<p>i'm a senior, white middle-class male, taking a year off to work and maybe go to community college before applying to a few illustration programs. i'm not concerned about my portfolio because i know pretty well what they're looking for and have a good variety of work that is competitive with art school graduates in my local area and all the professionals i've showed it to have told me it is impressive, but i'm concerned that my school record is so weak that i might not even pass the bottom threshold for application. at one school i applied to they said i had to raise my grade to a 2.5 or higher just to send in my application (i'm no longer considering that school for other reasons, for the record).</p>
<p>highschool average: 2.2 - 9th: 2.2, 10th: 1.8, 11th: 2.6. in the lower-middle ranks of my class.
over half my classes in freshman and sophomore year were honors and took 3 AP classes and 2 honors as a junior.
this year, my senior year i did dual enrollment between my highschool and community college. i did well (b average) in the college classes except for one which i was too late to defer, but failed 3 gym classes at the highschool, so my gpa is likely to be in the low 2s this year. i don't think i'll be able to get it any higher than a cumulative 2.5 unless i take another year of community college.
statewide standardized test (WASL): 94th percentile math, 90th science, 95th reading, 99th writing
i took the new SAT last saturday and found it much easier than my expectations, i don't think i could have possibly scored less than a 2000 total but if this thread is still around when i get my results back i'll update it</p>
<p>i know that art schools are much less likely to look at merit than talent and motivation, but is my GPA so low that i shouldn't even bother to apply to schools without taking more community college classes to raise my GPA, or is it possible they will give me the nod based on portfolio, standardized test scores and essay?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>ps: average gpa for my #1 is 3.1</p>