Maryland Institute College of Art Top Questions

Reputation isn't everything. No matter how good a schools reputaion is, if its not the right fit for a student he/she isn't going to get the most out of the education. Think about what you want enviornment will allow you to absorb the most out of your education, and not only will it make you happier, but more successful. Once you have chosen a college, the bast advice I can give based on my experiences is to get involved. The more energy and effort you invest into your school, the more it will invest in you- take advantage of everything it has to offer. Lastly, have pride and confidence in your decision! Find what drives you, trust your instincts and do what makes you happy. The more faith you have in your choices the more they will pay off in the end. Best of Luck!

Manage your time! If you keep a to-do list, use a calendar and keep track of all your assignments, events, meetings, etc. you will have so much fun in college, and have enough time to do anything you want. College is all about experiencing new things and learning in order to make it the real world, so manage your time and enjoy it!

My college experience has shown me than college is what you put into it. No matter where you go you can't predict what kinds of people you'll meet or what teachers you'll get, and in the end it's up to you to squeeze every drop you can out of your time at school. When you decide to go to college, you have to make an agreement with yourself to work hard, because even if you have the best teachers and facilities you can't succeed unless you really dedicate yourself to enriching your mind. I would recommend that any studends considering colleges should focus primarily on how prepared they are to accept the responsibilitiy of their own education.

The best advice I have is visiting the campus and finding out about not only the academic life but as well as how students are socially, how they live on a day to day basis. Talking with students already attending that school and find out their interests, what they enjoy about attending that college. Find out about the course work, how students and professors interact with on another, how formal and informal are the relationships between instructor and student.Talk with the Activities board and find out what activities the students are most active in at that particular school. Check out the surrounding areas, restaurants, grocery stores, theatres, reacreation etc.. and see how safe the area is and whether that community is one that the prospective student would like to live and participate in.

Visit every college you apply to.

Visit as many diverse schools/campuses you can; it will be overwhelming at first but in the end you will know what the right school for you is. Be open and don't let friends influence your decision. Only you know what school is for you.

Be sure to pick one that you love. Pick a school that really cares about you individually, a school that recognizes your needs as a student and as a person. After that, pick the school where you're comforatble and feel like you belong.

If you have a dream, wake up and get a reality check. The water is cold in the mainstream. Times are tough and people are losing their jobs. But if you love doing art, by all means put together your portfolio together and apply here. The facilities at MICA are clean and accessable,and the instructors are knowledgeable and friendly. The courses ahead are numerous and the challenges articulate and difficult. And get a Mac.

Choose a school that fits you, not that simply has the bigest reputation, or where your friends are going. School is an oppertunity to expand your mind and grow as a person, so you should choose a school that will help you do that.

To find the right college, i believe you must first start narrowing what you might want to do for the rest of your life. That sounds a bit harsh, but having a generalized idea will help you limit your choices. I knew i was going into art and i knew i wanted to be somewhere on the east coast, so i narrowed my choices to MICA, Cooper Union, RISD, and PRATT. RISD was out of the question for me, whether or not i wanted to go there; the reason being because they did not offer meret scholarships. I couldnt be in debt for the rest of my life. Anyway, visit the campuses. Let them explain everything they can. Ask questions that they havent touched upon. Think about where you see yourself in for the next four years. Know the area as well--the school might look glamourus but the area might not be in the place you hoped the school was in. Make the best of it. Have fun. Work hard. Wherever you go, I guarentee that you will learn more about yourself than anything else in any school.

Find out what interests you. What do you want to learn more about. What makes you happy. What could you see yourself doing with the rest of your life. Even if you are not sure at the moment at least you will have a direction. Visit as many colleges as you can and ask the same questions of each. Follow your gut reaction. How friendly is the campus? Make sure the campus is located in a place you like, because during school you make a lot of contacts and it may get you a job near there after your schooling. Start looking your junior year of highschool. There may be classes you can take in your remaning time that can prepare you for college. Create a list of all the colleges you are interested in and all thier pros and cons. While you are researching colleges, also research scholarships. The earlier you start applying for scholarships the better your chances of getting them. If you know exactly what you want to do, or have an idea. Look at top schools in your field and look for a professional in your career direction and interview them.

When chosing a college, it's best to look at the classes offered, the cirriculums and degree plans. Also if possibe, visit the campus, try to have a tour of it and see the facilities. When visiting try to talk to someone who is currently going to the college most students are happy to talk about their classes and share ideas. Just keep in mind that their experiance will be different than yours. Enjoy the process. Hopefully you'll only have to do it once.

Just make sure you're really passionate about learning whatever it is you're seeking in a school. Passion is important, otherwise you will be miserable, and you will be wasting your time.

I would research and visit different schools before making a descision as every one is different. Make sure you figure out if it's on the route to get you where you want to be after college. Take into account if there are working professionals teaching at the school, they are very helpful and you can learn more about what you need for a career in the field. Apply for every scholarship available to help make it more affordable. College should be fun, make sure you choose one that is enjoyable.

First finding the Right College: It's important to start early, the standard is early junior year in high school. Use text and online rescourse. Collegeboard is a great example and has it's own survey to find a colleges that might interest you. It's a great place to start. Around this time start visiting colleges near and far. visit even a few that you might not apply to, just to see what a college of that type is like. Also if you high school has a developed counceling center, ask you dean or counceller, it's their job. Second Making the Most Of College: It's important to know the while in College, unless you plan on attending a form of grad school this is the last step before entering the work force, in what ver field that may be. this it the time when you have the most freedom to expermient as a young adult in terms of finding what's right for you, and your college is their to help. Internship, development offices, advisors, Professors, even clubs and fellow students can help you become more experienced in any field you choose. Use it.

The visit to the college experience of talking with actually students is one of the most important experiences of visiting colleges. Make sure you take the time to find students who may be working outside of class and talk to them. If they are highly negative or unwilling to talk then it tells you something about the community at the University. Second important thing is the location in realtion to your job field and the quality of the career service department. Spend some time on campus if possible. Shoot for schools that are in the top bracket for your particular field even if they are not finiancially accessible or in a location you like because knowing about their program will help you compare other schools for the quality of the academic program.

College is a very strange time in everyone's life. You really need to seek out what all your options are, and pick the direction that suits what you want to do the best. Not what will look good for a career or something to impress your parents, but something that will help propel your dream career and life in a direction that you will ultimately be happy. You can go to law school and make a ton of money but will you truly be happy doing that? I went to art school where as all my friends from high school went to various academic-based universities. Out of all of them, I was the only one last summer who was actually pasionate about the work I've done thus far, and look forward to what the future brings.

Dont wait till the last minute and think about important things like location, school activities, and programs of study, and listen to your parents they are right 99.9 percent of the time

Let the student decide what is best for them...listen to what they want in a program. Try to let your hopes for your own student go; let them set their own goals. It is so important to visit a number of schools, preferably during the school year ( a lot of visits take place during the summer when campuses are relatively empty). Getting a sense of the dynamics of a place, a school's setting and energy is key in making a choice. Most students on campus are happy to talk to visiting students about how they made their choice and how they feel about the school. Talk to them!

Students: Do what you love, and love what you do. You know you've found the right college when you've found an institution that can facilitate this mantra. Even when the work gets tough, you can at least count on the fact that you love what you're doing and are hungry for more. College is more than just academics and grades, it's a life experience, so take full advantage of everything it has to offer you. You'll find you'll not only develop the skills you'll need in your career, but in fulfilled life.