National Portfolio Day

[Mandy Valin]

Hey everyone ;D

I just got something in the mail from Pratt, inviting me to National Portfolio Day on October 19th. It didnt really say what it was though, just that someone would be available to look at my portfolio.
I was wondering if anyone has been to one of these? If so, I'd be grateful to hear your experiances :D

Thanks,
Mandie

[Axl]

I had a friend in the USA who went to one of those when he was trying to figure out what art school he wanted to go to. He said he went as part of a "feild trip" with his art class, but found it extremely informative and interesting. He said there were representatives from schools from all over the USA, Canada, Mexico, and other places too. I wish I could tell you more information, but he really didn't fill me in on much more than that. Hopefully someone here will know more :D

[pop miasma]

national portfolio days are where a group of art colleges travel to different cities to have representatives meet with students seeking portfolio advice or to show their portfolio for admission. i went to one last year and it's helped me define my path to college ever since. basically all the reps were there with their tables and information in one big room and i could see whichever ones i wanted. you do have to wait in line to see each rep so don't plan on going in-and-out. they last for about four hours long and i don't even know if that'll be enough for me this year, especially since i'll be trying to see some of the more popular schools like school of the art institute of chicago.

but it was very useful to speak to someone in person, you can get so much information that way. they don't come out and tell you everything they're thinking, but they do make comments on what they like and what they'd like to see more of. then again that was last year, when i was just looking for advice, maybe this year since it's actually for admission they might be different.

the website www.npda.org (http://www.npda.org) can give you plenty more information on dates, the colleges in the association, etcetra. but check with individual colleges to see if that specific college will come to the one near you, since not all of the colleges go to all of the portfolio days apparently. i found to my dismay that risd isn't coming to the one an hour away from me, so i might have to go to san diego if i want to see them. :\ if you don't want to go to portfolio day at all you can just send slides for your application, most schools are fine with that. but i've always liked showing my art in person much better, depending on your tastes you might like it better too.

[David81]

pop miasma, I have a few questions about your experience at NPD.

1. What schools did you talk to?

2. Were the reps nice or hostile when reviewing your work?

3. What type of work did you bring?

Thanks

David

[pop miasma]

well, i actually probably should say what artwork i brought first. this was when i had no idea what i was doing and really hadn't gotten quite serious about art yet, i just wanted a "test run." a lot of my art had this angsty violent teenage surrealism type thing going but it wasn't anatomically correct in the human figures, etcetra. and i brought anime artwork too, which apparently is a big no-no. i found that out quick, heh. (that still kind of irritates me because i like my art whether it's anime or not)

i just randomly stopped by ones that didn't have long lines yet since i hadn't developed a strong interest in any particular college at that point. i saw otis, maryland institute college of design, and art academy of cincinnati. all of the reps were very polite, of the three of them i liked mica's the best but that's probably a personal preference thing, since all of them were very courteous. even though i'm sure they could tell i was a "lost soul" type with no clue about what they wanted out of me, they weren't snappy with me at all. they just told me that some of my work wasn't the sort of thing i should include in my portfolio. some of the other pieces they pointed out what they liked in the composition or style, or ask what i was "trying to say" with that piece. one thing all three of them stressed to me in a major way was observational work, drawn from life. this year when i go for my serious portfolio reviews i'm bringing lots of life work plus the usual work from my imagination, in a variety of mediums, set up in a real portfolio. (last year i just had a sad paper one. haha)

i didn't use the complete four hours that the portfolio day was open but i did use a couple, so beware...even seeing only three colleges can take a good chunk of time!

[David81]

pop, thanks a lot for the info and good luck this year!

What school are you looking to attend?

David

[Mandy Valin]

Wow pop, thanks for the info!! I really hope I can go!! I dont have much of a portfolio put together but im working on it!!

[pop miasma]

i'm glad i can provide any help :) my top three schools are school of the art institute of chicago, risd, and mica, so those are three i'm pretty sure i'm applying to.

[jennakate]

ok, now i'm a little scared. i hope to get into the Alberta College of Art and Design next year, and i have to have a portfolio... i have been playing around with sketching and pastels and painting and so on, because i need a portfolio that has to meet some requirements, but this school offers a lot of different majors, the ones i am most interested in being jewellery design, glass, ceramics, and fibre. and i can't see any of those being really dependant on drawing. drawing isn't one of my strong points. i do a lot of other things, like lampworking, jewellery making, felting, and making tiles. should i try to include more drawings, or should i include more of my other work? i mean, i will include at least one or two of everything i do, but should i be drawing more? should i be worried?

[lavendarMist]

National Portfolio day is a good chance to see what schools would except your portfolio. But if you want a interview usually the pratt rep has a interview day in the area the day before the portfolio that counts towards your application. But if you know what school you want to go to, don't bother, that is an insane place, tons of kids carrying portfolios and crying after getting their work ripped apart by cooper union. If you do go bring a friend to stand in the risd, pratt, or cooper line for you while you check out other schools. if you can visit those tables first.

[smiley_allison]

Went to the Portfolio Day in Boston on Sunday. It was insane!! lol. Long lines everywhere... bring something to read or start conversations with the students in line around you. :)
This was my first one, and I found it incredibly helpful. I was there before the doors opened and left when they were cleaning up... I talked to Pratt, RISD, Cooper U, and MassArt. I actually got accepted to Pratt on the spot :D and got positive feedback from RISD and MassArt. Cooper is tough on you. They are very honest, which is good, but it can be painful... saw some very shocked kids coming out of there.
Hope that helps.... I'd definitely DEFINITELY encourage everyone to go if at all possible. :)