The Maryland Institute College of Art

Date: Nov 18 2012
Major: Fine Arts - Painting/Sculpture/Photography/etc (This Major's Salary over time)
MICA is undoubtedly one of the best institutions for the fine arts in the country. That being said, there are some very major drawbacks to attending. As a transfer student, I was very impressed by the fine arts faculty. Almost as a rule, they are approachable, helpful, and above all, extremely good at what they do; both in regards to their teaching and their private artistic practices, even if, all in all, MICA is far more conservative in it's approach to art than schools like SAIC, CalArts or Cooper Union. The drawbacks I mentioned are largely regarding the school's vast bureaucracy and the student body. Even though I transferred to MICA with the maximum amount of credits/prerequisites filled, because of the required academic courses for each major, I have only been able to take two studio classes of my choosing per semester. The rest of my semester's credits are filled by dull, uninspiring, and un-challenging classes that seem more fit for remedial students at a community college than a world-class art school. And if you transferred in, there is literally no way around this. I came to MICA as a GFA major, and was hoping to dabble in a wide variety of different disciplines (printmaking, robotics, sound art, etc) but found that because of my assigned schedule and the prerequisites required for the most interesting classes, most of the classes available to me are rather run-of-the mill fine art courses, with a few notable exceptions. Another difficulty in transferring into MICA is the school's social structure. I read the reviews of MICA on this site before attending, and wrote off the myriad comments describing the student body as "clique-y." I now know that those comments were totally accurate. Baltimore is a great city to have a good time in, but most MICA students don't venture any further afield than the Bolton Hill/Mt Vernon/Charles Village area. Not to sound bitter, but the students at MICA can generally be characterized as sheltered trust fund hipsters. Make no mistake, there is a LOT of money at MICA, and if you don't have a carte blanche from your parents for high-end materials, a luxury living space, spare time from doing nothing but schoolwork and partying, and things like weekend trips to Miami (I'm not joking here) it's very easy to feel, and become, excluded. Even making small talk in an elevator is a challenge, since the person you are addressing will almost invariably look at you as if you are an alien if you're not a familiar figure in their extended circle of friends. That isn't to say that these students are untalented, because some of their work is mind-bogglingly amazing, though there are plenty of entitled jerk-offs boozing their way through their assignments while complaining about how stressful their life is, as there are at any school. I've lived on/near a few college campuses in California, and never before have I experienced the kind of exclusiveness that is commonplace at MICA. All in all, I would say that if you are coming to MICA straight from high school, your parents can afford to give you the best of everything, and that you really do have talent and ambition, MICA would be a great place to attend school. With four years to peruse the course catalog, you have the opportunity to take some great classes with some great instructors, and you can make the bonds in the first few years that seem to be the way that many of the MICA cliques get established. If you plan on transferring to MICA without a hefty chunk of your parents money in your wallet, be prepared to wade through an ocean of BS classes and a notably unwelcoming student body. Still though, a BFA is a BFA, but a BFA from MICA goes a lot farther than one from almost anywhere else.