Interlochen or Exeter?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

<p>Please help us! </p>

<p>PROFILE: A+ GPA who excells in the VISUAL ARTS. Won state prices every year since the age of 5 (for visual arts, poetry, photography and music--flute). </p>

<p>Not a rebel, nor a diva, not temperamental. Extremely serious, and responsible. NOT competitive. VERY CONVENTIONAL. E.g. approaches art like Leonardo Da Vinci not as Marc Chagall. Excells more in a nurtuting environment with talented teachers.</p>

<p>Long term Goal is "to do one movie with cartoon animation or claymation for Pixar or Disney", and then be an independent visual artist (or graphic illustrator). She is VERY CONSERVATIVE, prefers the classics (e.g. the first Disney movies as oppossed to the more geometrical tendencies)</p>

<p>Short term Goal is to study at the London Academy of Arts or at Oxford University Art School (we lived in Oxford for quite a bit so she remembers it as her ideal setting).</p>

<p>QUESTIONS: What US school would be better in order to give her a shot at Oxford? Their Art School's entrance selection process is extremely harsh, as they only accept 10 students per year, and only very few students from out of the UK. Would it be better for her to go to Exeter, for instance?</p>

<p>Interlochen already as it is wonderful in all fronts (campus, facilities, etc.) EXCEPT in painting and drawing. We were NOT impressed with the VISUAL ARTS teachers. Good for fiber arts, metalworking, sculpture and overall 3D, but NOT impressive at all for 2D painting and drawing. Anyone has a kid who experienced these visual arts faculty? The visual arts program seems to have gone downhill in recent years. We hope we are mistaken.</p>

<p>Maybe they have hidden talents, and are Da Vinci artists who are also excellent painting and drawing teachers? Looking for your first hand experience.</p>

<p>Feel free to give possitive input about other places as well.</p>

2

<p>I must admit, my first reaction upon reading your post was, “huh?” Interlochen or Exeter? </p>

<p>What’s your daughter’s back-up plan, should she not be accepted by Oxford? If you plan for her to board, why not a school in the UK? </p>

<p>I have been impressed by the quality of the student work at my child’s school, St. Mark’s. [St</a>. Mark’s School](<a href=“http://www.stmarksschool.org%5DSt”>http://www.stmarksschool.org) I’m not an “art mother,” so I have no idea if the work would be interesting to your daughter. Some of their graduates do go on to specialized art schools such as RISD (Rhode Island School of Design.)</p>

3

<p>Thank you for posting your reply! </p>

<p>Sure we have a backup plan. My husband teaches at a small college where my daughter has taken many classes already, and she will attend it, if she doesn’t get into Oxford. Unless she develops other interests like CalArts (we are pretty supportive and open to changes, and chances).</p>

<p>No, if we can avoid it, she will not be boarding. Interlochen has a day program and we have the chance to reside and work in the region for a few years. We don’t have the chance to do that in the UK, thus we did not look into UK schools which are good too.</p>

<p>Just wanted to know from people who can comment on the VISUAL ARTS Interlochen teachers (keeping in mind that they are the year-long teachers, not the Summer Camp teachers). How good are they? Do you have first hand experience? Are you a student there now?</p>

<p>What is the environment like at Interlochen? Would she be better at Exeter with a rigorous program since she wishes to attend the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Arts at Oxford University? Appreciate ANY input.</p>

4

<p>SheLikesOxford,</p>

<p>Sorry if I’m a little confused by your post. It sounds like your preference would be for your daughter <em>not</em> to board, but that you would consider that if there isn’t a school in Michigan (where Interlochen is)? Is that where your husband is already employed or are you interested in other regions, as well?</p>

<p>Where I live outside of Philadelphia, there are a number of very fine independent schools (both day and board) within 40 miles or so. A few are known for their arts curricula. One in particular, the Shipley School, was cited by Philadelphia Magazine in 2008 specifically for its visual arts:</p>

<p>"The Shipley School, Co-ed day, preK-12; tuition $26,500. 14 Yarrow Street, Bryn Mawr, 10-525-4300, shipleyschool.org </p>

<p>“At Shipley, art is more than just a class — it’s a life skill. The program emphasizes what department head Chris Wagner calls ‘creative problem-solving,’ which can be applied both inside and outside the classroom. (And her students have done just that, in some unexpected ways: One alumna, for example, now works with the FBI as an art theft expert.) Unlike many other art programs, Shipley’s boasts measurable results: Its students have been responsible for 69 percent of all of the 5’s in AP Studio Art among Pennsylvania non-public-school students over the past 20 years. The secret? A quartet of gifted upper school instructors, says Wagner, who guide students as they create the 29 pieces required for the AP portfolio.” </p>

<p>Shipley students also generally rank high in SAT scores in the Delaware Valley, so the academics are very strong as well, I think.</p>

<p>Now, obviously, if Philadelphia isn’t a possibility for your family, then Shipley won’t be an option, but perhaps you could use that AP Art criterion to help you hone in on which schools excel in the visual arts.?</p>

<p>As far as boarding schools to consider, in this area, both Westtown and the George School are known for their arts programs. I know a lot of folks here on CC refer to both Westtown and George as “mid-tier” boarding schools (maybe because they’re Quaker and not as competitive as the HADES schools, et al.), but they’re both considered very fine schools and place plenty of kids in the Ivies, etc. Not sure about Oxford! :-)</p>

<p>Here’s what Philadelphia Magazine said about them in that same issue:</p>

<p>"George School. At George, the arts receive the super-intensive International Baccalaureate treatment in every discipline, including two levels of video production and woodworking, and a course in alternative photographic processes ranging from antique methods to the most up-to-date digital technologies. Co-ed day and boarding, grades 9-12; day tuition $29,300, boarding tuition $39,600. 1690 Newtown-Langhorne Road, Newtown, 215-579-6500, georgeschool.org.</p>

<p>“Westtown School. The Arts Center at Westtown stays open outside of class time so students can work not only on assignments, but also on independent projects, some of which end up next to professional work in the school’s exhibition gallery. Co-ed day and boarding, preK-12; day tuition $25,300, boarding tuition $40,250. 975 Westtown Road, Westtown, 610-399-0123, westtown.edu.”</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

5

<p>Yes, our preference would be <em>not</em> to board. We are in Central/South Virginia in the middle of nowhere. Good ART schools are none existent here, so we have 2 choices, one is Exeter where I definitely have a chance to work in town, and the other one is open to places like Interlochen where our daughter can be a day school student due to family in the region.</p>

<p>Sounds like Philadelphia has amazing schools, and the information that you’ve given us is exactly the type of info that we are looking for, as we are open to seek anywhere in the US. I will certainly look up Shipley School, and I appreciate all the info provided.</p>

<p>Sorry that my previous post was confusing. The reason why we include Exeter as a choice is that my husband is absolutely certain that it is best for our kid who wants to have a shot at Oxford. I think that our daughter will do academically well anywhere, however, being that her talent is in the arts, Interlochen (or Idyllwild, for that matter) look like an ideal fit. We visited Interlochen and were impressed with everything EXCEPT the visual arts teachers, so we are looking for inside info on the painting and drawing classes, 2D. </p>

<p>Prior to take such a huge step of moving and such, we just want to make sure it will be worth the sacrifice.</p>

6

<p>Well, I have no idea about Exeter, but your daughter certainly sounds like the type of student they would want! Her credentials are quite impressive.</p>

<p>I’m new here to CC, too, so I’m not sure if you’ll get much of a response, but you might want to try posting on the general site to see if there are any art majors at Oxford (or their parents) who can give you some feedback. Keep us posted!</p>

7

<p>You might also want to take a look at the US News rankings for fine arts programs to see which secondary schools their top students come from:</p>

<p>Fine Arts Specialty Rankings: Painting / Drawing</p>

<p>Ranked in 2008</p>

<p>1 Yale University New Haven, CT
2 School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL
3 Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI
4 Maryland Institute College of Art Baltimore, MD
5 Columbia University New York, NY
University of California–Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
7 Temple University Elkins Park, PA
8 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
9 Indiana University–Bloomington (Hope) Bloomington, IN
10 Cranbrook Academy of Art Bloomfield Hills, MI </p>

<p>I know Oxford is your daughter’s dream, but she’s still really young, so there might other fantastic (even preferable) options for her down the road besides the stark choice of your husband’s employer or Oxford. </p>

<p>Here’s the link to the rankings:
[Painting</a> / Drawing - Fine Arts - Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-fine-arts-schools/painting-drawing]Painting”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-fine-arts-schools/painting-drawing)</p>

<p>ETA: I just realized these are graduate programs, but I’m guessing their undergraduate programs attract excellent students too. Anyway, I think you get my logic here, at least I hope so!</p>

8

<p>Thanks, Lucie. I loved the list you provided. Yes, we are very open to choices. I do prefer that our daugther stays closer to us in the US, rather than going to Oxford. </p>

<p>We are deciding on a high school for now, and her college choice might change. She adored living in Oxford, and she misses it, so she longs to go back. We do want to privide her the support needed to do that, but we are hoping she’ll change her mind and decides to stay in a US college. :-)</p>

9

<p>I would look at Mercersburg. They have put alot of money into art with a beautiful new building. I think they emphasize it more than the exeters, etc. Their college counselor is also president of the related association and I think he would talk to you re: oxford.</p>

10

<p>Thanks, Princess’Dad. That type of information is especially important for us. I’ll look it up.</p>