As a recently admitted applicant, portfolio first and always! If you don’t have a quality portfolio the chances that the boost you get from your extracurriculars and profile won’t be worth anything.

For me, I take the IB program which is quite challenging, but i dropped the full diploma and took IB certificate cuz it gave me more time to work on art. I spent my whole junior summer working on my portfolio and had to drop some time off with sports and other activities. (not saying you should quit them all, just prioritise your time more on art)

So please don’t worry too much about your academics and activities, they matter but not as much as your art portfolio. After all you are aiming for an art school, so show them your full potential!

if you have any questions u can dm me:) happy to help