Another

I'll keep that in my back pocket, just in case. Thanks.

It's done. Since UC Berkeley is so early, I wonder if their results are going to come back sooner than the other schools. I remember seeing mention of late January/February for notification. Do you guys know how much time you have to make your decision if you're accepted? I'm worried that I might be forced to decide before I even hear back from the other programs I'm applying to (like USC which isn't even due until Feb 1). If I manage to get into Berkeley, it's going to make my decision really complicated.

I'm engaged in that I go out to art openings almost every weekend, I studied at SFAI and I've taken a couple of classes at CCA (so I know a fair number of people), and I show my own work every now and again. I guess the quality of the art scene depends on what you're into. I don't really follow Fecal Face, and I don't know much about the street art/graffiti scene here. There seems to be a lot of activity and energy around it though. One thing I would say is that the art scene is generally pretty accessible. It's a small enough city that if you want to be involved, you can quickly become a part of it. Anyway, there's this guy Alan Bamberger who documents a lot of SF art openings on his website, http://artbusiness.com/openings.html. He'll photograph anything with little judgement so you can get a good idea of the breadth of things going on here. The Oakland scene also seems to be picking up momentum with their Art Murmur (first Friday openings).

Not much more to say: I'm just excited to submit my first application to UC Berkeley this Tuesday (12/14/10). They're so early that even if I don't get accepted, it's been a great motivator to get everything done. Now I feel like I'm a couple weeks ahead of schedule for the rest of my applications. This is it!

UC Berkeley's MFA is also fully funded (source), but they only accept about 7 students each year (out of ~125 applicants). I went to an info session for SAIC last weekend and they said that each department can give out one 100% tuition scholarship or two 50% tuition scholarships. With the number of applicants there it's gotta be a long shot, but there is a possibility.

I live in San Francisco now, and I love it here — however the only school I'm applying to in the area is UC Berkeley. If I get into UCB, it's free, and it'll be really easy for me to just move across the bridge. As far as location goes, it would be by far the most comfortable option, but I'm not sure if comfort is a good thing. I guess the real cost would be missing out on all of the other experiences that are out there. I'm applying to schools all over the map: Berkeley, Hunter, SAIC, USC, VCU, and Yale. I'm not really that excited by any of those places though. I guess I'm a creature of stability, and I feel a little anxious about moving across the country all by myself. I keep telling myself that I'm not going to grad school for the weather, but winter in Chicago is a pretty intimidating prospect for a California boy. Everybody talks about New York as the place to be career-wise. It may be true that NY has the most robust art market in the States, but it's not like you're going to walk right in and be handed a contract with David Zwirner. I recently spoke to a friend who just finished up at Columbia. Yeah, she had studio visits with some very famous artists, but now she's struggling to get her footing just like everyone else — plus she's saddled with some massive student loans and living in perhaps the most expensive city in the country. LA has warm weather, a decent art market, and some great museums and schools. But IMO the city isn't a very pleasant place to be. I find driving there to be a really frustrating necessity, and all the roads and cars and smog isn't a very pretty sight. I'm applying to USC because I think they're a really strong program right now. If I get accepted, LA will take some serious getting used to. Anyhow, those are my thoughts. No particular area of the country is calling my name, so instead I'm applying to programs that seem like a good fit for me. Hopefully I'll be surprised to discover a new place to call home.

If it's really about deepening and enriching your practice, I'd say go for it. Remember that getting an MFA is not a golden ticket. It can certainly help with making connections, but very few people are fortunate enough to be considered "successful" in the art world. I don't mean to be discouraging — I just think that career ambition is the wrong reason to get a studio art MFA. IMO you're better off focusing on developing a fulfilling and sustainable studio practice. Then external validation is icing on the cake. My studiomate did his MFA after 50. He has definitely benefitted from the degree in many ways (both inside and outside of the studio), but he still struggles like the rest of us and he's far from what you'd consider "established." He shows his work a few times a year, volunteers as a projectionist once a week at an experimental theater, and teaches the occasional weekend workshop. He's a naturally avuncular guy, and was often mistaken for a teacher on campus. Now that he's out of school, most of his colleagues are around 20 years younger than him.

My studio practice is interdisciplinary, but where that's not an option I'll be applying to Sculpture departments. I plan on showing a mix of flat and 3-dimensional work in my portfolio, so I hope that's not a problem. My work is all about materials so I think I can get away with emphasizing a sculptural approach to my flat work in my writing. We'll see how it goes ...

All I know is that I submitted his contact information and then I got emails from all the schools saying that they received his recommendation. As far as I can tell, it's fine to submit the recommendations early. For some programs it explicitly says that by notifying your recommenders you're locking in the degree and area of study that you're applying to. This is my first time applying, so I could be wrong about this stuff. If you're worried about it, you can always contact admissions departments to be sure.

I'm curious to know where you're at in the application process. Today is October 23rd and I only have 7 1/2 weeks until my first application is due. So far I have: Settled on the schools I'm applying to: UC Berkeley, USC, VCU, Hunter, YaleWritten my artist statement.Started on nearly all of the online applications.Prepared roughly half of my portfolio documentation.Gotten my first recommendation completed and submitted to all schools.Made an appointment to discuss my work with my second reference.Ordered unofficial copies of my transcripts (I'll need these to complete my applications). On top of that, I've attended a portfolio review day, met with a career services counselor at SFAI (where I did my BFA), visited one of the schools on my list, and discussed my plans with as many people as possible (including some alumni from the schools I'm applying to). My biggest setback so far is that one of my recommenders rejected my request, so I need to come up with a good third reference. Deadlines are looming, and I feel like I still have a ton of work to do. How about you?

I took jmc2011's advice to show up an hour early, and I was the second person to sign in. I was definitely caught off guard by how sparsely attended it was. Interesting point about the UCs though. I really hope that's the case. A low turnout of applicants this year would ultimately be bad news. Less competition might make it easier to get accepted, but that also means that schools may lower their standards to fill seats. With the economy as it is, you'd think there'd be more people going back to school, but maybe you're right and they're all applying to UCs (or looking for something more lucrative than a studio art degree). The only school I wanted to talk to there was Cranbrook, and I felt a little rushed with them and didn't get the most enthusiastic response. I'm trying not to judge the program based on my interaction with one individual though.

The portfolio review last weekend at CalArts was really great for me. Unfortunately many of the schools I'm applying to weren't there, but it was a good opportunity to just show my work to people and practice talking about it. If nothing else, the portfolio review day served as a deadline for getting my portfolio into a presentable state. I brought along my statement as well. Most people just glanced at it, but some of them took the time to read it and respond. The reviewers have some authority to recommend you for admission and/or merit scholarships, so it's a great opportunity to show your face and tell them who you are. I got some great responses, and also some challenging questions that have been really helpful as I prepare my applications. I highly recommend attending one if you can.

Thanks for the response! Funding is definitely an issue for me. It's hard to justify spending ~30k each year — on tuition alone — for a studio art degree (again). But having never attended a university, I wonder how private art schools can stay in business with such a difference in price. I was a teenager when I first applied for college, and I had my parents' backing. But now I'm on my own. That being said, I don't want money to get in the way of my education, so if an expensive and prestigious school accepts me I may just bite the bullet. Many of the university programs I'm looking at are pretty small, so that's a good point to consider about one's relationship to fellow students. I get the feeling that studio art MFAs are in a pretty marginalized position at most universities. For me that could go either way — if you're one of fifteen grad students, there's a smaller community of artists around you and you collectively may be less privileged as a group, but then again you may have deeper relationships with your fellow students and faculty as a result.

Thanks for the info — it's been about 10 years since I've gone to a portfolio review day, and apparently a lot has changed since then. It's great to know what to expect! I'm planning on attending the review at CalArts this Sunday. Do you think it's worthwhile to bring along a piece of my work or should I stick to just documentation? Did you see many Universities there or was it strictly art schools? And do you think that the reviewers have any authority as far as getting you into their program?

I decided that if I'm planning on making art for the next 50 years, I might as well learn how to document it myself. I bought a Canon DSLR (the relatively inexpensive Rebel XSi) and got myself a zoom lens with a decent range (17-85mm). It's definitely not easy for me (I've never been trained as a photographer), but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I just wish my studio was large enough to keep my lighting kit set up all the time. If you're inexperienced and planning on applying for schools this year, I'd recommend hiring a photographer. I've been doing it for a couple of years now, and I'm still not totally satisfied with my shots.

Any thoughts about attending a university as opposed to a dedicated art school? I completed my BFA at SFAI in 2003, but now 6 out of the 7 schools applying to are universities. Is there a fundamental difference in approach to university programs? Is the structure any different? Which do you prefer?