Derpderpderp

Didnt realize edie fake was a student there-his work is amazing.

I think there are concrete things to be gained by taking time off between. Balancing studio time with a full time job is something you can only learn by doing it. figuring out what you want and where you want to be does come out of being in the real world. Establishing a studio practice without the support of a school is important. I dunno, my two cents i guess.

Im going to throw in three things: 1. Go to national portfolio day if possible, great way to get feedback/gauge a schools compatibility. It is also a chance to show your work in person. Extra bonus: had one of my application fees waived so that was nice. 2. Have friends/past professors proof read your essays. This was invaluable and all involved were happy to oblige. I also had a graphic designer friend help me with formatting my cv because i am useless at that sort of thing. 3. Keep your list small. I applied to three programs, three that i knew i would attend if accepted. This allowed plenty of time to focus on each essay/portfolio/etc. that being said, three may be on the skim side, but i anticipated a multiple year process and figured i should only apply to schools i really wanted to go to. The phrase "Terminal degree" is important to consider when applying, and was very much present in my mind throughout the process. Background: 26, out of school for 4 years (mica), worked in preschool/coffee and have never shown outside of undergrad.

With only a few weeks left, i would stay. If nothing else, it will show that you can follow through with a comittment

You could supplement your undergraduate education with community college classes?

My friend found out she was accepted (post waitlist) one month before classes started at cuny queens

At least for painting, saic already completed registration for classes. I rescinded my spot on april 16th, and in general they were pretty speedy turn-around wise. Sorry :/

The structure, size, and faculty drew me to risd. The studios are also way better (and you have access all summer in between 1st and 2nd year). Also the students I spoke with in the program seemed way more...focused (may not be the best choice of words, but it is what immediately comes to mind) and the general attitude about the program was more what i was looking for. Saic is a huge school, and the ta opportunities arent built into the program in the way that they are at risd. And, while i realize its frivolous and silly, saic doesnt have grades (haha, i feel ridiculous even saying that, but it was a turnoff). That being said, there were some faculty at saic that i was super excited about, and the director of the painting program is awesome. Also risd offered a fellowship/assistantship and saic was...extremely thrifty on their end.

Indiana bloomington! One of teachers from mica went there (sangram majumdar) and while his focus isnt figurative anymore, i believe that was his focus at indiana and for many years after.

Im going to risd as well! I have no practical information to contribute though, haha

Just got off the waitlist at RISD and going. Pretty thrilled

Vermont studio center offers fellowships

I only ever used craigslist, rental agencies are generally a ripoff unless youre going in on a full house (like a whole 5 bedroom rowhouse)

I never paid more than 350 (the lowest end of the scale was a house where i paid 150) for a room in baltimore. Its definitely a cheap place to live. If youre trying to live alone it will obviously be more in the 650-900 range

Oh and campus housing is a total rip off. I dont think this is specific to MICA, but seems to be the case at every school

I went to mica and lived in baltimore for 7 years. Id recommend looking in charles village. Its relatively close, pretty cheap and pretty safe. A lot of mica kids live in bolton hill, adjacent to the school, but its way more expensive. You could also look into remington (cheaper than charles village, but not too convenient for commuting) or hampden (also cheaper/farther away). Public transportation is...not good in baltimore, which kind of exascerbates any commute in baltimore even when the distance isnt too far. I also spent a couple years in the copycat, a warehouse building where lots of mica kids lived, but it was getting way too expensive for what it is years ago so im not sure what the deal is now.

Saic registration starts the 13th, and you have to put down your deposit 48 hours prior to registration (even though their deadline is technically the 15th).so im giving risd two more days. Not sure if other schools are structured similarly :/

I only used things that i made in the last year. Risd ended up wanted a cd of old work when i had the interview and including older work is kind of what a website would be for. In both my interviews, the question of how fast i can work came up (maybe because of using details/quantity of drawings in my application) so i would hesitate to include work from school/older works. Of course this also depends on how long youve been out of undergrad

I didnt have a website until after i applied, and my cv was essentially a blackhole (nothing after undergrad) so dont worry too much about having a website (at least as far as applying to programs is concerned) As far as the 20 pieces goes...for risd i only used 18 images (i think 3 were details) and saic 15 images (i think 2 details for that one). I also had a mix of larger and smaller drawings (the larger take somewhere between 1-3 months, the smaller 1-2 weeks around my 50 hour work week).

I had always had a vague plan to apply to grad school 4 years out of undergrad, its a plan that i abandoned and committed myself to many times over. 2 years ago I moved to a new place where I knew only a few people, got a steady job, and had time/space to work. It really wasnt until a year ago that i decided i was for sure going to apply, as before then it wasnt about "building a portfolio" but just making things and seeing where it went. I went to national portfolio day, and based on the reviews and my own (relatively new) confidence in my work i decided to fuck it and apply. I anticipated a multiple year process, but things went well and im 99% sure im going to saic mfa pt/dw next fall (unless risd contacts me in the next few days, which i dont really expect to happen). I highly HIGHLY recommend going to NPD. I live in chicago, where a npd is hosted, so it was a very cost-effective way to create a list of schools to apply to (4 dollar train fare, cant beat that haha).

Going to vsc in july! Generous scholarship/workstudy... Psyched!

Waitlisted at risd, accepted to saic!

I do think this speaks to why mfa programs generally favor candidates who have some time out of school...because they have demonstrated that not only do they have the motivation outside of the academic community but also the ability to make time to make work with a full time job (i work 50 hours a week in a completely unrelated field). With or without an mfa you have to make time to work.

I did apply! Ive heard a whole bunch of nothing, haha, i tried to call and inquire but they didnt seem like they wanted to communicate anything over the phone (they didnt ask for my name or anything, just told me to wait for an email). Congrats though!

Did you apply for the feb 15th deadline to vermont studio center?