nathancotephoto

well good funding would be lets say cover 70% of tuition and great would be 100%

thanks for the post. I'm working on updating my portfolio on flickr. All I'm really looking for is a school who will offer some funding, maybe a TA position or scholarship. I was planning on applying to UNLV and WashU for sure. I havent looked into a few of the others you mentioned. Im going to be slowly looking all year. I can travel very easily(i live in north dakota and flying is expensive) so i will only be able to visit a couple schools.

If you know of a school or got accepted by a school with great funding please let me know for round 2 of applications next fall. Im really excited about reapplying because this time...it wont be down to the last week filling applications and writing letters. Id like to also know which private schools offer funding. I assume there are many state schools that do but i only know of a few. thanks in advance.

For the most part an MFA is intended for those who either have previous education in that field or experience. If you dont have either they wont be as interested in you. Its no different than applying for a job that you dont have the experience or education for in comparison to 400 others that are applying. i got rejected from the 3 schools i applied to, i believe it was because i wasnt very well prepared and i did not present myself well. ill be trying again next year.

I got my rejection letter a couple days ago. im actually thankful, i really need to reapply now that i understand the whole process much better.

I gotta say your post is a little inspiring for me I do wish i had a mentor. I think he may be right on, go in whichever direction your art takes you. I am reapplying next year to double the schools. The portfolio i send out will be almost completely different and my letter of intent will actually express my intent I feel as though some private schools may have more experienced staff as well as better facilities but i dont think it is equal to the debt load that comes with it. I want to leave grad school with freedom to work and create, not slavery to debt. I would love to go to SVA for instance but how is an artist ahead after working for two years and going in debt 120k? I cant even imagine what i could do with 120k in cash to work outside of the academic scene for two years.

I bought art now volume 2 and 3 which seem to be quite good. Lots of great images and discusses some of the work. Anyone else know of some great books?

I have been watching impatiently and havent seen anyone post with any acceptances or rejections. Anyone heard back yet? They have sent out rejections in most of their other departments so i suppose thats sort of encouraging.

ive even seen on a few threads those who reapplied got double the acceptances or more. A year of progression not only in work but methodology and self awareness(being able to express all of who i am as an artist through my letter of intent) will drastically change any committee's understanding of who i am. Jen, you have quite a bit of experience and your work is great, its just a matter of time, just as it is for most others that are on this site. my unforeseen reality is working to pay off debt, producing a lot of work, reapplying and possibly applying for residencies.

what university is shortened to "American"? Url if anyone has it please im hunting for more schools for reapplying.

which program or discipline did you apply for? I looked at their photo department and i was really unimpressed. Which...may mean that i would not have trouble getting in if i applied next year but where is the balance? I would like a great school with stipends and tuition wavers I was told that Arizona state, and U. of New Mexico offer at least tuition wavers. I was also looking at university of nevada las vegas and i know they do the same.

wow thats scary. My younger sister is attending sfai for fashion design. I was thinking about applying for mfa in photography as a fallback for grad school this next year but... it appears to be a mfa factory and i dont want to leave as a generic SFAI graduate. It is what ill make it but i wouldnt mind being able to associate myself with a school who's name opens doors itself.

I'm going to reapply next year most likely and was hoping that anyone could help me find some great books that would help me to better describe other artist's work as well as my own. It doesn't need to be how to describe art for dummies but more along the idea of others writing about current and contemporary artists. I love art history as well so anything about art over the last few hundred years would be interesting as well.

Jen, I graduated with a BA two years ago. Since then I threw myself into everything i could. Started a Graphic/Photo buisness which i learned i hated, directed photography for a small magazine and well a few odd and ends, including a lot of random commercial work.(non of it paid very well but good experience) I learned what i did like and what i didnt like. Since then all...ALL i can do is work on my own projects, personal art work. (I'm a photographer) and now after getting rejected by all and wait listed for two it has solidified what i want to do. Being from north dakota, far removed from the art world and culture, I want to teach and work in the art world and I know my best chance at getting that start is either in NY or Cali. But i too am trying to avoid desperation and taking the first academy that pumps out MFAs which i feels gives an artist less clout when applying for jobs. In relation to the MFA committees that are looking at our work: I did not relate well with my undergrad photo professors. I got mostly Bs and some Cs but many of those projects that i did not do well on were later chosen for juried shows, purchased and included in private collections(Microsoft's Inter. Collection). Someone will look at your work eventually and say to the committee, we need this artist in our program! After applying and sending out my first letter of intent(that I've ever written) I have a deeper understanding of all of they whys they could ask me. The next letter I write will more directly describe my intent and answer the questions they would have about me. By next year my portfolio will also be MUCH more refined as i have projects piling up. We just have to keep in the grind, and working. I worked 80-100 hour weeks the first year out of school. I worked in a camera shop for 30 hours a week and that was my only steady pay check that i cashed for 8 $ an hour. It was brutal.

I recently found out SVA offers no funding and is not non-profit. Great school or not, i desire to be free after school and not a slave to my loans which is what SVA would offer me. I see their grad students winning all sorts of awards as well as being published in annuals but... I would like to be free to pursue whatever direction I feel i need to pursue when i graduate and not get back to the daily grind just to pay back 120K in loans. I feel like the reality of it all is that BA or MFA it is what you make it. If they have willing instructors and you have drive it should be successful combination but the schools with better reps may open doors once we are all done with our terminal degrees.

well i am on two waiting lists. Parsons and Rutgers for Photo. Anyone know what my chances are of actually getting an offer being on the waiting list? I have some bills id like to pay and projects id like to work on over this next year so i might just wait and go through this lovely process in another 8 months

I got onto a waiting list for Rutgers. I found out about a week ago that i was supposed to send official transcripts from the school i attended freshman year in undergrad. it was on the official transcripts i sent from the school i graduated from but it held up most of my applications. I will probably just have to reapply next year when i may be a little less busy and more prepared. Im still waiting to hear back from RISD. Anyone heard from them?

As an artist in residence does the school offer critiques or some sort of community? Besides the time working what is the benefits of a residency?

whew, my favorite was parsons and i haven't heard back at all from them. That is either GREAT news or BAD news. hmm. no phone call either do most schools including parsons interview most incoming grads?

I guess decisions are going to be made in the next couple weeks and if i dont get in next year i will try to visit some of the schools. im more interested in meeting with the staff than students. I would like the committee to have a face to put to the name and portfolio they are viewing in hopes that they wouldn't feel as compelled to have an interview. It would be great to visit NY where most of the schools im applying to reside due to the fact that the city itself has 10 times the population of the state I'm From has anyone tried to visit with the staff at Parsons, RISD, SVA or NYU? Do they make themselves available?

I have been looking at who offers them and how they would advance my work but I'm not exactly seeing the value in them. Do most offer funding? Do some offer critiques with staff at the university? If not why would I pay as much as they charge for studio space when I am already working a job on the side and producing work? If it gets your foot in the door at that university or academy then it would be worth some moneyif its put to a degree. Any insight would be wonderful! -nathan

Thanks for posting this! I'm anxiously waiting to hear back as well! I feel like im shootin into the dark by applying as i really only started 3 weeks before the deadlines began. Its good to see I've probably got 3-5 more weeks of waiting ahead of me!

My undergrad professors were not not the greatest help in the selection process of my images. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathancote ... 677197305/ I went with some diversity because i feel photography specifically can be so diverse and depending on the concept of my work at the time it require different styles and techniques. I was told to show my level of skill as well as my ability to work through a concept. I hope that is what the committees see. Im always working and the work has common themes but doesn't always look the same. -nathan

To be honest after looking at all of the schools i applied to they are all great creative environments and would help to give my work the completion it requires. Is it important to visit them so they know you on a visual and somewhat personal basis? I feel like i just need the influence and time to work irregardless of the place i guess. Maybe I'm being naive.

Through my BA I had little direction from my instructors. Over the last few years Ive loved to experiment and I guess it seems it frustrated my professors because they weren't following me conceptually. So I am really left unsure of how to arrange my portfolio and whether or not it is MFA material according to a committee. Personally I am ready for the direction of more experienced professors as well as fellow grad students. So my question is if anyone would like to take a peek at my grad portfolio and offer some opinions. To be frank I am living in North Dakota and the art scene is not booming :wink: so all research and advise has had to be on the web. How many schools should i apply to? I am not impressed with 80% of grad schools that i have looked through. I am applying to sva, pratt, parsons, rutgers, possibly columbia and RISD. I would love to see other portfolios that were accepted as well. I love seeing work feel free to email me as well at nathancotephotography@hotmail.com Thank you! Portfolio: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathancote ... 677197305/