The Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Date: Nov 01 2006
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
I chose to go to MCAD after an exhaustive review of art colleges in the country offering degrees in comic art. My other two options, the School of Visual Art in NYC and the Savannah College of Art & Design didn't appeal to me as much as MCAD. Once I visited the campus, I was certain it was a good place to be.

MCAD isn't perfect, but I don't think I could have asked for a much better institution in which to pursue my degree. Of course, it was the knowledge, experience, and friends I gained there that were the really important thing, not the Bachelors. The best thing about MCAD is that it's a small school run by people who care about art and the people there. It's not a Wal-Mart-type art college, as I've heard some other places describes.

My experience with the comic department was very positive. I've come to consider most of my teachers to be friends (or at least fond aquaintances), and I know I'm an individual to them. I wasn't friendly with all the teachers, but I was never treated like a number and never ignored. All the staff at MCAD are very available to the needs and requests of students, from teachers to tech support to security to counselors. It's more like a village than a place of strict academia.

I always felt safe there, with rare exceptions. Public Safety looked after the student body as best they could, and any instances of robbery, theft, etc. reported to them were always made known to the student body at large, even the ones that occurred off-campus. After unusual spikes of criminal activity on campus while I was there, efforts were made to not only add more security checks and patrols but also offer free self-defense classes. Add to this that Minneapolis is a relatively safe city itself. Like I said, I always felt safe.

The Public Safety people were almost always really nice, too, and would give you an "escort" in their patrol vehicles if you needed it and they were able. This saved my butt a couple of times.

It's quite easy to have a social life at MCAD, too, provided you don't have too much homework. The school itself provides extra-curricular activities like yoga and special Spa Days with massages and cheap haircuts. There's also student-run clubs. During the warm months, it's common to see students stooping on the porches of the school-owned apartments that function as dorms. (But they're much nicer than real dorms.) Minneapolis is also a really fun city, and MCAD is in easy walking distance of Uptown, Midtown, and Downtown. The city's public transport is also a breeze once you get the hang of it. Luckily for broke students, there's not much need for a car if you know what you're doing.

Most of the negative experiences I had at MCAD were the fault of my fellow students and not the school itself, so I don't hold MCAD accountable. More than anything, I'm grateful I was able to attend, grow as an artist (and person) in its halls, and get introduced to a wonderful city in the process.

In summation: MCAD, yay!