If a student is a rising senior and has never attended one of these, is it too late? Is it necessary? Schools of interest for BFA in art with illustration concentration:
CalArts
Pratt Institute
SAIC
Parsons
Art Center
MICA
Hamilton
Biola
Westmont
Arcadia
Not strictly necessary in that portfolio day isn’t a requirement imposed by the schools for admission - but extremely helpful-to-crucial, depending on how much outside appraisal your student has received to date. It’s an easy opportunity (depending on where you live and how far you may have to travel) to meet with your schools of interest and go over your portfolio. They’ll give helpful feedback and sometimes they will offer admission at that time based on portfolio review (that’s usually conditional upon submitting full application with sufficient grades and test scores). SAIC is one school that is pretty well known for doing so.
While it’s best to hit Portfolio day as a junior or even sophomore to get some great feedback in a “no pressure” environment, it’s never too late for a first timer, esp. a senior. Most of the schools will be focusing on reviewing senior work for purposes of identifying great candidates for admission.
My D found this a big help. For her, art was a potential EC, rather than her future major. She first attended portfolio day during her freshman year to get an idea of how her art ranked relative to others. She was on cloud nine when RISD mistook her for an upperclassman and said that she already had the skills for admission! After that, art became one of her two major ECs throughout high school.
The last time she went was senior year to get guidance on which art pieces to submit with her college applications.
@hebegebe, that’s fascinating that your D had the knowledge and foresight to attend a portfolio day, not only as a freshman, but also as someone who wasn’t planning to major in art. I never would have thought of this in a million years for my middle son who submitted an admittedly weak animation portfolio (his secondary arts supplement, and only to some schools). This is excellent information.
Thank you both for the input.
Also the National ones can be really intimidating, crowded with long waits etc. So try to find out via your HS art teachers if there’s any REGIONAL portfolio days. We have two near us - one locally (with more regional schools) and another in short driving distance (that had all the ‘big players’ since it was nearby and right after a national one). Both were great to attend and D received much the same info and feedback as others have shared above.
Also they’re another ‘checkbox’ in your application file showing interest in that school. All of that helps and can influence admission and aid packages.
And if you’re touring schools your student can ask for an in-person portfolio review. Many schools will offer this and it’s usually just a matter of asking and/or scheduling via their websites. A few don’t offer this, like RISD - so D made sure to attend the one regional portfolio day they were at.
My daughter went as a junior, and was surprised at the feedback she got, and took to heart the “draw from life every day” advice (and she still does it)! Very favorable, and it really helped her confidence. She went back to some of the same schools her senior year, and some new ones. Several remembered her from the year before. The best news for my girl was having her portfolio accepted for admission on the spot to SAIC. That really helped her confidence going into the application process. It was followed up with a nice letter confirming, and then a nice scholarship offer after that.
It’s not necessary, but I found it very helpful! I am a rising senior and I plan on applying into Art Education (not at any private art colleges, but some public colleges require portfolios and I wanted to go for those purposes) and more than just helpful for portfolio, getting critiqued by college professors was really helpful for my growth as an artist. If it is possible and you can find one not too out of your way, I think your child should go!