Can we talk about art colleges?

[...................]

Like, are they ever worth it?

How do you know your child is really an artist or just a creative person?

Do future art students need to do something specific in high school?

How does an estj non creative mom help her enfp artsy child thrive?

 

About graphic arts...what's a good CA college for that?

[Kalmia]

I have just begun looking into this area as well for my son. We went to the open house for one (Maine College of Art) and I was extremely surprised to find that the art and design schools are really on top of internships and coursework that includes producing materials for local businesses, selling their own art as students, and making sure the students understand how to work with clients, how to market their artwork and a whole host of things I would have assumed were neglected in pursuit of "Art" with a capital "A".  The disciplines within the schools operate almost like trade schools, teaching the students from the ground up, everything from woodworking to fashion design (starting with making your own fabric) to animation. The schools with design in the name are definitely seeking both artistic and creative people. They mentioned that some of their graduates go on to work in industry where they lend their creativity (such as the graduate who designs fixtures for Kohler). I can't remember the exact statistic, but MECA (a small, relatively new school compared with some out there) mentioned that a good percentage (68%?) of their graduates go on to work directly in art. I have no idea what CA schools are like but east coast (and midwest) art schools include: Pratt, Parsons, Rhode Island School of Design, Fashion Institute of Technology, MASSArt, Savannah College of Art and Design, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, etc.

 

We asked what the high school student needed to do to prepare. The answers included: take every art class available, draw from life (they do not want to see manga or superheros or unicorns! LOL), and prepare a creative sketchbook with dated pages. While they want good students, the make or break item is the portfolio the high school student will submit. Each school has specific guidelines for what should be included. Often these guidelines are on their webpages. They also want recent work in the portfolio, not something the student did three years before.

[justasque]

  Just listening in!  

:bigear:

[Anacharsis]

This might be a good chance to add Daniel Clowes' "Art School Confidential" comic to the curriculum. :-) If by "worth it" you mean that the education will pay for itself, chances are the answer is "no". After post-modernism, the art world does not seem to place a premium on classically trained artists over others. There are a few schools that are trade schools masquerading as art schools -- for instance, the California Institute of the Arts was created to train Disney animators, and its animation program is still a big feeder for Disney. However, it's important to be cautious here -- every art school will claim to be a feeder school for some industry or another, but in reality if such a school exists, there will be only one (maybe two) per field.

[JanetC]

This might be a good chance to add Daniel Clowes' "Art School Confidential" comic to the curriculum. :-) If by "worth it" you mean that the education will pay for itself, chances are the answer is "no". .

The best "bang for the buck" will probably be a design-focused degree at a state-subsidized school. Design programs take a much stronger interest in teaching portfolio development, computer skills, team work, etc. so their grads are more ready for industry than someone who majors in studio art. But, salaries are not high, so paying high tuition is still risky .

 

That being said, and to totally contradict my last sentence, prestige does matter in the art world, If you can get a degree from a top notch school like RISD, there will be a benefit to having that over a degree from a random regional state college. Different doors will be open. It's going to depend on scholarships and your financial resources, though. I still wouldn't recommend going deeply into debt.

[wapiti]

FWIW, my dd recently met representatives from a couple of art schools during art class at her private high school.  They were from California College of the Arts (in SF) and School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

[Carol in Cal.]

Getting an MFA opens doors into teaching (employment!), so a BA should not be considered the terminal degree.

[Carol in Cal.]

For the practical side, "How To Get Hung" has a good reputation among artists I know.

[Laurel-in-CA]

Often art schools offer weekend life drawing classes to high schoolers--be prepared for nudity.

 

Private art lesson places may offer a portfolio design workshop that helps kids sort thru their work and choose pieces that will enhance their appeal to an art school. We spent some $$ on such a class, but it more than paid off in terms of scholarship $$.

 

If you're looking for art schools, check out the listings for National Portfolio Day in your area, then go to the school web sites and see what kind of art their instructors and/or students have on display. That will give your student a feel for whether they and the school have a good "fit." If your student can participate in or volunteer at a local juried art show (meaning they pre-select only the best entries to judge and hang for display) sponsored by a local school, it's a great opportunity to get to know some people @ the college and ask questions. My dd was able to do a 1-week summer program for high school students that helped her figure out whether or not she wanted to pursue animation. Again, a great opportunity.

 

Game design, graphic design, industrial design (from toys to stationary to automobiles) and animation are all areas that tend to have full-time jobs attached, and often the schools will offer internships with corporate partners in these areas. Not so much for illustration or studio art (guess what my dd's major was?), where you really have to learn to promote yourself.

 

Another consideration is that in art school you do art from day 1; at a state school you typically do general ed for 2 years and then go into specialized art classes. When we toured our local state school the tour guide knew next to nothing about the art major tracks and we had trouble getting specific information. State schools have higher SAT/ACT expectations, whereas art schools are often less concerned with academics and more concerned with creativity and portfolios. The school my dd went to, you just had to have taken the SAT; no score expectations. They also didn't have the same expectations with regard to a high school transcript or gpa....although not all art schools are that laid back and some offer scholarships that include academic considerations.