MICA or Pratt?

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>hiiiiiii guys</p>

<p>I made a post in the portfolio thread a few months ago, so hi again. I got rejected from Cooper, so now I have to scramble around for $$$ and pick a school and stuff. I'm sort of happy about it now. I'm going to take a gap year but I'm not going to reapply.</p>

<p>I'm sort of debating now between mica and pratt and was hoping someone could weigh in. Pratt doesn't mail decisions until April 1, but when I visited the woman who reviewed my portfolio really liked me and my portfolio and we had a nice chat. She said I'd be a candidate for scholarships and stuff (which I think indicated that I'd get in...). And that was junior year, so I think my stuff improved a bit.
MICA likes me and they even gave me an academic scholarship with the acceptance package (which, if you were familiar with my transcript, you'd know was a real shocker) and said I was a scholarship finalist for the other scholarships. </p>

<p>I don't dislike baltimore, but I love new york, and I want to live in new york and go to school there and everything. And I have friends there who I'd like to be near. It's a major consideration for me. </p>

<p>Is it hard to get from baltimore to new york on the weekends? I usually take bolt/megabus/chinatown buses from philly, but it seems like from baltimore they go less often, or they go through washington instead.</p>

<p>When I visited mica, they really put on a show. It was an open house day, so they had all the studio spaces open and the artwork on display, and students and professors outside talking, and the dorms looked incredible, and there was an information session.</p>

<p>When I visited Pratt it was a guided tour with a few other kids, and the tour guide was really sweet and happy, everyone there looked happy, but they didn't show us ****.
Like they didn't even take us to a studio or anything. It was in the spring, last year, during classes, but they didn't show us a single thing. The tour guide talked about the history of the school, showed us some giant engine, and took us to a dorm. There was barely anything out on display, and I feel like I can't really judge the place based on that. </p>

<p>I know Pratt has a very nice campus and MICA doesn't, and MICA has some very cool dorms and Pratt's aren't so hot, but I don't think these are really make-or-break for me personally. I would kind of not like to live in dorms after freshman year if I can. I never feel warm and fuzzy on college campuses, like I just don't find them appealing or unappealing, and I'm more interested in the city. </p>

<p>I ended up not applying to risd because they don't give scholarships and I liked the flexible major thing about mica better. Is Pratt flexible like that? The book they sent me has curricula outlined in it--does that mean they're more like risd? Sort of inflexible? I have no clue what I want to major in at all...maybe I'll be certain after foundation year, but right now I don't think I can be.</p>

<p>I've heard mixed things about both schools, and a point of controversy seems to be their academics. Mica made a big deal on the scholarship page about how I can take classes at Johns Hopkins, but I really have no interest in that. I go to a very, very competitive high school, like a lot of the kids go off to ivies and get straight As and 2350s, and I'm really sick of it. Maybe it's just the atmosphere, but at this point I just hate classrooms. Maybe after my gap year I'll feel differently.
I want a good liberal arts curriculum, but I don't want to deal with what I'm dealing with now...Kids come back to visit and they say that college is easier than my high school.
I understand that Pratt does all their own liberal arts classes (like they don't do cross programs with other schools). Are they any good? Are the classes at either school engaging? Busy work? </p>

<p>Is it true Pratt makes kids take science classes? The only science I ever got above a C in was bio. I was the kid who lit the table on fire, spilled acid on my arm, and broke the test tubes just by looking at them. What kind of science are they talking about? Industrial design-y sciences? What are those?</p>

<p>Does either school have a particularly bad or particularly good career services department? Internship opportunities? MICA started bragging about their career services stuff, but I wasn't sure how to decipher the statistics they threw at us.
I know that college (and particularly an art school) "is what you make of it," and I have every intention of making the best out of it, but I'm still curious...I read that Art School Confidential is based off of Pratt.</p>

<p>Also, pratt looks sooooo hipster, like 1000000x more than a lot of the other schools. I mean I only visited three schools, but Pratt looked more hipster than mica. Are the kids at Pratt down to earth? Did they just hide all the hipsters at mica during the open house? </p>

<p>I read past posts and talked to people, but I'd like more insight I guess... I read taxguy's thread on pratt from a few years ago and found it very helpful. I'm incredibly torn right now. I feel like if I went to MICA I'd spend four years wishing I was in new york, but I'm afraid to choose Pratt because of the tour we got. </p>

<p>My high school has a couple of alum at Pratt and like a dozen at MICA, and all seem relatively happy last I heard. I think ultimately it'll come down to finances for me...but both of them estimate about 35k for tuition, so if I end up getting similar scholarship offers from both, I'll need to make a choice.</p>

<p>Thanks for bothering to read all that. I know I wrote a novel. I apologize.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the good read as I am kinda in the same boat with Pratt and MICA - though I haven’t taken SVA off my list. I did pre-college at Pratt, loved the area and would be happy to be back in Brooklyn. Going to visit MICA for their open house the first weekend in April and will see SVA shortly thereafter. That is great that you already got an academic scholarship from MICA, I didn’t think they even gave them out yet! Congrats! Wasn’t sure from your post if you are looking for hipsters or not. So you are going to defer admission for a year?</p>

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<p>my kid’s friend went one of those HS and coasting at Pratt.
it was underwhelming everything academics even art, but stuck to it nonetheless. You can find many things to do in NY if school is easy. she could have gone to anywhere (I mean not Cooper kinda kid) but money is the issue, besides being local.
there might be reasons why pratt won’t show facilities (are old and falling apart) but teachers there I only hear good things. then administration, I only hear bad things.
you will have to deal with People. school administration, workers, guys in the corner store or bagel shop. I don’t know where you are from but it could be a shocker how rude and unhelpful or plain idiotic everyday people are.
I love every quirk of what NY can offer but if you are well brought up nice kid been treated with respect and care, it takes chunk of your emotional wellness during freshman year.
Visit again when school is on, just walk into any open classrooms or offices until someone stops you (they don’t even care enuff to see you most of the time) Check school calendar if there is any student show is on. If that is mediocre, you should worry.
take time and walk around the area ( buy a bagel) and wait til get dark.
walk back to subway Dekalb station in the dark and see how comfortable you are.
(there is another one closer by but train run to the city from there is spotty and creepier)</p>

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<p>Paintster, I loved the “novel” you wrote, it brought back so many senior year memories from my D’s senior year (which was last year). Why is it that Pratt shows you that stupid engine and won’t walk you through the studios? Maybe someone should tell them how idiotic that is. You don’t buy a car without being able to sit inside first! </p>

<p>When we went on the tour, D and I snuck away after a while and took off for the painting studios. It was a Saturday, so there were a lot of little kids running around who had class there. We didn’t see much student work, except for what was in a few display cases but even that was more helpful than the stupid engine and then the slide show of past paintings.</p>

<p>D is now at Mica, finishing up her first year. She went there thinking she would be a painting major and would get a dual degree in humanistic studies (the Hopkins connection). She’s now thinking she may switch to GFA (general fine arts) and gender studies and skip the dual degree. She was surprised at how much she loved sculpture in her first semester and also by how much different fiber things entered her artwork. She feels ambivalent about switching to GFA because, until recently, it was considered to be where the lazy students - ones who couldn’t or wouldn’t focus - would end up. Now, it’s becoming more and more of a place for students who want to “pull it all together” end up, because they find they need to use more than one traditional discipline or medium. For this, I thank Mica for broadening her horizons, upsetting her preconceived ideas, and for definitely showing her a few new things.</p>

<p>She had one class last semester, “critical inquiry”, that involved a fair bit of reading and writing. It won’t be the kind of academic classroom experience that you’re avoiding, but you will have to do some writing in the foundation year. Mica has 7 different liberal arts minors, so you can get your classes in house and don’t need to supplement elsewhere unless you really want to. And you can supplement at many other Baltimore schools, not just Hopkins. There’s a bus that links most of them that stops at the Mica dorms several times a day, and University of Baltimore and University of Maryland Baltimore are both withing walking distance. I think D belongs to the gym at UMB since Mica doesn’t have one (Pratt does, by the way). </p>

<p>D chose Mica over Pratt because she thought the painting program was better there. She also got a better vibe from Mica, for whatever intangible reasons but I think the helpfulness and friendliness of the faculty and staff contributed to this. Both schools offered her a similar amount of money and she would have loved either city. </p>

<p>So how do you choose? I would say choose the school, not the city, unless you feel you would be miserable in that second choice city. Then again, if you’re at the school you prefer, but have half your brain wondering how you can get to NYC for the weekend, that could be a problem too. I checked Bolt’s schedule and they have 15 buses going to NYC this Saturday (although 7 are sold out), so it looks like the bus trip is doable, but you’d need to plan ahead.</p>

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<p>Oh now that should be told
NY had two cheap bus accidents in few days people dead, really bad one. one is NYC to CT Casino so not for students but one was Philly-NY.
they are going to crack down on cheap bus operation in general now.
there might be some changes coming in the future. for your own good, that is.</p>

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<p>My understanding is that the place where you pick up the Bolt bus or Megabus or whatever to NYC in Baltimore is not very accessible from MICA. . . so check that out if it’s important to your decision. Amtrak is very close but $$.</p>

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<p>^lemme just say when I see your screen name it always make me smile. (put smile face here if I know how)</p>

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<p>The Bolt bus leaves from the Marc/Penn station - about 6-7 blocks from the Mica dorms.</p>

<p>bears, have they found the truck that they thought had sideswiped the bus? I think it’s best to always check around for bus reviews before you pick one. It can be quite revealing!</p>

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<p>G
last I heard I think they did but now passengers/ witnesses/ victims are saying it did not caused the accident, the driver apparently swung the bus for no reason.
also the driver had criminal record driving violation and such but somehow hired by the company.
I haven’t heard the news today but supposedly driver is being questioned. he is discharged from the hospital.</p>

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<p>Hi.
Yeah GoodSchoolHopefully, I’m deferring admission for a year. MICA does scholarships competitively which means I can only estimate what they’ll give me for next year, SVA will hold scholarships (not sure I like SVA anymore though), and I’m waiting to receive the decision from Pratt before I ask them what their policy is.
I didn’t think they gave any scholarships this early either, I was sort of surprised. I saw the scholarship thing before I saw the congrats-you’re-in message, so I got very confused before I looked at the rest of the package. I’m wondering if it’s more SAT based than grade based.
I don’t like hipsters. They bother me immensely. I like people who are down to earth and talk about interesting things. It’s not just a dress style thing, it’s everything. These kids who hang out in the art room at school just can’t take anything seriously, or they take themselves too seriously, and they barely even do art. Or they take art because it’s cool to take art. </p>

<p>Maybe I’ll see you at the open houses! I was thinking about visiting MICA again (more to talk to a rep than see the school again), and I’m not sure yet, but I might go to SVA on the 9th to visit. I still like SVA but I don’t think I’ll end up there.</p>

<p>Thanks for the tips Bears. I like your posts a lot, always helpful. Can I hear what you’ve heard about Pratt teachers?
I’m from a suburb 20 minutes outside philly. I’ve experienced nyc quite a bit…maybe not brooklyn so much. I’ve had bad experiences there anyway. I’ve been there alone at night, in creepy areas…I guess that’s different from living there, but it’s got to be better than downtown philadelphia at night. I guess my feeling about living in nyc is that I can take care of myself for the most part, I think emotionally I’m resilient enough to deal with it, and I won’t be an idiot about wandering around at night.
I’ll definitely try to go to a student art show!</p>

<p>Thank you greenwitch! That’s the kind of thing I feel like I’d like more about MICA. I really feel completely undecided about a major, and seeing some of the stuff coming out of MICA makes me even more undecided. I want to try getting into sculpture, and I’m worried at Pratt I’d jump into an illustration major or something and never experiment.</p>

<p>I guess I don’t want to coast, but I don’t want to deal with what I’m dealing with now in school. I can write well. I got a 5 on AP language and comp, but I’m getting Cs in AP Lit. I shouldn’t even be taking AP classes, but the guidance counselors at my school say you /need/ to.</p>

<p>Gyms are good. I guess I like my bicycle better though. Pratt showed us the gym and it was empty. The tour guide asked, “Who here likes sports?” and not a single person raised their hand. It was sort of funny but sort of pathetic.
(And again–they showed us the gym but not the studios?)</p>

<p>I read about those bus accidents too. I don’t know what to make of that stuff, I’ve taken the chinatown buses a million times, and they’re really sketchy, but the megabus/bolt pickup spot in Philly smells like weed and half the other passengers are drunk and no one will tell you which bus goes where. Also, they’re always delayed. In chinatown the buses leave every half hour, on time, and you don’t need to buy in advance, and sometimes my trips are very last minute, no planning, so I feel like having to rely on bolt would drive me nuts.</p>

<p>Also, I forgot to ask about this in my first post–anyone able to comment on jewish cultural activities at either school? They both have some equivalent of a jewish culture club, and I’m wondering how active they are. It’s not extremely important to me, but it’s a little bit important.</p>

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<p>Actually the Bolt bus is very very close to MICA. Even loopy-Luna D1 managed to get to the bus on her own and then back to her dorm a couple of times. It can be super cheap too, if you’re on the ball and snap up the $1 tickets.</p>

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<p>Also feeling clueless because I have no idea what a ‘hipster’ is…
I’ll go back to work now.</p>

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<p>Gmom
my understood definition of hipster is MGMT boys.
It seems Paintster’s is different. my guess is blah blah talk the talk fine boned art kids with clean fingernails and stain free clothes?</p>

<p>Paintster
We went to see a print making teacher at Pratt who was a classmate of my kid’s teacher. so down to earth, woodsy, had real red neck. came to Pratt for grad school and never left. so ernest, sincere. still stretch his own canvas kind of an artist.
someone sent me a link to 3D soft sculpture class which were really well done and the teachers’ bio was impressive.
far as I know, everyone seems do their stuff well but likes to teach at the same time. maybe for income, maybe for stability or health insurance benefit or what, but I admire practicing artists who chose to be around young people without condescending or throwing the air, I felt it is somewhat more doable in school like Pratt, just my feeling.</p>

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<p>Looks like we have a few things in common Paintster - I don’t want to be on a campus where nobody knows what Passover is but I doubt I’d be spending any time at at a Hillel House (yes, I’m Jewish too). Did you apply for the academic scholarships at MICA - I didn’t bother, didn’t think I was that caliber though now I wish I did, my SATs where ok, only took them once with no prep though my GPA is pretty good. I actually hope I fall in love with MICA when I visit. I hear what you are saying about hipsters though I have met a few that I connect well with - actually what you are saying about living an image as apposed to the real deal is true for all sorts of types (preppy, jocks, nerds etc…) but the hipsters do like to dangle about the art arena, I just look at them as groupies. Still, it does become a problem when they dominate the space, teacher attention and validity of the subject, so yeah, I get you! What are your plans for the next year?</p>

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<p>I don’t think of MGMT when I think of hipsters, I guess I gotta agree with GSH, as in they are very often living an image, but also the kids I associate with hipsterism tend to be overly sarcastic, do art or especially photography for the sole sake of being artsy, and generally just are not enjoyable to be around. They take trends and overdo them. A friend of mine says SVA’s photography department is basically just a swarming mass of hipsters. </p>

<p>I figure there must be a fair number of jewish kids at either school, and in brooklyn especially it shouldn’t be hard to find a jewish community outside of school. I’m not interested in religious services either, but I like shabbat dinner and all those community happy jewy kid feelings. I guess I just want to know what kind of jewish community activities they have and how often.</p>

<p>Me too! I wasn’t even sure how many sections the SATs would have. I was a little shocked when I got there and someone said it would be 5 hours. :stuck_out_tongue: I felt stupid for not prepping but then I guess I did okay. </p>

<p>I filled out all the stuff for the academic scholarship but never sent a liberal arts teacher recommendation. I went and asked a teacher and then forgot about it, so she never sent anything because I didn’t give her the address. Now it’s too late, so maybe I’ll just ask her to send it for next year. I don’t know if they based it off of the essay I sent them, but I don’t think they did. I think the scholarship they gave me is separate from the competitive one that you have to apply for, because they said at the end of the letter that there was another academic scholarship that they’d send results for in April. Again, I was a little confused that I got it.</p>

<p>My plans for next year–oy. Haha. I want to go to israel for the year, but I think it will end up only being for 5 or 6 months. Live on a kibbutz for some time, possibly do ulpan (although I think I’d be going for the second half of the year, and I can’t remember if the program I’m going on does ulpan in the first half or second, so I might end up missing that). Assuming I only go for a few months, I’ll be working for the first half of the year. I can’t stand the thought of being in school next year.</p>

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<p>I innocently asked D1 and manga girl what a hipster was. Eyes got very big all around. Then there was a burst of raucous laughter. I wondered what was so very funny. It seems to be some in joke that I’m very much not a part of. Fortunately Aspie girl was at least as clueless as I was.</p>

<p>D1 said that all students at MICA were hipsters and that it comes to a matter of degree.</p>

<p>Then she went away for a while, only to return a bit later with her laptop in hand. She then read the following passage to me, hoping, no doubt, to illuminate or enllighten her stodgy old Mom (apparently H is ‘cool’ enough to understand the meaning of ‘hipster’… though I did hear him say that it was a fifties term same as ‘hep cat’ – but the girls were laughing so hard at that point that they didn’t actually hear what he said – somehow I ended up thinking about the parents in Back to the Future who were so totally uncool and clueless…)</p>

<p>Anyway, here is the link, enjoy. [Hipster</a> - Encyclopedia Dramatica](<a href=“http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Hipster]Hipster”>http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Hipster)</p>

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<p>Gmom
I think you should bring this ^ to the “launch” thread. I see now what GSH and Paintster meant, thanks to your link. I don’t see much of this sort here. might be suburb HS kids thing?</p>

<p>Debatable Teenage Hipster</p>

<p>The Debatable Teenager Hipster isn’t a real hipster since technically hipsters don’t exist until after high school (here they failed at being a pretty cool guy). Unless it’s a 18 year old or 21 year old in high school from flunking those years from getting stoned and being the drunkard, they are usually living off parent’s money. In fact, they are worse than Hipsters. They’re wannabe-hipsters.</p>

<p>These wannabe-hipsters exist mostly in suburbs where they found out about hipsters on the internet and thought oh so cute. They usually have a Tumblr, where they post *<strong><em>ty pics and have other *</em></strong>ty wannabe friends with whom they engage in regular circle jerks. These faggots are also ‘photographers’, which means they made their parents buy them a $800 DSLR and took a photo of their street. All Wannabes will even admit to being hipster, proving that they are not hipsters, as real hipsters would never do that. Having Lady Gaga and Kesha as favorite artists while calling yourself a hipster somehow doesn’t seem ironic to them. Should the following be said you know you have a ■■■■■■.</p>

<pre><code>* OMG! I’m such a hipster!!!

  • Look at MY hipster clothes!
  • I should’ve been born in the city. There’s more intellectuals like me.
    </code></pre>

<p>In fact, even mentioning the word hipster and claiming to be one makes you a wannabe.</p>

<p>Really dumb people and people with raging levels of not-with-it-ness will confuse the DTH/adult scenecore ■■■■■■ with the hipster. This is false, and a great way to spot an avowed non-hipster. Did they just refer to the girl with the raccoon eyeshadow, pink hair, and platform ****-me boots as a “hipster”? WEE-OOH, WEE-OHH: NORP identified.</p>

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<p>Okay guys gotta weigh in here.
I have to say that I find this use of words like “■■■” and “■■■■■■”
extremely objectionable . . . now maybe I’ve lost touch and am
not “hip” but I don’t get this, is it meant to be funny? Does this
words not still carry the meaning it used to when being used
by someone not gay, is that why this doesn’t seem funny to me?
Is this not being used in a derogatory fashion? Has the meaning changed?
Not enough for me to not find this very uncomfortable. And it appears
that the word is being used to put someone down so is the meaning
not still derogatory?</p>

<p>Am I showing my age? While I get the attempt to be amusing or
at least I think that’s what was being done I’m left a bit perplexed
at where the humor is once someone starts using terms like that.
I guess for me there are certain words that just don’t need to be
used because they carry such heavy connotations from the past
as far as being used in hurtful manner that I really cringe when
I see them used at all and that includes twat which was also in
this site. Could someone please explain this to me.</p>

<p>At any rate a hipster was basically a beatnik in the 50s, a jazz
affecionado, a lover or doer of the arts, someone on the cutting edge
and open to all things considered “out there” by others in what was
a considerably represive culture compared to today.</p>

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<p>I’m referring to the linked site by the way but Bears I’m wondering what this word means to you too? Have I missed something the past few years?</p>

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<p>smarty dear, go to sleep.
we can talk over in “launch” where kids can’t hear us, hun!</p>