Post a new thread "Parsons and RISD for Undergrad?" or something. That'll attract people who went there to your question.

do you have an online compilation of your artwork?

i don’t know much about RISD but as far as Parsons goes the most important part of the application process is the portfolio, one of my good friends is a fine art major their and she was a mediocre student but an amazing artist, It was her top pick as well she actually got a half scholarship im not sure if she even did well on her SAT’s the moral of the story is keep pushing your portfolio and drawing skills….
p.s don’t forget about the Cooper Union they have a great Fine Art’s dept.

I got into RISD with no portfolio, a mediocre SAT score and some bad grades. I didn't get any scholarship money so I deferred a year and submitted a portfolio and bingo, got some money. The secret? Apply as an Architecture major. There aren't really any high school courses to prepare a portfolio for architecture; drafting classes are too technical for RISD or Parsons and Art classes, while being excellent preparation for an architectural education, aren't entirely applicable either. I think the moral of my story is: get an alum to write a really great letter of recommendation for you; I think that may be why they let me in. Seriously though, there didn't seem to be any magic formula for getting into RISD, some of my classmates were the most brilliant people I'd ever met, but were utterly hopeless as artists, others were dumb as posts but could draw like Michelangelo. Some were dumb and sucked artistically; the ones who really ticked me off though were the truly brilliant people who also were great artists.

I'm assuming you want to study architecture since you're posting on Archinect. But if you want to do fine art RISD and Parsons are fantastic, I'm continually amazed by my RISD friends who are actually making a living painting, sculpting, blowing glass and other stuff that you'd think would never make money.

Definitely check out Cooper Union, it's FREE if you actually get in. You might actually try and get the home test this year just to start practicing. Cooper is the place that all the kids at RISD really wanted to go to but didn't get into.

lottie -

eagerness and desire count a lot, especially if all else is equal (grades, etc.). i have no idea how i got into my undergraduate or graduate programs - insecurities about my own work were quite high and my naievete probably matched. but, i was that one kid everyone loved to hate because i just couldn't get enough. if any professor was stupid enough to get me into a conversation about theory, culture, etc., they'd practically have to kick me out or just leave. that kind of attitude will surprisingly get you farther than you think (read the article on ben nicholson in the features. what a great story.).

so, do all the things your mama should have told you by now: try your hardest, keep the enthusiasm high, show your best stuff and you should be just fine wherever you want to go. (oh, and do look at cooper. great school and even though the living expenses in ny will offset the free tuition, it's still a worthwhile choice.). good luck...

I got accepted into Pratt as a transfer student with some 2.7GPA, ACT score below avg., but I guess they liked my portfolio, which they lost, so I had to send again and it was really late, like 3 months past due the deadline...

thanks for your feedback.