CalArts
has more in common with alternative colleges like Hampshire than
it does with other art schools like MICA or RISD.
The emphasis is on conceptual art rather than applied arts,
so be ready to explain your work. In general the
faculty have incredibly impressive resumes, a lot of them really
are at the top of their respective fields. Sometimes it
can be a little hard to believe that you actually
have access to all of these people. They can be
a little intimidating, but don't forget that they're here to
help you. The school has great programs in animation,
film, photography and graphic design. I've heard the performing arts
departments are not as strong for undergraduate, but you can
get something out of them if you know exactly what
you want.
Valencia is just a planned community; you can
get basic necessities but for anything else you've got to
make the trip out to Los Angeles. The small campus
will get to you sometimes, but you can always find
someone new and interesting to talk to. Students vary a
lot from one department to the next, and there are
stereotypes for all of them (theatre students are strange, dancers
are ditzy, character animators never stop working etc.), that are
often untrue. In short, there are many different types of
people who came here for all sorts of reasons. Rules
regarding drinking are fairly relaxed. In general you'll be left
alone as long as you don't bother anyone.
Overall it's
been an incredibly valuable experience.
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