2023

Having Carrie on our team made ALL of the difference! She was dedicated to helping my daughter, Fiona, produce the best portfolio. Carrie reviewed her existing artwork, gave constructive critique and helped Fiona create a list of artwork she needed to produce to have a well-rounded portfolio. She also tailored the portfolio submission to the areas where Fiona was most interested and then Carrie made it happen (for example, when Fiona expressed an interest in art with people as the subject, Carrie arranged for live models in the studio as well as people-based objects in her still-life work as well).Carrie also gave guidance along the way to help us decide our short list of schools and to assist in the applications. When we attended National Portfolio Day, Fiona's portfolio received high marks and was also accepted on-the-spot by one of her schools. All of the schools noted how organized, diverse, and expertly photographed her artwork was - all because of guidance from Carrie. Carrie's assistance and knowledge paid off. Not only did Fiona get accepted at her first choice school (SCAD), she was accepted everywhere she applied (Ringling, Moore, & VCU). She was also offered portfolio-based scholarships.

Early in her senior year, my daughter decided to change her college plans and “go to art school.” My wife and I were not surprised, but we were completely unprepared. We’d done no research into art schools. We didn’t know which were good, let alone which were hidden gems. And of course, we had no idea what the application process looked like. All we did know was that we had about six weeks before early action deadlines cropped up. We found The Gesso after a few searches and attended one of Carrie Patterson’s webinars. We were impressed with her knowledge and expertise and hired her as our Visual Art Coach. Carrie didn’t panic about the deadlines. She calmly evaluated our daughter’s work, got to know her, and worked with us on identifying schools that fit her needs. She worked closely with our daughter and helped her put together different versions of her portfolio. She was always available and followed an amazingly detailed plan just for our daughter. Her goal wasn’t just to get her into art school but to get her into the right school that matched her as a complete student. By the time EA dates came around, our daughter was prepared with great portfolios no matter what the school required. With Carrie’s help, she went from “I think I want to go to art school” in September to deciding between two great schools with substantial scholarships in April. I doubt we would have found either school without Carrie’s help. If you need any coaching or advice about getting into art school, especially if you want to get into a school that fits you well, Carrie is the way to go.

You cannot go wrong with Carrie.

Carrie calmed our anxiety about this entire process every single time we communicated with her.

Carrie played a key role in supporting my daughter through the journey of college applications. We started working with Carrie when she was a junior in high school. She guided my daughter by providing honest and supportive feedback about the art she was creating for her college portfolios. (Carrie) was responsive and available whenever we had questions even if it wasn't during the scheduled meeting times. The college application world is a daunting one and even more so when the parent isn't an artist. Carrie was able to help us navigate art colleges that would be fit for my daughter. I'm very grateful for her guidance, support and honest feedback. I would highly recommend Carrie Patterson as a college art counselor.

You cannot go wrong with Carrie. We had a late start because my daughter was previously thinking of premed, but at the end of the summer just before her Senior year, she changed course to apply for illustration programs at art schools. I had zero knowledge of art schools and its application process, and my daughter's school is a college prep school with not much emphasis on the arts. We desperately needed an art school coach and luckily found Carrie. At that point all my daughter had was a very rough draft of a college essay but no portfolio. To her credit, she has been passionate about drawing since very little and had a number of pieces, but none were made with a portfolio in mind, and on top of that, she has had no formal art classes outside of school.

Carrie started working with my daughter mid August. She is super friendly, patient, passionate, organized, and very knowledgeable. She started with some guided art exercises to build a portfolio which really helped inspire my daughter. Carrie had great advice on what can and cannot be used for reference art, which I think was crucial for my daughter's portfolio. Carrie broke the process down into small, achievable steps that made it much more manageable, and through the entire process she was a wonderful cheerleader. Carrie also has great knowledge of art schools around the country. It wasn't just about the programs but also the faculty and culture of the school, and she had good tips on how to search for programs that could be a good fit. Stuart helped my daughter with her essays, and he was also very friendly and had good constructive advice. By mid November, my daughter had portfolio and essays in time for her first Early Action deadlines, and was able to apply EA to 8 schools (CCA, SAIC, Mass Art, MICA, Pratt, SVA, PNCA, Cornish). She has been accepted to all with scholarships. We really could not have done it without Carrie.

(Carrie’s) goal wasn’t just to get (our Daughter) into art school but to get her into the right school that matched her as a complete student.

With Carrie’s help, (our daughter) went from “I think I want to go to art school” … to deciding between two great schools with substantial scholarships…

Carrie Patterson is a wonderful coach for artistic students looking for college guidance. She draws on her own artistic experiences as well as her educator experience to guide and further develop budding artists. Carrie is patient, inspiring, and helps students stretch and improve their skills as well as how they think about art. We are grateful for Carrie’s help!

When it was time for my daughter to start building her college list, we were completely overwhelmed. … It was undeniable that she needed a college that would continue to foster her gifts. Finding Carrie was what saved us in this process. She explained to us (ever-so-patiently and more than once) the difference between a state school, private school, and art school. She then gave recommendations for different schools that she thought would be a good fit. We finally felt like we had a starting point and not just throwing darts on a map! Then, what helped us the most was her expertise and guidance on how to build the portfolio. She went piece-by-piece with my daughter, gave helpful feedback about each piece and how it was photographed; gave guidance on how to write the explanation for each piece; explained how each school has different requirements so to double check each one; made a spreadsheet with all the schools, their due deadlines, etc.; had a college English professor look over her essay and give very helpful feedback (because honestly we had no clue what the essay should be like); and mainly, most importantly, Carrie calmed our anxiety about this entire process every single time we communicated with her. The college application process is a lot and she broke things down into doable steps, got back to us quickly, kept us on track and on the right path. I cannot recommend Carrie highly enough as applying to art programs is a different animal and it is one that Carrie knows well and can help you navigate. We are forever thankful and grateful for her help!

Not only did (our daughter) get accepted at her first choice school (SCAD), she was accepted everywhere she applied… (and) was also offered portfolio-based scholarships.

Our daughter has been working with Carrie on her art for the better part of 8 years now and the last few working on her college portfolio. Carrie has been instrumental in providing direction and guidance to Emma throughout this process and it is because of this that she was accepted to all 9 colleges she applied to. That list includes SCAD, Ringling, Art Academy of Cincinnati, Montserrat and Maine College of Art and Design as well as some traditional Universities like Belmont and Elizabethtown. We cannot thank Carrie enough because if it were not for her guidance and mentorship, we do not believe Emma would have been such a huge success. Now comes the really bad part and that is narrowing down the field and picking a school, which we have been assured that Carrie will guide that process as well. I wish we could give her 6 stars out of 5 because her extra efforts warrant the extra star.

Carrie has been super helpful and a wonderful resource for our family. She is knowledgeable, and her thoughtful insights were very valuable for my daughter throughout the application process. Thank you, Carrie!

I am grateful for Carrie’s passion for what she does

I appreciate the time Carrie spent with my daughter in preparation for college. She assisted her in developing her art portfolio and generally walked her through the process, (dedicating more time than she probably should have), to ensure that my daughter was well prepared! So far, my daughter was accepted into three of the schools she applied for - I am grateful for Carrie’s passion for what she does - thank you, Carrie and God Bless you for your heart to serve in this capacity.

We are extremely happy that Carrie Patterson helped our daughter with her application process for College, we just cannot imagine how it would have been without her input, starting from selection of schools all the way to the last details of the final portfolio and essays reviews, not only that but also great attitude, easy going, always in a good mood and very easy to reach. The final results were also great, our daughter got accepted into some of her dream schools with her help.

If you want your kid in a top art university, …then Carrie…is the ally you want on your side.