<p>Well, that’s understandable. There was actually a gallery I visited not too long ago, and the main photographer had some art of nature, such as a flowing river, except the rapids were really highlighted and it looked pretty.</p>
<p>What were you referring to when you said “wow that is really cool and trippy looking”? That’s what came to mind when you said that.</p>
<p>VC…if I understand you correctly, you are committed to finishing this year at Vandy and are considering jumping ship for your senior year. You also did one year at Alabama. You must be a good student to have transferred to Vandy from Alabama so it would be a shame to not have a BA from a great university after so much time and money invested in it. As a non-artist parent who is forking out big bucks for a private ed for kid, it is hard to not scream “what! are you nuts?” …it is impressive that your parents have managed to stay calm as you consider leaving Vandy when the degree is within your grasp. However, I also understand that you are not satisfied with your current studies and want to really throw yourself into where your interest lies. You don’t want to waste anymore time and you are motivated to make a big change. </p>
<p>All I can say is…you have lots of time ahead of you, and time passed (freshman and sophomore years) is as valuable as time in front of you. I would think that you would be in better shape taking the minor in art and then finding a way to build a portfolio that can get you into a master’s program. That will probably mean working for a while–hopefully in an art-related job. The upside to finishing at Vandy is that you have completed a degree at a great university and shown “staying power” which is I would thing is actually as important to an art school as to an employer. Since you changed from Alabama, to drop out of Vandy now to go somewhere else makes you look unsettled, uncertain, and uncommitted which may actually hurt your chances of moving to another university or to a masters program.</p>
<p>Thanks fineartsmajormom. Yes, initially I had planned to jump ship, but after thinking about it I have more or less decided to reign in my whimsical nature and stay here to finish my degree in Cognitive Studies.</p>
<p>The issue actually isn’t whether or not I can study art (I can actually pick up a second major in “Art” and graduate on time). It’s the fact that the art program here is, well, small, and almost all students in the program are second majors. In other words, it’s really just a sideshow here at Vanderbilt. All that being said, I just hope that, if I stay here, I’ll get a good enough arts education here to go on to a decent Masters program.</p>