twentyeleven

I've written two professors that I interviewed with after the fact for that reason with no ill consequences–in fact, they were both very nice and responsive. However, both had personally reached out to me about the interview before hand (in addition to the grad office that actually arranged it). It probably depends on the school/professor–it you feel comfortable contacting them and think they'd be receptive, do it!

Going to a school with a good reputation is certainly a factor, but it shouldn't be the only factor. Forget about rankings and names for a second and delve deeper–which school's work resonates with you? Which faculty excites you more? Which facilities seem best for your practice? Which city do you find more attractive? Is access to a liberal arts community important? What kind of diversity in work and people are you after? What financial sacrifices are you willing to make? How close do you want to remain to home? No program–from Davis to Yale–can make you any guarantees. And everyone will have a different experience just because of the sheer number of variables. If you like what you see, and get money to boot, don't let "name" hold you back, but if you're settling, that's another thing. Anyway–there are still schools to hear from and plenty of time to decide, so don't panic yet! Congratulations on Davis and good luck with the rest of your schools!

Just curious, when did you hear from Tyler? At this point, I think it's safe to assume that they're done sending out interviews. Bummer.

Usually I dread Mondays, but lately I can't wait for them to come, hoping that I'll hear from some school or another. Ha. Good luck this week!

Just got an e.mail about an interview at MassArt for their 3-D MFA program!

As far I as I know, it only requires the school (as in MICA, not Mount Royal or Reinhart or whatever) and you can list all of the ones you applied to (up to 7). Had to do it early for a scholarship and don't recall needing to specifically indicate a concentration. Just checked and I don't see any place to even indicate that. I'm not sure why it would be relevant anyway. Please correct me if you discover otherwise. MICA's website (the Grad section) says, "Financial aid awards are only offered to students who have been accepted for admission. Applicants should not wait for an admission decision before beginning the financial aid process. Completion and submission of admission and financial aid applications by March 1 ensures priority-funding consideration." http://www.mica.edu/...w_to_Apply.html MICA also requires a bunch of other stuff (form, tax return, etc.) Anyway, calling to confirm never hurts! But I didn't just mean MICA, I meant all schools. Most deadlines are between February 15th and March 1st. Just thought people should have it on their radar.

Also got the MICA e.mail. A previous e.mail says, "Applications will be under review throughout the months of January and February. The Office of Graduate Admission will begin notifying applicants of final decisions on March 18th, 2011." The website says notifications will be mailed April 1st (I guess that's only a couple weeks difference). I suppose interview information isn't far off then. Anyway, perhaps I should stop re-reading every piece of information as though it holds secret clues to my future and just wait for actual acceptances and rejections. At least things are underway. Good luck again! p.s. FAFSA deadlines are coming up as well. Most deadlines are around Feburary 15th.

Not to seem redundant (or desperate), but if I haven't been contacted by Tyler (Sculpture) at this point, should I assume a rejection? Does anyone know if invitations for interviews are 'rolling', so to speak, or would they be all sent out at about the same time? Just trying to keep tabs on things since schools can't seem to provide any sort of concrete timeline. Waiting on Tyler, MICA, SMFA, MassArt, Concordia, Rutgers, and MCAD. Anyone heard from any of those schools? It seems too early to me, but apparently some schools are already contacting people. Reading their respective websites/e.mails, I assumed I would be contacted around the following times: TYLER 6-8 weeks after deadline MICA mid March/early April for final decision SMFA late March MASSART early February for interviews, late March for final decision CONCORDIA ? RUTGERS ? MCAD mid February I know SMFA and Massart conduct interviews, and apparently Tyler does too, but I'm not entirely sure about the other schools. Also unsure about which wait list and when that notification goes out. Any tips/insight are greatly appreciated. Best of luck to everyone!! These are stressful times, but I echo what has already been said: all of this hard work is valuable, even if everything doesn't turn out totally ideally. It's been a super experience full of learning and growth. High fives all around!