Incoming Status: Freshman
Area of Interest: Art+Design (Click here for descriptions of available majors)
Entry Semester Available: Fall 2010
Priority Application Deadline: *December 1, 2009
Final Application Deadline: February 1, 2010
Final Deadline to Submit Portfolio: Extended to March 1, 2010

*Applicants submitting completed applications by December 1 will receive decisions in February.

• Admission Requirements
• Application Process
• Portfolio Submission Guidelines
• Portfolio Review Day Schedule: 2009-2010
• International Students Application Instructions
• Fees and Expenses
• Financial Aid

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Admission to the School of Art+Design is highly competitive and is based on a review of students’ artistic portfolios by Art+Design Faculty and a review of the students overall application by Admissions. Only exceptionally talented artists who can demonstrate a high level of artistic talent, creativity and skill will be offered admission. In addition, students will be evaluated on the basis of Purchase College’s general undergraduate admission criteria. Purchase College expects applicants to be highly motivated, hard-working and academically strong students with a consistent record of achievement in a challenging high school curriculum. Generally, successful applicants have earned a high school GPA of at least 3.0 and a combined Verbal and Math SAT score of at least 1100 or better. Students who do not meet these exact requirements, but demonstrate exceptionally strong artistic talent may still be considered for admission. More on general admissions criteria can be found here.
 
NOTE: Students who have not reached their academic potential because of limited financial resources and inadequate academic preparation should review the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at Purchase College.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please follow all application instructions and observe all deadlines carefully. In cases where students fail to follow the requirements and instructions and/or to observe deadlines listed here, we cannot guarantee the application can be reviewed and the application may be withdrawn from consideration.  For faster processing of mailed materials, please do not staple items together. 

Step 1: Submit completed application:
You may apply using either the Common Application at www.commonapp.org or the SUNY Application at www.suny.edu/Student/apply. PLEASE USE ONLY ONE APPLICATION TYPE. The application fee is $40 for the Common Application or the SUNY application.

SUNY Supplemental Application and Essay:  Students using the SUNY application must complete the SUNY Supplemental Application and submit the essay answer for one of the essay topics (your choice) in the SUNY Supplemental Application.

The Common Application Writing Section:  Freshman Art+Design applicants using The Common Application must complete the 'Writing' requirements Short Answer and Personal Essay sections in The Common Application, instead of the SUNY Supplemental Application and Essay.

Note:  International students please see the International Students Application Instructions.

Step 2: Submit official high school transcripts or GED scores, SAT or ACT scores, and two letters of recommendation
Request your official High School transcripts or GED scores, SAT or ACT scores, and two letters of recommendation, one from an art teacher and one from an academic teacher (for non-traditional age applicants, letters from employers are satisfactory) be sent directly to:

Office of Admissions
Purchase College, SUNY
735 Anderson Hill Road
Purchase, NY 10577-1400

Score Choice
Purchase College does not participate in the Score Choice option available through the College Board or the similar program through Educational Testing Service (ETS).  We encourage you to submit scores from all test sittings of the SAT, ACT or SAT Subject Tests. Purchase College evaluates thousands of competitive applicants each year for admission; access to your full testing profile enables the admissions counselors to fully and fairly assess each applicant.
 
Purchase College maintains a holistic review process with a focus on the quality of your academic program, your cumulative academic average, your test scores and your required supplemental materials. Standardized testing is a measurement of aptitude and will continue to be part of our admissions process. We recommend testing for the SAT or ACT in the spring of junior year and fall of the senior year.

Step 3: Submit your required portfolio
Applicants must submit the portfolio online at: http://purchase.slideroom.com.* Applicants should upload images (jpg) and documents (pdf), and may upload video (mov). For good image quality and fast upload time, your image files should be sized around 1024 x 1024 pixels @ 72 dpi. You must keep all files under 5MB.

PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

ALL APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT THE PORTFOLIO ONLINE AT HTTP://PURCHASE.SLIDEROOM.COM BY MARCH 1, 2010. 
There is a $10 fee per portfolio submission payable at slideroom.com. Please submit only one portfolio to the School of Art+Design major program of your choice. Available major programs are:

• Drawing & Painting
• Graphic Design
• Photography
• Printmaking
• Sculpture
• Undecided Visual Arts

Accepted students will choose a major program only after they have completed the first academic year at the School.

*NOTE: If you experience difficulty uploading your portfolio, you must contact Slideroom technical support at support@slideroom.com for assistance. Please allow one day for a response. You can also consult the Slideroom Helpdesk and FAQ at https://slideroom.zendesk.com/home.

Portfolio Content Requirements:

• Twelve (12) to (20) examples of work
• Two (2) examples must be observational drawings (still life, figure, etc)
• One (1) example must be a self-portrait in any medium

Your portfolio must consist of no less than twelve (12) or no more than twenty (20) examples of your work. Slideroom.com allows you to include a description of each example uploaded. Please include the following information in your description of each example: title, size, date, and a short description of the piece.

Your portfolio must contain at least one self-portrait in any medium. Additionally, at least two examples of work must be drawings done from direct observation, rather than drawings done from photographs or reproductions. The subject matter of these drawings may be your choice of still life, landscape, interior, human figure, portrait or self-portrait. The balance of the portfolio will be evaluated as a demonstration of both the breadth and depth of your visual interests. OBSERVATIONAL DRAWINGS ARE REQUIRED OF ALL APPLICANTS, REGARDLESS OF MAJOR CHOICE.

Additional Portfolio Information

• Detail shots: You may shoot details of particular works if appropriate. Be sure to indicate if an example is a detail shot.
• Multiple views: You may wish to include more than one image of a sculpture, since a single view may not describe it adequately.
• Photography: Applicants wishing to apply to the photography program should convey their competence in photography by submitting photographs of their already printed images (i.e., a picture of your picture). This is true for both film and digital photography.

Admissions Decisions - Admissions decisions are released on a rolling basis beginning in February for students who have met the December 1 Priority Application Deadline. Students meeting the Regular Application Deadline of February 1 will receive decisions on a rolling basis from February through early April, 2010.  If you are offered admission, you will be asked to submit an enrollment deposit by May 1, 2010.

PORTFOLIO REVIEW DAY SCHEDULE: 2009-2010

Although it is not a mandatory part of the application process, in-person portfolio reviews are highly recommended as it allows prospective students to receive direct feedback about their portfolio from a faculty member. No final admissions decisions are made at in-person portfolio review days. Decisions are only made once the student has submitted a completed application and uploaded a portfolio at http://purchase.slideroom.com.

School of Art+Design, Purchase College: Portfolio Review Days Fall 2009:

• Purchase, NY: National Portfolio Day - Sunday, November 15, 2009
• Purchase, NY: Open to Purchase Applicants Only – More details

OFF CAMPUS

Off campus reviews constitute National Portfolio Day events as well as some regional events in the area. For more information on National Portfolio Day events, please visit the National Portfolio Day website at www.portfolioday.net.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS