A Future in the Arts

A Future in the Arts

College Application & Portfolio Preparation

For The College Bound Art Student

A WebQuest For

The Fine Arts Studio Course

Designed by Rachael A. Murphy, MFA
ramurphy@milforded.org

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to your future! This semester you have the opportunity to research and prepare for your college career as an art student. What an exciting time in your life! At this point you have decided to incorporate your creativity, interests and art skills into your future career. You should be proud that you have chosen to do something in your life that truly is fulfilling! This Web Quest has been designed to help you focus your goals, research colleges and prepare your portfolio for college admission. We will be working together towards the ultimate goal of finding the college and career in the arts that is right for you! THE TASK Your task for this semester course is to complete all of the components of college application in the field of fine arts. You will be exploring careers in the arts that are interesting to you and researching how to accomplish your career goals through college education. Your ultimate goal will be to create and compile an art portfolio based on your area of interest as well as completing admission requirements for the colleges in which you are choosing to apply to. These components must be submitted according to the attached timeline, as it is crucial that we accomplish everything during this semester. THE PROCESS In order to accomplish the task at hand there are many steps and requirements that you will be responsible for completing:

1. College Folders: You will be selecting 3-5 art colleges that you are interested in applying to. You will be creating a folder for each college in which you will keep a collection of any and all information pertaining to application. Each folder must include the following printed information:

Admission requirements, i.e.: education, SATâs, GPA, activities, portfolio, etc.
Portfolio requirements, i.e.: self-portraits, drawing from life, color and design, etc.
Location of college, i.e.: state, city, commute from home, etc.
Size of college, i.e.: small, medium, large, etc.
Tuition, i.e.: estimated family contribution, financial aid, loans, scholarships, etc.
Programs and training offered, i.e.: fashion design, architecture, graphic design, etc.
Contact information, i.e.: office of admissions, dean of admissions, financial aid office, etc.

2. Reflective Essay: A requirement for admission to most colleges is a written essay based on student experience and knowledge. To help facilitate the writing of this essay you will create an essay based on the following topic:

"Why have you chosen fine arts as a course of study in the millennium?"

Your essay must be at least 500 words and no more than 800 words. It is important that you display your creative ability through this essay so that the admissions committee can make an accurate decision as to your admission to their fine arts school.

3. Sketchbook: A requirement for this course is to keep a sketchbook. This sketchbook should go wherever you go! You should be sketching ideas from many sources on a daily basis, i.e.: nature, home, school, places of interest, life drawings, figure drawings, architecture and imaginative ideas. Remember, you will be compiling a portfolio of your work, both past and present, and this sketchbook will be a great reference to you for gathering ideas.

4. Art Portfolio: A requirement for all art colleges and art programs is a portfolio of your artwork. This portfolio should be a collection of your best, original and completed artwork. At least 10-15 strong pieces are required. Each college will have different portfolio requirements based on the program to which you are applying. Although the number of pieces and the theme of the pieces may vary from school to school, there are two pieces that must be included in your art portfolio, they are:

The Self Portrait
Drawing From Life

There are many examples of Master artwork, which you can reference when beginning the process of creating these pieces. Remember to look at the work of the Masters with an open mind and critique the strengths and weaknesses of their work. It is important that each piece of your work be youâre own original idea and be slick and completed with both values/color and background. You will be required to work on these pieces both in school and at home.

*It is recommended by the Art Department that each Fine Arts Studio student attend the National Portfolio Review Day at Hartford Art School in November. It is here that all of the art colleges in the country are represented and will review high school student portfolios in progress. This experience is unparalleled! The college representatives will critique and edit your portfolio prior to your application to their school. Therefore you will know in advance which pieces you need to work on, which pieces you should include and which pieces you should eliminate from your final portfolio for application. There will be more information provided to you regarding the National Portfolio Review Day throughout the semester.

5. Readings: You will be required to complete weekly readings and assignments from the course textbook: A Life in the Arts, by Eric Maisel, Ph.D. This book will be provided to you in the beginning of the course and will be a wonderful reference to you throughout this semester. You will be required to reference assigned readings in your sketchbook and reflect on your opinions regarding the readings and topics in this text throughout the semester. You will also be required to share your reflections during class discussions and critiques.

*Internet Resources:

The following is a list of resources for you to use as a starting point for gathering information:

Art Schools: http://www.activewebnetworks.com/univ/list/art.html
Art Schools: http://www.indianola.ia.us/k12/high/art/colleges_and_art_schools.htm
Example Paier College of Art Application: http://www.paierart.com/admissions/admissionsform.pdf
Example Parsons Art School Portfolio Requirements: http://www.parsons.edu/padmport.html#1
Example Pratt Institute Admissions: http://www.pratt.edu/admiss/
Example FIT Homepage: http://www.fitnyc.suny.edu/admission/3.0.html
Example Van Gogh Self-Portrait: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/eurptg/29pc_vangogh.html
Example Da Vinci Self-Portrait: http://www.ecf.toronto.edu/apsc/davinci/leonardo.html
Example Degas Self-Portrait: http://www.getty.edu/museum/objects/Drawings/95_GG_43_A.htm

EVALUATION Your work for this course will be graded according to the following rubric. Each section of the process is identified and a description of each level of performance is provided. Points will be awarded to you based on your level of accomplishment in each part of the process. This will determine your grade for the first and second quarter as well as the semester. Click here for the rubric. CONCLUSION Upon successful completion of this Web Quest you should have a complete college application and a finished art portfolio. You will have learned how to choose and organize information pertinent to applying to art school. It is important to remember all of the hard work that you have done. You should congratulate yourself for your strong commitment to your goal of incorporating the fine arts into your future. Remember that you are choosing to make a career out of something that you love! Very few people in this world today can say that! I am extremely proud of you and wish you the best in your future! CREDITS This WebQuest was based on the WebQuest template created by Bernie Dodge.