2DifferentSocks

This topic is pretty great. Just thought it'd be fun to comment on this. I'm not really going to offer up a ranking because honestly, I haven't been everywhere. I have been to a lot of places and visited schools from top of the US News Rankings to the not so top. I think its kind of unfair to a lot of schools to pretty much have us (the forum users) seemingly re-ranking the top 10-15 schools because of what we assume are the best based on reputation/maybe visiting. I mean, aside from USC and maybe Hunter, all the schools mentioned are pretty much the same we'd expect. I almost think it'd be more fun to rank the schools that you would not expect to be awesome, sleeper schools types of thing. We all know yale columbia saic risd are sick. Also, in general I'm not sure how much I think fully funding programs will automatically lead them to climbing the rankings. Sure Cornell is fully funded (although only guaranteed for the first year for next years class) and is attached to amazing institution, but the reality of it is if you visit there you will quickly realize their facilities can be limiting. Also, there are a few more programs that offer full funding than you'd imagine. Of the grad schools I applied to, 5 or 6 of them have full funding opportunities. Thats about 50% of the schools I seriously considered. I just think a lot of school don't necessarily do a great job of advertising how much money they have available (or schools that advertise it a lot NEED that to get people because the program lacks in other areas). Just an opinion. Oh, btw, in terms of art schools fading, I'm not sure about that. I've never been to SAIC, but my friends who visited there said their facilities might be the best they've seen and also IF it really came down to offering more funding in order to not sacrifice their ranking something tells me they'd find a way to do. Congrats to everyone who has some luck with the process and those who haven't, no worries, round 2 works (at least it did for me)!

Hey guys, I also completed the VCU SSP this past summer and thought it'd be worth it to give some input. First of all, I just want to say we all know 6 grand is a lot of money for a two month program, and based on the people in the program it was not like I was surrounded by a group of trust fund babies. So it is clear it is individuals who are willing to make somewhat of a financial sacrifice to have a critical discourse and feedback in ways they no longer can get. However, there are a few ways to look at it. On top of what you may pay to go to a graduate program the 6 thousand dollars can seem pretty nominal. Also, this program may in many ways help get into graduate programs with more funding. Obviously it depends greatly on the work you make, but individuals from this program have had a significant amount of success getting into great schools this year with good amounts of funding, including Carnegie Mellon, SAIC, Cornell, RISD, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, Washington, Rutgers, Syracuse, Alfred, and others. I haven't talked to everyone, but this alone is a pretty impressive list. Its not like these programs saw VCU SSP and were like "WE NEED THIS KID!" but the program definitely helped people understand and their develop their work in a way that made them great candidates and probably better artists. Also, you literally have a good sized studio in one of the best outfitted buildings in the country for art making. Whether you are a sculptor, printmaker, or painter, there is no shortage of resources around you as well as people willing to help. In terms of going directly out of undergrad, I did go the summer after my undergrad graduation and thought it was actually incredibly beneficial. Sure, if you went to RISD or SAIC for undergrad, it might not be as beneficial, but having the input of some of the best faculty when in a prime time to develop your work and voice as an artist I found to be fantastic. However, do realize I was one of the youngest individuals in the program and only one person was a recent grad. Long story short, I thought it was a fantastic experience, and given my success with my art development in the past year I am very thankful that I chose to participate in the program. By the way, just so you all know, just getting into SSP is a pretty good achievement. It is possibly the only program of its type, thus gets a great deal of applicants outside of those directed from the grad school apps. They only take 16 people out of well over 150 and possibly over 200 applicants i was told. Hope that helps!

@Rama: I heard via email, but to be honest I have a feeling when/how you hear from one department has no bearing on when/how you would hear from other departments within the school. @ilbisbee: I really have no idea if its a good or bad sign if you haven't heard yet. If you are applying in the sculpture department I would guess they contacted all of their applicants for interviews, but for all I know they do not even interview everyone. I will say that their interviews are conducted the last week in March, so there is still plenty of time that they could be using to decide on other individuals to interview, but again I really have no idea. Hope that helps!

Hey everyone, Here is my list thus far (I applied to a lot of places): I applied in sculpture to places that offered it, otherwise in the general MFA art programs. Yale:Rejected RISD:Interview Cornell:Interview Michigan:Interview University of Chicago:Accepted with half tuition funding Alfred:Accepted with full funding plus stipend (They offer this to everyone accepted) Ohio State:Accepted and high on waitlist for funding USC:Nothing yet VCU:Nothing yet Iowa:Nothing yet Tyler:Nothing yet Quick question, I may not find out if I get funding from Ohio State until the last minute (depends on when people tell them if they are not going there). Anyone have any idea what the typical Ohio State funding package is? I just am wondering because it would be good to know to weigh against other options. I wish everyone the best of luck with the process and congratulate those who have been accepted to places. For those who haven't been, don't sweat it. I applied to eight places last year and got a big zero in the acceptances department. So things really can change in a year so don't get too down!