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Guelph is an amazing little town! I did my undergrad there and still love the city. I know a lot of MFA students who studied there while commuting from Toronto, but I would suggest living there if you can. There is an amazing grassroots music scene, cheap rent, lovely neighbourhoods, and it's really easy to get to Toronto on the weekends. Feel free to message me if you're thinking more about it. If you really like Oxford, don't be afraid to ask for more funding and explain your situation to them as an international applicant - if you want to come but you're not sure how to make it work. At the end of the day, if they've accepted you, they want you to come! Since people are starting to decline offers around this time, there are resources that seem to materialize out of nowhere when you let schools know they are your top choice. I'm not sure what province you're from, but most offer decent funding (loans and grants) for study outside of Canada too. Good luck with your decision!

Congratulations to you too! After my last visit I decided on UPenn. I like the small size of the program, the amazing and attentive faculty, and its setting within a great research university. Since I have a lot of research interests outside of the field and a background in design, it seems like a great place to support that kind of crossover. I also have more connections within the NE-corridor (New York mainly), that I can see myself building a future in the area. SAIC is a great school and it was hard to pass up, but it ended up not being the right fit for me. Their facilities are amazing, and there are lots of amazing individuals there, but it is also huge. I know a few graduating students, and from speaking with them my sense is that if you are very tenacious and resourceful you can gain a lot from the school but you can also easily fall through the cracks of a huge institution and find yourself competing with other students for the same resources. My advice would be to go with your gut instinct and think about which school has best environment and the best people to allow you to grow. In that sense, listening to the advice of others on this forum didn't really help me a lot. In the end I picked a place where the faculty were already very invested in me as an applicant and where I felt I could get the best mentorship from people who are doing what I want to be doing after I finish my MFA. Two years is not that far into the future and I think it's important to set up connections in a place where you might see yourself after graduating. Good luck! There are no perfect choices but there are no wrong choices either. Go with your gut.

It's funny that a 3-year program is such a no-go for many, but I'm glad it's working out for you! I'm still making my final decision between SAIC Sculpture and UPenn - two very different schools. Anyone else considering either one?

I got an acceptance call for Purchase about two weeks ago. They asked me to give them a decision before April 5th so that they could consider other candidates, so you're probably on an unofficial wait list. Good luck!

Hi everyone, I've narrowed it down to a final three - UPenn, SAIC Sculpture or SUNY Purchase. Does anyone have any thoughts on the value of each program, funding aside? Thankfully I have received roughly equal funding offers from each school. I come from a background in architecture and don't have a BFA, so I imagine a program's reputation will matter more for me than others in terms of establishing a network within the art world. From my initial impressions, SAIC and Purchase both have better and more comprehensive facilities for Sculpture than Penn. I was really impressed by the thoughtfulness and rigour of students and faculty at SAIC. UPenn and Purchase are pretty small, SAIC is huge. SUNY Purchase is very well-connected to contemporary art dialogue and artists in New York. On the other hand, Penn is close to New York, has a small but great faculty, and encourages cross-disciplinary study with a great architecture department... tough choices. Thanks!

I've thought about this issue a bit myself, as my SO came along on two of my interview trips and we made it into a getaway weekend. I'm not sure what your living plans are (are you moving to go to school school alone or together?), but I think it's important to go to the actual events alone as a proxy of what it will be like to socialize and work in the program itself. Your SO isn't going to be doing the program with you - most of your time at school you're going to be alone or with your peers so it's probably good to get used to it. I also find that it can be more difficult to freely engage with new people in these situations when you're there as a couple. That's my take anyway. I'm not sure there's a right answer!

https://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/school-of-the-art-institute-of-chicago-000_10034917.aspx The acceptance rates are different for each department.

Sadly, no. Just waiting for the rejection...

Oh. I had assumed rejection at this point. Does anyone else have success in contacting the Admissions coordinator, Keni Jefferson? I can never seem to get a hold of her through email or voicemail...

i'm not sure if you're referring to MFA studio programs, but the acceptance rate for the grad programs at SAIC in Sculpture, Painting, Printmaking, etc. is not high...

Congratulations! That's great about UPenn. Did you get any information on funding in your phone call? I've heard from current students that funding opportunities aren't great, but who knows. I get the sense that it's a dialogue / negotiating process for the next few weeks. I still think it's hilarious that I got notified by email and not by phone, presumably because they don't have a long distance plan for Canada - hah! Thanks @cpw0021! I had a pretty good experience interviewing with Sculpture at SAIC, so it's going to be a tough choice. On another note - is anything thinking of attending any of the "open house" or "admitted students" days coming up for various schools in April? I think it would help in making a final decision, but it's an expensive trip - is it customary for some schools to cover expenses for these trips once admitted?

Got notice of acceptance from SAIC Sculpture and UPenn by email this week!! So relieved. Coming from a non-art background I honestly had no idea whether I was going to get any interviews at the beginning of this process. I'm somewhat surprised, as my interview with UPenn was terribly awkward and I know others had already started hearing by phone last week. I guess Canada is too expensive to call long distance? haha Still waiting to hear from CMU... probably rejected but still holding onto a shred of hope! Anybody else thinking about UPenn and SAIC? Thoughts? As it stands: Yale - Rejected VCU - Rejected via email 3/3 CMU - No Response Concordia - No Response MICA Rinehart - Interviewed 2/16 MICA Mt. Royal - Interviewed 3/1 SAIC - Accepted by phone 3/2 UPenn - Accepted by email 3/4

Did anyone else interview with MICA Mt. Royal? I interviewed with them on Friday and it was a strange experience but left me more excited about the program than I was before. Does anyone have any experience with Mount Royal on a campus visit or former MICA student? Feel free to message me!

Typo - I was told each class is about 18 people.

The SAIC interview day was great, although I can only speak for Sculpture. The whole faculty was there for the whole day, in addition to a bunch of current students, which left a great impression - they are very organized and they seem to really make a point of supporting students. There were about 40 people interviewing, and I really enjoyed talking to everyone. A huge diversity of interests and media within the Sculpture program, which I think is one of its strengths. I didn't ask when they would notify about acceptances, but I would assume sometime within the next two weeks based on previous years. I haven't heard from UPenn yet either, but someone I met at SAIC heard from Joshua Mosley last Thursday as well. UPenn interviewed something like 60 people for about 12 spots, which seems kind of ridiculous.