I am an A student with a 3.9 GPA and a 30 on the ACT. I met all of the admissions requirements with the exception of the fine arts requirements. I haven’t taken any because I am not a good artist and taking an art class would kill my GPA. Since I did not take a fine arts class, am I immediately ineligible for admission or would I still make it? I also have 4 years of spanish which could help my cause.
@Chevy97 … I don’t think it would make you immediately ineligible for admission, but you should call UMinn’s Admissions Office and ask to be sure.
Assuming you’re a current junior/rising senior, you still have the opportunity to fulfill the arts requirement during your senior year if UMinn is high enough on your wish list (and if they are firm on the requirement). If you’re worried about “killing your GPA”, understand that you can send in your application before any potential “bad” art grades would even show up on your transcript.
I had a similar situation when I was applying this year. I hadn’t had a physics class that was required for admission to CBS. I asked my counselor and he told me that an applicant’s file wouldn’t be thrown out for missing one requirement, as long as they are otherwise qualified.
It’s also worth mentioning that I never had an art class, and that never stopped me from being admitted (although I did have four years of Spanish as well, so maybe that did contribute in my favor). I wouldn’t worry about it as long as the rest of your application is solid, which seems to be the case.
Wait a minute. Here is the one year requirement in the “fine arts” category:
“Visual and/or Performing Arts - 1 year - Including instruction in the history and interpretation of the art form (e.g. theater arts, music, band, chorus, orchestra, drawing, painting, photography, graphic design, media production, theater production)”
That’s a pretty broad list!!! Are you saying you are afraid you’ll flunk choir??? Because that’s not gonna happen! 
At the very least you can take a basic course in music, theater, media, traditional fine or applied arts, etc. and your grade will depend on your effort and participation, NOT your raw talent. At most you can turn this into an opportunity to break out a bit and have some fun doing something “different” that, upon further examination, will actually complement your other courses of study quite well. It’s no coincidence that some of those advanced in mathematics are also accomplished musicians, or that skilled engineers sometimes go into architecture or industrial design. Or that graphic design attracts the computer geeks. Or that some historians specialize in music or art history. Or that analytical writers can turn to broadcasting or journalism, or that some creative writers can also act . . .
I doubt your GPA is going to be be compromised and anyway, your application will be sent in the fall (the earlier the better) so won’t even depend on your senior grades. Perhaps this is an opportunity for some interesting exploration, rather than limiting yourself only to those courses that “won’t kill your GPA”.
Consider taking an art history course. Looks like that would be acceptable.
Also, I think you should take the ACT again – you might improve and get better financial aid. Should take the SAT too, because some folks do better on it than on the ACT.
By the way, in college I took at “social dance” class which was totally optional and in which I learned a lot. Glad I took the class, but I got a “C” which did hurt my GPA. Thus wish that I had taken it Pass/Fail. This kind of thing does happen when you are not good at something.
Yes, as others mentioned, you can get creative in the fine arts class req. My S also put this credit off because it is not his thing. He took a computer graphics class and then an art history class. Just be sure that whichever one you choose satisfies reqs for both your HS (if they have this req) and UMN. S took the art history class through a CC that is in partnership w/ his HS. That worked out sweet b/c it also satisfied some lib ed reqs/themes for UMN. He is most definitely not the fine arts type and he thought these classes were nice “gut” classes amidst a heavier schedule.
I agree that you should try the ACT again. Just get one of those ACT books w/ the tests in them and practice - focus on the part(s) that is/are dragging your score down. I think most people can improve on the ACT just practicing and getting speed up. Your GPA is great. UMN is primarily stats-driven for admissions: GPA, test scores, rank (if available), and rigor of course load.
My S only had one semester of fine arts in HS and this somehow went unnoticed. He was accepted to the U, but had to take a liberal ed course to fulfill the void. (he had 4 years of HS German and 3 of HS French, so no that prob won’t help)
You could look into taking a CLEP test in that category or even a summer course at your local CC if you don’t want to take it during your 4 years. Keep in mind that there are many courses at the UMN which fulfill multiple requirements so that may be a good option.
To add to my last post. I just did a search of fall 2015 course which would satisfy the art requirement. The first hit I got was a class called African Cinema and it fulfills both art/humanities AND the global requirement. I am sure there are others, but I didn’t dig any deeper.