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Sweet deal!

I've read here that Columbia wont admit (or presumably waitlist) anyone who hasn't interviewed. That said, I spoke with someone in their admissions office today and they told me that they actually do admit some people without interviews. Personally, I was actually more at peace with the idea of Columbia being a definite no. Now that there's still a slight possibility... I don't know, it's pretty nerve racking. Congratulations on the interview at Yale anyway - That's pretty big in and of it's self. Best of luck.

To those of you who've applied to RISD for painting, they're behind schedule and wont be mailing out half of the decisions until next week. I was able to get an answer from their admissions office over the phone though: Rejected = They're loss.

Good show!

Thank you. I've been accepted to SAIC, Cranbrook and SMFA... Each program has it's pros and cons and I'm still waiting on some info before making a final decision. Have you decided where you're going yet? You've gotten in to some great programs.

Tons of great work here! Best of luck to you all. My website is http://www.craigbutterworth.com/

To those who've been accepted to SAIC: Did you receive a letter or a packet in the mail?

Congratulations on SAIC and thanks for letting us know that the letters are in the mail.

Thanks for posting these. I'm wishing now that I'd shelled out the bucks for this info while I was choosing schools. I'm happy with my choices, but I was thinking that a school's overall MFA program ranking would be similar to it's rank for painting/drawing. I can see that's not really the case.

Thanks for that. If you don't mind, where are Cranbrook and SMFA/Tufts University on that list?

It's a hard one to answer - Visit each one if you can. According to a U.S. News & World Report list of the top 56 MFA programs, MassArt is number 32 while BU did not make the list. That ranking isn't for painting specifically, but it's an average of all of a school's MFA programs. At the U.S. News & World Report website you can, for a fee, get access to a top 50 list of painting programs. Does anyone here know where they rank? There are qualities of every program that might make it a perfect fit for you and that wouldn't necessarily come across in a rank. That said, I think they're a good place to start. I was at MassArt for 4 years and loved it. The only experience I've had with BU was a lecture by, professor, Richard Ryan who seemed pretty wonderful. Let me know if you have any questions about MassArt and good luck.

I live in Boston and did my undergrad at MassArt. Both programs are strong from what I've heard - The one main distinction I've heard is that BU is more "figurative", though I'm sure you'll find work of all types in both departments.

I think most programs outside the top ten get somewhere around 100-300 applications for, usually, just 20-30 spots. I think Columbia gets around 1,000 applications for around 30 spots, but that's their entire visual arts program, so they only want a few painters, a few photographers, sculptors, etc. So for that program I think your odds are something like 1 in 200 but I could be wrong. SAIC's painting department got 500 applications from which they gave 100 interviews and from there 25 students will be accepted. I'm not sure what the general acceptance rate for MFA programs is... But I'm going to say: bad

I didn't make the cut at Yale either... I think there are around 1,175 of us in that same boat, so, at least you're in good company. I applied to columbia for visual arts but wasn't expecting to hear anything from them or RISD until late March/early April. When did you hear back from them? Also, I've been wondering: I've heard of one or two painters having interviewed at RISD and Columbia already. I don't know if anyone here can answer this question for me, but if someone hasn't been asked to interview at this point, is it likely a rejection? I think I already know the answer, but figured I would ask on the off chance that they don't interview everyone they accept or something like that... I'm still holding on to a tiny shred of hope. I can't wait for this whole process to be over Good luck everyone.

Yup - I'm doing a call too. Good luck!