The Massachusetts College of Art and Design

MassArt is a good school and it's relatively cheap for most people in state or in New England. Of course it's not for everyone. I've heard of quite a few people dropping out, but these are all first time students and I seriously question how they enjoy other colleges. There is a lot of work involved in your freshman year. (Studio classes are supposed to assign something like 7 hours of homework a week) This won't be a problem if you're passionate about learning.If you despise rigid academic (non-Art) classes you're in luck. You'll only have to take a few writing classes in your first two years, one sci/math credit. You'll probably end up taking Art history almost every semester at the school and this will make up the bulk of writing and reading you have to do.

Of the people who drop out most of them seem to be very uncertain of what they are doing with their lives/what direction they are going in. I would have fallen into this category but I found myself very inspired upon starting in this school.If you wouldn't consider yourself an "artsy" person I would avoid this school they are the only people that don't really fit in with the general spirit of the school which is in my opinion very open, free thinking and sensitive. It's the most LGBTQ+ positive place I've been in my entire life. All in all it's a welcoming community although the school isn't particularly racially diverse. It's an art school and even if you go in telling yourself you're going to be a graphic designer or architect or something that "makes a lot of money" theres a high probability of discovering a passion you had for something you didn't know you had. In summary:

PEOPLE: Lots of weird interesting, wonderful people, lots of 'hipsters" and lots of your stereotypical anime-cosplay-animation-illustration type of people. (no offense) if you can live with that it shouldn't be a problem.

PARTY SCENE: Available but mostly off campus, no pressure what so ever. It's not a huge part of campus culture.

CLASSES: You will have to take studio foundation which involves lots of different disciplines and thing you may or may not be interested in pursuing but you'll learn a lot either way.

LIVING: Housing not guaranteed for most upper class men most end up sharing a apartment in their junior or senior year which is expensive but if you're smart about it you can save money.

FOOD: Every one complains about the cafeteria food and it's definitely not great but its better than a lot of schools. Maybe a C+. On campus students must have a meal plan which is a set amount of money that each item you purchase deducts from and a lot of the food is very over priced so you have to be careful. Most people make it through each semester okay though.

1st Year Male -- Class 2019

Innovation: A+, Faculty Accessibility: C

I spent a year at Massart before transferring to another school to study a different major. While I liked the it, there was a lot of things that really weren't ideal, and at the end of the day, I didn't want to go into debt for something that was "okay."

That being said, the good; very creative, open minded people, small classes, top facilities (for a state school especially), small school, free admission to all art musuems in boston (take advantage of this!), living in the heart of a great city, good sized dorms.

the bad; very basic cafeteria (chicken fingers get old fast), terribly organized administration, nearly impossible to take classes at other colleges, study abroad is not possible for some majors, very little social life, a bit of a commuter school (a lot of people go home for the weekends), little career preparation, and open minded people who can be close minded towards more 'mainstream' things

1st Year Female -- Class 2015

Innovation: A, Scholastic Success: D-