Hi guys
I LOVE graphic design. I design when I’m home and I’ve designed menus on indesign etc so I know how to use adobe easily. I am in digital imaging and I am a graphic designer in journalism. My GPA is over 3 & SAT is not that good (1700-1900)…
I’m not that good at drawing. I’m probably gonna start getting ready for my portfolio this summer, but even if it’s graphic design do I need to be good at drawing?
For schools I’m considering NYU, UCLA, Parsons, CIA, Art Center, Otis, SAIC, RISD (I doubt they will accept me), and just many more.
for schools that are not ART SCHOOLS (NYU, UCLA) my gpa and SAT score is important right?
I’m sorry this post is all out of place…
@benefiticos, you are wise to work on your portfolio over the summer. Can you join an art/design pre-college program somewhere? Those tend to be serious portfolio builders!
To answer your main question: YES, graphic designers - actually designers of all stripes (architecture, product, furniture, interior, graphic, etc.) should have some level of competency in drawing. Keep in mind that in French, the word for draw is “Dessiner” (design).
For admission, your portfolio will need to include some observational drawings (pretty much all the schools my D applied to required observational work as part of the portfolio). However, you are definitely in a great place with your graphic design and should include your best work there as well. Take advantage of upcoming portfolio days in your area in order to get some constructive feedback - they usually start up in August or September so you’ll be able to show them what you have been working on over the summer.
If you enroll at an art and design school you can expect to take a first year foundation program that includes drawing, (usually a full year but almost always at least a semester), design, and art history - probably some electronic media stuff thrown in there as well. Think 2D, 3D and 4D. The purpose of the foundation year is to get you well grounded as an artist, prepare you for your choice of major (and ALL majors in an art/design college will make use of foundational concepts), and perhaps stretch you a bit creatively.
One more thought - my D is a major digital graphic designer/artist and is currently preparing her concentration of digital works for her AP Studio class. She will always prefer Adobe to acrylic LOL. However, when she went to RISD for last summer’s precollege she found that the instructor only did digital stuff in the last couple of weeks. She spent a LOT of time in the RISD Nature Lab those first few weeks painting small objects using gouache or making cake boxes out of leaf drawings, etc. It was a breakout experience for her. And it revealed an important fact: a good graphic designer needs to be able to work across a variety of media, including traditional media, in order to meet the needs of the customer. So if you are specialized in one area that’s fantastic and will result in some great portfolio pieces, but don’t forget to build up your skills in other areas as well.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck!
Thank you so much! So so so much. I will definitely try to look for programs to help me with my portfolio or college programs 
Take figure drawing classes.
What happens is that you develop an eye for proportion, scale and human interest. All of that translates to graphic design in a big way.