mnchick

@loosemygrip, you're basing your opinion on that work and that work alone? hmm, i see. @thestranger, have you talked to the current students in the program about their experiences?

@loosemygrip, can you point me to recent artists that have come out of Yale that has really "terrible work"? oh btw, i like yale's pudding!

the photo program at yale is great. About 90 percent of all Yale photo graduates are still practicing artists and that really says a lot about the programs reputation and students coming out of the program. i don't know why you wouldn't consider it.

I'm in the program now and I LOVE it! I think that if I would have gone anywhere else, I would have regretted it. There are days when I question the program and my place in the program but who doesn't question themselves in any program. to say that Yale is no longer relevant in the art world is a little blanketed, don't you think?

where are you applying to?

yale base their funding on a need base. they don't give out merit scholarships. i would say most of my tuition is paid for base on their need base financial aid.

i'm going share my experience with you. before entering my senior year in my undergrad, i knew i was going to apply to graduate school, because i had already knew, i started making tons and tons of photos. i think i shot more my senior year than any other year i was at school. i had casually done my research, talked with professors about schools that would fit with the current direction my work was heading prior to school beginning. i had a list of about 10 schools and after realizing how much money it would cost me to apply to all off them, i narrowed it down to 4 schools. yale, saic, cca, and uofmn. they were all over country, and they were all doing wonderful things with photography that i admired. i also paid really close attention to the faculty, the work that was coming out, and geography (as it plays a big role in the type of work i make). this was all before my last semester. so with that in the back of my head, i continue with my undergraduate work. 2 months before applications were due, i notify 4 of my professors and told them that deadline was coming up and gave all the required information to write the proper letter of recommendation. i also think it's important to choose who will write for you. you want artists whose LOR are going to get recognized. (at least that's what i think) for me it was a yale alum, director of my school's photo dept, and a local but widely known photographer, who i happen to work for. again like i've stated, my statement of purpose was the hardest simply because i'm a horrible writer and english isn't my first language. for a whole month, right up to the couple of days before the applications were due, i was still revising my SOP. I think i would have still revised it, if it weren't for the due dates. i had countless people look my statement. my professors, editors, friends, strangers...etc... etc.. and took everything everyone said into consideration. like you i was pretty confident about my body of work so it was simply a matter of arranging it in a sequence that made sense. (told a story) this was important to me because i see myself as a story teller. first week of January, i sent everything off. not knowing what the future had in store for me. there was a flood of emotions that came for me. i knew that my was the best it could have been but i was still nervous about others thought of my work because i had never shared with the outside world. i heard from uofmn first, they called me within the first week of receiving my application and informed me that i had been accepted and would be offered a full scholarship with stipend. i was excited and at the same time terribly afraid because if i didn't get into the other schools that would mean i would go to my backup backup school. (something i really didn't want to do.) a couple of weeks later, all the other schools sent their requests for interview. (this started a whole new flood of different emotions for me.) i was mortified at the thought having to speak. cca was first and was a really short notice. they email me in the morning and said they would calling in the afternoon for a phone interview. i thought it would be the easiest but it actually was the hardest. i think i wasn't really prepared for the interview and hence the reason why it was hard. saic, was second and it was sort off a prelude to what was to come with yale. i must say i had really good interview with the faculty at saic. i really liked it there. we mostly talked about my work, the direction it was heading, what i was thinking about in terms of new work, why saic, what i can contribute... etc..etc.. what i've realize is, sure there are questions that they must ask all interviewee but mostly the conversations are really lucid in that you are sort of in the driver seat. before going to new haven, i met with my mentor and other professors for a mock up interview. ( i highly suggest this) and i really think this prepared me for the yale interview. at least i wasn't as nervous as other interviewee. though i really wished i did this before i had any interview. i must admit my interview at yale was weird, in the sense that, i was asked to make a fargo accent and the professor sitting next to me had his fly down during the whole interview. we talked a bit about my background and where i was from and then looked at my work and talked about my work and the direction it was moving. I thought i was horrible in the interview. i mean i was literally sick to my stomach. after my interview i wanted to get as far away from new haven as possible. i thought for sure that i had bombed the interview and was going to get rejected for sureeee. by the time i went to the yale interview, i had found out i was accepted into the programs at cca and saic. and that i was granted scholarships that would cover 95% of my tuition at cca and 50% at saic. still i wasn't happy. (i've now realize how selfish i was) finally on my birthday, when i came back from my birthday celebration i checked and there it was. i read the fist 5 words and screamed. after floating on cloud nine all night, i came down to earth and finally realize the choices that were in front of me. it was hard but i knew that i wasn't going to the uofmn so i told them first and then cca. saic called and when i told them that i was accepted to yale, they offer to bump up the scholarship. at the end the way they were pursuing me was such a turn off because one of the professors would call me constantly and in the end i declined their offer. i visited all 4 schools and sat in on critiques with all them and realize that i would more from yale than any of the other schools, plus yale just felt right. this was my first time ever applying so i don't know or understand how hard and draining it must have been for the folks that have done it more than once but i must say that this was a wonderful experience for me as artists and a person. great i've written a whole damn book about myself. sorry!! but i do hope that my experiences will help you in your adventure. I think it's a great thing that you and others are thinking this far ahead and are beyond prepared for this. be honest with yourself, be humble and everything will fall into place. i wish you luck. best, PHH

i completely agree. for me, writing my statement of purpose was the hardest. i probably spent a good month on it. I started out with the hardest (or what i thought to be the hardest) school to get into and worked my way down. ultimately, it's all about your work so focus on that. good luck with everyone applying.

i was confuse too but apparently Yale does that regardless of age because they give aid base on need and not merit. there was another form i had to fill out aside from the fafsa that asked for my parents income and their expected income.

I felt the same way you did. I received more funding from the other schools then I did this one. I was a little disappointed. I am actually going to call the Susan and talk to her again. I was really hoping not to pay much cause I fall well below the poverty line in terms of income but it doesn't seem so cause my parent's income are a factor in my financial aid packet too. (weird) Are you living in the graduate halls or you living off campus?

Hi Jestem! I haven't gotten my admission packet yet. how is financial aid looking for you? '

i just sent in my acceptance letter for yale. YIKES!!!

@kmc88: People are telling me I would be a fool if I didn't attend Yale. I think ultimately I will come back to MN, I love both Chicago and NYC but home is in MN and we have a great artist community (amazingball photographers i.e. Alec Soth, David Goldes, Katherine Turczan) here that I would really love to be apart of. @michaelwesbester: is SAIC calling you? @james: Thank you for the advice. I'm going to do that first thing Monday morning.

I have somewhat of a similar situation. I've gotten accepted into the programs I've applied too, which is great. I have decided on two programs (Yale and SAIC) and have been going back and fourth on them but am leaning towards Yale. Well, yesterday a professor from SAIC called me to asked about my graduate school application. He then proceeded to tell me that he heard I was accepted into Yale and wanted to know my thoughts about where I want to go. I told him, that I had a wonderful time at SAIC and am having hard time deciding where to attend. He then proceeded to ask me if I received the scholarship letter that was sent to me. I said yes and he said he talked to the dean of the school and was prepare to get me more funding and that about 95% of my funding would be paid for if I decide to go to SAIC. I was a bit annoyed that he knew I got accepted to Yale and that he didn't remember where we met but found the gesture quite flattering. My question is, can I go to Yale to subtly ask them to match the funding I got from SAIC. I really do wish Yale would come after me as hard as SAIC has. It would make the decision all that much easier.

thank you soooooOOO much. It's all so surreal right now.