<p>I am a newbie here who is just starting to look into college for my daughter. She wants to major in the visual arts. She is interested in UT Austin and so am I, because when she was a baby we purchased the Texas Tomorrow plan for her, which means that we have already paid for 4 years of tuition to any Texas state school. So for us, TX state schools are the way to go.</p>
<p>Are there ever any exceptions to the top 8% thing? She is only in 8th grade so she doesn’t have any sort of a rank yet, but we live in an extremely competitive school district. I will be shocked (but thrilled) if she graduates in the top 8%. I think she will do well but there are so many go-getter, super-motivated, accomplished kids that she goes to school with who are going to easily snap up those spots. </p>
<p>Does anyone know if the UT department of art will even look at an art portfolio from a student who isn’t in the top 8%? I am wondering if she has any chance at all if she puts together a terrific portfolio and also has good grades and good SAT/ACT scores (just not top 8%), or if they stick to the top 8% rule exclusively. Sorry this is so long. TIA.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the art department but UT does accept students who are not in the top 8%. That’s why there is a top 8% instead of 10%, supposedly to make more room for students like your daughter but some cynics might say it was because they were about to start squeezing out athletes. I would check with high school art teachers who could give you a better idea of what her chances are. I find it hard to believe that all the art majors at UT are top 10% but you never know.</p>
<p>The fine arts programs are not as tied to the 10% rule as more conventional academic programs. If the department accepts a student who is not in a Texas 10%, the university will often accept the student as long as the applicant has the academic credentials, i.e. SAT or ACT score and grades comparable to the regular admission students.</p>
<p>no, it is still top 8%. And those people are just guaranteed automatic acceptance. That doesn’t mean they will just throw your childs application away-since you paid to apply they will look at it. With a good SAT score, you should get in.</p>
<p>Do not think that just because a student is an Arts, or Musical Theater like my daughter, they won’t be held to the same percentages. Many of my daughters friends were under the impression that the “artsy” students revceived exceptions to the rules. They are now panicing that they didn’t study as hard.</p>
<p>There are always a couple of exceptions, but yes, they do track the GPA, Rank and SAT scores for ALL students.</p>
<p>We also looked into this issue for my son last year. The UT Art department will definitely look at students that are not in the top 8% (or top 7% for next year). It’s in their web site and they will also tell you first hand. The portfolio is heavily considered and the department has their own specific application process. It was a serious issue for my son who went to a very highly academically competitive school and would be no where near the top but still a very solid student at the end of senior year. That said, 8th grade is pretty early to settle on a major although a lot of art kids seem to know their passion early on. Can’t stress how important that portfolio becomes. Go to National Portfolio Day every year- the reps will give advise, critiques and they’ll begin to recognize your kid. I’ve also heard that University of North Texas has a very good art school. My kid ended up at another school OOS but we had a very sharp learning curve on this art stuff as he finally was sure about his major in his junior year.</p>
<p>My kiddo was accepted last year as a Dance major. She was top 15% with AP/IB classes and a 30 ACT. My best advice is that you need a good art portfolio and solid academic record too. I would say that you need to be top 25% and a solid test score to be considered.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that once admitted, many Fine Art students transfer to other departments so although you have an art major today you might have a humanities major later. The academic standards ensure the student can survive in other majors as well.</p>
<p>Thanks so much to everyone for all the helpful responses. I really appreciate it. My d very well may change her mind ten times between now and then, but she eats and sleeps art, so I won’t be surprised if we are still on this road two or three years from now. (I’ll admit it’s embarrassing to be worrying about this already, but she is my first child and I don’t have any experience with this. It was so different in my day back in the early 80s.)</p>
<p>My d is a smart girl - GT program, Whiz Quiz team, etc. - but is so artsy and unconventional that I really have to stay on her about grades. I am using art school admission as a carrot to motivate her to do better on her grades, because I know she can do very well if she wants to. She is salivating at the thought of getting to major in art in college.</p>
<p>She did well on the Duke TIP ACT last year as a 7th grader so I’m hoping by the time she takes it and the SAT as a high-schooler she will have strong scores. If she will just make the decision to do the work required to get the grades… Also, thanks to goingnutsmom for the advice about portfolio day, I will definitely check that out!</p>
<p>my best friend, who is a very talented artist got into UT art even she’s not in the top 8 %, she’s some where around 12 %. and her SAT scores is only around 1800ish. I think they look more at your portfolio than grades for art</p>