Art School Chances with Low GPA

birbjeans
Thu, 01 Sep 2016 09:00:50 +0000

Hello, this is my first time posting here so excuse me if I make any mistakes. I’d love to attend an art college ( currently with the School of Visual Arts / SVA in mind ), but lately I’ve grown to have anxiety on whether I’ll have a chance despite my portfolio due to my poor academic record. Would I even have the opportunity to explain the grades or would I get rejected right away?

To give some background information, I suffered from severe depression and suicidal tendencies in High School. I used to take and pass plenty of honors and AP courses, but towards the end my grades took a considerable dip. In the end, I ended up having to graduate late and take an extra semester due to failing classes because of my lack of attendance. Community College wasn’t any better. My depression still continued and I ended up dropping A LOT of classes because of it. Especially with my grandmother’s passing this year and having to take a job for financial reasons.

Recently, my parents told me that I could pursue a career that I want rather than one pushed onto me so I chose art. However, they’re giving me a lot of pressure saying if I don’t get accepted to an art school this year then I’ll have to give up on it and go back to the original plan.

I know my High School stats are at least somewhat in the average range for incoming freshmen, but I’m VERY worried about my recent college grades that I won’t get in because of it.

For clarifications, my mental health is a lot better after the discussion as a main source of my depression was being pushed into a path I did not want. And my motivation + drive has been at a high as I’m attending an art preparatory school six days a week for at least six hours a day-- not including the extra hours I put into on my own time.

HIGH SCHOOL GPA: Weighted: 3.0 / Unweighted: 2.9

SAT SCORE: 1,810/2,400

COMMUNITY COLLEGE GPA: 1.1. 1 A / 1 C and 3 F’s ( stopped attending classes and did not drop it in time ) / 11 W’s.

To Re-Cap:

1. Are my chances to Art School screwed because of my low GPA?

2. Is there a chance for me to write a letter of appeal to explain my poor college grades? And if yes, is my reasoning too 'pathetic' to be considered?

3. Which schools in particular don't have a high standard for academics?

Thank you!