<p>First time poster here (have lurked for a while) & am looking for recommendations. My daughter, 16 & now a sophomore, is looking for a 1 or 2 week pre-college residential art program for summer 2012. She's quite good at art, not great (yet), and is a fairly non-artsy kid (very mainstream, is on the H.S. Poms team), but loves art & wants to pursue an art major in college, probably at a university, not at an art school. She needs to develop creativity & conceptual skills, painting skills, and she loves to draw & is quite good at it. Her art teacher describes her as technically very good, but "tight." She's wants a course to help her skill level & to develop a good portfolio & will probably take AP studio art next year (first time offered at our high school). Because of vacation plans & other reasons (location - she doesn't want anything too far in the south or midwest b/c it's so hot) she has narrowed her list down to the following programs which work timing & length-wise: U of Michigan's 2-week BFA prep or it's 1-week Portfolio Prep; Tyler (Temple U); SAIC; Corcoran; New Hampshire Inst. of Art; Syracuse U; and Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design in Denver (RMCAD -we live nearby, so could commute). We're leaning toward Michigan (great college town & campus experience, not much info on program on website or in this forum), Temple (great city - we're not worried about safety, cool program) & SAIC (has a good review on this site).<br>
Does anyone have personal experience or other info on these summer programs or even the actual college programs, or any tips on picking the right program? Money is not that much of an issue - all programs cost relatively the same & she probably won't qualify for a scholarship (may try at SAIC). Michigan requires a portfolio for admission, but that's OK, she can get one together. Please help! Recommendations! Thanks. I'm also posting on the visual arts major forum.</p>