<p>Hello, I am a prospective art major and senior in high school in the U.S. </p>
<p>I go to an arts based charter school and have many extracurricular accomplishments in the arts on my resum</p>
<p>It sounds like you need to do A LOT of research. Google is your friend.</p>
<p>UK students do not start the equivalent of US college at 16. Where this confusion may have arisen is that the term college may mean any educational establishment, including high school. Very many UK students attend a “6th form college” which is where they study the university entrance qualifications called A-levels aged 16-18. So most students will be 18 or older (gap years extremely common) when they begin university (commonly known as “uni”), which I assume is what you are aiming at.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars are essentially entirely worthless in the UK admissions process unless they are specifically related to the course you are applying for. E.g. In your case maybe working at a gallery, displaying your work at an exhibition or teaching art to younger students. </p>
<p>Standardised test scores are usually the most important thing in UK admission. However, art is one of the few areas where that may not be the case. I am not an expert on art but I know you usually have to submit some kind of portfolio, and often a one year foundation course must be completed before you can be admitted to a BA course (which is only 3 years long, so 4 years in total).</p>
<p>There are usually no minors. You would study art and nothing else. You have to show you are focused and committed to art. The complete opposite of “well-rounded” required by US colleges.</p>
<p>You apply through UCAS using one common app to a maximum of 5 unis.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ucas.com%5B/url%5D”>www.ucas.com</a> </p>
<p>I suggest you Google the student room for a UK board similar to this. Plus research online (most of the information above is available in wikipedia. You don’t need to look far).</p>
<p>Scotland is a bit different to England, Wales and NI, but not massively so. Basically you get an MA after 4 years and get a bit more choice of subject in your first year.</p>
<p>When you have found some unis you are interested in, find the specific course you want to study and email their admissions office. They will be best placed to advise you about things like standardised tests.</p>
<p>There is virtually zero financial aid for overseas undergraduates in the UK.</p>
<p>Goodluck with your application.</p>
<p>What sort of “Art” are we talking about? Visual arts? Performing arts? What?</p>
<p>I have been looking a lot at UK Drama schools, for example. They are all very different, and some have qualifications very different from the “norm” for UK colleges and unis. I would imagine, but don’t know for certain, that other “artsy” programs may be similar.</p>
<p>Pretty much “across the board” any UK higher learning institution will want you to know what specific subject you are planning to “read” (what we Yanks call “major in”). So when you say “Art” what do you really mean?</p>
<p>I agree with KEVP above. The term “art college” means drawing, painting and the like in the UK. The term “liberal arts” has no meaning here, and you will have to choose one specific art to study on application (and it is very hard to switch courses if you change your mind about the subject. Often you would have to drop out and reapply).</p>
<p>To add to cupcakes’s comments, British students usually complete a foundation course in which they experience a wide range of possible art options before applying for their chosen path. Some unis offer a year zero which fulfils the same function. You may not need to do this as you may have a sufficiently broad base already.The portfolio is all, but you need to contact colleges for their additional academic requirements. Good luck.</p>
<p>Jaclynl, based on what the above posts say, it actually is NOT that different from applying to an American art school; at most US visual arts schools, the portfolio is the primary criterion and your grades/scores/etc. are important for scholarships but not as much for admissions. This applies to BFA programs, not BA/liberal arts programs, obviously. And as 4mummy describes, American BFA programs also usually include a foundations year. In every kind of arts program–visual, performing, American, international–there are a range of requirements and a lot of variations on the expectations, so you’ll want to dive in right away and research the requirements, but it sounds like your current h.s. teachers will be able to help you put together your portfolio. Good luck!</p>