I'll speak for IMGD only. There's a work sample submission. This could be anything, but it better be your best. A classmate got in with a MLG Halo 3 Montage when I entered the program, if that speaks to what they'll accept. Making great game art or any kind of game would probably nail it. What's probably more important are…
If you mean good foundation in ART, I get that. But I have to think, and I can't verify this after the fact, there's a big difference between a community college that has a vague game design course that actually teaches low-level Maya modeling (extreme example here) vs. An expensive uni where one of your professors was the…