Miso

I am also still waiting to hear back from U of O for painting & drawing. And I have an interview with NW this Friday. Every other school you applied to is not on my list. Goodluck

I sound like a broken record but surely we will hear back from UCLA and Stanford next week ?. Especially Stanford, when your application deadline is Dec. 1st it really shouldn't take this long to send out interview invites. Slowly losing my mind:/

I was rejected from UGA today. I feel like they didn't see the best version of my art because they decided to not use Slideroom this year. (applicants could only submit a pdf no larger than like 10MB) Kind of weird to have an interview with Northwestern but get rejected from UGA, I must admit...I'm surprised. Guess I underestimated how competitive UGA is ?‍♂️ I wasn't as sad or disappointed as I thought I would be though, I am so relieved to just hear back from a school lol....one less interview I have to do ? And now hearing people received interview invites from UCSD makes me think I am not a finalist. Goodluck to everyone that received that email today, San Diego is absolutely beautiful and the program gives a nice stipend :)

Just got off the phone with Erin Kermanikian (Assistant to the Chair) and she confirmed that UCLA doesn't send all interview invites at the same time. She said the faculty reaches out to finalist via email or phone at different times.

Hard to believe UCLA already sent out interview invites last week. I just talked to someone at UCLA's MFA program and she said interview invites are usually sent out mid February, late February, or early March. She also said she doesn't know if they were already sent out because the faculty is in charge. In previous years of this forum usually a few people get ucla interview invites. It's hard to believe they came out last week and not one of us got an invite. Maybe one or two people received invites early from a specific department ?‍♂️ Anyone bold enough to call or email UCLA faculty and ask if interview invites were sent out? lmao jk ?

Thanks for letting us know this! This info is very helpful

Thanks for the info! Maybe photography was the first wave for U of O. That gives me a little hope. That is a quick turn around though, you received an interview invite via email on Feb 1st, then interviewed a day or two later? They didn't give you much time to prepare. What questions did they ask you?

Same! It's a great fully funded 3 year program. Now hearing that @azumarilljust finished an interview makes me believe I just wasn't a finalist. I thought no one heard anything from Oregon but apparently they are finishing interviews....that's a bummer. I wonder why most of these programs hold onto rejection letters until March....like if you know you don't want someone and they are rejected, just notify them ASAP instead of having them refresh their email for no reason lol This entire MFA application process seems very inconsiderate for the applicants.

Looks like UCLA and Stanford will reach out next week ? I guess it's a good sign that no one has heard back from them, that means we still have a chance. Next week is about to be crazy.

Congratulations! I didn't know University of Oregon sent interview invites, but now I'm finding out they are completing interviews. What is your area of focus for U of O? Mine is Painting & Drawing, perhaps they haven't started my discipline yet OR this could just be an obvious sign that I'm rejected lol

I also heard back from Northwestern but nothing from UCLA, Stanford, UCSD, CSULB, U of O, UNC, or UGA. At least NW sent invites on the exact date they did last year. Other programs don't seem to be on the same schedule each year. Goodluck with your interviews and don't be nervous, they chose you for a reason.

Hoping for tmrw because I can't take this lol

Has anyone heard from UCLA or Stanford? This time last year both of those programs had already sent interview invites:/

I think UCLA will send interview invites tmrw if they aren't running late. Last year they sent invites on Thursday Feb.3 which is equivalent to Feb. 2 this year. And I also applied to UCSD, according to last years forum we should hear from them on Feb. 20th. But side note, does anyone know what's going on with Stanford?? Last year they sent interview invites on Jan. 31. I would expect a program that has a Dec. 1st deadline wouldn't need over 2 months to send interview invites, but maybe no one in this forum is a finalist or maybe they are just running a little late this year.

I also checked last years forum and this week seems like a big week. UCLA dropped invites this week last year, Stanford did too, University of Oregon seems to be running late because the application deadline was pushed back, and UNC is late compared to last year. Should be a lot of interview invites coming this week.

I chose the Zoom interview option because I don't live in Illinois. I was definitely freaking out as well, the interview format is very unique compared to other programs. But at least we have a little less than a month to prepare. We will do great! I'm just grateful for the opportunity, hundreds of amazing artists and they only choose 5....I was mentally preparing myself for my rejection letter lol

WTF....I JUST GOT AN INTERVIEW INVITE FROM NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (ATP)....? I'm so shocked right now, they only accept like 5 people and give crazy good stipend... The email says that interviews take place on February 17 & February 18. They let me know that the interview starts with a presentation I have to make that should include 2-4 works and be no longer than 5 minutes. And the total interview will be no longer than 20 minutes. It seems intense...I need to go for a walk lol ? If anyone has experience with NW interviews, please let me know anything you can. I'll be looking at previous forums to see what to expect.

I will definitely come back to this thread to let everyone know when I receive interview invites and from what program. I will also try to remember the questions they ask. These are the programs I applied to: UCLA (Painting & Drawing) Stanford (Art Practice) UCSD (Visual Arts) CSULB (Art, Concentration in Studio Art) Northwestern University (Art, Theory, Practice) U of Oregon (Art) UNC (Studio Art) UGA (Studio Art and Design) I looked at last years forum to get an idea of when my list of schools send out interview invites to my major specifically. I have specific dates I expect to hear back but they could send interview invites on different weeks of January and February each year. What programs did you apply to?

Hiii, Being that specific doesn't matter, from what I've heard most of the people reviewing applications go through portfolios very quickly. They don't spend as much time looking at our art as we would probably like them to. So I know they aren't concerned with knowing the exact date you finished a work, only putting the year is what's expected. And don't be worried about them thinking you lied because a date doesn't match your previous application. I don't think they would jump to that conclusion, an applicant could've easily touched up the work and therefore it would have a new completion date. I also applied to UCLA, everything in my portfolio included the year completed (2022), no exact month, a title, description, dimensions, and materials used. Hope this helps, goodluck!

I admire your persistence! Most people aren't willing to keep going after something they want, they usually move on to something new and give up. I really hope you get in this year, more schools should give you a good chance. I made the mistake of only applying to 3 schools my first time. Now I'm applying to a lot more and University of Oregon is actually one of them. I'll make sure to come back here and let you know if and when I get a call for an interview at U of O, their program looks great. Portland's art scene seems underrated, it's definitely not LA, New York, Chicago, or Atlanta, but it's growing and slept on for sure. Goodluck!

This forum has been very peaceful and I refuse to argue and go back and forth with someone when I don't even know what their face looks like....so I'll leave you with this: I have been in contact with several Yale MFA in Art alumni and spoke directly with their admissions team multiple times. What I say isn't gossip or a guess or from a wikipedia link. Yale's funding is need based so it is determined by tax returns, etc. All they offer for first year students is work study, they don't give merit based scholarships. The work study is part time, minimum wage, and for the academic year. You get 4-6 hours a week IF you're lucky enough to receive work study. That amount of hours and hourly rate will not have a huge impact on your overall cost. (Work study in 19'/20' was $14.25 an hour) So if you come from a good amount of money you will essentially be paying the full amount your first year. (which is around 67k, stated directly on their website..... https://www.art.yale.edu/about/resources/financial-aid/tuition-fees-general-expenses ) Now for your second year, students with financial need receive more funding that can cover their living expenses which at Yale is 18k. Second year students can also apply for scholarships that they may get if they qualify for them. So yes, the second year will be cheaper but most students that come from money get hit big in that first year and end up nearly 100k in debt, if not over. Yale is a good program to go to if you don't come from money....otherwise, it is financial suicide for an artist. Please have a wonderful day, I will no longer be responding to you because I don't go back and forth with strangers on the internet. I have better things to do with my time. Happy Holidays!

So the hype has enough legitimacy for students to go over 100k in debt? Wow...to each their own.

Yeah it's need based as I expected, so basically only apply to Yale if you're broke and homeless...maybe then you could get a full ride. For everyone else, you'll go to that 2 year program to graduate with over a 100k in debt. Really wish people wouldn't fall for the Yale hype. Majority of the students art is below average (in my area of focus in particular: painting and drawing). Being in that much debt after graduating is artistic suicide.

Very true, these are great points. I applied to both 2 and 3 year programs. If the program is fully funded, I really don't see any problem with going to a 3 year. 2 years does seem like a fast pace, you'll blink twice and be graduating already. I feel like 3 year programs allow you to focus on your art more and avoid 'real world' problems like high rent. UGA program is 3 years and on campus rent for a 1br is less than $800....I know a lot of people that wouldn't mind 3 years of a stipend, living stress free while creating a lot of art, etc. My question definitely just depends on the person, program, and circumstances though.

I'm curious to know anyone's opinion on this: How do you feel about a 2yr MFA in art program vs. a 3yr? I kind of break down the benefits of each like this: 2yrs: - earn the same piece of paper in one less year - if the program isn't fully funded you'll be saving money 3yrs: - extra year with a studio space - more time to network - if program is fully funded, an extra year might be better because on-campus graduate studio apt rent is often cheaper