Conservatory Of Recording Arts & Scienc

I am a bit astonished at the low reviews of this school on here, so here is my story. I am a 2010 graduate.
I had been attending Penn State University for 3 years and I had just recently dropped out, in good standings mind you (3.4 GPA) I was sick of the traditional university bullshit and I didn’t feel like it was getting me to where I needed to be. I won’t rant on that though. I think some of you may be able to relate though.
Long story short, After taking some time off, I ended up deciding to attend this school and despite all the risks, It ended up being an absolutely fantastic school and I am now literally living my dreams by working my dream career in game audio. (I started as an intern, worked hard, and got promoted quickly to Assistant. The future looks good as well)
Stealing the quote that every single admissions rep tells its prospective students, «The school is what you make of it», is true to to the T. To put it simply, busting your ass is required. Don’t want to do that? You’re probably not going to make it once you graduate. The audio industry (no matter which route of it you go down) is cutthroat, and there are 1000s of more skilled people trying to always take your job. The Conservatory gives you all the tools and education to pave yourself a successful audio career, but it’s based on how you use those tools that deems how successful (or not) you are once you graduate.
I wouldn’t recommend this school to those just «interested» in an audio career, its truly meant for those that want to live and breathe audio. Truly make an audio job their life, and are not afraid of the hard times they will have to go through to get it. Anyone that is truly passionate about their future with audio… I have no doubts you will succeed. There are just tons of people that go through this school thinking the school will walk them by the hands, and then just because they graduated, they are going to be working a dream job. Heck, even real college isn’t like that, and this is only a tougher industry to get in. Slackers need not apply.
A lot of responsibility of your success is mostly, nah, almost entirely on you. I’ll openly admit I know a lot of my former classmates are now working at fast food joints and crappy jobs. They didn’t try. They thought they wouldn’t have to do any work to get a great job. They didn’t apply themselves as much as they should. They didn’t study, they didn’t attend weekend and extra classes, they weren’t at the school all night boosting their audio chops. You know what though, there were also those that did bust their ass, did make the most out of the short 8 months they attended the school. Used every opportunity they got to get their hands on audio gear or practice their skills. The students that did that, including myself, are all now very successful. I am working as a game audio designer. Others are studio engineers or managers. Some are doing post production work on big films. We utilized the school to it’s fullest, and that’s what you have to do. No exceptions It’s not going to be easy, so get ready to bust your ass!
Sure I had a few gripes with the school. The guy and girl that run the Project staff are oppressive and rude. The internship department is ridiculously over glorified. There were some poor instructors that just couldn’t wait to get done and go home, or didn’t like answering student questions, but overall the majority of them were brilliant, super helpful, and could also engage in a good conversation like a best friend. Really though, if you are looking for the quickest, most efficient path into an audio career and are willing to bust ass to get there, this school is for you. Truly, I can’t iterate enough how I went there knowing really nothing about audio and am now working as a professional in the audio industry. The whole school has this welcoming feel, since everyone has the same passions you do. It’s really nice! Still remember, it’s truly a «what you make of it» experience.
The school is really inexpensive despite what some reviews say. It’s a flat $ 18,500 for the WHOLE program, and you get a ton of professional gear FREE (included with the tuition). Adding it up, it’s like some $ 2,500 of audio/​computer gear. Better then paying $ 20k a year for 4 years like traditional Universities. Most of my friends are swimming in $ 80k+ of debt… Not me!
The curriculum is cutthroat and intense. There are no breaks. Its 8 months of classes 5 days a week, sometimes even 6 days. There are always review classes and certifications to attend, tons of free seminars and speeches, and the school is open ²⁴⁄₇ so you can practice what you learned in class anytime. It’s reminiscent of a real job, no midday breaks, 4 – 5 hours a day straight, tons of work all the time. Very different type of flow than your traditional university and I like it.
Well 5000 character limit and I am out of space. I highly recommend this school.

I attended the Conservatory in 2002, so things may have changed, but here are my impressions:
1. The school and the education were, in all, pretty damn good. Well — ok, for someone who knew very little about physics, electronics, comoputers, or business, it seemed exceptional. The difficult part of recording is the auditory artistry — something you’ll only learn through practice. While you’re given time to complete projects, you have to share limited facilities with 12 other classes.
2. People complaining about the placement may not have been applying themselves. I interned with one of my favorite record labels at the time, and while I will admit that they appeared to take my internship for cheap labor, I have no doubt that had I not been quite as big a d-​bag when I was 19, I may have earned myself a job.
3. It’s expensive, and I feel like I wasted a lot of money — but I did learn a lot. If you just want to learn recording, you may just be better off reading books and buying your own computer setup — but you’re not likely to land a job in any kind of respectable studio that way. I do know a number of people around town who make a living (mostly) of recording local bands and things of that nature, but it’s nothing glamorous, and you get paid more working with the industry. You also learn about the music industry and how it works here, so you have options.
4. Yes, the industry is crap. That’s not this schools fault, and if you don’t have a passion for music, you should probably do some research before trying to make it your career.
5. The staff was always friendly, with one exception, but they were all very, very knowledgable in their fields. I don’t doubt that if they expanded some of the curriculum into Associate level programs instead of retaining the trade school theme they have going, they could easily attain regional accreditation.
Bottom line — if you don’t KNOW that you want to do this line of work, don’t go here. You’ll be upset and won’t get much out of it.

I am currently attending this school. I am impressed with the facilities and the depth of the curriculum, however, there are a couple of things about the internship that they tell you to hook you into going to that school that are a little bit exaggerated. I would recommend checking things out for yourself rather than taking their word for it., but overall, an excellent school!