The Maryland Institute College of Art

Date: Nov 13 2012
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
If you plan to commute to the campus from out of Baltimore city I suggest you get a car that can take a beating since you will be carrying wet paintings and other messy or large supplies. Also, plan on getting there extra early since there is only parking on the street and in one lot that is filled by 8:30 AM and classes start at 9. MICA is not a commuter-friendly campus. I chose to commute because of price, one year with a forced meal plan is about $10,000 and on top of the $40,000 a year it is hell to pay everything back. Plus finding a job in the city is problematic and you get so much homework that it is impossible to have time to have a job, spend hours on artwork and have some sort of a social life (especially if you commute). I spend an hour and a half getting to school and staying longer than what my classes are makes it impossible to actually work on my artwork.

A lot of the buildings on campus are deteriorating and the only supplies you get are in freshman year for sculpture class since getting materials into the city is expensive and difficult for students to do. At some points you really find yourself looking for the worth of your tuition since class sizes are constantly increasing and transfering out is impossible since their classes are completely different. You take one math or science in sophomore year and that's it. Most colleges make you take those classes in freshman year so if art isn't for you, you will have wasted 40K and will be starting all over again. At this point, I will either stop going to MICA because I'm broke or I will try to transfer out this semester. I love art, I am an artist but I need some sort of back up plan.