<p>I am 17 and in my junior year of highschool. I have just recently, yesterday, sent in my paper work to register for pratt's pre college program. While the program seems incredibly intimidating right now, I am very excited and think that it is just what I need. </p>
<p>My situation is a lot different than most of the kids or parents participating in this forum. All my life I have been sent to a private christian school where I gained no art classes and no art experience, but I was still in love with art and wanted to go to an art school in later life. My parents forced me to go to that christian school till this year (my junior year) and I am now participating in a program where I go to community college full time instead of high school, so that when I graduate high school I will also graduate with my AA. While I know this isn't the best route to go to get into art school, it was my only choice if I wanted to take any art classes while still in high school. So sadly, I am very behind. I have taken Intro to Art 100 and Modern Art History 145, but no other art classes. My parents are not involved at all concerning my trying to get into art school, so I am worried about getting in. Hopefully, Pratt will prepare me a lot more than I already am. Do you, or anyone else for that matter, have any advise for me on preparing to get into art school and preparing my portfolio?</p>
<p>And also, any additional information about Pratt's Pre College program I will be attending would be great. Thank you.</p>
<p>//Hopefully, Pratt will prepare me a lot more than I already am. Do you, or anyone else for that matter, have any advise for me on preparing to get into art school and preparing my portfolio?//</p>
<ol>
<li>The summer program is an excellent idea.</li>
<li>Have fun and don't be intimidated. Just do your best, but enjoy it first and foremost.</li>
<li>A number of art schools do not require portfolios. They look at grades as an appropriate means to predict success. The reason is that students willing, able and committed to "learn" about their craft will do well; and some of the applied arts are less dependent upon "talent."</li>
<li>I understand the fear factor. I was very intimidated about going to an art school, with little training myself. I took a summer drawing class at a local liberal arts college and a drawing a day did wonders!</li>
<li>Good luck!</li>
</ol>
<p>When my daughter attended Pratt's pre-college program, she was able to complete a number of items that were "portfolio worthy". They also reviewed her work to date (she brought a CD, slides, etc.) and deemed her portfolio acceptable for entrance to Pratt. She decided against attending Pratt, but the experience confirmed her desire to go to art school. She received a merit scholarship for the pre-college program, too.</p>
<p>Dreaharris, I am soooo excited for you! When I went to Pratt PreCollege I had been entirely self taught until that point and I was really scared that I wouldn't be able to measure up but I felt totally comfortable with my skill level and improved sooo much. My portfolio review there consisted only of stuff I completed at Pratt and my final project from a Community College photography course and it passed (although I didn't attend). Like anything else, you get out of it what you put in, I rarely slept but it was sooo worth it.</p>
<p>Some additional stuff you might want to know........
If you can, bring your own broom and trashcan
You get free admission to the Bklyn Museum, start taking advantage of that the moment you get your Pratt ID
Bergen Bagels will change your life
if one of the weekend activities is still The Siren Music Festival, go for the whole day
Buy a portfolio bag with a cushy shoulder strap, as a rule, Pratt elevators never work</p>
<p>That's all I have off the top of my heade, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Good luck!</p>
<p>Did anybody participate in RISD Pre-College program? What are your impressions? I would be especially interested in design or illustration programs for my daughter.
I saw a comment in one discussion that they have a tendency to hire grad students instead of "real" RISD faculty. When you look at RISD Web pages this opinion is somewhat confirmed, as they refer to Pre-College teachers as CE (Continuing Education) faculty, and only few of them seem to teach at RISD as well.
RISD pre-college program cost is hefty (nearly $5,500) and I hesitate to pay these money just for the nice campus (I agree, it is gorgeous!)</p>
<p>You might try doing a search for "pre-college" under "arts majors". I know that there have been quite a few discussions about these in the past few months. I remember one particularly long thread about their value to portfolio preparation. (I think Taxguy started it with a comment about private tutors.)</p>
<p>My son attended the RISD program in 2004 (as an Industrial Design "major"). Yes, it was very pricey but we feel it was absolutely worth it in our particular case. It not only gave him some valuable experience (he was taking a college prep curriculum in high school and had a very limited art background ), but it also helped him decide that he definitely wanted to go to a specialized art school rather than a university/LAC. He also developed a close relationship with one of his teachers (he did not have any grad students, but at least two of his teachers were not regular RISD faculty members) and he got a good recommendation for his college applications. </p>
<p>Thanks, I probably borrowed the name idea from you...8-) Hope you don't mind.</p>
<p>I already did search on "pre-college" and on "RISD pre-college", but there is not much information about RISD program in particular, except one negative comment I was referring to and one positive comment from MindiNY. I emailed her to get more information, but did not get a response yet.</p>
<p>Your response definitely encourages us to apply, my another concern is that we may not get into the major she wants. Her favorite major (graphic design) is already filled. Do you know if waitlisting makes sense?</p>
<p>She had already enrolled in RISD pre-college program, with major in printmaking. It was her third choice - her first two choices (graphic design and illustration) were full. The program starts in June 24, and runs for 6 weeks.</p>
<p>/She had already enrolled in RISD pre-college program, with major in printmaking. It was her third choice - her first two choices (graphic design and illustration) were full. The program starts in June 24, and runs for 6 weeks.//</p>
<p>S attended the pre-college program at the Art Institute of Boston (AIB) <a href="http://www.lesley.edu/aib/curriculum/precollege.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.lesley.edu/aib/curriculum/precollege.html</a> when he was in HS. He found it interesting and, being a commuter from home, a totally different experience from pre-college at Ringling the following summer. Looking back, he thinks that his Ringling experience helped him get into the design program at UCLA from which he graduated last year. One of his best friends in the design program and also his roommate attended Ringling with him as well.</p>
<p>My daughter went to pre-college program at RISD and she liked it a lot. She enjoyed all classes - printmaking(her major there), drawing, design and art history and also the trips to museums and other places of interest. She liked the way classes are structured - with discussions of students' work. If you are interested, I would encourage to apply earlier, because the most popular majors are filling fast. My daughter wanted to major in illustration or graphic design, but unfortunately, these majors were filled and she had to do printing. It was not that bad, and she was able to produce some interesting works which she can use for het portfolio. But the figure drawing class was the most productive for her - it was very interesting, she learned a lot, and her drawings got a very enthusiastic response at National Portfolio Day.<br>
It was also a good test for her to see how she feels being far from home, and she passes it well.
If anybody has questions about her pre-college experience at RISD, I will be glad to answer.</p>