Jump to content

felixo

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    35

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by felixo

  1. felixo
    I'm wary of this comment - lots of state school systems require you to prove residency in a way that exceeds what a student can often prove. Voting registration, driver's license, tax forms proving said state is your permanent home for over a year. Basically, you need to prove that you moved there to work or live, and not to go to school. Maybe certain departments will help you out - but generally the burden of proof is on the student and just being there in school doesn't generally fly. Otherwise, every out of state sophomore/2nd year grad student at a state school would be trying this for the duration of their degree.
  2. felixo
    If they didn't give you a frank or clear explanation, I would investigate. Be polite the whole way through, but people understand that funding can be make or break, and there's no harm in asking what's going on and why your admission doesn't correspond to the information given on the website. Sometimes, you'd be surprised what some proactive measures can accomplish.
  3. felixo
    Going to grad school if you're not sure about the fit or the time you had to look into programs can end up being a really risky thing, and a huge waste of time for all parties involved. It can work out, but if you're coming straight out of undergrad I don't think it hurts to have some time out of school to clear your head and focus on what you really want, visit schools, make connections, see what environment you want to learn in. Post academia is a totally different world and one that very much helps you clarify what you want out of your grad studies - plus life experience always helps make your art better. But no, not weird to get accepted without interview - it's just dependent on the school. Sometimes the work speaks for itself enough. As someone who got an MA with a year between undergrad and grad school, my MA was too early and wasn't a great fit - and the few years following that is when I really found my direction - only now going for the MFA. Different for everyone, but I'm speaking from some experience.
  4. felixo
    I went in to a diatribe about Chicago schools and the SAIC thing but as @sylviecerise mentioned, Chicago is a weird, insular scene. I differ in that if I were still there (I grew up there, lived and worked there for a number of years) I would go to UIC or U of C - SAIC, NU would be lower on my list. But having not gone to school at SAIC (I previously studied other stuff at universities not in Chicago), I had a tough time in the city in that respect. I didn't have that experience showing work elsewhere, but my own backyard was another story. It's like if you're not SAIC or Columbia (in some circles) are you really even doing work? And yea, SAIC is a cash cow, but I do have friends that have gone there and made great work - just very self directed. Great city in many ways though, and I may end up back there eventually.
  5. felixo
    So, I'm not sure who said art is 80% art 20% business. It's at least 50/50 or even anywhere to 30/70 in my experience, but my line of work is primarily photo, and so I work commercially (as opposed to selling prints) to pay my bills and for my art making for the most part. Could be different for others. But to your point, I would focus on making art. I mean, show work if you can, but make good work first and foremost. An MFA program is to help prepare you for a career, they're there to recognize your potential as an artist. In the admissions process, as far as I know, it's portfolio first - most of the time. So, if you don't have the work, the rest likely won't even see the light of day. If you have a great exhibiting CV, it means your art is succeeding on some level and begs the question - is an MFA really going to help much anyways?
  6. felixo
    No, but I'm sort of a unique situation maybe. I'm a little bit older (mid thirties), already moved to the area for my partner's work as of last year, and will have in state status because of this - and while I have visited many programs over the years in Chicago where I'm from, this is the first one I connected well with. It's small and interdisciplinary which is key for me. I'm gonna go, and if I need to pay in state tuition for one year (the second year they still said is looking good for funding) I can swing it, or if I can't, the loan debt will be small enough to be manageable. I still do commercial work in my field and while it wouldn't be fun to add this on to the year's expense I'll find a way to make it work.
  7. felixo
    I heard from UNC on Friday (with an acceptance offer!) but only after emailing to follow up. They are still figuring out their funding unfortunately, hence the delay in notifications - I don't think they have notified everyone yet. If you hear from them and decide to go, shoot me a PM - it's where I'll be. I'm pretty excited all things considered.
  8. felixo
    Unfortunately, this was the situation with my institution (UNC - Chapel Hill). My acceptance was in the form of 'You're in, sorry we've taken this long to let you know, we are still trying to figure out funding for next year which is uncertain and that is the reason for the delayed response. Usually we know by now - and we will let you know as soon as we can' So, basically, a good call overall, with caveats as it is usually a well funded program. I do think, however, that it could be a reason that some other institutions may be uncharacteristically behind - if it happened to one, it wouldn't be surprising that it happened to others.
  9. felixo
    Have been watching this thread to see if any news came in about the one and only program I applied to (UNC - Chapel Hill) - but it seems there hasn't been. I know it's a small program so maybe no one waiting on this one, but I just heard from them (finally!). So, just joining to post the little that I know now. If anyone was waiting - I was just told they have been late in getting out any word to applicants, and are still working on it because they are still trying to sort out funding for the year which is in flux. Personally, I'd kinda started losing hope since I know they've been earlier with their decisions in the past. But I got in, just got a call, and I'm thrilled. But I hope their normal funding comes through! Good luck to all those still waiting, it's stressful!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

  I accept