<p>How to prepare an art portfolio for admission?</p>
<p>My D loves paining, makes beautiful miniatures. Her paintings look cute, she gets compliments all the time. However, she never had any formal training (just private lessons from an old friend of mine). She never participated in any exhibitions. Doesn't have any awards. Just cute paintings on the walls, that everyone loves.</p>
<p>Does anyone knows, how could to put together a portfolio for AO? Should she even try? Any exhibitions?</p>
<p>I have no idea, but AP art students have to submit portfolios, you could google AP art portfolios, or you could try asking on the Art major part of this site - </p>
<p>[Visual</a> Arts and Film Majors - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/]Visual”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/)</p>
<p>Is she looking to major in art, or just wanting to add a supplement to her application to show what else she can do?</p>
<p>What does she want to do?</p>
<p>The high school art teacher will be able to guage her seriousness and advise on a portfolio. If she is not an art major, chances her portfolio will get to the art dept, IME, are slim. Slim to none. Many colleges won’t accept a non-required portfolio. </p>
<p>This question has come up a few times in the last weeks. As if a portfolio is a special extra, for non-art kids.</p>
<p>Some of the LAC’s my D applied to had an optional arts supplement to submit with the application (some also had an optional athletic supplement). I did not get the impression they were just for arts majors, but a way to show off talents. None of my kids are artistic though, so I could be wrong!</p>
<p>A very quick google on optional arts supplements lists Stanford and Dartmouth, (with identical qualifiers) - “Applicants with extraordinary talent in the fine or performing arts may submit supplementary materials for review. While we expect that students with a vested interest in the arts will continue their participation at the collegiate level, an arts submission neither guarantees nor commits a student to participate in the arts at Dartmouth if admitted, nor does non-submission preclude such participation. The Arts Supplement is an optional component of the application.”</p>
<p>Pomona - The Office of Admission welcomes supplemental materials from students who have had significant participation in music, dance, theatre, visual arts, the sciences or mathematics (that exceeds coursework and course requirements) if they wish to emphasize their accomplishments in these areas as part of their application for admission. As the College seeks to enroll a student body with a diversity of talents and interests, submitting supplementary materials can help the Admissions staff better understand how you might contribute in these areas. Please note that submitting supplemental materials is not required, but the Admissions staff is interested in learning as much about each applicant’s extracurricular participation and achievements in these areas as possible.</p>
<p>Similar for Oberlin, Yale, and others.</p>
<p>Here are Michigan’s portfolio guidelines (they have a good art school):</p>
<p>[A&D</a> Undergraduate Admissions - Preparing Your Portfolio](<a href=“http://art-design.umich.edu/prospective/undergraduate/portfolio]A&D”>http://art-design.umich.edu/prospective/undergraduate/portfolio)</p>
<p>She’ll also need a rec from an art teacher. If she’s not serious about pursuing art, I don’t know that sending samples will help. (I don’t know that it will hurt either - others are more knowledgeable than I.)</p>
<p>Many colleges participate in an Art Portfolio Day for high school seniors. Google it and read about what that’s all about. It might have answers to many of your questions.</p>
<p>Colleges that accept portfolios often have very, very specific instructions on how to submit them. She should check the websites of the admissions offices of the colleges of interest to her.</p>
<p>For example, I just checked Vassar College, and art portfolios can only be submitted electronically and there are limits on the size of the images. See, e.g., <a href=“Vassar College - SlideRoom”>Vassar College - SlideRoom;
<p>If she wants to major in Art, I recommend attending a National Portfolio Day in your area.She will be able to talk to reps from art schools and departments from around the nation and get feedback on her portfolio. It really is helpful if she is looking to major in art.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for all advices.</p>
<p>2redhares, thanks! I’ll check the National Portfolio Day </p>
<p>amtc, I’ll check the Art Portfolio Day.</p>
<p>She is not planning to apply for Art Major. Art is her hobby.</p>
<p>However, she is really good at it, and I thought that it may help her as her EC. </p>
<p>Any idea, how useful it may be to submit an art portfolio for a student, who plans to major (most likely) in engineering?</p>
<p>Then this would be an art supplement and the addition of it to her application would depend on the college guidelines. An art portfolio is an entirely different thing. Shows a broader range and progression of work.</p>
<p>An artistic ability can be useful in many engineering fields, as sketching/drawing/CADing often require an ability to go back and forth between 2D and 3D. Engineers and designers need creativity too! Computer Graphics also are helped tremendously by such skills. </p>
<p>Some discussions with the professional evaluators at National Portfolio Days can help to determine the strength and rarity of the student’s talent (i.e. whether it might strengthen your application) as well as to give great advice on how to improve. BTW, don’t show them anime, dragons, and unicorns! Most prefer drawings from observation. (I worry when you said “cute.”)</p>
<p>Colleges dont generally want you to submit more material than they ask for
If she isnt going to major in art, she doesn’t need a portfolio.
additonally some schools dont have space to use the studio if you arent a major.
However, they may ask for a non teacher recommendation and her EC teacher might be a good one in that case.</p>
<p>I’m generally in favor of submitting art supplements, but with conditions:The work demonstrates talent and skill that are exceptional for a high school student, the student is committed to making art as an important extracurricular and the college applied to is “art friendly.”</p>
<p>The best judge of the level of talent and skill would be an art professional – a high school teacher, outside instructor or practicing artist. </p>
<p>The level of commitment is difficult to quantify, but I would say that art involvement needs to be an key part of what the student does when s/he’s not in class. </p>
<p>Schools that are “art friendly” are, to me, those that have strong studio art and art history departments. Small LACs and medium sized privates as category tend to like supplements that offer a holistic view of the applicant’s interests and activities. Large State Universities are more statistics driven.</p>
<p>Arts involvement – studio art as well as music, dance and theater – can be a powerful EC even if the student intends to major in something entirely different, especially if the supplement is enhanced with recommendations, essays and other resume entrees.</p>
<p>So for the OP’s daughter, I would get the opinion of an art professional and make the decision based on how the daughter’s art involvement is presented within the context of her total application and which schools are being targeted.</p>
<p>PS, I’m not sure what you mean by “how to put together a portfolio for AO? Any exhibitions?” What’s AO? What are you asking about exhibitions?</p>
<p>Momrath, do you really recommend submitting more material than the college requests?
These are NYUs guidelines.
</p>
<p>IMO, the extra stuff gives the committee a reason to put your app on the “doesn’t follow directions” pile.
:(</p>
<p>
Well, I agree, NYU’s instructions are brutally clear: We don’t care about your stinking talent! 
</p>
<p>However, my feeling is that most small LACs and many medium sized privates do take the more is more approach and consider unsolicited supplemental materials in their holistic evaluations. </p>
<p>I guess you’d have to use some common sense (for example, ditch your 800 page autobiography) but if you’re trying to tell a story about yourself, who you are outside the classroom, what you will bring to the campus party, what floats your boat, sometimes supplemental material is the best way to communicate.</p>
<p>My son submitted an arts portfolio, but ended up as an art major so he may not be a good example. He did have classmates who were talented and accomplished musicians who majored in completely disparate disciplines. Their demonstration of their ability and their willingness to participate on campus, would have been a plus in admissions. </p>
<p>At a small school (like Williams) artistic ability – whether music, art, dance or theater – can contribute a lot to the campus community and the admissions committee recognizes the achievement. Could the same end be achieved without the supplements? Maybe, but to my mind art, music, etc is better shown than described.</p>
<p>I would have a portfolio ready for the schools who welcome an art supplement. My Williams daughter submitted a supplemental CD that her violin teacher, experienced in such matters, helped prepare. It seems your daughter may be attracted to a school that looks for art’s talent to add to the diversity of the college.</p>
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<p>I think this is probably right, but I’m reminded of the caution we got in the Harvard info session about doing the arts supp: “Make sure your stuff is actually GOOD.” </p>
<p>The starting point here is getting an experienced person (art teacher, music instructor, etc.) to give you an honest assessment of whether the materials you submit would be likely to show an ability to contribute in that art form at a collegiate level. If so, I do think many smaller colleges love to have non-majors participate in the arts and would welcome demonstrations of interest and aptitude for them. For example, the admissions dean at Carleton told us they actively encouraged this because “otherwise, we don’t have enough musicians to fill an orchestra.” </p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t have to submit the arts supp everywhere you apply, even if it is keyed off the Common App. You can limit submissions to the schools where you think you might want to participate in the arts on campus if admitted or where you think the admissions office is particularly willing to evaluate the materials.</p>
<p>californiaaa - 2redhares and I were speaking of the same thing. </p>
<p>My daughter wanted a LAC with a really good ceramics program (as well as creative writing and some other possible majors she was interested in) because she did not know what she wanted to major in. With each application she did submit photos of some of her favorite works, not a portfolio, just a few individual photos with captions written on the back. Almost every school mentioned them and appeared to appreciate them through their comments, she was also admitted to every school to which she applied. The head of admissions at one school, famous for their ceramics program, Alfred University, actually called to confirm that she was not applying to their BFA Ceramics program because he thought the pieces portrayed in the photos were worthy of BFA consideration.</p>
<p>I just reread your original post and I wonder if you’ve looked at the college consortium by you? Harvey Mudd is always looking for interesting women who want an engineering degree but then there’s Scripps, Pomona, Pitzer, where she can easily take art courses for full credit. It might be perfect for her!</p>