Jump to content

works_on_paper

Members
  • Posts

    11
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation Activity

  1. Upvote
    works_on_paper got a reaction from spiffscience in Palo Alto, CA   
    Whenever student housing says, "No pets," they mean NO PETS. No cats, no dogs, no reptiles, no rodents/ferrets, etc.
    "Just bring the cat" is terrible advice; don't bring the cat at all unless you have explicit permission in your housing contract to do so.
    Disabled students with service animals might get an exemption, but trying to smuggle a cat into student housing is a very bad idea. If you get caught (and the chances you will are very high), you'll face an immediate choice of either getting rid of the cat or (if you don't want to do that, and are made of money) moving out. Which would you choose, assuming you had 24 hours or less to make the decision and act on it? Is either one going to be acceptable and/or practical for you?
    My current housemate used to work doing intake at an animal shelter near a major university. Multiple times throughout the academic year, she'd have to deal with sobbing, heartbroken girls (it was always girls) bringing their kittens or cats in to surrender because they'd been caught with them in their dorm rooms or student apartments. The cats had to go immediately, thus there was no time to find other homes for them, so to the shelter they went. Is that worth the risk, to you?
    tl;dr: If you're smart enough to get into Stanford, don't do something stupid that puts your cat (and possibly your continued residence on-campus) at risk. Really--just don't.
  2. Upvote
    works_on_paper reacted to perpetuavix in Seattle, WA   
    I'm a UW grad student and I get paid less than $2250 a month, and i do just fine. Grad students are unionized so the salary schedules are all online: https://www.grad.washington.edu/students/fa/salaries/salary-schedules.shtml Having a Masters degree also affects your pay, so possibly others who reported higher stipends had Masters degrees already. 
    Seattle is an increasingly expensive city, but there are still plenty of inexpensive neighborhoods. I live in North Seattle and I pay less than $1200 for a 900+ sq ft 2 bedroom with a walk in closet and a balcony. I live on an express bus line to campus so my commute is usually around 20 minutes. Two new light rail stations are opening that will connect South Seattle to UW; I have friends who live in a 3BR in Rainier Valley for $1500 or something equally ridiculous. If you want to live in Capitol Hill (which is expensive, but has a ton of good restaurants, bars, clubs, etc) or UDistrict (which is expensive and....not great), you can still make it work with the stipend, but it's more difficult.  
  3. Upvote
    works_on_paper got a reaction from nm16 in Palo Alto, CA   
    Whenever student housing says, "No pets," they mean NO PETS. No cats, no dogs, no reptiles, no rodents/ferrets, etc.
    "Just bring the cat" is terrible advice; don't bring the cat at all unless you have explicit permission in your housing contract to do so.
    Disabled students with service animals might get an exemption, but trying to smuggle a cat into student housing is a very bad idea. If you get caught (and the chances you will are very high), you'll face an immediate choice of either getting rid of the cat or (if you don't want to do that, and are made of money) moving out. Which would you choose, assuming you had 24 hours or less to make the decision and act on it? Is either one going to be acceptable and/or practical for you?
    My current housemate used to work doing intake at an animal shelter near a major university. Multiple times throughout the academic year, she'd have to deal with sobbing, heartbroken girls (it was always girls) bringing their kittens or cats in to surrender because they'd been caught with them in their dorm rooms or student apartments. The cats had to go immediately, thus there was no time to find other homes for them, so to the shelter they went. Is that worth the risk, to you?
    tl;dr: If you're smart enough to get into Stanford, don't do something stupid that puts your cat (and possibly your continued residence on-campus) at risk. Really--just don't.
  4. Upvote
    works_on_paper got a reaction from altiplano in 2016 MFA Interview Thread   
    @altiplanoChances are good you'll spend most of your time indoors, in which case just about every place will be ridiculously over-heated! (I had the opposite experience of packing my lightest summer clothes for my very first trip to Texas one July, and just about froze to death under the ever-present air conditioning). So I second 2222222's advice: if you have a warm coat or jacket, and a sweater you can wear under that, then your regular clothes under that, you should do fine. And warm, dry feet are essential, so thick socks and reasonably waterproof shoes/boots are always a good idea. Good luck with your interview!
  5. Upvote
    works_on_paper reacted to sjoh197 in Scored low on GRE but not interested in retaking..   
    2 of the programs you mention say "competitive scores" for the gre requirement on their admissions pages.... and I'm sorry, but the 1 percentile in Quant and only 33 percentile in Verbal is not competitive.  I would seriously reconsider taking it again. There are a lot of forums on here dedicated to GRE resources that can likely help you improve your scores dramatically if you really try. 
  6. Upvote
    works_on_paper reacted to rising_star in Need Advice - Unprofessional LOR   
    1) Neither of these things makes a letter unprofessional.
    2) This is why applicants should totally waive their right to read letters because you're stressing out about this unnecessarily.
  7. Upvote
    works_on_paper reacted to aethiryn in Underrated programs near LA?   
    As a graduate from UCSB, I can vouch it's a really great program -- however have to disagree that it supports more 'traditional forms of art making'. 

    The program really came together in the 90's with an emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, hence why there are no departments you apply to (like painting, photo, etc-- just a 'studio art' degree) They encourage cross disciplinary practice, and because it's a university greatly encourage research in other fields such as the sciences (as an example). The program was incredibly theoretically rigorous and devoted to critical discourse in the contemporary field. It's one of the few UC MFA programs that actually requires a 30 page written thesis (or somehow equivalent) -- which some artists are either for or against. I'd actually say the program promotes more of a sculpture and social practice focus, if I had to narrow it into a field. 

    I'd say look into it. I got paid to go to grad school there, they have phenomenal funding, the facilities and studios are huge, and the faculty provide intimate one on one interaction and have close ties to the LA scene. 
  8. Upvote
    works_on_paper got a reaction from emiemi in does MFA program welcome people without BA/BFA ?   
    My own case is kind of odd--I'm 47 years old, with a BA in History and Anthropology.
     
    I would like to get into a top MFA program for drawing/painting, and have decided to apply for fall 2016 or '17. And I think this is perfectly do-able. 
     
    That said, I toyed with the idea of going back to school for a postbac BFA, just to get back into "student mode," and perhaps to give my application a boost. I took a printmaking class at my local university this summer as a non-matriculated student just to test the waters. And while the class was great fun and gave me a creative kick in the pants, I've decided not to go for the postbac degree.
     
    My skill level is generally high (after all these years it should be, darn it). I read artist bios and books on art history and contemporary art for fun. I go look at art whenever possible. I've made friends in my local arts community. I finally have a clear idea of what I'm painting about, and can talk intelligently about that.
     
    I'm sure there are things I could get out of the BFA experience, but at this point my art would be much better served by simply making more of it and getting it out there in the world much more often. I don't have a very disciplined studio practice right now, and I could be much more productive if I worked on that. I ought to put together a website by the end of this year, because I have zero internet presence. My work is already good enough to go pro; I just need to start acting like a professional artist, and doing things to build a resume. Having two years of sales and exhibition history, and maybe a few juried show awards, and a big, fat body of coherent, professional work, and a nice website that shows it all off will do me a lot more good than coughing up tuition for another degree. 
     
    Short version: Go make art. Be an artist! Build your portfolio. Apply. Don't worry (HA!).
     
    As far as MFA candidates' all having BFAs? Well, of course they do. Most people who decide they want to be artists make that decision very early in life, and by the time they get into an MFA Program they have been on that trajectory for years. But just because the current batch all have BFAs doesn't mean there are never non-BFA holders in that program, or that you can't be the exception in your cohort. 
     
    Good luck!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use