I remember it was tough to find answers to my questions regarding AAP and fine art in particular so ask away!
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This is actually very coincidental because I was intending to come into the Cornell forum tonight to ask about the bfa!
I don’t know if bfa students have any insight to this, but will a lack of an art interview garuntee a rejection? I’d like to say that my portfolio, art extracurriculars and awards are all very strong, so is there a chance that Cornell will overlook a lack of an interview?
Any insight would be superb!
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i’m not an admissions officer but here are my two cents-
while the interview is not required it is strongly recommended. for art, here is how the interview goes down: it is essentially a session with a prof where you flip through and explain your physical art in your portfolio. talk about your creative process, intent of the piece, anything that cant be explained in a slideroom upload. this is followed by a more classic “interview” portion where they’ll ask you questions about yourself and other basic interview questions. i read online before if the prof likes you, they’ll give you a tour of olive tjaden. the prof gave me a tour and i was accepted (not that saying getting a tour is an automatic acceptance but just for reference its for sure a positive sign!)
honestly, i believe the interview helped me in my acceptance. i say this not only because i was confident how it went after but i had been in touch with an admissions officer later (post acceptance) and she did very subtly imply that she believed the interview pushed me over into the “yes” pile. i also believed i had a solid portfolio, ECs and recognition awards from high school.
all this being said, the lack of an art interview does not guarantee a rejection. i have classmates who did not attend an interview and (obviously) were accepted! it is not the end of the world if you can’t get to ithaca or whatever reason you have. long story short if you can make it happen i recommend it but it doesn’t mean you’re automatically overlooked!! good luck!!
Hey!
I’m a deffered applicant for AAP for fine arts!
I believe my portfolio is strong, but for one I am worried about my mid year report. I did not do so well first semester of my senior year. Did you get accepted early decision? Will I basically have an automatic rejection because of my horrible grades (AP Art: A AP Statistics: B+ AP US: B+ English: A String Orceshtra:A Bible:C)
i was accepted early decision with a well-rounded application. my first semester grades for senior year were definitely good but my SATs were average so i also was worried they would automatically reject me because I didn’t get what would be qualified as “ivy league standards”. just remember that it is an art program and they care more about your portfolio and character-based application. so having good grades can help to prove you can thrive in the academically rigorous non-studio classes with the rest of the cornell community but if you don’t have top grades, it doesnt mean you are automatically rejected. if your grades are decent, you need to make up for that in other areas (portfolio and essay and ECs in particular)
one of my peers was also deferred then accepted - he sent an email indicating his continued interest and included another strong art piece so i would reccomend doing that to show you’re still 100% committed to cornell! best of luck!
Thank you for offering to help 
How is life as a bfa student at cornell like? Are they less respected as compared to architecture and engineering? How is the course load?
"Are they less respected as compared to architecture and engineering? "
Answering as an old CAS alum, others please amend as appropriate :
Architecture students get particular wide respect on campus because they are thought to work really hard, putting in tons of time in their studios. Engineers are also thought to work particularly hard.
Art students may get some “reflected glory” from the architects, since they are also part of AARP and have studios too.
Others may consider them differently, since they are not architects actually, so they may not necessarily always get architect-level respect. They may be respected though for having artistic talents that lots of other people there don’t have. That’s on an individual assessment basis , though, not any campus-wide opinion.
For the most part there is no campus-wide opinion. Because there are so few art majors, relatively speaking. Lots of people probably don’t even know any. I was just thinking about it and I can only recall knowing three, only one reasonably well. Even if you know some of them, you are likely not in any of their classes. So basically most people have no idea.
But there is certainly no stereotype of them floating around campus that is in any way negative, or should be of concern to you. While not everyone thinks of them identically to the architects, there is no prevailing notion to look down on them or anything like that. They are considered to be just in it, doing their thing, like everyone else there for the most part. To the extent that anyone thinks about it. Which is basically not at all.
@stunnind
how is life as a bfa student at cornell like?
really fun! the major allows for a great balance of liberal arts and studio classes so you really get to explore the extremely wide variety of classes that cornell offers. olive tjaden hall has beautiful studios and it quickly becomes your second home. the studio facilities are great and its a great atmosphere to be around. we get more sleep than architecture (but who doesnt really) but in our busiest times can spend many nights sleeping over at the studio, which is actually so much fun! its unique and after a week of no bed exhausting but they are definitely the memories i cherish the most.
are they less respected as compared to architecture and engineering?
@monydad answered it pretty well, architecture is well known for its “shut up and work” attitude whereas engineers seem to have a rep of complaining/bragging how much work they have. its one of the smallest majors so peoples reactions is generally “omg no way so cool, thats awesome, so talented” etc etc but theres definitely not a negative connotation. people tend to be impressed with any artistic talent honestly
how is the course load?
its pretty good, there are definitely periods (finals etc) where you’re living in the studio. it all depends on what electives you’re taking along with it. for example, this semester im taking a math, history, comm and pe course along with my studio so i’ll definitely be busy.
if you have any more specific questions feel free to ask!
@wanderingLo I am so happy to find this thread! Would you like to share the stats of you and your peers? And also how many fine art students are accepted annually? Thank you!
Is it common for dual degree BFA/BA etc? How hard is it (get in /graduate)?