[MFA Admission Replies - short and simple]

only 3 out of the allotted 26 slots are for photo...? geez. (that's what i applied for).

hard to get a sense of what the photo dept is about...looking at past students work in other depts, you can sort of get a finger on the common thread...photo, not so much.

i'm regretting not applying to yale. except that i'd have to live in new haven. it's like 9th circle of hell over there.

yale has produced tons of big photo names over the years...what about columbia? they've had a lot of big artists come out of there, but it mostly seems to be painting/sculpture...

hello all,

Helenforsdale: Yale interviews....... I wasn't given a concrete #, but was told that the list of interviewees was "Very short".

Generally these programs will interview twice the admitted class and perhaps a few more. For Photo I'm guessing Yale picked 20-25 people.

Yale is not as interdisciplinary as Columbia. The departments are a bit more segregated in terms of buildings studios and crits. But I was told students are welcome to sit-in on crits and attend lectures in other departments.

Last year Columbia admitted 3 students for photography. They interviewed 6. This year I hear that number will go up a few.

Does anybody know of a program in any field that is more competitive than that? With those numbers I doubt even bribes work!

cd3: SVA is a terrific program. The faculty is really diverse in practice and very well established. I know quite a few people who have come through the program making great work and are well established themselves. In NY, SVA is a very reputable school. If you compare their faculty list to any other school, you will notice it is twice as long. So many artists teach there part-time. The strength of SVA....by the time you graduate you will know more than enough people to be able to find good freelance work to support yourself and pay back your 100 grand in loans. And you will know the right people to show your work to.

Bad news is, the food in that part of town SUCKS.

[MFA Admission Replies - short and simple]

wow, how many people is yale interviewing? congrats to all of you. wish i had applied, but their early deadline was too much for me this year.

here's a question - is yale interdisciplinary in the same way that columbia is?

i'm curious if columbia will report stats in terms of how many people have applied, and to which dept. i could be wrong, but i think new genres gets the most applications. if not, i think it's a close second to painting...

i don't suppose yr friend in the program told us who we could bribe?

[MFA Admission Replies - short and simple]

yeah, i remember rejection letters went out around the 2nd week of march last year.

and apparently all schools are reporting dramatic increases in applications this year - most likely due to the economy. which is strange, considering how many galleries in new york have closed down this year - you'd think there'd be less people trying to break into the art market.

someone posted yale's application stats this year - i wouldn't be suprised if columbia has similar numbers...most people who apply to yale tend to apply to columbia as well.

my understanding (from the Open House) was that Columbia interviews would be mid march, however all schools seem to have a lot of applicants this year, and maybe it is taking them longer than expected to get through the first rounds. No news is good news.

[MFA Admission Replies - short and simple]

like everyone here, i'm not holding my breath, julie.

and no need to be snarky, i'm just telling you that the schools interview, that's all.

Ok Helen, well best of luck with your applications. Be sure to let us all know when you get those interviews at Columbia and UCLA.

[MFA Admission Replies - short and simple]

she's not lying, there is no interview "day" - ucla gets over 1300 applicants a year - the interviews take up several *days*. same with columbia and yale. i know people at all three schools in the mfa studio programs...all had interviews. and not phone interviews, real live interviews. those are three of the most competitive programs to get into - you'd better believe they're going to interview you. and unlike a lot of other schools - an interview doesn't not guarantee you a position. for as many people i know at those schools - i know even more who interviewed but didn't get in.

ok well maybe columbia does, but they would not tell me the date of the interviews, and i browsed the history from last year and nobody mentioned interviews at columbia.

as far as UCLA, i spoke with Caron Cronin on the phone and she told me that they do not do interviews. She said that sometimes faculty will call students to do phone interviews, but there is no interview day. So anyway...

[MFA Admission Replies - short and simple]

uh, no - ucla most certainly does do interviews, as does columbia. i know people in both programs - and the schools also flat out say on their websites that they do interviews.

[MFA Admission Replies - short and simple]

also - if you have an interview - that's a good sign. they aren't gonna make you come all the way out there for nothing.

and - phone interviews count for way less than an in-person. most schools want to see that you're that excited and committed to their program - that you'll drop everything and fly out. you gotta make that decision about hunter - which school is more important? i can promise you if you insist on a phone interview when they want to meet in person you won't get in.

no - we're all starving artists...applying to mfa programs isn't a cheap proposition...but schools want to see that you'll make the sacrifice and have the drive to make it to an interview.

[MFA Admission Replies - short and simple]

anyone heard from columbia? or know how they work? am i wrong is assuming that if i don't hear by march, i'm screwed? it seems like everyone is sending out their interview requests right now....

thanks...

[MFA Photography decisions]

i applied to columbia, also photo - haven't heard anything.

i know yale, cal arts, uc irvine are sending out interview notifications...

[New York, NY]

congrats.

1. depends. it's the upper west side - it goes from real swank to fairly sketchy pretty quick. there aren't a lot of trains in the area.

2. rent varies, depending on the size of the apt and locale. expect to spend no less than 800-1000 if yr willing to have a roommate.

think about hell's kitchen. dull, dull, dull neighborhood - but the housing can be relatively inexpensive over there. it's south of columbia. i'm out of the market, and i haven't been following it in a while, maybe prices have gone up. if you don't mind the commute, consider williamsburg or greenpoint. very active young neighborhoods - easy commute. as a general rule of thumb - the further you get from manhattan, the bigger, nicer and more affordable the place. so don't rule out brooklyn. some people love queens, too - long island city is pretty popular. 1st stop in on the n/r, right by the ps1.

to the person asking about the lower east side: i'd avoid it were i you. it's loud, it's noisy, and on the weekends it's jam packed with drunk bridge and tunnelers. real unpleasant. yeah, they're pumping money into that neighborhood, but it's primarily insanely expensive condos that are being built. there's construction on almost every block - a new wholefoods just opened up on houston and bowery.

i will say that living below 14th, is definitely the way to go. maybe consider the east village (14th - houston, 4th ave - ave d) - you can still score some nice places in the east side - aves b, c.

and which neighborhoods are safest? they're all safe, if you have good common sense. you can get mugged in the safest, richest part of town, or stroll through the ghetto if you look like you know where yr going.

good luck...!

Hi,

I got into a PhD program at Columbia, but havent got any info about hte aid package yet. I have a couple of questions:

1. is the area around Columbia safe?

2. how much does it cost to rent a reasonable 1 bdrm in a safe neighbourhood? Which ones are the safest? I prefer to be close to the school, of course, but if it is a dodgy place I would rather commute...