“Make holiday cards for elderly at assisted living homes. Make hand made birthday cards (blank) that the elderly can use for their families.”
Great idea for an artist.
I think that submitting art done “for fun” with various media would be fine in an arts supplement, as a way of telling admissions who you are. A supplement, unlike a portfolio, can be done in that spirit, though the quality should be good, yes. But the point is not to compete so much as to share an aspect of your life and self not revealed in the rest of the application.
I feel that there are things about your daughter that you are keeping private, and that protectiveness is wise.
If these academics at cc and school and in the summer make her happy, great, Honestly. The conventional wisdom would be to suggest more balance and breadth but you know your kid and you seem like an eminently caring Dad. And one who is indeed allowing the kid to have autonomy in choices- that is clear.
Sorry I was not suggesting service for admissions sake though I can see it might appear that way. Just a way to get out in the community and have some other experiences. I understand the introvert part, believe me, and that she has strong drives in other directions. So you know best, as does she.
So to your main question, an arts supplement is a good idea. If your daughter changes her mind and wants to go to an art school, or if there is even a chance of that, then she can decrease other academics and take the AP Portfolio class, OR accomplish the portfolio in some other way (art schools sometimes have workshops on this).
Good luck! She is lucky to have you 
There are students here who make decorations/cards for the Meals on Wheels food trays.
I don’t want to turn this into a finances issue, but the OP’s comment about looking for merit aid at lower ranked vs. financial aid at higher ranked need-only schools gave me pause. Is the OP’s Expected Family Contribution affordable? If not, sophomore year is a good time to figure that out. The challenge with merit is that, for a family eligible for some need-based aid, the merit at many schools does not “stack” on top of the need based aid to reduce the EFC. It may reduce loans and work study, but that EFC usually remains stubbornly unchanged. There are exceptions, but we did not find them.
I agree with the idea that an arts supplement can be a part of demonstrating who the student is, the student’s unique perspective that might be an asset to have on campus. I’d have her choose the pieces that best demonstrate that unique perspective (as opposed to seeking the objectively “best quality” pieces) and I’d probably keep it as brief as possible.
A while back I noticed that some schools don’t allow an arts supplement (Northwestern) while others seem to encourage such a supplemental demonstration (MIT). Accordingly, read websites carefully.
The OP’s daughter appears to be talented in many areas. It’s possible to put these interests and skills together into an undergraduate program, or to envision a path to an advanced degree. In this case I recommend that the OP consider something like the Brown-RISD dual degree baccalaureate program (5 years): http://risd.brown.edu/. (My daughter graduated from RISD with a degree in industrial design. RISD students are permitted to take a small number of courses at Brown, even if they’re not in the dual degree program. This proved to be valuable to my daughter who discovered an interest in environmental design during her 4-year RISD BFA program, and later pursued this in her career, including earning a MS in Environmental Sciences and an MBA.
FWIW. I have no idea what you should do, but I can tell you that for our engineering kid who had always enjoyed drawing, we encouraged them to do AP Studio art. (more for their left-brain/rght-brain balance than anything). Don’t know how much, if at all, it helped with College Admissions. I’m not 100% which applications had the portfolio included. Certainly some of the most competitive colleges it was - and didn’t seem to help much either way. They got in where the stats suggested the would, got some “more” competitive, but few “most” competitive.
as far as the “distraction” comment - I think that’s probably not true. Our kid actually got a couple of good essays out of explaining their interest in the intersection of engineering and art/design and function. I think that, more than anything was the most “appliciation practical” thing they got. This “deep dive” theory can be take too far, I’d suggest. LACs in particular don’t hate well-rounded kids.
Additionally, in college our kid is currently considering a 3D design minor (or maybe just concentration - the minor is pretty labor intensive) and have found their art skills very helpful in their class projects (although it’s a double edged sword as being one of the few engineering students with a good eye and ability to draw leaves them “holding the stylus” a bit too often.)
I think that if you think it is good for your kid’s “head” there is no reason not to do it. But AP art is notoriously difficult re grading (very few 5s) although it does give a Weighted GPA point and most colleges consdier it “academic.” But more than anything, if you think a bit of enforced self-expression might be good for your kid’s soul, we found this is a good way to do it.
We have another kid who, even though they play jazz band, will probably do a 3D AP art, just to get a bit of hands-on time in the midst of the “book learning.”
My guess is either way it will not make a big difference at the end of they day in terms of applicaition. Some schools will love seeing a “well rounded” kid, esp if they are pursuing science. Some won’t care if the rest of the app is strong.
Well, I get how an art EC could help a science major. It shows her as a multi-dimensional person. If she wants to do an art portfolio, by all means, she should do one. Plenty of people who don’t intend to pursue art as a major do a portfolio. But this has to be her call. She will have to make compromises all through her life, so if doing an art portfolio affects her academic courses, that is perfectly fine, if it is what she wants to do.
Like everyone else has done, I caution you not to view high school interests merely as stepping stones to a good college. High school is its own entity. She has lots to learn while there, so let her enjoy those years!
^ High school is its own entity. She has lots to learn while there.
Both academically and otherwise surely. But it’s more than that. She loves to be there and enjoy the experience. You get only one experience as a teen. College prep matters, but it should work around high school experience with minimal compromises.
@CaliDad2020,
^ AP art is notoriously difficult re grading
No doubt. And even more difficulty on time consumption. She has college credits for all three AP studio area. One of them she spent 20 hours week to ace. Probably the smart way is not taking AP art and spending minimal effort to enhance her current portfolio on her own, if and when she feels like it.
Another possibility to consider as a way to avoid crowding the academic-year schedule is summer. My daughter attended the summer precollege art program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago: http://www.saic.edu/cs/high_school/summerinstituteresidencyprogram/. The purpose was two-fold: to get advanced skills, and to create some components of her portfolio. Other art schools have summer programs, including RISD and Carnegie Mellon among others. These are intensive programs but reasonably short. They aren’t “graded” but are a good experience and credential.
Our friend’s kids go to RISD summer art programs and have loved them.
Not many will make me happier than her taking a good Summer art camp instead. Alas, somehow she is adamant on taking challenging Chem and Stat courses from professors with low easiness rating to risk her grade. That much is decided already. She has a set plan for junior and senior year based on it. The only variable was either AP Studio or APCSP as junior elective.
I didn’t make that comment as a moral issue, but as a life & parenting issue. Don’t put your kid in a box; don’t try to tweak or remold her into something that she is not. Let her be true to herself and her own goals and desires.
And give her room to grow and change. Not just in terms of academic interests, but also socially. I was a painfully shy and very interoverted kid at age 15. I changed – I came out of my shell at 16, and though I am still an introvert by nature, the shyness is long gone. I attended a large public university, did fine, and can’t imagine any other choice. I started out as pre-vet and chose my university with that goal in mind. I changed majors and ended up going to law school; I was a trial lawyer for 20 years. My son went off to a an LAC that seemed perfect for his 17-year-old self, but found the environment limiting – ended up transferring and graduating from a regional public U.
No harm at all in thiinking about possible college choices, including LACs… but again, your daughter is likely to change in many ways. The teenage years are a time of growth and change. It can be a wonderful journey and sometime wild ride… but I think the best thing you can do is encourage and foster her changes, as long as she is following paths that seem productive and worthwhile. (I mean, if a kid’s “passion” is to hang around on the living room couch engaging with a smartphone… then maybe those kids really do need some parental nudging-- but you don’t have that problem).
I disagree with those who are suggesting that your daughter needs some sort of rounding out or engagement in community service. The kid is 15 - give her space to grow and explore. If she wants to spend this summer enrolled in community college courses – no problem. That certainly doesn’t prevent her from doing something different next summer.
The goal isn’t to make her fit what you or some college advisor thinks that the colleges want; the goal is going to be to find a college that fits the person your daughter becomes and provides the education she wants.
Her art will always be there. A college degree is not required to produce art – and in fact for some, a college arts major or minor might be full of course requirements that the student has no interest in pursuing. But with or without college studies in art, a person who is an artist at heart can always set up a home studio and create in their spare time. And it might be far more enjoyable that way. One thing for sure – it’s not easy to make a living as an artist.
I really appreciate sharing your experience.
^ I didn’t make that comment as a moral issue, but as a life & parenting issue.
What I meant is that I am moving our relationship from parent-child to friends. I would still intervene for anything immoral or unsafe which never actually happened. Otherwise I wouldn’t push her either way, but I wouldn’t hold off sharing any experience knowledge I have either. It has been proven that she is strong enough to still make her own choices.
^ but also socially. I was a painfully shy and very interoverted kid at age 15. I changed
That’s exactly why she decided to end homeschooling and enter her current highschool. She is doing it great. I wouldn’t push her to break more boxes than she is ready to.
- The teenage years are a time of growth and change.
Both of us are well aware and ready for the changes.
^ The goal isn’t to make her fit what you or some college advisor thinks that the colleges want;
It’s not for me to decide her goal. My goal is giving her the best information so she can decide what to keep and what to compromise. It’s about balancing. It’s not about strong principle on what’s right or wrong to anyone else’s standard.
^ Her art will always be there. A college degree is not required to produce art
That’s what she said when she changed her goal. I am happy either way.
^@calmom Just as background, this student already took many many CC courses as a middle schooler and is now in a more appropriate challenging environment at boarding school.Thats why many are discouraging more CC.
I don’t know why this kid cannot try community service. So many options. And she truly might end up enjoying it.
Yes, @gearmom. My son (mentioned far upthread), the cellist who didn’t want to major in music, did all music-related community service. It wasn’t contrived; it was just part of his life. He played for multiple fundraisers and played at church (worship team, special events) and so on.
^ I don’t know why this kid cannot try community service… might end up enjoying it.
And might end up hating it because she was rushed before emotional readiness with genuine desire to do so. The admission boost is not worth that price.
Kids come in all different shapes and sizes.
I guess my point was, my kids didn’t think about college admissions when doing what they did. They were just sort of outwardly focused when it came to their talents, and were happy to serve in whatever capacity was needed. Eldest son’s community service was music and tutoring-stuff that he loved to do.