Demain

Someone was mentioning in another thread that they couldn't find any info on Cal State Long Beach with regard to current student work. Here is a website for the drawing and painting department's students. http://www.artgrads.com/artists.html CSULB is a great program to get into the LA area.

Hey Caus, have you seen CSULB's program? I have to sing the praises of it because I've been impressed with its affordability, proximity to LA, and reputation among the other LA MFA programs.

UC Irvine has a really great interdisciplinary feel to it. They push their students that way too.

I'm amazed no one has mentioned Cal State Long Beach. They have the largest undergrad art program (for a state school) in the country and they have many many teaching opportunities. They also have private studios for every grad, a very decent ranking (40th, last I looked) and the cost of attendance is 2/3's of a UC even. It makes sense to go for the best school for your investment when jobs are scarce.

I predict Tyler and Mica will move up and surpass Yale in the drawing and painting rankings very soon. I also think though that any school that is going to put you 100k in debt is a bit full of itself. Especially with 30% unemployment in the 24-30yr old age bracket. Find a good state school. If you start to think of it as quality/ranking per dollar, Yale isn't near the top anymore. Champaign-Urbana Hunter Long Beach UCLA Rutgers UT Austin

Davis has a very active 'freecycle' community and there are often many, many free ads on Craigslist.org for furniture and appliances. I know you mentioned having 'nice' things but do consider the fact that picking up some furniture once your here will be very easy. With a little sanding and some paint, most anything can be made new again. Also, I attended UCD for my undergrad; if you desire any tips about the town, drop me a line. Cheers.

Tyler is the up and coming star in my opinion. They will press Yale for its spot as the blue blood dilutes.

Tyler, hands down. Ranking isnt everything and the location of Tyler will more than make up for it. They regularly take trips into NYC and are not shy about introducing you to people that you'll need to know after you graduate.

Tyler! Its an amazing school that you have to visit to appreciate; although for interdisciplinary I'd say MICA is the strongest program.

CSULB - Contemporary track painting for me. Grats to everyone!

Hello everyone, I was recently accepted into CSULB's MFA program and I will be moving to the city in mid August. I was hoping to get some advice on housing but will gladly accept tips of any sort from those who have lived in Long Beach. As far as housing, I prefer to live in a shared house with others. I'm past my party years but don't mind a back yard BBQ and some beers. I've lived in many different housing situations from communes to lofts in garages. I don't mind 'rougher' parts of town but it would be nice to park outside without worry about my windows getting smashed in. Looking for a house share on a budget of about $400-500/month. Thanks in advance for any advice or tips you may have!

For those who may be searching for CS Long Beach results, I was just accepted to contemporary track painting.

Just got my acceptance to CSLB. Hope others are having some luck as well.

Hello again all, I've been off the boards for a while. Once I finished my applications I threw myself into some volunteer work to not think about the process until the letters started arriving. Now they have. UC Berkeley: Rejected. UCLA: Rejected. UC Irvine: Rejected. CS Long Beach: ? So, there is my situation. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed on CSLB. If I don't get in, I'm not sure I can go right back to hitting the studio and making work for next year. I'm considering taking some time off and going into a program like Teach for America, Peace Corps, or maybe even WWOOFing. Just something to get out of this economy and clear my head for a bit. I wish you all good luck as our responses come in. Remember (as I am trying to do), it is all a learning experience and whatever happens it only makes you a stronger applicant for next year.

Alright everyone, here is some info that will make you feel good about your level of preparation. I'm completing my app for CSULB today (as, its due, well, *today*), and I've just noticed that their process for letters of recomendation is different than every other school I've seen. I'm required to have the recomendations on a seperate form that must be signed by the instructor. So, given that, its a road trip for me today to meet up with old professors and then get this package post-marked before 4pm, yay! I have to be the biggest procrastinator around. Someone asked about UCI. UCI was a tough choice for me to apply to. I was debating between UCSD and UCI. I would (very briefly) sum up the two programs as this; UCI is conceptually focused on interdisciplinary work dealing with gender issues and cultural awareness. UCSD is conceptually focused on the emergence of new technology to educate audiences. I'm not driven by gender issues but I think I could have an interesting dialog at UCI where as UCSD's focus on technology just simply does not fit my traditional focus on paint.

Hello again everyone, Sorry for the late reply to those who addressed questions to me. I, like you, have been busy these last few weeks trying to get apps out. I'm a horrid procrastinator and had to rush a lot of my materials. (Never again if I don't get in, $40 for rush transcripts!) @TheStranger You asked: "What were your thoughts on Tyler, MICA, Hunter, NYU, and UCLA in respects towards figurative artists and not super-conceptual artists? Those are all very strong big name schools. " Tyler: I really cannot say enough about this program. I believe it is one of the strongest balanced programs in the country right now. Yale will probably always rank 1st for a disciplined figure painting school, however, the overall experience that is available at Tyler surpasses it in my opinion. I had the chance to sit in on a graduate seminar when I visited and I was very impressed. Although the seminar was focused on discussing conceptual issues, our discussion evolved into a very contemporary debate between art and craft. Although old, the ideas that were presented certainly helped spark the imagination of a few people present with regard to mediums. The only reason I am not applying for Tyler is cost. They can promise a minimum of 25% funding for all candidates, with a chance at 50%. Beyond that it seems, you are on your own. At approx. $33k/year, I simply cant afford it. MICA: Mica was easily my second favorite program that I visited in person. The separation of the painting school and the interdisciplinary school I feel really ads to the draw here. The painting school would be a great place for a traditionally minded figure painter to be pushed and challenged. On my studio tour I was able to see a lot of conceptual work in progress but also spied 2 studios that were focusing on the human form. I think you would be accepted here, but also asked to defend your choices. Hunter: What can I say? I was not a fan. The graduates that I spoke to at hunter seemed ill-informed about current art events. They were really pretty underwhelming in concept and I do not fault the students for that nearly as much as the instructors. I cannot comment on figure painting specifically, but unless you are a NY resident, I'd shy away from Hunter. NYU: I was curious to see if this program could hold up to similarly priced competitors; it cannot. There is really no reason to attend NYU unless you have tons of money to throw around and don't mind small, cramped studios. The advisor is a really kind woman however, the one redeeming feature I found. UCLA: UCLA is, for a state school, an absolutely amazing program. The involvement of their grads into the LA art scene is unparalleled. I feel that if your goal is to become a gallery showing artist (not a teacher or public project artist) then this is the best school on the west coast to accomplish that. I would, however, caution a figure painter. The school and faculty itself would be supportive of your choice of subject matter but with the heavy involvement in the contemporary art scene you may not be as well received by the gallery owners who often come on studio visits. You may say 'that's fine, I don't care about keeping up with gallery owners demands" and to that I would reply "that's fine, but then why the hell are you at UCLA?" In general, I greatly trimmed down my applications as I began to ask myself the question "If I was rejected from my top choices and I got an acceptance to back up school _______, would I be excited to attend that program? I trimmed out about 5 schools when the answer to this question was "not really". I want to be excited to accept my offer. I want to have no reservation that I selected a 'lower' program over my higher choices. Its for this reason that I dropped off many of the 'back up' programs I was planning on applying to. Schools I've applied to in order of desire to attend: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach. You'll notice that I dropped my two east coast favorites, MICA and Tyler. I found after long reflection, that I just don't think the job market justifies taking out $40k in loans; no matter how amazing the program. Good luck to us all.

Sorry I didn't get back to you all sooner, I've been in the studio pretty solid this week. UCLA: I can't say *too* much about this program as I came on the *one* day that the graduate adviser was out sick. I was unable to tour the studios. The UCLA campus looks more like an east coast campus than anything else in California. It's a brick, Ivy league kind of feel. That won't matter too much, however, because the grad studios are about 20 min south of campus. You'll need your own transportation because I tried to catch public transit down to the studios and it was non existent. UCLA is in a *very* upper class neighborhood and seems like they may frown upon buses. : / As far as funding, I was informed that most everyone get the chance to teach if they want and between that and the available finances, the costs are pretty much covered. (aka free). I had concerns about UCLA's program being too crisp and design centric for my work (more ab-ex feel) but after speaking with some of the people in the front office, and seeing the grad show catalog from 2009, I see that they do have a place for abstract/conceptual works. The main thing one would apply to UCLA for, however, is the access to the LA gallery scene. I was told that its fairly commonplace to have gallery owners tour the grad studios and have sometimes bought grad work right out of the studios. Can't beat that. NYU: I wasn't really impressed with NYU, despite their having a really kind grad adviser. I got a full tour and 45 min of her time even though I didn't call ahead to make an appointment. Two main drawbacks at NYU: studio space (or lack there of) and funding (or lack there of). There is very little free money to go around at NYU and the only help they are able to get their grads is through grad teaching. You dont do a TA-ship like other schools, you actually get hired as adjunct and teach your own class. I forget the exact numbers on payment but I remember it covered less than half the cost of tuition if you teach 2 classes/semester. The remaining 1/2 of tuition was more than I could afford.

Just to offer a hand to people... I attended UC Davis for my undergrad, so I can answer most any questions about that program. In researching my MFA I have visited the following schools: Tyler, MICA, Hunter, NYU, U Penn, SFAI, SF State, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Cal Long Beach. If you have any questions about the funding/studios/programs at those schools, I will try to help as much as possible. It will also serve as a distraction from this mess that is my personal statement. MUCH harder that I thought to sum myself up on paper. Again, good luck to you.

So... how many other people are starting to freak out? I'm a procrastinator, I know, how odd for an artist. I have about 12 pieces done that I feel are worthy of inclusion in my MFA portfolio and about 8-10 more in progress. I haven't finished any of my essays, my statements or requested transcripts. : ) I'm not trying to 'brag' in any way, but I have to laugh at myself for the level of procrastination or I'll just end up being upset. I do think that I'll get it done, however. Two of my 5 school's deadlines are coming up on Dec. 14th and the rest are Jan 15th. Anyone else in the same boat? Best of luck to all.

Really? I visited MICA and although the building they have set aside for grads is nice, it was nothing compared to Tyler. Mica felt like an old rent controlled apartment, but still had a nice feeling of community. Tyler has an amazing new facility; 12' ceilings, natural light, sinks, ventilation, huge elevators... Tyler, in my opinion, has the best Painting/Drawing studios in the country by a good margin.

Close to you, I hear VCU has very good funding.

UC San Diego I have also heard is fully funded.