Xxanderr

Interviewed at Yale today, the interview was casual and everyone was nice. It was a great experience no matter what the final result going to be. Finally, time to get drunk!

Same thing here @sylviecerise I got some tea on SAIC and a lot of it is not good at all. 

Same thing here @sylviecerise I got some tea on SAIC and a lot of it is not good at all. 

it was there before a decision was made for me too. tbh Tyler is one of my last choices especially since OSU just guaranteed my funding + stipend for a full 3 years

@Zander soon!!!! ? ? ?  I'm hoping for you to get in!! 

Again, Tyler Painting applicants should formally start hearing back 2nd and 3rd week of February. I was told that I was a painting finalist only after I emailed Tyler admissions about my painting application status. If you want to learn more about your own application status then I would recommend emailing Tyler like I did. Good luck!

Again, Tyler Painting applicants should formally start hearing back 2nd and 3rd week of February. I was told that I was a painting finalist only after I emailed Tyler admissions about my painting application status. If you want to learn more about your own application status then I would recommend emailing Tyler like I did. Good luck!

Again, Tyler Painting applicants should formally start hearing back 2nd and 3rd week of February. I was told that I was a painting finalist only after I emailed Tyler admissions about my painting application status. If you want to learn more about your own application status then I would recommend emailing Tyler like I did. Good luck!

When I checked my email this morning and got an interview invite from Hunter...
 

@Poodle-Doodle 
@meghanmetier 2nd and 3rd week of February once they finalize their first round picks. 

PennDesign coming through with the interview like...

@Poodle-Doodle  I googled Bum, Bum Bum and this is what came up. So Ratchet, I can't! LOLOLOL.   
 

Naw, Yale needs to get their busted application system together! After all, we're paying $100 for our applications! The way I see it, there shouldn't be any problem uploading last min. If I have problems paying tomorrow because their system is down, then I'm taking my $100 to buy some tacos and go art supply shopping. 
 

Happy to do so! I took the train from NYC and was in a crunch, so when I arrived a little late there were about 400 people in the main hall looking at a powerpoint of alumni work. The department chairs introduced themselves, and later everyone went to their department's smaller group talk. At photo there were 3 professors and a critic, and about 100 listeners. They said they wanted to see artistic interests, obsessions, ability in the work. They expected all students to live in New Haven. Submitting unfinished work in the application was fine (subtext was, submitting unfinished work is fine as long as we find it interesting). Detail shots were fine as long as they weren't too many - I guess that is less relevant for photo as you can submit a high res image that they can zoom into for details if it is conventional work. The one point everyone kept making was that Yale had a distinct style and was small. If you wanted great expensive facilities or a big green room they weren't that. Some questions to faculty included the earlier anecdote I shared about recommendations, TAships, and the like. TAships come in the second year. Two professors said we could disregard the representative work thing in the prompt if we wanted. One of them said, "I don't know why that's there?" A first year said there is a diversity committee - a current student talked about it but I was not sure if that was only in the school of arts or the entire university. I am a POC and I also observed the faculty and students to be mostly white.
We took a tour of facilities. We saw some nice printers and a studio. We were told current students do a mix of digital and analog but the color processor wasn't great and they were encouraging current students to switch. I cannot remember if this was said openly, but their tone indicated that. Later we re-convened with current students. They talked about the heavy coursework. Cannot speak to other departments but students have a crit every 5 weeks in photo, not counting final crits. I thought the students were very nice, patient and approachable. They talked about the visiting artist program a bit, and mentioned some big names that came that semester to look at student work.
We then went upstairs to a mixed first year show of work and had some food. Some of the faculty were there to talk with prospective students and answer more questions. 
Overall it was enjoyable! It DID make a difference for me as I now feel more self confident about my application. On an irrelevant note, I am also very superstitious so it meant something for me personally that I visited and saw the people who would read my application. 

I'm black as f#$k @Zander

If you have the confidence to apply to any of those schools above then what scares you about Yale? I don't mean to sound harsh, just the baggage, history and politics of Yale, Tyler, Hunter, wherever you apply has very little to do with your work. I'd say if you are thinking about those schools above why not Yale? 
Frankly speaking, it's not that Tyler (or Hunter or SMFA) accepts any less of a student than Yale. I did my undergrad at Tyler so I maybe a bit partial but Tyler had excellent students, professors and facilities, a few of whom were grads or affiliated with Yale. 
(I feel like a dick saying this) I think the question should be whether or not you are ready for grad school rather than whether your work is ready for Yale. Consider why is grad school important at this time in your life. 

I'm still having nightmares about the election.

I'm just looking for a free education ya'll! May the MFA gods be with us...
I started the freak forum last yr doe  !!!!! 
 
 

Naw, I just registered, check again. Yale Open House 2016

I'm just looking for a free education ya'll! May the MFA gods be with us...
I started the freak forum last yr doe  !!!!! 
 
 

I'm just looking for a free education ya'll! May the MFA gods be with us...
I started the freak forum last yr doe  !!!!! 
 
 

Hi all, I spent two years researching and visiting programs in order to find the right MFA, and I got into my top choice and I’m super excited to start this fall! I applied to five programs and was accepted, and offered a teaching position and full tuition remission, at three. I picked up some helpful advice along the way and I thought I’d share.
My disclaimers are, 1. Obviously this is my opinion, and others might feel differently. 2.  I’m enrolled though I don’t actually start school until September. My perspective on my choice could very well change after a year of grad school!
Here's my advice: 
Visit the school I scored big points with future advisors by visiting schools the year before I planned to apply. (ie. visited in 2014, applied in 2015) They remembered my name when calling back for interviews, and knew I was serious about their program. I also saw a highly ranked program that was a complete shit show in person, and was grateful I didn’t waste my time applying there.
Look for advisors, not highly ranked programs Your advisor will have a huge impact on your experience during school and after. Whether the program is highly ranked according to US News and World Report will have much less bearing on your success. Those rankings are notoriously inaccurate and meaningless anyways. Find an advisor you don’t mind having dinner with, and who seems like they have enough interest in your work to give you the time of day once you’re a student.
Recommendations matter more than essays I asked a potential advisor during a visit how much the essays mattered, and his response was, “We don’t read as much as we should”. Yikes. I still worked super hard on my essays, but per his advice, worked harder to get recommendations from important names in his field. He also said that the name/reputation of the recommender matters more than how glowing their opinion of you might be. (ie. Big name > person who knows you super well)
**Note!** You’re going to need to send your recommenders near-final drafts of your essay and portfolio in order to get a good letter, and then to give them at least a month to write your letters. So start your applications a few months before the due date for best results.
Play to your strengths I had this wacky idea that I had done enough printmaking in undergrad, and should pursue a grad degree in one of my other areas of interest. I started emailing professors of sculpture about their programs and kept having my emails forwarded to the print professors. Finally I was given the advice that you can explore all you want once you get in (if you choose a program without rigid departmental divisions) but you need to put your best foot forward to get in at all.
IMHO, Don’t Pay for an MFA I've heard this from several artists with MFAs, though I also know lots of fantastic artists who did take out large loans to get their degree and felt it was worth it. For me, in an uncertain job market, I find debt to be too large of a liability to be worth a degree that brings no guarantee of employability. There are funded MFAs out there – the trick is to look for universities that keep programs small enough to give each grad student a teaching job. There are also scholarships at private schools (Stanford!).
Don’t obsess over this forum I visited grad café a few times during my search and definitely got some helpful stuff here. The level of anxiety on the forum in general though was… unhelpful to say the least. I referenced it during the early stages of choosing schools and then intentionally stayed away from the wanton freaking out.  
I hope this was helpful! Good luck!!

#2)  Experience the Real World First
 
Personally, I disagree with the idea of telling people that they should take a year break before applying for grad school. I think this discussion is largely dependent on the individual and not the generalization that every undergrad is immature or undeveloped coming out of school. (fresh undergrads do get admitted every year) Honestly, best thing to do is talk to your instructor who knows your work best and attend Graduate Portfolio Day. From there you can make a informed decision. Regardless, of your applicaton success, the experience of applying to grad school alone, has to be of some value.  

Yep, that's what I meant!
 
 
 
 
 

I didn't start the Freak out-forum back in August to be dismissive,'salty' or mean. I've actually been inboxing the individual and discussing the program further. Thanks for you concern @Waxmango and @Trapnado and best of luck on your applications this year!