Squirrel8296

So that's what I never got a clear answer about. You have to reapply each year (which seems to be pretty common) and they acted like you should continue to get it but it definitely seemed like they could take it away if they felt like it (or more likely didn't want to continue to fund you). Its not a cheap program either if you lose funding (my tuition waiver was almost 60k by itself).
Have you looked at interdisciplinary programs or low residency programs? You could totally do fiber in one of those and while low-residency programs usually don't have much funding, there are tons of funded interdisciplinary programs.

I got into Bloomington last year but ended up turning them down because of cost. Just know that almost half of you ~16k stipend will go to paying your course fees and buying materials. To make it work you will have to go into significant debt to be able to afford to live. And its not like you can adjunct to make ends meet after the first year either since the next nearest school where you can adjunct it over and hour away (one way).

This is a super long winded explanation so I can save you the heartbreak of making my mistake of applying to too many programs.
A lot of (most?) programs won't let you apply to more than one program in a given year unless it is two very distinct degrees. For example, you may be able to apply to an MA/PhD in Art History and an MFA in Painting (for example), but they may not let you apply for both an MFA in Painting and an MFA in Sculpture (for example). I think I only applied to one place that explicitly allowed you to apply to more than one program in a single year (SAIC). UIUC and a couple of other places I saw allowed you to select an option to potentially be considered for a different area if they thought it would be a better fit but they didn't allow you to apply for these other areas even if you filed multiple applications. 
After finishing my first round of applications earlier this year I would seriously recommend applying to fewer programs and focusing more on the quality of each one. The multiple essays for each program will take quite a bit of time to do well from the initial writing phase to proofreading and editing. While the statement of purpose could be recycled from school to school with only minor changes (for my SOP I had one paragraph that I tailored to each school and the rest was left mostly intact) the other essays will be completely unique to each school. It is also not uncommon for schools to ask for up to 3 additional essays (especially if you want to be considered for any funding). Plus there's the time required to do the administrative tasks like filling out the applications, uploading the portfolio, requesting recommendations, and dealing with the inevitable glitches. There's no getting around these time commitments. I ended up applying to 8 schools (I intended on 12 but ended up cutting 4) and spent last fall semester either working, going to class, working in the studio, working on the first draft of my thesis, and working on grad school applications. I had no free time, no social life, and my studio practice ended up suffering because I had to dedicate so much time to my applications.
Yes my story is meant to be a cautionary tale because I only ended only being accepted to one program that I ended up turning down. That one program was one of two schools I ended up applying to that I had a good deal of contact with.
tl;dr: Grad apps take way too much time to complete, applying to too many will hurt your applications and therefore your chances of getting into a good program. Try to connect with faculty who will be making the decisions and really focus on perfecting each application. Work smarter not harder. That will get you in instead of using the spray and pray method.

This is a super long winded explanation so I can save you the heartbreak of making my mistake of applying to too many programs.
A lot of (most?) programs won't let you apply to more than one program in a given year unless it is two very distinct degrees. For example, you may be able to apply to an MA/PhD in Art History and an MFA in Painting (for example), but they may not let you apply for both an MFA in Painting and an MFA in Sculpture (for example). I think I only applied to one place that explicitly allowed you to apply to more than one program in a single year (SAIC). UIUC and a couple of other places I saw allowed you to select an option to potentially be considered for a different area if they thought it would be a better fit but they didn't allow you to apply for these other areas even if you filed multiple applications. 
After finishing my first round of applications earlier this year I would seriously recommend applying to fewer programs and focusing more on the quality of each one. The multiple essays for each program will take quite a bit of time to do well from the initial writing phase to proofreading and editing. While the statement of purpose could be recycled from school to school with only minor changes (for my SOP I had one paragraph that I tailored to each school and the rest was left mostly intact) the other essays will be completely unique to each school. It is also not uncommon for schools to ask for up to 3 additional essays (especially if you want to be considered for any funding). Plus there's the time required to do the administrative tasks like filling out the applications, uploading the portfolio, requesting recommendations, and dealing with the inevitable glitches. There's no getting around these time commitments. I ended up applying to 8 schools (I intended on 12 but ended up cutting 4) and spent last fall semester either working, going to class, working in the studio, working on the first draft of my thesis, and working on grad school applications. I had no free time, no social life, and my studio practice ended up suffering because I had to dedicate so much time to my applications.
Yes my story is meant to be a cautionary tale because I only ended only being accepted to one program that I ended up turning down. That one program was one of two schools I ended up applying to that I had a good deal of contact with.
tl;dr: Grad apps take way too much time to complete, applying to too many will hurt your applications and therefore your chances of getting into a good program. Try to connect with faculty who will be making the decisions and really focus on perfecting each application. Work smarter not harder. That will get you in instead of using the spray and pray method.

This is a super long winded explanation so I can save you the heartbreak of making my mistake of applying to too many programs.
A lot of (most?) programs won't let you apply to more than one program in a given year unless it is two very distinct degrees. For example, you may be able to apply to an MA/PhD in Art History and an MFA in Painting (for example), but they may not let you apply for both an MFA in Painting and an MFA in Sculpture (for example). I think I only applied to one place that explicitly allowed you to apply to more than one program in a single year (SAIC). UIUC and a couple of other places I saw allowed you to select an option to potentially be considered for a different area if they thought it would be a better fit but they didn't allow you to apply for these other areas even if you filed multiple applications. 
After finishing my first round of applications earlier this year I would seriously recommend applying to fewer programs and focusing more on the quality of each one. The multiple essays for each program will take quite a bit of time to do well from the initial writing phase to proofreading and editing. While the statement of purpose could be recycled from school to school with only minor changes (for my SOP I had one paragraph that I tailored to each school and the rest was left mostly intact) the other essays will be completely unique to each school. It is also not uncommon for schools to ask for up to 3 additional essays (especially if you want to be considered for any funding). Plus there's the time required to do the administrative tasks like filling out the applications, uploading the portfolio, requesting recommendations, and dealing with the inevitable glitches. There's no getting around these time commitments. I ended up applying to 8 schools (I intended on 12 but ended up cutting 4) and spent last fall semester either working, going to class, working in the studio, working on the first draft of my thesis, and working on grad school applications. I had no free time, no social life, and my studio practice ended up suffering because I had to dedicate so much time to my applications.
Yes my story is meant to be a cautionary tale because I only ended only being accepted to one program that I ended up turning down. That one program was one of two schools I ended up applying to that I had a good deal of contact with.
tl;dr: Grad apps take way too much time to complete, applying to too many will hurt your applications and therefore your chances of getting into a good program. Try to connect with faculty who will be making the decisions and really focus on perfecting each application. Work smarter not harder. That will get you in instead of using the spray and pray method.

This is a super long winded explanation so I can save you the heartbreak of making my mistake of applying to too many programs.
A lot of (most?) programs won't let you apply to more than one program in a given year unless it is two very distinct degrees. For example, you may be able to apply to an MA/PhD in Art History and an MFA in Painting (for example), but they may not let you apply for both an MFA in Painting and an MFA in Sculpture (for example). I think I only applied to one place that explicitly allowed you to apply to more than one program in a single year (SAIC). UIUC and a couple of other places I saw allowed you to select an option to potentially be considered for a different area if they thought it would be a better fit but they didn't allow you to apply for these other areas even if you filed multiple applications. 
After finishing my first round of applications earlier this year I would seriously recommend applying to fewer programs and focusing more on the quality of each one. The multiple essays for each program will take quite a bit of time to do well from the initial writing phase to proofreading and editing. While the statement of purpose could be recycled from school to school with only minor changes (for my SOP I had one paragraph that I tailored to each school and the rest was left mostly intact) the other essays will be completely unique to each school. It is also not uncommon for schools to ask for up to 3 additional essays (especially if you want to be considered for any funding). Plus there's the time required to do the administrative tasks like filling out the applications, uploading the portfolio, requesting recommendations, and dealing with the inevitable glitches. There's no getting around these time commitments. I ended up applying to 8 schools (I intended on 12 but ended up cutting 4) and spent last fall semester either working, going to class, working in the studio, working on the first draft of my thesis, and working on grad school applications. I had no free time, no social life, and my studio practice ended up suffering because I had to dedicate so much time to my applications.
Yes my story is meant to be a cautionary tale because I only ended only being accepted to one program that I ended up turning down. That one program was one of two schools I ended up applying to that I had a good deal of contact with.
tl;dr: Grad apps take way too much time to complete, applying to too many will hurt your applications and therefore your chances of getting into a good program. Try to connect with faculty who will be making the decisions and really focus on perfecting each application. Work smarter not harder. That will get you in instead of using the spray and pray method.

This is a super long winded explanation so I can save you the heartbreak of making my mistake of applying to too many programs.
A lot of (most?) programs won't let you apply to more than one program in a given year unless it is two very distinct degrees. For example, you may be able to apply to an MA/PhD in Art History and an MFA in Painting (for example), but they may not let you apply for both an MFA in Painting and an MFA in Sculpture (for example). I think I only applied to one place that explicitly allowed you to apply to more than one program in a single year (SAIC). UIUC and a couple of other places I saw allowed you to select an option to potentially be considered for a different area if they thought it would be a better fit but they didn't allow you to apply for these other areas even if you filed multiple applications. 
After finishing my first round of applications earlier this year I would seriously recommend applying to fewer programs and focusing more on the quality of each one. The multiple essays for each program will take quite a bit of time to do well from the initial writing phase to proofreading and editing. While the statement of purpose could be recycled from school to school with only minor changes (for my SOP I had one paragraph that I tailored to each school and the rest was left mostly intact) the other essays will be completely unique to each school. It is also not uncommon for schools to ask for up to 3 additional essays (especially if you want to be considered for any funding). Plus there's the time required to do the administrative tasks like filling out the applications, uploading the portfolio, requesting recommendations, and dealing with the inevitable glitches. There's no getting around these time commitments. I ended up applying to 8 schools (I intended on 12 but ended up cutting 4) and spent last fall semester either working, going to class, working in the studio, working on the first draft of my thesis, and working on grad school applications. I had no free time, no social life, and my studio practice ended up suffering because I had to dedicate so much time to my applications.
Yes my story is meant to be a cautionary tale because I only ended only being accepted to one program that I ended up turning down. That one program was one of two schools I ended up applying to that I had a good deal of contact with.
tl;dr: Grad apps take way too much time to complete, applying to too many will hurt your applications and therefore your chances of getting into a good program. Try to connect with faculty who will be making the decisions and really focus on perfecting each application. Work smarter not harder. That will get you in instead of using the spray and pray method.

asking in earnest--what are you doing right now to transform society? (other than trolling this forum). besides abandoning the cult of academia or whatever, what kind of practical collective action do you suggest artists engage in? should we drop our paintbrushes, band together and go burn down some banks? alright i wrote that last sentence in jest but it doesn't sound bad upon second reading...
i've lived abroad for the last few years making paintings alone in a shack by the sea, and i'm from a hinterland city in canada with a tiny art scene, so the ego and money-driven NYC art thing is foreign to me... but i also have zero desire to go to the US and play that game, i guess for essentially the same reasons you mention. i just want to make paintings, and a funded MFA seems the best way to do that. i think there is value in spending time developing my craft and trying to produce something that might be resonant with others, even though whatever benefit art might provide is abstract and impossible to quantify. do you think it's ethically irresponsible in this global context to want to pursue any kind of higher studies and we should focus our efforts only on organizing? 

I am using anti-mfa as a username on instagram, but I am aware of the nuances as to why someone would go for the MFA such as if you desire to teach at the college level. Although you can still teach at private schools without an MFA degree. I've done two rounds of applications and was accepted into an MFA program and declined for personal and financial reasons. I have an idea of creating an online space that supports artists in a similar way, connecting artists with each-other to provide feedback on work, online shows, etcetera, for free. In essence- giving artists the assistance in conceptualizing your practice, for free! I think people need to start questioning this "all-or-nothing" approach, and why we can't accept artists that don't have the Master's title? And why we shouldn't expect artists- who come from different backgrounds- to be able to shell out the same thousands of dollars in order to prove their "commitment" and seriousness as artists. 

That is awesome!!!
I started an instagram yesterday the username is @anti_mfa. I haven't 100% thought it out yet, but I was thinking that artists who didn't get into grad school could submit their work to get reposted. Once we'd have enough artists we could start doing online exhibitions and stuff. Maybe a select group or "cohort" that report back to each other for zoom crits or when this covid shit is over in person studio visits depending on location. 
Anyways feel free to email me and we can talk! 

I had the exact opposite, I got into fully-funded state schools but not top-tier schools.

Thanks! So painting may take a bit longer to send out acceptances... I have a friend who applied for that program and she found out she was rejected really fast so no news is definitely not bad news yet.

So I applied for Digital Art and I had a Skype conversation with one of the tenured professors a little over a week before I was accepted. I got an email with my offer and then the same thing in the mail a few days later. They did say they are doing several rounds though for all areas (and one of my friends did receive a rejection for painting) so if you haven't heard anything that could be a good sign.

So far:
IU - Accepted
UCR - Interviewed
UCSD - Rejected
SAIC, UIC, UCI, Illinois, Purchase - Crickets

Is UCLA going to break my heart on Valentine's Day? That's gonna be double whammy for me 

Emailed today, UC Riverside interview on February 14.

IU Digital Art interview on either Monday or Tuesday.