<p>I am really interested in applying next year to the fine arts program. Does anyone have any information. How hard is it to get admitted to this program.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Go to Art & Architecture Day, which was held in mid/late June last year. It was really great and informative. Make sure you schedule an interview when you sign up for the campus visit. It is not automatically included. My daughter was admitted to the School of Art ED1. I don't remember exactly, but think they had 800 applicants for the entering class of 2005 and there are 70 starting spots. So, it is quite selective. They say a portfolio is "optional" but I cannot imagine this is the case. Make sure you go to a National Portfolio Day as soon as you can (you may have missed this year - check out the dates on the internet) and make sure to stand in line at the Wash U. table. You will be given advice on what to add to your portfolio, and what to work on, and it will be put into your file. As you'll see throughout this board, Wash U. wants students that want them (not to be used as a mere fallback.) You'll find that Wash U. is unsurpassed (in my opinion) for a mix of academic and art. We heard somewhere that 30% of the Art Students do a double major with an academic subject. At Carnegie-Mellon it isn't so cohesive (and the student body is VERY eclectic - engineers, artists, and not much inbetween.) Tufts offers a nice 5-year program with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, but it's 5 years. Academic standards are not (so we're told) reduced for Art Students at Wash U. You must be acceptable overall, before considered by the Art School. In contrast, CMU puts greater emphasis on Portfolio and is more open to "lesser" academics, at least that's what they said. My daughter never applied because she wanted Wash U. over CMU and couldn't see herself there. We heard Univ. of Michigan has an art school, and a late application deadine, so were going to look at that if she hadn't been accepted at Wash U.</p>
<p>70/800 wow that is selective.</p>
<p>Nanel - </p>
<p>I was admitted to the WashU School of Art ED2 this year. I chose WashU because I wanted both a strong art program and a strong academic program. Here's what I did to get in:</p>
<p>*I visited the campus last summer (Loved it). Interviewed in the Art School. Showed them a portion of my portfolio. Talked to a number of professors. Asked questions. Got advice. Sent thank you notes.</p>
<p>*Got my name on the mailing list.</p>
<p>*Worked hard on my portfolio to make sure it was really good. </p>
<p>*Went to National Portfolio Day when it was held in my area of the country and was second in line at the Wash U table. Showed my portfolio and talked to the rep about what I was doing and where I was going with my art.</p>
<p>*Kept my grades high and did extra work to get my SATs up. NUGrad is right about academic standards. They are not lowered for Art School applicants. So, I took all IB courses, maintained a 3.8 GPA, and scored a 2210 on the SATs. Got tutored in math to push up my Math boards.</p>
<p>*Did lots of art related ECs. I would have done them anyway, because that's what I like - along with theater, writing, forensics, movie making, etc. But all the art stuff showed them I was serious.</p>
<p>*Applied ED2 to make sure that the adcoms knew that I really wanted to attend WashU.</p>