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California Institute of the Arts offers both visual and performing arts including art, dance, film/video, music and theater. Indeed, CalArts has a reputation of 鈥渋ntensely training young artists to become working professionals.鈥� According to students, CalArts is also 鈥渢he best program in the United States for animation.鈥� The 鈥渃reative鈥� and 鈥渆xtremely unique鈥� environment here allows students 鈥渢o explore themselves and hone their craft鈥� freely. CalArts offers 鈥渕any interesting classes that would never be offered at a conventional school鈥� and plenty of 鈥減ractical experience in your area of study.鈥� In addition to all the art, students must complete a broad set of liberal arts and interdisciplinary courses. While some find many of these classes to be 鈥渟imply a joke,鈥� others agree that the breadth of curriculum makes them 鈥渨ell-rounded and educated.鈥� Faculty members 鈥渉ave great real-world experiences,鈥� and students appreciate that they 鈥渁ll have been professionals and are often currently active in the field they are teaching in.鈥� Many professors are characterized as 鈥渞idiculously amazing,鈥� trying 鈥渁s hard as they can to help.鈥� Others lack 鈥渁 true depth of knowledge.鈥� Facilities can be hit or miss; some students describe 鈥渋ncredible鈥� theater spaces while others finding plenty of room for 鈥渋mprovement.鈥� Also, 鈥淐lass registration is a little prehistoric鈥� and the administration has a tendency of 鈥渕aking each task more complicated than it should be.鈥�

鈥淭he atmosphere of CalArts is good for making art because you are surrounded by so many talented people,鈥� says a senior. Like every art school, CalArts is home to 鈥渁 diverse, collaborative student body.鈥� 鈥淓veryone at my school is the person who wouldn鈥檛 fit in at most schools---and I love it,鈥� explains a dance major. 鈥淓veryone is into their own thing, their own style, their own art, their own lifestyle,鈥� agrees a theater major. 鈥淵ou are generally accepted no matter who you are and are expected to accept others.鈥� With that in mind, everyone from 鈥渞ebellious artists鈥� to 鈥渃elebrity children鈥� find a place here, making it an ideal location to explore their artistic vision and potential.

Though CalArts is located in the nether reaches of suburban Los Angeles, students tell us that their campus is 鈥渧ery intellectually stimulating鈥� with 鈥渁 lot of discourse鈥� about social issues and politics. As you might expect, art is responsible for much of the campus鈥� social activity. 鈥淥nce a week, the school has an art opening . . . where students can gather and admire the art of other students,鈥� notes one budding artist. Musicians also 鈥減lay jazz music at lunch,鈥� and everywhere you go you can find 鈥渄ancers . . . rehearsing in the hallways.鈥� 鈥淭here is art happening all over the place, all the time,鈥� says one student. 鈥淧arties are frequent,鈥� but 鈥淢ostly everybody works very hard,鈥� and 鈥渟taying up late and working until your eyes turn to gravel鈥� is common. For some students (e.g., graphic design majors), the curriculum can be 鈥渟tructured and rigid,鈥� while those in other programs take part in 鈥渁 barely supervised art free-for-all.鈥� Certain majors at CalArts are 鈥渂est for 鈥榮elf-motivated鈥� types who can stay away from the party life,鈥� confides one student. 鈥淚 spent my first year and a half waiting for someone to tell me what to do, and it never happened,鈥� advises a film and video major. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad it never happened; I just wish I had been told sooner.鈥�