Hi! I know I am a transfer applicant, but my Q has nothing to do with that, just the schools I am applying to.
I am a transfer applicant who is about to complete my freshman year at a school. I applied to 9 schools as a studio art, design, or art history major. I got a 33 on the ACT and had a 3.73 GPA in high school, but have gotten straight As in college so far. My portfolio is strong and my essays are good. I haven’t gotten rejected yet, so I have several options. I just have no idea what to choose! The school I have been at so far is in the middle of Manhattan, so I haven’t had a traditional college experience thus far and have no clue what I want. Tuition isn’t a consideration.
My Options (Astrix means I have been accepted)
Purdue*
Kenyon*
Ohio State University*
Miami U*
Ohio University
Oberlin
Northwestern
Notre Dame
University of Cincinnati
I like city life, but I also love nature. My only concern is that I would feel too isolated if I was truly in the middle of nowhere. I am a very liberal, queer woman and need that kind of community around me. I tend to vibe more with the artsy crowds, but I love to party too. Help! I really just want to know, from an outside perspective, which school is the most prestigious or well-known in the art/design world.
For the schools that accept by major, what program have you been admitted to?
Industrial Design is excellent at both Purdue and Cincinnati, and you won’t get that kind of training/experience at one of the LAC’s. But if you’re admitted to an LAC-type major anyway, then an LAC might be just as good or better.
There have been lengthy debates on past threads about the LGBTQ+ experience at ND. The school’s official stance is clear, so you have to be clear about whether you’re willing to be marginalized-on-paper even if some/many people around you are accepting. (I realize it’s moot as of yet, pending acceptance.)
Should have clarified, but I have been accepted into the studio art programs at the schools I have applied to. For Purdue specifically, I was accepted into the combo studio art/tech design major.
That’s what bothers me about ND… The school seems great, but I don’t know if I want to go somewhere that literally does not accept me.
That program at Purdue looks terrific. If you’re interested in the skill-set(s) you would acquire there, it could equip you for some amazing opportunities. But I’m sure it wouldn’t be every art student’s cup of tea; if you prefer a more traditional studio art experience/education, that’s a legitimate choice too.
Apart from the social/environmental fit factors, I would think it would be pretty important to consider your goals within studio art. Do you want broad exposure, medium-wise, or do you want a school with extensive facilities in particular media? Do you want the tech focus of Purdue’s program? (And I guess OSU has a similar track.)
Small LAC’s can be amazing at nurturing young artists. OTOH, it’s often the case that a given medium is taught primarily by one instructor, who teaches what they want, the way they want… and your experience of that one person can make or break your experience with that whole realm of art. So it’s worth drilling down on faculty reviews (flawed though they are) in your areas of interest, and making contact with students about their experiences if you can.
It’ll be interesting to see what options you have as decisions roll in! If I were you, I would set up a decision tree wherein you evaluate the different categories of schools separately. For example, you could focus right now on a head-to-head evaluation of Ohio State vs. Purdue, since you’ve already been accepted to both, and eliminating one of these. Kenyon has no direct competitor as of yet, but if you also got into Oberlin, which LAC would you choose? Ultimately, try to get it down to one school of each broad type, and then decide among those actual front-runners. No one school is going to be the best in every dimension, so you have to figure out what your highest priorities are. Congrats on already having great options - keep us posted on your process!
Congrats on some great options! Just a few questions to consider – for studio art, what is each school saying about transfer of credits for foundation/intro type studio classes? One of the biggest challenges for studio majors is getting seat in the entry level classes that are pre-requisities for more specialized studio classes. And at LACs, there may only be 1 Intro class in a specific medium, with 12 seats. So while you wait for decisions from your other schools, talk to the departments to find out about transfer of classes, see if you can get clear representations about what classes you will get not just generic credit for, but specific, prerequisite credit for, to allow you to take intermediate and advanced course in the studio. Also, check to see what mediums are offered at each LAC so that there are no surprises – for instance, ceramics is not part of the studio art program at either Oberlin or Kenyon.
Of your quite varied potential choices, Kenyon and the University of Cincinnati represent two that derive a good part of their reputations from their excellent studio art programs.
In that case, if studio art is one of your possible majors as a transfer, use this time to find out exactly how you can get into the prerequisite Intro studio classes in order to complete the necessary sequence of classes for the major.
Have you taken courses in humanities and other major areas of academia? Typically these would transfer toward distribution and graduation requirements at the school you attend next.
Studio art classes are usually the hardest to get into because of the limited space – a painting studio only has room for, say 12, students. So 1st years, even majors, can have a hard time getting into the mandatory pre-requisites for upper level studio classes. As you evaluate your transfer options, consider whether any school will be easier to get into pre-requisites.
Unfortunately, no. The school I’m currently at has a lot of problems. One institution evaluated my credits and determined every class I’ve taken would count as an elective arts class.