Being admitted into a college you never expected is nothing short of an amazing surprise. For senior Tristan Hsu, his passion for art made him want to attend Rhode Island School of Design, one of the most selective art schools in the country, but his chances of getting in were slim. However, thanks to his prolific art portfolio, Hsu now finds himself a future student at this prestigious university.

Influenced by the many artists and designers of his family, Hsu wanted to be an artist for a long as he could remember. To pursue his passion, he applied to many different art schools at the beginning of his senior year.

“It’s something that I’ve always been really passionate about. It’s the only thing I could see myself doing in the future,” Hsu said.

He is not sure what his art style is yet, so he is still experimenting and exploring. In his application to RISD, he submitted a diverse collection of his artwork to the university.  Figure drawings, sketches, paintings, a paper sculpture, and a book that he crafted by himself were added in his application.

His portfolio took a lot of dedication and effort. Hsu learned how to make the handcrafted pop-up book in a graphic design class he took over the summer at the School of the Art Institute Chicago. The pop-up book which had taken him three days to make was filled with pictures he took as he went around Chicago.

During the time he waited for the results of his application to come out, Hsu was not very positive about the outcome from RISD. The admission rates at the university were extremely low, and Hsu figured that he would probably get a rejection. As a result, his top choice of college was The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The acceptance he received from RISD on March 27 had him in a state of disbelief and overwhelming joy.

Hsu plans on majoring in illustration in college but also hopes to have the opportunity to explore different types of art and design majors.

“I know a lot of the possible routes I could take after graduating but I don’t want to be set on any one,” Hsu said, “I just know that I want to be a working artist and designer, possibly for a company, but definitely freelance.”