mfaapplicant

Not sure what you mean by “more practical”, but if you are trying to leave fine art and find opportunities in the industry / get a more stable job, I wouldn't recommend going to saic, calarts, or pratt (I don't think there is a program called digital media at pratt, so I'm assuming you are referring to interactive art under the digital art department). all three programs are very fine art-focused and tbh the technical skills you learn from them will most likely not able to get you a job in the industry. Art and tech still falls under fine art so you will very likely be at a similar position as you are right now after graduation (still practicing in the fine art field but maybe working with different mediums) this is evident if you look at their thesis shows and alum profiles. Parsons DT, on the other hand, is very different. It definitely offers more technical training and is more design-focused (design naturally is more career-friendly than fine art…) so if you are looking to shift your career from fine art to perhap design or tech (working for corporations, agencies, doing entrepreneurship, etc) Parsons is a solid choice and offers great resources. You also get to work with people from more diverse backgrounds while you are there. Idk how much saic and calarts are offering, but I think parsons is pretty generous this year so it's worth waiting. All four programs have pretty good reputation. Personally I think pratt is a little weaker because it is not considered one of the stronger programs the school offers. Calarts and saic are very similar reputation-wise but their styles are very different. I would recommend looking at their faculty/student/alum works before making your decision. I can definitely see someone who would thrive at calarts being miserable at saic, and vise versa.

Got my acceptance to SAIC without any funding. Super disappointed. I was almost ready to move to Chicago..

Ohh I saw that too! Thanks!

I also got around 50% from RISD. Where did they say there won't be opportunities to increase scholarship? I didn't see this in my letters & was gonna ask for an increase 😂

Just got accepted into Tufts SMFA, the scholarship offer also came with the acceptance.

I heard the program I applied to at RISD did that this year. They sent out waitlist decisions on the same day of offers, without interviews. But I think this is pretty rare.

Thanks for the info!! I applied to Digital+Media, but I believe all official offers and funding letters go out on the same day, regardless of department.

I received an unofficial offer from RISD on 2/24. Does anyone know when they send out official letters & funding info? Did any other department mention this timeframe in their unofficial letters? btw I also received rejections from UCLA & Stanford this morning.

Here is my personal experience - as soon as I entered the Zoom room, they threw three questions at me all at once and said we were in a rush. I didn't even have the chance to properly say hi lol. They did ask a ton of other questions & follow-up questions, but I barely had the chance to finish answering any of them before I got interrupted. Honestly, their questions were very illogical and all over the place. The weirdest moment was when I was talking about my work, they interrupted me and asked where I was located physically (this happened toward the end of the interview, not the intro phase) and just said "ok" after I answered... It also felt to me they went out of their way to misunderstand me just so they could rebut (I've similarly explained my practice to many other programs & all of them didn't seem to have trouble understanding what I was getting at & the vibes were all great, at least respectful). All of these started happening very soon after I entered the Zoom room, so I don't believe it was because I said something wrong... Overall, I felt like we were not on the same page at all, and they were either having a bad day or had previous biases about me and my work... I am sure the interview experience is different for everyone, especially since they randomly(?) assigned us to different faculties. I've seen people sharing their positive experiences on this forum, and it definitely didn't sound like mine. Regarding alumni experience - I can't go into the details of their experience due to privacy. But overall, they felt very very strongly about this program in a negative way, to a degree that they didn't even want to talk to me directly because I was a prospective student (with positive views back then) and only agreed to share the experience through a mutual friend. Key points of disappointment include the system being hierarchical, relational, and disrespectful. They told me not to "give up your practice" for funding, the UChicago title, and pretty studios. It's not worth it. That advice was based on their understanding of my background, though, and may not apply to you.

Just found out I was rejected by uchicago - did not receive an email & saw it on the portal. Not surprised at all as I had a horrible interview with them that made me feel so disrespected. My interview experience also kinda matched what I heard from some of their alum who have had really bad experiences with the program. Initially, I didn't believe what they said because I had a very good visit before I applied & tried to further convince myself because the funding was attractive. But I totally get what they were saying right after that interview... Guess it's just not for me & I'm so glad I found out during the application process.

I applied to both departments two years ago. I don't think ITP interviews anyone. They sent me my offer in early March and I did not hear anything from them until then. DT interviews some of its applicants but not all (And if you are not invited for an interview, you can still get in) I personally did not get an interview. My observation is that they only invite those whom they are considering for high scholarship funding (75%+?) I am not at all sure if this is accurate & if this is still the case this year so don't quote me on this. They sent out decisions pretty late. I don't remember the exact date but it was the last decision I received that year and it was definitely after spring break. Hope this helps.

Np!! I don't even know if this info is useful to you or not! I interviewed with D+M and they did mention they were gonna ask the same questions with all D+M candidates. But if you applied to another department, it is gonna be with different profs and I think the questions are very likely to be different from mine. So please also prepare for other potential questions 😂

AT/SP department, as I mentioned. I think all interviews for all departments will happen on 2/24 this year. You can choose your ideal time slot & it can be either in-person or over Zoom. I don't know about photo & sculpture, but 2 years ago I applied to both AT/SP (back then it was still ATS) and FVNMA -- they sent out interviews on the same day.

I also received an interview invite from SAIC earlier this evening. I applied for AT/SP.

why program / plan after graduation / talk about a piece of work in portfolio / how do you see your self in a diverse community / questions for us