katfude

I went to PAFA for my undergrad and have a ton of knowledge about the MFA program-- if you have any questions about the school feel free to message me!

I am definitely someone who leans toward making decisions based off of longterm financial stability, so I personally would go wherever offers me the most money in order to have a sustainable career post grad.. BUT if you are dead set on SAIC then there are plenty of outside scholarships that you could apply for that would offset the amount of debt you will accrue. They are very time consuming, and harder to find for graduate degrees-- but if you commit to spending a week or two combing the internet and writing proposals then you have the potential to really make a dent in the tuition bill!

gentle reminder to everyone to constantly check your spam folders I just received an offer for a fellowship but totally would have missed it since it was flagged as spam!

One of my friends went and had to seriously fight with them tooth and nail at 30 years old to not require her parents financial information since she was already a literal full fledged adult with no financial contact to them. She said it was grueling, but she was finally at some point able to gain independence at the end of it. I'm not sure how, but be ready for a FIGHT.

Just a sculpture MFA program, specifically asking for a presentation of the work I applied with, so it seemed like a redundant way to learn about a candidate.... oh well

I'm freaking out, has anyone fucked up their slide presentation so bad by going over the time? In sharing my screen I couldn't see what time it was so I gave a 30 minute lecture instead of a 15 minute one.... essentially not leaving time for ANY questions and making them 5 minutes late for the next person. I am SO embarrassed and I'm sure they will not be contacting me again. Has anyone had this experience? A WORD OF ADVICE-- HAVE A SECOND CLOCK NOT ON YOUR COMPUTER.

Has anyone interviewed with Tyler Sculpture yet? Mine is tomorrow at 1:30 and I'm really not sure what to expect. I emailed the program director with a brief question a few weeks ago, but he never got back to me.. so now I am already feeling off to an awkward start. ?

I think a lot of it too is showing that you can commit to keeping a dedicated studio practice when art is no longer the priority like it is in school. I would say that about 90% of the people I graduated with in 2018 have stopped seriously pursuing their career because of either a lack of direction or focus. Generally people who have been out of school for a few years can prove that they are dead set on becoming a serious practicing artist even while working full-time or multiple jobs. If you continue to build your portfolio after school then that shows the committee that you can motivate yourself without the deadlines and handholding that a class/critique setting provides. I know it is tough because this is the point where you are so ready to keep going (trust me, I feel like a bottle of shaken up soda that has been left on the counter since 2018), but if they are going to give you scholarship and funding, it is in their favor to know that you can be a practicing artist despite life getting in the way.

Yeahh, unfortunately I think a lot of people intentionally avoided applying to the poorly funded high caliber programs because they’re so expensive. Even with just application fees it didn’t seem worth it to spend all of the money to apply to programs that wouldn’t be financially feasible upon acceptance.

Oh wow, thank you so much-- I might actually take you up on that! If that interview was anything like how the program functions, then it feels like a really great fit.

To anyone interviewing with BU Sculpture.. I just went, and it was an absolute dream! Essentially just a long winded continuous conversation about studio practice-- no "Why grad school" "Why BU" etc. David is really chill and articulate and a great calming presence.

I was thinking the same thing.. it's also interesting to see the vibe shift between the interview request email and the actual interview. In my first interview, the email request tone was VERY nonchalant and perky seeming to guarantee acceptance into the program.. so I thought it was just going to be a quick "make sure I know what art is/not nuts" situation, but then ended up being grilled by monotoned academics on my research priorities and it was a bit jarring. Just a heads up to everyone to be ready for anything!!

I'm really sorry Supposedly they reached out on Thursday-- but they may have different rounds or something of that sort.

Someone on here private messaged me about getting a VCU sculpture interview. If anyone, like me, applied during the deadline extension then I don't think they'll even look at your application until after the first review.

If anyone has their Tyler sculpture interview before Feb 26th at 1:30 can ya let me know? I’d love to know what the vibe is like/questions they ask after your presentation— also if the audience has read your artist statement prior. Thanks!!

I saw a big thread about this pertaining to non BFA students applying to an MFA program, but I'm curious if anyone else has applied to programs with a body of work that is concentrated in a different medium.. and what your interview was like? I went to pafa where the masters program was completely interdisciplinary-- so I didn't think too much about defining myself until now. I graduated from school as a sculpture major, but shifted into object based printmaking/very diet sculpture/video as a way to continue a rigorous practice post-grad with the limited space/facilities available, working full-time blah blah. I had an interdisciplinary interview last week, but I have two sculpture specific ones coming up.. and am not sure how defensive I will have to be in explaining why my body of work has a lot of 2D, but I am really deliberate about my desire to return to installation. There is such a fluidity between painting/sculpture/printmaking in contemporary art right now, but it still seems like schools are very strict about distinctions. Has anyone had an interview in a discipline that differs from your body of work even though you have a BFA in it? I may be shouting into the void, but you never know.

Sculpture interviews are scheduled for Feb 26th, so perhaps all decisions come out at the same time in March after each program conducts their interviews ??

Thank you!!!! Yes, pretty much exactly where I am coming from-- after seeing so many of my friends currently in grad school being completely horrified by their post-covid experiences (sry yale), I am a bit paranoid about picking a school with a big price tag that is underprepared to deliver a quality education during this time.

Has anyone brought up COVID in their interviews? I have my first interview tomorrow with UMass, then one with BU and Tyler next week and am curious if it is taboo to question how they are going to navigate the potential upcoming school year. UMass is a three year program so I am leaning toward them solely based on the chance that if things go virtual again, I will still have a full two years of in person classes (hopefully). I'm not sure how to press the other schools without seeming judgmental or closed off.

UMass Amherst just dropped an interview email if any of you are waiting on them!

"The above is an abbreviated artist lecture-style presentation. We will spend the remainder of the time asking questions as a group (our recent grad students will join us as well). Also, you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the program." For anyone giving an "artist talk" style interview with recent grad students as well as faculty (mine is with Tyler if that helps), do you know if they will all be given your artist statement prior to the interview? I am unsure about how much background/context will be needed and that would be taken care of if the students have already read my statement.

I used all professors too, but since I graduated in 2018 I assumed that a lot of time would pass by the time I was ready to apply for grad school, and that they might forget about me. With this in mind, I applied to one school last year knowing I wouldn't get in, but for the purpose of having them write letters for me while I was still fairly fresh in their mind. This year all they had to do was make minor changes/updates which was helpful due to covid restricting a lot of networking opportunities over the last year.

Aghhh, I'm sorry!! It seems like each program and their interview timeline are completely separate from each other

I just got an interview from Tyler (sculpture) but they sent it to the email used for slideroom and not the one that I listed in my application. Just a heads up y'all!

Is anyone else waiting on UMass Amherst? I’m not familiar with what their timeline is, but possibly someone in this thread may have a better idea!