A year ago I wanted to go to the SF Academy of Art just because art colleges were new to me and the city was pretty. Now that I’m looking into it, I’m lost. Liberal arts sounded nice (small classes, broad application of ideas) until I learned that doesn’t necessarily mean art. I saw NASAD and Ringling mentioned a lot, but they also seemed expensive. CalArts just has a vaguely bad rep? I want to consider leaving the country too but I don’t know where to start without a centralized resource. People were concerned about job placement for any artsy school, so is it a choice between job opportunity and art focus or can I balance the two? Does more dominant art mean better art education, or is it the same to take an art major at any school that offers it?
As great as it would be, I don’t expect to live solely off of art, but I’d also prefer not to juggle four jobs to fight off debt. What can give me the skills and credentials to do well as an artist without a debt hole I’ll never dig out of? I think I’d like to do graphic design (?), and character design and photography also appeal to me. I’m mostly looking for advice on direction, not specific colleges - should I look into NASAD, liberal arts, plain university, something else? How could I (and should I) start looking internationally? What are some basic pros and cons (especially related to cost, skills learned, and job placement)?
Extra interests: Travel! Study abroad programs plus strong community service, maybe hip-hop as a club or smth
Environment: I like community and personal connection, so I think a small school would be nice. A big one might be a good new experience though? I dunno, friendly liberals probably comes with an artsy college haha
Grades: 3.9 unweighted GPA, 1410 on PSAT and I expect to do similarly high on the SAT
Class focuses: Science 9th and 10th grade, art 11th and 12th. Advanced math 9th-11th. 1 AP 9th, 3 11th, 2 planned for 12th.
Cost: I think my CA family’s aiming for $30,000 a year or less and relying on scholarships (I could be entirely wrong, I don’t even know if that’s a logical guess)
You might want to look at the artistic/human side of CS (user experience, graphic design, etc) since you have good math skills. That way you can earn a living and do what you want.
Because of the strength of your academic work in general, you would seem to have some excellent options open to you. Liberal arts colleges, for example, can be well-funded in terms of financial aid and often offer lots in the way of hands-on studio art (typically across painting and printmaking, ceramics and sculpture, and photography, video and animation). Over the span of a four-year degree, you could take nearly half of your courses in these areas. You could also study abroad for a semester or two. However, for a liberal arts college environment to be attractive overall, it would be best if you have additional interests in liberal arts and sciences fields beyond those of your intended major.
Your college search always begins with you in-state public university system
Visit the art department websites at UC Riverside, San Marcos, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz
CSU Northridge, San Diego State, San Jose State
U Redlands is private but strong in art and gives good merit aid. It’s worth a look in this first pass search as well, especially if it’s close enough to visit and tour. It will give you a feel for whether a liberal arts environment is a good fit.
As you branch out, you’ll find dedicated art schools are generally more expensive than liberal arts colleges. One way to get around that is to look at Canadian schools like Emily Carr where the exchange rate can work in your favor as an extra discount. Http://Www.Ecuad.ca
On the more expensive side, I’d say check out Syracuse and Northeastern. The only concern with these two would be cost, but if you were able to receive great financial aid and scholarships I feel like you would like both of these schools.
Assuming you’re a CA resident, CSULB has a great graphic design program! I know this because one of my good friends, and one of the most talented artists I know goes there and loves it, and she pretty much has a job lined up for her after graduation (she’s finishing up her senior year this semester).
Art schools are not very generous with financial aid, so unless your family can afford the full cost of attendance, I would scratch them off your list.
You can major in art at just about any regular college or university. Many will have related majors such as Graphic Design. Things to look at would be how many art courses they offer & what kinds. If you’re into ceramics, make sure you don’t go to a college that only offers 2 ceramics courses. Often a college emphasizes a particular art such as sculpture or photography and lots of those courses but maybe nothing in printmaking. You can look at a college’s Common Data Set (CDS) and see how many art majors they graduate each year, if you’d like a certain critical mass. Some schools really emphasize art, such as Lewis & Clark (they have an art dorm with studios) and Skidmore (motto: Creative Thought Matters).
Some colleges have “study abroad” programs specifically art-focused. Sometimes the program is not even abroad, but maybe you could spend a semester or year at a location such as New York City, doing an art program (exchange or internship).
Are you working on a portfolio? Even if you apply to just regular colleges, a portfolio can be a valuable addition. The time to start working on it is now - getting good photos of your best work, thinking about what to include, etc. Each college will have its own particular requirements but most of it will overlap.
Have you been talking with your art teachers? They can be a lot of help in thinking about careers, where you might apply, and creating a portfolio. Keep in mind, art for your portfolio pretty much has to be done this school year and putting together the finished portfolio is a lot of work during Fall of senior year.