Loric

It appears to be a studio based program... where you work in the studio most of the time, occasionally go to seminars or presentations, and your benchmarks are measured by the critiques of faculty. It's a small school community so you're going to be eating, living, breathing the other people around you. It mentions weekly dinners you have to attend. Really it works the way a lot of real world artists work.. they do all their studio time, occasionally research of look into some topic or theory to stay mentally limber, and then there's buyers and agents who come through for "bench critiques" that guide their artwork and prepare them for sale/show. It appears moreso a focused location and support system than a "school" so to speak. If you're looking for anything at all like a traditional academic experience this is not the place. I think the idea is to prepare people for the "real" working artist life. Out in the real world a painter, for example, if working in the studio most of the time on their next "thing" and occasionally their agent or buyer comes and checks in. Really, the agent is there through most of it and then schedules the buyers. The agent is sort of a "creative director" and guides the work and suggests ways to make it sale-able. Think Tim Gunn on project runway. Ideas are good, profit is better. Unsold art is unseen art. Then when the works are nearly finished the buyers come.. they choose things, they may say "this would be create if it had a contrasting piece.. and would work in our museum if.." and then those changes or additions are made.. that sort of things. So this format of school works if you want to be a working studio artist.

Lol, I dont live in the best neighborhood. And I like how you assume it was a "lady."

Oy.. Fun related story.. I was just offered a "freebie" by a.. what's the word? Whore? That is what we call people who normally make money by selling sex, right? I suppose prostitute is more proper.. "Hey. You're kind of gorgeous and it -is- Christmas Eve. I'm feeling pretty charitable. No charge, wanna go back to my place?" Ugh.. that's burned into my psyche forever. Is Walmart still open so I can buy lye soap to scrub myself with?

Why would you want to deface a book..?

But should academia be supporting what is just someone's personal goal and interest? Shouldn't pet projects be outside of academia..?

I'll just remind you that it's Christmas Eve and any email talking about academia is likely going to be met with little cheer if received today, tomorrow, etc..

Yeah, I knew a guy who did Medieval Studies who pretty much wet himself when he learned I studied some art at the Musee de Cluny in Paris. To him that location would be the epitome of his interests and "career." In reality it's a dinky little museum with some.. "some" interesting pieces. The whole unicorn tapestry (you can see it recreated in the Harry Potter films on the wall of the Gryffindor common room) that people in that field rave about just seems silly once you've seen it.

While I don't think contacting him would look bad at this point, since you were advised to do so.. I don't think it will serve much purpose. You cant change your app to discuss his work and how it's something you're interested in. The time to take action was prior to submitting the app.. to garner advice on how to tweak your app to fit the POI's interests which coincide with yours. Now.. you'll know some cool info about someone you may or may not be working with.. ever? I don't see the point.

If we questioned why people around here seem to have so many sticks up their butts.. I think we'd conclude it has a lot to do with the original premise of not having the proper "support system" as mentioned in the start of this thread.

I have to say, with this forum being a bit of a kludge of various interests.. some of the things that people are choosing to study leave me baffled. Many.. many.. posters are going for fields that, while a bit cliche and "default" in nature, you can at least see why they're going for them. However, there's still these other programs that are outside the common interests.. but not really specialized in a "well you'd obviously need proper time to study that" sort of way. They're the "Why don't you just apply for a job..?" fields and the "Ugh, stop trying to legitimize your hobby" fields. I'm sure there are others, but those immediately spring to mind. Some of the areas I just don't get why you'd spend so much time, money, and effort to study at the graduate level. Why are people doing that...? What's that all about?

I'm going to hastily generalize that whatever involvement you thought you had in theatre was trivial, laughable, and at best superficial. And in contrast if you'd like to go check out the books I've written from your school's library I can PM you the ISBN's.

"Dear Student, Here is the comment you requested: I have better things to do. -Prof Loric"

"Hey did I miss anythign today?" "Class. XOXOX -Prof Loric"

I'm pretty sure that's not even remotely true, but ok. Thanks for the input!

A library..? I hear they're free and can get pretty much anything.

I'd not go with the story of how you came to want to be in the field, but rather how you came across the school itself and why you came to choose it as a place to apply. It's simply a matter of making your life sound interesting. If it's because someone told you to apply there.. well.. ok.. but I'm sure there's some little vignette you can describe which makes it seem much more interesting. It could be as simple as a few statements about your college search and the compelling info hey provide, yadda yadda. For mine I discussed how exclusionary and insular the field I want to work in happens to be and how I was thrilled to learn about the program which actually catered to the field - it's the first ever. I make references to making noises only dogs can hear... but it depends on your overall tone.

Lol, why do i suspect someone has actually done this..?

Something along the lines of "Do you have to talk when we're doing it!?"

I suppose this makes sense.. but then how do all those undegrads live out their "banging the TA" fantasy..? Lotta disappointments created by keeping it strictly outside the classroom.

It depends.. what are the questions..?

So... What about those of us who realize the time and committment issues that Grad School presents and yet we all know everyone could use a hand once in a while? I also hear it does wonders for stress levels and we all know stress can be detrimental to work and productivity. I have a sneaking suspicion those who suffer breakdowns in grad school are the same ones who haven't constructed the proper "support system" in their social life. But then this brings up all kinds of other questions... Can you sleep with undergrad students or a professor? I suppose you "can" but will it lead to trouble down the line? What about meeting people online? Craigslist? And what if I became one of those cam models? Could I combine the healthy stress relief aspects of the lifestyle with a chance at making a little extra on the side? I think some schools have policies against this. And how do you establish the right boundaries? What if you can only come across those who want more or less? Do you take what you can get? Is being able to hold a conversation on a topic you don't care about worth it if you know you're gonna get laid? Come to think of it, do you really have to bother with polite conversation? Just how dangerous is it to post "Come and get it!" on craigslist and then tie yourself up blind folded in the middle of the floor? How does one tie themself up anyways? Maybe just handcuffs.. that seems more practical. What -is- a good safe word..? And I mean, I don't want this to be all about me.. but all my friends at home are getting some left and right and I feel left out. I mean, I don't want to go into grad school and end up old and unflexible and unable to pull off a simple proper eiffel tower anymore once I get out. Maybe I should invest in yoga classes during any obvious dry spells?

Well, i'm pretty sure the law doesn't use the term STEM - it does however allocate funding support to those fields.

Well, you can send them an email asking when roughly they were looking to interview people and when they'd like to hear back.. as you want to schedule your travel to other programs in the same block of time. There's no reason to worry about asking honest questions.

But that's just it.. if you can't find a reason one particular prof in a program is the most interesting or promising, you're not doing yourself any favors when applying. You know you want to go to grad school. I get that, we all do. However, if you're not working where your interests are and with someone who can position you properly and train you properly then it's a waste of time. It's not that there's only one choice - but graduate programs are not one-size-fits all. Not at all. There's too much specificity.