aniben3

Yes, it really is! My website is here, I would love to see yours as well! Do you have a website or insta?

So many fiber artists this year, I’m so happy to see some others lol, I didn’t see any on the forum last year. I also applied to Oregon & Indiana, fingers crossed for both of us!

Got a UPENN interview invite yesterday if anyone else applied there!

Hey! Yeah, so last year I got an email about interviews from Cranbrook on January 28th, and SAIC on January 27th. My Cranbrook interview was a really nice conversation with Mark Newport. We set it up via skype, but I assume it'll be zoom this year...? He asked me why Cranbrook, why grad school now, my ideal studio space, what I'm currently making, what will determine the school for me, and a few others that I can't recall. I highly advise googling common MFA interview questions. I made a list of potential interview questions and practiced what I'd say because when it comes to interviews I am all nerves. Having some exposure to what might be asked helped a lot. Also be sure to have a few questions about the schools for the very end. SAIC was a bit more complicated. I got my email, then I had to set up the interview time with a coordinator, and then I had my interview with Stacia Yeapanis and Danielle Andress. They were both very fun to talk too, and very enthusiastic. They also asked why SAIC, why grad school, what piece is my best and why, what books I'm currently reading, etc. You'll have a specific time slot for the whole thing. I did get a scholarship from both Cranbrook and SAIC, as well as a TA position from SAIC, but it was still too much for me - especially since I'd have to move internationally beforehand (during a pandemic lol.) I honestly think both schools are great and the faculty is top notch. Hope this helps! Fingers crossed for you!!!

I got a personalized email from a professor who had looked over my application a few months back (I had my applications done pretty early) and she mentioned she had checked out my website and instagram too, so I would say definitely link your website. I think it's always better to present the option.

Not ceramics, but I applied for the craft & materials studies department at VCU as well, but that's awesome you've already got an interview for a school! Several of my applications aren't even due till the 15th, haha Good luck!!!

I applied to 6 schools last year and 6 schools this year! Got into a few last year, but decided ultimately they weren't for me and the application process itself taught me a lot about what I was actually looking for in schools. (Plus, if schools weren't all that responsive, or if their application was a pain, then I mentally crossed them off my list. I feel like the way applicants are treated will tell you a lot.) If each of the schools has something you're interested in, then I think 8 sounds just fine.

I agree, and I think teaching experience would also be beneficial if you were trying to get into a better funded program (public universities.) I've looked at current graduate students at some of the schools I've applied to and several of them have previous teaching experience. Definitely couldn't hurt to look for some opportunities. I have a sculpture background and during my preliminary research on potential schools I noticed that a lot of sculpture programs lean towards the digital or performance. Nothing wrong with that of course, but my interest leans more to handwork, community, gender, & labor - concepts that are all heavily discussed in fiber programs. I think that's what drew me towards fiber, and now I currently do a lot of quilting. It is my hope to expand into making environments & to engage with the community through fiber. (I'm applying to schools that will allow me to take folklore classes too.) My thought would be while making the decision (and you could even apply to both in some schools!) would be to see what their program focuses on, whether it's the little blurb on the website or faculty work, and if there are other opportunities within the schools. (I contacted a few graduate programs and was pleasantly surprised to be put into contact with current professors and we were able to talk about what the programs entailed over zoom.) I have definitely seen paper in fiber programs, and so many are interdisciplinary as it is that I think you would be fine either way. My kneejerk reaction would be fiber, but I guess it comes down to what you see as the conceptual leanings behind your work and where you'd like it to go. (As for websites, here's mine)

I'm six years out of undergrad, and waiting has just made me more eager for grad school. It really gave me a chance to lock down what I'm interested in. Nothing wrong with waiting, especially this year. I have a full time teaching job (not art), but I make work in my home during my free time. It hasn't always been easy, I had to rethink my work with all the constraints (material-wise & space) but honestly I think these perimeters have been helpful in the long run. Since there's not an art community where I'm at, I try to supplement by reading critical theory.? (One of the reasons I'm so ready to go back to school tbh) Also, your website is so nice, and your work is so lovely. I'd love to learn more about it!

VCU is one of my top choices so this is awesome! I was curious - are all mfa students at VCU funded? I wasn't entirely sure when I was looking at the website. Also, how do you like Richmond?

I tend to choose sculpture when there isn't an actual fiber program present because I have a background in sculpture, but also because I'm still constructing something in 3D even though it's flatter now. If it's craft adjacent like quilts etc., then you're still putting thought into the backing, and fiber is so fluid where you present it changes its context... I would personally choose sculpture unless you have a painting background. (This is why there needs to be more fiber programs imo because fiber has so many aspects to it lol)

Yeah, I'm applying to two interdisciplinary programs and then four fiber ones! I'm hoping for the fiber ones because they have the specialized facilities that I'm hoping for. Not gonna lie, I wish it wasn't possible to lose funding. I know some programs are really good about that, so thanks for the heads up.

I got into SAIC fiber last year, and even received a TAship, but it would have put me tens of thousands of dollars in debt, so I had to turn it down. It's a shame because it's a really nice program, and I liked the faculty.

This is really good to know, thank you! I read online that returning students have to reapply for funding - does this mean I'm not likely to get it, or that I'd have to do my GA at another campus? (They should really put that on the financial aid page if so...lol) My problem is that fiber is not the most sought after medium for uhhh, lots of historical reasons, so there aren't that many reputable programs that offer it, so I'll probs need to apply anyway. I am currently teaching abroad and one of my schools is an hour away, so I could probably do that.

Since I'm abroad, I've done national portfolio online for a couple years now. It's always been more of a chatroom situation vs zoom, unless they're changing it this year? I did have one online call for it last year, but that was pretty unexpected. Are you in contact with your undergrad profs at all? I'm 6 years out, but I've gotten various advice from them on what they thought looked best for portfolio order after they reviewed my materials for recommendations. (I'm interdisciplinary / fiber) Could you have someone look it over for you?

I would assume so... Top schools also give out TAships, I got one from SAIC, but it's far less experience than a public university. I'd like to have as much experience as possible, plus my research draws from outside of art so going to an all-art program wouldn't be as beneficial. I suppose it depends on how much you want of either and what sort of teaching. Do you want a gallery career where you also do workshops? Do you want a teaching career where you also make art? I've seen plenty of both. So many factors, lol

Seconding this, if you want a gallery career then the big names are supposed to help you with that. If you're looking for an academic career, then look into programs that will give you chances to teach. These are also usually the better funded programs because TA = stipend from what I've seen. I shifted my focus from gallery to academic schools because of my career plans, haha.

I will say though, it's nice of the schools to prioritize their students and to want them to keep their funding. At least future applicants know that the school has their back, even if it's harder for this year's applicants.

That's interesting, because one of the programs I declined actually sent me an email a month or so later asking me if I'd like to reconsider and that they'd still like to have me. I just assumed that maybe some schools aren't getting enough people in this year because grad school is a bit risky right now. I'd hope that if programs aren't accepting people this year that they'd bluntly state it on their page before I go through the application process.

Oof, yeah. The advice I've always read is "apply to programs even if you don't know if you can afford it! You never know what financial aid you might get!" So I did, and then it was like, ah, yeah, no, as expected I still can't afford this lol. Shame cus the faculty that I talked to were really great. Good luck to you too!!!

I'm applying, but I have to say it's hard to keep up motivation with everything going on right now. Maybe that's why people aren't posting? I'm a fiber / interdisciplinary person. Got into SAIC & Cranbrook last year, but couldn't afford it unfortunately, especially with all the uncertainty with the uh, state of the world. This year's list is Oregon, Iowa, VCU, ASU, Indiana -Bloomington, and Pennsylvania. We'll see how it goes, haha, I really like the programs.

afkshdflaskjfaasdfajsdf omfg it's like talking to a wall, but @Please Shut Up I choked on my tea when I saw your username, I love it ?

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 attended the online financial aid seminar on...Thursday? They're also having an online chat for incoming students next week. I turned down my acceptance after the financial aid seminar because I definitely can't afford the price tag, but it seems like everything is proceeding as usual, albeit online.

So I applied to Iowa's dimensional studies and am currently waitlisted (sadness for days,) and I'm also from Iowa. Iowa City is a pretty nice little city. It's also one of the biggest in Iowa, haha. If you're big into nature, I'm not sure how much you'd like it though. I grew up an hour south of there, and yeah, there's some nature trails and stuff, and we got gorgeous sunsets, but it's primarily agricultural. Aw yeah corn & beans. One of the nice things about Iowa though, is that you're able to take classes outside of the school of art, so if your research is multidisciplinary then it's a big benefit. Also, if you're a writer as well, Iowa's writing program is world-renowned. I don't know anything about Madison, but honestly if you think Iowa and Madison are pretty much the same, then I would go with the one with better funding. Another thing about Iowa - I've heard from another student there that she was teaching solo in her first semester. Do you feel prepared to start teaching solo? Something to consider. All in all, it's awesome you have so many options! Good luck!