Can anyone recommend a good pre-college program in fine arts? My daughter is interested in drawing, painting, digital art, graphic design, game art, etc. It would be nice to find something that would expose her to more than one area.
My son’s art teacher recommended Oxbow (in Napa, CA), Interlochen (in Michigan), and, if you are a CA resident, CSSSA. I think Putney School in Vermont also offers a good one.
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Maybe something in this link will tickle a fancy?
50 Best Pre-College Summer Arts Programs For High School Students | BestCollegeReviews
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Check out Tufts pre-college. My teen did the Tufts pre-college graphic design program last summer. It’s a fully remote 1 week program. Tufts also offers in-person studio art pre-college that 2 weeks or more.
The graphic design class was ok, but I think hard for my student to go back to remote learning. It brought back COVID memories of remote school and made for long days on-line. In their case, it would have been a better experience in person.
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Wow… Oxbow is $16k for 6 weeks.
Yes. They do offer scholarships (need and merit). And a year’s worth of art credit for school. But whew, expensive.
I have two artsy kids…between the two of them they’ve done pre-college classes at MassArts, CCA in SF and the semester program at Oxbow. All were great experiences for them.
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My child did the RISD summer program. It was great! They ended up ruling out art as a major (although they still love it), which I consider a win since it stinks to go to an art school and change your mind, having to transfer.
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That’s exactly what I was thinking. That is so much higher than everywhere else. It’s crazy!
Thanks, I will check this out.
Yes, that is one of the positives of doing a summer program. They can start to figure out what they don’t want to do.
Out of curiousity, did they end up studying art in college?
Yes, I did see that list, but there are so many that I was hoping to get tips from folks who have already participated in some of them.
My S23 did a great summer program in Design Media Arts at UCLA: Design Media Arts Summer Institute - UCLA Summer Sessions. We are not in-state. The summer program is geared for students who want to go to school for fine arts, graphic design, game design, etc. He really enjoyed it! Most of the students there were very good artists and eventually applied for the undergraduate program, although I’m not sure how many actually got in.
He is now at NYU Tisch for Collaborative Arts. The DMA summer program showed him that he didn’t want to specialize in one form of art, and instead be a “Jack of all trades.” He leans more toward music production and film, with acting and fine arts thrown in. Fun fact: he met his current roommate in the DMA summer program, and they both ended up at NYU!
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Yes, my daughter was accepted to the UCLA Design Media Arts. We actually live in LA and she already did the UCLA Photography last year and she wants to go somewhere different for the summer, but she is interested in this program. Thanks for the feedback!
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Yes, going to RISD, the other still in high school.