Is my school holding me back?
Note: What follows is email correspondence between myself and a designer seeking advice. Names have been anonymousized, and I’ve subtracted praise since it would be icky of me to just post praisey emails.
Dear Jessica,
You mention how critical the curriculum and environment at Temple was in shaping your early career as a designer. But do you think the opposite is also true? That attending a certain school can hold you back from achieving your potential? I’m a transfer student at [Some Less-Designy] University. While it has a reputable graphic design program that I enjoy, it’s not quite the intensely challenging, creative atmosphere I thought it would be. Thankfully, I’ve found a community of friends who feel similarly, and we all support each other. However, I can’t help wondering if I am setting myself up for failure.
What do you think? I would hope a student’s future success lies more in the person than in the school, but when I compare my program to what (I assume) other, more prestigious graphic design programs are like, I can’t help but think that I am missing a chance to grow into someone that I will never be able to realize otherwise.
Sincerely,
Person McPerson
Hey Person!
Happy to answer your question! Environment invariably has an affect on you, but how much it affects you depends on you as a person. I see plenty of students at incredibly reputable design universities that have portfolios that aren’t as good as students from smaller less well known universities. The main thing to do is examine what kind of environment works best for you, and what you can do to maximize your potential in whatever environment you’re in.
Tyler was a great school for me because it was small, had passionate teachers, and my graduation year happened to have some very talented and competitive designers. It wasn’t my top choice school—if I could have afforded it (and was good enough) I probably would have gone to RISD or SVA...but in retrospect, I don’t think I would have done as well in those environments. I would have been too intimidated by my classmates, the more well known professors, and the prestige of the school itself. I tend to do better in environments when I have to be a bit scrappier—where I don’t have endless resources at my fingertips. For me, all I need is a teacher or two that really cares and helps mentor me to be better. Good teachers can be found at every school, be they big or small and sometimes you don’t even realize how good they are until an interested student like you really reaches out for help.
Students that attend more “famous” schools can sometimes let the school determine their future rather than themselves. This isn’t a bad thing always, as they are paying good money to be at a great school, but it means that their education isn’t always tailored to their individual needs (I’m talking specifically about students that follow a more standardized class path without experimenting a lot). When you question the institution you’re in, or know that it has its shortcomings, you pay more attention. You seek out the good, you avoid the bad, and you really take control of the direction your educational path is taking.
In the end, where you graduate from doesn’t matter nearly as much as the quality of work you’re producing and the person you’re becoming. It’s a major part of your biography now but fades away after you have a couple of years as a professional under your belt. And honestly, I find portfolios of students from smaller schools far more impressive when they’re good, because I know they really had to work to get it there rather than relying on the art direction of impressive teachers.
Hopefully this helps!
J