TwhowantsanMFA

Quick update with final results from this application cycle: (TL;DR from my big post: Last year I got interviews at 1 out of 5 schools, zero offers. Regrouped for a few months and then worked super hard to become a much stronger applicant) This year: Applied to 8 fully-funded programs at R1 universities (all provide full tuition remission and health insurance plus TA pay that more than covers rent) Interviews at 6 2 highest ranked programs: 1 offer, 1 waitlist 2 next highest: 1 finalist visit with informal offer (withdrew before official offer to give someone else the spot), 1 waitlist Lowest 2 where I interviewed: 1 withdrawal from consideration, 1 rejection (but they asked in interview my other applications and status and I told them about the acceptance at highly ranked program) (The two where I didn't get interviews were much lower ranked than where I got offers, so I assume they didn't think I would be a good fit there. Fair enough!) I feel so fortunate to have had great choices this year, which let me be much more relaxed in interviews and really assess program fit instead of just trying to get them to like me, and ultimately to get to go to a dream program with great funding. Bottom line: It is sooooooo worth brushing yourself off if you don't get the results you want this year. Do the work to make yourself a stronger applicant, and you will be likely have a very different outcome next year. I understand the pain of rejection (last year is still fresh!) and send lots of sympathy, but it's not the end.

Acceptances went out over a month ago, I got a waitlist notification earlier this week (email to check portal, and it shows as still pending but there was a popup there to accept or decline waitlist spot). I don't know if others got earlier waitlist notifications and I got promoted to the waitlist after others got in off the waitlist, or if they were just slow to notify waitlisted people.

Thank you! 🙂 I hope it works out for you this year, too. But if not, trust that it may ultimately be for the best, even if that fact isn't clear for a while.

To everyone who is feeling discouraged at this moment by lack of responses to applications or outright rejections, I want to share a little pep talk I wish someone had given me a year ago. (I get a little specific here in case the details are helpful to anyone else trying to figure out a path forward, but I'm not suggesting this as a roadmap, more just as a nudge to keep working, dig deeper and try again.) Last year I applied to 5 schools (all small cohort/fully funded programs), I got 1 interview at the worst program on the list and didn't get an offer to go there. I was feeling pretty bruised, even though I saw through the interview process that the program where I interviewed would have been a bad fit. I spent a few months licking my wounds while all of my recommenders expressed dismay on my behalf and encouraged me to reapply. In late spring I decided to try again, and got back to work. That work included not just making *more* pieces, but reading more theory and thinking about how I could ask deeper questions with my work, and expanding my practice itself (I applied last year with almost all paintings, and this year started doing much more sculpture/installation, as well as painting on different surfaces). I did much more material research and incorporated unusual materials into my work that relate to the issues I focus on. I got my head around a whole field of scholarship relating to my lived experience and came to understand the areas in the field where other artists are working and where the gaps/opportunities to do something new are, not just nibbling at the edges of the field as I'd done in my portfolio work last year. All of this made my work much stronger and gave me a whole new sense of purpose with it. In the fall I officially decided to dive back into the application process, but I concluded at the same time that even if I didn't get in on the second try, I was still happy I'd gone down this road as it had pushed me to take my practice to a place that felt much more meaningful (as well as super generative and *FUN*). When it was time to do the actual applications, I felt a new sense of purpose and seriousness come through right away in my statements. My "research interests" were no longer vague, they were concrete and specific, both in terms of ideas and materials. My reasons for wanting to go to graduate school now were urgent and tied to the current state of the field my work is in dialogue with. When I name dropped scholars, it didn't feel performative, and the influence of their ideas on my work was clear. I changed the order of images in my portfolio for each application, leading with sculpture and installation for the more interdisciplinary programs, leading with cohesive paintings in series for others. I cast a wider net this year and applied to 8 programs (again all small cohort/fully funded, 3 were repeats), and so far have gotten 5 interviews (a 6th is still possible as its deadline was only a few days ago), a dramatically different response from last year. I took a lot of time to prepare for the interviews, and rehearsed both the short elevator pitch about my work and what I want to get out of grad school (because writing about something a lot is not remotely the same as actually talking about it), as well as practicing answering all of the questions on the big list of possible Qs that appears all over this forum. I reminded myself that faculty are usually asking themselves in interviews, "Is this a person I could see as a future colleague in art academia?" and "Is this an artist who is serious about graduate level study but will also be fun to have in the program (and not bring drama or need too much hand holding)?" and tried to subtly answer these questions in my responses. And I spent a lot of time getting to the know the work of the faculty I was interviewing with, finding areas of conceptual overlap I could mention in the interview, but which also made me excited about the possibility of working with them, enthusiasm that I wanted to come through in the interview. So far I've been accepted with an extremely appealing offer from the program I've long dreamed of attending (a repeat application), I'm a finalist at my second place program (also a repeat) and I feel good post-interview about my chances of getting another offer or two. A year ago when I was trying to see a path forward, I did not imagine I'd be in such a different place only a short time later, in the scheme of things. Best of all, I know all the work I've done in the last year puts me in such a better place to get more out of the grad school experience, as well as push my practice in new directions that feel even more satisfying. I offer this not to say that everyone should do what I did, because this isn't going to be the right path for a lot of folks, especially those who aren't aiming for the more academic/theory-focused, fully-funded programs. But if you can use a disappointing outcome in one application cycle to push you to go deeper with your practice and the ideas that underlie it, you can absolutely get a wildly different outcome a year or two from now. So TL/DR, take some time to feel whatever you need to feel if this cycle doesn't work out the way you hoped, but don't give up. Get strategic in thinking about what would make you a stronger candidate next year (as well as what would make YOU feel better about your practice, aside from any external validation), and then get to work.

I think all of us who applied to and/or interviewed at UCB and haven't heard anything can consider ourselves rejected. They don't do any informing until the enrollment decision deadline basically. My understanding was that accepted students would have heard ~2 weeks ago. I had my interview on January 29 and the prof said they were making decisions later that day. (I am not endorsing this approach. I think anyone who gets an interview should get an email letting them know they weren't admitted, not have to sweat it out to wait for a portal update. And in general I think schools should inform everyone who didn't get an interview of their rejection right away so they aren't left wondering.)

That's so awesome! Congrats! We might be cohort mates. 😊 If you end up getting other offers and are trying to figure out how to decide, feel free to DM me. I've got one set of finalist interviews coming up at UCSB that would be my only other application that could give me pause about accepting the Davis offer, and while that's not an offer at this point, I'm trying to think ahead about how I'd decide if I got in there, too. Hopefully see you at the in-person visit day at Davis. I think the in-person vibes will be really important to the decision.

I also interviewed at Berkeley and have heard nothing. In the info session, they said if you don't get in, you basically get the form letter in the portal in April. I thought maybe those who interviewed would get a no sooner, but looks like not. FWIW, I applied last year, too, and didn't get an interview, and the form letter in the portal in April is the only official news I got, though I suspected as much when I hadn't gotten an interview by mid-February.

Got an interview for Illinois (UIUC), which I swear I heard in past years on this thread doesn't do interviews. Apparently that's changed!

That's so exciting! I got the UCSB campus trip/final interview invite today, so yay! And yes, in your case, I assume that's an acceptance. Huge congrats!

Still waiting, too. Suspecting that means no but 🤞

Thank you! I definitely feel you that the process is draining, and I did it last year, too. I don't have any add'l info yet about UCD, so no clue if or how many they typically take off the waitlist, but don't lose hope. I was so discouraged after last year's applications and the crickets I got in response, but now feeling excited and validated. Fingers crossed you get a good outcome this year, but if not, you'll be stronger for it next year.

Thank you! SUCH a huge relief, and I'm sure I'll get more excited, too, as the shock wears off, haha.

Just got accepted to UC Davis. 😭 (Form email that there was an application status update, link to portal, etc.) I applied last year and didn't get an interview, so turns out that the advice to try again is true. I'm still in shock because the 10 minute interview format was so stressful, but I'm starting to get really excited. (And also just relieved. Three UC interviews last week and I've been a basket case all this week, waiting to hear anything. Of course still hoping to hear from the others, but happy to know I've got one option I'm super stoked about.)

I can completely sympathize! Last year I applied to 6 places, got one interview and no offer. It was pretty discouraging at the time. But all of my recommenders pushed me to keep making work, and reading more books having to do with the themes in my work. And now, I can see that I'm a much better applicant this year (3 interviews so far, fingers crossed!), but more importantly, I think I'll get a lot more out of grad school if I get in somewhere this year. I'm not a big believer in "everything happens for a reason," but I think not getting in can be a really helpful nudge, even if it doesn't feel that way at the time. Fingers crossed you do get in somewhere this year, but if not, use it as fuel to be a stronger applicant next year.

I'm a pretty good public speaker but felt the same way about my 10-minute Davis interview. It was pretty off-putting and left me feeling much less warm about the program than I've felt on several campus visits. And there's no second round! That's super surprising to me. Use the weird format to narrow it down, sure, but for the whole decision? Similar to yours at UCR, I had a UCSB interview that felt much more comfortable and conversational and gave me much better program vibes. And that's only their first round. At Berkeley I had a 30 minute call with one faculty member that's their only round. Such different approaches just within the UCs! Good luck on your UCSD interview, and hope you hear from all the others you're waiting on!

There is a great thread on interview Qs here on Gradcafe in a few places that you can find easily with a long list of potential Qs that it's good to prep for. I've found that so helpful. Berkeley just asked the straightforward ones like: What are you working on now that we might not have seen in the portfolio? Who inspires you? What do you see yourself doing your first semester here? Why an MFA and why this program? How do you feel about the program's focus on interdisciplinarity, especially pushing artists to work in different media and forms?

Fingers crossed that you get the Oregon offer (and that it's well-funded, as I read on a Reddit thread that it's no longer fully funded). Thanks for letting us know! Not sure what kind of art you're making or what your essay focus was, but Berkeley seems to really want multidisciplinary, experimental artists who can lean heavily into academic research speak. I paint but put all my paintings at the end of the portfolio and put installation and sculptural work up front, and used more than half of my essay to talk about research plans, connecting them to various non-art faculty and campus think tanks. No idea if that will get me an offer! But it got the interview, which is better than last year's crickets.

Congrats on getting through it and fingers crossed for a good result for us both!

For the UC watchers, a few updates: I had the UC Berkeley interview today (Qs pretty straightforward, no curveballs), and it sounds like they will make offers within a week or so, possibly making decisions as soon as today. Last year I applied but didn't get an interview and heard nothing until I got the form letter in the application portal in Aprilish. UCSB invites went out last week from faculty members. Sounds like they want to wrap up interviews next week. (I was invited but haven't had my interview yet.) I know in past years they've invited a subset of interviewees to a campus visit before making final decisions, so perhaps that will happen again this year. Last year I didn't get an interview and think I got the rejection note sometime in February. UC Davis invites went out early this week from an admin person, which I assume means all the invites went at the same time. I was given a 10-minute interview spot (hasn't happened yet) and asked to spend most of that time talking about one portfolio piece. Was everyone invited to interview at Davis offered the same, or does this signal a wild card bracket/play-in game sort of situation? I've never heard of programs doing such a short interview, but at least it means it's possible to rehearse the whole thing. I am THRILLED to have gotten interviews at all of my top choices vs. last year's near total silence. (Interviewed at UCSC last year, glad I didn't get an offer as it wasn't the right fit for me.) What did I change? My entire portfolio is different with all 2025 work, my essays are much more theory- and research-focused, I've bolstered my exhibition and award list significantly, switched one recommender, etc. Essentially an entirely different application. So far it's paying off, and I just hope I get a good offer from a program I'm excited about. Haven't heard from Oregon, Utah, Illinois and the NV programs that have February deadlines. Good luck to those interviewing and solidarity to everyone suffering through the waiting.

Got a UC Berkeley interview invite today. There was also a bit of an email list mixup, but was told earlier in the week that a UCSB interview invite is coming (someone else posted here that they got an invite last weekend, so this isn't news). Congrats to those who've gotten interviews so far, and commiserations to all of us dealing with the pain of waiting to hear!