TheBarnOwl

Hey everyone. I know what I’ve quoted above is probably not what you want to read. But it’s important that you do. I am about 6 years out of my MFA program. It’s been a long, strange, beautiful, complicated, difficult road. I’m gonna tell you right now that over 99 percent of you will not make it in the way you consciously or unconsciously believe that you need to. And even if you do, your name will be forgotten in a few hundred years. If that doesn’t scare you and if the reality of the art world, which was summarized nicely up above, doesn’t scare you and if you must do this, then know that you are already doing it and you will do it no matter what stands between you and your work. You are choosing it and you will choose it again and again. And that is what matters. I don’t think you should idolize anybody: not Agnes Martin, not famous artists, not your professors, not gallery owners, not museums, not universities, not degrees, not even your peers, etc. If you give even one ounce of shit what anyone else thinks or how anyone else acts, in a real way (because we all care in small, superfluous ways), then you are already lost. If you don’t know who you are and if you don’t have a backbone, do something else. You will suffer much less. Know that art, like life, will bring you to your knees. In humility, in sadness, in awe. Be courageous. Existence requires that of you, no matter what you do. 

Hey! So I got in for MFA New Genres on March 2nd. The April 15th is the deadline for the $800 tuition deposit, which means you probably will be taking my place as I don't intend to pay/attend. I imagine they would get back to you potentially offering you a place? But don't hold me to that.

I had to call it quits because the COVID-19 outbreak has meant the slowing of income and responses from funding bodies and has affected my household and my application (I'm an international student from London). I was offered a few scholarships from the school but the overall cost is still a bit obscene, and when I emailed them my circumstances the first thing the finance office said was: "we have no additional funding" and "we understand you will have to make difficult decisions". To which I though, hm 800 towards a deposit or towards living costs during a literal pandemic. 
If Columbia is the place you really want to go and you have your heart set on it & you have the means to cover the cost of Columbia which is pricey (and I am questioning its worth thanks to https://www.instagram.com/columbiavisualartsmfa/ which has been exposing the asbestos in studios, missing faculty, dissatisfaction of students) then go. But I would say go to the school offering you free tuition. I have a full ride to Parsons which I think I am going to accept over Columbia mainly because I wanted to be in NY and I personally think an MFA is fundamentally what you make it. You're dedicating 2 years to improve on your skill, craft, concepts, and ideas and I think one can thrive wherever. No amount of money or famous name of a school guarantees success. I think we're all just navigating this strange world trying to make it work
Have attached an email the current students sent me just for reference!
 

I *think* it's pretty unheard-of to get off a waitlist before the April 15 deadline. In my understanding that time is kind of set apart to arrange students who received offers of admission and negotiate funding. I was waitlisted twice last year and ended up hearing that I got off and given an offer of admission in early June and got a rejection from the other waitlist in August (August 30th, seriously!). I did ultimately end up getting an offer of admission right after my interview at the latter school the next year (this year) when I reapplied though. So I guess through my very limited experience I'd sum up my outlook of waitlists as don't-hold-your-breath.

I *think* it's pretty unheard-of to get off a waitlist before the April 15 deadline. In my understanding that time is kind of set apart to arrange students who received offers of admission and negotiate funding. I was waitlisted twice last year and ended up hearing that I got off and given an offer of admission in early June and got a rejection from the other waitlist in August (August 30th, seriously!). I did ultimately end up getting an offer of admission right after my interview at the latter school the next year (this year) when I reapplied though. So I guess through my very limited experience I'd sum up my outlook of waitlists as don't-hold-your-breath.

I *think* it's pretty unheard-of to get off a waitlist before the April 15 deadline. In my understanding that time is kind of set apart to arrange students who received offers of admission and negotiate funding. I was waitlisted twice last year and ended up hearing that I got off and given an offer of admission in early June and got a rejection from the other waitlist in August (August 30th, seriously!). I did ultimately end up getting an offer of admission right after my interview at the latter school the next year (this year) when I reapplied though. So I guess through my very limited experience I'd sum up my outlook of waitlists as don't-hold-your-breath.

Honestly, I'm not one for dramatics. I'm of the opinion that most of the people in this forum, at least the 2020 one, are pragmatic people. Otherwise, financials wouldn't be such a popular topic of discussion. I know that I turned down both SAIC and Cranbrook because they were too expensive. 

I'm five years out of undergrad (I do rec waiting and getting life experience before applying,) and I'm still in contact with my profs who are all dedicated, down-to-earth people. They've shown me real-life examples of what to do with an MFA degree. For those that are turning down offers and are wondering what to do with the next year, this is some of the stuff that I found helpful from my prof's recs: dig in deep, because your work is the most important thing. Keep exploring. Dig into the artists you admire, read their statements, read more critical theory. It will help you to articulate your thoughts about your art better. And, to wait for better funding because you'll have more options after. The big name schools are definitely for gallery careers later. It's good to think about what type of artist you want to be in 5 years. How can you start taking steps now to get there? Do you want to live in a big city? (You might've heard some of this before, but you never know!)

Maybe that seems too simplistic, but that's honestly what it's all about. Doing the work. (And yeah, you can do that from home. I live in a shoebox overseas, ahaha, and I've never expected to make it big because of the nature of my medium, nor do I want that from my life.) I want to get an MFA for many faceted reasons. I also find inherit value in education and being in an art environment. And to be honest? That's okay, lol. And no, I don't have a trust-fund. We probably shouldn't be engaging with someone who is a self-declared troll anyway, but discussion seems to have majorly stalled & that's a bummer. I wanna hear about people making work, what are y'all up to, what are ya reading? 

Hi all, is anyone deliberating between Hunter and another less affordable but very good school, like Columbia, RISD, or SAIC etc? (I applied for painting but this question is for all disciplines). I received some funding from Columbia, but even with that, my total student debt there would be almost 4x than if I went to Hunter. (I currently have no student debt, and would pay in-state tuition at Hunter).  Right now I'm keeping in mind Hunter's 3 year program and flexibility to start in Spring, among other personal considerations about which program I'm more excited about. Would anyone in a similar boat mind sharing some of your deliberation process and what variables you're taking in to account? I can't help but shudder at the thought of paying tens of thousands of dollars per year to be in remote classes if the virus is still running at the same clip come fall... Looking forward to more discussion!

Hi all, is anyone deliberating between Hunter and another less affordable but very good school, like Columbia, RISD, or SAIC etc? (I applied for painting but this question is for all disciplines). I received some funding from Columbia, but even with that, my total student debt there would be almost 4x than if I went to Hunter. (I currently have no student debt, and would pay in-state tuition at Hunter).  Right now I'm keeping in mind Hunter's 3 year program and flexibility to start in Spring, among other personal considerations about which program I'm more excited about. Would anyone in a similar boat mind sharing some of your deliberation process and what variables you're taking in to account? I can't help but shudder at the thought of paying tens of thousands of dollars per year to be in remote classes if the virus is still running at the same clip come fall... Looking forward to more discussion!

I got an acceptance call this morning from Columbia for Visual Arts (painting)- my interview was on Wednesday. 

Being on two waitlists at this point in the game is pure torture. I think it means I/we are a great fit for each program but there are snafus keeping us in a holding pattern. I know I have many opportunities beyond or instead of grad school right now-but, damn, this waiting for a likely/uncertain rejection is just brutal!! Sending good vibes to all.

I would say, do the thing that you know you want to do in your heart, but that you’re afraid of doing. From the short paragraph you wrote, this seems like Emily Carr. I feel like we’re afraid of something because it’s new; it diverges from the thing we’re comfortable with. Is this not the point of grad school? You only get to do it once, and then you can move back to where you live now and pick up your previous life if that’s what you want. I wouldn’t base my decision on where to go on your current employment, because you’ll probably have to drop a lot of your clients/gigs anyways, while you’re in the program, no? And if you wanted to keep freelancing with these clients forever, why even go to grad school. Maybe a new environment will be conducive to making new kinds of work too. Anyways, just my two cents!

I would say, do the thing that you know you want to do in your heart, but that you’re afraid of doing. From the short paragraph you wrote, this seems like Emily Carr. I feel like we’re afraid of something because it’s new; it diverges from the thing we’re comfortable with. Is this not the point of grad school? You only get to do it once, and then you can move back to where you live now and pick up your previous life if that’s what you want. I wouldn’t base my decision on where to go on your current employment, because you’ll probably have to drop a lot of your clients/gigs anyways, while you’re in the program, no? And if you wanted to keep freelancing with these clients forever, why even go to grad school. Maybe a new environment will be conducive to making new kinds of work too. Anyways, just my two cents!

I would say, do the thing that you know you want to do in your heart, but that you’re afraid of doing. From the short paragraph you wrote, this seems like Emily Carr. I feel like we’re afraid of something because it’s new; it diverges from the thing we’re comfortable with. Is this not the point of grad school? You only get to do it once, and then you can move back to where you live now and pick up your previous life if that’s what you want. I wouldn’t base my decision on where to go on your current employment, because you’ll probably have to drop a lot of your clients/gigs anyways, while you’re in the program, no? And if you wanted to keep freelancing with these clients forever, why even go to grad school. Maybe a new environment will be conducive to making new kinds of work too. Anyways, just my two cents!

Same haha

Just got the waitlist email this morning!

I got an acceptance to Hunter that I am probably turning down. 

I wrote a poem for you all after a year of applications to grants/ open calls/ 2 interviews at VCU and RISD that resulted in a rejection and waitlisted status.     —————————————————————     We regretfully encourage you to apply to our online print institution with a cv, slideroom sacrifice, numbered explanations of your sense of criticality, and a brief statement explaining the origins of your rigor in contemporary practice.    Due to the volume of applicants we will be unable to tell you wether you were selected or not. A full faculty interview panel will be planned to gender reveal your destiny via Skype if the panel selection includes your final application.    Please reach in if you have questions.  Thank you.   Departmental chair  

has anybody heard from Columbia painting? thank you!

During my interview on the 9th they said we should hear back in about 2 weeks. So another week or so roughly?  Good luck!

Has anyone heard word from Hunter for painting? Rejections, acceptances, or waitlist notifications? I seem to remember (from last year) they all went out at the same time, around March 13th-15th.

Got an interview! wow

My status was updated to schedule an interview! No email yet though. I was just furiously refreshing my status page directly.

My status was updated to schedule an interview! No email yet though. I was just furiously refreshing my status page directly.

My status was updated to schedule an interview! No email yet though. I was just furiously refreshing my status page directly.