chunkeymonkey

You should email them!

Where! Can't seem to find it

I haven't either!!

They offered me 10k... their tuition is almost 60k so it is still pretty unaffordable lol, even if I manage to negotiate more

Congratulations!! In the portal below the admissions letter, there is another attachment with notification of any financial aid

I had interviews with both New Genres and Sculpture. On the MFA forum people who applied to Painting got interviews too.

Not yet

Hi, I got a fully funded offer from VCU for MFA. You can message if you want to talk more!

Congratulations! My personal impression (by no means an authority on the subject) is that Pratt is better known for Painting/Print/Photo/Drawing as opposed to sculpture. However, your primary focus is photo anyway, so as long as you like the faculty and think you can have stimulating conversations with them, you just need to make sure that they have the equipment you need! I believe they have fairly good metal/wood/digital fab shops, and since its NYC you can find everything you need at an arm's length - but if you know for certain, going in you want to work with something specific (Fibers? Ceramics?) just make sure you have access to those facilities!

From what I have gathered, faculty (especially at top ranked programs, like the ones you applied to) does not respond to cold emails, mostly to remove bias when they review applications. Even the people at the programs who are specifically there for potential students to reach out to will not give you an in-depth review for the same reason. From what I have seen on the forums, even at portfolio review days and such, several people were given the feedback that their work would be a great fit for the program but were rejected from the same program without an interview. It may be more fruitful to reach out to current students/ recent alumni/ admin contact to gain a more intimate sense of the program, which can help you with your statement and answering the questions "why do you want to go here". I also genuinely believe that program fit matters more than "reputation" or "rankings" so talking to people who have been through the program might help with figuring that out too. As for rec letters, professors know it is part of their job that their past students will ask for letters in the future. Instead of cold emailing them to ask for a letter, it may be helpful to schedule a studio visit a few months in advance, to update them on what you have been working on, as well as get their feedback on your portfolio. This will allow you to reestablish your relationship with them before asking for the letter. As always, when you email them, give them an easy out ("I know you are really busy with xyz so if you cant write the letter I completely understand!") and be gracious if they say no. Also, it is not always ideal but you could also ask a recent employer/ curator/ mentor to write a letter. I get the not wanting to disappoint people you look up to - I often feel the same - but I think the more I have personally been in the art world, the more I have realised that there is no concrete way to define success or failures, and every person has had their fair share of rejections. I am sure the people you look up to feel the same, so what you think is a disappointment to them, may just in their eyes, be a success, if you get back out there and try again! Statement - share with the people writing your letter, people you know from undergrad, etc. I shared it with all 3 recommenders, 2 past professors, and 3 artist friends. (I also asked the same people for feedback on my portfolio in relation to the statement). Hope this helps

Also wanted to ask the same question! The faculty seems to be very accomplished and active in the field, the facilities are great, but I am not sure how I feel about current student and alumni work... Not sure what is better to make a decision based on.

Hi! I actually did interview with UCLA Sculpture. I think all interviews at all departments happened already. It was a 30-40 min interview with one faculty. I'm sorry you didn't hear back, but it really does seem like they prefer applicants who have been out of undergrad for a while (their cohort is on average older than the cohort at other schools) so maybe you have a better chance if you do reapply. Best of luck for your decisions from other schools!

Hi all Sculpture applicants! I set up a new topic to discuss programs/ interview tips/ etc! Would love to hear people's thoughts on different sculpture programs especially VCU and UCLA

Hi everyone! As decisions start rolling in, I wanted to hear people's thoughts on different Sculpture MFA programs. I haven't heard back from most of my programs - UCLA, VCU, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, RISD and Northwestern. I think as of now top contenders for me are UCLA and VCU. Where did everyone else apply to? What are everyone's thoughts on the programs?

Finally heard back from VCU Sculpture! I have an interview set up next week! Also - I had applied after the priority Jan 15 deadline.