intelly

I think if you only apply to top 10 schools, then I kind of says something about your ego lol. I applied to UTA, which is 5th, or something like that. All of the others either didn't really fit with my style, or were in NYC, which i vetoed because there's no way I can go to grad school and afford to live. I would LOVE to live there, but I want to have a Master's degree, not 80k in loans. The school I'm probably going to go to is ranked 81, and if you think about it, that's still really effing good. US News ranks the top 225ish, so if you consider how many thousands of schools there are in America, even being 225 is still pretty good.

Urgh, I just called on of my schools (Kendall College of Art) and they told me they don't send stuff out until after April 1st. ANNOYED!

I agree. You're work is technically really good, but it does look like it's made for classes. Also I think you should expieriment more with more subtle symbolism. Women seeing themselves as being too fat doesn't necessarily have to translate into an image of a skinny girl seeing a fat girl in the mirror. Maybe you should get some books on women's issues, anything by Jessica Valenti or Jennifer Baumbgardner (sp?). They might spark some inspiration. Working from photographs can also hurt you, as some people view it as cutting corners. If you can't afford models, maybe it would help if you work with a combination of real life and photographs, or work from several photographs instead of just copying one. I remember my UG painting instructor (and advisor) occasionally used pictures, but he would basically use them as a reference to make sure things were scaled correctly, and then he would put the picture up so that he didn't feel the need to try and make his painting look exactly like the photograph. Right now, I'm working with a lot of antique toys, and I try to buy as many as I can, but sometimes I find the perfect toy on Ebay, but it's $400, so when that is the case, I just steal images of it. But even then I try not to copy it verbatim. I just use the image as a guide. Even if you don't get in this year, I wouldn't worry. Taking 2 years off was hands down the best thing I've done for my art. I think for my grad school portfolio, I only used 1 or 2 paintings from undergrad, and both were from independent study classes. My work is so so so much better than it was when I was a senior in college. Good luck, and I hope that helps! You've got a lot of balls to post this thread, so props to you! I don't know if I could do it.

I realize that probably not many people on here are applying to these schools, but they're my last 2 I'm waiting on before I make my decision, so I thought this would make my life 100x easier to just have a separate post, as opposed to sifting through the main acceptance thread. So----has anyone heard anything from Pacific Northwest College of Art and/or Kendall College of Art and Design (it's part of Ferris State University in Michigan) Does anyone know anything about these schools at all? I've never been to either of the campuses. I met admissions people at a National Portfolio Day in Chicago, and they both seemed like really good fits for me, but I would love to hear from anyone that's been there. my decision is between these 2 and one I've already been accepted to (Northern Illinois University), so I'm getting antsy.

Oh I totally disagree with you about SAIC. I moved to Chicago after finishing my undergrad, and I had every intention of applying to SAIC....until I saw the work that was coming out of it. One of the MFA pieces was three black canvases that said "Location, Location Location" in white letters. I mean, conceptual art isn't really my thing, but I respect good work....if it's actually good. I also went to a National Portfolio Day that was held there, one of the guys waiting on an interview near me had his work in a cardboard and ducttape homemade portfolio, hadn't showered in days, and looked hungover. I overhead the interviewer asking him about his unprofessional first impression, and he said "yeah...it's just kind of my thing, you know?" . He was an undergrad from SAIC, I really hope he didn't get in anywhere that I might go lol. I'm sure SAIC has some AMAZING artists coming out of it, but I've also seen way to many pompus hipsters that think they're intitled to fame just because of the name on their degree.

You can also go to the US News website and pay $15 and access the entire grad search engine for I think 6-9 months. It's totally worth it, because you can search the top schools within a specific program (because the top 10 schools for painting are going to differ from the top 10 schools for photography). You can also search a school and see where they rank. When I was looking for schools, I used that list as a GUIDE, not a rule for the schools I applied to. I feel like 50% of the people on here just found the top 10 schools and applied to only those, which is a really stupid thing to do. I went to grad school Portfolio Days, got suggestions from UG professors, and researched schools my friends were applying to, THEN I would see how they ranked on that list. As long as the school was in the top 100, and I liked everything I saw, then I would apply. US News lists the top 220 schools, there are THOUSANDS of colleges, so even if a school is ranked #215, that's still pretty decent! And I agree about waiting a year or two. I'm 2 years out, and if you had asked me 2 years ago if I thought I was ready for grad school, I would have said "Hell yeah I am!". Looking back, I realize that I would have been eaten alive lol. My work is SOOO much tighter now.

stofo, I actually got an acceptance letter from NIU today! They mailed it to my parents house (I had put them down as my permanent address) If you got to MyNiu, and click "self service" and then under "student admission" click on "accept admission", it should say on that page if you've been accepted. I didn't click accept yet, I'm still waiting on PNCA and Kendall College of Art

I know nobody has probably applied to any of these schools, but they're my last three so I just thought I'd check. Anyone applying to or heard anything from: PNCA Kendall College of Art (Ferris State University) Northern Illinois University (I actually work at this school in a non-art related department, so I'm just wondering if anyone is applying) I feel like I'm the only person on this forum that has applied to schools outside the top 10....

I also got rejected from UW! The letter said they had 400 applicants! that's double what the website said they had for last year. I'm also in the same boat as you, this is my lineup so far: UW: rej UNM: rej IU-Bloomington: rej UT-Austin: rej CCA: no word (assuming I'm rejected since people on here got emails about 2 weeks ago) Northern Illinois University: waiting Pacific Northwest College of Art: waiting Kendall College of Art (Ferris State): waiting I feel like such a loser, everyone else is getting into schools

Well crap. UW was my top choice. If you didn't get in, there's no way in hell i'm getting in. Oh well.

I have somehow managed to apply to 4 schools that seem to take their sweet time with acceptance. urgh!!!!!!!!! I've gotten 4 rejection letters so far-now I'm down to my #1 choice and my bottom 3. I can't take much more stress.

University of Washington is one of my top picks. So far I've gotten 3 rejection letters, I don't know what I'm going to do if I get rejected from there too! I'm getting so depressed

Just curious, how did you find out you were rejected from UNM? They're also one of my top choices, but I haven't heard anything from them...I'm assuming I got rejected

Thanks! So far I've been rejected from UTA and Indiana University-not really shocked since they're such competitive schools and I'm fairly young compared to more establish applicants. I'm also applying to: CCA University of Washington University of New Mexico Ferris State (Kendall College of Art) Northern Illinois University Pacific Northwest College or Art