Relm

Blizzardfire, that's a good question. I think it really varies by the school. I went to the one in Chicago; SAIC (where it was held) had upwards of fifteen or twenty people looking at attendees' portfolios, so it's anyone's guess whether your work would be seen that day (and, more importantly, remembered later on) by someone on the admissions committee. Some of the universities have smaller faculty, so there's a better shot of having your work seen by panel members there. Nevertheless, I think there is intrinsic value in getting your work evaluated by people from those schools even if they're not on the actual admissions committee. Ostensibly, faculty talk to one another and see the kind and caliber of work that is produced by the students and alumni at their institution, which means they should be able to gauge the skill and conceptual drive of your portfolio against that. The only downside to portfolio day is how late it is. They're held in late October/early November. Realistically, if everyone pans your portfolio, there's only so much you can do between then and when applications are due! (:

Hey there everyone -- I've lurked here for a number of years, and it's finally my turn to participate in the freak-out! (: My plan is basically to blanket the country with applications in the hopes of finding that sweet spot of awesome program and full funding. I mean, it's a numbers game and casting a wide net helps with that. I climbed out of educational debt once, and that's enough for one lifetime. I went to the graduate national portfolio day last year mostly for informational purposes. What really struck me was how incredibly subjective this all is. I know, you're thinking, "well, duh, Relm," but having seven different people give you varying (and often contradictory) reactions in the span of a few hours really hit that home. Also, there were some huge surprises in terms of who liked my work and who didn't. Highly recommend it, if you're on the fence about attending.

dryheat -- I lived in HP for my last year of professional school at the U of C and really lucked out with an apartment search service, but I can't remember which one. Lots of the HP inventory is cyclical, as you'd expect. I lived in the South Loop for a couple of years and commuted on public transportation to the U of C. It wasn't terrible, but I'm not sure what the rents are like now. Agreed with Derp that Pilsen and Bridgeport are good places to be, but you would need a car.

This is for those of you who DON'T have an undergraduate degree in art (or, for those of you who know MFA candidates that don't). For the MFA programs that have a requirement that "BFA/BA in art required" in order to be considered for an MFA, how strict are they on that? I've done a LOT of continuing ed through SVA and SAIC (including a certificate there). Without a doubt, my CEd coursework would MORE than cover the requirements for a studio art major at my alma mater, and my recommenders would be drawn from that pool of continuing ed instructors. Clearly, a lot depends on the school, who else is applying, and how strong your portfolio is. Just curious if any of you has had any experience with this stated prerequisite and could talk a little bit about how rigid or not rigid schools have been about it.