Thinking about transferring from APSU to MICA or some other art school

Transfer Students
1

<p>I am considering transferring from this school for a number of reasons. I have over 3 years of college left even though I am a sophomore and I am going to retake a handful of classes meaning I'll be in college a bit longer. So far I have 40 or 50 something credits accumulated, but again, I am looking to retake about 5 classes to change those Cs and Bs to at least A's.</p>

<p>I grew up in Clarksville and I dislike it very much. I've always wanted to travel to a city since I was younger. I initially looked at SCAD but decided it wasn't worth my time. I was accepted there but declined. I looked into SCAD to do sequential art, but I'll be happy with settling for illustration, and that's what lead me to MICA. The only issue is that it seems there will be heaps of snobs from what I read, but the students in the art department at APSU aren't all that welcoming. Most of my drawing skills I've learned from having to look at other resources in my own time, which doesn't seem right.</p>

<p>In my portfolio I currently have some pieces I've done for sculpture and Drawing. My line work is great and I can render drawings accurately for the most part, but I still have to work on shading. I don't have it posted anywhere where you can view it online yet. I can't paint so I'm not going to post any of my paintings. The other reason that i'm wanting to transfer from APSU's art program is that I dislike the painting program. One professor essentially has a monopoly over it, and unfortunately, that professor and I do not get a long. I want to give painting another shot, but not at APSU. The art classes here aren't really specialized or up to date and digital art is non existent here. </p>

<p>My GPA is probably going to be a 2 point something after this semester (currently a 3.08 cumulative) due to one D and some C's. Again, I'm going to remake some courses up. I'm hoping that when I have at least a 3.5 I'll transfer. I have a 0 EFC and I'm going to look into a ton of scholarships now. I know I'm possibly risking $50,000 to $90,000K of debt, but I think it'll be worth it because my current school isn't really teaching me much (especially in painting). I want more of a challenge.I 'm looking to get in at the beginning of 2016 at least. What do you guys think?</p>

2

<p>I’d be interested in knowing what gave you the impression that MICA’s illustration department is full of snobs. My daughter just graduated from MICA’s illustration department in May. Never once has she mentioned anything about snobs there, and that had been an issue with some of the people at her high school. After making visits to MICA probably about eight times over the past four years, I can assure you that virtually all of the people I became acquainted with there are down to earth, friendly, and encouraging of each other. That’s one thing that has really stood out to me: the student artists are very positive towards each other. I can’t remember encountering or hearing about anyone who was arrogant or ugly to others. Of course, that probably exists among any group of people, but in MICA’s illustration department, it’s certainly not predominant.</p>

<p>What got our attention about MICA was the focused attention the admissions officer gave to my daughter and her work at National Portfolio Day. I stood a few feet away, just watching and listening. That woman really understood my daughter and connected with her art work. We live in Texas, and Maryland was not on our radar before that! The faculty in the illustration department were similar to that admissions officer. They are friendly, approachable, and supportive, yet they prod the students into rising to their best abilities and stretching beyond what they thought they could accomplish. My daughter entered MICA full of talent, and graduated with far more focused skills and refined abilities. I’m amazed at the art work created by many of her friends there. I watched several of the illustration majors from freshman year though graduation. Amazing! </p>

<p>MICA did a good job of teaching about the business end of it, too. My daughter learned about promoting her work, negotiating pricing, interviewing for jobs, etc. A good artist doesn’t really need a college degree (Don’t tell my colleagues I said that…I’m a university professor!), but s/he needs tons of talent, a good sense for applying that talent to something marketable, and the ability to handle the business side of making a living creating art. It’s all about being able to create something that someone else is willing to pay for. This kind of artistic and practical development makes a degree from MICA worthwhile. </p>

<p>Incurring debt of up to $90,000 doesn’t sound cost effective, however. Get some good advice before your make that kind of investment and dig into financial aid options.</p>

<p>I don’t know anything about the GPA requirements for transfer students, but the academic standards are a little higher than many of the other art colleges. However, the academic classes didn’t seem to be strain for my daughter. She’s bright but doesn’t really care about academics, so she didn’t seem to put a huge effort into them. She focused far more on her illustration classes. </p>

<p>Best wishes for you finding the perfect fit for you!</p>