kogepan137

I would say most MFA's do not come straight out of undergrad. It's not necessary to take time off, but for some people the time is valuable to determine if you possess the motivation, right intention, and necessary skills to be in grad school and beyond. An MFA is costly and the time spent in school is short. Therefore you may want to make the most of your experience by preparing yourself. You may want to experience the process of exhibiting your work more, planning heftier projects compared to your undergrad work, or evolving your process as an artist. Personally I find it challenging balancing life and art outside of school, so some people also want to deal with that before diving into grad school because school does not last forever. I'm sure MFA programs want to produce artists who can continually fan their own flames.

Did anyone else hear from UCI already? I feel like it's early, maybe not?

Bard's program is interesting but I decided it wasn't a good choice for me. I feel like it'd be hard to work closely with faculty since school only commences in the summertime. I would suggest this program to people who enjoy a lot of independence. I assume the coursework is more intense than other programs. The location is definitely attractive and you can spend your time in a whole other location when you're not in school. There's pros and cons, but I would suggest talking to someone in their program to get more details if you're really interested.

Do you know exactly where it says the dimension requirements? Is it on the app itself or some other webpage/checklist thing?

I didn't know UCLA has a size requirement for the portfolio...This is my third year applying to UCLA haha. Well I definitely recommend viewing your portfolio on another computer. Just to check the quality and colors of your images. That is kind of a smaller size though, so I don't get it either..

Has anyone visited Pratt? Is it a good school? I know it's really expensive..

Is anyone else having a tricky time balancing multiple applications? Are you using one statement for all your applications or are you tailoring each one? I'm trying to tailor mine, but it definitely takes time. It also really sucks that different programs have different word limits and portfolio image limits..

Does anyone know if Carnegie Mellon is a good choice for drawing/painting/sculpture practice? I know it's a good school, but I don't hear too much about their art program. For some reason I'm drawn to it though.

I do question my portfolio sometimes, it's a mix of drawings, paintings, sculptures, and installation. I don't consider myself mixed media. I'm confident that I project a cohesive body of work even though my pieces vary in physicality, but it's confusing sometimes to cater to a certain discipline when I'm applying for schools. I feel like even when I'm choosing a discipline to apply to, such as drawing/painting, I still have to talk about my sculptures and I don't know if they want to hear about my other processes besides drawing and painting. I also don't think limiting my portfolio to one medium is the right decision either.

Anyone know of programs that are multidisciplinary? It'd be lovely if you shared with me. I'm having a hard time choosing schools for multiple reasons, but I'm hoping for a program that'll allow me to focus on drawing, painting, and sculpture. Although I've heard some schools will let you do anything once you get in...