technotronic

Congratulations!!!! Glad Columbia worked out!

I wish they'd sent out their acceptances earlier - I just received a great scholarship offer from SMFA right after accepting elsewhere. They definitely have strong alumni who come out of their program, and I think they're quite well respected and offer great opportunities for showing your work. I didn't feel strong connections to the current faculty, so that would be my reason to hesitate, but if there are people there that you're interested in working with, I think it could be a great program. I do hear that they're separating from their affiliation with Tufts, though I don't know what the timeline is for this move.

I personally was really impressed with the sculpture student work, both first and second year. Really into it actually. This was a big reason I was so interested in the program. Haven't reviewed painting / printmaking as thoroughly though. Interview process for sculpture was different than for painting, and I imagine all of the other departments. We had to prepare a 15 minute presentation which was given to both faculty and first year students. And then the students left, and it was just you and the faculty for the remaining 25 minutes. There were some basic questions - why grad school, why Yale?, same as anywhere else. And then it got into pretty involved conceptual conversations about your work. I also had some practicality questions in terms of how is this program going to work for you life-wise, and in terms of the nature of your practice. This was specific to my background, and the fact that my work is context specific. So basically it was a very individual and specific conversation. There were six full-time faculty members present in the room. As far as the format, all this info came with the invitation to interview letter that we all received, so no surprises really.

has anyone received a funding offer from SAIC sculpture?

Kanye crosses over between art / performance and design, and is a GREAT fit for an SAIC honorary degree. They'd do well to have him as an alum, and it's great positioning for him to negotiate the directions he's pushing in his body of work.

What program are you looking at rooroo? I visited UT Austin and saw many good things about it, and the students definitely receive a lot of support. But I'd also love to know about the program's reputation if anyone has any insight to share.

I'd love to hear from anyone who attended the CalArts interview day. Any impressions re facilities, studios, etc?

I also come from a non-arts background. This is my first year applying, but I started focusing on building my portfolio for application about a year ago. That included doing a ton of research into programs and the quality/nature of current student work, alongside doing a residency and organizing a series of studio visits to get outside perspective on my work. I also attended a portfolio review day which was a huge help in deciphering how to talk about my work, and what schools are looking for in our app materials. So far my results have been quite good, getting interviews at all of the schools I applied to, and some good funding options among my acceptances. I agree with Czarina - I think it's very possible to diy your way into a good program if you're able to take the time and make the commitment to it.

I would give the admissions offices of your schools a quick call. I don't think they mind answering questions about dates, and whether notices have been sent out, etc, if they have this information available. And it's better than feeling stressed out with not knowing since design program dates and admissions processes may be pretty different than the fine arts departments that most on here are applying to.

Has anyone received any funding info from SAIC?

And re contacting the school - you can just search for contacts (enter their username) in Skype, and once you find them, just click on it and send them a contact request. And then as Vinny51 said, send them your username by email.

Congrats! That sounds like a great option!

Is anyone else doing a Skype interview for CalArts?

So how did everyone's interviews go? Sculpture faculty and students were great. Challenging interview questions that were really engaged with the work, but only in an open and generous way - my perspective / experience. So many things I wish I'd said in hindsight, but otherwise felt ok (I hope!). It was definitely my most challenging interview so far, but also solidified my interest in the program.