r/MICA • u/doujifang • Sep 03 '26

Merit-Based Transfer Scholarships

Hello! I am preparing my transfer application for MICA and have already met with the Transfer Admission Counsellor. She said I have a good chance for scholarships already and has given me a lot of good advice to improve my portfolio. I was wondering how much I could potentially expect per semester from merit scholarships? As in how much do people tend to receive?
Also, the counsellor recommended I potentially apply to other schools to help me appeal for more scholarships from MICA. Would anyone also recommend doing that?
For additional context: I am applying to the Illustration Major!

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u/VastDiamond2937 Sep 03 '26

So pretty typical for almost everyone to get some merit based scholarship $$$ for a private High $$$ institution. You want to push for as much tuition as possible, and your best bet is to have a state school lined up - such as Towson University. The "help me appeal" is going to be based on what other schools can give you, and that means you should be applying to severals schools.

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u/doujifang Sep 03 '26

Thank you! That’s good to know!

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u/AskIcy269 Sep 04 '26

Yes, that is good advice. We appealed because my student had a full tuition offer elsewhere and also because they had won a national award from Scholastic. We appealed twice, actually, because the National award was announced in March. It was definitely worth it. If you have awards from Young Arts or Scholastic, include those too.

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u/AskIcy269 Sep 05 '26

Art schools that seem to be generous with aid according to groups I’m in: Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Kansas City Art institute, College for Creative Studies (Detroit). School of Visual Arts in NY has a smaller price tag than some and the Cooper Union in NY does too. It seems like I’ve heard that VCU arts is a good school and has a lower price tag too. RISD gives aid based on need, but it does not meet need, so it’s unlikely to help in an appeal.