seeingeyeduck

Are you in creative writing? I don't think you necessarily need to travel randomly but maybe it would be good to find some topics/themes that you love writing about and just churn out some work. I don't know if you already have but it seems to me grad schools like candidates who are focused about what they want to do. Did you get any feedback on why the apps were a bust? If you did, spend some time shoring those weaknesses up? Otherwise, why not just do some things that interest you? I think writing gets interesting when people are trying out and hunting down things that are a bit out of the ordinary...

I'll reiterate my rec of Stanford. Shiny name overall, full funding + stipend, and very small program. Re: NYC vs SF - also think about where you want to have a career. I do think that it's easier to get a start in a place where you have already made some connections. Going to a CA school wouldn't be good if you planned to move far away right after anyway. On reflection, virtually all the opps I've been given are because a faculty member I knew was kind enough to mention me to someone, which wouldn't really work if you move 5000 miles away. So think about which place you want to put down some roots in, at least for a few years. I'm not sure I agree that NYC is the end all be all and that everywhere else is the sticks. Not many of us can become Damien Hirst but we can have long careers in smaller scenes and continue to make art, which is the whole point anyway. There is an intimate scene in the Bay, a bigger one in LA. I do hear about how many artists there are in NYC and how rough the competition is as a result. The flip side of the comment about it being better to be at a crappy NYC school than to be remote is that it's better to be a paid teacher in a remote location than it is to be a starving artist in NYC... I agree that SFAI is locally not regarded as a great school, but on the other hand, that is where several local tenure track professors went there for UG (another came out of CCA MFA but had independent scholarship full funding). That's just the ones I know of, so I wouldn't dismiss them out of hand. I think it really depends on your work and how personable you are. You can make great work anywhere if you take the initiative. A degree from a shiny school will give you a boost, but studies show that doesn't tend to last. A lower tier school is not a death sentence either.

Is funding a rare bird? I got a tuition waiver at one of my schools, but no stipend except for one semester of teaching in the second year. I've been adding up the costs of commuting and materials, and am a little deflated about how much this will actually cost. The work I plan to do involves some traveling and figuring out some new materials I'm not familiar with, so I'm a bit daunted. Is it unrealistic to expect a stipend on top of a tuition waiver when it comes to art depts? I don't want to end up spending tens of thousands over two years, but I really still want to go to school and don't want to seem ungrateful by trying to ask for more. I know many people have to pay much more, but I really don't want to sacrifice my future ability to make work...

Actually, I checked my mail after posting that, and there was a financial letter in the post. They sure timed that perfectly! I mostly did photo up til now, but I'm really hoping to use school as a chance to expand into video and installation work. It's really cool that you mention post-colonial cultures and the Caribbean - some of my recent work has been in the DR and Puerto Rico. I checked out the site of the first semi-permanent settlement established by Columbus and Ponce de Leon's house, and did notice that so much of history has turned into tourist sites. I'm really hoping to take a transatlantic trip by boat to see what it was like to be seven days out to sea and really bored! And maybe to see some pyramid ruins in Peru and Mexico at some point. I'm fascinated by how native cultures in Latin America have managed to survive and simply incorporate a lot of western notions - I'm also interested in Manifest Destiny era westward migration in the US since there is a similar dynamic there, but the native tribes here seem to have been decimated instead of being able to coexist with the mainstream culture. I'm generally interested in migrations. I never thoght about it in terms of music though! Anyway - cool serendipity!

Yeah, they are just sending emails to everyone who expressed interest; I don't think this is linked to any admissions decision. I did click through though, and it seems that they are actually still taking rolling admissions through June!

It's funny that you ask this, because I literally just got an email from CCA about grad admissions for potential applicants. I'm not sure I can comment on the painting programs, but having been on the scene for a few years, I can tell you a bit about the schools (though I just applied this season so I don't have grad experience). I'm in NorCal so I don't know about CalArts, but I can speak to the Bay Area. In terms of timing, it looks like virtually all are fall entries, but SFAI has a low res MFA that starts in the summer: http://www.sfai.edu/important-dates-0 What are the top ranked non-state schools you're referring to? I assume CCA, Mills, CalArts and SFAI? If you can get funding for them, I've known people who came out of them who are doing shows and active, but if you can go to a UC or Stanford, I would do that instead, since the programs are funded, tiny and you can virtually a 1:1 teacher:student ratio, whereas at CCA or SFAI you are paying through the nose to be a part of a class of 100+ grad students. There's certainly not going to be a 1:1 ratio. Although both schools do rolling admissions into the summer, so that can be good if you need somewhere to go. Stanford is really the only private school that still gives you full funding and stipend (and they have quiet, large studios for each grad!), since they have a huge endowment. It's worth a try. Some of the grads had done their UG at CCA or SFAI, so it ultimately depends on your work and ideas. SF State might also be a good option - they have pretty good facilities and don't cost nearly as much as the UC schools (maybe 1/3?). I'm really not sure how the rankings are the way they are - I would not rely on them. Do your own legwork, because the rankings don't seem to factor in financial concerns at all! Problem is, any school with full funding is going to take <10 people and be super competitive, so I would start really talking to your professors now to assess how strong your portfolio is. Get the most info you can from them about admissions! I was only confident applying to 3 schools after hearing a couple of people assure me that I had a good chance. Otherwise, I may have gone the CCA route too. If you can get someone to put you in touch with either a faculty member at the schools you're considering, or a recent grad, that would be smart. It's great that you're starting now! To me, it seemed like each type of program has its upsides and downsides. You're not going to meet as many people in the small programs, so you'd better hope you like your dept, whereas at a larger school, you can meet lots of people with lots of interests. The campuses are all very different too, so factor that in - some of the UCs are remote, others are in beach towns, LA is totally different from Berkeley, Stanford is kind of isolated, CCA is in the heart of the city, etc... Really take into account the finances, esp since CA is so expensive. LA is not as bad, but the Bay Area is getting really hard for artists now that we're coming out of the recession and prices are going up everywhere. If you can afford the private schools out of pocket, that's a great way to go, but otherwise, they can cost some $30-57k/yr and that's insane for an art degree where everyone comes out competing for a handful of teaching jobs. Most grads from even prestigious schools have dayjobs after graduation, or they freelance while adjuncting. I've seen two grads get tenure track jobs a few years out of school, but the rest of the cushy teaching jobs are taken by older people who will stay as long as they can and others who have really great exhibition records or won the SECA award or something. Be prepared with a back-up plan in case it doesn't pan out for you, both in terms of applying as well as teaching jobs afterward. You could be one of the superstar/lucky ones, but I think it's smart to have a plan for what-if. I'm honestly not sure what most people who take out loans for CCA do after. I mean, 100 art graduates, few arts jobs, $100k worth of debt - you do the math! Basically they may have to stop being an artist to pay off the schooling. Anecdotally I've heard that they try to give support to the top students but really the rest are there to pay the bills. Because of the cost of living in CA, it's not necessarily better to go to a big art market. There are more opps, but EVERYONE is going after them, and it costs more to live while you may not be getting paid more at your average service or admin job. You still need money for materials if you want to keep making art after! If your work is good, you could find it easy to rise fast in a smaller area, then make a leap to the bigger markets when your name is more established. I hope that doesn't scare you off though - I think there are good options. I met some really nice people at SF State and I bet there are comparable state schools in SoCal too.

It is pretty crazy. Considering that sometimes waitlist decisions can happen in the summer, from app season in Dec til then - that's half a year!! I hope you hear sooner than that! Best of luck!

Just got the official decision today! It says financial info comes from the dept separately...

I guess for me the question is if students like that would participate even if they didn't have their device. I think it's fairly obvious if a student is using the tech to supplement their learning and is still paying attention to discussion, vs just completely surfing the web. At that point I don't know if it's the technology that's the problem. Banning technology is punishing everyone for the irresponsibility of a few distracted students. The best approach to me would be to approach a student independently and ask what's up, if he's not finding the material engaging. If he really just wants to waste time in class, then it's his own grade that suffers. If others are looking over their shoulder instead of paying attention, again that's their own prerogative and their own participation grade that suffer. You should have enough self control to block that out by college. If you don't then, you take the consequences.

Cool - what kind of music do you study, if you don't mind my asking?

You know,maybe some are really actually over qualified. Schools accept people who have some learning to do. If you're already so successful and good at what you do, maybe you don't actually need school as much as the next guy!

Well, if the mods don't close this, does anyone have any actual advice?

Guess it could be different for different depts though? Or is it all grad admissions at this point?

I did mention that I was accepted at a place where someone was doing something exactly up my alley and that I thought it would save them time and effort if I withdrew. He then sent the nice email. I guess it's still a good idea to restate my decision instead of changing it. It's tempting though because he's doing things that are right up my other alley! Lol

I second that move-out times are a bonanza. Someone I know always goes dumpster diving then and he literally finds multiple Apple laptops just thrown away, some which are working perfectly fine... Ridiculous! Also wanted to point out - stipends are taxed, right? So you end up with 15% less than the stated stipend? I'm not sure though.

This is why I love the internet...

I mean, we're not really feeling it now, and it's starting to rain a little, but they're using the highway electronic signs to implore everyone to conserve and the governor declared some sort of emergency a while back. Difference this year is that some reservoirs are 80% below normal. That's not just a little! Someone said it'd have to rain every other day through May for us to hit normal levels, and obviously that will not happen. It'll probably hit the produce harder than the people. I've just never seen the national press cover a CA drought before...

Yes, yes, let's get the notaries involved ASAP! Lol I got the unofficial email on the 7th and haven't heard a peep since. Going on three weeks now, but I looked through old threads and it seems like the funding offers happen in early march. PhoenixKing - did you also hear about funding or fellowships?

Oh! Just found the other Berkeley thread - if the mods could close this one I'll happily post in the other one. Sorry, late night brain hiccup!

Wow, do people forget that there are other human beings at the other end or what? Sometimes mistakes happen, but that is human nature. You do your best to fix them but sometimes you're just out of luck. Nobody's out to screw anyone. Honest mistakes happen. Sucks when it happens, but that doesn't make those people arrogant. I'm confused by people who knowingly spend lots of money on schools they consider bad fits then complain about the cost. No one is forcing applicants to apply to many schools. IMO in any app seasons you should front load the process and do the work of scoping our faculty and contacting pois or current grads to figure out fit BEFORE you punk down all that money. It makes no sense to spend a bunch of money, then figure out fit after you get acceptances. You should already have some idea going in. I'll never get people who apply to a top ranked school just to find out if they're "good enough" rather than because of fit. These are inevitably the people who get all butt hurt and indignant after they get rejected - "I applied here not because I'm interested, but because I wanted a little self esteem boost! How dare you not give me my self-esteem boost!" Yikes. Some really don't even seem to understand that in any app process the most likely result is rejection. You should know that going in! You don't get to demand your money back just because the result is not to your liking! What do you bet the OP would've been fine spending that $100 if they'd gotten in? A lot of rationalizing going on here...

Is anyone headed to Berkeley this fall? I'm deciding between UCB and one other school, so I'm doing some research about logistics. I live in the city right now and am trying to figure out whether I should BART or drive. The parking permit seems really steep! $327/semester! In the city it's only $100/yr to get a street parking permit! Are there any alternatives to campus lots or are street spots and other garages just as expensive? What with the bridge toll (and it's about to increase!) that would be some $1400/yr (not including summer) if I went three days per week, and that's not including gas! That seems a bit excessive as I don't even spend that much on gas annually. On the other hand, BART would be $8 round trip, making it about a grand a year. However, grad student work spaces are off campus and not really accessible via BART, especially if we are carrying a lot of materials and supplies. I saw that carpool permits are cheaper ($92/person) but that would limit my mobility and schedule, making it hard for me to go and work in said grad workspaces at all. And depending on the class/work schedule I might have to spend more days on campus. Ion that case, I might actually break the $2000 mark, which just seems insane. Are there any cheaper alternatives if I want to drive? I hadn't realized it was so expensive! Oh and if anyone has other questions or comments about the town, I'm curious to hear. Just thought I'd start a thread. Thanks!

Oooo! That is good to know. It makes me nervous not to have the official notice, like it isn't real yet! Are you definitely attending in the fall or are you still choosing?

When do you have to decide? Maybe you can work on it a little before you go to school? I'd also recommend using grad school as an opportunity to improve social skills rather than shy away from it out of fear. Low res is good for people with families or jobs that don't allow them to be a full or part time student, but if you're doing it just because of this fear, you'll be missing out on training and networking, both of which might affect your prospects. Like others have said, schools can have very good free counseling services and there are clubs to practice without professional consequences. I hated getting up in front of people too, but now I'm quite comfortable with it. Yes, it's still normal to be nervous, but I'm no longer afraid of it. I think part of what helped was taking a group singing class. Everyone warms up together, then you take turns getting up there alone. It's terrifying at first. If there's one thing worse than public speaking, it is public singing! But it was good. Your peers can give you feedback and for me it surprisingly help alleviate my nerves because it became clear that most people are trying to help you and are rooting for you. Everyone is a beginner so we were all in the same boat. By the time I got through a couple of quarters of that, nothing seemed terribly intimidating. In the beginning I never volunteered until I was made to take my turn but by the end I really wanted to get up there and get some guidance. I thought it was better than debate club as some people in debate club are really hardcore or have had a lot of practice. Maybe you can start with an instrument class where you don't have to use your voice but can just get used to being in front of people. I think CBT is a good idea, but you can work on this yourself too. The key is to realize that you're operating under the spotlight effect - you care about your performance way more than others do. Everyone is mostly focused on themselves! It's also important to not confuse your social skill with your character or identity. It's not a permanent character trait, just a skill you can learn! I don't know if totally applies, but in think this video really makes a good case for going through life with the mentality of learning and improving rather than evaluating yourself as good or bad: http://99u.com/videos/22655/heidi-grant-halvorson-the-incredible-benefits-of-a-get-better-mindset It also helps if you are just upfront with it and defuse the atmosphere by telling people that you are not used to being in front of people or that you are a little tentative in social situations. Most people respond well and will sometimes try to make things more comfortable for you when it's said rather than figuring it out by watching you be nervous and awkward.

As a student I really hated quarters. There're always tests. For STEM classes there was a midterm and for humanities courses there was always a paper every 2-3 weeks and you had no breathing room at all. People who want to cram a lot into their degree like it for the variety but I hated it since I like to let things sink in and think about things. Maybe I'd be able to write a better paper if I had more than a week or two to consider what I wanted to say! If you get the flu bad, you are so screwed and I saw a lot of TAs deal with extensions under extenuating circumstances. But who knows, maybe students are just as bad under semesters! It just seemed like by the time you got your work graded and returned, it was only a week away from another test or paper! I can't imagine the TAs liked grading constantly... I'm hoping grad school will include a lot more independent study time. That's just my personality though.

I think they're here to stay and I've never seen the point of banning them. It's more of a problem in large lectures if they ring, but I've mostly been in small seminars and the shame of having your phone ring and everyone stare at you is enough to make most people pay attention to silencing it the next time. I don't think it's a good idea to ban phone or computer usage; virtually all my classes were full of people taking notes on laptops. If they want to goof off instead of paying attention to the education they are paying for, then that's on them as an adult. You are not their employer, trying to get man hours out of them, or a parent who has to teach them good habits. If they are not disruptive to others and can still learn and participate while being on the phone, what's the problem? And I'd point out that I've taken notes before on a phone in Evernote. It's nice because you can access it across all your devices and don't have to upload anything yourself. I would not appreciate it if my professors assumed I was playing games and punished me as I was just trying to use technology to my advantage in learning.