aspmongo

Background: I went to undergrad in Philly and also applied to PAFA this round, but they didn't give me enough funding to make it feasible. I imagine you'll already know all this but: It's a 2 year program, you can TA but it won't be paid, if you want to teach and get paid there are some opportunities working in underprivileged high schools. There's a museum attached to the school, which is located a couple of blocks away from Chinatown (which is itself only a couple of blocks unlike NYC or SF). Studios are fine, some have windows and some don't. You can petition for whichever and hope you get it. There's no darkroom facilities as it's very painting- and sculpture-centric, but they don't mind interdisciplinary at all. Representational artwork won't be shunned. I'd say it's one of the more traditional programs that's still well regarded. It's not in the top 10 or anything, but it has a decent reputation. Some of the faculty they list on their website aren't actually teaching anymore (don't remember which, but if a particular artist was super important you should definitely dig into that). Philly's not a bad city for artists - there're a lot of museums, galleries, First Fridays, etc. You can find a decent apartment near the school for probably $500-700. The subway system is super sketchy, the buses are better but stop at every block. A lot of people bike, some have cars. There are definitely areas of the city you do not want to be especially at night, but all in all you should be fine. Feel free to ask me specific questions.

Don't know which program you mean, but as of last week LSU Painting had offered 3 of the 4 assistantships and is reserving the last one and is also hoping for more to be funded by the school. They are reviewing and/or interviewing both for the last TA(s) as well as any who wouldn't mind attending without an assistantship. Also as far as I know some of the offered haven't accepted yet, so more spots could open up. You may want to contact them to see where you stand, but I think if you're applying to Painting you still have a shot.

The Income Based Repayment plan you linked to is only for federally subsidized loans, aka NOT private loans. And if you're taking out 70K in loans, I'm relatively sure a lot of that will be private and thus not eligible. And as I'm sure you've heard over and over again it is generally recommended to take out MAX the amount you expect to earn in your post-grad entry year. I personally think 20K is about the max I'd be willing to take on for an MFA, and that's not just tuition-based debt but living expenses/health insurance/etc. debt too. Even with a tuition waiver and TA stipend I anticipate pessimistically I may end up with a few thousand in debt upon graduation. I completely understand your desire to go this year. Before I knew how acceptances were going to go I kept panicking and promising myself it didn't matter how much debt I'd have to take on if I could just go this year. But I advise you to wait. This year was the MOST competitive year in a long time due to the economy, so next year should reap better rewards and will give you another year to work on your portfolio. Applying next year with an improved portfolio and a wiser selection of programs seems like the best call. Additionally if you're straight out of undergrad this additional year will give you a much needed "real world" glimpse, and if you've been out for a while it'll be one more year for you to save up so that you can better afford an MFA.

Obviously it's a personal choice, but if you've never paid off any large loans before you may not realize how impeding they are and how long it takes to pay them off. Also remember to add in the amount you'll have accrued in interest by the time you finish paying them off. I recently finished paying off my undergrad loans, which were approximately 22K, and the experience while actually as painless as I imagine it can be due to beneficial circumstances was still unpleasant. I was lucky enough to find a decently well-paid job and am single, which helped significantly expense-wise as I was able to devote a moderate portion of my paycheck without worrying about a kid or not having anything left after rent and food. If I had chosen a lower income position or had other expenses it would have been more difficult. And keep in mind you can't really write off education debt like you can credit card debt if you get into financial trouble. For MFA I am deliberately choosing to go to a mid-range school that will waive tuition and pay a TA stipend instead of taking on more debt for a more prestigious program. Nevertheless, that being said I did pick a prestigious undergrad instead of a state school and thus have already done the exact opposite, and I don't think I would undo that choice if I were given it again. Basically you need to ask yourself - if I went to the good school instead of the better school will I always wonder "what if?" I think I would've for undergrad, and I think I won't for MFA. But it's really down to you. Is it worth X amount of money, knowing you'll sacrifice or put off other items like a car, a down payment on a house, nice vacations, etc? What realistically do you see as a 5-10 year projected total post-grad income? Will you have any external financial support?

So after you've been accepted to one or several programs that are far enough away that you've never been, and you fly over, what is an appropriate dress code? I'm a girl and leaning toward a dress and boots or a business casual level of blouse and skirt or dress pants, but should I really be wearing a suit? Also, what questions do you recommend asking that people may overlook? How far do you try to leverage other offers at your first choice program? Any advice is much appreciated!

I also have yet to hear anything from FSU.

My list, all Painting/Drawing except SAIC since they encourage multiple submissions: BU: ? FSU: ? Hunter: ? LSU: ? PAFA: Accepted (rec'd letter 22 Feb) SAIC - Painting: Rejected and offered to apply to post-bac (rec'd letter 22 Feb) SAIC - Sculpture: Rejected (rec'd letter 16 Feb) SAIC - Fiber & Materials: Rejected (rec'd letter approx 11 Feb) UGA: ? Whew - got into at least one. Although now I've gone from worrying about whether I'd get in at all to how I'm going to get the cost down to a manageable amount...

Thanks for letting me know. I'll check my phone to see if I have any missed calls/voicemail, and hope that if not perhaps painting is taking a little longer! I did figure they should be letting us know soon since their application was the earliest due of all of them for me (Jan 7).

My list, all Painting/Drawing except SAIC since they encourage multiple submissions: BU: ? FSU: ? Hunter: ? LSU: ? PAFA: ? SAIC - Painting: ? SAIC - Sculpture: Rejected (rec'd letter 16 Feb) SAIC - Fiber & Materials: Rejected (rec'd letter approx 11 Feb) UGA: ? I hope I haven't missed any mail... my mailbox is shared between 7+ people and it's been known to disappear before. I plan on waiting until I just can't wait anymore (probably around the 26th) and then calling programs to see what their timelines are!