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 planning to transfer out to a major university.

It's a pricy school, about $37k a year in tuition with all the fees and additional expenses, not including living expenses. I have major loans - and yet no clear career path. Career counseling at MICA is a joke.

Other people have said it but the students are the biggest problem here. They are cliques from the first day. A lot of people here are "trust funders." As a heterosexual female student, the odds of dating here at school are zilch. There aren't many male students, and most are gay. The talent level at MICA is a mixed bag; a lot of people just aren't very good. But they all think they're awesome because they've got the "I-got-into-MICA" stamp of approval. The social scene at MICA is decidedly non-inclusive. If you're not a wealthy pierced-tattooed-pretentious vegan hipster, plan to be shunned from the herd.

The quality of the education is disappointing given how the school is normally so highly ranked. I know that art is subjective, but teachers grade on how a student is generally "perceived" rather than on their actual output. The faculty have their "darlings" and then there are the rest of us.

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. 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.

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 most people graduate without a clue about what to do and so a lot just go to grad school.