<p>I'm a senior in high school I want to major in graphic design and some of my perspective colleges are:
UMich
UCLA
UCDavis
Northeastern
Temple
Penn State
Boston Uni
Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>I didnt take very many art classes in hs bc I wasn't sure what I wanted to be and I thought art classes would be make me look like I'm not working hard but now I realize that was a mistake</p>
<p>I am working on my portfolio very last minute now, and I am afraid it won't be the best it can be and I wont get accepted into their art programs</p>
<p>I was wondering if I should apply as undecided just to secure my position at a school first, then apply for the school of fine arts once I declare my major? But I don't know if it would be harder to get admitted into the art school if I went in as undecided? And I'm afraid I will just take classes that doesn't help with my major my first year if I am undeclared. Please help!</p>
<p>You have plenty of time to finish your portfolio! Many of the schools you listed don’t require submission of a portfolio until January or February. I would advise against applying to any of those schools as an undecided major. Most of their BFA programs have specific art requirements for freshmen and those are only open to art majors. You might be able to transfer in but you will end up paying for 5 years of college. I am not as familiar with UCD, Northeastern, Penn State, or BU, but my D is applying to all the others and she isn’t done with her portfolio yet either. Temple has rolling admissions and February 1 is the cutoff for portfolio submissions. </p>
<p>Look around your area and see if any local colleges or community colleges or museums have weekend art workshops. Those could help you with your portfolio, especially with live models. (For example,. Temple has a weekend Boot Camp just to help kids with their portfolios.) Take what you have to a National Portfolio Day if there is one near you and then you can get some real feedback from colleges (most of those on your list will be there). Or schedule a meeting with your nearest college that has an art department and talk to them. </p>