<p>poachedivory: Aaah! Sorry if I appeared intimidating! Lol, I’m actually (hopefully) pretty normal. And I intially sought out those competitions to get some recognition (and to roll in the $$$ :P) and “validate” my portfolio for the admissions committee who wouldn’t actually get to see it. A friend of mine got into Harvard and she was pretty heavy on the art side, and with no awards. I would say it definitely comes down to your portfolio (technicality, creativity) and the subsequent recommendation or lack thereof as opposed to whether or not a jury likes it. Juries/contests are highly subjective and disregard a lot of things I know that art schools, and probably Yale included, like and require–whether the piece observational, technical prowess, diversity in media/subject, etc.</p>
<p>lonestarmom: I’m curious, could you give us a description of what was in your D’s portfolio, in addition to how her academics stacked up compared to acceptees?</p>