We are looking for more info on the Visual Arts majors at BU. We have a tour coming up in a few weeks but would appreciate any info people can share before we go visit.
Would love to understand how big the College of Fine Arts is in total and how many students are in the School of Visual Arts. It seems like an easy question but I cannot find the data. How big is the art community at BU?
Also curious if it’s more difficult to get into BU-CFA/Visual Arts as compared to the general acceptance rate for BU as a whole which is around 10% give or take.
How would you compare it to a stand alone art school like nearby MassArt? What are the positives and negatives of attending BU-CFA/Visual Arts vs MassArt? Obviously there is a massive cost difference. What else?
I can’t find the population by college but note per the latest info (2023-24 CDS) 8733 were admitted of which 3,145 enrolled. But of those 3,145, 1791 came via ED. So you have to look deeper…it’s an ED school.
You might reach out to the program to find the population. They have so many colleges - it’s likely not overly large. But they can tell you.
BU is reputed to have a strong visual art program. I think it’s probably in the top 10 among universities offering BFAs, but I can’t really say how it’d compare it to dedicated art schools like MassArt. If you looking for another strong art program in the area, check out Tufts SFMA.
My D24 did the month-long VASI program through BU last summer and really enjoyed it: https://www.bu.edu/cfa/vasi/. There are usually 40-50 BFA (visual arts) seekers in each class at BU, but a majority of them are likely studying graphic design. I think BU is particularly strong in painting.
I can’t say how competitive admissions is to BU’s CFA is compared the rest of the school, but in most BFA programs the applicant’s portfolio plays a large role—it might comprise 33%–50% of the consideration. My sense is that an applicant with a strong portfolio can get admission even if their academic stats are slightly below the school’s averages.
If you haven’t already, your kid should sign up for a National Portfolio Day, where he/she should be able to meet with someone from both MassArt and BU and have their portfolio assessed. That would be a good time to ask such questions.