eleven

I don't know who would turn down Columbia if they got in. I bet the wait list there doesn't move as much as other schools'. They told me they only had something like six spaces in painting, however, so it's possible someone could choose another heavy-hitting school that gave them a great financial offer. I agree with everyone else; considering that it's Columbia's waitlist, it'd be a big risk not to make the deposit at Pratt. I'd rather take the chance of losing a few hundred if I got into Columbia than lose the opportunity to go to grad school this year, especially at Pratt. If you didn't deposit and didn't get accepted to Columbia you'd have to pay application fees next year anyway. Congratulations on getting on their list. Your art must be incredible.

What I've picked up: Pros: -Amazing resources, labs, workshops for anything. -Can pick two professors from entire faculty regardless of your department to be your advisors each semester. -You can take classes in any department regardless of which department you're accepted into. -Opportunities to exhibit in Chicago. I've heard there are many apartment "living room" galleries. It seems like a healthy atmosphere of people using every creative means to make it. -Great visiting artists. The girl who led my tour said one of her student jobs was being on the committee that selected visitng artists, so she got to help pick who came. -Highly ranked. It's been in the top three schools for years now. Was #3 overall, #2 in painting and fiber. Maybe rankings don't mean much though... -I've heard students get apartments for $400-$500. -Impressive faculty. -Art in the fiber/materials studios looked explorative and solid (was it too experimental without taking a serious a direction?) -It's in a city with the accompanying benefits. Cons: -The art I saw in the painting studio when I visited looked very mediocre. Might have just been bad timing. I spoke to a potential sculpture student there who said the work in the sculpture studios was awful. -As a first year you might get a small studio if the lottery doesn't work in your favor. They had more variety in studio size than the other schools I saw. -Huge school, might be hard to get individual help. -It's not in New York and it's further from New York than some other schools. -Weather. It was bitterly snowy, sleeting, and constantly overcast when I visited. I've heard it's not as bad as other east coast cities though. -Many people don't recommend living in Chicago. -Students don't have the benefit of being able to take non-art classes or interact with non-art students like they would in a university. -Laws against using turpentine and spray paint in the studios because of the Chicago fires. Might have wanted to avoid that anyway, out of courtesy. Does anyone know how much access students have to the visiting artists? Do they make studio visits and meet with individual students much, and how frequently?

I'm waitlisted in painting too. Were you at the interviews on the 23rd? I haven't heard anything about list movement, but yeah, if they're accepting only the best, SOME of those people have to go to Yale; it has such a large program.

I'm thinking about it but leaning away. I like Caleb Weintraub a lot. I like having 1 1/2 years of tuition remission due to an AIship, plus a stipend. I think IUB is a great school for teaching but I don't know about galleries.

My professors warned me about post-bacs before I started applying. They said it was often a way to bleed people for money. The school might get three years of tuition from you instead of two, and at very least one more source of money without crowding their MFA program further. It could make sense if you had a degree in a non-art area or similarly unusual undergraduate situation, but otherwise you're just paying a price as high as an MFA education without the degree to show for it. NY Time article More Than a Bachelor, Less Than a Master cites Samuel Messer warning students to be wary of post-bacs: "Samuel Messer, associate dean at the Yale University School of Art, one of the top art schools in the country, takes a cautious view of post-bac programs. Over all, he says, some “are quite good and set high standards, while others take more casual artists.” Yale does not offer a post-baccalaureate but has accepted post-bac participants in its M.F.A. program. Mr. Messer, however, expresses concern that many of these programs are simply “money-makers” for the schools, “a catchall for people who are afraid to be out of school and probably need to just be out in the world, gaining life experience.” " If you are rolling in money and have plenty of time, it could be worth the boost. Then again, you could also boost your portfolio by working like crazy for a year before reapplication.

For all those who know a little about SAIC, go going or gone there, etc: What draws you to SAIC? What about the school leaves room to be desired? Does it live up to its reputation?

Rejected in Yale painting today, April 2. That's the last of them. Now to decide.

Yep. Rejected in Columbia painting yesterday April 1 via email to check my status.

I got a rejection email from Hunter. I assume I'm rejected to Columbia because I've heard nothing. I met a guy who got a phone call to invite him for an interview in sculpture but I haven't heard of any painting interviews.

Wow. And 16 minutes long? Here's Harvard's response: Was the tour worthwhile? I have a chance to take it tomorrow but it would mean paying more for parking.

I'm interested in funding too, anyone can message me if you want to exchange what you got.

How do most people handle wait lists? Say you're on a waitlist for a school you would pick over the schools into which you were accepted. You won't know until after April 15th if you will get into that school, but you have to let your other schools know whether or not you're going there before April 15th. What are you expected to do? It seems like far too great a risk to hold out for that ideal school it when it could mean not being able to go to any of them.

Well, guess so. Rejected to painting today.

Do we assume if we haven't heard from Hunter we aren't in? Has anyone else heard from them?