<p>Anyone majoring in Visual Arts? </p>
<p>How do you like it? Did you study abroad? Are you considering a double major in something not art-related?</p>
<p>Know several visual arts majors, including D and her friends. They report that art curriculum is rigorous, and the environment supportive. Florence summer or spring semester programs are very popular, valuable and well run. Many students are double majors, including in such demanding subjects as physics. Indeed, this is one reason why students choose to study art at a comprehensive university like Wash U rather than a stand alone art school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! (and I love your screenname :))</p>
<p>We visited/toured the art school at Wash U very recently....we were told that 30% of their students pursue a double major. D is interested in their Fashion Design major and possibly a double major in psychology. We were very impressed with the art studio facilities and actually peeked in on a few classes (freshman drawing and junior fashion design) in session. The classes were small and we were also impressed with the attention/feedback the students were getting from the professors. There is construction going on which will soon add another building to the Sam Fox School, enabling all of the art/architecture majors to be accomodated on the main campus. I think the graphic art and some other classes were previously held off-campus or downtown.</p>
<p>I'm going in for art and planning on double majoring or dual degreeing in either political science or international relations with a minor in film. The best thing that I love about WashU is that: not only is the art program prestigious/awesome, but also enables one to cross major (so it's not limiting). Plus the facilities are amazing.</p>
<p>p.s. In addition to what ollump said, this fall they are moving the photography studios/darkrooms on campus as opposed to them being held on the loop somewhere.</p>
<p>Theydidwhat, congratulations on going to Wash U! That's what my D loved about Wash u too. Just out of curiosity though, do you know what the typical stats (SAT/ACTs, GPA) are for art majors there? What were your stats, if you don't mind? I'm trying to get a sense of what her chances might be of getting in ED. Her portfolio review on campus went well....it's the academic part I'm not confident about. Thanks.</p>
<p>^ I'd love to know the answers to those questions as well...</p>
<p>ollump,
Is your D a junior? Did you visit this spring? How did you schedule a portfolio review? How "formal" was it?</p>
<p>Yes, she's a junior. We just visited there last week. First we scheduled a general tour, general info session and a separate tour of the art school through the admissions office. The art program also offers a portfolio review via National Portfolio Days or on campus. See link below: <a href="http://artsci.wustl.edu/%7Eartweb/washUSoa/admissions/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://artsci.wustl.edu/%7Eartweb/washUSoa/admissions/index.html</a>
In order to schedule a review, the admissions office told me to email one of the art school deans directly. After not hearing back from the dean, we called by phone and set up an appointment. The review took about 30 minutes and was with just my D. Us parents waited in the waiting area until it was over, at which point the dean came out and spoke with us a bit about how she thought my D was on the right track with her art, etc. The dean knew that this was not her final portfolio and it became clearer to my D during the review, which of her pieces were preferred to others. So, to answer your question, it was more like a formal review of D's art portfolio in progress. They do state on their website that such a review does not substitute for the submission of slides. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thank you, I'm really excited for it =]
A lot of my friends also applied to WashU this year and they definitely have talent + grades/scores but they were all put on WashU's infamous waitlist. I, however, thought that my stats were in the competitive range yet I got in with scholarship. So I don't know what the typical scores are, but maybe even if your D isn't really all that strong academically, if she has a really strong portfolio/art extracurriculars/shown passion then they could count that for a heavier percentage on her application.
Plus it helps to make (and maintain!) a strong impression on the admissions staff and keep in mind that the freshman class is only 90 students; I didn't know that until I visited in early April!</p>
<p>My stats:
GPA- 97% or 4.0
ACT- 34
SATs- 2200 (but I ended up not sending those because my SAT IIs were so poor)
Portfolio - the usual slides, art director's recc, my brochure/pamphlet + postcard from my solo exhibition, an artist's essay plus an artist's statement.</p>
<p>If you or your daughter have any other questions I'd be happy to help.</p>
<p>Thanks, theydidwhat</p>
<p>Did you write an artist's essay plus an artist's statement in addition to the common app essay? What kind of art are you involved in? Where did you have your solo exhibition?</p>
<p>"they definitely have talent + grades/scores but they were all put on WashU's infamous waitlist"</p>
<p>So what do you think made the difference in your case? Did you apply ED?</p>
<p>Well some schools, like RISD, NYU Steinhardt studio art, so on, required an artist's statement and plus I already had written a lot of essays for the apps because of the number of schools I applied to (15!).</p>
<p>I experiment (or at least try to) in every media possible. Right now I'm putting down Sculpture as my intended major in Sam Fox but am definitely planning on taking electives in drawing, painting, photography, etc. I don't really know if that answers your question.
Mine was held at a local public gallery and I had to apply for the slot.</p>
<p>I applied regular:
1. I knew I had the grades to be at least considered.
2. I knew that my portfolio was strong, plus when I met Mauricio during a portfolio day he seemed very enthusiastic about my work (and truth be told, when I visited the campus earlier this month he had my postcard from my exhibition taped on his door =]).
3. I knew that the level of my passion for art was quite apparent... as cheesy as that sounds haha. I worked/work in a studio (12 hrs/week), I was an art teacher at an art institution, attended a lottt of outside classes (but mainly because my high school doesn't seem to like art nor offer any art APs), was art dept. editor 2yrs, and I could go on, but you get the idea. So yeah my resum</p>
<p>Wow! Theydidwhat, your passion and all of your accomplishments are quite impressive, I must say. Thank you for sharing all that.</p>