If you're a student who's been involved in the fine arts throughout high school and want to continue on when you get to college, it's a certainty that you'll need to submit a portfolio for review along with your application. For serious art students these portfolios can become the breaking point in the application process. Often they can actually turn into a difficult project to manage as you simultaneously put together the rest of your application.
Knowing what to Expect from Art Schools
Different college art schools have different expectations. It's important to maintain a solid understanding of what the colleges you're applying to will want so that you don't do any unnecessary work. Following these easy steps will make the process run much more efficiently:
- Create a list of first choice schools and backup colleges that you're planning on applying to.
- Contact their Admissions Departments and inquire about each school's portfolio requirements. Some will want original art and some will want slides. These days, some schools have started to accept digital art, as well.
- Meet with your College Counselor to discuss what you've learned. Keeping your advisor or college counselor up to speed on your applications is something that you should always try to do. That way they'll be in the best possible position to help.
The Art Portfolio
Stick to your schedule. If you don't get rattled by its importance, developing a portfolio can be one of the most satisfying and enjoyable culminations of the college application process. You'll have the opportunity to go through all of your old work and even create new pieces, with the intention of making those new pieces appropriate additions to all the work you've done so far.
There's no specific criterion that schools universally require in their portfolio submissions, but generally schools are looking for three different categories of art to be represented.
1. Observational Art: This pertains to still life, figure model, portrait, or landscape art. Your submissions should showcase your ability to depict a subject as accurately as possible. There are a number of ways that you can compose observational art, but generally schools like to see it in the form of a painting or a drawing.
2. Personal Art: Personal art is work that's done outside of the classroom. It should be the piece that best represents your interests and in not only concept, but the materials you use and the subject matter you choose to interpret.
3. Home Exam: Almost every school will give applicants a school-specific assignment. Some may ask that you submit a self-portrait of what you'll look like in twenty years. Others may want to see you submit a landscaped interpretation of your home town. In the past, Rhode Island School of Design has required a drawing of a bicycle.
Presenting Slides
Most art schools will ask that you submit your portfolio in slide form. There are some that accept digital submissions, but generally schools are looking for your portfolio to be submitted on 35mm slides.
You'll want to make lots of slides for each piece of art you're planning on putting in your portfolio. Things can get lost, or maybe you'll decide that you want to apply to another school, and having too many slides of each piece of art is a much better problem to have than not having enough.
Putting artwork on slides can often be a difficult process, so give yourself plenty of time before the admission deadline to take care of this part of your portfolio. You may need to have the slides reformatted once or twice before they're set to your liking. Most high school art teachers are extremely familiar with this process and can serve as great resources. Asking an expert can help save serious time and money.
Mounted Photo Prints
You should be in control of the entire development process for your photos. Don't take negatives to photo labs for printing; take care of that part in a dark room on your own. Remember to attach a brief description explaining why you made the choices you made in the particular print.
It's a good idea to submit a digital copy of the image as well as the photo itself. The print should be mounted squarely on card stock or something equally rigid.
Presenting Original Art
Most schools won't ask that you submit your original works as part of your portfolio, but some will. If you do apply to one of those schools, it's best to follow these simple instructions:
- Don't include work that's been poorly cared for.
- Submit work that's completely finished.
- Include your name, date, title of work, and social security number on the back of each piece of art.
- Avoid potential damage; don't mail 3-dimensional work.
Your art portfolio is something that you should ultimately look back on with a great sense of pride. No matter the outcome, it's important that you submit what you deem to be the finest and most professionally assembled collection of your work. Every aspect of your portfolio should reflect that.