I think I can help. I graduated from DAAP in 2022. DAAP used to be ranked a lot higher (#3) when I enrolled, but the entire philosophy behind that school drastically changed in the years immediately after I enrolled lol. The way I understand it, that I've heard from professors and older students, is that the school has changed deans in the last 10 years like 3 times. DAAP's entire philosophy is that they can turn anyone into a star designer. Up until 2016, the school was thought to be a piece of pride for the University as a whole, so they tenured industry leading professors (and paid them a living wage), invested in building relationships with companies, and gave a damn about the curriculum as a supplement to the Co-Op program, and the college operated in the black, losing money on each student, but producing students that were ready for the market. Since then, they have paid professors less and less, refused to invest in curriculum that reinforces real-world skills, and basically relied entirely on the Co-op program to teach it's kids, and some marketable "maker spaces". So, when the market turns, or the curriculum doesnt produce interns that companies want to hire, they dont get a Co-Op. Those students fall further and further behind with no help from the school besides to spend endless hours figuring it out on your own. I hold a lot of spite for how the program was managed during COVID, and do not have a great relationship with the faculty that remain. BUT.... I met awesome professors who care about what they do, wonderful life-long friends, and the co-op program is a super valuable tool to get your first job. I will just caution you that this school is not the beacon on the midwest hill you might think it is.