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Definitely not enough to live on in my opinion, and certainly implies a need to have a summer job or other source of income to get by. UT Austin provides a 20K stipend after tuition remission and I think that is far more manageable. This being said, I'd look into what kind of grants and scholarships the school has because those can be a big difference maker. 10K with a sizable materials grant and decent scholarship can make things way less stressful, especially if many students are able to secure such funding. I would research this for the program in question and also ask current grads how they're making it work to get a better idea how possible it is.

First, congrats!! Second, If you want to go, tell them you will. If the financial package isn’t what you need, you can always change your mind. The admission decision is essentially letting them know you won’t consider any other schools and are committed to RISD. This being said, if the financial package is awful, nothing is physically binding you to RISD. Kindly reject, rescind your decision if nothing can be negotiated, and if you’ve had other offers, start considering those instead! If they send out aid packages in early March you’ll have plenty of time to still decide and change course if needed. Also, this doesn’t seem common in my experience, and I would also feel uncomfortable not knowing what I’m financially signing up for before committing. It really puts you in an awkward situation if things are not what you expected/need funding wise. Sadly, negotiating and navigating these things is part of the process!

I think that's correct, I have been out of school for awhile now and feel that a lot of programs I am applying to/getting interest from have older grad populations (25 and older). I spoke to a current Columbia MFA before applying and he said that if I was accepted, even though I'm a bit older than someone fresh out of undergrad, I would still be one of the younger MFA students. Also, I found that applying the second time around really clarified my process, and allowed me to be a lot more intentional and informed with how I wrote about my work and presented my portfolio. You'll only improve from this experience!

Thank you for the info regarding ASU. I am not counting them out just yet (I know some programs dig into waitlists etc. in early April) but it is nice to have clarity about where they are in the process. And no, UT Austin is not doing a recruitment day, but they are providing a travel stipend for my independent visit next month which is nice.

This happened to me last year. I sent an email to the school with the deadline doubling down on my interest in their program, but also explaining that I wanted another week or so to gather all the information I could and also expressed interest in visiting first before I made my decision. They were very understanding and extended the deadline an extra 7 days. Never hurts to ask!

I have also been asked this! I consulted a former professor of mine as to why this question is asked, and they said it is typically to gauge how likely you are to accept an offer from them. For instance, if you have a full ride to Yale they might actually be less inclined to offer you a spot knowing you'll likely take Yale's offer instead (depending on the program of course). I don't think letting them know you haven't had any interviews/offers is a bad thing, or at least it certainly shouldn't be used to count against you.

I applied for the first time last year and had a similar experience. I had to recollect myself and opted to produce a fresh body of work and spent a lot more time on my applications this year. It is a really daunting process and can certainly be disappointing. Just know that you do have options, and don't be afraid to keep trying until you get into the right program!

Thanks! Hoping you the best of luck with your apps!

Painting. My interview was about 2 weeks ago (Feb 8). USF called me this morning but did not send an admission notice yet, and I was told that official acceptance letters and financial offers would be coming in the next week or so.

Hello everyone, I've been checking in on this forum for the past month to get an idea as to which schools are sending out interview invites and acceptances/rejections. I applied to ASU's MFA with a focus on painting this year and haven't heard from them yet. I sent an email a few days ago asking about the status of applications and no reply. Has anyone heard from them? I heard they don't do interviews (not sure if this is true) and am curious if they have sent out any acceptances or not. Other schools I've heard from: UTK - accepted USF - accepted UT Austin - accepted UCSB - interview pending UCLA - nothing (assuming rejection) Columbia - nothing (assuming rejection) Thanks for sharing if you have any info! Best of luck to everyone as decisions begin to arrive!