nathancotephoto

Hey all, Im just wrapping up this project. I was hoping to get some opinions or criticism on it. My link Its the first project ive completed since school that wasnt photo based.

@photogrl I applied to Penn Design as well. For photo. I havent heard back. I applied to all state schools. University of Washington and UNLV which all had due dates around feb 1st or 15th. Havent heard from any of them.

@ alizarin Hey, I havent had any word back yet. I was accepted by rutgers last year but did not receive any funding(so i differed acceptance for a year). I wasnt surprised because the work I sent wasnt ready and neither was the entire packet. Im still waiting on the three schools I applied to this year. I edited the entire packet and resubmitted it in hopes of some financial aid.

Well, I have been wondering what work others were submitting as well! My link My projects are shot with film and digital. I did not arrange or place the animals.

Anyone heard from WashU, U of N Las Vegas and UPenn in Philly? Im still waiting on those three.

My memory is hazy but i think this is one of the more well known strictly photojournalism schools and programs. http://photojournalism.missouri.edu/ Being a state school you could look at some decent funding but I'm not sure. SVA and International Center for Photography are both in NY and are private schools but there is a lot of beautiful work coming out of there both in the art/photography programs and the photojournalism programs.

I got a question for those of you who are planning on going to a state school vs a private art school. What do you think (or have you heard) the competition will be for teaching positions after school? Portfolios aside. Maybe its also the connections we make in the cities where we are getting our MFA and showing our work. Im not sure what to expect when i graduate. I haven't asked my undergrad professors because they weren't real go getters so to speak.

Well, I applied to a few schools I liked, not to say loved. U of N Las Vegas, WashU, U of Penn and hoping for funding at rutgers(already accepted from last year) for photo. I would say my dream school would be Yale, studying under Mr. Crewdson but no thank you to debt. Id rather live to work rather than work to live and pay off 100k in debt. I dont plan on going without near full funding. I guess it will be a couple months of holding my breathe waiting to know what im doing for the next couple years. Im far removed from knowing if the schools are reputable but I liked most of the work coming out of them. The instructors looked respectable as well.

I had already edited my work down to three separate series before reading that post and i think ill end up leaving it at the three. Maybe i need more development but i dont feel confident enough in 20 images from one series to send them all. What i mean is i have a good 10 strong images from the series i intend to explore with the most fervency and the others i feel dont express where i am wanting to go. Well, there isnt one guaranteed formula, so in a few months ill know if the images succeeded or not!

Well thats some slightly discouraging news about Uconn. I may be giving up some hope of going to school near NY. In the long run it probably does not matter. I just don't want to leave school unhappy with the program. I definitively had forgotten that the due dates for applications is coming up quick and so I decided im just going to apply to 5 schools that I truly would enjoy being apart of their programs. UNLV, UNM, Yale and maybe OSU for sure. Anyone know anything about Ohio State U's reputation?

Here is a list of schools I'm interested in: Cranbrook Hunter U. Conn U. Del U Nevada Las Vegas U New Mexico Arizona State U. Yale Rutgers Anyone visited the schools or talked to anyone who has graduated from them? I want to stay within a couple hours of NY, if possible but as you can see from the list a couple schools are in the SW. I am also looking for schools who offer TA positions and stipends. I'm about to start sending off packets to a few of these schools and some uncertainty has set in. Also, I am living in North Dakota and traveling is expensive, so visiting schools prior to applying is out of the question. Is the reputation that follows a few schools like Yale really follow through in their programs? Or is it just that a few famous artists have come out of that institution? I would appreciate any other school recommendations. -nathan

I am applying for photo as well: Yale UNM Parsons or Pratt(probably not both) NYU UNLV and a few others, those are just off of the top of my head.

After rereading that last post and noticing all of the typos, a full ride to SVA might be out of reach.

I think i like the idea of going to school outside of a major metropolitan area with the hopes that it i easier to work. Maybe less distraction. U of Del is only 45min from Philadelphia and so that is easy enough to get to any show. My 'plan' as of right now is to go to a smaller state school, get out with zero-little debt and then if i decide to move to Art Mecca, NY, then i will do so with that little or no debt. I am planning on being free from the burdens of massive school debt to work. I think my mind is made up unless SVA offers me a full ride with 1000$ a month stipend.

After reading through your post i decided to look into residencies. I found a couple that would offer opportunities for photographers but I feel out matched when I see the work being created and most of the work they display on the sites are either painting or instillation. Do you happen to know of any photography residencies?

one other note: I was accepted to rutgers, with no funding. Why would like to ask them why i would consider them with out funding? It would probably be taken offensively but its an honest question. I find no reason and i will be applying again for funding or scholarships for this next fall. I deferred it just so i could reapply for funding.

I had found out a couple of the private schools in NY weren't non-profit and decided not to apply to them. Im not supporting that system of exploiting young people who have no understanding of 100 thousand dollars of debt. It seems like they are taking advantage of students. Anyway, i am a resident of North Dakota. There are VERY little opportunities here for artists. Any grants to be found are in the region of 2-10,000 dollars. Career artists of 20 years have opportunities for larger grants. There isnt an MFA program in our state and the closest i would consider is Minneapolis and i do not enjoy the work that comes out of their program. I 'think' i would love to go to Yale. I havent taken the time to go visit, but if i get accepted with a lot of aid ill make the trip. I am going to apply to Notre Dame, ASU, possibly UNM, U of Nevada Las Vegas, U con and a couple others because they tend to offer good funding and TA opportunities. I feel its a necessity as i have very little connection with the 'art world', being from north dakota. I dont care to move to NY and work just to pay for my apt and have very little time to work my art and then try in the spare time that wont exist meet with gallery owners. I have no network of artists i know(save a few in the city i did my undergrad in, Fargo), i am showing in a gallery in Fargo and that is the only gallery i am exhibiting my work. I dont feel like i have a better option and i am sure my work would greatly benefit from an MFA program where i am getting paid to go as well as a TA position even if i dont end up teaching for years down the road. I have a show coming up in a week and im stoked, im just tired of showing in No Dak. Most folks around here are sheltered. if you want to check out my work go to www.flickr.com/nathancotephotography

Well i think the TA position is really important. I feel if im going to give up another 2-3 years of my life to school and give more money rather than making it, i had better get something incredible in return. I.E. TA position, experience making a syllabus, experience teaching and the influence of working artists who are also instructors at the school. It has seemed in the past that many artists in the past would work outside of the standard "system" and now there are so many MFA programs churning out artists like Wisconsin churns butter. I think I just answered my own question. If I went to a private school and only accrued 60k in debt minus the 30k I currently make a year and after 2 years that equals -120,000 dollars i would potentially have the ability to make. Ouch. Maybe its just late and that all makes sense now.

Cost of SVA: 80k. Cost of U of Arizona if i get full stipends, ta and tuition waver: 0$ (I have not applied yet) Is education invaluable? Are the educators, opportunities and being in NY worth 80k? (I state 80k with living expenses, school expenses and tuition for two years with no scholarships, I had a low gpa in undergrad) I am posting this question as I am unable to justify the expense that is associated with private graduate schools. Does work not speak for itself? Or do we need our past instructors to speak for us and open doors? If the work is uninteresting i doubt there is anything they can do about it. I will be out of my undergrad debt this coming summer and really have no desire to enter debt again. How can one be free to work if they have a massive loan payment every month? If instructors 'open doors' to shows, galleries and editorial work(im a photographer) will it be at least a grand a month in 'open doors'? I see a lot of good work coming out of risd, Academy of Art S.F, sva and ICP but i see it out of other state schools as well. I looked into many of the professors at those schools and many of them came from state schools. From my perspective going to a state school and possibly a accruing 10k in debt i will be free to move anywhere, work anywhere and pursue any project i desire with very little financial burden. If i dont have to hold down an extra job or take on commercial work that doesn't benefit my art work wont that get me a head faster? Im tired of doing weddings just to get ahead. I'd like to teach after graduating and so i am looking for TA positions. These are just all thoughts and possibilities as i have not gone through this process before. I welcome any advice or comments! -nathan

I believe that in the SW it should be easier to find funding for school. University of Arizona, U of New Mexico and texas should have a school or two that would offer funding. Im looking at the programs in NM and Az for photo. -nathan

I was hoping a few people would share any information they have found on schools that offer funding(mostly for photo programs). Funding would be TA positions, tuition wavers and scholarships. Here is my short list. Yale UN of Las Vegas U of Arizona U of New Mexico I think Columbia NY offers one or two. Im going to make a few calls to the schools I'm interested in to see if they offer more. I'll update this when i find out some more information. Thanks! -nathan

I got accepted to rutgers and then deferred it until this coming spring. I am really unsure of the program and i didnt put my best foot forward(yet got accepted). I also did not receive any funding. I am almost completely set on not going to a school that will put me more than 15k in debt. I find it outrageous for an art degree to cost 50k+. I Heard from an instructor at the school i got my undergrad at that rutgers was a good school. Their website is not very impressive but I do like how close it is to NY.

Well, was told on multiple occasions that related work is less important as shows and especially solo showings. Work speaks louder than anything else though. That opinion comes from lectures ive listened to and my own professors.

well i found out yesterday that the scholarships are filled as well as the TA positions. I am expecting to decline their offer but i do have a time to meet on monday so I will decide after that. I welcome any opinions

It is to rutgers, mason gross school of visual arts. I am yet to find out what the tuition will cost and if there will be TA positions and/or funding available. I only applied to three schools and got on the waiting list for Rutgers as well as Parsons. I havent heard back from parsons. Well my dilemma is this: Does Rutgers have a respectable name and program? Does anyone know first hand about the program? I had assumed i wasnt getting accepted into any schools so i have already planned out my next year so this phone call yesterday was a little traumatizing. I have some debt i could nearly completely pay back before going back to school with the job i currently have as well as continue some projects i have started. Im not sure what ill do but i am visiting the school in about a week. They gave me two weeks to decide. Any knowledge of the school of program i would love to hear. Thanks! -nathan