years. Cons: Being financially raped, and putting up with the rude and unhelpful faculty who genuinely enjoys lying to your face. (Think TALENTED timeshare salespeople.)
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I'm a second year Graphic Design student here. Like any school the AI has it's fair share of ups and downs. For one, the faculty here is mixed in terms of quality. There are some teachers here... More

I'm a second year Graphic Design student here. Like any school the AI has it's fair share of ups and downs. For one, the faculty here is mixed in terms of quality. There are some teachers here (Sigrid Cannon, Dave Daniath, Jim Lee, etc) who are very helpful and attentive, who will go out of their way for you, and then there are some that honestly shouldn't be teaching here. If you know who is who, it's relatively easy to avoid the few bad apples. The quality of the teachers here used to be much better, before the introduction of the BA program which forced many of the more talented back into the industry. The education is here is very technical. You get a mix of layout, type, and drawing classes. It's very much a generalist school, you get what you put into it. The first couple quarters will be very boring to anyone who has any previous experience, or if you came from a community college. This gives many people who drop out during this time the impression that the school is not challenging, this is not true once you get past the first 2-3 quarters. You must be prepared to work your butt off if you want to make it through with good grades in the higher classes. Don't expect to get much sleep if you want to make it through Portfolio 2. The school has an active AIGA student group (The Graphic Design Club) that is one of the most active in the region. They've had Bruce Hale give a workshop, they've had Stefan from Spacecraft give a talk (and give out lots of free swag). They've set up a talk at the Henry with Art Chantry, etc. The quality of the group tends to ebb and flow though depending on the current members. There is also an active student run magazine called FUEL. The magazine is printed at an actual press. If you want some more realistic experience, the magazine is a good place to start. It is expensive. However I've found that the financial aid department here is very helpful and I've had no problem with getting grants.
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Most everyone we've met is very polite, friendly & helpful. The counselor we were assigned has been fantastic and the financial aid department was very knowledgeable and helped us get what we... More

Most everyone we've met is very polite, friendly & helpful. The counselor we were assigned has been fantastic and the financial aid department was very knowledgeable and helped us get what we needed to put it all together. So far the teachers seem good! Pros: Easy on the bus route. The teachers are still working in their fields! Cons: Downtown Seattle
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I went to AIS for 2.5 years (if you take 5 classes a qtr, you can graduate in two years, but you also will be very tired from not sleeping much). I left because at almost every turn I felt like an... More

I went to AIS for 2.5 years (if you take 5 classes a qtr, you can graduate in two years, but you also will be very tired from not sleeping much). I left because at almost every turn I felt like an automaton being trained to produce. I should have expected as much from a technical school, but I was sad that all I was trained to do was make CD players and cell phones. A lot of my teachers were not at the height of their game and they were far from inspiring. I didn't complete the program because it was too expensive to feel bad about designing products. I wanted more sustainability classes (which is cutting edge) and I wanted more inspiring teachers.
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The art institute of Seattle is a great place if you want to do graphic design, culinary, animation, audio production, photography, or video production as a career. It is located almost by the pier... More

The art institute of Seattle is a great place if you want to do graphic design, culinary, animation, audio production, photography, or video production as a career. It is located almost by the pier in downtown of Seattle. Most of these fields take about two years to complete. The best thing about this college is that after you are finished, they help you write a resume, do recommendations, and do a job search to match you with a job in your completed field.
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