I’m a rising senior, and I qualify as “homeschooled”. I dropped out of 6th grade and educated myself from then on, studying mostly creative arts. I’ll work hard to improve any or all of my application materials if it means getting into a school I really want to go to, but I haven’t yet found a school that strikes me as The One.
I’d like to study both animation and acting, and potentially double minor in creative writing/music. Better yet, I’d like to smash all those together into a custom major in narrative arts that allows me to learn about all of that in a neater form.
My three main points of importance are:
*A fantastic arts education (with both acting and animation as study options). I’m more of a “learn the art” kind of person than a “learn the trade” person.
*The freedom to study broadly and freely (EG: Hampshire college), or at least to double major in acting and animation.
*A great sense of community. Interesting people. I want to go where “alumni” means sweet, cheesy stuff like “living and learning together” rather than just “going to the same college”. (Also, I’m picturing Yale residential colleges or Cornell COEDs, not Greek life)
Another point that’s only almost as important as the ones above:
*Access to liberal arts classes and majors. I’m looking for a well rounded education that is informed by subjects outside of my comfort zone. Also, I’d like to have the option of switching to a non arts major.
Minor points that are not essential include:
*In either NYC or a cool college town
*Small to medium size
*Residential college & or student COEDs
*Good food
*Nice campus & student housing
*Prestigious enough to mean something on a resume and in income statistics.
What schools would you guys recommend I look into?
If you are a top student and finances aren’t a problem then the Brown/RISD dual program sounds up your alley. You could get a BA in Theater Arts from Brown and BFA in Animation for RISD. You’d have options at Brown if you decide to change to something else.
I’m confused by the fact that you dropped out in sixth grade and mostly taught yourself creative arts. I believe colleges will want to see documented, verifiable proof that you had a college prep curriculum which includes math, science, social studies, english etc. Have you taken any tests like SAT or ACT? More information will bring you more responses.
Do you attend a school based on the Sudbury model?
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Thanks for your concern, @citymama. I actually regret including any information about my own education in this post. I’m not looking for a discussion about “realistic options”. I’d like to see what possibilities there are before I start writing things off based on my admissions chances. You make a good point, though - the more information I give, the more applicable answers I will get.
@MerlinIP
You should very much be discussing realistic options, for you will be applying in the fall. The time for fanciful “what-ifs” should have been during sophomore year and perhaps the beginning of your junior year.
NYU Gallatin would be perfect except the community aspect is supposedly lacking. Maybe Rochester?
Thank you for the recommendations, I appreciate them all!
@Dolemite I don’t really follow an educational model. I base my “curriculum” off of what I think I need to learn to do what I want to do, and then work with the opportunities around me.
For those concerned about keeping things realistic - I’m worrying plenty about realistic options in real life. Applying to college as a homeschooler IS a bit harder than usual. That just wasn’t the question I was intending to tackle in this discussion. Titling this discussion “Where Should I Apply” was not my best move. What I’m really asking is: what’s out there? Is there actually a college that has all of the things I’m searching for?
Maybe University of the Arts (in Philadelphia) or Columbia College Chicago?
@MerlinIP That’s basically the Sudbury model. I think Brown/RISD option would be great for you if you could get in and afford it. The Brown open curriculum lets you choose the classes you want without core requirements or even distribution requirements.
I was under the impression that homeschoolers need to submit SAT subject tests. Many homeschoolers go to college, so that’s not the issue. I just think you need to have some documentation that you are “college ready”. A good way to research colleges would be the Fiske book or Princeton Review book. Look at a school like Evergreen State College, Hampshire or Bennington and see what they need from homeschoolers.
@Dolemite Huh, cool. I looked into the Brown/RISD thing and it seemed pretty neat! It’s definitely a reach program for me right now, but I’ll keep it in mind just in case I decide to take a gap year and work on my application or something. Thanks for letting me know about it.
you should certainly check out VCUARTS. Its a top art school -ranked #2 in the entire country, in a great arts/college town (Richmond,Va) they have their own artist colony as a housing option, and its reasonable on price with better ranking than the others. Its also a school within a larger university so many opportunities to study outside of major if you like. They have their own art school abroad in Qatar as well as being part of an overseas program with schools in europe.
The main thing is to have a strong portfolio as admissions are very competitive.
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What state are you in? We’re NYS homeschoolers. When my son applied to colleges he had to show that he completed a program that was the substantial equivalent of a high school education (4 years each of Eng, math, lab science, history, and foreign language). We needed to provide one of the following as proof: documentation from the district we reported to, results from several (specific) NYS Regents exams, 24 (specific) college credits, or a passing GED score. You need to know what your state requires of homeschoolers AND what each college you’re interested in requires.
@citymama9 is incorrect that homeschoolers have to submit SAT subject tests. What they have to submit varies by school. My son had to send his SAT scores, copies of all his grade 9-12 report cards and our yearly Individualized Home Instruction Plan, a description of every course he took, and a complete list of materials and texts. Make sure you carefully study the requirements of each college you’re interested in and run their Net Price Calculator to make sure they’re affordable.
Our area homeschoolers have been accepted to a broad range of colleges – Penn State, SUNYs, RIT, RPI, Harvard, Bard – the key is to understand what documentation they want and make sure they get it. Good luck.
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I immediately thought of NYU Gallatin, as someone else mentioned. While community in the university is somewhat lacking I think the Gallatin school is small enough to be more close-knit. I think that between NYU’s stellar arts program and Gallatin’s DIY major, it’d be a good fit for you, as long as price isn’t an issue. I think you’re smart and unique enough to stand out and get in 
I searched for urban schools that have acting and animation majors and Columbia College Chicago was the only one that came up… so you may have some trouble in the regard.
In general I would look for more schools that have big self-designed major schools or programs. You have a lot you want to study, and doing two majors and two minors is virtually impossible to do in four years, plus you won’t have room for outside electives. Find some place that will easily let you go off the beaten path.
I’m a homeschooling parent with a master’s in theatre. I attended grad school in Texas because I had a young family at the time and couldn’t move, but I was told many times that it was ridiculous to study theatre anywhere but NYC. I sort-of agree. College is about learning and growing outside the classroom just as much as IN. The first part of your post immediately made me think of CALARTS, which has one of the top animation schools in the country. I would think anyone interested in acting could find numerous unparalleled opportunities by simply living in or near Los Angeles. However–it isn’t a liberal arts college, so you’d be limited there.
As for the homeschooling side of things, you sound very articulate, confident and driven. The common app will ask you to explain “any gaps” in your formal schooling. I would think any school with a “rebel spirit” (Evergreen, New College of Florida, Colorado College, Bard–to name a few) would really appreciate your being straight up honest about how your needs were not being met in a traditional school environment.
My son is technically homeschooled but he’s been attending the local community college as a “dual enrolled” student for the last year. I’m afraid I don’t have specific knowledge of animation programs other than Calarts but you might look at Marlboro, which is tiny and I understand they help students put together a plan of study guided by their own interests. Good luck to you.
Again, VCUARTS school - small top ranked arts school and its within a larger university. It has arts major as well as theatre major and is high regarded as one of the nations most spectacular institutions for art/performing arts. Richmond is a great arts community. The difference in applying to a top arts school is you will need to provide documentation as to homeschooling but a LOT will depend on the quality of your portfolio /and or audition.