<p>DRMAN54, Here’s a warning…once you get that “Hokie spirit” in you, it will be hard to leave! 
I will share with you a couple of things. Did you designate that you were applying as a BARCH candidate? If so, trying to take studio art classes in your first year or two is going to be hard. Your schedule is pretty much given to you by your advisor for the first year (and beyond really). </p>
<p>VT suggests no more than 15 hours for the first year students. 6 are in Foundation Design, 3 in a Math class (you will be pre-registered for these) and you usually take 2- 3 hour classes from the Core Curriculum (ex. English, Science…). My s, who is a fresh arch student at VT, found that most studio art classes are restricted to BFA candidate students and that even if he could find one that wasn’t (for ex., just a basic drawing class) the spaces (small classes- large university) were filled by the time the freshman went online to get the schedules. Another point, you will be in that Foundation Design I class from 8- 12 a.m. M, W, F and the time conflicts with a lot of class choices! </p>
<p>So, given those facts, I would recommend that you go to some sort of a summer (or maybe even spring) art program onto work on portfolio projects that you would want to include if you apply to Cornell. Do you have a community college nearby that has night classes? That is another option. </p>
<p>I hope this helps you. FWIW, I think you would love Blacksburg. It is an amazing place and the people are so warm and welcoming. My guy is thriving there and is learning so much. Let me know if you have any other questions.</p>