graphikchik

so I'm now living Tucson...I've found a place to move into in August it's aprox. 2 miles from campus...right now I'm living in a friends guest house (1 mile from campus). There is a huge amount of places up for rent in Tucson! A lot of them aren't much to write home about...and price per sq foot really increases the closer to campus you get. also if you are coming to the UofA make sure you sign up for Graduate Orientation on August 20th (for all new grad students) http://gpsc.arizona.edu/go

Not sure I have an easy answer for this one. I think it depends on which program you feel would be best both educationally, financially, and in terms of meeting your career goals. What are the outcomes of the grads for teaching? Does one program have a better record for their MFA's going on in academia (especially in the areas of the country/world you are interested in working)? There are a lot of factors that have to go into making these kinds of decisions and it's never easy. Money is important, but fit is just as important and maybe more so since you will have to spend the next 2 -3 years in this program. That's just my thoughts.

University of Arizona for an MFA in Visual Communication

My parents went to grad school at the UofA...so I lived there as a kid in one of the dorms I also visited the department in the fall before applying. I can't wait for warm winters I'm tired of snow and ice.

Me! Me! I'm heading there for MFA in Visual Communications and I'm pretty excited. I still have all those big questions to answer though like... where am I going to live? when am I going to move? when should I quit my job?

Also heading to my top choice... the University of Arizona for an MFA in Visual Communications

and remember something i read on a post in the "Bank" section of this forum, they already accepted you there's no hurt in asking.

had to laugh at your post...I'm not going to ASU but going to UofA.

labmouse...based on some of the articles I've read online and conversations on this forum, you should try to negotiate based on what you are being offered at other places. However, keep in mind if it's a highly prestigious, top ranked school they may not be willing to budge. Often the schools that aren't ranked the highest have more funding to try to lure those great applicants to build their programs and higher ranked schools know they are "the best" and therefore expect students to pay for it. I know frustrating! cookiemonster...both schools have very highly rated programs in graphic design...I'm not sure if the printmaking MFA at Cranbrook would allow you to take some of that direction of course work, but I think both pointedears and jps have some good points. If you want to be a graphic designer when you graduate you really should do what you feel is best for you to build both your skill set and your portfolio of work...because ultimately that is what will be looked at when you are interviewing for your future career. Good luck with your decision.

That sounds like a hard choice. I too have some difficulty giving advice on going into debt. Part of me says you should go for the program that you think is the best fit for you (which sounds like CalArts), but being in big debt is a scary prospect. What do you think? Do you think that after the three year program you will be able to land a position where paying back the debt will not be a problem? Does CalArts have the better rep in your field that would help you land a job with more money? Money isn't everything but connections are...I think if you think CalArts is the right fit and has better prospects for both while you are there and after you leave then it might be worth the extra money. Just my thoughts take them for what they are worth. Good luck with your decision.

aack...sorry to hear about RISD I think we all can sympathize with what a bummer it can be to get a rejection from one of your favorites

I agree with a lot of what has been expressed here...it is an extremely fickle process. I like to say it's like horse judging you are putting your chances on and paying for someone opinions on your horse (or artwork as the case may be). For me I'm ready to pay for what's not going to be covered by my scholarship (at this point only $8k tuition per year). I've been out of undergrad and working for a while now (I think I'm a bit older then most of you here) so I have a good chunk of money saved for this since grad school has always been a goal of mine. Of course it's not nearly enough to cover the three year program without either more scholarships or loans. I think it's worth the debt in the end, at least in graphic design there are some pretty good prospects for teaching as well as working in industry.

Oh and congrats stomachcramps on SVA!

actually you can read the methodology for the rankings here... http://www.usnews.com/articles/educatio ... ology.html "The specialty fine arts rankings are based solely on ratings by educators at peer schools. Art school deans and other top art school academics, two per school, were asked to nominate up to 10 programs note for their excellence in each specialty. Those receiving the most nominations are listed." it also said that of the 220 institutions surveyed they only got a 39% response rate (not too great IMHO).

I'm going to the UofA this fall, so your questions are ones I've been thinking about too. The school has an online off-campus housing listing that I've been browsing. It's pretty much just an online classified site for apartments in the Tucson area...but it does seem to have a good number of listings including ways to find roommate situations if you're interested in going that route. I don't think based on the availability of some places that you're SOL for getting a place in the fall (at least for my sake too I hope we aren't) Here's the link if you don't already have it: http://www.union.arizona.edu/csil/csa/offcampus/online

I think it depends on your goals for life after grad school. For me I'm really looking for teaching opportunities in grad school, so if a school doesn't really have those available I wouldn't go there. Also I guess like you I would be hesitant to go to a school where I haven't been able to interact with any of the professors (especially when it's so mentor intensive). Have you had any luck reaching/interacting with the faculty at MSAD since your acceptance to the program? It's a hard decision you've got to make, personally I looked at MCAD and SMFA for graphic design. I decided not to apply to either program more for locational reason's then program reasons. I think of the two I liked SMFA much better. I don't really have an opinion on SVA and NYU. Although rumors I've been told by other faculty about NYU is that it is a "grad factory" (i.e. that's where they make their money).

Hi Apple, So here are my thoughts for what they are worth... I don't really know too much about the CFA Graphic Design program at BU. On a quick google search I found an interesting article/interview with a program director, if you haven't read it it might be interesting to you: http://www.mactribe.com/articlenews.asp?ArticleId=37 One thing I can say is that it is BU which has a great reputation. It's also the fourth largest private school in the US, and they probably have a decent amount of funding for the programs they are involved in. Have you visited the school? Talked to any of the faculty? I think that it's more important to make sure you like the fit of the program itself then to worry too much about reputation (or lack of reputation). Also would there be opportunities for teaching while in grad school? Especially if you are considering that in the future. Waiting a year would not be my choice, but that's just me. I'm really ready to make big changes in my life and working at this job for another year would suck! LOL!

Congrats on SVA, labmouse and xaviercugie! It's so cool to hear that people are getting accepted to some top notch schools

That's awesome! Congrats!

Yes this has been on my mind as well. I'm not too sure I have an answer. I've done the FAFSA and it's sick how much they think I should be able to cover...Hello I have a job that pays well now but not once I start school I won't have any income like that. I don't know what other kinds of outside sources are available. I'm going to have to start doing my homework on that.

I go away for a week and so much activity Congrats to all on the admits! So has anyone else made their decision about what school they will attend? It was kind of a no brainer for me because my top pick said yes and gave me money too. Now I have to figure out where the rest of the money is coming from...has anyone else thought about that part?

wow...they really do have a scam trying to get every penny out of their program LOL!

Thanks! Yeah! Glad to hear that...congratulations!

Thanks! It's alway nice to get feedback. When you do your own artwork sometimes you feel like you're in a bubble. That is one thing I really look forward to about graduate school the opportunity to connect with other artists

I only really did that where I truly saw a connection, not every school I applied to had such a strong connection to my work. However, like you I did try to explain why I thought I would make a good fit with their program, to show that I had done my "homework" so to speak.