Liberal arts college with good undergrad art program?

[misspoplarleaf]

<p>I'm a high school student interested in art, but at the same time I'm not sure I want to major in it. Which liberal arts colleges in California have good art programs? Disregard costs and competitiveness; I'm just asking for a list of colleges.</p>

[momrath]

<p>There are very few liberal arts colleges in California. The Claremont Group has some excellent schools but none is particularly outstanding for studio art. You may have to widen your geographic range.</p>

[warblersrule]

<p>There was a thread a while back about art in California. Here’s one post from a very knowledgeable former poster that may help, though I think it assumes more commitment to art than you have right now.

@carolyn

First, would she consider a pure art school like Cal Arts? Most of those type of schools are going to focus more on her portfolio than on her academic grades and test scores. I’d suggest she try to attend one of the sessions of National Portfolio Day this fall — it’s basically a college fair for art schools. They look at portfolio’s and often make admissions offers on the spot. The school reps will also discuss financial aid at that time. Here’s the link: [National</a> Portfolio Day - Home](<a href=“http://www.portfolioday.net/]National”>http://www.portfolioday.net/)</p>

<p>I wouldn’t rule out the California publics. Some have excellent art programs and LD programs. While her grades/test scores might not make her a good bet for the UC’s overall, I’ve heard very good things about the art program at UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UCSC and UC Davis. The cal states to look into would include Humboldt (has one of the largest art programs in the cal state system), SDSU, and cal state Monterey Bay, Northridge, San Jose. </p>

<p>In-state privates: in addition to Mills, have her check out the U of the Pacific and Loyola Marymount. Both have excellent art programs and can be generous with financial aid. U of Redlands near LA. Whittier near LA would also be a good possiblity for her.</p>

<p>If she is open to going far from home, Goucher might be worth a look. Their average GPA is 3.2. They can be generous with financial aid and even offer several special talent awards for art each year. Her best shot would be to apply there EA, deadline is Nov. 15, as the acceptance rate for EA is much higher than RD. They have a solid art program, and it is right out side of Baltimore. Students can cross register for one class a semester at any other Baltimore area college, including the Maryland Institute and College of Art (MICA), and Towson State, both of which are also great for art. Definitely has more of a liberal/artsy feel.</p>

<p>Some other possible choices for her to look into: Lake Forest College outside of Chicago, Manhattanville outside of NYC. I think I already mentioned the University of Denver which has a very solid art program with lots of interesting options. </p>

<p>She might also take a look at some of the state schools in Washington & Oregon. Evergreen might work for her if she would be open to a more interdisciplinary/experimental program. Also have her check out Southern Oregon U, Western Wshington U, U of Oregon. They all appear to have nice solid art programs. By the way, I already mentioned Pacific U and Linfield College, both in Oregon. While they are in small towns, both are quite close to Portland. Both are good with financial aid (and lower cost to begin with) so don’t rule them out immediately. Linfield has art talent merit awards similar to Goucher’s and I think Pacific may as well. One cool thing about Linfield: they are so committed to study abroad, that they pay airfare for every student to do so (students can also apply their financial aid to studying abroad). She might also check out Seattle U, it is catholic, but has a very liberal student body and is located right in Seattle.</p>

<p>Another school just occurred to me: The College of Sante Fe in New Mexico. Small school, focused on a small number of majors, including art and film. Not too hard to get into, nice community feel, very artsy and liberal, beautiful setting.</p>

<p>Some other art schools she might check out: California College of Arts & Crafts, San Francisco Art Institute, Memphis College of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ARts, Pratt (NYC), Savannah College of Art and Design. Don’t know much about financial aid at these schools but applying to them and seeing what she’s offered might be an option.

</p>

[OCELITE]

<p>Are you looking into just liberal arts colleges or also liberal arts universities? There are a lot of excellent private schools you might want to look into. What type of arts programs are you interested in (film & media, music, dance, theatre, etc.)? As an example, Chapman University is a top notch liberal arts university located in Orange County, California. It is a very competitive school to get into. They also offer excellent merit-aid and talent scholarships if you qualify.
[Chapman</a> University - Site Home](<a href=“Page Not Found | Chapman University”>http://www.chapman.edu/)</p>

<p>It’d be more helpful if we know your range.</p>

[misspoplarleaf]

<p>I’m looking into California colleges and universities and would prefer to study at a public college with tuition at around $8,000-10,000/year and with a relatively large population, maybe 20,000-30,000 students. My unweighted GPA is 3.75 and my SAT score is 2080.</p>

[misspoplarleaf]

<p>Also, I don’t have preferences for certain gender/ethnicity mixes, the absence or presence of sororities, organizations or sports, or for a certain religious affiliation. But I prefer not to attend “party schools”, haha. xD</p>

[OCELITE]

<p>Sounds like the Cal State schools may fit your criteria. They also have arts programs.</p>