Advice for a kid wanting to major in art

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>I am a dad of a daughter who confides in me recently about wanting to major in art in college (graphic art, visual art).
I am an engineer and my wife is in Finance - we are really clueless about colleges with strong art programs.
My D is going to be a senior in high school this year. Most of her classes she has taken so far are science-centric. She has taken rudimentary art classes (ceramic, etc) in high school. On and off, she has attended painting lessons with her art tutor. However, she does not really have an art portfolio.</p>

<p>She seems to have a passion for drawing. So, my wife and I are supportive of this endeavor.
However, we are clueless about what kind of colleges she should be applying and we are not sure what kind of things she should be preparing (in a short period of time between now and admission dateline) to enhance her chance of getting into an art program.</p>

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<p>Hi furrydog, I’m sure you will get a lot of great advice regarding what type of college might fit your D’s needs and interests, whether it is a dedicated art college or a university with an art program. If she is serious about art then chances are she will need to submit a portfolio (definitely for a dedicated art college, might be an option if she applies to a university but all the websites will state what they require). Anyway, it is my understanding that regardless of major she will need to have strong drawing skills. To that end, I highly recommend that you find a local atelier or art league that has a “portfolio prep” class that starts in the upcoming months (or even a late summer session!). This will allow her to develop her skills rather quickly and also get the guidance she needs in searching for colleges, getting her portfolio together, etc. My D was actively interested in art from a very young age so she didn’t need a portfolio prep course, but many of her friends that decided on art later in the game were very successful after attending these “boot camp” type programs! Best of luck to you…my older kiddo went a more traditional college route so I understand that the art world can be perplexing to those of us outside of it!</p>

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<p>furrydog, my husband and I were in pretty much the same place as you. Both of us hold degrees in accounting and have nary an artistic bone in our bodies…but our daughter has been passionate about art since she was little.</p>

<p>We were very fortunate that she had art teachers in HS that were willing and able to mentor her through this process. Our daughter asked one teacher to help her come up with potential schools, and together they sifted through details to shorten the list. That made it easier for my husband and I to examine the schools from our perspective.</p>

<p>We had to trust that her art teacher was choosing schools that would be a good fit for her personality and talent, as well as for her opportunity to get a job upon graduation.</p>

<p>It seemed to work, as our daughter is thriving at school and has loved every minute.</p>

<p>So, bottom line…ask her art teachers and art tutor for their insight. Hopefully they can assist.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the very quick and good advice.
I like the part about the “portfolio prep” and I will talk to her current art teacher about it.</p>

<p>I must say I cannot ascertain her talent in art - I am a lowly engineer - if she give me her C++ codes then I can tell whether she is a good programmer or not. :o
Her art teacher has told us that she is quite good - but I am not sure whether this is just polite banter.</p>

<p>My opinion is that I would rather her not go the dedicated art school route. I think once she commits to this, she needs to go down that path (I am not sure whether this is just a phase for her or not). I would like her to go to a national university. She can take a couple of years to see whether she still has the passion and more importantly whether she will be good at it (compared to peers).</p>

<p>However, I am not sure how to go about looking for a good national universities with good art program and more importantly how to go about applying (declaring major, etc).
My thinking (uninformed) is that she should apply to good liberal art schools with good art programs.</p>

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<p>My sis has an MFA and from her I’ve learned that programs usually specialize in specific media. For example, Alfred in NY is known for ceramics, the school in Sarasota FL is tops for computer animation. And, I can tell you that jobs may not be plentiful. My sis worked as a waitress for many years before getting her dream job at a museum.</p>

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<p>Sigh… But neither of my daughters want to be engineer.
My dear wife and I are resigned (or rejoice) to the possibility of boomerang kids.</p>

<p>I do understand that various colleges specialize in different fine art field.
(just like engineering)
At this point, I am hoping that she can get into one that has a general good fine art reputation.</p>

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<p>My daughter was also interested in art, being an accountant, I wasn’t familiar with any programs at the time. My wife,however, was a trained commercial interior designer, and had some familiarity with some schools, although mostly design oriented.</p>

<p>Interestingly, my daughter didn’t show a strong artistic interest until the end of her sophomore year.</p>

<p>First, getting tutoring or going to an Atlier for portfolio training, as noted above, was a great idea. You can also seek out professional tutors to mentor your daughter and help develop a portfolio. I STRONGLY recommend that you do this ASAP. Don’t wait till the second half of her junior year to get started, which is what my daughter had to do.</p>

<p>Secondly, many schools have summer programs that will help develop their skills and help develop portfolios. Check out Syracuse, Corcoran College of Art, Pratt, SVA, and RISD in particular, although I would bet there are some west coast schools that have these types of pre-college art programs.</p>

<p>Third, Getting good SATs is very useful for not only admission but also for getting scholarships. She should also focus on getting a high score on the SAT or ACTs too.</p>

<p>When it comes to art programs, she will have to visit them and get a feel for the culture. Stand alone art schools will provide more artistic training and courses. However, the liberal arts usually is a bit lacking in those types of schools. My daughter didn’t want to go to a stand alone art school because she is very academic and didn’t want to just meet other artists. She also wanted to participate in marching band that most stand alone art schools don’t have. Thus, your daughter will have to make a choice as to which type of schools would be the best fit. This is why she should visit a large number of schools.
As to the pros and cons of stand alone art schools, check out my post at: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/492965-pros-cons-universities-vs-stand-alone-art-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/492965-pros-cons-universities-vs-stand-alone-art-schools.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If she is interested in graphic arts or applied art, this is mostly a design oriented curriculum and NOT a fine art. Some schools are more design oriented than they are fine art oriented. There are many schools with strong applied art. Universities that I could recommend off the top of my head would be University of Cincinnati (School of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning) RIT, Wash U St. Louis, UCLA, Temple University,which houses the Tyler School of Art, Carnegie Mellon, among many more. There are many stand alone art schools such as Pratt, Parsons, SCAD,School of Visual Arts, CCA, Ringling, Art Center College of Design, Academy of Art Institute, Philadelphia College of Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design,Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Otis, Laguna College of Art and Design and many more.</p>

<p>I should also note that although most art and design programs require portfolios for admission, this isn’t always the case for design programs. SCAD doesn’t require a portfolio. University of Cincinnati doesn’t either, although Cinncinnati does require strong academics such as top 20% of class and 1200+ on M , CR of SAT.</p>

<p>Hope this post helps.</p>

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<p>Unfortunately, we are late to the game. She will be a senior in a few weeks.
However, we will look into crash courses to develop portfolio.</p>

<p>I read your analysis of universities .vs. stand-alone art school. It is very informative - I agree with most of the points (if not all).</p>

<p>I saw some schools on your list (UCLA, Washington U, St. Louis, CMU). They look pretty tough. We are residents of California - it is incredibly difficult to get into UCLA (have bunch of friends whose kids got into Berkeley but not UCLA). Washington U is one of the top national universities. I do not have a feel for CMU (I was accepted into their computer graduate school years ago) - it is probably much tougher now.
I just read an hour ago that Yale and Brown are pretty good too - now that is a real stretch.
I guess we will give it a shot - her SAT scores (both I and II) are decent.</p>

<p>Alas, the joy of parenting…
It used to be so much easier. You applied to some big state U, get accepted, spent a couple of K$ on tuition, and graduated to some decent job.</p>

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<p>Furrydog, many large universities and some smaller lac’s have good solid art programs. If your daughter is looking for a BA in art rather than a BFA (basically more liberal arts to art classes if you get a BA), then from our experience looking at schools, your dd may not need a portfolio, as she will not necessarily have to commit before coming into the program. I would ask the art teachers at your dd’s school for state schools with programs. It is so hard to get into certain UC’s at this time, so you may not be able to count only on that. </p>

<p>We looked at Pittsburgh and were really impressed with the art program there. You do not need a portfolio and it is a BA program that one may enter after entry into the program. It is a great school and I know oos kids that got merit aid. </p>

<p>As for portfolio bootcamps, it might be a good idea if you can find one for your dd before the end of the summer. Here, many of the art programs at universities run 1 week programs all summer, as there are kids wanting to expand their art. For your dd, it might make her think about if she really thinks she is equipped for an art program. For my dd, all art, all the time made her gleeful. For one of her friends, it made him nuts and he realized that an art program was not for him, so he is now studying something else and minoring in art.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>I agree with the recommendation to find your daughter a crash course in art, even at this late stage. She can take a class or several classes at an art league or atelier during her senior year.</p>

<p>My daughter always took art league classes while she was growing up. By the time she was in high school, she was taking 3 or 4 classes every weekend. That was because after around age 14, she was allowed into the drawing and sculpture classes with nude models, which made a huge difference in the quality of the class. Every Sunday for two years, she would travel by bus to New York City to study sculpture at their Art League with a great teacher there.</p>

<p>One summer, when she was around 15, she took the Corcoran’s 2-week summer pre-college course. They taught a smattering of everything there–drawing, painting, sculpture, photography. She learned that she did not like most of the art they taught there, and did not like their teaching methods. It was well worth the money to send her there to learn that lesson.</p>

<p>My daughter ended up going to an atelier in Italy to study instead of college, and today is a professional full-time painter (fine art). </p>

<p>As others have pointed out, your daughter needs to learn drawing for any type for professional art field. She can take classes at a nearby art league, or at an atelier if you have one relatively close by. Here is a list of ateliers for reference, some of them in California:</p>

<p>[ARC</a> Approved Ateliers, Academies, and Workshops](<a href=“http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/ateliers.php]ARC”>Search ateliers and master classes - Art Renewal Center)</p>

<p>As another suggestion, your daughter could take drawing courses at an atelier part-time, even during college. Particularly if she’ll be studying in San Francisco or Los Angeles where there are several ateliers.</p>

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<p>Furry - Getting a portfolio together at this point is doable with the right support but your daughter will also have to want to take hold of the idea and use any free time she has to focus on it. If you can attend a National Portfolio day in your area this fall, she would be able to talk to admissions folks from the different art schools and get some feedback on what she needs to work on and become aware of the deadlines.</p>

<p>An alternate route to rushing your daughter into portfolio prep at this late date is to look for liberal arts colleges with strong art programs or ones that have a connection to art schools. This way she can satisfy her interest at a more reasonable pace. And if she decides in the end not to go the art route she would have options. </p>

<p>If you give us and idea of what part of the country, what kind of grades/stats she has, we can recommend possibilities. For instance - on the east coast I would say look at Bard, Bennington, Hampshire</p>

<p>Out west you might consider Reed college - they have a 5 year BA/BFA program with Pacific Northwest College of Art [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.reed.edu/apply/academics/is_dd_div.html]Reed”&gt;http://www.reed.edu/apply/academics/is_dd_div.html]Reed</a> College | Admission | Reed College Admission Office<a href=“all%20the%20way%20at%20the%20bottom%20of%20the%20page”>/url</a></p>

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<p>Furrydog, the fact that your D has a passion for drawing should be top among the factors that needs to be weighed in before she can settle on a program, or college. Art, unlike most other disciplines, is a creative field. And so to speak, nothing so counts more than does interest. I think that since she’s in senior High right now, you should find several industry recognized art programs and let her look at them so that she can make up her mind what would be best for her. Looking at fine art colleges, I would apply to some practical based, industry-recognized school such as the [Santa</a> Fe University of Art and Design | New Mexico Art College](<a href=“http://www.santafeuniversity.edu/]Santa”>http://www.santafeuniversity.edu/) in New Mexico.</p>

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<p>DesignSS, what is your affiliation with SFU art and design? I have never seen on this board someone new come in and in four separate threads promote one school so heavily. If you are affiliated with the school in some way, it would be nice to let everyone know that and if you have another type of history there, that could be interesting too. Thanks.</p>

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<p>Furrydog–if your D decides on a stand alone art school make sure the credits she receives there are transferable to another institution if she changes her mind and decides to be an engineer after all!</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot for all the great and very informative advice.
I find this whole thing a bit overwhelming (the whole college application/choice is).</p>

<p>I have talked to my D about the crash course on putting together a portfolio.
With the current summer internship that she has, she is backing off on this a little bit.
So, it sounds like her best choice is to apply to regular or small liberal-art colleges with strong art (applied art and not fine art) reputation.</p>

<p>cheers</p>

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<p>furrydog, my daughter started her portfolio work around middle of her Junior year with a tutor. She worked on it like a dog! No pun intended with your name and was able to put together a decent portfolio. Had she started early, it probably would have been a bit better. However, it is doable in the junior year with a lot of work</p>

<p>Also, some strong programs don’t require portfolios such as University of Cincinnati. which is a very strong design school. She might want to check this school out as well as other programs that might not require a portfolio. However, having a decent portfolio will also open up more doors.</p>

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<p>I have no doubt - sigh - some kids seem to have it all together.
My D has a big report due this Monday for her boss - she is still playing video game with her sis.</p>

<p>Also, never understood that expression about “working like a dog”.
My furry guy is next to me right now - he just had a big meal and the after meal snack and he is napping.
I don’t think he works hard at all - sleeping up to 16-20 hours a day.
My kids told me that they would like to be a dog in their next life - it is a good life.</p>

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<p>Phillyartmom, the only affiliation I have to SFU is ample knowledge and faith in the institution, plus a few design buff buddies taking creative courses there. Other than that, nothing. Thanks for the note, perhaps I should be more diverse in my preference and consequent recommendation of institutions.</p>

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<p>furrydog notes,“Also, never understood that expression about “working like a dog”.
My furry guy is next to me right now - he just had a big meal and the after meal snack and he is napping.
I don’t think he works hard at all - sleeping up to 16-20 hours a day.
My kids told me that they would like to be a dog in their next life - it is a good life.”</p>

<p>Response: You are absolutely right! By the way, my daughter didn’t necessarily have it “altogether.” Having a tutor assign projects and spending 15 hours a week at their home provided the structure necessary to finish the projects.</p>

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<p>While it’s a good idea to think about and start working towards putting a portfolio together earlier than your Junior year do keep in mind that most schools that require a portfolio want to see work that is, at the most, a year old. The more recent the work the better. Also they will want to see work that is not part of a classroom assignment. They do this so they can get an indication of what your own individual thought process is like as well as an indication that you are “into it” enough to make art that isn’t part of a classroom project.</p>