<p>Hi, I'm a long-time lurker and decided to finally sign up because this question doesn't seem to have been addressed before.</p>
<p>I'm currently a junior in high school and I'm pretty certain that I want to go to art school (or at least a LAS with a good art program) after I graduate. I've taken some fine arts classes and do a lot of drawing on my own time, so I definitely have enough work to put together a portfolio. But fine arts is the extent of my knowledge and it's not what I want to major in in college. Forms of visual storytelling like comics, animation, and film really interest me but I don't know much about them past the basics.</p>
<p>Last summer, knowing that a lot of colleges want a fine art portfolio no matter what major you choose, I took an advanced fine arts class at FIT. It was a three-week course that ran from Monday to Thursday for three hours a day. I managed to get a few portfolio pieces out of the program and discovered that I love the art class environment. The class was very diverse but everyone was serious about their work and even though there was a feeling of competition between us when it came to our art, we all got along pretty well. </p>
<p>As I'm turning sixteen before this coming summer, the more prestigious summer programs are opening up for me, and I'm jumping the chance to get a real feel for the art school environment and learn more about my potential majors. For a handful of reasons I can't do a residential program, so unfortunately I had to cross places like RISD off my list. And a program in the Manhattan area is easiest for me when it comes to transportation, so right now that's all I'm looking into.</p>
<p>On my list now are Parsons, Pratt, and SVA, which I know take both residents and commuters. If anyone can tell me more about those programs and the differences between them or know of other summer programs that I haven't considered, I'm all ears.</p>