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Liselle
Oct 27, 2007

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.

deathbychimney posted:

why don't you go to UW and get into the design program in the school of art . pay in state tuition.

Did you go to UW? I've been looking into UW and I am terrified of large class sizes coming from very small schools (live in Oregon, come from small magnet schools). Do they have a good program? I am not too depressed if I am missing out on some general education.. but I am a lit-nut and I wonder if I can find my place in the middle at UW.

Edit: I was specifically referring to their Design Program (VCD and such). What is it like? (this is to anyone with experience with UW)

Liselle fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Dec 27, 2007

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Liselle
Oct 27, 2007

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.
So, I kind of got talked into doing a calendar print project to raise money for an alumni who has a daughter with cancer. I am at a loss how exactly to put something like that into some sort of portfolio for college acceptance.

Also I am kind of at a loss where to start with a college portfolio in general. Tips? Advice? Horror stories?

Thanks in advance.

Furthermore, I'm interested in a few colleges and would be interested in talking to some students in the art programs offered there.

Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (Vancouver, BC), University of Washington (Seattle, WA), Pacific Northwest College of Art (Portland, OR), Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle, WA), and Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA).

Liselle fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Aug 25, 2008

Liselle
Oct 27, 2007

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.
Help me figure out how to get into art college

Basically, I am feeling swamped. My first deadline for a portfolio is February 4th. I'm basically freaking the hell out.

Planning on applying to only two colleges, because I don't want to go / live anywhere else. If I fail miserably, and can't get into either Emily Carr University of Art & Design, or Pacific Northwest College of Art, I really don't know what the hell I will do with my life.

Background:
I am going to a high school without art education (The School of Science and Technology). Self-taught, except for taking Drawing I and II at Portland Community College.
I live in Oregon, but I want to live in the greater Vancouver area (the good Vancouver, not loving Washington). PNCA being my second choice in schools, and my "fall back" school.
I'm sitting on something like a 3.2 GPA, I never completed Algebra II, or Spanish II, so I am essentially hosed out of state schools (wouldn't go there anyways). I excel in everything EXCEPT for Math, as my ACT scores showed. I've taken the only AP class I could, which was AP English (lit and comp), and passed the test, and all that jazz.
Money's not an issue, don't want to get into that.
And, my only work experience would be my job doing web development / management / etc. as an intern at OHSU: OGI.

Why the hell I am so convicted about going to college for art:
Because I am, damnit.
My entire life it has been my silent passion, and something that kept me going through the worst times.
I have a desire to end up working with the internet. Somewhere that could intertwine what I love most, art, and the internet. So graphic design, or whatever these schools call it, I am planning in majoring in.
When I asked myself what was more important, money or passion, I decided that I'd rather go to college for something I LOVE rather than something that would make my life financially easier.

What I desperately need help figuring out:
I don't have any mentors, I only have you, the SA community, and whatever else I can find on the internet (nothing). I really need someone I can talk to, and just get all these boisterous and confounding questions out and answered.
I'm extremely organized, and I have spent nearly three years trying to make this work. And now's the loving time to take action, and I am petrified.
  • How do I put together my portfolio?
  • Specifically, physically, how do I make it? What do I make it? What do I need in it?
  • I was thinking (since I am only making 2), taking really great quality photos of my traditional medium work (generally 18"x16")and then printing them and mounting them in a sleek black portfolio on black pages. What did you do, how do I do this better?
  • Am I going to be discriminated because I have only had two formal classes of art thanks to going to a Science / Technology magnet school (with lovely funding)?
  • Will the fact that the only classes I've ever failed were math offer cushioning to my semi-lovely GPA?
  • How much will they care about GPA/ACT, and do I even have to take the SAT? Because I dread the math on those things.
  • Oh my god interviews :(, I don't even know what the hell, but they are terrifying.

General advice on getting into college much appreciated.
Pm's, replying here, or gtalk/email (lacey[dot]kasten[at]gmail) are the best ways to contact me.
I'd show my work, and all my "potential portfolio pieces" to someone privately. The last thing I need right now is to get punched in the face by critique, as I am about to explode as is.

Thank you. :unsmith:

Liselle
Oct 27, 2007

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.
First off, Slashie, you are awesome. And I feel much better / less crazy.

More questions, commence!
  • How/where do I go about printing my work? How big, and how high res am I going to want my work digitally? Money's not an issue.
  • How would I go about putting a "commissioned" print job I did (a calendar) into my portfolio? It's a job that I spent 95+ hours on, dealing with a printer, a crazy lady, and over 45 people for media release permission bullshit. It was to raise money for an alumni's daughter who had a cancerous tumor on her face, and would have potentially died if we didn't raise the money to get it removed.
  • What about a short film I directed/edited/wrote/did everything except act in? Is this a bad idea for someone looking to go into graphic design?
  • If it's okay that I am a "plucky self-starter", how do I positively put this across in interviews / essays? I am kind of proud of the fact that I've taught myself nearly everything I know by experimentation, or by talking with artists, or my two professors. But what if they look at my work and go, "Well, you didn't get enough art education, so we can't how you'd do with an education going here blbablabla?"
  • I am really afraid to just call the schools and set up an interview, or anything. I feel as though it's like I am being interviewed just by talking to them. What am I supposed to do?

If only I was 18. I have been 17 for less than 6 months.

On the ACT I received something like a 92 percentile in reading, 90's in writing, and literally 50's in math. 70's in science for a really stupid reason (I had to pee, last test, oh my god it was awful). I am not quite sure that's something to be proud about, because my overall score was a bloody 21 on the stupid ACT scale. I have only taken 1/4th of Algebra II (twice, since I dropped out twice). So I bombbbbbb once the test gets into anything with functions, or I dunno, math stuff.

To Slapdick:
Yes, I was actually planning on applying to a total of 5 schools. University of Washington, Western Washington University, Cornish College of the Arts, PNCA, and ECUAD. The thing is that I have not completed Algebra II, or a 2nd year language (mine would have been Spanish, because that was all that was offered at my school). That disqualifies me from admissions at WWU, UW, and I just didn't really.. want to go to Cornish. I love Oregon, but I have a bit of wanderlust, and I desperately do not want to go to PSU, OSU, UO, or any other state college. That's kind of why I am down to PNCA and ECUAD. I come from a school with a graduating class of 36, me being one of them. That should explain my aversion to big mainstream schools. Both PNCA and ECUAD are right in the range of where I'd like to be.

That being said, oh my, you have something along the lines of my dream job. I've always fantasized about working myself into the game industry. Not in the sense of "Oh my god I must create an amazing RPG with ponies and fairies!" or something, but more doing something like designing UI's, or working with advertising. Mmm, your job sounds so dreamy :swoon:

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