jon cocktoe

I was also pleasantly surprised when I started looking outside of the main list of photo mfa programs. I did a tour of about 6 schools on the east coast and it turns out there are some amazing programs and faculty. For example, I almost skipped UMass Dartmouth because I was very underwhelmed by their website, but when I visited, the faculty were insightful and supportive, and it turns out almost all of their grads have great teaching jobs (which is what I'd like to do). I was also seriously turned off by a couple of places that looked great on the web, I highly recommend visiting if possible. When I put together a list, I was pretty restricted by geography (either stay in NM or move to New England), so the final list turned out to be: UNM UMass Dartmouth UMass Amherst RISD MassArt I think I put together a good mix, and I'd be happy at any of them (provided I get funding), so we'll see what happens.

I just went through something similar. I had one math class at a different school during my freshman year, and I just ignored it because it's not relevant to the MFA that I want. When I checked the status of my application at one of the schools I'm applying to, it said 'incomplete' because the course was listed on my transcript without a grade. So I freaked out and called every school where I applied to see if they need the additional transcript. As it turns out, only 2 out of 5 want an official copy, and one wants an unofficial copy. My advice would be to call the admissions office everywhere you applied and just ask.

I'm applying to art programs which means I have to mail a disk with my portfolio on it. The biggest problem that I've run into is that most of the time they don't tell you where to send it. Grad admissions office? Art school dean? Specific department? This has resulted in endless hours on the phone trying to ferret out who the proper contact person is and what address I need to send stuff to. And of course every school had a different answer. I've also found it irritating that some schools want hard copies of all supporting documents, and some want a file on the disk that has my portfolio on it.

This is interesting. I wonder if all the the info about SOPs applies to LORs? One of my recommenders gave me a copy of their letter, and there were two minor typos in it. Do you think this would reflect badly on me? The deadlines are coming up quick (Jan 5), and if I ask her to rewrite the letter, it will be late. So, is it better to submit a letter with typos or late?

Can you rent it out while you're in school? That way, you don't have to worry about the paperwork involved with selling it, and if you want to move back after school you would still have that option. Or if the market picks up later, you can sell it then. Either way, there would be no pressure to put it on the market right away so that you don't end up selling it for no reason.

under the 'language' tab, you can choose to leave out common english words

Neato! thanks for providing a somewhat creative distraction

I had my portfolio whittled down as well before I read that post. I've got two sets of 10 images, so I think I'll be OK. I've got a whole bunch of portfolios that I was thinking about using, but in the two that I chose, one directly evolved from the other, so even though the images are quite different, the ideas follow along the same thread. I think they're looking for a sort of theoretical cohesiveness, or at least a progression of sorts. I explain my work in further detail in my SOP, which I posted here: http://forum.thegrad...photography-mfa Hopefully this is good enough, but only time will tell. For now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's so hard to know what people want especially in the arts because it's all so subjective. But I like the advice that the author gives at the end: "In the past when I tried to second guess what a judging panel might want and I didn’t get accepted or win, I was a lot more disappointed than when I stuck with my own artistic vision. So…stay true to yourself, pick your twenty strongest photos that work together to reveal your interests as an artist and don’t lose any sleep over it." Good luck!

Hi Folks, I ran across some advice regarding portfolios that I think you might be interested in. It's specifically about photography portfolios, but I'd imagine much of what is said would apply to painting or sculpture as well. Here's the link: http://www.aphotostudent.com/2009/12/16/mfa-application-portfolio-editing/ Have fun editing!

expensive

Yikes! I have a cousin that went to law school, and when word got around that I was applying to grad school she called me (we're not very close) to tell me NOT to go to law school. I'm glad I'm applying to MFA programs, hopefully they won't be quite so scary.

Just out of curiosity, what other boards are you all referring to?

You're not completely SOL. I just did a quickie search on Amtrak (www.amtrak.com) for NY-New Haven-Boston and back and the total was $124. If you have a student ID or AAA membership you might be able to get a cheaper fare. That's not super cheap, but it's better than renting a car with the added bonus that you don't have to drive around any of those cities, and it will be faster than the commuter train. I grew up on the East Coast and all of those cities are a nightmare to drive through as far as I'm concerned. The train station in New Haven is pretty close to the Yale campus, , I don't think it's more than 5 or 6 blocks and I've walked it before. I don't know about Boston though. Be careful when if you book the train ticket to Boston because there are 4 different stations, and I'm not sure which one is closest to the Harvard campus. The train is the option that I would choose and it should get you to all of your destinations with plenty of time for your visits in between, plus the train stations in NY and New Haven are pretty nice. I think Penn Station is an experience worth having if you've never been there before. If you're savvy enough to fly, you should have no problem navigation train stations. Good luck! Monday, December 14, 2009170 Northeast Regional (NYP - NHV) Depart:8:30 am, Monday, December 14, 2009 Arrive:10:06 am, Monday, December 14, 2009 1 Adult $26.69 1 Reserved Coach SeatSubtotal $26.69 Arrive:11:13 am, Tuesday, December 15, 2009 1 Adult $35.31 1 Reserved Coach SeatSubtotal $35.31 Wednesday, December 16, 200993 Northeast Regional (BOS - NYP) Depart:9:35 am, Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Arrive:1:50 pm, Wednesday, December 16, 2009 [*]1 Adult $62.00 [*]1 Reserved Coach Seat [*]Subtotal $62.00 Terms & Conditions Total $124.00

I'm in the same situation as you, and I would have to agree with Daisy (although I haven't been accepted anywhere yet). All of the faculty I've met at the programs I'm applying to have been very encouraging about my liberal arts degree. The general response seems to be that it indicates a willingness to learn and a general aptitude for critical thinking which is necessary for making good art.

The only school on your list that I've visited is UConn, and all in all it was a very mixed experience. For one thing, they guarantee funding for all 5 students that they admit, but they recently cut it from $20k/year to $10k/year because of budget problems. It's good, but it's not great. The structure of the program is a little strange, they require every student to take the same studio class their first semester regardless of discipline. So depending on when you enter, it could be printmaking, sculpture, or drawing etc. Depending on your interest, it could be great, or it could be a waste of time. And, FWIW the photo facilities kinda suck. They have a few iMacs in the basement for the 'lab' and 2 printers that may or may not work according to the tour guide I had. There's a tiny darkroom down there as well that seem to be mostly for undergrads. There's a whole separate building for the graduate studios and there's a nice darkroom up there, but it doesn't look like it's been used for ages, and no digital facilities at all. The campus itself is literally in the middle of nowhere, which is hard to imagine in CT, but it's true. Aside from the campus, there are a few seedy looking strips of stores on the edges, and that's it. You have to drive at least 30 min to get to anything resembling an actual town. Check out the Storrs thread in the City guide section. I met all of the photo faculty there and 1 student (who was my tour guide) and had VERY mixed experiences with them. PM me if you're interested to know more. All in all, by the end of my visit I decided not to apply, but it was based on a few very personal factors which may not apply to you at all. As for the other schools on your list, I know UNM and Las Vegas offer good funding. I live in NM and plan to visit UNM soonish, so I will let you know how that goes. I thought of applying to Yale, but because of the high app fee an apparent lack of funding, I decided to skip it.