Portfolio Counseling Services

Senior Package

Beginning in the spring of Junior year through fall of Senior year, we provide:

• Examination of an applicant’s existing work, their college list and program-specific requirements

• Individualized recommendations on how to build portfolio content that would correspond to college choices, address weaknesses, and highlight applicant’s strengths, interests, and personality through close project guidance and productive critiques

• Strategic recommendations on how to showcase the work, construct a compelling and coherent image sequence, craft sophisticated and relevant text captions, and interview preparation

• Digital post-production of images and layout of portfolio, customisation for school requirements

Freshman | Sophomore | Junior Package

This program is designed for the applicant to work over a longer period through a more incremental process of artistic development and creation over an extended period of time. Beginning the process earlier allows for:

• A longer timeline to work on the same content and concept strategy as our Senior Package

• Additional work in experimentation and technical skills development possible for domains requiring it (animation, fashion, architecture, theater)

• Deeper and evolving understanding of a student’s interests and motivations through individualized teaching

• More in-depth, extensive advising and meaningful artistic growth that ensures an articulated, compelling portfolio

Masters Degree Package

We work with candidates applying to any Masters degree program that requires a portfolio–fine art, architecture, design, fashion, etc., developing the work to an appropriately sophisticated level in response to the interests and personality of the student. This package includes:

• Examination of applicant’s existing work, their program list and each school’s requirements

• Individualized recommendations on how to build portfolio content that will correspond to program choices, address candidate’s weaknesses, highlight applicant’s strengths, interests, and personality through project guidance and critiques

• Recommendations for strategies to showcase work, construct a compelling and coherent image sequence, craft sophisticated and relevant text captions, and prepare for school interviews

• Digital post-production of images and layout of portfolio, customization for school requirements

30 minute Portfolio Review

Our 30-minute Portfolio Review with one of our counselors conducted via video conference includes:

• A thorough review of the applicant’s existing portfolio (20 pages) in the style of what a student might receive at a Portfolio Review Day, but with a longer discussion and pointed feedback.

• Evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the portfolio, and concrete advice on how to improve it. This would include feedback on the descriptive texts and advice on how to better contextualize the work within an art historical context and contemporary culture.

• Advice on how to improve the sequencing and formatting of images.

Students who continue their work with us will be credited the amount .

IB Art Tutoring and Support

• IB|AP Art tutoring with experienced IB examiners and educators

Drama | Theatre

Applicants to dramatic arts programs are coached through the audition process with the following expert counseling:

• Assessment of applicant’s strengths, motivations, needs, and experience

• Guidance regarding school and program selection in USA, Europe, or UK

• Assistance selecting monologues as per the school requirements

• Creative instruction that addresses the specific individual needs of the applicant including critiques, idea generation and development, working to identify a student’s unique personality and prepare for monologue and interviews

• Coaching Guidance preparing and formatting video submissions

4-hour Concentrated Program Package for Juniors | Seniors

This package is for self-motivated, hard-working, independent or advanced students who have the maturity and work ethic to produce work independently, follow a schedule, and respect their own deadlines. This condensed package provides:

• Access to the same knowledge base as our larger packages that includes school|progam expertise, extensive resources of image databases, sample portfolios, artwork critiques |idea development, and layout|caption guidance, but meetings are limited to 4 hours of concentrated feedback and discussion.

• Review and feedback on existing work|portfolio, plan|project idea development, timeline-to-deadline creation

• Feedback on progress of work, layout, sequencing, project development

• Finalization of portfolio for submission with final review and edits, including text captions

Drawing support

We work with specialists who provide applicants with targeted instruction to improve technical skill in drawing. This support includes:

• Figure|life drawing for character animation candidates and other students seeking to improve their skills

• Architectural|spatial and perspective drawing for architecture candidates

Music Coaching

Applicants to musical arts programs are coached through the audition process with the following expert counseling:

• Assessment of applicant’s strengths, musical voice, technical prowess, and practice goals

• Guidance regarding school and program selection in USA, Europe, or UK

• Assistance selecting exciting and functional repertoire as per the school requirements and student music voice

• Creative instruction that addresses the specific individual needs of the applicant including musical interpretation, depth of sound, rhythmic precision, technical fluency, stylistic accuracy, creative approach and tailored practice guide

• Coaching Guidance preparing and formatting video submissions

We work internationally! We have found that distance sessions via Zoom or other video service provide an excellent platform for our work. Don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more.

Our fees

Please contact us to discuss your individual needs and package pricing.

We accept select students who are unable to pay our standard rates. We believe in a level playing field. Please contact us for more information.

PortfolioWorks cannot guarantee admission to any specific college or university.

PortfolioWorks does not function as an agent for or receive payment from any colleges or universities. We work on behalf of our clients only.