thisisnotapipe

Hi Everyone! Wanted to share my acceptances/rejections in case the numbers are helpful to anybody now or in the future, as well. I applied for MFA's in Photography. University of Wisconsin Madison - waitlisted Georgia State University - accepted tuition remission + was awarded Welch Scholarship which offered $18k stipend/per year for three years (you had to work summers for them as well). University of Connecticut - accepted tuition remission + $13.4k stipend/fall and spring semesters (you do not work summers for them) I accepted Connecticut's offer for several reasons. It's an incredible program, the faculty and I really connected, they have a strong pipeline to Fulbright scholarships, the graduate studios are incredible, and they have a strong interdisciplinary focus which I was looking for. I was hoping to move off the wait list for Madison, but it didn't happen. Georgia State University ended up leaving a bad taste in my mouth. They told me I had until March 10 to make my decision or they were going to pull the funding despite being a school on the April 15th Resolution list. I reached out to confirm that, and I ended up getting a letter from the Dean of the school saying that I had until April 15. The faculty reached out to me via email or phone calls every 4-5 days telling me that I was putting them/the department in a difficult position by not accepting their offer immediately. They never took responsibility for giving me an earlier date and threatening to pull funding. I went to visit the campus and was not very impressed by the student work, the faculties ability to give feedback, studios which were windowless cubicles essentially, etc. Congratulations to everyone! Very grateful to have found this space to lean on while playing the waiting game with you all.

Thanks for sharing this! Happened to me with a school who pushed for a deadline in March and threatened to pull funding from me. Was able to get a letter from the Dean confirming the faculty member who was pushing me was in the wrong. Taking my time to make the best decision for me.

One of my acceptances was a cold call at 9am from a number my phone marked as potential spam (but ‘tis the season for answering every call you get). The other acceptance was via email.

$1200 per month! sorry for not being more clear. Yes, it’s the smallest stipend I’m currently looking at. Some things like the subsidized healthcare work it its favor, but housing is expensive and hard to find near Storrs. Maybe it’s increased since they went, but that was the number I was operating under since I’m also waiting for my official offer with details.

I have a couple friends who graduated from UConn the last few years. The stipend is $1200. I believe healthcare is subsidized greatly, because the graduate assistants and teachers are unionized. I also got accepted to UConn yesterday! Congratulations on those great options and offers!! I am also a photo major. Was waiting for all my offers and decisions to come in before sharing. I only applied to three state schools that had 100% fully funded tuition and a stipend. UW Madison - Waitlisted GSU - Accepted with scholarship stipend UConn - Accepted

They said they had too many students in the cohort who planned to teach after they graduated and are actively trying to discourage them because academia is toxic and historically incredibly difficult to get jobs in. So they wanted to encourage their students to get jobs in other areas after they graduate. But they don’t necessarily offer any support in helping students get those other kinds of jobs either. (Sent you a PM about your last question.)

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I don't think I could really push back against the culture in the second program. I have some inside knowledge that the faculty at the program are bringing in guest speakers to discourage the current cohort from teaching after their MFA. I've visited both programs, and spoken to current students. They both speak about the positives/negatives I've listed above in my dilemma, and both groups of students are happy with the positives and acknowledge the negatives.

Thanks for this! Very good points to consider. I guess it all comes down to how well I know myself and my abilities to make art in different situations. My partner suggested we prioritize getting a house where I could have a studio at home too, so I don't have to use the grad studio provided to help. This is a hard decision. I wish it was more cut and dry.

I have a question... Would you accept an offer to a fully funded program with a generous stipend award, that has a 100% hire rate out of the program from your concentration into faculty positions (some tenure track, others at R1 universities, etc) BUT is in a city you don't want to live in, is a generally underfunded program at the school, has lack luster facilities, and basement grad studios with no windows? OVER an offer to a fully funded program with a generous stipend that has beautiful well-funded facilities, and *stunning* grad studios, but actively is discouraging students from teaching with their degrees and doesn't have the connections to help you get hired after you graduate? I am thinking its a hell yes decision for future me to pick the first option. But I am worried that the conditions of the first program will make my time there difficult and hard to make art in. If I keep my head down, and work hard for three years, and know I'll get a job it seems like a no-brainer...but is there something I'm missing here? I am very aware this is a first-world problem to have. And I am so grateful to have this decision to make. Just wondered if anyone had any thoughts or other perspectives to consider here.

I have an existing studio practice that I have been developing while working on my undergraduate degree (non BFA degree). This is my first time trying for my MFA (I graduate in May). My studio practice has been pretty successful (residency award, grants, a solo show at a museum, etc). So I feel like despite not having a BFA I'm in a pretty good spot. I applied to three schools. I've gotten interviews to all three. Been accepted by one and am waiting to hear from the other two.

Had an interview with a program earlier this week and was asked (what I thought) was a weird question. They asked where else I applied and if I had any interviews with those programs already. I felt forced to answer it but wondered if that was (1) an appropriate question to ask (2) if anyone else had this experience before and how they handled it?

Just found this forum in between refreshing my inbox for updates. I applied to three programs for photography: UW Madison UConn Georgia State University So far have only heard back from UW Madison. They sent out an email a week after the application deadline telling me they'd like to do an interview. I received a day/time to meet with them last week. It was a quick 15 minutes of questions from faculty with 5 minutes of time for me to ask questions. The initial request email said they would be conducting interviews until Feb 10. I read through last years forum to see how these things went with the schools I applied to. It seems UW Madison makes their decisions pretty quickly and early. And that UConn was really late last year? Hoping they're not that late this year.