Spaced Out
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Posts posted by Spaced Out
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howdy
bart and muni are totally separate things. bart can be a freak show too, but not as much as muni.
potrero is nice and sunny, but is definitely pricier than the mission or lower haight. it's a relatively easy commute to cca from the mission or lower haight, and it's relatively flat so you can always bike it too.
also, here's a tip: when apartment hunting, be sure to check for signs of mold. SF is notorious for moldy apartments and it's no fun to find dark black mold growing on your walls or your stuff. potrero hill is fairly dry and sunny, but it does happen. it's more likely in the mission. basically, the farther west you are, the more likely you will be to have mold (north/west=fog, wind, damp, south/east=sun, sun, sun).
if you do end up in the mission/potrero area, here is my list of favorites
thee parkside. my local dive, beer garden, bike and dog friendly, super chill, punk shows, lots of cca students hang there.
chez maman. the most amazing burger of your life
farley's coffee. one size fits all.
just for you. mmmmm brunch.
universal cafe. mmmmmmmmm brunch.
st francis fountain or boogaloos. mmmmmmmmmmmm brunch.
coffee bar. it's where you go to get your telecommute on. delicious sandwiches and americanos.
Once again thank you. Very helpful information. Right now I am deciding between CCA and UW Madison. I am really excited about the thought of moving to SF but it would be a big step in terms of distance and finances. All your info really does help to give me a bit clearer picture.
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Hellos all around. Congrats to everyone in this forum for posting and reading, regardless of your results. Mine are bittersweet, but not a total loss. And certainly not a waste of time. I've never felt more sure about why it is I do what I do - the research, the interviews, and this forum could probably keep me going for another year. We'll see what's in the cards...
Hunter/nyu/Tyler/rutgers- no go
pratt- waitlisted
MICA - first alternate!
Saic- prior degree BFA
city college cuny - ?
(all painting)
How did you fid out you were waitlisted for Pratt?
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this is a great forum, kinda eases the tension of the waiting game.
Drawing/Painting:
SAIC: interview + rejected 3/19
cranbrook: rejected 3/18
UofMichigan: rejected (early Feb)
Pratt: Accepted 3/18
UofIllinois Urbana: Accepted 3/12
Congrats on PRATT. Did they send you a letter or email you? Didi you interview?
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spaced out:
well, that all depends on a) how much you are prepared to spend and
and how long you want to commute. SF is a very expensive town (i currently live there) and the housing market is just straight up bonkers. unless you get an apartment within walking distance to SFAI, you will be commuting either by MUNI (public transit) or by bike (if you dare. ps. SFAI is in Russian hill. and when I say hill I mean it). a standard MUNI commute can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours.
just so you know, MUNI is in the slow and painful process of falling apart. services have been cut and fares have been hiked and now buses just don't seem to show up. i've been late for work more times than i can count because there are 40 and sometimes 60 minute gaps in service. and i'm lucky that i only have to take one bus to work! most people have to take two or three.
www.munidiaries.com
www.sfist.com
in short: MUNI is a bona fide freak show. John Waters, who is a resident of SF, enjoys riding MUNI for its entertainment value. that should give you a pretty good idea of what i mean by "freak show." now i'm not talking drag queens, i'm talking about foaming at the mouth junkies who smell like pee and whip their dick out in front of you, or crazy dudes who are off their meds and try to smash their head, or your head, or whoevers head is closest, through the nearest window.
moving on. if you want to live close to SFAI be prepared to shell out upwards of $2500 for a one bedroom in the surrounding neighborhoods. if you're like most normal folks, you can't afford that. in which case you'd want to find more reasonable housing in the following, neighborhoods:
tenderloin (look it up, it's only for the brave of heart)
SOMA (same as above)
lower nob hill (sometimes referred to as tender nob b/c it borders the loin, not a bad place, just gotta stay frosty)
mission (if you're a hipster)
lower haight (hipster, more reasonable rent than most places, but watch out for the projects and junkies)
if you're desperate for cheaper rent, you'll most likely be looking in the western addition (with many of it's micro neighborhoods, again, can be dicey due to not so pleasant race relations mostly having to due with the encroachment of young white kids on the neighborhoods directly abutting some of the SF's worst projects. often referred to as gentrification)
if you dont' mind a longer commute you can find much cheaper housing in the inner and outer richmond and/or sunset. but it's socially dead out there, foggy, and you'll be looking at an hour + commute to anywhere you'd want to be (school, hang out, etc)
if you're looking to share with roommates you can expect to pay anywhere from $700 (for a small divey room) to $1300 (yes, for a room in a shared apartment). of course, there are reasonably priced, safe and pleasant places to live, but it will take a while to find them and often times you need an insider to get you in (friend of a friend type thing). my suggestion is start your housing search early (like 2-3 months ahead) and don't panic and take the first thing that comes your way. trust me: moving in this city is a real drag, so hold out until you find something right. and by right i also mean the roommates.
what else. oh yeah, if you're going to CCA's campus in the city, potrero hill can have some great places, but it's also extremely pricey. if you know people in the area who will be renting it is possible to find a great place to live there. i currently live in potrero hill and i just adore it, but i got a hand me down apartment so i was very lucky on reasonable rent. dogpactch is on the other side of potrero hill (where the SFAI wasteland is) and you can find an odd mix of run down dives, reasonable cute victorians, and filthy stinking rich lofts, but very little ambiance. a great breakfast join (just for you! that's what it's clalled) a dive bar, a really bad BBQ place and that's about it. either way you can expect to pay about $900 to $1300+ for potrero/dogpatch.
hmmm, i hope this isn't overwhelming you. i highly recommend checking out sfist.com to get a sense of the daily happenings in this city. i love SF to pieces, but sometimes it's just too expensive to live! and then the junkies depress me. but on the whole, it's a wonderful and unique place. with the BEST street food! which reminds me: ALWAYS buy a tamale from the TAMALE LADY. she circulates several bars and her tamele's are THE BEST. she always goes to Zeitgeist, so you should too
good luck to all!
Damn Thanks a lot! Yeah I have a few friends in the area, One friend suggested Petrero Hill as a good place to look. I got in at CCA some I would be looking for stuff reasonably close to there. Good to know about the BART, I didnt know it was slow and a freak show. I would be moving with my GF so prob not looking for roommates (ideally). I really want to move out there and the expense is the scariest part honestly. Thanks again, we are going to start looking for places online.
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I havent heard anything either..boo hoo
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As a former MFA candidate in photo at SFAI (whose roommate was in the painting program) I have to warn you:
RUN FAR FAR FAR AWAY FROM SFAI.
Also, I HIGHLY recommend visiting both schools before making a decision. I can't speak to CCA's grad studios, but SFAI's grad studios are horrible: it's an old industrial building very far (45 min bus ride if you get the timing right, an hour+ during rush hour) no natural light, no heat (and it's freeeeeeeeezing inside), toilets that overflow all the time, and not a safe place to be late at night. As for the grad "gallery" at the grad building, if you consider an unmarked, windowless room with sloppily re-painted white walls in an unmarked industrial building in the industrial wasteland that is 3rd-St-San-Francisco a gallery, then you'll love it.
Sorry to be harsh, but I found SFAI to be a total scam. Also, when I attended I was no aware of the shady recent history of the school. The former president (about 7-10 years ago or so) had embezzled millions of dollars from the school, all of which was unrecoverable. When the school found out the president killed herself. By the time the administration realized they had been bleeding cash, it was way too late. They ended up selling the original grad studios (which used to reside down the street from the Chestnut undergrad campus, but is now owned by the Academy of Art), and stuck the grad students in the purgatory that is 3rd St. In addition to selling the grad studios to the (evil, parasite-like) Academy of Art, the school has just been cutting corners ever since. The faculty are disgruntled too, many of them weren't paid for last years Spring semester and several have been pink slipped.
I know times are tough, but SFAI started to fall apart well before the financial crisis. I would not consider it a safe bet at this point.
However I have heard rumors of a SFAI/CCA merger. So, who knows what kind of state CCA is in...
Just my $0.02.
Thanks for the insight. Can you suggest a good area to look for housing in SF?
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Sophiab, would you take some pictures of CCA's studio spaces when you go to look around and share them with us. I have been trying to find good pictures of them online but haven't had to much luck.
I will be visiting the campus as well at the beginning of march and I would gladly take some photos of the studios and campus area.
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thanks. i already checked them out a couple of weeks ago, so no i won't be heading back for their open house. the program seems pretty cool, in the sense that people are down to earth and the bay area is great in terms of quality of life. --plus oakland is cheap for big live/work spaces and unfolding a little artist community in it's own right that might develop into something--who knows? the studios at cca are tiny though, and you don't get a door, just a curtain. the fact that anybody can just pull your little curtain back and walk in on you at any time could i think drive me nuts in a hurry.
are you heading to cca's open house? what department would you be in?
i'm still waiting to hear from ucla and calarts. calarts does interviews (but not for me...) and so i'm assuming that's a rejection. ucla though, i don't know. some people on here have said that they've already been rejected, but i haven't heard anybody say they've been accepted. kind of weird. i've heard its a black hole though, in the sense that nobody gets in that doesn't already know they're going to get in before they even apply...
Im going for painting. Yeah im going to the open house. Hmm good to know about the studios but also good to know about the area. I am really feeling the west coast esp SF. Prior to this I was pretty set on the EAST coast but I am changing my mind now(or it was changed for me since I havent got in anywhere in the east)...
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My art thoughts/practice have been scattered since graduating. I have had 7 jobs in the last 4 years, including 2 middle school art teaching jobs and I got married. So there have been extremely busy times where I went 6 months without doing art, when I had summers off from teaching I made art everyday. 10 months ago I realized I want to be an artist instead of a high school art teacher. I finished up my body of work and applied to grad school.
Yeah a year or so after I graduated with my BFA I decided I wanted to give back to the community. I begin doing some community art projects and teaching classes etc. then I thought I wanted to teach so I applied to and was accepted into a teacher eduction program.I ended up dropping out not too long after. I just couldent see myself juggling my students art/problems and my art. I decided I am still a little too selfish to take on high school students. I commend you for going through with it
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hello, i'm new here.
i've been accepted to cca in painting, though haven't heard anything about funding...
i've also done interviews with yale, risd, and saic, though no final decisions yet.
i also have applied to ucla and calarts, but haven't heard a peep. no interview, but no rejections either--so it feels weird, as it seems as though some people have already been rejected at those schools. how did you hear that calarts wasn't going to take you?
congrats on CCA! Are you going to attend their open house on the 4th?
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New list
REJECTED
SAIC
BERKELEY
HUNTER
ACCEPTED
CCA
UW MADISON
WAITING
VCU
PRATT
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New list
REJECTED
SAIC
BERKELEY
HUNTER
ACCEPTED
CCA
UW MADISON
WAITING
VCU
PRATT
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Thanks for looking at my work! It means a lot. My body of work is something I developed after undergrad and it's never seen the light of day before applying and i'm just starting to get a sense of how others perceive the work. I like your stuff too, especially the mixed media/salvaged work.
Thanks! I have a bunch of other mixed media stuff I have been working on over the past 4 years that I need to throw on the blog as well. Its funny, since undergrad my art making pace as far as finishing work is much slower...and this is something I was looking forward to post undergrad but I feel now that I want to be back in school to help keep me more focused on working on things start to finish instead of spreading my motivation to wide and taking (4 years to complete something). Wondering what your thoughts/practice of art making since you have been out of school are?
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Great work! THis is a direction I saw myself going a few years ago, but it stayed a concept. Very strong. Easy to look at but hard not to think about.
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I found out through the webadvisor too. But today I just got the official letter in the mail. Financial package to follow of course.
Yup I got that also
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I hear you, this whole process can be pretty discouraging. I just received my first rejection letter from Carnegie Mellon a couple days back, and I know that this is just the first of many more. CM was especially hard for me because they don't ask for recommendations, so I felt like getting accepted would have been based soley on the strength of my work. So that would have been a nice affirmation. I was really depressed about it until I remembered that the reason I'm applying to grad school is because I want to further myself as an artist. I'm passionate about what I do, I love to do it, and I want to grow in my ability to articulate and more clearly understand what I'm so passionate about. So if a school doesn't want my type of work, it's a good thing that they rejected me. Because the whole point of going to grad school is to strengthen yourself as an artist, not to conform to the kind of work that a school might be interested in at the time.
The problem with this whole application process is that it takes away from the joy of making art. Pretty soon we (or me, anyways) get so worried about whether our stuff is "grad school" worthy, that we stop enjoying the process and we start overthinking things way too much. It's hard to switch back and forth between these two mind sets, and I haven't figured out how to do it all that successfully yet. But I just wanted to reiterate what everyone else has been saying about not being discouraged (and I'm saying this as much for myself as I am to anyone else on this forum). We are going into this field for a reason, and to be honest, most likely it's not because we want to be encouraged, understood, and accepted every step of the way throughout our careers. We might not even want to be in this field to begin with, except that we need to for our sanity. So the most important thing is to continue making things and to remember to enjoy that process. The rest will fall into place eventually. And it's nice to know that there are so many encouraging and supportive people on this forum who are hoping for the best for each of us, too
Well put! I have and continue to be on an emotional rollercoaster throughout this process and I have to continue to remind myself what is most important and you state it well
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I am also waiting to hear back from HUNTER and Steinhardt...has anyone interviewed with them? I also applied to UCLA, what emphasis did you apply? painting?
I havent heard from Hunter either. I did however recieve something a week and half ago about filling out some special application for CUNY finacial aid, but the site was all messed upi and I tried a few times to fill out the form and havent gone back to try in a while
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To all - please don't get down on yourself. The beauty about art is that it is unique and personal. You all have braved sending your work out into the world to be judged, which is the hardest thing to do!
The reality is that schools have politics, professors have interests and often professors at like universities share those interests. Maybe you don't fit into what is going on with the program (ie - maybe they love theory and your work does not speak to theory). Not to mention a million other factors (connections people might have that you don't ect ect). Point is - there is little to no merit in letting rejections get you down about the quality or worth of your work. In the end it is the making that matters. Sooner or later you will find where your talents fit in - and believe me - everyone on this board is still navigating the hectic, often hurtful, but beautiful world of art.
I say keep your head up and realize that since you all are so concerned about getting into a program and making art it means you have passion - you really care! Don't let anyone strip that from your hearts!
Yeah! Its great to hear this. I have had such a love/hate relationship with this forum because on one hand its great to hear the experiences people are going through but on the other hand it gets me thinking and analyzing way way too much. Thanks for reminder that there is a lot of chance, politics and just plain BS that goes on during this process. And by the way this shit doesnt always stop once you get into a prog. There is plenty of hoops to jump through then as well
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VCU is still considering people. They also have a waiting list and I know people who were admitted after April 15th from being on their waiting lists...So...Keep hope alive!
I hear Vermont Studio is good for painters, Atlantic Center of the Arts was wonderful, too.(see my other posts) I am a photographer/video person, so I have different interests...but, there are a bunch out there for painting.
I think this is very different then say applying to law school...The outside world doesn't know what we go through and the kind of rejection we have to deal with when we put our stuff out there. Sometimes, too...It's what is "hot" at the moment. I went to the Whitney this weekend and saw some 23 year old photographer's work and was PERPLEXED at how she blew up in New York---when her work is so immature. But, that's the world we are living in, eh? Sometimes people don't get it.
Don't give up.
I am glad you touched on this point about being "hot" at the moment. Just because someone is making it in the biz whether it be music art or writing, doesn't particularly mean they are the most talented. When I was in undergrad I was so nervous because graffiti and street art was really starting to get a lot of press and crossing over more into the fine art realm. Street art is a large part of my process and I was so worried I was going to miss the boat. But since my 5 years out of school I have become a lot more comfortable with my sense of self and my work. Making things because I like to and need to. I dont know what grad school will bring me, I hope it will bring me more opportunities in the art world by meeting people and placing myself on a larger stage but in the end I just want to grow as an artist and continue to get "better". I believe this should be something one decides for themselves.
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What did they say to you when they called? I was under the impression that VCU doesn't notify applicants of acceptance over the phone. At least that is what their website says,
"When an admissions decision has been made, you will receive an official written notification of that decision from the dean of the VCU Graduate School. Please be advised that admissions decisions cannot be released over the phone." http://www.vcu.edu/a...ies/index.shtml
Is their website just wrong?
WTF! 2/23? Im so confused. I was really hoping to get in there
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Got my CCA packet in the mail today
I recieved mine as well. Did yours say anything about funding or did it just state when you had to declare and explain the 300 deposit thing?
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I too received a rejection letter from UCLA:
UCLA: rej
SVA: no word
Pratt: no word
Otis: accepted!
I heard from Pratt yesterday via email. just stated that the application was complete and that now it would be sent to the specific department (painting) to be reviewed. notification by April 1st
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Congrats, Sophia! Curious who interviewed you?
SFAI sounds like a really cool program. I would have applied there but I think I missed the deadline or something like that. I am going to visit CCA in early April. I have only heard good things about the campus, that it is really beautiful and cool
Countering a financial aid offer?
in Visual
Posted
does anyone have any experience asking for or countering a financial aid offer?