thismessageispaidforby...

Looks like everyone around here is a fan of Hunter? Any sculpture applicants? Why all the Cu Boulder painting love? Anyone apply to ceramics?

At least you will be better prepared for the next one. What was the toughest question?

I hope we both get into the same schools and are in the same class together - probably critical theory or something . Yet, neither of us know it!

Yes, that particular grouping is. They have other thesis catalogues on that website from VCU and some other places.

Exclamation Point Here is a link to almost all the MFA Painting Thesis Catalogues from the last five years. All free downloads and worth a look at! http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=&keyWords=yale+mfa+painting&x=0&y=0&sitesearch=lulu.com&q=

+ No, I am not delusional. To quote from the NY Times Article, ''I don't want to see a rich-kid program,'' he added. ''You find as you go deeper and deeper into the waiting list, you are starting to take students who can pay.'' This is Columbia. Same applies to Cranbrook. Same applies to Yale. Yale, like I said before, takes 20 applicants per year in their painting/printmaking department. Most of the students are PAYING, one way or another, to be part of that program. Sure each student may have to pay 'something' but over 75% are shelling out 50K+ for a degree. example: a recent friend makes a bunch of work within the university art system as a post-bacc. The work is decent, but lacking. Hanging little geo-things in a bunch of environments is well played out by now. This person kisses ass for two years, applies to seven schools and only gets into one - a private, expensive '_______ school of the arts' program with little to no funding. This person gets ZERO funding but with a price tag of 35Gs they are allowed to go. Said person has '$$$$$$$' from spending the first ten years of career in management. So, said person, cashes out 401k blah blah blah and is now dropping almost 100K just to go to some school. I mean, all the best to this person, but this is an example of these 'trendy, high priced schools'

Maybe you should have put that into your 'personal essay' ... in closing, I truly believe that your program is the best in the nation and if I were to receive full funding, salary and benefits, then I would most definitely choose your program. Otherwise, you can kiss my ass and pick someone else because IM NOT going to your school if you don't show me the $$$$$$$. Thank You

Getting paid to go to school!!! Thats whats UP!!!

That would really depend on your field of study. I applied this year to sculpture programs and they may have not been in Newsweeks TOP SCHOOLS, but they are underground treasures. For instance, NYC is NYC. You can pay to go to Columbia or SVA and getter major debt or apply to a school like Hunter which is still in NYC, funded and gets a lot of attention because it is an Art School in the city and collectors/curators/dealers do not just look at one school in a specific area. I see you applied to MFA Painting. Its best (what I did) to look at every single thesis catalogue and graduate within the last five years and see what schooling actually did for them. Where are they now? CV? Shows? Work? Its hard to say which are the best for painting, but the work that comes from Yale painters is mostly bunk. Thats why they went there in the first place. Their application was weak. They didn't get into any other note-worthy school and since Yale accepts like twenty students per year, one goes to school their because mommy or daddy is paying for it. The best in the field get the funding. The others, who pay, create a balance to the 'programs running costs'

I agree with what you are saying with opportunity, pay and more education. We all want to get smarter, duh! This question is not proposed directly at you because it has come about in recent dialogues but: 'Why do we need to know all this trivial stuff? For conversation? For pleasure? For something to do? How long will it take one to realize that their cup is already full? When will one stop pouring and actually drink and digest what is already in front of them? I sincerely wish you the best in all your applications and future path as an artist. There is nothing in the world that can stop the passion for creating and I hope nothing ever stops you.

'I can make all the work I want at home, what I would gain from grad school is the dialogue created by the faculty and colleagues, resources to further me education.' 'In fact, if you just want to make work, invest in a studio or a garage space. Academic at is more than just making it, it's discussing it, understanding it past and present, and learning the business behind it.' _______ Good to hear you got that taste in your mouth! Looks like you may have skipped the sweet and sour course. Going to graduate school IS about making work and becoming part of an environment that embraces the arts and is in constant dialogue. You can not have this dialogue and interaction if your not making work and exploring. Sure we can 'make all the work we want at home' but as we all know, that never got anyone anywhere. (Spare the examples please, times are what they are NOW and nothing is changing.) The only artists working in their homes are ones who are established already. I laugh at the term 'Academic Art'- Lets all just make shit that no one, outside of our friends with benefits circles, understands. Discussion and its relevance within culture time periods is part of creating art, again. Academic art is total BS. Make work people can understand and gain something from. Not just some pretty thingy or something that you just stare at an go, HUH? You are not going to learn 'the business behind it' because there is no business behind making art. The art world 'as a business' is dying. So, to say one wants to gain accreditation for their 'art' so they can make 'money' is a bunch of bologna. Only blue collar one percenturds buy artwork from blue chip artists. Art has become an investment and the buyers control this market. This is why good art criticism is hard to come by these days. Every editorial writer has the hand in the pocket of the editor whose hand is in the dealers pocket while both his hands are in the buyers pocket. I mean, you can ignore this fact if you just want to sell $200 paintings at coffee shops and entry-fee stricken nationals shows. Here is grad school. You go in and the professors make you look at a bunch of stuff, then talk about a bunch of stuff, then read about a bunch of stuff and then write about a bunch of stuff. After this, they want you to make a bunch of stuff and the process begins again and again until you put it all together in what is called a 'thesis' - meaning, I thought and did all this stuff and this is my conclusion. If you can keep your shit together and not get all disoriented by all these twists and turns throughout this 2-3 year beating, then you will get yourself a gallery and a show and an interesting place to go make more work next. You have to go into school knowing what it is you want and the passion and motivation has to be there. So, you go to school knowing what you want to do, shake a few hands and have a couple moments and you get yourself a gallery and a sweet spot to go to next. Yes, there is all the blah blah blah in between of networking and relationship building and falling in love, but thats part of every process unless you are already 'voted in' This discussion is important. I've experienced these things before and is why I left school once already. Its all on the school you go to, hands down. The top schools are the best because they have placement and connections. No connections means doing it on your own and I give sincere applause and best of wishes to those who want to go that route. Those choosing this route are the 'real artists' who don't subscribe to kissing ass and buying your way in. I love people and open spaces and creative dialogue, thats why I am wanting to go back - to hang with artists, make work and get shit crazy.

Look like all standard choices. I had a friend who just went to Cranbrook for Ceramics this past fall and they have NO FUNDING! Talk about paying 75K!!! CU Boulder has one of the best Ceramic/Interdisciplinary programs out there, but is EXTREMELY competitive. They had 230 applicants for three positions. Program is fully funded through TA/Teaching/Departmental Positions/Scholarships. They let you make whatever you want but really force you to ask yourself the questions and create a discourse for your work. They facilitate an environment which forces you to ACTUALLY talk about your work in a way that is concise and understandable. Not like solving a Sherlock Holmes mystery like the other top schools are. I've read plenty of dissertation/thesis defense/looked at graduate work from all of the schools on your list and its all fairly mediocre. RISD and VCU (along with Boulder) are the only schools really pushing the boundaries in contemporary ceramics. Alfred has become a crap shoot and that name doesn't hold its rep like it used to. Best of luck to you.

Why would you have to work at wally world? What does having three kids have to do with going to graduate school to make work? I can imagine it being difficult to jump start a career in the arts in this type of situation but what is it exactly you are trying to achieve by going to school? I haven't trolled this entire forum so I am not sure if you may have stated before, but would be interesting to here.

note: many applicants are shortlisted. Each school will send confirmation to their top picks and see how it plays out. If the applicant accepts right away, the position is filled. If the applicant requests to wait for decisions from other programs, then most of the time, the school will wait a couple weeks. ( this is where a majority of us wait) If original applicant turns down acceptance, then the school will look at their short list of potential canidates and make the call to another applicant. So on and on until the programs unit is complete. Each application shines differently, but from what I have experienced, the most grounded/mature artist is most of time at the top of each schools list he/she applied to. Some people get into every school they apply. Crazy, I know. So there is nothing to be worried about if you havent got a call yet.

Hello. Just found this forum. Best of luck to you all. Applied for MFA in Sculpture. Haven't heard anything yet, but patience is key. Don't care if accepted or not. We all have to take chances if we are ever going to get anywhere. Im interested in going back to hang with other artists and just flat out make WORK. Any other reason besides that seems trite. Looking forward to keeping up with this forum and seeing how things work out for others. There is definitely some 'interesting' work I saw on peoples websites. Not much of the work is evolved, but I guess thats why people feel they need to go to graduate school.