Interested In a Graphic Design Major- What Colleges Should I Look At?

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
1

Hello! :smiley:

I’m currently only a few weeks into my Sophomore year of high school, and the real college search is a little ways away, but I’ve been really interested in the college search as of recent and really wanted some advice for the future.

Since I haven’t been able to take tests like the ACT yet, I don’t have those scores yet to gauge what’s within my reach, but I’ve always had good grades (4.0 last year) and my ACT Aspire went very well last year (composite estimated score of 30-33). I’ve kind of just been looking at all kinds of schools, and just narrowing them down once I get a better idea of what’s within reach. I play tennis, plan on joining yearbook as a page designer, and also plan on joining NHS if I can maintain good grades and be invited in.

As far as graphic design goes, I’ve always had an interest in art and enjoyed doing it. This is the first year I’ll be taking a graphic design oriented course (Media Design) but I’ve been taking art classes pretty much every year. As far as my skill goes, I really have no idea. I have quite a bit of knowledge using photoshop and even some 3D design programs from when I was younger and played around with it a lot. My first time being able to take a class based on graphic design should hopefully give me an idea of where my skills currently lie, and I plan on taking art classes throughout the rest of high school to build my portfolio and skills. I’m certainly not an artistic prodigy, but I love doing art and I’m committed to learning more about it and becoming better.

I’m not a great on-paper artist so I’m mostly interested in designing things like logos, posters, websites, packaging, etc.

At this point, I’m probably just rambling and this isn’t really helping, so my apologies.

I’m definitely in need of some advice because I feel like I’ve been hitting a wall when it comes to the searches.

I’m currently living in the Midwest and have lived here my whole life. Although I do like it here, I think I’m going to need to branch out because I know this isn’t an area with quite as many art related opportunities as the east and west coast. I’m open to a college pretty much anywhere.

As far as budget goes, I don’t have an extremely high budget, so extremely expensive schools are most likely out of question. Despite that, I do want to try and get an idea of everything available, so I’d still love to hear all recommendations.

The biggest problem I’ve had is that I don’t necessarily think I want to go to an art-specific school. While I want the best education I can get, the college experience is important and I would love for the school to have sports and a great social scene. From what I’ve read on a lot of the top art schools, the social scene is pretty non-existent, the school is incredibly small, or the people on campus are typically a personality type that I don’t usually find myself hanging out with. I would love to be able to go to a ‘regular’ university with a somewhat larger and more diverse campus than most art-focused schools seem to offer.

So far I’ve briefly looked at USC Roski, Chapman, and UCLA, so any information about those would be great. Cal State Berkeley would be a dream school, but they don’t appear to have a graphic design program. As far as art schools go, I know RISD is highly recommended but I don’t know if I have the talent to get in and it’s not exactly what I’m looking for. Like I said, I know USC and RISD would be very tough to get into, but at this point I’m kind of just looking at all my options.

So, in summary: I’m looking for ‘regular’ universties with great graphic design programs, or any highly recommended art schools that would be worth giving up the “college experience” for.

I know this is a ton to read, so a huge thank you in advance to anyone who helps out!

2

i suggest you take a look at VCUARTs in Richmond Va. Great artsy city and its a highly ranked design program.
In fact its grad prog is ranked #2 tied with UCLA and just behind Yale, and ahead of RISD. Also, VCUARTS is part of the much larger VCU so you retain the entire college experience. as in NOT just an art school.

3

What is your home state? (As much as you want to leave your region, your home state and any tuition-compact schools it has are going to be your best budget options.)

Art opportunities tend to concentrate in larger cities, but there are great cities for art in any part of the country, and there are even small- to medium- sized cities with surprisingly vibrant art communities.

4

I took a graphic design class about 2 years ago (10th grade) and I really enjoyed it (although, I’m planning on going into engineering with some design). Graphic design, like you said, sounds like a good fit for you. Due to your projected ACT scores and your GPA, you will most likely have many options when you start applying to college (which is REALLY nice). New York, I’ve been told, is usually a good city for graphic design. Many large cities collaborate with art programs and businesses for this sort of thing. UCLA has also been a top school for the major.

Obviously, usually the larger the city, the more expensive, so that’s something you’d have to watch out for. Good luck :slight_smile:

5

High grades and test scores will help increase the likelihood of merit aid so make sure to prep for your ACT and continue to well in your academic courses. Don’t shy away from AP because that might help knock off some gen-eds/liberal arts electives. Definitely take AP studio as well (though most art/design schools won’t give you the college credit, taking an advanced studio course in high school will help with your portfolio).

For a uni with a top-notch graphic design program check out CMU in Pittsburgh. Also RISD (not a uni. but the close affiliation with Brown gives you a “uni” feel when you are there). UCLA of course, and - sorry, Midwest - UCinn/DAAP.

Edit/update: Check out SCAD and Pratt as well. Both are very large and a definite presence in their local areas. Both have more traditional “college’y” opportunities than, say, an SAIC or a MICA. And both have a great reputation in graphic design.

Good luck to you!

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Yes UCLA and VCUARTS are ranked as tied for #2 fine arts programs grad in the country. Both have top notch graphic arts dept.

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@hei1024 just finished the applying to art school process and if you are interested in graphic design but don’t feel like you have portfolio pieces you have a few options.

Since you are a sophomore, you have plenty of time to hone your skills and prepare a portfolio. Schools requiring them will want to see good observational drawing pieces. Even if you plan to go into graphic design you’ll likely do a foundation year where you’ll be drawing a lot. So take classes in school (or look for portfolio prep classes offered at a school or art store) to help get your work together.

Or, you could apply to a college/university that doesn’t require a portfolio for admission to the art programs. Many colleges with art departments offer a graphic design track. Look on the schools’ websites for more info.

I know that savannah school of art and design (SCAD) is one of the only art schools that doesn’t require a portfolio. Some people love the school and others don’t, so do your own research and decide based on your findings. All the other art schools my D applied to heavily weight the portfolio in the process. Grades and test scores will get you merit aid but your portfolio is what admissions looks at if they are requiring one.

Hope that helps! It was a grueling process but in the end it was worth it. My D is very happy at her choice (Tyler School of Art at Temple University) but they did require a portfolio. She loves the combination of an art school within a large university.

Finally, don’t be swayed by rankings. Look for a school that you feel fits your needs.

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Plugging SCAD here. My D16 just came home from first quarter and the improvement in her drawing is phenomenal. She worked her butt off (her words). She went in with little drawing experience and emerged after 10 weeks producing a final project that another mom told me had parts that looked photographed. The Savannah campus is big and the busses can get wonky and not quite work on time - but that’s not a unique situation for a large university. All in all, my daughter loves SCAD. No art school is for everyone - the best art school is the one you feel you will thrive at. But don’t let the naysayers dictate your decision. There are some pretty impressive things happening at that school. (as a parent, I couldn’t be more happy. The community is majorly supportive, the orientation was comprehensive and exhausting - I felt very well oriented at the end! - and the price net of scholarships worked for us).

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RIT in Rochester, NY

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Syracuse is pricey but they offer merit scholarships if you have good test scores and grades. Their art school is excellent from what I’ve heard. Also University of Michigan (STAMPS) is terrific.

And another poster mentioned it but it’s worth noting that UC has a great coop program. Cincinnati is a nice location if you want to stay in the Midwest.