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As lots of students in our course are preparing for art college admissions, we thought it would be great to introduce a few things about art college.
Of course, things always vary from school to school and location to location; however, we just wanted to give you a brief idea that you can generally expect at art college!
#1 FOUNDATION
Usually, freshman year is when the curriculum covers everything that becomes the basic and foundation of visual arts. This skill is necessary because you will need practical knowledge as to how to apply and execute your concepts into a real thing, and techniques/skills play a very big role in that.
Some schools like RISD are known to have a very intensive foundation year, which is also when people decide what major they will really go into.
How different schools cover foundation in their curricula all differ by schools depending on the major chosen, but usually, drawing courses are most likely to be found.
#2 CLASSES
A common misconception is that art school kids have it all easy. The thing is, however, they usually have both studio classes and one to few liberal arts classes to handle all at the same time, without knowing how long it will take to finish just studio assignments. Usually, studio classes last much longer than liberal arts, for about 4 hours to even 8 hours, if it’s a core course.
The greatest and most important thing about college is, however, that you study what you are passionate about, so most likely it won’t feel like those high school mandatory classes you had to sit through to pass!
#3 TIME MANAGEMENT
Time management becomes very important because, unlike a common myth that you can breeze through studio classes in art school, you will need time dedicated not just to your studio work but also to other liberal arts classes.
Especially if the school puts emphasis on liberal arts, it becomes extremely important to manage your time, to not slack on your assignments.
At the end of the day, we are all humans, and you will often see bags and circles under students’ eyes after pulling multiple all-nighters trying to finish their project assignments. It could be a very common sight especially when there are multiple crits (critiques) and finals all overlapping on top of another. (haha)
#4 YOUR STUDIO LIFE
Of course, as you move to upper grades you will have more of personal space for your work, the size based on the major/school facilities. As spend more and more time in your studio, you will end up spending a LOT of time, day and night, with your studio mates. You could become lifelong friends with them, frenemies, or whatever in between and beyond. In any case, cherish your studio time because having a studio really is a great advantage you can have as a student.
Of course, there is much more to it, and the list could go on forever. This is a mere glimpse at a whole lot of aspects of art schools, but all in all, you will get to learn and think about a lot of things that you haven’t before.
After all, to experience all this, you would need to work and hone your application to get the spot in admissions that you would deserve. Remember to work consistently on your portfolio, which is the most important aspect of your application!
