@earlyowl my D is headed to art college this fall so I can share what we learned from her application process.
First of all, check out the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) website for the upcoming fall schedule of portfolio days - or check with your local art/design school to see which day the event will fall and who is attending (last year’s list is probably on the school website so you can at least get an idea . . . ). These are events at which admissions reps from all the art schools - and many university programs as well - attend in order to take a look at your artwork and give you advice on what to include as part of your application. There will be no better way for you to get feedback on your portfolio.
Second, there will be a difference between a dedicated art school such as Otis and a university program as to when your portfolio will be reviewed. For Otis, the review is going to be part of your application - if admitted, you are accepted directly into their BFA program. In contrast, many university programs do NOT admit directly to the BFA. Instead, they admit to the BA program and your review comes much later - usually at least by sophomore year. If you pass the review at that time you move on to the BFA. If not, you remain on track for the BA. However, some university programs WILL admit right away to the BFA so it’s very important to understand exactly what is required for admission and when the portfolio review will take place.
For a dedicated art program such as Otis, the portfolio is probably the most important aspect of your application, although good grades and decent test scores will increase your chances not only of admission but merit aid as well. So you will want to choose your best work and understand and follow their specifications carefully (do they want observational work? Self portraits? Examples of different media, etc.) You will want to take top-notch digital reproductions to upload (most likely via slideroom) - get help from an art instructor with those if you need to. One art school advised the applicants to make it look as professional as possible so no sloppy borders, etc.
Follow that level of care for USC and UCLA, should they also require a portfolio for admission. But keep in mind that these schools will also put relatively more weight on your GPA and test scores due to their very high level of selectivity.
We found that my D was able to use pretty much the same portfolio for all her art school admissions (perhaps changing out one or two pieces). But that was because she generally had selected her work to conform to what the dedicated programs were asking for.
Cal State does NOT, to my knowledge, require a portfolio for admission - I could be incorrect here for Long Beach because we haven’t researched that one. But my D2 is considering Fullerton for animation and I believe that is entirely a stats-driven admission and the portfolio review doesn’t come till later. In fact, I’m pretty sure you just send along one application to all the CSU schools. CSUMentor should have all the information you need - or check some of the previous threads on CC regarding the visual arts major. @YoHoYoHo has a son attending SJSU this fall and provided very helpful information here: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/1756946-animation-programs-it-is-time-to-make-a-decision-p1.html
Good luck!