Should I go to art school?

Question

I'm a junior in high school and I'm beginning to look at colleges. I have 3.89 GPA, descent SAT scores, a pretty good transcript so far . The problem is that I hate school, I hate all my classes except for english and art. But my passion is for art, I'm told I'm good and that art school is definitely something to consider. I'm currently in AP studio art and I love it. But some say that going to an Art college would be a waste of talent in my other subjects, what they consider to be a real future. I believe that I would hate to anything else besides art as a career. I do drawing, painting, film, photography, and graphic design, art is what I enjoy. My parents aren't very supporting in this, they think art school will be too limiting. But I'm convinced that going to an art school is the only way I can be happy. Should I follow my dream of a career in art? Or should I play it safe, go to a college with an art program and hope that will be enough?

My math isn't great, B's mostly, and I'm only going to get to Pre-cal in highschool. Also when I say a career in art I mean pretty much anything, something marketable is what I'm trying for. Maybe even an art teacher.

all good advice so far, thanks

Answer 1

I say you should get two different degrees. I wouldn't suggest going to school for English because being an English teacher is the worst armpit job in the world and trying to work as a writer is almost as hard as being a visual artist anyway. I think you should first get your liberal arts out of the way and then get degrees focusing on: graphic design, photography or illustration. You should get more than one degree, and make sure to eventually get an MFA and good internships at a good school. These are all fields in which you can easily make a decent living and get a job. Some include: teacher, photographer for a magazine or small publication, photographer or graphic designer for a well renowned website, comic book illustrator, illustratr of books, freelance photography or graphic design, illustrations for magazines websites, video game illustration, film illustration, etc...My only advice to you is, that if you choose art, you need to become the best, and you need to have variety so that you have a wide variety of options.

Answer 2

If you are interested in graphic design, I would recommend going to a college or university and not an art school. The reason? Think about the job of a designer: your clients will be scientists and business owners and cultural organizations and accountants and. . . . the point is, having a well-rounded education will give you a better foundation for talking with these people and anticipating what their needs and problems and possibilities might be.

Even if you intend to be in the fine arts (which doesn't sound like your plan) think about the fact that your art is going to have a subject. The more you know about psychology and history and other subjects, the more you will be able to convey in your artwork. Think about the fact that artists have to have business skills to balance their checkbook, public speaking skills to persuasively talk to others about their work, writing skills to prepare contacts with galleries, or communicate deadlines and other information to printers and photographers and others they'll be working with.

All these skills can mean the difference between success in your art career or not. Becoming a better artist is only one piece of the puzzle.

As far as being an art teacher, there will be lots of competition for those jobs. If you are thinking elementary or secondary teaching, having skills in another area may help you land the teaching job.

Don't assume you are playing it safe by going to college. It may be the best challenge you ever faced.

Answer 3

There is no correct answer for your question other than the answer that you yourself will give it, over time. I went to a liberal arts college and now work as a professional artist with a painting studio in North Carolina. It's possible that I wouldn't have been able to do this had I gone to art school, because going to a liberal arts school actually helped me to learn about economics, and to relate to people interested in different things, which is necessary in order to sell art. Regardless of what you choose to do, you should always keep making your art. That passion will help no matter what you do for work. Good luck!

Answer 4

idont know you personally so i cant say for sure if you should enroll in Art. However , be aware - this is no cake walk. Art is a lot of hard work and tedious studies.My daughter enrolled in Art because she believed she has what it takes. Guidance counselors and teachers have a tendency to encourage kids to do anything as long it gets them into university.My daughter had a rude awakening. She was put on probation almost immediately and came home after christmas. That was an expensive lesson to learn.
How is your Math ? go into soft ware designing ,even if you dont like it . Not many of us LIKE what we do for a living

Answer 5

As much as I LOVE art, I'm going to school to be a psychiatrist so I went for the Med School but that was just my personal choice.

Answer 6

If you want to get a degree in Art go for it....You can eventually become an Art teacher, or if you get a degree in computer arts or graphic arts (if you are good at that) then there is a vast amount of jobs available....Companies always need people to design computer graphics for their commercials, websites and such....
I'd say go for what you want to do and what you like doing....not necessarily what you are good at.....I am going to school to get a degree in Physical Education and Health and hope to be an Elementary PE Teacher....My counselor and parents said I should go for politics or history because I am VERY VERY good at it in school but I figured if I am going to do a job for 40-50 years I want to do something I like not necessarily what I'm good at during school...

Answer 7

Sometimes its best to consider for the future, i mean if u are really good at art then u should be millionare right? but think about it logically how many real people actually go and be sucessful at art.If its ur real passion then do it, but also have a backup.

Answer 8

It depends:
If you want a job that pays, no.
If you really like drawing and you just want to have fun in your career, yes.
Or if you want to you could go to art school and still get a second job if your art career doesn't pay enough.

Answer 9

I think you should go for a Liberal Arts degree. You can't believe how easy it is to get a job when you have this degree in your hand.