<p>switters - D2 has always had MICA as her first love and planned on majoring in painting. In the last year or so, she’s leaning a little more towards LAC too, so who knows? She thinks the Brown/RISD dual degree program would be perfect but I wonder about it because 1) it’s nearly impossible to get in, and 2) I’m not sure if breaking things apart and doing only art 1 year, and then only liberal arts the next, is the best way, also 3) such a small group of kids might seem more like a religious order and not a school group! She did apply there though.</p>
<p>She also applied to MICA (in), Pratt, RISD, and Massart. At the last minute, exhausted from all her apps, she didn’t apply to SAIC.</p>
<p>Also, Ursinus (in), Alfred (in), WashU (in), Kenyon, Hamilton, Haverford, Brown, Columbia, and Yale. </p>
<p>A strange and scary group altogether. D is a good kid, and a good student, but she gets moments of self-doubt and I don’t think it would be better for her to be in a crazy environment with a lot of crazy people or teachers who think they’re resurrecting the Bauhaus by teaching “mean”. I especially hate that. Let me know if any of these schools are known for that method. I’m a bit worried about RISD for that reason.</p>
<p>So, I have no idea what would be the best place for her and I wasn’t even with her on half her visits. She has a twin sister, totally different interests and schools, so this is going to be one complicated decision. A lot of D2’s schools don’t give merit aid so I think they will probably be out, but who knows?</p>
<p>bears -
you can’t mean the SMFA catalog. That was one was pretty good.</p>
<p>Here are the brochures we saved for visual reference from this past year (husband is a graphic designer):
[ul]
[<em>]SMFA
[</em>]PNCA
[<em>]Emily Carr - cute little grey book with cut out font “grey matter” with yellow pattern drawing showing through on cover
[</em>]Bennington - big fonts, big pictures - maybe they want to make the littlest college feel like the biggest
[<em>]Kenyon - unique dimension, kind of tall and thin - classy and rich feeling
[</em>]Swarthmore - fun and smart, hand drawing, flow charts, beautiful photography
[<em>]Carnegie Mellon - hate the plaid cover but similar in feel to Swat and Kenyon inside
[</em>]RISD - like may of the above has heavy weight mat recycled paper stock which I love. Feels like it gives an accurate picture of RISD. Wish they could show pages and pages of student work. Such a tease.
[<em>]Yale - graphic design perfection
[</em>]Mass Art - art for the masses. I have a soft spot for this school for some reason. Maybe that’s why I like the catalog.
[<em>]Cornell - Architecture Art and Planning - a dark mat grey smallish folder - inside is a fold out brochure with a long 360 view photo poster on the reverse side. Clear and clean
[</em>]University of Chicago - I read somewhere that their applications went up something like 30%. Could it be their new branding/design? Small classy books that feel like you are about to read a great novel or philosophy text. “The Life of the Mind”, “Legends, Myths and Facts” and “The Power of Ideas”
[/ul]</p>
<p>I don’t have a list of worst designs because for some reason I can’t retain information on things I don’t like. It’s like I hit the empty trash button and my memory gets wiped.</p>
<p>The one I did save that I have a big question about though is Wesleyan. The place felt so good on our visit but the folder/brochure feels so dated and uncared for. I kept it so I could analyze it more. </p>
<p>I don’t what I will do next year. Maybe I have to keep signing up for mailings for the rest of my life.
Sorry to hijack the thread but thought you all would like a little entertainment.</p>
<p>Greenwitch- wow on that list! Yikes! I don’t know of any on the list that have a mean vibe to them, but they are all very prestigious. Um, ok so this is what I think of RISD based on visiting the place with my son this summer. The RISD lady said you should only do the combined brown thing if you have a couple of burning passions and they both are all encompassing. Like you want to do films and they absolutely must be about tibet and you want to major in asian studies and film making and know everything about both…But we loved RISD. Cool place, rigorous program…expensive and they dont give much merit based money away and we dont have enough need. Ive heard very very intense, but i never heard mean. </p>
<p>My son has friends who ended up at VCU because they wanted university rather than art school, and the art seems pretty good.</p>
<p>About not applying to SAIC- my son didnt apply because he was worried about not being self directed enough (that came out wrong, but at the time he saw SAIC he was not thinking conceptual art, more thinking about fine honing of technical skills) But if your daughter is the kind of kid who is even contemplating the RISD/Brown thing (only 13 or so of the 40 kids offered spots accepted last year) then she is probably motivated enough on her own to make a go of SAIC. </p>
<p>So MICA- the list of liberal arts courses at MICA looks pretty great. And one thing Ive been thinking of is that with a BFA only 30% of credits are liberal arts whether you are at a university or not.</p>
<p>But anyway, congratulations, looks like she will have some great choices.</p>
<p>switters - thanks for all the info! That sounds like great insight into RISD and the dual degree program. Alfred and WashU also give BFA’s. We didn’t get to see the art departments at many of the other LAC’s. It’s going to be an interesting month!</p>
<p>As for MICA, it’s one college of many in the Baltimore Consortium. Any full time student can take up to 2 classes a year at any other school. In theory. In practice, who knows? There is a north/south shuttle, and public transportation to the schools in the city. University of Baltimore is right down the street if someone at MICA wanted to continue with a language or something. </p>
<p>And for fine honing of technical skills, there’s always the Schuler School, which trains in the methods of the old masters…Grind your own pigments, why not?</p>
<p>greenwitch -
Did your daughter visit Kenyon? If so what did she think of their art department? Way back, when I thought my son was going to end up at a LAC, Kenyon was high on the list. It seemed their art department was pretty strong.</p>
<p>drae27 - she visited Kenyon twice and liked the school very much, but thought the art department was a bit less than it was advertised as being. She thought they presented the school as being mainly English and Art, but it’s much stronger in English. She sat in on a drawing class and wasn’t wowed. She liked some of the paintings she saw. This all sounds harsher than it probably is. I wasn’t with her so I don’t really know. The other LAC’s we toured didn’t even show us their art departments so who knows how they compare?</p>
<p>drae, you just killed me.
There is something about Wesleyan ( the correct answer! ping pong ping!! you won!!) I am self appointed advocate and wanna be lunch lady so to get spy on kids forever. there are things in your life can not reason anyway anyhow, just that, you are hooked.
Is anyone’s kid here going?
It will be awhile until I get to work in Usdan, let me know if I can piggy back (literary, there is no way to get there but cab if you don’t drive) on their family-friends visit day.
greenwitch, why didn’t you? Sounds like she had a shot.</p>
<p>I just remembered that when I was wondering around MICA, met summer study grad sculpture kid (I mean, fully grown man) who did Kenyon UG, reason he picked being its art and English. He said they prepared him to competitive enuff to do grad study in concentrated schedule while working square office job full time to fund it.</p>
<p>bears… I don’t know much about Wesleyan, except that I can’t help but confuse it with Wellesley, and my brain is too old to retrain. Sounds good though to maybe do a rich undergrad LAC program, and then take off in fine arts more in grad school. </p>
<p>Drae…I love the thought of you collecting beautiful brochures. So much better than web sites and probably they are endangered species or soon will be.</p>
<p>Switters, nice to hear your positive impressions of MICA. For what it’s worth, my daughter’s a junior there now, and it’s turned out to be a terrific experience. She started off in illustration but became a painting major – my understanding is that it’s very tough to make a change like that at RISD. She’s always been a great reader and writer, and she’s been very happy with the liberal arts courses.</p>
<p>Her first year was not a happy one, and she came within a whisker of transferring to WUSTL, but she and a friend stayed up late one night comparing the artwork at the two schools, and she decided that the MICA work was definitively better, and that if she was really serious about art, that was the place she should be. She doesn’t regret it.</p>
<p>greenwitch
it is common names mix-up in upp-y middle class ivy material girls and moms whom went to nice college herself.
I just hope someone would go since my kid won’t able to unless pass precalc somehow.</p>
<p>Laura’s dad, so she must be Laura, lucky girl.</p>
<p>thanks for the MICA feedback. Don’t know if you read back far enough, but my S has been accepted at MICA VCU SMFA and WUSTL. the only one his hasnt seen is WUSTL. He is waiting to hear from Cooper (very very very long shot, of course.)</p>
<p>One other reason I am feeling warm and fuzzy about MICA is because when I was obsessively trawling the internet for Cooper information during the ED hometest time, it seemed like there were a lot of beautiful portfolios out there, and several times the person was asked “ooh did you get in to Cooper” and the answer was yes, but I chose MICA. </p>
<p>Is there anything you can share about why your D was considering transferring? First year foundation blahs? Yucky roomate? Baltimore? Wished she was at a University? </p>
<p>But what it really comes down to is that he loved loved loved MICA and he got into a school that he is certain he will be happy at. Now we are just waiting for scholarship info.</p>
<p>My son’s a sophomore at MICA, and I think it’s a very good art school. My son is majoring in Illustration and has become a much better artist since he’s been there. He just won a place in the Society of Illustrators competition, which is pretty good for a sophomore as I understand it. Other than the cost of attendance, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about MICA. Baltimore can be sketchy, but is very up and coming in the art and music scene.</p>
<p>switters
there were old debate here why kids choose MICA over cooper. I noted often times kids are from Florida magnets, Il magnets, Cal magnets, means need NYC living expense without meal plan (never) nor dorm after the first year. In the past, MICA gave away very few full full ride that beat Cooper’s free tuition. Kids are often in big need with family that could not gap aids.
there was a kid shown up in accepted student party at Cooper first time then fed up with the snootiness and wanted real college that have real people in it, or really want to horn employable respectable skill ( such as soc. of illustrators)
you might want to consider all these possibility, because I have a feeling you will have that choice in few weeks.
I am not MICA nay sayer, please don’t beat me up.</p>
<p>Today the postman brought a big packet from Otis (but still no aid award) and some financial aid forms to fill out from RISD (but no acceptance letter). The RISD one was scary – we assumed it was a denial letter because it was small and thin. Today was also the deadline for MICA scholarship forms and SMFA financial aid forms. MICA responses should be out any day now – if you got in by the original Feb 12 deadline, they were going to have decisions out by March 12. If you were in by the later deadline (they moved them because of the weather) then I guess it’ll be later.</p>
<p>we got that letter too. I called (kind of anonymously) and asked if it meant that they thought my kid was fabulous. The admissions person said, she was sure my kid was fabulous but they sent that to everyone who applied to scholarships. Which was confusing because it said “scholarship finalist” invitation. I think the only way that it is different from the regular open house day is the faculty luncheon.</p>
<p>I don’t have guts to find it but last year, there were same debate here, kids and moms went, found out this and that, more debate, It sounded like, it is kind of accepted students’ day but the “finalist” are pulled aside in different room or something, it could be changed this year. Some moms were freaked out if they don’t show up, they don’t get money but it was proved not so. Again, it was all last year, two years ago. Please check them up for sure.
Good luck to you all.</p>