seeingeyeduck

Hate to bear the bad news, but their admit recruit day is this weekend, so if you haven't heard from them... That letter's probably not an acceptance. Though I don't know how they notify wait listed people...

Congrats on the good news everyone! We're almost there!

Yeah, Syracuse. academy of art is not really taken terribly seriously.

I still get email life updates from a couple of friends so you could email your closer circle. I wouldn't even contact people who are just acquaintances. If they're unlikely to actually call you, don't bother letting them know unless you really click with them.

I actually ended up getting the financial letter the same day in the post. The decision letter was an email. You'll probably get yours soon. Another UC said they had to be postmarked by the 15th so I bet that's across the board for the UCs. Otherwise, people would have no time to decide! Oh and does anyone else have visit days coming up? Mine is next weekend and I can't wait!

I think everyone's gotta have a prof like that! Mine has been urging me to apply ever since I got out of UG three years ago and she tells me my work is good. Puts the wind in my sails every time I see her. It's an inspiration to see someone in my field who has a stable career, is nice and is willing to mentor. Makes me think good things are possible after all, and you don't even have to be play the politics to do it. My teachers have provided the support that my family doesn't. My mom actually wrote me when I told her about my acceptance and funding that a degree is "certainly good but starting a nice marriage and family life is nothing less significant." As if that is relevant!

I'm confused - how do the hidden files keep you from organizing your files?

Well, despite what has been said in this thread, I'm sure some programs/fields still want high GPA candidates. It's too difficult to speculate about what makes or breaks an app, but consider that your SOP and letters of rec are important too. How do you feel about those? I'm sorry that the app process hasn't panned out for you but you have to realize that rejection is statistically the most likely outcome for everyone. Have you considered asking the programs for feedback? Also, have you been using the same app every year?

CCA and SFAI in CA have rolling admissions into the summer, and SFAI also has a low residency option. I think Hartford has a low res photo program if that's what you do. None of those are terribly affordable though, unfortunately. I think the problem is that schools that offer lots of funding will take in small cohorts and will need to lock down their incoming class to lock down the funding details on the regular schedule. Good luck!

Re: rankings - I thought that they didn't matter either but then I heard someone say that when they are considering hiring for teaching jobs, even though the art dept is familiar with what are good art schools, the uni at large can be resistant if they perceive the school to not be serious or if they've never heard of it. The way they put it was that if you go to a name brand school, you can get hired anywhere. If you don't, you can get hired somewhere. For example, they were trying to hire someone from CalArts but the uni people complained that it was a "Disney school." I was sad to hear that. We all know CalArts is a great art school, but I guess we all still have to go into the larger world and it still comes down to perceptions. That said, the funding is still the biggest factor. If there was only a $10k difference between the schools over two years then go to the better ranked school. Anything more, I'd still go where the money is, especially if the rankings are similar.

Yes, art practice. I... Talk to people. They do have a waitlist, but I assume they interviewed those people too.

Yeah, I think it's good to deal with those kind of students and let them know you're zeroing out their participation grade if there is one if they keep doing it. It's funny we got into this debate since I actually really hate taking notes on a laptop so I mostly use notebooks. I will pull out the phone if necessary but other than that I just hate lugging a computer everywhere...

For bank fees, you could look into your local credit unions. Some of them have fee refunds every month, so they will charge you but then reimburse you, even overseas.

If it's just you and you bike, then all this should be possible. $22k sounds doable. If you house/apt share, your rent will be well under $1000.

You could also look for in law units in addition to studios. They are more standalone than a shared room in a house and usually have their own bathroom, but they won't be as expensive as a studio in some places.

They've already finished interviews so....

That all sounds reasonable. Guess I've just personally never had a bad discussion experience where people had laptops open even when it was only 20 people. But actually maybe it's easier with smaller groups since it is easy for everyone to see who is doing what, so unless someone is totally shameless, they mostly stay on task...

Lol somersault

Why not do part time? Full time would take a lot of energy but taking the whole year off might be hard to explain to employers later and like you said, how you gonna eat! 3 years out of school here, though I also took the, er, crooked path so I am older. Not creative writing but I have written some stuff as a result of traveling and I agree that it's a good way to put your normal paradigms in perspective. It can help you make some interesting connections. I only did it when it was affordable and would help me suss out existing ideas though. Since I need materials to make other art with just traveling for no reason takes away from my ability to pay for the rest of my practice. For a year and a half out of school I freelanced but even though I got lucky and the company I worked with had constant work, I felt like I didn't have the energy or mind space to devote to much in the way of my own work and I eventually wound it down. I used savings and had help from my partner to do art full time for a bit and apply to schools. The time has been amazing and made a huge difference in pushing some ideas forward. I interned for some folks who were doing a seriously cool collaborative project, did a few group shows, wrote for an indie publication and took lots of photos on four long trips over two years, but this all overlaps with the freelancing too. I also wrote some vaguely poetic lyrics but am deathly afraid of trying to set them to music. I also just read a lot as research and looked at a lot of other people's work. Somehow met some likeminded folks through blogging and that's been a good sounding board, source of inspiration. This year I'm working on a new project and trying to make some headway before fall when I start school. It kind of scares me that I will have to have complete work for the first year show when I have been on my own schedule for so long.

Well, the difference is that you can direct where your eyes look but you can't just close your ears. I said that cuz I've been in lectures where I've been behind someone who's playing RPGs and well, I just look at the board or prof instead of their screen. It's a 15" screen that's at least 4 ft in front of me - it's not like it fills my visual field. I also agree with the poster who brought up disability issues. Plus I just don't think it's fair to try to decide what tech to allow. What if only laptops are allowed, not phones but you don't have a laptop and do have a phone? In that case would you have to spend extra time on typing up your handwritten notes just because the professor made an arbitrary decision? I understand of you actually notice one student doing problematic things and you ask him to put away a device or deal with circumstances as they arise. I don't understand starting the term out with a ban just in case, when maybe in truth there would have been no problems at all. At any rate, I have never actually run into a class where the professor banned devices so maybe the point is moot. Maybe once a phone rings in lecture and he addresses it right there but it's never been a recurring problem. Plus I don't think it prepares students for the real world if you try to create the perfect atmosphere. In most work environments they have to deal with distractions from others and work in less than ideal places so I don't see why it's necessary to assume they can only learn and use their minds when there are zero distractions. Some kids goof off in class and still get the material. Not sure why they need to be told to conform if they're not bothering anyone and they still grasp the material in the end.

I traveled alone for the first time at 22 and have been on two week roadtrips in the US, foreign countries where I barely speak the language, cross country train and Greyhound rides. Been through the west, southeast, Midwest, China, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (and this was driving around, not staying in resorts) without incident. I am a small female and have never really felt in danger. I'm pretty risk averse so if I can do it, you can do it. If you do your research beforehand and know where the shady areas of big cities are, then you will likely be fine. Greyhound is pretty shady now, but even them nothing I couldn't handle by changing seats. For the most part, you just have to have common sense and remember that most people are not criminals. I mean, when you think about it, wherever you're going, tons of locals navigate it safely every day. Have maps and guides, know where the consulate is in foreign counties, don't store all your money in one place, and it should be fine. Just as long as you don't look lost and flash expensive things, you will likely not attract any attention. Big cities are more shady than the middle of nowhere though people seem to usually be more freaked out by the middle of nowhere. Stay in hostels if you don't have too much luggage and if they are in safe areas - you can be solo or meet new people to hang with that way. It depends on if you can usually have fun alone - if you can, then traveling will be no different. If you prefer to have a buddy, then maybe you will want someone there with you.

I know reading this thread is repetitive, but thing is, do we really expect someone to completely overhaul their view of life and relationships and change their emotional reactions in the span of three months of talking to people on the internet?! It's the classic problem of having a problem that, with current mindset, someone can't even see is a problem. That's a hard thing to come to terms with and see clearly. It's going to take time, and it isn't going to go faster just because some person on the internet hurls insults, which just makes people just get defensive and start justifying their stance instead of being open to what is said.

Oh and as for food, I don't think noodles are that bad - Asian people have historically survived on a lot of noodles. But the key is to actually use it as part of a balanced meal, not on it's own with the crappy flavor packets. I get some chicken (can be a simple packet of 5-6 drumsticks, which I find is easiest) and every Sunday I cook them for 50 minute in a giant pot of water. I save the broth, which tastes great compared to processed packaged chicken soup/broth, and the use that through the week to make soup noodles from for lunch. I throw in a tomato, optional potato, bamboo, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms (pretty cheap at the Asian store instead of $20/lb at western stores!), winter melon, a drumstick and an egg, so it is a pretty loaded batch of noodles. I use somen or soba noodles in bulk and avoid the ramen packets. Cuz all the ingredients all affordable, this costs <$5/meal but is full of veggies. It only takes 20min. Just sayin'! Not all noodle meals are made the same!

What Gnome said, plus: I just figured this out last year and it's saving me a ton of money: in the age of smartphones, old style phones have become super cheap. Especially if you never sign a contract. With prepaid services like Platinum Tel (T-Mobile network piggyback) or Page Plus (Verizon) you can buy a phone for $40-60, a SIM for $5-10, then do a pay as you go plan if you're not a heavy user or use a lot of data. I find that mostly I used data for maps and it didn't add up to much, so with a bit of old school pre-planning, I didn't need data at all. In the last 6 months phone service has cost me $43. Total! I mostly text and they cost $.02 to send or receive. That's a lot on top of a contract rate, but on its own, it is cheeeeap! The international rates for Ptel aren't much higher either. With a contract I would've paid at least that much every month for the same amount of usage. So that's a savings of $400-800 over half a year. I really recommend looking at prepaid. I made a spreadsheet with all the costs and went with the cheapest one. I also found a T-Mobile promo which gives anyone who owns a tablet outright 200mb of data free every month, no strings attached. You buy a SIM (can be $.99 + shipping online or $11 in store) and are good to go. I use that plus my prepaid and thus have a mini $8/mo phone and data plan!

Maybe it's different for email, where you can ignore it, but in high school I had a friend who asked to actually copy one of my home works and when I said no, she got upset. That's different than notes, and you should say no in that case, but I'm just saying it can cause tension. If you're okay with that, okay, but maybe it's not worth it over some notes. I'm assuming you can't get through an entire PhD on borrowed notes anyway!