My oldest son is a rising second year who studies the more typical UChicago subjects: economics, math, classics., etc. He is very happy and feels UChicago is a great fit for him.
My younger child (current Junior) is an excellent student in all subjects but seems to be interested in visual arts as a major. He would also like to continue his math studies and creative writing among other things. I have looked at the curriculum and it doesn’t seem that many classes are offered that could satisfy someone interested in drawing, computer graphics and such. Am I just not looking in the right place? He loves UChicago but I’m wondering if it might not be the right place for him. However, I feel the community, core and overall atmosphere that UChicago provides could inspire his art in unique ways. Any thoughts?
There are a couple of directions for your younger child. A BFA or B.Des at, say, CMU might be able to satisfy his desire to continue something math-oriented and creative at the same time. UChicago is a liberal arts program so 1/3 of his courses will be gen. ed, 1/3 in his major (say, art) and 1/3 in electives or a double major (say, math). I could be wrong but was under the impression that UChicago doesn’t have quite the studio focus that other schools might have and might be more academic than practitioner based.
Do you know whether your son wants to study a creative field intensely or wants to keep it as a major interest but also study a variety of other things?
^ agreed, UChicago Vis Arts are perfectly okay but if you know NOW that that’s what he’s interested in, you can find programs that will have much more robust course offerings (and make you jump through less hoops) than UChicago.
If HE is totally sure that he wants UChicago despite somewhat lackluster visual arts course selection, sure, go for it - but if he isn’t I think it’s hard to say it’s worth it. CMU is a great suggestion and has almost exactly what you are looking for. Look at what CMU offers in design and visual arts and compare to UChicago. He will be giving up a lot to come here.
One of my kids’ close friends was a Visual Arts major at Chicago. It worked really well for him – he has an actual career going as an artist in NYC. But I agree with what everyone has said – it’s very much a fringe major at Chicago, and while you get a lot of personalized attention, the size of the serious visual arts community is very small. Most of the majors are people who are doing it as a second major. I went to the show for graduating seniors a couple of years and . . . it was not very impressive.
If you are the sort of student for whom Chicago is both attractive and realistic (i.e., you are very strong academically), there are lots of options besides CMU, many of which may be more similar to Chicago. Harvard and Yale both have strong visual arts programs. Brown has a joint degree program with RISD – that has to be one of the coolest degrees in the world. If you are into traditional forms of visual arts (like painting, drawing, sculpture), there’s a Penn/PAFA BFA program. I don’t know about Columbia, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t have a strong visual arts program.
I don’t know about Williams for artists, but it’s really strong for art history (as is Chicago, by the way). I’m sure there are other liberal arts colleges with strong art programs, too. I remember seeing a really good student show at Wesleyan long enough ago now (2004) that it’s not really reliable, but may be worth checking out, and Bard is another possibility.
Wow, thanks for the thoughtful responses everyone! I really appreciate it. I’m very torn as to how to guide my son…he is very strong academically and I know he’d love the UChicago atmosphere. He’s not a typical art student…more interested in story and animation as opposed to long hours in the studio covered in oil paints. He also is very young so could very well shift in focus. I’d love for him to have the privilege of attending a school like Chicago but fear it might not be the best choice!
“more interested in story and animation as opposed to long hours in the studio covered in oil paints.”
The storyboard and animation students can spend a lot of time in the studio, only the “studio” looks more like a computer lab. 
Also, animation students do a LOT of figure drawing at first with plain old pencil and sketchbook.
You and he might pay some visits this year: look into university programs vs. art schools vs. something like a Harvard/Yale (uni but with a liberal arts college for the undergrad). Don’t rule out
RISD/Brown is a wonderful opportunity but they only accept about 15 or so per year! RISD students can take courses at Brown (and vice versa) without enrolling in the dual-degree program. RISD and CMU are probably the two most academic options for the more traditional art/design school, but they will still require that their animation students take a foundation year in drawing, painting, design, sculpture, etc.
If he’s serious about visual arts, he should be putting together a portfolio this year. There are pre-college summer programs as well that can help him develop a fantastic portfolio. Even an academic school like UChicago appreciates an art or music supplement. However, one difference from, say, Yale - and certainly from a school of art or music - is that UChicago doesn’t tend to pass the supplements on to the respective artistic department for commentary (they don’t rule out doing so, either). So, all else equal, your son’s portfolio might not factor in as much at UChicago as it would elsewhere. Just something to consider.