California Institute of the Arts

Date: Oct 10 2007
Major: Art & Design Department (This Major's Salary over time)
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.