My daughter is a rising Junior who has lost a lot of time due to Post Viral Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She has improved somewhat but is far from original baseline and she has lost the time she needed exploring art classes to determine if she wants to be as immersed as one who majors in art would be. Her thoughts were that she would like to be an art teacher but is not entirely sure. She draws well and was strongly encourage and mentored by her teachers prior to becoming ill, but has not been able to create enough to put a portfolio together and had to drop AP Art twice before she even got started. She is thinking she might like counseling/psychology too. This would then exclude all stand alone art schools I suppose.
I know this is somewhat disjointed; I suppose I am trying to sort out where to begin. She may even need an extra year to improve health and take time to put together a portfolio. Any suggestions or thoughts south be greatly appreciated!
She could look at a school that doesn’t require a portfolio. My daughter was torn between an art school and a university. She decided that she wanted a more traditional college experience so she ended up at a university that didn’t require a portfolio even though she had one
I think a university offering many areas would be the best choice. My daughter started as a theater major but then switched to art history when the school added that as a major. Unfortunately, the new art history major required a lot of basic art classes that my daughter wasn’t interested in taking (and since most of them were lower level, it would have taken at least an extra year to complete). Because she’s at a flagship (although a very small one), she had lots of options. She’s finishing a history degree, with a museum studies certificate (minor?), with a bunch of art history courses too. The school also offers an education major, and there are several majors which can be combined with the education major but some that can’t be. Theater cannot be (I think because it is a BFA) but art can be.
If your daughter still tires easily, I think being an art major may be difficult. It requires a lot of physical activities and a lot of time in the studios.
@HImom mom has navigated the college application process with children with chronic health issues. She may have some good ideas for you on this process.
Hi! My kids both had chronic health conditions that affected their stamina as well. Both chose to attend standard Us rather than art schools, to give them broader marketability.
S applied traditionally, in his SR year of HS, for engineering. D was forced to leave private HS after JR year due to frequent and prolonged medical absences. She took GED and got 4000 out of 4000, and started CCollege in what would have been SR year. She got 4 As and a B in 1st semester and applied to transfer to USCal.
Long story short, she enrolled at USC after completing 3 semesters of CC and later applied to cinema, where she was accepted.
She did register with disabilities office and met some MDs at The medical campus (free shuttle), in case she needed care beyond health center 1st aid. She did get her degree and has used some of the MDs of USC.
Thank you all for your responses. I think we are all having a hard time accepting the idea that her dreams and those her teachers had for her to go to a top art school is probably not the right decision in light of what has been going on for her the past two years this coming October. I do know that she needs to be able to pave herself as best as one can in college. Challenging for an art student with deadlines. Unfortunately she has not been able to take AP courses because she has been absent from the majority of her classes more than she was present (85+absences). Her 80’s and 90s were all grit, tenacity and teaching herself. This cannot be conveyed on a transcript! She has done well on her regents while missing all reviews in class and not being able to make it to specially scheduled reviews. It’s star to realize what she has lost, but I want to find a place that will not overwhelm but encourage. Just don’t know where or how to start.
Sorry; meant to say I know she needs to pace herself, not pave! We love in New York, but she loves California. Was always a dream to go to college there. So many amazing art school in both states. I wonder if there are some solid liberal arts schools with really great art departments?
SUNY Purchase, and perhaps Sarah Lawrence
My sister went to SUNY Purchase and it was a great experience for her but I’m not sure it would be the right fit for my daughter. I will look into Sarah Lawrence. I don’t know much about it. Thank you.
In California, she might want to look at California College of Arts (CCA), California Institute for the Arts (Cal Arts), Art Center or even Laguna.
For universities with decent art departments, San Jose State, San Francisco State, CSU Long Beach as well as UC Santa Barbara come to mind.
For more traditional experiences, she may want to look at Chapman, U Redlands, U San Francisco and Whittier.
How you are describing your daughter’s condition and preparation (unable to complete AP Art in high school, unable to complete a portfolio) doesn’t sound compatible with going to school 3000 miles from home. Why not start closer to home and see how it goes?
If she is a rising junior she can take a pre-college experience next summer at an art school which would help create her portfolio and let her see if a dedicated art school is what she wants. Ringling has a great one. You might want to post in the Visual arts forum.
Twoinanddone, I think the only way she would be able to make it to California is if she is able to make more progress with treatment of her symptoms by the time she graduates. We are certainly not willing to let her go that far from home without some consistent and longer term improvement in her condition, and while there is some time, she is realistic that this will probably not be the case. However, ruling it out completely at this point is not something she is willing to do either.
We are looking for a campus which will not be very spread out or that has great transportation. My son just began first year at UNC Chapel Hill and sent me a snapshot of his activity in one day and it was incredible the amount of steps he takes in just one day. Gouf78, is the summer after junior year too late to take a pre college experience for portfolio building? If so, perhaps an extra year then: in the end, that will not make much of a difference. Thank you for the suggestion. I will look into the program for next summer.
No, not too late. My D went to Ringling for computer animation but had friends who went for illustration. She built her portfolio during the pre-college. Her art just soared over the weeks she was there. I couldn’t believe how much her art had grown in such a short time.
We originally signed her up to see if art school was really what she wanted since it is pretty much art 24/7. She absolutely loved every second.
At pre-college at Ringling you sign up for two “immersions” but everyone takes drawing (mostly figure) which is great for portfolios.
The campus at Ringling is beautiful but is fairly small–the buildings are pretty close together (including dorms). You don’t even need a bike to get anywhere. And FL is flat so no hills to climb!
Go to their website and take a virtual tour. There are other colleges that have pre-college experiences of varying lengths (Ringling has one of the longest).
Post on the Visual Arts forum–you’ll get more suggestions there.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience (and your daighter’s). Great information. I will post in the Visual Arts forum as well.