SeriouslyStellar

Hey all! I'm sure we are all struggling with limited jobs,, being jobless atm or exhibition opportunities that are postponed/cancelled etc., but have any of you written or started writing art emergency grants or any grants in general? I have started on one this week...would anyone be willing to share a sample of your grant, just to get an idea of the structure of grants? I'm curious to know how many of you have lost these opportunities while considering grad school options or have committed already? Anybody still working at this time, via at home or in public?

For anyone that is currently wait-listed at Washington University in St. Louis for MFA visual arts, I just declined their offer!

I have dealt with being wait-listed the last couple of years. If it's coming from a program selecting few candidates and they happend to offer funding/stipends, the chances are probably slim but not impossible. If anything, the way I see it is that there is hope in knowing you applied to MFA programs and they see potential in your application/portfolio in comparison to a complete rejection. You can always apply again and perhaps you can get an interview again. It is pretty frustrating to be in that position, I know how that is, especially when you put in so much labor into the applications. Sometimes, waiting for the next year isn't a bad thing because you would have time to research other programs that fit with your work and/or focus on your practice, apply/completing residencies, etc., making you more prepared then previous year. I would definitely say focus on yourself, your practice, see art shows/museums, take a short break, hang out with family/friends, travel (maybe mini road trips for now), and read books so you don't feel discouraged and can move on forward. ?

Has anyone applied to UIC (University of IL in Chicago) or Georgia State and actually got a response? Nothing on my end yet still ..

I only gotten an email from them about an error with my fafsa, but I think they should be sending detailed info sometime this week about financial awards and open house.

It depends what you want to do after graduation. I feel like a decent amount of MFA candidates, not all, will stay in STL after graduating to continue their practice, teach, or maybe find full time museum positions/fellowships. There is an active art gallery scene in STL, and a fair amount of artists that attended WashU get involved. I know some artist friends' have been doing art residencies back and forth (it wasn't immediate after they graduated and they saved money by working in STL too) and one who has gallery representation, showing their work almost everywhere and works between STL and NYC. Overall, it varies. STL is a small city to get easily acquainted with the art scene and networking.

I can't speak about those who attended with partial funding, but the ones I know had been accepted to fellowships. The fellowship package has generous benefits and comes with healthcare, stipends that are quite excellent, basically they are paying for school, enough that you can live off it while attending there. I think they have special events and ceremonies for selected fellows, I don't know what it consist of. I assumed that the fellowships were specifically selected if you applied with the grad app but then I had received an email a few days before the deadline that you have to apply for them separately from the graduate application. They ask you to write in under 500 words about what would you do with the MacArthur Fellowship if you were selected. I don't know if they ask a different statement question every year but this was on the application this year. These two particular fellowships are the Chancellor's Graduate Fellowship and the Olin Fellowship. The Chancellor's fellowship selects anyone identifying with historically/financially marginalized groups for fellowships and the Olin selects women/WOC. I also saw one for an international students called the McDonnell International Scholar Academy. Also, Sam Fox school recently announced a number full-funded scholarships for both art and architecture MFA candidates for 2020/2021.

Congrats on the acceptance! Yes, they do take more students, between 15-20 per year. From what I can recall through past conversations, I think professors weren't always reliable or helpful for that matter. I don't know why that is..I am unsure if they are on campus consistently or are hard to reach out to. I even heard someone having a terrible time there, eventually quitting making art, because they didn't get the attention they thought they would receive but they never made an effort to reach out to professors for attention either. I have met a few of the professors, some of them were on the friendly side though I can't say what they are like as professors. Low-key, and at least the few times I've attended an event there, I have felt some pretentious vibes there but that's "prestigious" schools for you. That's all I am able to explain at the moment if that helps. Have you or will you receive a formal letter of acceptance? Curious about financial funding, does it mention or did they mention on the phone that you will be getting full-funding, partial funding or have been accepted to any fellowships?

Hi! I am from the STL area and I know some friends/people who did their MFA at WashU. I also applied to WashU but I haven't heard a peep from them. Have you heard anything from them, acceptance or rejection? I'll be honest and this is just what I was informed, I haven't heard any great reviews about the program. You really have to self-advocate yourself there if you need any attention, such as scheduling critiques, etc. If you're POC, you're probably going encounter disconnects and/or various forms of racism from professors or staff when it comes to perspectives. Being aware of these bad reviews, I applied there mainly for funding/fellowships and sort of as a safety school (not that safety schools totally exist for MFA programs). The school also recently completed renovations on campus so new studio spaces are available, (I think they do have individual spaces) along with having good work facilities and resources. I've attended some of their artist lecture series, which is free to the public a lot of the times, and they do bring a decent variety of artists, including some well-known ones. As for living in STL, and depending on where you live, it's a very affordable city in comparison to Chicago, New York, or LA. I hope I was able to provide the feedback you needed. Let me know if you're curious about anything else regarding the school and more.

They had mostly positives things to say about the program, professors, the city itself, people living there having progressive views and/or aware about local/global issues and mentioned no regrets in selecting UCSD for an MFA. It was very assuring to know what kind of atmosphere I would be surrounded by if I were an MFA candidate living there.

Hi Strawberrycat! I applied to UCSD and have not heard a peep from them and considering the deadlines were in the beginning of January. I know someone that got their MFA from there and they said that UCSD sends out interview requests between late Jan and early Feb, so hopefully very soon. Best of luck!

Did you go in person or did a Skype interview? I'm just curious because I didn't have the financial means to do it in person and if you did do it in person, what was interview process like, mainly the questions and the tour itself? I decided to email admissions anyway because I would like to hear if officially got rejected or not. Congrats on the acceptance even though you declined. Which school have you committed to instead of Purchase?

Hey all! Looking through this forum, I noticed a couple of people have had interview requests from SUNY Purchase. I also had an interview with them a couple of weeks ago. Has anyone heard from them yet by any chance, accepted or rejected? After sending a thank you email to the Professor/Head of the MFA program, she mentioned that decisions would be made by the end of the week and that was the first week of March. Congratulations for those accepted and selected as MFA candidates! It's my second year applying, I had slightly better luck this year with 2 interviews (interviewed with Cornell, second year in a row but waitlisted again) and applied to 6 schools total.