• Different types of arts education (college, university, art schools, conservatory, community college, trade/vocational, etc)

    • Arts degrees and what each entails (B.A., B.F.A., B.M., B.Arch., etc.)

    • Selecting the right fit program (what questions you can ask specific to arts programs)

    • Best practices for performing arts auditions (music, dance, acting, musical theater, etc)

    • Best practices for visual arts/multimedia portfolios (fine arts areas, design areas, architecture, film, etc)

    • Writing the Artist Statement

    • Considerations of submitting an optional arts supplement and how that plays out in an overall admission decision (ex. Common App/SlideRoom)

    • Post-graduate pathways (economic information on how ROI data is incorrect/misleading when it comes to creative workers, how soft skills developed in the arts make you a great hire in non-arts professions, overview of the creative economy and how the arts, business, and technology overlap and drive innovation, etc.)

    • Inequities in arts access and education and how to navigate them in the college admission process

    • Topics in Transferring: how California community colleges approach and distribute arts coursework, and how that affects the transfer process to UCs, CSUs, and other 4-year institutions in terms of cultural and curricular preparation and pathways

  • Sure can! Presentations about admission to UCLA Arts are a different animal. This is all non-denominational information that is generally useful whether you are applying to UCLA or not.

  • Absolutely! Either directly (in a presentation to this age group) or indirectly (via adults who are learning this information in order to support this age group).

  • If you are targeting sophomores and juniors in high school, anytime is good but January/February thereabouts has a planning advantage, since a lot of summer activities tend to have registration around that time.

    For seniors in high school, I would recommend no later than early September, in consideration of how complex and overwhelming this season of life can be.

    If college counselors and/or faculty would like this presentation, Laura can do this any old time that works for you.

  • SHORT VERSION: Laura Young (she/they) is the Director of Enrollment Management at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. They have presented extensively on visual and performing arts college admissions at local, regional, and national levels for students, families, counselors, school districts, and non-profit organizations, and was recognized by the National Association for College Admission Counseling with the Rising Star Award for their efforts. Young received their BA in Studio Art at UCLA, and their Master of Education from USC (California).

    LONG VERSION: Laura Young (she/they) comes from a creative family, surrounded by musicians, designers, engineers, and artists. Growing up in Los Angeles in Southern California she took advantage of the rich artistic culture of her natal city, participating in selective classes and competitions in visual arts, music, and theater. Her arts practice and experience has heavily informed her educational and professional trajectories which now spans over twenty years, and today she is a leading authority on the experience of visual and performing arts students in the college admission process and post-graduate pathways. She is a longtime member of both the National and Western Associations for College Admission Counseling, and has won regional and national awards for her advocacy of creative students.

    Young is currently the Director of Enrollment Management for the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. They received their BA in Studio Art at UCLA, and their Master of Education from the University of Southern California.

  • Laura has been presenting this content c/o 2004, with her mentors Kavin Buck and Ed Schoenberg.

    She has presented, either solo or with other subject matter expert colleagues, in connection with the following:

    • National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

    • Western ACAC (their local affiliate)

    • other ACAC affiliates

    • Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA)

    • Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA)

    • UCLA Extension College Counseling Certificate program

    • Los Angeles Unified School District

    • Bay Area Independent Schools Consortium

    • Various California Community College transfer centers

    • UCLA Vice-Provost’s Initiative for Pre-College Scholars (VIPS)

    • UCLA Center for Community College Partnerships (CCCP)

  • This is a community service that the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture provides free of charge.

  • The absolute dead shortest presentation Laura can do is a half hour/30 minutes of straight talking.

    A little more standard is 40-45 minutes of talk, and then 15 mins of Q&A.

    Laura can touch upon pretty much most everything if you give her a solid hour/60 minutes.

    If you want everything and the kitchen sink, Laura has enough presentation material where she will talk non-stop for upwards of two hours.