So i applied to both and got accepted. Has anyone else applied to both? which one would you choose and why?
What is your goal? With art schools, that’s really critical. And not just fine vs commercial arts… I don’t have the answers you are after. But if you tell us that, you will get clearer answers.
Agree that fit should always be the first consideration. Top 3 art programs in the US? Yale, RISD and SAIC. But not knowing MICA and what you want to study, they may be better known and have better resources for you to learn various areas of art that are not offered or emphasized at SAIC. SAIC has lots of space in the Chicago main Art museum right on Michigcan Avenue, a beautiful area of town. Some of their buildings are near the elevated but I believe it’s coming down in that part of town. Dorms were spacious which surprised me when I had a tour of campus. So, I can tell you SAIC is a great art school with great space and programs. Sorry but don’t know enough about MICA in Baltimore.
I’d remove SAIC from that list. The facilities are interesting and the dorms unusual. A studio apartment on State Street in the loop? Pretty sweet.
My son just withdrew because the first year program is incredibly narrowly focused - not a good basis for art training. Mostly intense academic intellectualizing. Our experience is that the true program is nothing like what theyir website and presentations talk about. And in other threads here I’ve seen comments that reinforce this - one was that their admissions people tell a far better story about the school than in reality.
Note carefully that their claim is to be “most influential”. Most other schools claims are based around the success of students who study there.
The narrowness we saw was that if performance art of installation art are your goals for life, they have great focus there. But if you want a well rounded basis on which to create art and find your love, it’s not.
Good luck…