AngryHarold

RISD Painting second year here. We just looked at slides of prospective students and cast our ballots (which don't mean much). I'm guessing you'll hear from them soon.

i would just keep in contact with whoever lets you know you're on the waitlist. i checked in periodically. - yes i still received funding - im not entirely sure about the number of people - there is a ranking for painting, but i wasn't directly told where i was on that list, only that i was somewhere in the top spots i might have been persistent about checking in repeatedly, but it didn't seem to annoy anyone. but really all you can do is wait and see.

yea i did. one of the faculty members that i was in consistent contact with throughout the process notified me of being on the waitlist, but said he only contacted the people in the top spots on the list, so given that i don't think any of my other classmates were waitlisted, i think i might have been #1. no way of knowing, but seems right. i think i found out i was on the waitlist the same week as those who were accepted outright. there's a decent chance that you can get in if you were waitlisted.

no, i had a skype interview last year.

pretty sure that's all done now. they had 30+ interviews last week.

I don't know the exact time/day, but very soon. All I can say really lol.

RISD Painting applicants should be hearing back soon I think, just fyi.

I accepted Pratt's offer and deposited before hearing back from RISD, because I was also concerned about losing my spot. I ended up having to tell Pratt that I was declining their offer, and while I felt terrible about it, they were pretty understanding. As someone said before, the lack of a universal deadline for deposits/confirmations really puts people in an awkward position. In the end it's about what works best for you though.

I finally decided on RISD, after a lot of back and forth. I feel really bad turning Pratt down, but I just think RISD is the better fit all-around for me. This will probably be my last update, so good luck to everyone next year. And to those who didn't get in, I was rejected my first round too, so no worries. Just keep trying.

yea, everything about RISD (besides the price tag, but Pratt is even more) seems great. i'm having a convo with one of the program directors this week, so i'm expecting to get a bit more clarity about what to expect if i decide on RISD. i'd feel awful about turning down Pratt after all of this, but the living expenses in NY just seem to be an irreconcilable hurdle for me. i'll have to see what my financial aid package looks like with RISD before i can make a decision. did you go to RISD? any info i can get would be welcome.

So I just received news that I got into RISD off the waitlist. Awesome news, but really throws a wrench into my current plans. Providence would be much, much easier to afford and move to, and RISD's program is obviously phenomenal. The (estimated) scholarship/assistantship/fellowship offer isn't too far off from Pratt's, and RISD is about $10k cheaper than Pratt overall, so off the top of my head I think it would be cheaper to go to RISD. Ugh. This experience has been extremely stressful. Not complaining, just venting.

congrats! i look forward to meeting you!

I accepted my offer at Pratt! Thanks for the good times everyone. Best of luck in the future!

I just declined my Boston University offer, so hopefully this will open up a spot for a waitlisted candidate!

well if you want to feel better about it, try searching for some Brooklyn apartments for a while, lol. it's a nightmare. but yea, i stayed with a current student when i interviewed there, and she lived with two other roomies in a nice apartment. so it is possible. hopefully someone at the school can help you out.

i'm still weighing my options at the moment. i haven't ruled it out yet.

no problem. good luck with your decision!

i guess i would consider location and name recognition of the schools (if you plan on teaching). the thing that makes BU a hard sell for me is that Boston isn't that much cheaper to live in than NYC, so i don't feel like i'm getting that great of a deal financially. BU seems to be on an upswing thanks to Josephine Halvorson taking over the program, but i still have some concerns about the lack of showing opportunities in Boston. most of the grads end up moving to NYC after graduation, so i think any community that would be developed with fellow students would become fractured right after school is over. i also didn't get the sense that there's any connection to the New York art scene besides the visiting artists program (i asked questions about this during my interview). i will give BU credit though, the artists they bring in are really impressive, but this just isn't something that is a top priority to me. i have had studio visits with really successful artists in undergrad, and the feedback was very valuable, but it didn't really provide any sort of lasting connection, so i'm a bit skeptical about the long-term usefulness. this is just my experience, of course. so to summarize: - Boston doesn't have a flourishing gallery scene, so you would have to move if showing is important to you. - Boston is expensive to live in, to the point where you might as well live in NYC if you have the option. Thankfully BU is relatively cheap from a tuition standpoint, but Hunter is cheaper. - BU's visiting artist program is fantastic, but you'll have to decide how useful you find this to be. - BU is on the upswing, but it doesn't have the name that Hunter has (at least not yet) - It seems like a good program if you want to buckle down and focus on your work, but it seems like working in a vacuum. some people don't mind this, but i've been working in Milwaukee for five years, and i'm sick of feeling disconnected from the "art world", so this would bother me a bit. - I've heard first-hand from students about how much Josephine and the fellow faculty members care about their job, and there seems to be a lot of individual attention for students. Hunter has a lot of benefits. It's in NYC, so gallerists will be in close proximity, and from what i've heard, they walk through the Hunter studios frequently. Your work will get much better exposure than BU. Hunter is also dirt-cheap compared to other "Top 10" programs. I worked for an artist that went to Hunter, and he got noticed through exposure to gallerists while in school. i don't know much about Hunter besides this, but on paper it seems like a much better option when compared to BU. it's up to you, but i would pick Hunter based on my own priorities, which are exposure, location, and finances. another thing to consider (if you want to teach) is name recognition. this may seem unfair or irrelevant, but schools care a lot about hiring teachers that have bigger-name MFA programs on their resumes. they use this to sell the school to prospective students. it's unfortunate, but it's business.

did you receive any funding from either?

thank you! 20k is still pretty damn good. they seem pretty generous there, which is good considering how much the tuition is. i asked one of my interviewers if we could discuss some of my concerns about cost of living and logistical issues such as apartment hunting. he agreed to talk via Skype, so we set up a meeting. during our convo i was pretty upfront about my financial situation (it's not good, lol), and he offered to go talk to the director about giving me a bit more. i got an email the same day with a better offer. it was very simple, but i didn't directly ask for more. he brought it up. i also sent Boston a letter detailing Pratt's prior offer earlier this week, and explained my situation. i directly requested more scholarship money, and they said they are going to review my scholarship offer and see if they can give more. still haven't heard back. i was just exploring my options. i did a lot of research before requesting more money, and i guess it's a pretty common practice. just be polite, honest, and appreciative of your current offer. it can't hurt to try. i found an example letter that someone used for law school and sort of based my formatting/language on that. there's also youtube videos with financial aid officers that discuss this process. even if a school states on their site that there's no wiggle room (which Pratt did), try it anyway. yea, i'm sure there's rentals somewhere that i'm just not aware of that are reasonable. i'm not familiar with the subway system or neighborhoods yet, so i just want to get a better understanding of brooklyn before i settle somewhere for a year.

i'll definitely let you know asap. part of the dorm decision is that i can use loans for the rent initially. i don't know if im going to have enough saved up before moving to cover everything for an apartment. if i end up thinking i can swing it, i'll definitely contact you. where are you in the Midwest, if you don't mind me asking?

i've been in conversation with Pratt, and they offered me another 10k in scholarship money! so it looks like i'm most likely heading to NYC in the fall. i think i'm going to live in the dorms for at least a semester, just so it's easier to find an apartment. it's not exactly easy to find a place to live while i'm living in the Midwest, and apartment hunting for NYC online is like navigating a minefield. apparently my gf can move in to the dorms as well! i've done a lot of research about negotiating scholarships, and it's definitely worth trying. anyway, who else is going to Pratt? i'm 99% sure i'm going, so it would be cool to get to know other students and their work beforehand! i'm going for Painting and Drawing, btw.

i probably will. my biggest concern is finding a place to live beforehand and living expenses. logistical stuff. i think if i manage to get accepted off of RISD's waitlist i'm going to have to really think hard about going to Pratt. if RISD offers me any money whatsoever it'll end up being a lot easier for me financially, considering how cheap it is to live in Providence. guess we'll wait and see. i might end up seeing you there! keep me posted.

congrats! are you thinking of going?

Final results for me: Boston U: Accepted with scholarship Pratt: Accepted with larger scholarship RISD: Waitlisted . Apparently I'm in the top spots, so fingers crossed. I'll probably end up going to Pratt. I was really excited about the school after the interview, so I think it's the best fit. RISD would be amazing too (especially for living expenses), but oh well. It's been a roller coaster. Glad I got to ride it with everyone here! Good luck to you all. If anyone is set on going to Pratt, feel free to hit me up. My gf and I are going to need a place to live, and I think roommates will probably be necessary. We're pretty chill, so lemme know!