University of Silicon Valley - San Jose (CA)

5 /5 Alex Holler: As a masters student who came in from the workforce I could tell all of my professors had heaps of industry experience. This was such a healthy departure from my undergrad experience at a big state school where academics focus on themselves. Many members of staff at USV are genuinely interested in the success and understanding of their students.

4 /5 JC H: Cogswell has definitely been a journey. Right from the first few steps into Cogswell I felt this was a good fit for the kind of experience I wanted to have in my college career. The students are welcoming and dance to their own beat. As an LGBT student, I feel this is also a safe environment. The staff is welcoming and, unlike other schools, they REMEMBER you! They check up on you and ask how your art is doing. Its a nice feeling, Cogswell is definitely a friendly community. Everyone helps each other out in someway, everyone listens to one another when a problem arises. Ive had only good experiences. The classes have helped me grow in my studies, and I definitely have retained everything Ive learned from figure drawing to Python. This is more than a school to me; it is where you can meet life-long friends, make good connections and have a second home! Cogswell is a great school and I encourage anyone to visit the campus to see if it is a right fit for them! You will not be disappointed.

4 /5 Josiah Clark: The way I feel about USV, it is what you make it. The school requires you to advocate for yourself and take advantage of the things they offer. I cant speak for the other majors but when it came to Game Writing I was given exactly what I would need to be a narrative designer in the industry. When switching over to the industry other than getting used to the proprietary engine and just the flow of working with people, it felt no different than how I felt in my writing courses. I will say theres a handful of teachers that really made staff that made this school be exactly what I needed. Professor Skolnick, Carlous, Jason, Phil, all made my time in USV the perfect training ground for me. Why I didnt give the school a perfect score its mainly cause I have minor gripes with the school that wasnt really in control of these individuals. From the tech just needing to be more modern to certain classes just me desiring more from it. Specifically the Game Design courses, though while I was there they were slowly progressing the course and it was definitely trending better. If you love a small school, with some great teachers and great staff that will push you as far as you desire, this is the school for you. But you have to be prepared to put your own work in. Also as those mentioned the price is really out of this world. And for some that is a very rightful deterrent.