That’s what I concluded after looking at their website. I think you can major in art history or architecture but only minor in studio art.
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Here’s an update after my kid did the four-week art program at BU followed by a week-long tour of LACs in the region. In sum, the kid is pretty flexible and could be very happy with any number of schools.
Boston University: She really liked the city of Boston, which she opined seemed relatively clean, safe, and manageable. The freshmen dorms were fine, and she really liked the meal-plan food. She enjoyed the art facilities and instructors. She came away wanting a demanding art program in college–i.e., one that will challenge her. She also wants a strong sense of community and involved, motivated students. She will apply to BU and we’ll cross our fingers for the off chance of a reasonable merit-aid award. We didn’t do a tour given her prior four weeks there.
Bowdoin was a hit. She really liked Bowdoin in large part because she really enjoyed her interview, which was with a student. We ate at the Bowdoin dining hall, which was cheap and delicious. Unfortunately, the museums were closed because it was a Monday. We were able to let ourselves into the studio art building and peeked into the classrooms and art studios, which seemed nice. My impressions were that Bowdoin is very well resourced and seemed like the most intimate and friendly college of the ones we visited. I asked if there is any advantage to ED, and the official answer was no. That said, Bowdoin takes about 50% of their class in ED and considers demonstrated interest, so . . . my personal opinion is that ED probably offers a minor advantage as I construe that term. Parent tip: I enjoyed dinner on the outdoor deck of the Sea Dog Brewery around sunset on a fine Maine day. The gelato place was also excellent, as advertised.
Dartmouth was also great. It felt like something of a university-LAC hybrid in size and felt a little more bustling with students there for summer term. We ate at one of the dining halls, which, like Bowdoin, was cheap and very good. We also got a personal tour of the studio art facilities, which are slightly disconnected from the main campus and more in the town of Hanover (but not particularly inconvenient). The recently constructed art facilities are very impressive and well resourced. One drawback, however, is that Dartmouth doesn’t currently offer a study-abroad program at a foreign art school or even one with a studio art focus. It sounds like art students have been pushing for one though. Dartmouth’s post-degree internship program is a cool opportunity for fine artists. My kid was a little underwhelmed by the quality of the student art in a second-year drawing class, which may have affected her impression a little. I advised her to avoid drawing any hasty conclusions and look at senior projects and other sources online. Parent tip: If you like rye whisky and/or extremely bucolic Vermont locales, the WhistlePig Tasting Room is worth the 15-ish minute drive to Quechee, VT from Hanover.
Williams was probably the most impressive and extremely well-resourced college. I think we both agreed that it had the nicest campus, although I don’t think my kid had particularly strong feelings on the niceness of each campus. There was no building or feature that was not extremely well designed and sophisticated. We let ourselves into the studio art building and again peeked in the windows of the various studios and classrooms. Williams probably has the nicest facilities, although Dartmouth is awfully close. The art museum was cute and well-integrated into the school. Williams offers an art-loan program to students (similar to Oberlin and Skidmore) where students can borrow a piece (usually a print) and put it on the wall of their dorms. The dining halls, sadly, were not open. Williamstown exceeded my expectations–I thought it was on par with Brunswick, although I get the impression that my opinion may be in the minority. Parent tip: The Clark was excellent, but after a lot of general walking and standing from the campus tour, we enjoyed the little cinema in town, where we saw Barbie. The Thai place was also much better than expected.
Skidmore was also fantastic and seemed the most art-focused. The kid liked it. We received an extremely intimate and personal art tour, info session, and general tour. The art studios and facilities were extensive but perhaps as not as highfalutin as the first three. One thing I personally liked about Skidmore (not sure about my kid) is that they offer several classes and a minor in Art Administration (the business side of art), which is somewhat rare. The campus had a much more modern feel than the other colleges. It was nice, but not as nice as the other four colleges. We had lunch at a dining hall, which was good but maybe not as good as Bowdoin or Dartmouth. Most freshmen get triples, one of which we toured. The kid thought Skidmore triples are more spacious than the BU double she lived in for four weeks. The Tang art museum was also nice and well-integrated into the school. As mentioned above, students can borrow a piece of art and put it up in their dorms. We didn’t get to explore the town much, but I got the impression that it and Northampton probably had the most of offer of all the LACs we toured. One quirk of Skidmore is that graduates will receive a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, not a BA, which has something to do with art students taking more classes in their major. Ironically, if one were to major in chemistry or another STEM field, the degree would be a BA. Go figure. I got the sense from the info session that Skidmore pushes ED harder than the other schools. Parent tip: Sorry, I have none.
Smith was great. It felt a bit like Bowdoin and Williams, but all women. The kid said she’d be fine with a women’s college, but it wasn’t particularly a draw either. The residential housing system is definitely a cool feature. We got a personal tour of the studio art facilities from a longtime professor, which was extremely cool. The facilities were great, but perhaps a smidgeon less fancy than Williams and Dartmouth. Still, it had everything and the professor was extremely charming. The art museum was impressive and like Williams and Skidmore, very integrated into the school. As we were walking through campus back toward our car, another professor (of a non-art subject) randomly stopped us and asked if we were touring the campus. He proceeded to talk to us for 15-20 minutes about Smith and college generally, which was extremely gracious of him. That and our professor-led tour spoke very well of Smith specifically and the kind of professorial attention one gets at an LAC generally. Sadly, the dining halls were closed, but Northampton seemed very charming. Parental tip: Pita Pockets in town has great falafel. We actually ate there twice.
New York: We did tourist things in New York, including a quick walk by Columbia. The kid said she had no interest in going to college in New York, which is good because we’re not looking at any schools there and probably couldn’t afford them anyway.
Overall: She liked all five colleges we toured and also BU. There was no clear standout, and she thought she could be happy at any of the six schools. She’s also fine with Nevada. I think she is fairly flexible and adaptable, so some things that might be dealbreakers for others of less of a concern for her. I think this is ideal, as it means she’s not married to any particular school and could be happy in multiple situations. She understands that all of these schools are reaches (and some far reaches) and that cost is a heavy factor. That said, if she were hypothetically admitted to all six schools for the same overall cost, I think her current rankings would be (1) Williams, (2-tie) Bowdoin and BU, (4) Dartmouth, (5) Smith, and (6) Skidmore. But the gap between #1 and #6 is small and that order is still subject to change. Other than Nevada, the other schools that will get serious consideration will probably be Pomona and Scripps. Schools getting more general consideration will be Cornell and the midwestern LACs.
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Thanks so much for your thoughtful summaries of the visits! It would be great if you could add them to this thread, too: Colleges your child crossed off the list after visiting, schools that moved up on the list. Why?.
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Wondering how things are going for your kid right now?
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Hey M_Fun! D24 is planning on ED’ing to Williams a week from today. Its financial aid and art program make it a relatively easy ED choice. That said, she likes a lot of other colleges and understands the staggering odds.
But we hit a rough patch a week ago. In mid-October, she abandoned the personal statement draft she had been working on for weeks. She had planned to apply EA to Macalester on November 1, but her new personal statement just wasn’t ready. It was a stressful week. She has a decent draft now, but she also has cross-country championships this weekend, which, in our flyover state, is an 8-hour drive away.
She also has to write all of her supplemental essays to various schools. So, it’s going to be a busy Thanksgiving and winter break. 
I’m looking forward to January/February.
How are things with your kid?
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I feel your pain! D24 had a ton of trouble with her essay, discarding several ideas until finally one just hit right. Then, she decided (unbeknownst to me) to apply REA to Yale. It’s fine with me - it would be affordable - but the supplements! Yikes.
She’s also applied to Bates, Hamilton, Reed, St. Olaf, and Bellarmine. She has a few more to go, but no rush. I’m glad this part is coming to an end.
Oh, and she’s now thinking of studying neuroscience. From art, to creative writing, to neuroscience. OK
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Creative Writing makes for great minor, but sounds like a LAC education will be perfect for her.
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Yale, huh? I think I’ve heard of it before. 
Good to hear that my kid isn’t the only one struggling with the personal statement. Sounds like your kid has a nice list. And I agree with TonyGrace about LACs being a good fit, but my understanding is that Yale is also great for exploration. (Can’t declare a major until the 2nd or 3rd year, right?)
There are quite a few doctors and scientists who have managed to merge art or literature with neuroscience. Notably the fiction writer Daniel Mason and Elizabeth King the sculptor.
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@momrath this is super interesting and I will pass it along to D24. Thanks!
That’s right, and it’s very much a humanities environment. I think it’s a good choice for her, although a looooong shot.
I agree, and all but one of the other schools she is applying to are LACs. (The other is Bellarmine, a small university where her brother attended, and also very LAC-like.) I don’t know who encouraged Yale to her, but she’s going in with her eyes wide open so I can’t complain.
My daughter took a (somewhat) similar path.
The good thing was, that her interest in the arts continued to be a great & welcome outlet for her, while pursuing difficult and intense studies and internships in her major field; and her writing talent meant, she was able communicate effectively through essays and papers without (undue) stress over those assignments/deadlines.
And moving those two topics to minors, meant she was able to pursue her two passions, choosing the most interesting classes in those minors, rather than having to fulfill certain course and dissertation requirements if those would have been majors.
Finally, socially, it lead to many “out of major” friends and ECs, which can be important if you don’t want to be constantly talking about everyone’s gripes with “those” classes, professors, papers…
There seemed to be a complete disconnect between her different majors and minors - but that truly is the “complete” well-rounded package that ultimately can be a strength.
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Thanks for sharing this. It is very much the path I see her taking. I’ll share this with her!
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As new information to consider, IPEDS data on the popularity of various programs for the most recent year is now generally available. Smith College, for example, graduated a respectable (but perhaps somewhat low for this school) 10 majors in studio arts: College Navigator - Smith College.
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So, for those following or reading this thread in the future, here’s how D24’s admissions cycle went:
Rejected:
- Williams ED: Denied outright, causing concern. Getting in ED would have been awesome, but D24 is stoked on her other options.
Waitlisted:
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Pomona: Spot accepted, LOCI forthcoming. In many ways, this may be the best fit school on this list. But, for whatever reason, D24 never seemed to engage with it much, missed the window to do an interview, and wasn’t interested in applying ED2.
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Penn: Won’t accept spot. Penn was the odd school on D24’s list. D24 did very little research and basically decided to apply a couple days before because the NPC was on the fringe of potential affordability. Penn seems cool, but there’s no heartbreak.
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Skidmore: Won’t accept spot.
Accepted:
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State Flagship EA: With merit plus a steep discount because I work here.
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Macalester: With the merit aid ($25k), Mac’s COA was about $5k less than the NPC, but still not really affordable. Love the school though.
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Scripps: The physical FA package was close to NPC estimate (the online FA package was $10k more), but it’s still a bit more than the other schools. It’s real gem of a school but not on the shortlist.
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WashU: The financial aid package is a bit better than the NPC and comparable to Bowdoin and Smith. It’s possible that D24 got some merit aid. Outside of the flagship, this is the only BFA program. I think D24 still prefers a broader LAC education, but if she changes her mind, WashU is the perfect option.
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Wesleyan: The best FA package of the bunch, which is a little better than the NPC. The irony is that I thought we were going to be priced out of Wes based on an NPC a year ago. I only realized that it could be affordable a month or two before the RD deadline, when I ran a proper NPC with my tax returns. This was the admit that made me realize everything would be okay. I will forever sing Wes’s praises. It’s on the shortlist.
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Smith: Very good FA package that is very close to the NPC. I was so impressed with Smith when we visited, but it probably won’t make the shortlist. D24 appreciates the benefits of a women’s college but prefers coed all things being equal. So it’s not on the shortlist.
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Bowdoin: Accepted with a very good FA package that is very close to the NPC. This was probably D24’s favorite “vibe” school from our summer tour. It’s on the shortlist.
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Swarthmore: Accepted with an amazing FA package that is very close to the NPC. D24 really enjoyed her interview with an alumna, but we didn’t focus as much on Swat as other schools. It could have easily been a school that she ended up cutting simply because she didn’t have enough time during the application process. (This is what happened with Stanford.) We’re focusing on it now and Swat is flying D24 for an overnight and admitted students day in mid April. Swat is now very much on our radar, and I like what I see.
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Dartmouth: Accepted with an FA package that exceeds the NPC and the packages offered by other schools. (Will appeal.) D24 liked it when we toured it last summer. She will attend the admitted students weekend after the Swat one.
D24’s stats: Top 5%, 35 ACT, 12-13 APs. I reckon her recommendations were strong because she has a very close relationship with her teachers, who seem to love her. There could have been some additional “intangible” stuff as she’s outgoing, well-liked, and very involved. I have no idea whether her essays were good or bad in content; I only know that they were well written in structure, style, and grammar. For ECs, she did three varsity sports (nowhere near being recruited but “all-state” in one sport), is president of her schools largest club (volunteer work), is on an academic team that is competing nationally this April, and works as a youth ski coach in the winter. She also had a lot of art activity: Sales, some regional awards, and a portfolio submitted to every college except Pomona and Penn, which don’t accept visual art portfolios. No major hooks, but we live in a (economically diverse) rural area in a flyover state, which might have been a baby hook.
Post-mortem thoughts: I think our strategy was sound. Because the in-state flagship was a guaranteed admit and cheap, it allowed D24 to seek the generous financial aid of a very reach-heavy list. And the FA of her reach schools has been cheaper than the likelies. This approach, of course, will not work for every student in every income bracket. But it did for us. As for the number of schools (13), it also seemed fine. D24 has gotten amazing results, but I’ve seen others with similar qualifications with much less fortunate results. Indeed, part of me wanted D24 to ED2 to Wesleyan, but she didn’t want to, which was her prerogative. Also, it’s allowed room for D24 to more fully discover schools like Swat, Wesleyan, and WashU, that might have been omitted in a more directed list of schools. The only school that D24 probably didn’t need was Penn.
I might make another post focusing on the pros and cons of D24’s shortlist. Right now, I think it’s likely down to Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Swat, and Dartmouth. WashU is still in contention to the extent that D24 may decide she wants a BFA. I have to think her visits to Swat and Dartmouth for admitted student events will give them an advantage, but who knows.
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Congratulations to your daughter, @BentWookie! I wish her a decided preference at the end of this important search.
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Congrats! Can you say what the other schools’ studio/visual arts bonafides are? When I think of studio/visual art, I don’t think of Dartmouth or Swarthmore, but it’s not my area so I stand to be corrected.
And is that a driver for your D?
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I wouldn’t have thought of Dartmouth, either, but one of the truly outstanding visual artists (state and national awards, etc.) in my D23’s class ended up there with art as one intended major, so they must be doing something right.
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Fair enough, and I say again, I do not know. But I ask anyway because the Ivy League is such a powerful brand that a lot of kids (and/or their families) would choose it even if it were lacking in some area of interest.
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