The Maryland Institute College of Art

Date: Feb 22 2009
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
I'm in my second year here and I have to say that I am very disappointed in my experience at MICA. In fact, I'm on this site to research a transfer school.

I had to take out a lot of financing to go here since there's not a lot of financial aid offered. It's a pricy school, about $37k a year in tuition with all the fees and additional expenses, not including living expenses. My parents contribute $10k per year, and I got some scholarships and aid, but even still I have major loans. I have to work, which immediately makes me an outcast, since most people here seem like "trust funders" who come from wealthy backgrounds. The students here self-segregate into clicks almost immediately. The gossip and the judgement makes it feel a LOT like high school. As a heterosexual female student, it must be noted that the odds of dating here at school are nearly zilch. There aren't many male students, and most are gay. If you're an untatooed non-smoker, expect to be left alone while people go outside to talk about you. I've visited friends at other schools and comparatively, the social scene at MICA is quiet and decidedly non-inclusive.

The quality of the education is disappointing given how the school is normally so highly ranked. The art faciilities are very good, but the teachers tend to be self-important people who don't have much interaction with the real world. I know that art is subjective, but I feel that people are often graded on how they're "perceived" rather than on their actual output. It's weirdly competitive, but not to do better work, but to be shocking and "cool" and thus be perceived as great. The faculty have their "darlings" and then there are the rest of us. The school revolves around a handful of gay male and tattoed/pierced angry female "genius" students. It's very hard to get motivated when you feel that you're working really hard and doing great work, but you can't get the recognition.

Outside of art, the offerings are surprinsgly limited and sometimes you have to often go off campus, even for what would normally be core humanities classes. It's art school but I hoped for a more well-rounded education. I took a writing class at a community college during the summer back home in Illinois that was WAY better than the ones that I've taken at MICA.

I also regret that I did not spend more time in Baltimore or research it before moving here. The area around the school is pretty seedy. My apartment has been broken into twice. Overall, the city doesn't feel very safe for a 19-year-old girl.

When I went through admissions, they kept talking about how they could place art students all over the place through their connections. But the reality is that they do get great leads—and everyone applies for them. So the majority of grads leave here without jobs or just go to graduate school because they don't want to leave the womb of art school.

I am now looking into a liberal arts college, a big university with a decent art program. I'm now feeling that I'd like to double major in something other than art, especially given the economy. I'm leaving knowing that I've accrued nearly $22k in debt for two years for what I think was an OK education.