SeriouslyStellar

Yes, you are doing it quite clumsily indeed. Some of us are not insecure egomaniacs like you and do not want the market to validate us. Wanting to get an MFA is fine. Get over the fact that your friend hit the art world jackpot and you didn't. Of course art is speculative, so are a million other things. Unless you are writing this out of your forest hermitage where all you partake in is some wholesome art pour l'lart, get off your high horse and ideally start a different thread so we can discuss the waiting period and waitlists here. 

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? 

I've committed to UTK and declined everywhere else in the past two weeks but has continued to creep on this forum. Posting my stats below for future reference. 
I'm glad that I visited UTK back in February and really liked it. Most of my other acceptances either didn't accept me until March or planned visit days in late March, which are all moved online because of COVID-19. I can only imagine the difficulty of trying to commit to a school without physically being there... good luck to all!
UTK (Printmaking; fully funded) interview invite 01/21, acceptance 01/31***going
U of Minnesota (Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking; fully funded) interview invite 01/26, acceptance 02/04***declined
Yale (Painting & Printmaking) rejection 01/28 
Tyler (Printmaking; full funding for one semester) no interview, acceptance 01/28***declined
U of Michigan Stamps (Art; 75% tuition remission and some stipend) interview invite 02/03, acceptance 02/28***declined
Rutgers (Visual Arts) rejection 02/05
University at Buffalo (Studio Art; fully funded) interview invite 02/24, acceptance 03/05***declined
WUSTL (Visual Art; half scholarship and some TA stipend) interview invite 02/29, acceptance 03/13***declined
UCLA (Interdisciplinary Studio) rejection 03/18
CMU (Art) rejection 03/19

Also got rejected from UCLA... out of the six painting programs I applied to, RISD is the only one I got accepted into. And i only applied there hoping I would be one of the lucky candidates nominated for a full-ride scholarship this year, which apparently painting people are not eligible for. So unfortunately, I probably won't end up going, which may seem ridiculous to some, but I personally cannot justify spending that amount of money to go back to school. I went into this process telling myself I would only go to grad school if it didn't cost me anything. I recently had my undergrad student loans permanently discharged, due to me being disabled, and taking on student debt again just isn't an option.  
That being said, I feel pretty beaten down and burnt out after all of this. People keep saying "there's always next year" but that's not reassuring enough. I feel like I did my research and applied to all the schools that felt like good fits, and that I really wanted to go to. I can't imagine what a "next year" even looks like in terms of having to reapply. Then again, I also can't fathom staying where I am one more year without completely losing my sanity. 
Not sure where I'm going with this. If anyone has any insight, advice, or thoughts in general to share, that would be great. 
Congrats to all 

I got accepted to Purchase through a phone call from Faye, the director of the MFA on the friday after that interview sunday. 

Thank you for your generous thoughts and suggestions! Yes, it's coming from a funded/stipended program, making it less likely that folks would reject the offer and thus make room for me. I did also get an offer from another funded program, but this waitlisted place is my top choice. I'm def going to just get back to my practice for now as I wait it out, and focus on the holistic things you mention! Hope you have a positive outcome with your own waitlist situation ?

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. ?

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. ?

@SeriouslyStellar
I reached out to GSU last week to check on status. I never received an interview request from them.
This is what they said:
"I want to give you an update regarding your graduate application status for the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design. We are in the process of determining our 2020-21 incoming graduate class and there are still many variables in play. We have sent out the first round of acceptance letters. However, just because you have not heard from us does not mean that your status will not change in the coming weeks as we gain more knowledge about our acceptances and any possible funding improvements within departments. Please know that we appreciate your patience and we hope to have additional information for you soon."

I applied to both and am still waiting as well! 

Thanks for this back and forth, didn't really have a sense of their reputation before this. also heard from wustl on Saturday, and didn't realize the call next week would have bearing on funding!

Also currently waitlisted for Northwestern's program if anyone has any particular thoughts about it.
No word back from UPenn after an interview a few weeks ago.

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. 
 

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. 
 

Also, I made a list of questions to answer for a friend to help him decide on graduate schools.
If you need something to help you narrow your choices, this might be useful: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mgpJgfwAf9Kp8J7Ze0V6DHx291OcXzUFdRuwkVBfFyk/edit?usp=sharing

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.