haphazardedly

@trapnado how did the CMU interview go? Just curious. I have always been pretty drawn to CMU as an institution. I emailed Keni Jefferson to try and get word on official rejection and she didn't reply. I have already made peace with it but I wanted some finality.
Also did anyone else interview with MIT's ACT program? I interviewed yesterday and completely blew it. I had a migraine and I couldn't string together coherent statements. I am okay as I wasn't too invested in the program but man do I cringe when I remember the interview.

Congratulations! I wonder what that means for other CMU MFA applicants. Did it seem like an individual email or a mass email to everyone getting an interview? You heard a lot earlier than applicants have in past years.

Some random thoughts from the couple of little interviews I did (one on the phone with OSU, one on Skype with Penn, both around 10-12 minutes each):
They both asked "hard" questions first; like, the kind of questions that I was unprepared to answer right off the bat due to just having met these people and still being nervous. I feel like this may have been a strategy on their part...or maybe I'm reading too much into it. The questions were along the lines of "so you've written a good amount about your practice in your statement...can you expand a little more, and also tell us about some contemporary artists you're looking at lately who influence you?" and "so where do you see yourself heading artistically during your time at (school name), and who are some artists who interest you?". They're not such difficult questions but I wish they'd started with something like "how are you today?".
Then there were ones like "why do you want to go to _____?", "what electives or other departments in the school are you interested in studying?", "how does (insert current job from resume) relate to/inform your art practice?".
Both places asked if I had questions for them, and I am reeeally glad that I had some ready, because it kept the interview from feeling one-sided (and I think it might be kind of bad to say "no" to that question). Things like "what's the degree of permeability between the department's different studio areas?", "what do the teaching assistantship duties generally consist of? Will I be assisting a professor, or will I be teaching my own class?" yielded some informative answers.
Reviewing the grad handbook (from the place that had one available) was helpful. So was looking up the faculty from the departments I applied to. 
I don't know if any of this is useful...and I know that an in-person interview has some additional facets that I fortunately did not have to deal with. But hey, if this helps one person, cool. Wishing all of you the best of luck on your interviews!
 
 
 

Thanks so much! The interview isn't until March 4th strangely. I think they wanted to give a window that would allow me the opportunity to interview in person. I am opting for skype though. I bet that if they are planning interviews that far off then the other MFA programs at UCLA aren't rushing to finish the admission process either. I wouldn't worry much about not hearing yet.

Whoa, that's amazing!  Now I'm more anxious to hear from UCLA.  Congratulations!  Hope the UCLA interview goes very well.

I am in my last year as an undergrad at Purchase. I can't speak for the MFA experience but I think Purchase is fantastic in general. I would heartily recommend it to anyone.

I just saw that I was accepted also! I haven't received an email yet but my status on the application page changed to an acceptance message. I guess maybe the invite is connected after all. Timing/finances are tough to go for a visit on Feb. 19th. I am considering asking if it would be possible to visit in late March instead. My area is "Art and Technology". I asked during my interview and apparently the different disciplines often share seminars//studios are kind of intermingled//general cross-disciplinary interaction is common.
To gtakaoka and Doggs, in the event that you aren't accepted I would try not to sweat it. I know that that's easier said than done but just try and remember how specific and obtuse the decision making process is from our end. The faculty is working with knowledge about what kind of work grows well in their specific environment. Being passed up by a school means the faculty thought that their specific environment wouldn't be helpful to your work not that your work wouldn't add something to their environment. Either way, I feel confident that everything will work out well for you if you are the kind of person that cares enough to be actively following a website like this.