Is Art School a waste of time?

Question

Since i was little I was very ahead in my art skills. I really love art and its something i want to study in college. However, I want something academically challenging because i'm the type of person in school who really loves taking hard classes like AP Bio and AP histories especially. I was wondering, if i go to Art school (i.e. Pratt) would i be wasting all my hard work? I'm a really serious student, i want to go to a serious school but i know people who really aren't faring too well in high school but are all going to major in art. I don't want to follow their footsteps! Also what do you think about going to a really high rep school like an ivy league and then majoring in art? Is it just as beneficial to the learning experience as going to an art school?

Answer 1

A A gives you some pretty good advice. I too would recommend getting a BFA at a good university and taking as much as you can in the way of a concentration outside of Art. Biology would be a great choice as you could think about a career in medical illustration. Or, you might consider Art History as your specialization.

Good luck.  

Answer 2

I would suggest going to the best general University you can get into, and doing a double major in a "serious" subject and the form of Art you want to do.  That way, if Art doesn't pan out for you, you still will have something to fall back on.  And even if Art does work out, you will have satisfied your desire for an academic challenge.

Answer 3

I was like you in high school - took AP science classes, did AP exams, and wanted to major in art, but also go to a solid, academically respected university. I had academic interests beyond just art, and I wanted to be able to explore those. So I chose a university that was well respected academically, and which also had a strong art school. I think that may also be a fit for you. So I'll suggest the following universities, all of which are strong overall unis, but which have very well respected art programs:

- Brown (Via its relationship with RISD. You'd do a dual degree: an academic subject at Brown, and a BFA at RISD)

- Tufts (Via its relationship with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. You'd do a dual degree, as above.)

- UCLA

- Carnegie Mellon (especially strong in graphic design, but good in all arts)

- Indiana University Bloomington

- Bard College

- U Wisconsin Madison

- Columbia U

- U Illinois Urbana Champaign

- U Georgia

- U Texas Austin

- Washington University in Saint Louis

- Ohio State

- U Washington

- Syracuse

- Cornell

- U Penn

- U Michigan Ann Arbor

- NYU

- U Cal Berkeley

And then there are the universities that are overall academically solid, but that are a bit easier to get into than the above re: SATs and etc., and yet which house elite level art programs. These include: Virginia Commonwealth, U Arizona, Rochester Institute of Tech, Arizona State, U New Mexico, Temple, Northeastern (via it's relationship with the SMFA Boston), U Iowa, U Cal Davis, Rutgers, U Cal Irvine, Southern Illinois U Carbondale, U North Texas, and U Tennessee Knoxville.

These universities all rank in the top 50 art schools in the US. So you can see that you do not have to compromise - you can get both a very strong art school, and a very strong overall university, in the same school.

Answer 4

I don't know any professional artists. Most are starving. Why pursue a career with zero chance of supporting you in the long term.