Deposit deadlines are coming up, and I’m having a very hard time choosing between these three schools for Undergraduate studies.
Skidmore would be a great option, since I could major in Studio art and minor in computer science and a more well rounded education. However, they didn’t give me any scholarship money, meaning the amount of loans I would have to take out would be crushing ( its $60,000 a year ), and there’s an undeniable drug problem throughout the campus.
MICA is my second choice, due to their more liberal arts lean, excellent staff and facilities, and partnership with John Hopkins and the $9,000 a year they gave me is pretty nice, but doesn’t make much of a dent in the $47,000 tuition. Plus, Baltimore isn’t exactly the safest town to be in, and their job placement stats are a bit iffy.
MassArt is also on the list for many of the same reasons, and the $15,000 a year in scholarship money definitely helps, but on campus housing isn’t guaranteed, the illustration professors are great, but the foundation teachers are a bit… off, and I can’t declare my major until sophmore year.
So it’s a tough choice, and any advice would really help, Thanks so much in advance!
Run the numbers through this calculator, then talk the results over with whoever it is who is helping you pay for your education: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
You want to avoid debt if at all possible, or at least keep it down to no more than the federal loan limits ($5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year). Art is a notoriously difficult career field to make money in, and it will almost certainly be extremely difficult for you do dig yourself out of debt after graduation.
The students I’ve known recently at MICA and MassArt have been extremely happy. However, as they were not in your specific area of study, I can’t speak to the two institutions’ strengths in illustration.
@happymomof1 thanks for posting that link. I had made a spreadsheet for D1’s colleges but this is much more comprehensive so I’ve bookmarked it. We have a few more in the pipeline.
@vconfusedstudent, one thing you will need to check on is how practical that JHU relationship is. It’s a great opportunity and I think there is a college shuttle that basically circulates around the area schools. But you’ll probably want to find out from MICA how many students take JHU classes. Do the fall and spring terms start at the same time, for instance? Is your studio time going to conflict with most JHU classtimes? Stuff like that. I got the sense that MICA is really pushing to make that relationship something akin to the RISD/Brown relationship and that’s going to be very good news for anyone attending MICA. BTW the job placement stats my D and I heard were actually quite good - 93% employed w/in 6 months the vast majority in their creative field. At least that’s what I recall from last year’s visit. Baltimore is a bit iffy but Bolton Hill is beautiful and the artists are pushing into the rougher areas nearby with hopes of improving them. We really enjoyed Charles St. and all the fun places to eat near the campus. And MICA has a wonderful reputation in the art and design world. I’ve found that the students’ work there is pretty impressive. Finally, freshmen are all housed in Founder’s Green which is apartment style (not dorm). It’s brand new. So you definitely WOULD be guaranteed housing at MICA.
Then, it sounds like Skidmore has some big negatives - financial and environmental. If you are an artist at heart and love studio classes you may want to be at a stand alone art college anyway - and then I’d say go to the best one you can afford that fits your style and your vision.
Here’s the link for the Baltimore college shuttle:http://baltimorecollegetown.org/shuttle/
Happykid went to Towson, and had a couple of Goucher students in some of her classes - but that hardly counts as Goucher is practically walking distance from Towson.