<p>I got into all the art schools I applied to, and I've narrowed them down to the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Kansas City Art Institute, but May 1st is fast approaching and I still can't decide! Can anyone offer any input that might help break the tie in my mind?</p>
<p>I liked both places very much, but I've got a few concerns about each.</p>
<p>My main concern about MICA is that, when I visited, the students didn't seem all that . . . eccentric? I mean, I realize that finding wierd kids in an art school shouldn't be a problem, but I come from Berkeley, CA, and even for here I'm a little "off," so the folks I saw at MICA seemed pretty mainstream to me. I'm not part of any particular subculture or anything, but I like the folks I hang out with to be rather unusual. Are MICA students really that ordinary, personality-wise, or were the people I saw a non-representative sample of the student population?</p>
<p>And my main concern about KCAI is the surrounding area -- I visited, a while back, but my stay was so short that I didn't get to see a whole lot. I've got a good idea of how large Kansas City is, but what is the area around it made up of? Smaller cities? Towns? Farmland? I have no idea. Also, how varied is the food availiable in Kansas City?</p>
<p>That's all I can think of right now, but it would be really helpful if anyone could help me figure out what I'm doing for the next four years of my life. Thanks for any input you might have.</p>
<p>My advice: forget about the student's eccentricities and focus on the program that you want. Which has more offerings? Which seems to have bettter facilities etc.?</p>
<p>Also, I would bet that you will find some like-mined kids as yourself in any school unless you are so odd as to constitute "insane."....just kidding</p>
<p>I can't speak for KCAI,but MICA is one of the best known and respected art schools in the nation and especially in the Washington DC metro area.It also is very interdisciplanary in its approaches allowing you to structure your own education. Finally, it is reputed to have very decent liberal arts and doesn't water down its liberal arts offerings as some art schools are known to do.</p>
<p>Basically, my reasoning when it comes down to the way students actually looks is this:</p>
<p>Whenever I go insane and produce the most work, I don't look weird. Nor do I look cool, or like a hipster, or an artist. </p>
<p>I look sleep deprived and wear the same 3 outfits. </p>
<p>Most hardcore art kids I know are like this.</p>
<p>Therefore, my reasoning is:</p>
<p>If you have enough time to worry about how you look to the point where you become your own walking art project, then you are spending too much time on grooming and not enough time on your art.</p>
<p>This was proven at many a portfolio review day: the kids who looked the weirdest were usually the kids with the worst art.</p>
<p>the kids who were practically falling over from sleep depravation and looked, well, otherwise 'normal' were the ones who had the most outstanding work and recieved the best reviews (it's not too hard to overhear reviews at NPD, as I'm sure you remember) </p>
<p>Anyway. That's just my reasoning. don't flame me, yeah?</p>
<p>I don't mean how they dressed . . . I mean how they acted and spoke. I couldn't care less what clothes they wore.</p>
<p>I don't mean to be rude, or elitist in a "the common man is below me" sort of way . . . but I'm really socially awkward around people who talk and think "normally," and I really don't want to move to the opposite coast to spend four years in the misery of lonerdom.</p>
<p>I mean, exactly what constitutes 'off beat' to you? Because it's a pretty vague category. </p>
<p>In any case, if you don't feel comfortable at MICA then you shouldn't go there. Listen to your gut. If MICA doesn't feel like a fit, then you probably won't be happy there.</p>
<p>In the off beat category at MICA, you have things like the epic halloween dance, zombie prom, wham city and the copycat, etc. </p>
<p>If you're just going by the student reps.. well, they're expected to represent the school in a professional manner and therefore probably wouldn't have been acting too weird on your tour. </p>
<p>But I have no idea what your visit was like, so, care to share some specific incidents or whatever?</p>
<p>Two weeks ago my D spent a Friday in DC at museums with her class. This past Saturday she spent the day in NYC. I would give the location advantage to MICA...</p>