Portfolio

Hello I’m a senior in high school preparing for art schools, and I’m highly interested in Cooper Union School of Art.
My SAT grade is 1440/1600 and my GPA is also above 3.5. Is this good enough for CU? (I heard CU puts weights on the grades as well?)
Also, I was keep wondering about the portfolio sizes, since CU wants them put into the assigned box size when we send them the hometest. Most of the portfolio I have prepared are big sizes, like above 30 x 24"
so when we send them the hometest as well as the portfolio, do we only send them what could fit inside there?
Also, is the hometest usually just sending things that you used during your making of the hometest? I saw some examples of the applicants and it seemed like they made a lot of videos and stuff and they just organized them into numbers and sent it to CU.
But most of all, I’m confused what kind of art I should be preparing since I don’t want to waste my time doing it just to find out the size doesn’t fit and things like that.

Could anyone help me with these??

Hey! I’m currently a first year in the school of art at CU. My GPA was about 3.8 unweighted and got a 31 on the ACT (didn’t take the SAT). The school of art admissions doesn’t really care about grades, to be honest with you, as long as you’re not failing out of any of your classes. I’ve heard of a girl in my year who got a 2.0 in high school. But do keep in mind that GPA measures your work ethic to some degree, and that is so so so important esp at Cooper because it is very very demanding. more than you could ever expect.

As for portfolio sizes, you have to send in at least 5 original artworks, but the rest can be digitized. From what I remember from last year, you have to send in about 20 works, including your 5 originals. And yes, everything you send in must fit inside the box (it isn’t very big, so be mindful of what you choose to include. my box was bulging when I sent it in). For the hometest, they do give you the option to send in a printed copy of works that don’t necessarily fit inside the box.

As for the hometest, yes. about half of my pieces were 2D pieces done on some kind of papery surface, so it wasn’t a problem in terms of packing it inside the box. I did an animation piece which I included the file inside the flash drive I sent in, but I also included drawings and paintings that I used to create the animation. I also did a sculpture piece which obviously didn’t fit inside the box. I sent in both printed and digital images for that one.

And lastly, for art and your work, DO WHATEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IS YOU AND EXPRESSES WHO YOU ARE. Also, especially for the hometest, create something completely outside of your comfort zone, something nobody would really think of. Cooper values creativity over techniques when admitting students because techniques can always be taught.

I would say don’t think too much about what Cooper wants from you, but think about what you want and what you wish to create, because there are so many different people here with various spectrums of style, interest, etc. do whatever the hell you want to do and most importantly, do what makes you happy because you can make good art when you’re happy.

Sorry this comment got a bit long, haha. Best of luck to you with the application process! I know it’s stressful, but at the end, you’ll be okay, whether you’re admitted or not. Yes, Cooper is a great school but it’s not the “holy grail” as many people make it seem like. You can do it!

I am a freshman at cooper and I got in with a 1080 SAT and a 1.8 GPA. They don’t care about grades your hometest is literally all that matters. Do lots of experimental stuff. Things that haven’t been done before. Even if it’s bad, put it in. They want to see you are experimenting because that is all you’ll be doing first year. The admissions process is extremely weird and they accept all different skill levels and styles. Talent doesn’t exist here so don’t try to fit yourself into any box when you apply. Good luck!