Five Huskies Accepted to MICA

by Carlin Pierce, junior

Even before they officially applied, Maryland Institute College of Art accepted all five Flint Hill portfolio art students after review.

After coming to Flint Hill and reviewing each portfoilo of the students, MICA extended a spot in the freshman class of 2015 to each Flint Hill portfolio student based on their collections and interviews with the MICA representatives.  The reviewers came to Flint Hill for a single day, and the letters of acceptance were mailed to the portfolio students about a month later.

The portfolio art students, all seniors, are heavily invested in their art, and are all looking to pursue art at a higher level in some fashion.

Two of the portfolio students, Lauren Smith and Rachel Cho, were seriously considering MICA as their top college, and were quite emotional at the news, according to Cho.

Cho also said that the students “had the chance to talk with the MICA representative of our future goals as an artist, our body of work, and how we work with our medium.”

When asked why they thought every portfolio student was accepted, both Lauren Kliska and Cho remarked on Portfolio and Art III teacher Cianne Fragione’s rigorous art curriculum.  

“Although she is tough on us, we are able to work even harder because she gives us deadlines, work, and encouragement,” said Kliska.  

Fragionne said about her program, “There are many different programs that I look at, when considering art schools with a student. I push my students so they will succeed.”

Life after college has occurred to Cho with regards to continuing art.

Says Cho of her future, “I intend to study [in a] five year art education program to become a potential art teacher.”  Perhaps her art teachers inspired her.

Maryland Institute College of Art, more ubiquitously known as MICA, a college dedicated to intensive art study, has a 55% annual acceptance rate.  Located in Baltimore, Maryland, MICA has 14 majors as well as other interdisciplinary courses that allow students to study more academic based curricula than other colleges, which to students like senior Lauren Kliska, can be a draw.

Kliska remarked about her potential future at MICA: “Although I do not want to attend an art school, if I were to change my mind, MICA would be the best place for me. It is one of the top five art schools in the country and it has more of a focus on academic courses than most other art schools.”  

Kliska plans on studying business with a minor in studio art, graphic design, or fashion design.

Neither artist said that the acceptance would change their final choices for colleges.  

“Although I got accepted, I would not think just because I got in somewhere, I would stop trying or not apply anywhere else. I had to rethink my decisions for colleges of where I wanted to go.  I am just very happy that I was given the opportunity to go to a school where I will enjoy in the future,”  said Cho.  

Kliska was surprised she got the offer, and remarked, “I am flattered that I was accepted, but it will not have a huge impact on my decision of colleges since I already know that I want a college experience with the main focus on academics rather than art.”

Lauren Smith has definitely decided to attend an art school, and MICA might just be the one.  “I really like the idea of continuing my studies [at MICA],” she said about her future.  

“I’d really like a top notch art school and MICA fits the bill,” Smith elaborated.  

None of the students have made a final decision about MICA.  According to Dale Garrett, all of them are “still a little shell-shocked,” not having actually applied or made any official inquiries before they were accepted.  They are “still trying to sort everything out,” he went on.  

Though not all the students intend to attend an art school, all the artists plan on having art in their lives in some capacity in the future.  The fact remains that all five of the Flint Hill portfolio students were accepted into one of the top art schools on the East Coast.