jwu

I just want to THANK each one of you for supporting each other and keeping me sane. I do talk(mostly freaking out talk and complain) to a few close friends, but nobody knows what I am going through better than you guys. No matter where I end up this fall, WashU/WUSTL has the best best admissions staff, super kind and responsible. I mean, who would call you and ask what time zone are you in first? She was afraid that if I am in NY, it could be 6 in the morning when she called. Details, they got me. Compared to one school sent me a thick package.... and turned out to be a course catalog, or email me with "...admission...." as the subject turned out to be about "all applicants, please chill down and don't bother to call or email us again, the results will be out soon", or didn't notice I went to college in the states and was waiting for me to submit my English language test score, or lost my official transcript and I had to fedex overnight a copy, or sent me a rejection email on April 15th...

got a phone call from WashU/WUSTL this morning, they offered me a spot! waiting for the $$ info in the mail

I am only waiting for WashU/WUSTL, painting

i hear ya. I still haven't got my official rej letter from VCU yet! I know it is a rej for sure, just funny they still keep you waiting at this point

for all of you deciding between two choices whether two schools or going to grad school this fall vs. try again next round just flip a coin if you have a tiny attempt to flip the coin again you already got your answer

hanging there, i've heard nothing as well... you are not alone!

i guess the answer is already in your personal statement, WHY do you want to pursue an MFA? if your goal is to be a full time artist, than an MFA is not necessary. since pretty much all the galleries/curators care about "the work," not your degrees. plus there are many more opportunities than an academia environment. if you want to teach, and the degree would qualify you to do so. then the question becomes what are the chances that you will get a teaching job after getting an MFA from CCA? will you TA during grad school? how much teaching experience you would get? the networking(yeah, i know most of us are not super good at socializing...)? check out their alums, what they do after grad school? I know these are just other people's history, it will all come to YOU in the end.

hi Britt, Similar here. They gave me pretty generous aid, TA+stipend, but consider the fact that I don't have a job, don't have much $$ saved, there is still a chunk of $$ I need to come up with. I don't know how much you would need to borrow, and what is monthly payment looks like after you graduate, so some vague ideas: could you maybe defer the offer and work for a year? so you will have a little less amount to borrow? did you look up more federal loans with less interests and more options of repayment plans? what is the alumni networking looks like from that school? what are the chances that you can get a higher paid job after MFA compared to now? how connected (physical location and socially) is the school with the art world? do current MFA students show in major cities? during the two years, can you maybe apply for more individual grants or sell some art work or get random jobs to cover some expenses? do you want to get and MFA bad enough? I assume you do, than never say "forget about it"! DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU FIND A WAY! always follow your dreams.

while we are waiting/deciding... what's everyone's opinion on "MFA is the new MBA"??? since we all gonna face the real world in 2/3 years (if you have not already done it): get some income to pay for rent, food, loans, while keep making art, chase whatever dream you have

edit: nope, the friend of mine got an email says the result will be out soon and please don't call/email us....

ah, you are right, forgot about that...

thanks, that explains a lot. totally makes sense from the programs point of view, they want to accept the most fit candidates. by mid-May, don't people have already taken offer from other programs? or people who get in off the waiting list in May or even later are 1, people who don't get anywhere else, 2, people who accepted the offer from another school but decide to waste the deposit money and accept the second offer off the waiting list??

Student Loan Calculator found this, you can get a general idea how much to borrow, how much you will need to pay after school http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml hope it helps for the folks out there thinking about loans.... in additional to undergrad loans.... myself included...

just so you know, technically, you are not committed going to any program until the first tuition bill is paid, around Aug 1st. the risk of accepting one offer and then turn it down after you get another one fits you better are: lost your deposit money, not-so-good relationship between you and the school if you still thinking about applying next round, maybe there are more but these are the two major ones on top of my mind now email the admissions, email the individual department again, be honest and ask them what to do I have some similar situation, and I got another month extension until I have to give them final final word

ok, question, do waitlisted applicants get an official answer before or after April 15th?? or it depends on each program??

i personally don't think it matters a professor would have TONS of LOR request during Dec/Jan, i don't think s/he would spend 5 more seconds to figure out if you waive the right or not. normally they know who you are, what you did bla bla and then just write it, right??

good call, i forgot about undergrad loans.... so if i have to pay about $300/mo after grad school for undergrad/grad loans, there is still hope....

i would say 30k is kind of affordable, because the monthly payment should be around $250(of course different loans are different) if you go up to 40k, you are likely to pay more than $300 per month. I saw that you got accepted to WashU, may I ask how well is their MFA program funded? I am curious since I am waitlisted there...

i just want to clarify, are you counting rent+food stuff, or tuition, fees, books, school supplies stuff? because no matter I go to grad school or not, I still have to pay rent (well, most of us do), buy food, and keep the car running it is a tough question, because I don't really see myself making big $$ after graduating with an MFA in 2 years

thanks, I just emailed the admissions.

so, April 15th is approaching, and $$ is my only concern at this point, if I decide to go to grad school this fall, I will be in debt for about 60k (for part of the tuition, rent, food, books, art supplies, transportation, travel, and everything else). I really don't want to take more loans for grad school, cuz 1, still have 19 more years to pay off my undergrad loan; 2, I know I won't be making big $$ after grad school and the interests will put me in debt for the rest of my life. I did applied for some outside funding, my initial thought was, if I get the funding, I will go; if not, I will apply for more programs next fall, and hoping to get more $$$ aid, and maybe take 10k loan or something. The problem is, I won't find out about the funding result until May, and the school needs an answer by April 15th: Yes, No or defer to Fall 2014 If I say yes, send in my deposit in April, and it turns out in May that I didn't get the outside funding and won't be able to go, what will happen? I don't think I will decline the offer at this point since there is still a little hope.. anyone can offer some insights??? what should I do now? ask the admissions? thank you!

a friend of mine got a no earlier this week, that's all i know.

about MICA hoffberger notifications, do they email or mail final decision? I was not interviewed, so I assume rejection, but got no email on Friday (march 15th)

I called the admissions and the VCU painting+printmaking department separately. the department also told me that they finished review portfolios a while ago, so ppl who didn't get interviewed is most likely a no. the admissions haven't got all the decisions from each department yet, that would explain why the website is still "complete, ready for review" for some people, and why the admissions told me the department is sill reviewing....

When I got the phone call, I just asked right away. Maybe you already know this: some schools have ranked their applicants, so they have #1 on the wailing list, #2... if one accepted student turns down the offer, they accept #1 on the waiting list.. and some schools see waitlisted applicants as the same, depends on who accept/decline the offer, they would then choose the best fit from the wainting list people. I think it wouldn't hurt to email/call to find out your position?