calling all artists! advice on college art course

This should probably go into misc, but I'm targeting artists on this question.

I have an interview for a college-level visual arts course tomorrow. I applied last year and was turned back (on appeal the main two reasons were that starting late could exacerbate a mild mental illness and there would be a higher chance of failing due to missing out on "group bonding" - took someone with me that reckoned they just basically "didn't want" me in the course). It was suggested that I build on my portfolio and that my photography is my strongest work. So I give you: http://imgur.com/a/hlQHv

And the course info: https://cis.tastafe.tas.edu.au/Course.aspx?ItmId=3583

 

Without much to go on, let me remind you that many, most - perhaps even all -artists suffer with some mental illness, or another. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Vincent van Gogh, Jackson Pollock ... and a slew of Legendary Giants, all down the line, have had their maladies of the mind that some might even call "excentricities."

But the one thing they all had in common was the brilliance of their work. As artists, we mustn't compare ourselves to other people, for it is we who are the avant-garde of every aesthetic. Its passion demands expression - not censorship. Its creativity thrives in freedom - not captivity. The Creative Path should never be questioned, but rather, simply followed.

Now, if money is no object, regarding these courses. Maybe your family is paying, or you have government money to burn, then absolutely, pursue your passion at this school! Burn your subject matter with your glance ... and make ... ART!!!

 

That's very impassioned, but I would through out there that in general, the great artists didn't just appear with their styles fully formed from the pursuit of their unique vision. Rather, they learned the rules so that would know how to break those rules. Picasso didn't become a famous painter of abstracts without first learning how to paint classically. So, I would say that formal training is a very valuable thing. If you can swing it, go for it.

--Alex