A teacher of mine suggested researching but nothing really came up. She believes that Statistics could possibly look better for a future art major. Is this true?
What math have you completed up to?
An understanding of statistics is generally useful for anyone. AP statistics covers material similar to a one semester introductory college statistics course that requires algebra 2 as a prerequisite.
But some artists use math in their art.
http://www.ams.org/publicoutreach/feature-column/fcarc-art1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_and_art
What target colleges?
A lot depends on what type of degree program you are planning to apply to, as well as how competitive is the school. If you are planning for a BA in Art, then academics are going to be more important than portfolio. If you are planning for a BFA, then it’s flipped. All else equal, it makes sense to take the most challenging courses you can during your senior year, so that includes math courses as well. Pre-Calc and Calc. are pretty standard for college-prep among competitive schools and most colleges require you to complete at least through Algebra 2. The top dedicated art/design programs might be more lenient depending on the particular program of study - for instance, architecture will require a lot more math and science than, say, sculpture - but at minimum they’re going to want to see a solid college preparation. You should check each school’s admissions page for more information.
My D’20 at SCAD opted for AP Stats over Pre-Calc. for her last year of high school because she figured she’d get more out of it and learn a practical application of math. Based on where she got in, that decision didn’t hurt her in the least. Her older sister (BFA '19-Pratt) opted for AP Calc. BC because she had the math ability, and that level of advanced work probably did help her secure good scholarship money from both Pratt and MICA for her academics. However, neither girl selected her high school math based on “what looked good” but, rather, on what looked both challenging and doable given her other academic and extra-curricular commitments. I doubt you could go wrong if you have the same goal.
Good luck!
My D got accepted into NYU and Pratt with Algebra, Trig, Geometry, no math junior year because she was about to fail pre-calc so she dropped math all together, and finally College Algebra in senior year. She got a 630 on the SAT math section and a 720 verbal. While they do care about academics, I don’t think they cared about her math skills/ classes specifically.