The Maryland Institute College of Art

Date: Dec 25 2003
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
MICA is quite an experience. However, I wish sometimes that I had received some insight on the school before deciding to go. This is first and foremost an institution more concerned with furthuring itself rather than TRULY being concerned with the student. I did however have some amazing professors who touched my life, and really enabled me to learn. This is a painting & drawing school, so if you are more inclined towards the media arts you might want to look around. The Photo Department is poorly run, with poorer facilities. For such a high caliber art school, it should really have better darkrooms. There are some good exceptions in the Photo faculty though. Chances are wherever you are from, Baltimore is going to suck. I had many friends from rural areas and didnt mind it at first, but as many realities of daily urban living revealed themselves…it became exceedingly clear what a dump Charm City was. Racial politics and money are omnipresent and not hidden. MICA is a school of (mostly) white affluent 18-23 yr olds. Socially it is cliqish and as typical as an art school could get, many students are self-absorbed and to themselves. This is not a good school for gay students. Gay life is limited to a few bars, and not many open students are here. The Gay Organization on campus is high-school in nature, and involves people that enjoy Will & Grace rather than Queer Punk. Whatever it is that floats your boat…this is not a good school or city for the independent gay mind. The library is great, but the books are not going to come to you. A lot of people complained, but I am a voracious reader and somewhat discriminating, and I found plenty of interesting books + they will order any book for you through interlibrary loan, and if not, there is Enoch Pratt a large city library…one of Baltimores nicer places. Think carefully about who you are before you attend MICA…a good amount of people leave more fucked up than they came.