This is my third time attending a college fair centered around creative arts. I first went to National Portfolio Day with my oldest daughter in Boston when she was in high school.
I also went to a performing and creative arts college fair in Boston with my First-to-College mentee.
My daughter, who is now at RISD, discouraged us from attending National Portfolio Day saying that it wasn’t worth it, but my son decided to give it a try so we went to UMass Lowell to check it out.
National Portfolio Day is a series of events around the country in which colleges with art departments and art colleges are available to review portfolios from high school students. Many of the students are seniors but I’m sure there were other juniors like my son. It’s a free event and can be a great way to get feedback before applying to college.
This is a list of participating schools but not all the schools attend each event. For example, RISD was not at the Boston event.
- Alberta University of the Arts
- Alfred University School of Art & Design + Performing Arts Division
- Arcadia University
- Art Academy of Cincinnati
- ArtCenter College of Design
- Arts University Bournemouth
- Ball State University School of Art
- Boston University School of Visual Art
- Bowling Green State University School of Art
- Bradley University/Heuser Art Department
- California College of the Arts
- Cleveland Institute of Art
- College for Creative Studies
- Columbus College of Art & Design
- Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at GW
- Concordia University
- Cornish College of the Arts
- Cranbrook Academy of Art
- Delaware College of Art and Design
- Drexel University, Westphal College of Media Arts & Design
- Emily Carr University of Art + Design
- Fashion Institute of Technology
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
- George Mason University
- Grand Valley State University
- Hartford Art School, University of Hartford
- Herron School of Art and Design, IUPUI
- Illinois State University Wonsook Kim School of Art
- Iowa State University College of Design
- James Madison University
- Kansas City Art Institute
- Kendall College of Art and Design
- Kutztown University
- Laguna College of Art + Design
- Lesley Art & Design
- Maine College of Art & Design
- Massachusetts College of Art and Design
- Miami University
- Maryland Institute College of Art
- Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
- Minneapolis College of Art and Design
- Montserrat College of Art
- Moore College of Art & Design
- New World School of the Arts
- New York Academy of Art
- New York School of Interior Design
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Northern Illinois University
- OCAD University
- Otis College of Art and Design
- Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University
- Paris College of Art
- Parsons School of Design/Parsons Paris at The New School
- Penn State
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Pennsylvania College of Art & Design
- Pratt Institute
- PrattMWP College of Art and Design
- Ringling College of Art & Design
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Rocky Mountain Collegeof Art + Design (RMCAD)
- Rowan University
- Rutgers University – Mason Gross School of the Arts
- Salve Regina University
- San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI)
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University
- School of Visual Arts
- Sheridan College
- SMU Meadows School of the Arts
- St. John’s University
- Suffolk University
- SUNY Purchase College
- Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts
- Texas Tech University School of Art
- The Cooper Union
- The Glasgow School of Art
- The University of British Columbia
- The University of Kansas
- Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University
- University for the Creative Arts
- University of Arizona
- University of Connecticut
- University of Illinois
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth CVPA
- University of Massachusetts Lowell
- University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design
- University of New Haven
- University of Saint Francis
- University of South Dakota
- University of the Arts
- University of the Arts London
- Vermont College of Fine Arts
- Vincennes University
- Virginia Commonwealth University (VCUarts)
- Washington University in St. Louis
- West Chester University
- West Virginia University
- Western Michigan University
- Wilson School of Design at KPU
- Woodbury University
- York University – School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
I think because of the Covid-19 pandemic, there weren’t as many colleges or students attending compared to my daughter’s experience. It could also be that the Hynes Convention Center is more central than Lowell. My other thought is that National Portfolio Day also had many virtual options that were later in the year, so students may have opted for the convenience of online with the added bonus of extra time to prepare pieces to show.
My son enjoyed meeting with three schools (Pratt, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, and Philadephia Academy of the Fine Arts or PAFA). It was interesting that each person gave very similar feedback on his work which seems to motivate him to push himself in the directions that they suggested. They were all very encouraging as he has over a year to create pieces for his portfolio.
Some general constructive advice that both my kids received:
- Take risks
- Show process and failure
- Express who you are and your view of the world
- Develop the foreground and background
- Show mastery of materials
- Demonstrate technical skill but push that with creativity
- Use color in a different way than you are currently doing
- Try going bigger in scale (or smaller in scale if you mostly work large)
- Push the boundaries of your creativity
- Mix materials and ideas to make something uniquely you
- Don’t include fan art
- Don’t include master drawings
- It’s ok to express emotions such as your sense of humor
- Include more of your personal art versus school assignments
How about you? Do you have a budding artist that might be interested in an art program at a college or art school? I have tons of resources for anyone applying to art college!
p.s. Related posts:
Tips for National Portfolio Day
Applying to Art School: Portfolio
Boston Performing and Visual Arts College Fair
First To College Program at Newton North High School
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