<p>As a few of these later posts note, the work has to be highly qualified. If this kid is applying for STEM (and that’s only my impression; she just started 9th,) whether or not adcoms look at the work or even open a link, is entirely at their discretion. Understand that the review period runs very fast. </p>
<p>Portfolios generally cover a range of skills. The hs art teacher is a good starting point.</p>
<p>All this depends on adcoms thinking the applicant is a very strong probable, in the first place, before they ask for a dept’s effort and opinion. There has to be some reason to get them involved- awards, high level involvement-- understand that the art dept’s focus is potential majors/minors, not hobbies. But the first ring of fire still stands. IME.</p>
<p>You can look at Yale’s clear wording. OP can look at how each school words it.</p>
<p>Music is a little different, because they need a body of competent musicians. But still, just because you submit doesn’t guarantee it gets a review.</p>
<p>If the school has an optional arts supplement, and your daughter has something to put in it, she should go for it. My daughter did not do an arts supplement (music) because she played and sang for fun (in several choral groups; played piano for church, weddings, school plays) and didn’t think it really counted. So she just listed her music as a line on her application.</p>
<p>When she got to her auditions at Wellesley last week, the music faculty said they were “very impressed.” She was totally shocked and now wonders if doing an arts supplement might have helped her get into Stanford, where she was rejected. In her case, it doesn’t matter–she loves Wellesley–but I would urge any applicant with an interest in music, dance or art to submit an arts supplement. In the very worst case, the Ad Comm may say “lots of passion and interest, but no talent” and still let the student in because of her commitment to something other than getting straight As.</p>
<p>My D is in the 9th grade. Yes, she is planning to major in STEM. Thanks to your advice, I realized that she needs to prepare an art supplement, not art portfolio.</p>
<p>Her paintings are very nice and she is always praised by her art teachers (which is not surprising for the lack of real competition from classmates; art in her math-oriented school is rudimental).</p>
<p>How could she show “commitment and involvement”? Exhibitions? Art galleries? Awards (where?). She still has plenty of time. </p>
<p>The objective is to get into Berkeley-Stanford-MIT-Caltech (ideally, her dream schools) STEMs. She is not athletic (congenital heart disease), … her paintings are her hobby that helps her relax. </p>
<p>What is the best way to “sell” her hobby to adcoms? Paintings are nice. I could, probably, find some art gallery that may agree to exhibit them. At a minimum, I can donate some pictures to the local youth center, where they would be hanging on the walls (and get a letter of thanks from this youth center). </p>
<p>I know that colleges claim that they are “holistic”. Any way to sell artistic skills (paintings, ceramics, photos) to adcoms?</p>
<p>Wow, a 9th grade student with those dream schools and a clear objective. Here’s my suggestion to package your child to the maximum - have her put together a summer art camp for kids (perhaps at that youth center you mentioned) where she can share her hobby with others. That way she gets to count it as community service hours and art too! Maybe get the press involved to publicize her philanthropy.</p>
<p>Thank you very much. In fact, my D. is giving art lessons every Sunday at the our church. Nothing fancy, mostly fun for younger kids (including her siblings). It is counted towards community service hours at HS … She is doing it for years already (and will continue doing it regardless of the admission credit). </p>
<p>Now that you give some context, it creates a point of interest. Just hanging them isn’t it. Anyone with a connection can do that. </p>
<p>If you want to position her as both stem-worthy and artistic, just as the stem side needs to be proven (rigor, stretch, hs math-sci activities, some outside experience, if available, etc,) so does the art. Not art club at school or AP studio, as much as some public recognition. </p>
<p>The deal with artists is similar to kids who say they are writers. It’s not so much about the enjoyment as what the broader feedback really is. See what contests, etc, are available in your area. That’s one start. (But not just easy ones.) Some artsy kids get involved in theatre, doing sets. (And some budding engineers do, too, on the tech side.) Some will learn the digital art skills and find some summer or after-school work or an internship. See how the idea is to take it from “I like” and some initial feedback, to something more?</p>
<p>Then, somewhere in the CA, she expresses this duality. Too soon to start suggesting how. See what she accomplishes. This is about accomplishments, not the passive part. And, the vol work at church is also good.</p>
<p>I think the best way to show a commitment to making art is to make art, either individually or in classes. The admissions committee will presumably pass her portfolio to the art department who presumably will include practicing artists. First and foremost, they will look at the work. The classes, exhibits, tangential experiences like mentoring, travel etc will be secondary.</p>
<p>My advice to your daughter is simple: Keep taking art classes, either at her school or in your community. Pursue various media. Become comfortable with hand drawing. Learn some computer skills. Document (photograph) her work during the process. Keep a journal.</p>
<p>Develop relationships with instructors who can guide her and recommend her. Delve into Build a historical foundation, a vocabulary. Read about art. Look at art nearby. Travel if she can. If there’s a museum nearby, join, take classes, attend events. </p>
<p>The confluence of art and science is not as uncommon as you might think. At Williams quite a few of my son’s classmates in the art department were double majors in one of the sciences. If later, she widens her college scope to include some LACs that offer both excellent sciences and excellent studio art, Williams would be a good one to look at.</p>
<p>Interesting side story - I have a good friend who’s convinced her son got into MIT because he’s been a tap dancer for years and put that on his application. They discussed it during his interview and even had him do a little “ditty” for fun. It showed diversity and outside interests that the school rarely sees. You never know what puts an applicant over the edge!</p>
<p>She should consider entering them into art contests just to see if she has any success. Scholastic art awards maybe? Or in our neck of the woods, county/then state fair entries if they win are good. I am sure there are more options.</p>
<p>I have to say, last year I found the navigation on their website to be very confusing (I kept looping back to the same pages). The deadlines vary by region, and she likely will need an art teacher to help her with her submission (photos are needed, plus I think there is some component the teacher has to fill out). So she should start working on it well ahead of the deadline. </p>
<p>I agree that a touch of “flavor” like an art award in a STEM candidate’s resume could help. My D had that last year (had sold a painting for a charity show and won some 4H ribbons for her artwork), and she had a lot of success in her college admissions.</p>
<p>californiaaa, isn’t your daughter only now just starting her freshman year? As I recall you are only interested in certain “top” schools for her. Students who are serious about art don’t just pull portfolios together for “how it looks.” They do it because they plan to pursue art in college in some way or another.</p>
<p>For help with portfolios, check out this link: [url=<a href=“http://www.portfolioday.net/]Home[/url”>http://www.portfolioday.net/]Home[/url</a>]. I work at a graduate art school, and we attend the grad portfolio days. Although the events are geared toward putting together portfolios for art school, the info gained is useful at all schools. By the way, we often admit LAC graduates to our studio-based grad program.</p>
<p>Um, whose dream schools are those? Hers? Or yours?</p>
<p>You have been sadly led astray by people in your home country that there are only a handful of schools worth attending. And you have been sadly led astray that the “objective” is to get into a select handful of schools. I’m sorry, but you swallowed that nonsense issued by people who don’t know any different.</p>
<p>The “objective” isn’t to force-fit her into the perfect candidate for a handful of schools that people living thousands of miles away decree are the “best” schools.
The objective is for her to develop herself and her own unique talents and skills, and for her to find – among the MANY top colleges and universities this country offers – those that form the best mutual fit. And those may or may not be Stanford, MIT, Caltech, etc. </p>
<p>Over-focusing on a handful of schools at this stage in the game is STUPID. Don’t be the kind of person who is book-smart but lacks common sense. She has a few years yet to explore all different possibilities. Don’t narrow her down to the handful of schools that YOU think are perfect-in-every-way. They are all great schools, but they may or may not be the right schools for her.</p>
<p>“The objective is for her to develop herself and her own unique talents and skills, and for her to find – among the MANY top colleges and universities this country offers – those that form the best mutual fit” </p>
<p>The objective is to get training and resume for a job with decent salary. :)</p>
<p>She doesn’t need college to develop her passion and talent. Please, understand, that college per se (education) is not that important for our family, in general. We have extended family, faith, church, social circle, which doesn’t overlap with school, or college, or place of employment. If my D. would like to make pictures … she can do it without college. Effectively, she makes and <em>SELLS</em> photos online since she was 12-year-old. </p>
<p>I graduated from the best college in my country. I never ever worked in my major. In fact, most my college friends work in a field that has nothing to do with the training, they got in college. Yet, it was incredibly helpful to have my college on my resume. I think I won’t be able to come to USA, to get visa, to get my first job, without my college.</p>
<p>If my D. would be really serious about making a profession from art, I would suggest her</p>
<ol>
<li>Find a rich husband (college may help)</li>
<li>Get private lessons with some famous art studio. It may be significantly cheaper to do it in Latin America, than in US. Plus, Latino art from hot Latino country adds an exotic fleur, that may help in marketing. US college art sounds too academic for an art gallery … sorry…</li>
</ol>
<p>* 1. Find a rich husband (college may help)*</p>
<p>Please say that you are kidding.</p>
<p>My daughter is very talented however ultimately decided to major in the sciences.
But if she had decided to major in art, I would have recommended a lib arts college or university rather than art school, unless she was able to make the financials work to attend somewhere like RISD or Emily Carr.</p>
<p>Its fine to seek a patron, but you hardly have to marry them.
@@
Id rather see her teaching for steady income, than rich husband hunting.</p>
<p>But even though she is very creative & skilled, she ultimately decided it was easier to do art on the side than science on the side.
However if she had been single minded enough to pursue art, I would have supported that choice as well.</p>
<p>Teaching art classes is a great volunteer activity. My younger son taught origami classes as the senior center. Many high schools have a literary/art magazine - if hers does she should submit her work and join the group. Many states require high school students to take at least one arts elective - your daughter might consider taking an art class at the high school whether or not this is the case. Colleges like to see students taking a variety of courses. Many communities have arts centers that offer after school classes or evening classes, some especially for teens, or teens and adults. I highly recommend taking a life drawing class if one is available. Finally there are some national magazines for teens that publish art and writing. For example <a href=“https://www.newmoon.com/content/?id=1006&type=1[/url]”>https://www.newmoon.com/content/?id=1006&type=1</a> or [Teen</a> Ink | A teen literary magazine and website](<a href=“http://www.teenink.com/]Teen”>http://www.teenink.com/) I always did a lot of art in addition to my studies. In high school I took art classes every year in addition to a demanding schedule, I took AP Art as a senior, and at Harvard I ended up majoring in a major that combined art and architectural history. I ended up going to grad school in architecture. I still paint and show and sell my work locally.</p>
<p>“Id rather see her teaching for steady income, than rich husband hunting.”</p>
<p>Agree, agree, agree. Thus, I hope she would major in STEM, not in art. Many great painters lived in poverty … at least they had no family and kids.</p>
