jaybird

I took a year off and then got in to Hunter and a couple other programs that I applied to without any real exhibition experience outside of school related shows in undergrad. At the end of the day it's your work that matters. I was never asked any questions about my exhibition history, and most applications don't require resumes but allow you to include them as supplementary material (which they probably don't even have time or interest to look at). First and foremost they are going to look at your portfolio and statement, and the most competitive programs will require interviews. Often times an artist's ability to exhibit is not a relevant reflection of their intelligence or capabilities. They want students who devote their time to making and critically assessing their work in an effort to grow as artists and thinkers. The graduate admissions committee understands that exhibiting isn't a major focus for undergrads while they are in school, and really shouldn't be. That being said, if an applicant has been out of undergrad for several years and hasn't made any recognizable effort to show their work and engage in critical artistic dialogue outside of their studio, it's probably not going to reflect well upon them because it may appear as if they haven't taken their career seriously, and graduate school is specifically for those who have made the decision to devote their lives to a career in the fine arts. If you're right out of undergrad and have no exhibition resume, you're fine.

agrobaby- I may be coming out of left field here, but I notice that you're located in Virginia and studied at an all-women's university? If you by chance studied at Mary Baldwin then I would recommend reaching out to Paul Ryan (not the Republican congressman, but a different Paul Ryan, who's actually a might fine painter). In addition to his work there he also teaches graduate level theory in the MFA Painting program at VCU, and could be of some help. If you went somewhere else then I apologize for the mistake, and this reference will probably be of absolutely no help to you. I will say that, having completed my undergraduate studies at VCU and having had a great deal of interaction with the sculpture program there, I couldn't speak more highly of it. Of course the faculty and facilities or top notch, and when you throw in the cost of living in Richmond it's hard to beat. That city has a lot to offer and it's very easy to live in. You can ride your bike just about anywhere, and parking isn't terrible. Having just moved from there to NYC to work on my MFA at Hunter, I sometimes wish I had done it the other way around and saved VCU for grad school. The sculpture department there is also their pride and joy (the dean, Joe Siepel, was head of the sculpture department for 17 years and it was during his tenure that they reached #1), and I'm sure they will take very, very good care of you. Hope this helps!

Just got a call from Hunter! Bumped off the waitlist and accepted for the Fall!

What program did you apply to?

I did my undergrad at VCU and got to know some of the grad students and faculty quite well. I imagine they promote the summer program along with their rejection letters because it's not the type of program that people generally seek out on their own and they want people to know it exists, and the whole point is to draw in quality artists who are considering the MFA. I actually know a few of the faculty who are involved with the summer program and can't speak highly enough about them. I know several people who did the summer program and were then accepted after re-applying to the MFA. VCUarts is a highly ranked program with exceptional facilities and a very small price tag in comparison to most other programs. It is without a doubt one of the best bang-for-your-buck MFA's available. It's about $40k for the the whole program, and that's without factoring in scholarships and TA opportunities (which every grad student gets). Richmond is a very easy and affordable city to live in. If you can figure out a way to afford coughing up the 6 or 7k that it would cost you to do their summer program, considering it greatly increases your chances of getting into the MFA later, which would then cost you a fraction of what you would spend at most other schools, it's not a bad deal at all.

I just talked to David Bohl with Hunter's art department and he said that basically there was just some miss-communication between them and the Admissions Office. We're still waitlisted, which I assumed, however we don't have to pay any sort of deposit. They sent them a list of all the accepted and waitlisted students so that admissions would know we've been approved so that in the case we're bumped up off the list there's not any confusion with registration later one. He said he would be in contact within the next couple of weeks to let the waitlisted applicants know where they stand, etc.

I got an e-mail a couple days ago from the MFA program at Hunter saying I've been wait-listed for Spring 2014, however today I received an e-mail from CUNY Hunter Graduate Admissions office saying that my application status is available online. When I login it says I've been accepted as a graduate student for the Fall 2013 semester and that I need to mail them my official transcript and pay a commitment deposit? Has anyone had any experience with this? I'm assuming the MFA program notifies graduate admissions that the wait-listed students are accepted in order to make things less complicated in case I end up getting bumped up off the waitlist? Or maybe someone just made a mistake somewhere? I'm not too keen on the idea of paying a $250 deposit and paying to have my transcripts sent in if I'm not actually officially accepted..

I got wait-listed at Hunter for Spring 2014. However, they want to know within the next two weeks if I wish to remain on the list. Is it fair of me to ask where I land on that list considering I have other offers?

I haven't heard back. Every time my phone makes a noise or vibrates I jump three feet thinking, just maybe, I've gotten an e-mail or phone call. But alas, nothing. Not a peep. It's really very frustrating. Other schools are making offers and expecting decisions and Hunter seems to be taking their sweet time. I will say however, every time I've been contacted by them it's been on a Friday afternoon...

Just curious, but how often is it that people get interviewed and then rejected? Do you really think they interview more people than they're willing to accept or is the interview process just to make sure we're not actually junkies or downright fools??

Is your interview via Skype or in person? It was pretty quick and basic. They wanted to know what my work is about, it's theoretical base, etc. They asked what exhibits I've seen recently that have stuck with me and influenced me. They wanted to know what contemporary artists Im look at and of course they asked why I think graduate school is right for me right now. They had some basic follow up questions to my answers. For example, when they asked what my what my works about and part of my explanation involved telling them how I studied under some pretty diehard abstract expressionists and they wanted to know what particular aspects of AbEx continue to influence me. When I told them that Ive been paying a lot of attention to Eric Sall and Trudy Bensons paintings they wanted to know what Im drawn to in their work. When I replied to their question regarding exhibits by telling them Ive been thinking about a show of Martin Chambi photographs I saw while I was in Peru recently they wanted to know if photography's a part of my practice and what about the show is still influencing me. Overall they were very personable and told me I answered the key questions really well. I will say Im a bit frustrated because they told me they were going to finish interviews last week and send out decisions early this week, however I've heard nothing from them yet. I'm already leaning towards declining if I do get in anyways, not sure if I can stomach the debt. The program looks as if it would cost about $120,000 (without funding) for two years (including living expenses, etc) and I don't know if that's worth it for an unnranked program when the CUNY schools cost a fraction of that. I talked to them about setting up a time to come visit so I could decide if it would be worth it or not, but the person they told me to email has not gotten back to me either.

Making the trip to interview with them this weekend. What did they ask??

Had a pretty good Skype interview with Pratt today, then received an e-mail acceptance to The City College of New York. It's not my first choice, but it's cheap and has a reputation as a good program for people who are looking to spend a couple years making work in New York while earning an MFA without accruing a ton of debt. I applied as a painter but understand the program to be more interdisciplinary. Does anyone have any information or opinions on the program??

I have a skype interview with them tomorrow. They said this week is the first round of interviews and gave me a list with 28 time slots to choose from. They said it was first come first serve and if I didnt get a spot they would move me to the next round. Not sure if they have notified their second round interview candidates yet or not.

Received an e-mail today for an interview with Hunter for painting