[Naeem]

Hey guys,

I've searched this forum already for similar posts and i know there is one about Canada, but I could not find any posts dealing with people in the US.

Anyhow, I live in the east coast, and for me, it's 'that time of my life' where i have to choose a college. Now, my plans for the future; become a professional artist for the movie industry. Ex: Somewhere along the lines of Craig Mullins, Ryan Church, or Dylan Cole.

I'm in my junior (11th) year in highschool and it's swiftly coming to a close. I'll need to pick colleges soon and apply...

So, I was thinking this is the best place to ask for advice in such a matter since what I want to become, some/most of you already are...

My question: I have heard about the Art Center in California and heard its for the 'elite' and they accept the best of the best. However, I have also heard that its not a good choice to go straight there, but rather take some courses for 2 years at another college...? I dont have it straight...
Also, I have done research but am so lost in choosing the correct college for my kind of career... I really need ur help:P. Any suggestions on how I can go about alll this? I eventually want to end up at the Art Center, I guess (and that might sound n00b'ish too, I believe; sorry )

I have really good grades so no worries about that...
one more thing; are good SAT scores a crucial thing... the new ones are butt r*pingly hard.

thanks in advance!

P.S.
ABOUT MAJORS: would i choose film as a major or just art/conceptual for this 'career' that i want..

[eyewoo]

[Naeem]

hey eyewoo,
with good grades, i meant throughout my highschool career . right now, im getting bad grades like c's and d's, but i think i will pick them up. im trying to at least...
thanks for the replying and commenting

[watmough]

i got more like d's and f's through high school....i dont think it matters that much when applying to art school,unless you want to go to Cooper Union or something like that.i did ok on my SAT's though,(1200 i think) but that was in 1990...i got accepted to Parsons School of Design,and they waived their tuition fee for me to attend. your portfolio is really more important than your grades,anyway(i even flunked art classes in high school---twice )so,really work on that and try and do ALOT of research on schools youre planning to attend,i wish i had.

[Naeem]

watmough> thanks. i appreciate it.

[Joe84]

i goto the academy of art university in sanfrancisco..my friends who are illustrators really like the 2d department. The school has degree programs for film, illustration, animation and pretty much anything u can poke a stick at. The only downside is that its alot of money and this school will try to suck every last penny out of you.

[Cicinimo]

Art center isn't really that hard to get in to, you'll have no problem judging by your website. From what I've seen almost all art schools are easy to get in to, the trick is paying for them.

I'm a second semester freshmen at a school called corcoran in washington DC. Its very small and "fine arts" oriented, but there is a growing group of kids who are primarily interested in illustration and representational art (me included). At most art schools, especially on the east coast, you're going to find a heavy interest in conceptual art from the kids and the teachers, meaning a de-emphasis of traditional artists "skills". Most schools also have a core group of kids and teachers who are not interested in conceptualism or the avante-garde, and want to focus on drawing/painting skills. You're going to deal with this mixture anywhere you go, so don't expect to find a school where everyone is on the same page and wants to teach you exactly what you'd like to learn. Look for a place that is livable and decently respected. You'll get as much out of a school as you put in, exactly where you are doesnt matter as much as you'd expect.

I applied to these schools and visited them all:
mica,
risd,
tyler (at temple)
VCU.

They all had nice facilities and I would have been happy at any of them (except maybe RISD because it was like 2 degrees when i visited). Watch out for SCAD, I've heard of alot of people that were totally unsatisfied there. I went to corcoran because it was the closest and gave me the best offer. I remember when I was at your stage I reaaally wanted a definative list of the BEST schools, and I wanted to find out which school was at the top for painting and illustration and then go there. No school is going to be exactly what you want, or the definative best, so your best bet is to bum around the different campuses and scope out the scene.

It sounds aweful, but you'll probably be a little disappointed wherever you go. My expectation for art school was that it would be a grand place of focused study where everyone was working towards the same goal. My experience has been a mixed bag: plenty of motivated peers and exciting teachers, but an equal share of lazy potheads and mediocre instructors. I've heard similar from friends at other art colleges. I think the secret is to buckle down and decide you want to get as much out of schooling as possible, and then work your face off.

Thats alot of rambling, but hopefully it helps. PM me if you have any specific questions about different schools, I've looked into it alot and can probably help you out.
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artpad.org

[Godwin]

by the way, on the whole (apart from the portfolio), what kind of entry requirements do art colleges in the US ask for? I mean like, are SATs a must?
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Derelict Studios|Godwin's Space

[Impaler]

If you're thinking about entering any college, you should pick up a copy of Newsweek's annual college evaluation. They rank 1,400 American colleges, group it along with all sorts of useful articles about financing and what to expect when you get there, and present all the information in a concise and organized form (divided into public school, private school, engineering, fine arts, etc.).

Last year, Amherst (I think) was the No. 1 rank fine arts school, with ACCD at No.2. The suspicious part of the system is the actual evaluation of the school. They have a standard set of criteria by which they judge each and every school, like Freshman Retention, number of full-time professors, class size, teacher-student ratio, et al. It's a fine system for evaluation scholastic institutions, but art schools tend to be valuable for slightly different reasons (recognizable profs, how impressive it looks on your resume, stuff like that).

Still, it's a great tool for whittling down schools to find the one for you.
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QED, sort of.

[Naeem]

wow. thansk for the wealth of information guys! i really appreciate it cicinimo and impaler. will be looking into both of your advices

[ChenZan]

i know art center is the obvious choice for entertainment industry but maybe think about College for Creative Studies. Its the school that has such alumni as Doug Chiang, Marc Gabanna, Tim Flattery, and Jay Shuster to mention a few. They dont have an entertainment department but like they did, a few friends and i have taken cross department courses to learn the skills need to get into the entertainment industry. So think of it as being really hardcore here at CCS, unlike being spoon fed the curriculum.

[makototaramoto]

[Naeem]

thanks guys. looking into all of ur advice