Y'know, everyone who sends in art school applications usually sends the type of portfolio they think the SCHOOL wants to see, and that's why they fail. You wanna capture their attention? Go crazy. Introspection to the max. Vomit all your feelings into art. Fears, traumas, hyperfixations, transform the secrets you'll never tell anyone - mix it in.
You might find it terrifying but they won't see it the same way you do, they won't figure anything out, they'll just see something that speaks to them on a subconscious level and notice that feeling. All the others draw pretty, all of them can do nice clean lines, but they're not you.
Change mediums, if you feel like it, use mud, use crayons, use glitter pens, make a stick pyramid ffs, they don't care about that, they want unique, they want provocative. Every school wants to come to a point where they can tell everyone about their suuuper famous graduate. Even if you don't wanna be that, you show them you could be, and they'll grab you like a jewelry box in a house fire.
And if it still doesn't work? So what?
You're already an artist. Art school is just a formality, a piece of paper at the finish line.
Fuck expectations. Grab any medium you want, connect to your inner caveman and THEY will go wild.