A personalized approach to building college-ready art portfolios. Every student is different, and so is every portfolio.
Whether your teen is just getting started or refining a nearly finished body of work, the coaching is tailored to their strengths, goals, timeline and creative voice.
We begin by discussing your art and design experience and reviewing your work, then your goals, strengths, challenges and hopes for your creative and college life. Dr. Nell Daniel draws on an extensive library of portfolios that have won admission and scholarships at top colleges for over 30 years to show you what growth could look like.
Together we define what success means for you, then outline a personalized coaching plan with clear milestones for building a strong, complete portfolio.
Coaching can take place:
In your home, for families in the NYC area
Remotely, over Zoom
At our Tribeca studio
The package below is the usual shape of an engagement. It expands easily around a student's needs and interests.
We get to work. Meetings are scheduled at the time and place that suit you. We usually begin with drawing, because colleges treat it as a non-negotiable requirement. If you hate drawing, and many students do, Dr. Daniel is an expert at building an entirely different approach, with shortcuts for producing stunning, expressive, real-looking work.
Dr. Daniel sends a summary of the previous session, along with slideshows of techniques, concepts and inspiring work to energize the next one.
We build on the breakthroughs from earlier sessions, producing work in a range of media while exploring concepts that mean something to you. Each portfolio piece should marry technique and concept. The finished portfolio needs breadth, depth, curious risk-taking and sophistication. We reflect as we go and respond to whatever emerges.
We look at every image and ask where the gaps are and which areas invite more concentration. We also review your other application materials, essay, resume and supplements, so the portfolio supports and expands that story.
Curate and polish the work, and remake certain pieces where that is the right call.
Photograph the work, edit the images, and submit each specially curated portfolio to its college.
In person, remote, or in your home
Booked individually or as a ten-session package
Students have earned admission and scholarships at top-tier programs including RISD, Cooper Union, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and at leading universities such as MIT, Stanford, Yale, and Brown.
Coaching blends mentorship with deep admissions experience, so students do not just submit a portfolio, they stand out.
It varies. Some students work with us for three to nine months to complete and refine a portfolio. Others begin earlier, in sophomore or junior year, and build the work over time. Most families start with a ten-session package and adjust it to their needs and deadlines.
That is completely fine, and very common. We build the coaching plan around your teen's academic schedule, creative bandwidth and application deadlines, whether you are months ahead or racing the clock.
Yes. Many students use a hybrid model: Zoom sessions for convenience, paired with in-person sessions at our Tribeca studio, or in-home sessions for families based in New York.
Yes. We support artist statements, personal statements and interview preparation, especially for programs that ask for written components or portfolio reviews. This is usually built into the later stages of coaching.
A wide range, from highly experienced artists to beginners with real passion but little formal training. Some families are in the New York area, others are across the United States, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Whether your teen is aiming at a program like RISD or exploring smaller art schools, we shape the process around their own journey.
Book a free consultation to talk through your teen's goals and creative direction.
