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<p>torinoway: You know, it’s not as if your only choice is between becoming (a) a financially successful professional or (b) a starving artist.</p>
<p>Have you thought about a field like architecture? Architects can make pretty decent money. Some of the Ivies (and other top colleges) have good architecture programs. This field requires broad training in art history and design, and also some foundation in physics and math.</p>
<p>That’s just one example. We have an old friend, a professor at Howard University, with two wonderful, successful kids. One went to UPenn and has started a career in finance in New York City. The other had more artistic interests and went to a less well-known school. But he built on his creative interests by learning about computer animation. He became very successful at that, supports a family, and has a respectable job as a University professor. </p>
<p>We have another old friend who never went to college at all, but went off to Europe as a young man to study violin-making. His instruments now sell for $25K a pop.</p>
<p>Brown would be a long shot for you, but if you went there, you could take classes at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, a top art school that offers programs not only in painting and sculpture but also architecture and furniture-making). Cornell has one of the very best architecture schools in America. UPenn also teaches architecture. </p>
<p>Tulane is somewhat less selective than the Ivies, but still pretty prestigious. It has an excellent school of architecture where they’ve apparently done good work helping with Rita-Katrina reconstruction. They teach artistic glass-blowing too (maybe don’t mention that one to your Mom and Dad, but I think it sounds cool).</p>
<p>Just some ideas. Your parents want a good life for you. There are ways to achieve that and be true to yourself at the same time.</p>