UK & US
Before you begin your portfolio, be sure that you know whether you are applying to the US or the UK, as they will have drastically different expectations for your portfolio and will assess it differently. If you are applying to both UK and US universities, do not use the same portfolio! The work that you include can be similar, but be sure that they are tailored to the different expectations.
UK Schools
Usually, the schools in the uk only have 3 academic years for university. However, most of the art schools require you to have a foundation year in order to get ready. For example at my school, UAL, you need to be exceptionally outstanding in order to skip the foundation year which is only 3% of the students that get the offer from school.
What is a portfolio?
Almost all art & design related majors will require a portfolio as part of your application, alongside your grades, personal statement and references etc. Since many art & design based universities don’t have high conditions for an applicant’s grades, portfolios become the biggest and most important part of your application. it is no exception for those relatively non- art related courses. The reason behind is that you need to show not only your professional skills in your own field, but also some other art skills. Your portfolio is a collection of your work (related to the subject that you are applying for) that proves that you have ability and skills to take on the course. It can be in many areas, from fashion design to photography to mechanical design, anything that is art related. You need at least three different portfolios, two essays and the other one is the portfolio that shows your art skills. The two essays can be critic, formal commercial analyzing essay etc.
There is something that is very important when applying for art unis in the UK, significantly different from America, they take your procedures very seriously. So whatever portfolio you make (besides essays), do show your procedures as they want to see how your idea develops and where it came from. That would include mindmaps, inspirations, collages as well.
How do you develop a portfolio?
There is no “best” way to develop a portfolio, and the amount of work that you have that you can include into a portfolio will vary hugely depending on what subjects you take in high school. Some IB art & design courses will be more relevant to your university course than others.
If you are an applying student in China, there are many organizations that offer classes and mentors who will help you through the entire process of creating a portfolio, from having zero projects to having a complete portfolio ready to submit. These organizations often have a lot of experience as to what particular universities look for in a portfolio, and often have teachers who have previously studied in UK arts universities. Even though these courses may be intense and expose you to a lot of new skills that you are unfamiliar with, it offers you a very high chance to get into the universities you have applied to.
On the other hand, it is also an option to develop a portfolio independently. If you choose to do so, it is crucial to do plenty of research as to what a typical high school student’s portfolio looks, and it is also possible to find examples of accepted portfolios online so that you can put your own portfolio into perspective.
I personally suggest you to start a year ahead, if not, the latest is during the summer before year 13 starts. A portfolio making procedure is a continuous thing, as year 13 starts there would be a lot of distractions for example ee, ia dues and unlimited exams. None of these would be beneficial in this procedure and actually may bring down the quality of your project as you get distracted and have a hard time managing the time.
Choosing the exact major
When looking into the majors, you would realize there are some similar ones. For example i knew i wanted to study something business related, but when i was looking on the website i saw there are fashion management, fashion marketing, strategic fashion marketing, msc bsc etc. It was hard for me to differ the exact difference so I decided to look into the courses, on most of the school websites you can find the course layouts and when looking into that, it would be easier to find out which exact course you would prefer to take. Another good way is to think carefully of what you wanna pursue in the future, when you do find the answer, go to the official school website and look into the course, most of the time they would show you where the students end up after they graduate, what job positions they usually get etc.
Other random tips
Get used to showing your portfolio to people! Show it to your teachers, parents, friends, really anyone, so that you can practice talking through your projects and get used to other people having opinions about it.
Try to visit the universities that you are applying to and try to find the environment that inspires and motivates you the most. UK universities have open days and universities like UAL have tons and tons of short courses that run throughout the summer that are good opportunities for you to see how it feels to study there.
Before you begin your portfolio, be sure that you know whether you are applying to the US or the UK, as they will have drastically different expectations for your portfolio and will assess it differently. If you are applying to both UK and US universities, do not use the same portfolio! The work that you include can be similar, but be sure that they are tailored to the different expectations.
UK Schools
Usually, the schools in the uk only have 3 academic years for university. However, most of the art schools require you to have a foundation year in order to get ready. For example at my school, UAL, you need to be exceptionally outstanding in order to skip the foundation year which is only 3% of the students that get the offer from school.
What is a portfolio?
Almost all art & design related majors will require a portfolio as part of your application, alongside your grades, personal statement and references etc. Since many art & design based universities don’t have high conditions for an applicant’s grades, portfolios become the biggest and most important part of your application. it is no exception for those relatively non- art related courses. The reason behind is that you need to show not only your professional skills in your own field, but also some other art skills. Your portfolio is a collection of your work (related to the subject that you are applying for) that proves that you have ability and skills to take on the course. It can be in many areas, from fashion design to photography to mechanical design, anything that is art related. You need at least three different portfolios, two essays and the other one is the portfolio that shows your art skills. The two essays can be critic, formal commercial analyzing essay etc.
There is something that is very important when applying for art unis in the UK, significantly different from America, they take your procedures very seriously. So whatever portfolio you make (besides essays), do show your procedures as they want to see how your idea develops and where it came from. That would include mindmaps, inspirations, collages as well.
How do you develop a portfolio?
There is no “best” way to develop a portfolio, and the amount of work that you have that you can include into a portfolio will vary hugely depending on what subjects you take in high school. Some IB art & design courses will be more relevant to your university course than others.
If you are an applying student in China, there are many organizations that offer classes and mentors who will help you through the entire process of creating a portfolio, from having zero projects to having a complete portfolio ready to submit. These organizations often have a lot of experience as to what particular universities look for in a portfolio, and often have teachers who have previously studied in UK arts universities. Even though these courses may be intense and expose you to a lot of new skills that you are unfamiliar with, it offers you a very high chance to get into the universities you have applied to.
On the other hand, it is also an option to develop a portfolio independently. If you choose to do so, it is crucial to do plenty of research as to what a typical high school student’s portfolio looks, and it is also possible to find examples of accepted portfolios online so that you can put your own portfolio into perspective.
I personally suggest you to start a year ahead, if not, the latest is during the summer before year 13 starts. A portfolio making procedure is a continuous thing, as year 13 starts there would be a lot of distractions for example ee, ia dues and unlimited exams. None of these would be beneficial in this procedure and actually may bring down the quality of your project as you get distracted and have a hard time managing the time.
Choosing the exact major
When looking into the majors, you would realize there are some similar ones. For example i knew i wanted to study something business related, but when i was looking on the website i saw there are fashion management, fashion marketing, strategic fashion marketing, msc bsc etc. It was hard for me to differ the exact difference so I decided to look into the courses, on most of the school websites you can find the course layouts and when looking into that, it would be easier to find out which exact course you would prefer to take. Another good way is to think carefully of what you wanna pursue in the future, when you do find the answer, go to the official school website and look into the course, most of the time they would show you where the students end up after they graduate, what job positions they usually get etc.
Other random tips
Get used to showing your portfolio to people! Show it to your teachers, parents, friends, really anyone, so that you can practice talking through your projects and get used to other people having opinions about it.
Try to visit the universities that you are applying to and try to find the environment that inspires and motivates you the most. UK universities have open days and universities like UAL have tons and tons of short courses that run throughout the summer that are good opportunities for you to see how it feels to study there.