SpinTheWheel

That's rude. You are making false accusations, first of all. Second of all, if I were to follow your train of thought, from the beginning I would have thought that I am talking to an inside person from Yale. Please think before making baseless claims, you are being very aggressive. I will not be posting here anymore as you just proved to me that trying to help is senseless with people who are aggressive when I am trying to offer support. You seem to answer too quickly and in a defensive manner, but I do wonder why you didn't answer when someone asked you to post a copy/screenshot of your email. Sadly, I will not check this forum again to check your answer. So long, and good luck to everyone else! I really don't understand the way that society works now, with the way that people feel that they need to be aggressive with those who are attempting to help.

That is super helpful, thanks for sharing this information!

Please, everyone, read carefully--that is NOT my opinion. I am merely passing information along. Let's just keep trying to help each other, that's why we're on this forum!

I attended the virtual open house for Yale painting/printmaking and there were around 900 prospective applicants just for that area! From the way they talked, I think it’s highly unlikely that Yale would ever communicate in an email that they had a lower number of applicants. I applied for painting/printmaking just to see what happens, and I did not receive any email like that from them. That said, I did apply a couple of days early. Two other programs where I had made an account (but did not submit the application) offered me an extension after the deadline without giving any reason for it. During Yale’s painting/printmaking virtual open house, they said that they have over 1,000 applicants each year per area. This year there are only 10 places for painting/printmaking. Even so, the idea that there are less applicants this year seems doubtful. I think that in general there are far more applicants this year—especially for fully-funded programs—since many people have lost their jobs and want the security of a program for a couple of years. Here is the info I received from a friend in the UK: Please, please remember that these are not my words and I am just passing it along ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I found this on a UK Forum and I thought I would pass it along since it contains US information too. _________________________________________________________________ Feedback after attending Virtual Open Houses with crowds of applicants (e.g.150 at meetings with programs that had several dates available). Feedback 1 Mostly in the US Virtual meetings, applicants were late 20’s, mostly 30’s and much older, many with reputable jobs: visiting faculty, lecturers, adjuncts, full-tenured professors who worried that their Institution might be closing. Questions asked included, “Can I add a syllabus for a proposed course?” or “Can I send a video of my teaching?” One said “I know your close friends X and Y from Skowhegan,” while another introduced the names of “my recommenders that know you.” Older candidates were aggressive about expressing their need to apply only to fully funded programs since they have a family to support. Do they have priority? They really tried to make an impression. It felt more like a job interview than a virtual open house for students. Feedback 2 I totally understand that the US Economy is down the drain. I was super affected too!! But it is frightening to see how the application process has changed so drastically. Will it ever go back to the way it was? Please don’t chastise me for commenting on this but most US faculty in the virtual meetings showed an extreme emphasis on publicizing how they would especially welcome diversity. This is great but I am not a minority and what if the program has only one spot? Am I automatically disqualified? Should I bother applying? Fully funded programs are now out of reach due to the numbers of applicants, and how can you compete with a full professor within the arts who is suddenly switching fields from graphic design to traditional fine arts fields? The search for good funded programs is a must for most of us in this pandemic era. This discourages applications to elite places like Yale, Columbia, NYU, RISD, Goldsmiths U. of London, Slade School of Art, Kingston U. of London due to poor or no funding offered. Feedback 3 I have checked US-UK job postings for MFA graduates in my specific field, and there was only ONE opening for 2021, so why am I even bothering with this? In the UK, the MPhil/DPhil in the arts is seen as a solid degree, not so for the MFA. Would I be a competitive job applicant graduating from a US MFA program located in the middle of nowhere like University of Notre Dame or University of Mississippi? Should I consider a program in Canada (U. of British Columbia)? How will that connect to London (or vice versa, how will I connect to the US scene with an outside degree?). By the way, I was not able to find any programs in NY, Boston, or DC with good funding and living costs are exorbitant. Los Angeles has California State U.-LA in contrast to UCLA or USCRoski that have very sketchy funding. Feedback 4 Last time I applied to University of Notre Dame, but not this time since there is only one spot for my field, and the process is rigged. For three years, I have been in touch with students in the program, they got in because their recommender knew the Chair, or because they knew the Chair. They say it is a ‘one-person-choosing’ kind of program, so no hope there for me. I thought of applying to Tulane this year, but now I am nervous about small programs with one person picking the finalists. Plus fees are killing me. And COVID-19 doesn't give us a break! Feedback 5 In the US, there are places that have good funding but no name brand. I liked the affordability of SUNY (Buffalo, Purchase, New Paltz), Wilson College (low-res, low fees), Vermont College of Fine Arts (low-res, affordable). Edinboro U-Pennsylvania (has great faculty), Montana State U. (fully funded), California State U.—Santa Barbara, or San Bernardino (affordable). Also, most places in the UK are very affordable for locals. For foreigners the price is three times higher (it includes EU applicants after Brexit)!!! A new MFA in Environmental Art and Social Practice is starting at California State U.—Santa Cruz. Good packages at U. California (Irvine and Davis). Also, U. of Dallas and U. of Arizona are more affordable—and even Arizona State U. offers a much better financial package than SAIC, MICA, Pratt, Parsons, Corcoran/GWU, SMFA-Tufts. Feedback 6 At the US Virtual Open Houses, I was shocked to see that most of us were from outside of the US. I was also surprised to find so many candidates from non-art fields (English, Creative Writing, Philosophy, Music, Anthropology, Sociology, Neuroscience, Environmental Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, History, even a Chemistry major!) applying to traditional art fields (excluding new media/technology). Traditional art fields are becoming extinct or obsolete in some universities. Just take a look at the ‘interdisciplinary’ emphasis nowadays, and so many departments are filled with Kinetics, Animation, VR/AR, etc. Why would traditional art field programs accept applicants who devoted their life to graphic design or sound and imaging, taking spots away from students who are really devoted to their medium? Feedback 7 Switching fields seems to be quite frequent nowadays. People introduced themselves from every profession: realtors, hotel administration majors, business owners, home builders. It dawned on me that MFA Art programs are open to applicants from any field, and most do not require an undergrad degree. And it was intimidating to see that within the art field, candidates were art conservators, museum workers, ex-gallery owners, art historians, tattoo artists, many graphic designers, illustrators, even a book-maker, interior designers, and architects!!! Numerous school teachers who had been furloughed due to COVID!!! My heart goes out to them!!! Feedback 8 Application fees are too expensive for me to risk going through this process with such high levels of competition. I am gearing towards spending this year trying to get some art residency experience, and maybe meet some ‘connected recommender’ who can write a letter for me next year. One can only hope, right? Of course, the well-known art residencies are not open for 2021 due to deferrals from their 2020 cohort, so what else can I do to improve my 2022 chances? Will this trend continue for the next decade? If so, I do not feel like they prepared us for this level of competition where several generations are flocking to the same posts. ---------- Please, please remember that these are not my words and I am just passing it along

This happened yesterday: Got a hit on my website but it says that they were there ZERO seconds, what does this mean???? No changes today ?????