While they have a decent art portfolio and some art awards as they finish up their junior year, they have decided that they want to buck the norm in their school and major in Poli Sci or Public Policy. Their school is not super helpful with non-arts schools, they grade deflate, and don’t push SAT prep. They took plenty of non-art APs and honors (nearly all that were available). Do they need to explain why they aren’t going the art route? Can/Should they still submit some of their art to LAC as a supplement since it was a big part of their high school years?
no, they don’t NEED to explain it, but i think it would be a great idea for a supplemental essay (being pressured to perform a certain way and pursue arts). i’m not sure about the art portfolio. i think they could if they REALLY wanted to, but if they’re going into, say, stem, i don’t think it would make a ton of sense.
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That’s an interesting angle for a supplemental. We hadn’t considered that. Thanks.
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It’d make sense for an Art supplement. It’d tie some of their work and their record. And even if pursued as a hobby, if the college has art courses they’ll be glad to have a talented student who might minor in it just because they’re creative.
Can they compose some sort of bragsheet so that their Gc will be able to adapt to this type of (Academic/non art school) recommendation?
What their GPA?
Would they have the stats for these programs?
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Thank you. They may try to go the art + activism angle with the applications and put that in their brag sheet. The want to stay in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, but those two programs do look great.
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My second kid had all music related ECs…and a lot of them both in and outside of school. The only other thing she did was swim team.
She applied undeclared, but quickly switched to engineering (not a problem at her college).
I think it’s great that you have the arts in your life, and hope you can continue on some level even if it isn’t your college major.
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A lot of colleges have a “why this college” supplement, and that would be a good place for this kind of explanation (framed more in the positive – “why I want to go to your school” – than in the negative “why I don’t want art school”). In addition, the common app essay could offer an opportunity to say something about the student’s intellectual journey that suggests an explanation.
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Maybe CMU? They seem to have some interesting cross-disciplinary initiatives that he could express interest in: Center for the Arts in Society If he’d like to do social sciences as a primary major, but also keep art in play, there’s a studio art minor and also a combined degree program: BHA Program - BXA Intercollege Degree Programs - Carnegie Mellon University His portfolio might be well-received here.
If you would count U of Richmond as Mid-Atlantic, they are particularly interested in visual & performing arts kids, even if they don’t major in it; those accepting arts-specific scholarships need to do at least a minor in their area of the arts, but can major in anything they want. And it’s a very good school for poli sci & public policy type stuff.
In general, I think it’s fine to submit a portfolio just about anywhere, even if it’s unrelated to his desired major. It adds another dimension to his application, which can only help. But it will likely be valued more by some schools than others.
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I definitely would NOT go this route.
There are so many positive ways to express the path they have chosen. Although they are not pursuing the arts, if the arts are still going to be part of their life, they could explain the intersection of art and their interest, as you mentioned with activism and art. Art has likely informed their world view in some way and that may be relevant in a supplement, but there is no need to explain why they haven’t gone the art school route.
AOs realize that 18- to 22-year-olds change majors all of the time. The fact that a kid at 17 is choosing a different path than what they started at 14 will not phase them, especially since they have strong rigor in non-arts classes, as evidenced by their AP/honors classes.
The change in direction may work well for LOR, too. Instead of trying to distinguish oneself in a sea of artists, your child has already separated themselves. I would be thoughtful in filling out the brag sheet, though, because the question of “why not art school?” will likely be far more pertinent to their high school teachers than to colleges. I would again position it in a positive way and to the extent that it is genuine, weave their art background into their future plans or perspective.
As far as an art supplement goes, I wouldn’t think it would be necessary unless your student wants to be considered as an art minor. AOs typically aren’t subject matter experts, so few will be able to identify artistic talent, but if your student wants to submit something I also don’t see how it would hurt. Plenty of kids devote most of their high school time to something (music, sports, a job) that isn’t related to an academic major in college, and AOs aren’t expecting them to submit their Hudl videos or a recording of their clarinet solo. Again, I don’t think submitting one would hurt and I could understand why a student who has dedicated so much time to something would want to do so, but I don’t think it is necessary.
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This is a super helpful perspective. Thank you!
I would certainly recommend submitting an art portfolio/some art as a supplement regardless of intended major, because many schools are looking for well-rounded students with diverse interests.
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Anything you need to say can be said in the “Additional Information” section of the college application.
My kid explained their educational choices/path in that section. Write in a factual way, keep it upbeat/positive. You don’t need to justify your life. But you can use this section to clarify your student’s application.
Also, despite applying for engineering, my kid put an arts supplement in any college application that would take one. Kids are multi-dimensional, so show it.
But yes, have an application that makes sense to the school (ie. the “Why Us?” is important).
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