grad_wannabe

I received a phone call from Charlie White as I was arriving to work very early in the morning. I got into USC. Lord above I am overwhelmed. I never even imagined it would come to this.

I got an email from MIT that said, "MIT Architecture Graduate Application: Update" and I thought, "Oh holy hell, that's a rejection for sure." It turned out to be a generic, "Applications are being processed. Decisions will be released soon" and with a sigh I thought, "Shoot I don't know why I was so nervous when I opened that - there's no way in hell I'm getting in there. It's silly to have my hopes up about it." There were days I woke up and thought, "There's electricity in the air this morning. I will hear a decision today, I can feel it." And then- nothing all day. But then on the most random days, when I've had no anticipation whatsoever... something happens. Suddenly and with no warning, and then everything is different. This past Sunday I was watching the Oscars with my parents (apologies to those that already read this story on the visual art board) and my phone buzzed. I reached for it absent-mindedly and saw it was an email, and before I even realized what was happening I saw the words "MIT" "Welcome" and "It is my pleasure..." I sat in stunned silence, my jaw agape. I remained silent until I opened up the browser on my phone, went into my email, and read the entire thing over once or twice (the subject line said "welcome! mit act" so there was no ambiguity in that). Then I sat, still unable to make words for a couple minutes, until they had finished announcing the award for Best Director. The commercials came on and I said to my folks, "Hey, guys, uh ... speaking of happy times... I, uh ... I got into MIT." Then there was much screaming and jumping and shouting. I was too stunned to even reply to the email. Took me all week to calm down enough to reply. (Still waiting on the funding package, said to be included in the "official letter to arrive this week.")

Congrats!! Kinda random: Kathryn Bigelow (director of the Hurt Locker) got her degree in painting from SFAI.

Congrats littlenova!!! the wait is over!!

There is no logic to grad school apps. There are SO MANY different factors, and it is SO subjective... don't get down on yourself. There was one guy in my graduating class who was a department star - he knew all the right professors, took all the right classes, placed in lots of exhibitions, produced intelligent and thoughtful work, got the honors studio space, did tons of extracurricular stuff, had an internship, and even founded a pretty big gallery on campus. He got in NOWHERE. TWO ROUNDS of applications (applied the year he graduated, and again the year after that). Nothing. There was a girl, same year, who was kind of a bitch. Her work was juvenile, repetitive and self-absorbed. She was argumentative and confrontational. Never seemed to contribute anything of value to any class I had her in. She had no idea how the graduate system or art system worked, and not only that but she was proud of her ignorance. "What? MFA Thesis show tonight? What is that? I don't follow all that ART stuff you guys do!" (and she was an art major). She got into UCSD, with a full-ride fellowship. You just never know.

Whoa are you serious - 800 applicants? Where did you hear that number? And yeah, only 8 spots.

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Whoa, did not even know that. So that's where that "rulebook in the clouds" is.

Yeah, it was on the phone. Sadie Benning called (which was crazy awesome cause I'm a huge fan of hers anyway - she may or may not be joining core faculty in the fall, she's not quite sure yet). A solid hour of VERY intense and prolonged questioning. If you get a call, be prepared to know your thesis and investigations backwards and forwards.

Thanks RKSim (and thanks for all the comments, everybody - this site and thread has been an awesome support group for months!!), and congrats on your fellowships!! I haven't heard any funding into at all yet from MIT, I'm worried I'm going to have to suck it up and go into massive debt just to go...

I received an email last night from Ute Meta Bauer, worded very nicely, something along the lines of, "Welcome! It is my pleasure to inform you, as your faculty advisor, that you have been accepted to our program..." I got the email on my phone while I was watching the Oscars with my parents. I waited for a commercial break and then said, "Hey, guys, speaking of happy times ...." There was lots of jumping up and down and screaming and hugging.

I had an interview with USC on Saturday. They said they would call with a decision this week.

Hey Alex - you hear back from UCLA?? I was thinking about applying to this program, decided not to at the last second but I regret it somewhat. Let me know if you got in!

Holy Mary mother of God .... I got into MIT. Master of Science in Visual Studies in their Art, Culture and Technology Program, in the Department of Architecture.

The group interview was intimidating! It was a generalized optional preliminary interview, I just went because I wanted to look at the campus. It was headed up by George Agudow (the acting dean) and Dan O'Sullivan (a professor). All of the candidates (except myself) were late 20's with a few years of work experience, in all different backgrounds. There was (among about 12 attendees) a guy who'd gotten his BA in bioengineering from Harvard, a guy who'd spent the last ten years running his own music production studio in Alaska, and a girl doing graduate work in conceptual physics. Very diverse. Jestem you mentioned that your background is not in graphic design - I think that will work in your favor here. I'd guess maybe only half the kids there had art backgrounds. We all sat around a large conference table, and we were instructed to pair up and introduce each other. We all spoke briefly about our backgrounds (both educational and vocational) and why we wanted to attend ITP. Then they had a current student come in and show us some of his work and talk about the experience of the school. They put heavy emphasis on collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas. There are no individual grad studios - everyone works together. Dan mentioned that the most successful students are those that are there ALL the time, hanging out with other students. The vibe was very warm and friendly. Everyone was easy-going, hanging out in rooms full of equipment and technology everywhere. It seemed like a great atmosphere for the sharing of ideas. They mentioned that Wikipedia had been there recruiting the week before, and that Apple and Google were scheduled for the next week. Their graduates go into all different fields - they mentioned design, academia, and law. Seems like a wonderful place. I kinda shot myself in the foot during the group interview (it was obvious that I was far more inexperienced than the rest of the room) so I don't anticipate getting an offer, but I do plan to reapply. Kudos to anyone accepted! Let the rest of us know!

From what I understand you have until April 15th to make a decision. Even if they ask for it sooner, I'm pretty sure there's a rule book in the clouds somewhere that says you have that long.

Just got an email from USC - I got a phone interview!!!

At the interviews in January (did you go to any of those? I was at the noon January 13 interview, if you were there then we met!) they said "mid-March."

If you fear bad luck, you could always just ask about the status of decisions in general and whether they've been made/when they'll be made, without giving your name.

I sympathize, similar-board-name buddy. Good luck next year!

Jestem have you heard anything from NYU ITP yet? I haven't, but I checked the google analytics for my online portfolio and I've gotten minimal-to-no NYC traffic (3 visits that lasted all of 17 seconds), so I'm not holding my breath...

Both UCLA and USC do phone interviews. I haven't heard from USC (I'm New Genres, waiting on pins and needles!!) but I heard through the grapevine that a friend of a friend has already gotten an interview with UCLA in painting.

If it's between an ad com member calling me and telling me I didn't get in NOW, versus waiting another month for the official rejection letter, then yeah I'd prefer to hear it from the person.

Hmm I'm wondering if there are people at these functions who are purposefully dressing down so as to appear more scholarly-minded and not concerned with "flighty" endeavors like shaving or ironing? It's sad, but the same bias works in art-world academia as well, at least to my mind it does. The dress code is VERY specific. At every grad info session I went to, it was obvious everyone (myself included) was trying to hit that sweet spot of "I look like an Urban Outfitters photo spread but everything is wrinkled to prove I didn't try too hard because I look like this naturally." I definitely try not to dress too "pretty" at these events. I never wear heels, dresses, or make-up - but I do wear my biggest glasses.

ACK I can't believe it's here already. ALL of my schools told me "decisions will be made in March." This is the month that I've by turns dreaded, eagerly anticipated, feared, awaited and egged on. There is a big, muddied, undefined cloud of hope/worry in my mind, and its name is March. Two of my schools told me last Tuesday that they would "make calls next week" (including the school I interviewed with that day). That means THIS WEEK. Two schools, both of whom told me months ago that "decisions would be made in March" have practically ceased to exist for me. I haven't heard anything from them, and have convinced myself I won't get in (based on my surveys of other applicants here on this board, incidentally). But, still, there is the tiny part of me (buried inside the cloud called March) that insists there's still a chance. And, truth be told, there is - and that question will be answered in so uncertain terms by the end of this month. Good luck, everyone!