walker44

SAIC has been by far my least pleasant experience post being accepted into the MFA program. It was hard to get information from anyone, and my initial contact, who repeatedly said she was acting as my advocate for funding, basically never followed up with me. I've heard from a few people that SAIC has become a 'factory' for grad students, and that's definitely in line with my experience in dealing with them.

Jaygray, thanks for this perspective on Tyler. I've received a really great offer from them, and I think the program looks great. My main concern is that I can't seem to find much evidence of alumni success. Could you share some names of these Tyler alum whose work you appreciate? I honestly just don't seem to be able to find much info on this, even on the school's website. Your point re having faculty that are really pushing for you to be successful is a good one. My alternative is CalArts which has a great track record in terms of the artists its produced, but has high tuition fees with little funding available. I'm in the same confused boat as you as far as which route to go, so also would appreciate hearing any perspective on this.

Would people put Tyler on this list in terms of prestige, and access to top gallery representation? Tyler's program looks great, but I don't see evidence of a lot of alumni success. I don't have any real expert knowledge of the US gallery system or art world, so this may just be my limited perspective. Interested to hear what others think of this.

And in response to your question - here's the perspective I've gotten in my similar dilemma (paying tuition at a top tier school vs. full funding at another good, but not as reputable program). Going to Yale has no guarantee of success, however, it does put you in a position to have a lot of doors opened and opportunities presented to you. If you're able to fully take advantage of those opportunities, in my opinion it's worth it to go for it. The question is, is the money piece of the equation going to put you in a situation where your work is compromised in a significant way, during and/or after coming out of the program. If the answer is no, again, I'd go for it if I were you. Just the fact that Yale on your cv gives you way better of odds of securing a good teaching gig in the future would for me equal a solid return on the investment. This is only though if you think Yale is the place where you're going to do your best work. If being at Rutgers with the freedom to experiment, and not stress about cash would equate to you creating more freely, and the specifics of the program are just as good for you (faculty, facilities, etc), then no reason not to go that route.

Hey Jaygray, Is this your third time applying to Yale? I was interviewed, but not accepted or even waitlisted this year in sculpture. I'm thinking about trying again next year, but it feels like a big risk. I don't know if I should just accept the fact that they're not that into me, or take time to be able to go back with better work in my portfolio next year. Were you waitlisted previously? I've heard that gives you a good shot of getting in the next year. Would love to hear about your experience. thanks!

I received word of a small financial award a couple days ago. You might want to contact JP, but I'm sure you'll hear soon.