Loric

What did you write in your SOP...? It's not a "write what you want" sort of thing.. you are supposed to be answering the prompt. It does typically include trajectory, interests, etc.. but how you explained you'd be a good fit for the program or that your interests aligned without mentioning your career goals just baffles me. What on earth did you write..?

And no one is doing them any favors by setting a precedent that it is acceptable to blame your failure on "test anxiety" as if it was some uncontrollable variable that hit people out of the blue like a whammy and from which there is no recovery. Allowing people to wallow, or further making it seem acceptable, is typically the worst thing one can do for them.

But it would list all the scores and GPA's and everything that everyone keeps asking "Is this good enough?" wouldn't it? We see admits, but rejections are obscured and not well represented. As a data point it seems like something worth persuing. And wouldnt the community make the forum more about "Plan B" scenarios, keeping spirits up, and helping people get past being depressed? Since more people get rejected than accepted.. wouldn't that be for the greater good?

30.. that seems like overkill.. I would think if you had any blaring deficiencies the more personal of a relationship you can foster and the more you can present yourself as a custom fit would be in your favor. You're not going to be able to do so with 30 schools.

Because I think way too many people here are placing the blame on something other than themselves for their performance. "It couldn't be helped!" You just proved that it could. You got over it, they need to get over it too. All the hand wringing and pacing in the world isn't going to dig you out of a rut, it's taking the steps to move forward that will. Placing the blame on anyone other than yourself falls distinctly in the hand wringing and pacing category. Accept that you need to do something, that it CAN be helped, and that it is up to you to do something about it and you'll get a better score.

You are presented with a task. There are many ways to complete the task, but your final score of how "well" you did the task is going to determine your future options. You know how the result will be measured and you know the factors that play into the final grade. If your undergraduate program did not prepare you well to deal with these sorts of situations and how to succeed at them, then it failed you. If you cannot "pass" the GRE then I do worry about how you're going to handle graduate school. If has nothing to do with the content of the test. It has everything to do with an apparent inability to pass this particular test despite knowing it was coming for literally years.

I think... going out on a limb here... that you assume a lot of your readers. That they'll agree with you or see things the way you do. You take their POV for granted. So you launch into things with a bit of bold assertion and expect the reader to follow you blindly. You still need to explain and persuede when needed. There are some things you can take for granted with an audience in your field, however, you need to ask yourself the "Why does this matter?" question and really judge if it is to be assumed or not. The narative theory bit struck me in this sense because I really am sitting here pondering why it's important and why anyone would study it. I have some ideas, and I don't think it's without merit, but it's not my area of expertise so I'm not really sure the how/why of studying it.

Why does narrative theory need more attention..? Can you cite a specific instance that illustrates your argument?

They are not supposed to care.. same with anything that indicates your race, gender, income level, etc... but it doesnt mean that they dont.

When you consider this, consider the number of people on Grad Cafe alone who say they're applying for 10 or more schools. If the schools all accept someone.. and having limits, reject someone else.. that's 10 schools and only 1 is getting the student, while the other 9 are scrambling to either pull from the waitlist or actually backtrack and admit people they rejected. It happens all the time. It's not a position anyone wants to be in.

They're not supposed to, but they will "ding" someone who ranks them low on a list. "Well if they're not serious, we're not serious." And it's useful to them for marketing purposes by seeing which schools they're considered competitive with. They want to hit the sweet spot where they're making competitive offers but not getting surpassed by more prestigous programs, while maintaining some sort of "standards." They can't not have people.

For the record, my SOP - which was run by several people in the industry who thought it was wonderful - mentions my discovery of the school and their new program.. and sounds i made which only dogs could hear.. and Liz Lemon and "I want to go there." Yes, my SOP actually says those things. No one said it was inappropriate. Anywhere things got boring or too technical or too wishy washy is where people always pointed out i should revise.

It actually means you were paying attention.. which puts you leaps and bounds ahead of many using the scattershot method. What does the prompt say? Also, framing. "I respect high standards as I feel they push students to their fullest potential, and in this way I view XYZ school as an appropriate venue for persuing my goals as it will push me to be my best..." Blah blah blah, something like that. You dont have to "attack" other schools, but you can note they have high standards and why you like that.

Most people's GPA's and GRE's line up...

I think if you can't begin to tell me the first thing about the program other than what can be gleamed from the applications page on their website.. it's one school too many.

Is your high GPA at a big 10 enough to offset a poor showing on the GRE though..? If your goal was graduate study - or something beyond which requires graduate study - then your program and school failed you by not preparing you properly for what is a standard test expected of most students.

In theater design and playwriting (the bulk of my undergrad, though i often wandered over to the "art" building for classes based on my interests) we were taught a very specific way to handle criticism. This applies to both good and bad criticism. You listen. You listen... you listen. Actually hear, actually process. Then you ask questions, seek clarity, and ask about any thoughts you had in your head before you ever started.. like if you felt the piece was about Purple Hippos and the critique doesn't mention Purple Hippos you ask "Do you feel this piece conveys Purple Hippos?" You do not "explain" your work. YOU DO NOT EXPLAIN YOUR WORK. No, seriously, do not explain your work. Do not defend it, do not tell this other person their ideas of your work are wrong. Take the criticism, take notes, consider what was said. What ideas weren't being expressed that you wanted to be? What didnt they see that you wanted them to see? How can you improve on those things? What were their objections - and further, are their objections valid? If they're morally opposed to your work because of the content, do you care? The overall idea is that your work stands alone and you can't be beside it 24/7 to tell people how to see it. You can change the choices you make to communicate with people based on feedback.

Not all SOP prompts at the same, especially in the arts. You cannot write one SOP and send it to multiple schools. You can borrow elements, but they will ask for different things. Answer the prompt. Anything else you want to say needs to find its way to other parts of the application.

As someone who is an "author" in the Stephen King "used royalties to pay monthly bills" definition of the word.. You don't need an MFA to write. You seem to already be capable of writing.. but you want the community aspects. Find a community. If anything, go whip something out via CreateSpace or PubIt or whatever and use those royalties to pay for school.

Not sure if you're still around, but over in the applications section of the website I posted a topic asking how long it took from first paperwork submitted to final application submission.. It seems most people are taking 2-3months to really finish everything. Getting the rec letters, SOP, etc.. and a portfolio ready are really much more time consuming than you'd think. Start today, finish ASAP. But don't put off starting, you may get a required item tossed at you last minute.. or a rec who needs to be reminded daily to write the rec.

So I want a degree that recently popped up, created from the ground up new - an MFA. It's a design degree but intermingles with film and performance as much as it does visual art. The primary reason I want it is because of the internships the students in the program are doing, which are great connections in a closed industry that's near impossible to break into without "knowing" someone. But as I alluded to, no one even has the degree yet (the program isnt old enough) it's the only program of its kind and only offered at one school.... I don't know, my app is in and i'm being considered as we speak so there's no turning back in that sense. I'm going if I get accepted. I guess it's that I wish that there were more options or even a backup plan. It's pretty much "please take me.. you're my only hope Obi Wan.." And it feels so weird to be in that position. For background, I went into an MFA theatre design program originally. My undergrad is theatrical design. I've been doing boring "day job" work for a few years after having left the theatre program I was in because I was fed up. The new program is actually the career I wanted. It just didn't exist before so I went into theatrical design as a "related" field.. only to get constantly picked on because of my interests and career aspiration "That's not real art!" So.. I'm very torn on the whole thing. I think going after what I want, and have wanted, is the right move. An opportunity is presenting itself and i'd be silly to ignore it. At the same time, I'm worried with it being a new program at a private school it might all end up being a very expensive waste of time with far more promises than actual rewards. What do you think?

But have you talked to someone about it..? Might as well have pretty formatting if all it costs you is an email query and a follow-up with the documents. If anything if that's the way it is, you can know to change your formatting to make it much more readable.

I'm just curious.. where do people post about their rejections? Or are folks just sort of expected to slink off into the night and not talk about it? I mean, statistically aren't there more people who are rejected than accepted for many schools?

Purely based on city, i'd choose Chicago. I'm from Florida and I think Miami is too hot, and i'd not be caught dead in Minnesota. Nothing against Mass, just no desire to go there either. This is not based on their programs, school, quality, or anything of the sort. Have you been to the schools or know much about them? Since you're in, you do get to be picky about it now. Who has horrible parking? Who has nothing but a Walmart for 50miles? (had a friend who went to a "good" school with great funding that fit that bill.. and visiting him was.. an adventure..) Have you had many dealings with the office staff who handle things? If i knew then what i know now, my first grad school would have been quickly crossed off the list as the office staff, administration, etc.. are absolute jerks. It's like being at the DMV 24/7 and there's not a single helpful, friendly, etc.. person in the buildings.

It might be. Especially if anything went into a text box. My latest app had text boxes for resume and SOP - but my admissions adviser told me to email them to him in PDF or DOC so the formatting could be properly taken into consideration. You can always ask before you submit to make sure. I had a portfolio that went in through a special system art schools tend to use. I researched what the "end" product looks like by looking up the software manufacturer. It helped me craft the descriptive text and fill in the required fields for each piece so that they made sense when seen by the adcomm.