<p>I am not going to say I am anywhere close to being as talented as Picasso or Rembrandt, but if one of them, (assuming they weren't famous yet), were to apply to an Ivy or top LAC, and they had average-ish scores for these schools, would their art get them in?</p>
<p>I have been trying to figure out if art can have a significant amount of sway at any of these schools. </p>
<p>If you do send in sample of your work, the admissions committee will most likely forward these to the art department, where the faculty will judge just how talented (or not) you are. The committee will then factor in the advice of the faculty.</p>
<p>I believe Brown and Wesleyan both say that sending in an art portfolio won't help one's chances of admission. I believe that Wesleyan also says that sending in an art portfolio could hurt.</p>
<p>I dont know all of the specifics but a coworkers' daughter got into Columbia as art major. She worked for a museum. So having relevant work experience in your field shows your dedication and that could be the hook. She also got stellar grades, needless to say to be admiited by an Ivy.</p>
<p>my daughter just got into UCLA school of art and architure. she sent in her portfolio, she's pretty amazing, and i'm assuming that the reason she got into UCLA was b/c of that, since her SAT was 1790, her unweighted GPA w, was 3.85. However she had no AP (she is in a community college program in NCal called middle college high school) and no EC's to speak of except surf team, and TONS of art .</p>
<p>and yes, she is extreme grateful as are we. she knows she was a long shot for UCLA but i guess they saw something they liked.</p>
<p>she got ucsb as well as uw but not with her art portfolio, did't submit. she got rejected from Pomona WITH a portfolio ED, and also got rejected from UCSD. </p>
<p>who knows? she is still waiting on UCB and NYU but she is pretty stuck on UCLA, they gave her an amazing scholarship, and it's close to good surf.</p>
<p>There is a difference between people applying as art majors especially in an art school, for whom the art portfolio is not a hook but is the fundamental measure of talent, and people applying for liberal arts more generally, for whom the art is an adjunct to their (hopefully) splendid academic record. For the former, the art will matter a lot. For the latter, it ironically probably takes a higher level of talent to serve as a hook of sorts.</p>
James, I’d say yes, it could. Small LACs especially look for multi-faceted kids and artistic ability is a valuable EC that can push an application into the accept file. As in any extra-curricular that is independent rather than part of an established track – like being a member of a sports team or class president – the applicant needs to spend some time putting together an affective presentation. </p>
<p>I like the concept of an arts package which would include the slide portfolio; an arts resume listing classes, accomplishments, awards, relavant travel experience; an additional art resume; one or two media articles. The student needs to communicate that this activity is important to him/her.</p>
<p>Having said that not all colleges and universities are art focused. Those that have well funded art departments and are known for art-related culture will give more sway to an art EC.</p>