MICA vs SAIC

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>My kid was accepted to SAIC and MICA, and we just finally visited both this last week. SAIC is overwhelming to me, and lack of college campus as well as meal plan are two big negatives as well as generally dreariness of the buildings. This is even before the winter. I didn't get a sense that the admissions or academic advisors were that available or knew the kids personally. My daughter liked the Critical Studies emphasis, but I don't think that's a good enough reason to attend. And it's difficult to get their catalog of classes. On the Web? </p>

<p>Oh, and she liked the "L" and ease of transportation. MICA - on the other - hand feels more contemporary. The admin officer who saw her book at NPD hugged her, and talked about their ongoing help with class selection, etc. I think it's a better fit for my kid. How - as the parent - do I convince her otherwise - Everyone says SAIC has such a great reputation. Is it more academic? My d is very bright, but wasn't a dedicated student nor is she organized and cannot manage time/deadlines well. We really figure she is better off at a community college first. She was to minor in philosophy/cognitive studies. We haven't heard what $ MICA will offer yet. She got 44,000 from SAIC for the 4 years. ALso concern about safety in Baltimore. Help!</p>

<p>The other question is liberal arts college vs art college. She's also been accepted to EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE in Washington & HUMBOLDT STATE in CA</p>

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<p>I love Evergreen I can not point to what that is really, but totally could see my kid there.
I went to see quite few schools in that - change life - book just to get feel of them, Evergreen seems really do something for my kid.
The size of the studios and openness, airlines, do-whatever-you-like ness really appeal to me. Kids were cool enough but laid back, town bus driver and the cafeteria folks, yard work folks were like someone’s grandpa or could be any of the student’s dad, mom, aunt, there is no racial or socioeconomic divide line so apparent in fancy Eastcoast LACs in students and workers. Love the mascot, it is this giant cram and they seems serious about it.
This kid rode bus with me back to town just hooked his skinny bike on the hook in front of the bus and got on, sat down and started reading. I recognized the cover immediately as one of John Berger’s book. He looked like some kid who read that kind of book in the bus and seems to know but not obvious about how neat his cap and pants fits all well and I felt good about it.</p>

<p>Then in downtown, I passed the bus going to or coming from Aberdeen on the main street, kids all looked like Kurt Cobain ( hair do, complexion, the impression) in the windows, as if time stood still. It was less diverse in race wise and I was called on by some hobo “hey ho chi minh” in downtown Olympia, that could be my all olive green garb and the hat.
I had to wait for my Greyhound bus after the station building was closed for the night, during the day, everything seemed OK, farmers market, coffeehouse, organic deli, quilting supply shop, used books and prints shop.
All are then closed, the park right in front of the station became some gathering place for weird crowd, too old for students to young for someone with regular square job or having kids. There are some commotion and noise and police officers who have been circling around anyway have to get out and break them apart.
My fellow bus riders all had some issues. One guy kept twitching and chain smoked, one girl was talking her life story to noone in particular how she has to make court date in Texas -no her dad could have flew her there but, you know, I like the bus better, to see sights ( this is the most common dialogue I heard during my trip, " I could’ve flew, but you know…" )
Middle aged couple augured how she should be traveling " I had it enough already, just give me the cash" " I can not do that why don’t you understand, just take my card and you are fine" " F*** your card, I know I am not, I need caaasshh." He forced her out of the car and drove off anyway.
It was dark and after I finished scooping and eating my organic tofu for dinner (was cheap and quite good) reconsidered bit what Olympia could offer.</p>

<p>If it was me ( it will be me soon), I would let her go to wherever your kid’s heart is as long as you can pull it off and let the kid experience art school, let her disillusioned if she must. Evergreen will be always more affordable and students are older there, not traditional HS to college scenario, she can start all over again.
If she thrives at SAIC / MICA and you are OK money-wise, congratulation.
I have no idea about Cal state schools.</p>

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<p>Evergreen is a good option if you want liberal arts. Curriculum/coursework is flexible so you can direct art courses and other classwork in the same direction. Nice campus feeling, beautiful landscape. Know people who’ve had very good experiences there. But definitely not as focused on artwork as your other options MICA or SAIC. But as a liberal arts choice I have heard nothing but good about the school.</p>

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<p>Just one other note about Evergreen . . . it’s a fabulous school for people with any sort of learning disabilities like dyslexia. From what I’ve heard they’ll sit down and really design classwork around someone’s personal issues. Know someone who really struggled through high school because of dyslexia and had an absolutely amazing experience at Evergreen because of this. Did extremely well and is now considering going further with schooling. This doesn’t apply to WestsideGal’s post but I alwyas wholeheartedly recommend this school to people with those sorts of issues. The way their classwork is structured really works for all sorts of students.</p>

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<p>smarty have you been there? I couldn’t get to go to Tacoma nor Seattle, that’s where kids go out for fun if they can get there …
my kid is a sorta music kid, might need something more than what’s in Olympia, what do you think?</p>

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<p>Well it is a little bit isolated but Olympia has a pretty hot little music scene all on it’s own for a smaller town. Without a car you can get to Seattle by bus but more easily by Amtrak which let’s you right out in oldtown Seattle where a lot of the music places are. It’s about hmmm I’m think an hour and a half or so by car. Portland is about the same distance heading south (Amtrak goes there also).</p>

<p>Tacoma is not in my esteem the place to go, it’s probably quieter really than Olympia and not much there, sort of a desolate place in general or at least in my opinion and I lived there for a few years.</p>

<p>Head to Seattle or Portland. But I think Olympia has a lot going on especially during the school year. Might be best to have a license and get an old clunker once there but not necessary. For a NYC kid Evergreen might seem a bit sleepy as far as a music scene, but maybe not because these smaller schools are on a concert circuit and it would certainly be an interesting change of pace. I am of the opinion that country kids should try the city and vice versa just to see how the other half lives. And the kids at Evergreen are definitely pretty hip in general, also very “green” and ecologically minded. Or at least the ones I know who went there.</p>

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<p>Thanks alot. He will do whatever wherever he ends up in due time but I just don’t think he should be allowed to drive; his dad has worst case road rage, I was given charity license at little upstate town in condition of never attempt to drive in the city. (was my mailing/legal address)</p>

<p>Duh, of course it is cLam, not cram. A clam won’t be happy as a clam if clams are crammed in cramped place. clam cram clam cram</p>

<p>[The</a> Geoduck at Evergreen](<a href=“http://www.evergreen.edu/athletics/geoduck.htm]The”>http://www.evergreen.edu/athletics/geoduck.htm)</p>

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<p>Ah my dear but a geoduck is an animal far different from a clam regardless of what others may tell you. It’s a clam superior…take a look at google images…it’s quite a sight.</p>

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<p>Posted that response before I clicked onto your link. So I see you now realize how superior the geoduck is. What a lark, I would think that the school song alone would determine whether this is a school someone would like as it sums up the spirit of Evergreen pretty well. And by the by, Evergreen graduates place well in graduate schools. And as you can see they’re a spirited quirky little bunch!</p>

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<p>happy as a giant clam</p>

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<p>And one last thing, if the mascot and song didn’t clue you in this isn’t exactly a traditional sports kinda school. Unless you consider mountain bike racing, sea kayaking, scaling huge craggy mountains traditional sports.</p>

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<p>I get it alright and fine with it, too rainy to do much anyway.
Liked overgrown garden, log farmhouse built by students, couldn’t get that far but has own beach even.
I sent postcard from all over the place during the trip to my kid at camp and the Geoduck postcard was the biggest hit. Kids all thought it got be something else (certain body parts)</p>

<p>Sorry hijack, it should be in Evergreen thread.</p>

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<p>I’m glad I have another son because Evergreen just might be the place for him. Filing it away in the back of my mind. Thanks guys.</p>

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<p>and let’s not forget Hampshire with the picture book museum.
Let me know when you go visitin’
those western Mass schools are black hole of public transportation access.
At this rate might as well he will be a classmate of little draemon II…</p>

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<p>Back to the OPs original question about SAIC and MICA. My S really liked SAIC and received the same type of award as your kid. BUT…interestingly, my S with serious time management problems and focus, said that SAIC would probably be a disaster for him…too much freedom, too little structure, Pass/Fail…not good for his personality even if the art is great. He felt it would be better for grad school should he get to that level and knows exactly what he wants to do. MICA is still in the running however because it does offer a balance of lots of art with a “safety net” of people determined to have them graduate and pick a focus area with time to build up a portfolio. I think you have to ask your kid if they honestly can have the focus to make SAIC work…I know a kid who just flamed out (did zero work) at SAIC, changed to PRATT and hated the atmosphere and quite happily graduated from VCU as a sound engineer. She is artsy but needed structure…it was an expensive trip of self discovery that they can’t always avoid but it would be helpful if they look at the program and ask whether they have the personality to be successful in those conditions.</p>

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<p>D took SAIC off her list for the same reasons - too little structure and the pass/fail angered her. Said why should she break her butt and do "A’ work and get the same Pass grade as the person who did the minimum to get by.</p>

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<p>The concept for pass/fail is to encourage experimentation and willingness to do something adventurous that might “fail” rather than focus on the grade and finished project as that, a finished project. It’s a big difference in philosophy but in terms of art I tend to lean a bit towards the pass/fail system. When you have a graded system you often end up with a situation where you can walk through a gallery and pick out which students have worked under which teachers because the work either consciously or subconsciously mimics what that instructor prefers in order to achieve a good grade. </p>

<p>While one can benefit from this pattern because you are picking up a lot of different technical skills it discourages taking risks and reaching beyond your skill set for growth which is what I think college should be about…or at least in the arts which is a very subjective field. I wouldn’t want my physician to have gone through school on a pass-fail system but when you’re talking about art I don’t see it as a negative for a school to be set up that way. </p>

<p>Believe me, in a graded system you’re still going to have situations where students figure out how to play the system and do work that guarantees good grades rather than “learning.” But students who are uncomfortable in a pass-fail setting certainly shouldn’t be in that sort of environment, especially if they’re coming out of a school system that equates high grades with good work which is not necessarily always the case in the art world.</p>

<p>So I think the message here about the pass-fail system should be to figure out whether it’s a setting you can work successfully in and if not, then it’s not for you. But it can be a very envigorating and exciting environment for some people.</p>

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<p>And I liked that one boy’s comment about the pass-fail method at SAIC might be better for graduate school, I think he was being very insightful because this sort of school is definitely not too workable unless you have a lot of focus and can work without as much structure as you usually have in a typical high school setting. It is more similar to a graduate school environment and while kids often flame out once they’re on their own in college, it was interesting and as I said, very insightful, that he recognized that at this point that sort of environment wasn’t for him at this point.</p>

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<p>My apologies for all the “points”. Bad editing on my part.</p>

<p>One last “point” though, about pass/fail and why I personally like it for art studies.
Let’s say you have someone who can just crank out excellent work in very short amounts of time (these people do exist) but they never go beyond what is “do-able” for them so in a way the finished product is, for the sake of the argument, an A piece. Then you have someone who instead of approaching an assignment that can and will be done on time with an A finished product, steps way out of bounds and tries something that is very unusual and experimental. Now the finished product can be an A piece or a total failure. What do you reward? How do you “grade” these two students? Who is really taking advantage of college as a learning experience? Grading in an art school is a very complicated process because as I said it’s very subjective and the variables are definitely wider than in an accounting class for example…</p>

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<p>Definitely my S does not seem the reflective type who is really in touch with his strengths and weaknesses but the Pass/Fail and letting students find themselves in terms of area of concentration was clearly a red flag for him. He visited with my husband so I don’t have an opinion…but, if you have seen some of my other posts, SAIC scored way too high on the piercings/weird hair index for my conservative husband.</p>