Slowly

Hi friends, I took a break from this place to save my poor noodle from being fried lol. But I just wanted to check back in and say that I got emailed by one of the faculty with an unofficial notice of acceptance into RISD Illustration! (Official notices go out in March). I'm so happy, especially because I considered this one a "reach" school! ? I'll also hear on funding in March, too.
quick timeline:
application deadline - Jan 10th
invited to interview - Jan 22nd
interview - Jan 27th
unofficial acceptance - today
(if it matters, I'm an international applicant)
As I've mentioned before, Illustration is their newest program, so I wouldn't advise using this as a basis if you applied to their more established programs like Painting, Digital Media, etc. Just putting this out there for any potential Illus lurkers, and for comparison in general.
Other school I applied to is SUNY FIT, which I haven't heard a peep from.
Also saw a lot of people I've interacted with on here posting their own interview/acceptance notices -- so very happy for you! Here's to even more good news in the future for us all!

Just adding to the chorus of others who received their official RISD admit today (MFA Illustration), after the unofficial email back in February. Aside from the assistantship, no other financial aid. I was hoping for better... I don't have a decision yet from my other school, so not sure what I can mention in an email to appeal for more funding. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks and congrats to all others! ?

Had my interview with RISD Illustration earlier this week. I feel pretty good about it, in fact I enjoyed it! My inbox is open if anyone wants to ask questions, or even just let us yell at each other/blow off steam about our respective interviews. Best of luck to everyone with interviews still coming up!

Just got an email from RISD inviting me to an interview for Illustration. I'm not sure if this is THE interview, but the email calls it the "next stage", so I am choosing to feel very proud at this moment, lol.
I should mention Illustration is their absolute newest program (this is their first year ever) so I do not think this means their more established programs like Painting are already contacting anyone this early. Still wishing everyone hears back soon and gets good news!

Apart from Fourth's suggestion to ask honestly about funding, I asked about the TA process, and how much of the course/syllabus we were expected to propose. I also asked to know a bit more on some of the electives they advertised on their website (phrased it like "I plan to do work about [subject], so I'm very interested in [elective name], may I know a bit more about what's tackled there?")

Hi all, second go-around ever here. I know this site leans more to the Fine Arts side but if anyone here is in Illustration, just know that I'm stumbling around right there with you.
I write and illustrate comics and wordless picture books, though my freelance work spans video/animation, editorial, poster design, interactive books, etc. My favorite medium is brush & ink, every time. Last time I applied was in 2017, just a year out of undergraduate, and I'll admit to being very clueless, knowing I loved the idea of grad school but not knowing why I wanted to go. As a result, my SOP was filled mostly with what I thought faculty wanted to hear rather than anything authentic about me or my work. Here I am four years later with a much clearer vision of what I want to accomplish
I've applied to RISD and FIT. If you'd like to talk about those schools or MFA Illustration matters in general, swap portfolios, commiserate, etc., feel free to shoot me a message. Good luck to everyone!

Just to clarify my stance on all of this. After much thought, I am most likely going to decline. Nobody wants to enter a program feeling resentful, nobody wants to leave a program feeling resentful and in $100,000+ debt. 
It was a great experience applying to schools, and I also learned a lot by having such an annoying, frustrating, disappointing experience in regards to the financial aid package. There are a lot of aspects to their decision making process that will never be revealed to the public. I was able to get a glimpse into that process, and realized that this is not a system that I truly want to be a part of. 
Looking back, I'd apply to Fully funded programs, or NY State programs (I'm a NY'er) that are much more affordable. 
But looking forward, I'm going to just keep on painting. 
Parting thought:
Our time is more valuable than money, and in the end I didn't feel like they valued my time.

Hey all!
Now that I have heard back from all of the unis I've applied to here is how my 2022 applications went:
applied to - mfa graphic design/mfa studio art with a concentration in graphic design
Profile - international student, first time application, undergrad in geophysical engineering, will be graduating in june. 4-5 internships, hackathon wins, strong motivation letter, good rec. letter from co-workers.
Yale - accepted, need based full tuition
VCU - accepted, full tuition, 10k a year
Cranbrook - accepted, 50% tuition
Umass Amherst - accepted, 11k a year, health, dental and vision insurance
MCAD - accepted, 50% tuition + 6k a year
CCA - accepted, 50% tuition
MICA - accepted, 25% tuition
SAIC - accepted, 20% tuition
RISD - rejected
SVA - rejected
GSU - rejected after interview
I remember writing a reddit post about how stupid i feel for applying to yale when i'm not qualified for it. Just a few minutes ago I accepted my Yale offer. No words can describe how happy I am! It was actually hard saying no to VCU as their program is as amazing as Yale's, but the resources and centers that Yale offers align with my career goals better, so i decided to choose it after a long time spent on comparison. They accepted only 8 people this year and i'm very very happy to be one of them.
RISD and SVA rejected me as their programs are more focused on commercial design whereas my work covers experimental design, so I completely understand. my GSU interview was very stale and boring, the professors had only 15 mins as they were in between classes and they didnt really seem interested in what i  have to say, so i knew i would be rejected. 
My advice to mfa applicants would be to talk to the alumni or the current students of your desired program. I spent 2 years getting my portfolio reviewed, working on improving it, talking to ppl studying at my top choices and i for sure know i wouldnt be able to get into my desired programs without it. 
i'm very thankful to the gradcafe community as you guys helped me stay sane during the waiting period! i hope all of you will get into the best program suited for you

Guys I got in Pratt sculpture wish ya’ll luck!!!

just submitted a deposit and declined the other offers i received! its official now!!!!
 
quick summary  
saic-accepted
tyler-accepted
u oregon-accepted 
parsons-interviewed, attempted to withdraw app but the coordinator's email no longer seems to be active?????
cranbrook-accepted + going!
 
 

Hi gang. I got picked up by the University of Southern California and decided to accept admission and pay my admission fee. I've been working towards USC for a couple years and the USC Roski program was my 1st choice by miles, so I'm completely satisfied with this years outcome. I'm excited to begin my hunt for grants and scholarships.
Anyone else up in here choosing USC??? Let's talk.

Hi, 
I just got admitted to the University of Washington Photo/Media! They are kinda pressuring me to make a decision in the next couple weeks, but there are still a couple schools I haven't heard back from. 
The other schools I applied to are(all photo):
Massart-interview-said they would get back to me in "early April"
U of Arizona-Accepted with tuition waiver & TAship
UCLA-nothing
Yale-denied
Good luck to everyone as admission decisions roll in!

I got accepted into WashU Visual Arts MFA with a full ride and graduate assistanships! I didn't think they gave full rides but looked it up and it's a new scholarship. So happy 

Just did my interview with Hunter earlier today and think it went really really really well! Got to speak to Chitra Ganesh, one of my heroes, so that was  just so lovely and exciting. It definitely went way better than my Yale interview haha

I posted a little while ago stating that I was accepted to RISD Painting with a 25% scholarship, and TA position. The TA position is $5000 per year. I also qualify for work study which is $2000 per year. Direct Loan is $20,500 per year. I emailed to negotiate and the Program Coordinator called me, and while it was a great talk, she stated that at the moment there were no additional funds to disperse at the moment. I haven’t officially accepted, though I plan to. My question is, does anyone know if I should apply for a PLUS Loan before or after enrollment? I’m going to email the financial office but I was just wondering if anyone else knew/had this question. Congrats to everyone on your acceptances!

If it makes a difference to you, I was in this exact situation last year (full ride+stipend+insurance vs. 80% scholarship) and I picked the full ride over my top choice because I am an extremely frugal person. I ended up leaving almost immediately because it was clear that I would not thrive at that school for a number of reasons. It actually ended up being more expensive to have such a bumpy ride of a gap year, than it would have to just suck up the tuition cost and go to my top choice. I can’t say that the same would happen to you, but really consider what you want out of your education and consider how you’ll get there. 70% is a great scholarship if you can make it work!

Final update! I’ve heard back from all my grad schools as of today ? 
Accepted:
- NYU ITP (no financial info yet)
- RISD D+M (assistantship + 65% RISD fellowship )
- RCA IED (London schools are out of pocket for an international student like me ??) 
- UAL CSM Narrative Environments (“ ”)
- KAIST CT (full tuition + lab stipend)
Rejected:
- MIT Media Lab (Tangible Media Group, they were looking for technical applicants so I expected this, but I thought why not try at least)
After thinking through a few of my options, I’m leaning towards going to the Royal College of Art and moving to London for at least a year. There is one more opportunity I’m nervously waiting on, which is the Fulbright. I’m applying to conduct independent research about media in Korea which would be incredibly hard to pass up on if I do make it as a finalist (shot in the dark)! But yes, that’s it for the grad decisions. I had a ton to think about and learn. Please feel free to reach out to chat if you ever want ☺️

Holy shit… I just got into Stamps (UofMich Ann Arbor.) Full ride. I am SO PUMPED. 

Holy shit..... Accepted to Yale!!!!!!!! ???

Got accepted to Yale! waiting for financial aid decisions now.
Also got accepted to VCU with $10k stipend, super thankful for both of these!!

Yale decisions came  in about 20 min ago... rejected But trying to still feel good about at least getting an interview!! And I still have another interview lined up, so gonna focus on that next

Wanted to update: I got accepted to MFA at VCU with two years of tuition + 10K yearly assistantship! 
The first feasible option to attend, the wait for other decisions is killing 

Just adding to the chorus of others who received their official RISD admit today (MFA Illustration), after the unofficial email back in February. Aside from the assistantship, no other financial aid. I was hoping for better... I don't have a decision yet from my other school, so not sure what I can mention in an email to appeal for more funding. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks and congrats to all others! ?

Just adding to the chorus of others who received their official RISD admit today (MFA Illustration), after the unofficial email back in February. Aside from the assistantship, no other financial aid. I was hoping for better... I don't have a decision yet from my other school, so not sure what I can mention in an email to appeal for more funding. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks and congrats to all others! ?

A solid amount of people definitely get accepted off of the waitlist! If one person is accepted to 5 schools, they can still only pick one and end up leaving an open slot at four schools. Multiply that by everyone who has been accepted to multiple programs!