Here is my standard Art School Advice. The school that you attend is not as important as how much work you are willing to put into the program. Graduation from the best school won't guarantee you that job at Pixar or Dreamworks once you get out. While undoubtedly some schools are better than others, unless you are willing to shell out the money for CalArts (or live near by), you can get the tools you need from a number of good schools around the country. Most of the better ones are in California, but you can find some good ones in many major cities. For example, The Art Institute has a decent program and is located in about 27 different cities. Check out the Animation Schools link at www.3dlinks.com to find one in your area. Regadless of what school you choose, how far you go is up to you. You are only going to learn so much in the classroom. I find that instructors can only give you so much in the limited amount of time that they have with you. You need to go beyond what the instructors have to offer. Check out online tutorials from this site and 3dbuzz.com among others. Check out some of the books that are available on the program you want to learn. Post your work on this site and others for feedback. Ask instructors, ask students, ask your friends who know absolutley nothing about animation. Feedback can only help you. Be prepared to spend hours in the lab honing your skills. Get demo versions of the software so you can work at home. If you can afford it, buy the software at the student rate. The key here is to work your ass off. The competition is fierce and graduation from the best of schools won't guarantee you a job once you get out. (I don't care what the placement statistics say. Half of them are false). Be prepared to work for what you want, and be ready to look for other avenues of pursuing your goal if one road is blocked. Good luck to you.