One of the reasons college is such an exciting promise for Rosary Royals, such a light at the end of the tunnel, is because it introduces a new, customizable path where we feel more in control of shaping our futures. In this sense, it’s interesting to hear about all the diverse majors that Rosary’s Class of 2024 has been pursuing in their college admissions endeavors, especially when looking at the wide variety of creative majors.
We’ve heard from some aspiring dramatic arts and acting majors about their experiences applying to college (check out Makayla and Gigi’s article on their college audition process for more info!), but some majors, like film and television production or game design and digital media, require an entirely different type of “audition” in the form of a creative portfolio (in addition to the typical Common Application responses).
For future Royals interested in pursuing a major in one of these exciting and creative industries, we’ve collected some advice and personal experiences from the current Class of 2024 applicants along with admissions officers themselves to help point you in the right direction as you assemble your creative supplements.
Starting with film, an extremely competitive industry in today’s world, where colleges are looking for applicants who are fit to respond and learn from the constant evolving of film technologies. Most film schools, like Dodge College at Chapman or Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, are difficult to get into (we’re talking less than 10% admissions rate here), which can be daunting and discouraging to most students. To serve as a bit of encouragement, however, Caitlin Smith ‘24, shares her tips for fellow film hopefuls: “…most film schools are looking if you can tell a story when given nothing. It doesn’t have to look great; in fact a lot of my schools made me film with just a phone to give everyone the same playing field. I would focus on building up a simple idea to make it cool (whether you do cool shots or just a different style).”
Moving on to the graphic design and animation world, senior Marci Rau recommends that all prospective applicants try to get a head start on developing their creative applications, which helped her immensely in receiving her acceptance to South Dakota State University: “There are a lot of really good portfolio development programs that I would highly recommend. I did summer programs at Oregon State and CalArts that were both highly beneficial. The Oregon State program focused on broadly enhancing skill, whereas the CalArts program focused on building up a portfolio. Also, look into National Portfolio Day to get some feedback from artists. Overall, even without access to programs, just try to make full, elaborate pieces in your free time instead of just constantly sketching, so that you can build up a solid portfolio.”
Finally, when looking at game design and digital media, which are two majors that I, personally, am interested in, one of the biggest tips that I have for prospective applicants is to consider a wide variety of works for your creative portfolio. Similar to what Caitlin was saying about film experience, game design admissions officers do not expect their applicants to have a portfolio full of ready-to-play games or coding; rather, they are looking for an applicant’s creative range, which can be showcased through scripts, short films, poetry, sculpture, acting/singing, or any form of creative medium that tells a story.
For some insight on a typical creative portfolio, Dan Batson from the Office of Admissions at Chapman University’s Dodge College shares: “…we are looking at the creative supplement [portfolio] to see who you are as a storyteller. The supplement gives applicants a space to paint a picture of who they are as a creative. We want to know more about you and what makes you a unique candidate.” Colleges want students that they can teach, as they’re attracted to the promise of growth and improvement rather than bent on finding pre-existing experts in their prospective fields.
At the end of the day, applying to colleges with a creative arts major is a very exciting, but important decision. To help eliminate some of the stress, prospective Royals should assemble a creative portfolio that showcases their storytelling abilities, without worrying about awards or expertise on their resume. Don’t be afraid to reach out to colleges with any questions about specific application requirements, or to enroll in portfolio-building programs to try to get a better understanding of what you can submit. And finally, remember to be yourself in your application, because you are your own biggest critic, and your effort and your talent, at the end of the day will be interesting to colleges in its own unique way.
So good luck Royals, and happy applying!