<p>Here is some data on this topic.</p>
<p>US News and World report categorizes freshman admissions in ranked order as:</p>
<ol>
<li> Most Selective</li>
<li> More Selective</li>
<li> Selective</li>
<li> Less Selective</li>
<li> Least Selective</li>
</ol>
<p>The list below shows the schools posted at the top of this forum categorized using the US News admissions ranking. The majority of schools listed fall into the mid-range, “Selective” category. Four schools are not categorized including Boco and UArts (generally indicating that grades and test scores may not be a large part of admissions criteria).</p>
<p>As noted in other posts, many schools admit students who have very high artistic talent but fall outside their typical 25/75 percentile academic admission range (as long as they meet the school’s minimum academic standards, which may be a lot lower than you would imagine given their typical admissions profile). Hence, some schools categorized as “Most Selective” or “More Selective” may not be as academically daunting for admission for those with a lot of artistic ability as they would be for students in the typical admissions profile (somewhat similar to athletes). Of course, the importance of grades will vary from school to school for artistic department admissions.</p>
<p>MOST SELECTIVE
Carnegie Mellon University
Northwestern University
University of California - Los Angeles
University of Miami - Florida
University of Michigan
University of Southern California</p>
<p>MORE SELECTIVE
American University
Emerson College
Florida State University
Illinois Wesleyan -
Muhlenberg College
NYU/Steinhardt
NYU/Tisch
Texas Christian University
University of California - Irvine</p>
<p>SELECTIVE
Baldwin-Wallace College
Ball State University
California State University, Fullerton
Catholic University
Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music
Elon University
Indiana University Bloomington
Ithaca College
James Madison University
Marymount Manhattan College
Millikin University
Montclair State University
Northern Colorado University
Ohio Northern University
Oklahoma City University
Otterbein University
Pace University
Pennsylvania State University
Point Park University
Roosevelt University
Sam Houston State University
Shenandoah Conservatory
SUNY at Buffalo
SUNY at Fredonia
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas State - San Marcos
University of Arizona
University of Central Florida
University of Hartford - Hartt School
University of Oklahoma
Wagner College
Webster University
Western Michigan University
Westminster College of the Arts - Rider
Wright State</p>
<p>LESS SELECTIVE
Coastal Carolina University</p>
<p>NOT REPORTED
Boston Conservatory
Santa Fe University of Art and Design
University of the Arts
Viterbo University</p>