tomberry

Yup. that makes sense.  I stopped worrying over valentines day more than a decade ago. Now i've heard the someone on here saying rejects were sent on april fools… that seems pretty harsh too. 

Sorry to hear that, Mr.X. Remember, it only takes 1! Keep your chin up and don't doubt yourself. Good luck!

Hello everyone,
I've been watching this thread for six months and finally decided to get a username. The majority of you guys seem to be applying to top tier schools (some with very big price tags) and are willing to relocate so I didn't feel I really fit in and didn't bother commenting. Now I figure I mine as well join in the conversation. Maybe there are others out there like me who are cheap and unwilling to move.
 
Best of luck to all! May you get into your dream school with full funding!

Tyler Denied! It really is a funny way to find out. 

Tyler is also sending out unceremonious paper rejection letters. I got mine on Monday and tore it up with vigor...onward and upward.

Thanks for the heads up, tomberry! I haven't checked the portal in a while, it appears I've been "unceremoniously" denied too. (Cue the dramatic strings from the world's smallest violin.) Tyler was definitely the most selective school I applied to, still glad I tried. I'm totally with you on the clarity and being happy with my options. I see you had two acceptances, congrats! Are you leaning towards any one school right now? 

I agree and I applied to some very competitive programs and I know in my heart that I did everything to the best of my current ability and you send those thoughts out into the universe and hope it is enough. I'm not going to let some potential rejections affect my self-worth. Of course, we all want to get accepted but the reality is these schools are competitive and top tier because of the amount of applicants they reject each year. It seems pointless to doubt my judgment and acumen now (although easier said than done, right?). In any case, I think I should know everything by March 15th so I'm not going to let myself get too crazy while I wait for that to happen and it's not like this is the only pathway. It's a path I eventually want to take but there is a whole big world to be travelled, experiences to be had and new cultures to explore so either way I expect I'll be alright.
 
That being said, I do really want to get accepted but there is always room for further growth, more art books to read, more galleries to be visited and more work to be made. While I'd love to do this under the umbrella of an academic program, I won't stop if I don't get into one.

What a beautiful sentiment Tomberry! I completely agree in the gap year I took from applying my work has progressed, I have progressed, and I feel more grounded and ready to take on this challenge.
 
That being said, I just got a rejection email from one of the schools. I'm trying to not feel discouraged. I think I'll feel better once I know what is happening with my life (as we all will). Is it mid-March yet?

tomberry,
 
I like that resilience.

Definitely agree with tofutuesday here. Meese, last year Tyler posted my rejected on April 1st. The next day I started a big sculpture project that surely was the single work that got me into the two schools I have this year. We'll see about Tyler this second time around, but the bottom line is that rejection is like wind in your face, you work against it and your legs get stronger.

Definitely agree with tofutuesday here. Meese, last year Tyler posted my rejected on April 1st. The next day I started a big sculpture project that surely was the single work that got me into the two schools I have this year. We'll see about Tyler this second time around, but the bottom line is that rejection is like wind in your face, you work against it and your legs get stronger.

Definitely agree with tofutuesday here. Meese, last year Tyler posted my rejected on April 1st. The next day I started a big sculpture project that surely was the single work that got me into the two schools I have this year. We'll see about Tyler this second time around, but the bottom line is that rejection is like wind in your face, you work against it and your legs get stronger.

Congrats klp!!!
 
wm000, personally I think it would be bad form to send a list of questions during the admissions process to a professor. I would direct any questions you have to the admissions advisor. Also, if you want feedback on your work, I would send an email first requesting whether they would be able and willing to offer any feedback on your work and if so, when would be a good time to for them to look at it. 

After doing some very light research, here's the dates I found for a rough feedback from the schools I've applied to. Posting them here just in case anyone who has the same or similar schools is interested.
 
Royal College of Art: Feb 15-28 (interview request)
Tyler School of Art: Feb 15-20
NYAA: March 1
SVA: March 15-20
Columbia: March 15-20
RISD: End of March
Hunter CUNY: End of March

I'd wait. It is still early.

Is it better to wait for contact or is it just fine to contact programs to inquire about the status? I'm curious because last year, it took Tyler until April 1st to post my rejection online. There wasn't any other notification! The application fee online pays for so much coffee I suppose.

Sorry to hear it, Loric. Rejections always suck, but they're always worse when they're vague, then try to offer suggestions that are equally vague. It really doesn't help anyone involved.

No, not all schools conduct interviews. And then there's a range from phone, skype, and in person when they do.  

Well, the majority of people who get a BFA in visual arts also do not become a professional visual artist. Most decide to pursue different jobs or have realized that being an artist is a full time commitment- one they don't really want to make. Probably a good number move into related fields where they can use their creativity.
 
Its a hard knock life!

Where Is "here" iomarch? Wherever it is, I guess I imagined there would be a few more. Then again, most people crazy enough to have gotten a BFA aren't quite ecstatic about digging themselves a deeper whole for an MFA.
 
We're high rollers I guess. Like lil' Weezy.

Unfortunately, not that long. I asked when I met with people from each school I'm applying to and it seems like it differs a little from school to school, but the main gist is that they first sit together and all look at pretty much only the slides and just bust through them. One prof said that you should always start off with strong images because often they don't get through all 20 before they move onto the next app. Pack the beginning of the portfolio, because she says at that stage all it takes is one prof who's interested to mark your app for a second glance. Once they bust through all of them, then they start looking more carefully at the ones they marked, looking at all the images, reading the descriptions, weeding some out and looking at the rest of the app info. They don't necessarily read the descriptions on the first go round and I don't know that ultimately it matters for some type of work, because when I submitted my Davis portfolio, I didn't realize you were supposed to really utilize the description boxes. Still got in!
 
It's really true that you should never even put ONE SINGLE WEAK image in the mix because she says they've eliminated people on that basis - one guy had a super strong photo portfolio and they were leaning towards interviewing him, but there was one random drawing that wasn't so great. Outliers like that make them wonder about the applicant's judgment and at that point, there are so many other strong apps that it's enough to get you canned. That said, I threw a video onto the end of my photo portfolio but it was important because I do think it's strong and I have a lot to say about it. It was important to me to show something that indicated I could make something other than photos. That hasn't seemed to count against me. I think it's all about staying with the really strong stuff.
 
At another school, all the profs look individually on their computers and then they all come together to present who they thought was strong. It sounds like everywhere they pretty much fight for applicants they think are good. It was good to hear someone say that they don't always expect perfection - sometimes they have to remind themselves that these are students who will be taught. They are not judging us by "real art world" standards necessarily. Eventually they come to some sort of consensus on who to shortlist or interview. I have no idea how they decide after interviews, though Berkeley said they have their grad students involved since they will be classmates in close quarters for a year.
 
As for portfolios, I was told by people I met that they wanted to see about 4-5 projects/pieces with 4-5 photos from each series (or for large scale sculpture, different angles and details). They want to see that you can do different things, but that you have some sort of coherent overall look or style or vision. They don't want 20 of the same things, and they don't want things that seem so unrelated that they seem like random school assignments. She said you can usually tell when someone's portfolio is just all school assignments.
 
Anyway, I would really suggest that if anyone is going to apply again that you try to make some sort of contact with a person at each school you are interested in. Sometimes they don't tell you anything, but 2 out of the 3 people I talked to gave me some concrete guidelines about what they think is a good balance for a portfolio. It differs of course, but then you can cater the portfolio in each app to what they said specifically. Don't forget you can also ask your recommenders what they think if they are profs. They have to go through this process all the time too.
 
Maybe all that was more appropriate for three months ago!?

Over here they usually get 100+ apps for 7-9 spots. Maybe 125 or so?

Ha! I guess you figured it out already.

Hi tomberry,
 
You add the info by going into edit profile and then look for signature on the right hand side.
Congrats on your acceptance!