Art Schools and Institutes...

[FriedSpamOnaStik]

Does anyone here go to an art school/institute or have applied to one?
I've noticed most of them require a portfolio of 20+ items... anyone have experience trying to develop one?

Any lil bits of info or insights would be appreciated like...
Do you guys think they'd be hard to get into...
Do ya think they provide an inadequete education or a great oppurtunity for wanna-be artists? ;-)

Here's two links to some bigger schools.. just as an example, ya know..
Art Institute of Boston (http://www.aiboston.edu)
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (http://www.artic.edu/saic/)

[pixelady]

Hiya!

I happen to live near a large art school... Ringling School of Art and Design.

I know people who have gone there, I haven't been there myself.

1) They _are_ looking for strong portfolios and I believe they want them via slides. Only include your absolute best work and remember that your portfolio is only as strong as your weakest piece. (trite, but true) Most people who are really focused and go have decided in high school that this is what they want. All the art classes I took were focused on developing a portfolio. If you're out of high school, I'd suggest taking some programs around your local community.

2) They are also looking for someone who can pay $$$. Ringling is a very expensive school (IMHO) but the curriculum is supposedly fantastic.

3) Most of the people I know fall into one of two categories:
- Those who were sent to this great school by rich parents and didn't put a lot into it. They can be found working at KMart or McDonalds. I dub these people "spoiled brats". I'd say that 75% of the Ringling grads I've run into are like this.
- Those who struggled to get in and used every moment they had developing technique. I only know a handful like this but one of my friends went, said it was fantastic, and her art BLOWS ME AWAY. One of the most amazing artists I've ever met in both illustration and photography. But... she got what she put into it. That happened to be a lot.

The Kansas City Art Institute is also a great school. The art director at the ad agency I used to work for went there and married my other friend from Ringling. Both very talented people.

A lot of art school is focused classes. The other half is fun! Be careful though... you do get a lot of people who go because they think it's easy or their parents send them to the school to be babysat. That's true of a lot of schools, art or not, but art colleges seem to get the kids that are more "out there".

This can be really cool... you get a lot of likeminded and openminded people to hang out with and get to know.... but then there are the immature kids who want to smoke pot and listen to music all the time. Lol.

I went to a similar school myself for digital art, not traditional art. I don't want to say anything about my particular school because while it has a fantastic audio, video, and stage program, I found the others to be lacking.

Two more items of advise:
1) Get an apartment that is NOT in a student community. My roommate and I got a great apartment (2B/2B $640/mo) but we were up all night because everyone was partying. When you want to party, it's great. When you want to sleep, you get really pissed and go slowly insane.... See what the average age of the residents is. They might not let you in if you present yourself as an art-college student though, so be prepared for sleepless nights or dorm rooms.

2) Living expense loans might seem like a GREAT deal at the time and you might have to take out a SMALL one to suppliment your income. DON'T take out more than you need. And I mean NEED. If you can't survive on Ramen noodles and hot dogs that month, take a few extra bucks out per check (my school cut 2-I at start, one in the middle), but don't run them up. My school cost $35000 to go to, including the $$$ I took out for living expenses. With interest after refinancing I owe over $50000, and that's after paying it off for two years!

[FriedSpamOnaStik]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, pixelady!
Very, very insightful and just what I was lookin' for. :-D

[ezerd]

hey!

both the schools you've listed rank high in the 'top 50 art colleges' list. they're both really, rather competative.

be sure that you have the latest copy of exactly what they are looking for. make sure you have all the appropriate forms filled out. if you have any questions call - call and talk to the *secretaries* - a lot of times they know a lot more what is going on than those 'in charge' - and besides, a lot of the time the prof. will put you on hold and ask the sec. to get him/her what you're looking for anyway... if you run into any snags - be kind, be patient. they're busy people. and as much as they're ticking you off, you're ticking them off too. smear on the honey (don't go overboard and be totally fake about it), but if you get on the good side of the sec. from the start, it can be to your advantage! (i know)

just be sure to present your best work and have a wide range to show - +figure drawing+, painting (some schools i ran across only wanted oils, others gladly accepted acrylic works), etc....

talk to friends and instructors that are knowledgable in art to help you choose - sometimes our conscious and subconscious attachments to a piece can sway our perspective.

be sure to present them in the manner that they want - slides or lugging the whole portfolio in for review...be sure things are organized the way they desire (if they've set certain guidelines). If they say they want to see 5-8 pieces of a certain media, be sure to give them that many. I've seen a lot of people get rejected on details like this. (I helped instructors on portfolio days my last two years in college).

don't get discouraged. you must know your work is just as good as anyone else's there (if not better)! be sure to treat it with respect and act accordingly - you'd be surprised at some of the ways people presented themselves and their work. i went to a school that has been getting more competative each semester and is know for it. we would go through 400+ portfolios some days. Some portfolios were fabulous, yet there was a lot of poor quality art that is submitted as well. when the middle ground was found and the numbers started to drop, a lot of what made the final decision was based on how your work fit into what was already going on at the school and appeal - if they liked your work - if they were drawn to it.

I just graduated from SUNY New Paltz, so if you have any questions about that school, I can help you out all you want! It has a really good reputation. It's in the upper-middle of the top 50 list - and it's close to New York City. We get a lot of *great* lectures and *fabulous* adjunct faculty. There are three art buildings + 2 1/2 theaters (the 1/2 is a student run very small sized theater, which is actually 'owned' by the art students - but we pretty much gave it to them), + numerous venues for the music majors. I graduated from the printmaking department - it is absolutely one of the best print facilities in the U.S. - far better than R.I.S.D, Yale, you name it. Let me know if you want to know more...

would you be going in as a freshman or a transfer? what do you hope to study? i'd be happy to give you more tidbits and insights - let me know what you're looking for!

good luck!