brosenth1984

I am having the hardest time with this one! I am falling in love with every place that i visit (i think i am reverting back into a 16 year old during this process) and i can't make a decision. Hunter's lack of any funding could be problematic for me (i know its cheap, but NY isn't), but it is a hard one to even think of turning down...

me too CD3!! all of us NY hunter accepts should get together sometime for celebratory drinks! on another note here are my updates: New Genres/New Media, NY, NY UIC - Accepted, no funding information yet U of Chicago - Accepted, no funding AT ALL U Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - Accepted, full funding, really liked them a lot, tearing me apart Hunter - Accepted (hell yeah!), but was told they don't really "do" funding...big bummer UC Davis - Accepted, 25K stipend first year and all tuition and fees, second year fuzzy... SMFA, Boston - Accepted, 10K scholarship (no thank you i am not paying 22K plus living) CCA - Accepted, no funding information yet Northwestern - Waitlisted Syracuse - Accepted U Delaware - Accepted, 15K t.a. and full tuition remission Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) - accepted, 11K scholarship UC Berkeley - Rejected UCSD - Rejected USC - Rejected RISD - Nothing, expect rejection UC Irvine - Rejected (thank god!) now i am really torn up, going to see Davis and CCA next week which i think may make it even worse

this is exactly the method of how i decided to apply to schools this time around, which seems to have worked even for the more competitive ones (so part of me is chuckling a bit). Don't drop all the competitive one's from your list next time around, because you may find out they are a lot more interested in you again. I think lowering the standards somehow makes the application stronger these days...

the University of Delaware offers AMAZING funding to almost all their students (and my former advisor from CMU is the graduate coordinator and he is fantastic), and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is also superb with full funding.

This is a very interesting topic. I have chatted with my former professors, and one of the main things said to me is that they are "hesitant" to become too invested in a student without a commitment of coming, mainly because they don't know if they'll ever see you again, and they don't want to fall head over heels in love with someone they can't have. That said, the overwhelmingly lovely reception I have received from some programs is going to make it extremely hard for me to call the chair and decline. Oddly enough, it is the school that was the least in touch that has given me a ridiculous amount of funding, and will probably get me. I think it comes down to personality types and investment. However, if a professor is ever nasty, then thats when you should be concerned.

I have had multiple friends accepted already into the painting program at SAIC. From what i understand, they have already made their initial acceptances a while back.

i am seriously considering their offer, and probably going to attend for my MFA (they offered 25K a year on top of full tuition and fees coverage). You are a mech e? Ph.D. or MS? I went to Carnegie Mellon so I am looking forward to being around science types again

dear jenmarie, yikes, but don't be embarassed! That is a really unfortunate situation you were put in (and those dang lenders never should have let you get there, plus your undergrad school should have funded you better, how irresponsible of them!). Now i know some people will laugh at me for saying this, but I think you need to send an email to Suze Orman, or talk with a financial planner ASAP. You may also be able to get a job that includes loan forgiveness (e.g. Peace corps or Americorps). Before you reapply to grad school, I would look into these options to seriously reduce your debt-load, and figure out what your options are. You will be A LOT happier if you spend two years in the Americorps program and end up with a quarter of the loan debt, than if you are saddled with this the rest of your life. best of luck with everything,

jenmarie, i was rejected from all the schools i applied to last year, and guess what...this year i was accepted to 9, waitlisted for 1, rejected from 3, and still waiting on others. When you end up re-applying to schools, you will catch all sorts of problems and mistakes in the applications you did, and see programs that you thought you were good fit for were not, and others that you didn't even consider that would be excellent fits for. It is painful, i've been there, but you will learn so much from this experience and you will grow in different ways. I think you need to expand your pool by a lot, and i think you need to get into the studio and make work that reaches far beyond what you did in your undergrad; programs want to see that you have evolved on your own apart from the "institution." I would not suggest "settling" on this point for a program that will cost you a fortune just to satiate your desire to go to school (e.g. Academy of Art), and it is FAR cheaper to take out a loan to get a studio, than to pay 30+K for a cubby hole and disengaged adjunct profs. It is a lot more expensive to do it all over again (I am coming from a visit with someone who will be doing a second MFA because his first was a waste of time), and it is your first time applying--not your tenth. Take the energy you are feeling right now and put it into your work and into advancing your presence in shows across the globe. Apply heavily for residencies that take place during academic semesters (they are less competitive when professor's and grad students can't go) and go to them and challenge yourself. While some of these things may seem expensive, it is cheaper than paying for a school you don't want to go to. sorry, I don't mean to be harsh, but this directness was the only way i pulled myself out of the hole i experienced last year. I wasted so much time myself feeling sorry, instead of making new work, and it set my work behind more than i ever could have expected.

Yeah, i heard acceptances were by phone, which i think is so much nicer.

i saw on the grad cafe a posting that people were notified on the 22nd, which would be the equivalent of tomorrow this year! I am crossing my fingers, is this anybody else's prospective top choice?

to the overall question: It is always too high without funding information. I made the terrible mistake of booking a trip to visit the University of Chicago, to only find out a day before that they have no money for anybody in my program. It could have been a disaster, i could have fallen head over heels in love with the program and no way to attend (120K in debt is not an option, and luckily the credit crunch can prevent me from being a passionate idiot), and i could have been second guessing myself wherever i go. Fortunately, i was not thrilled, and this was not the case, but it could have been. I am visiting UC Davis in early April (they are paying for the trip), but I have just found out that California College of the Arts is having an open house thing the day after i fly out of San Francisco. I have already emailed the Director of Graduate Admissions, and explained my situation and that i cannot change my ticket (it would $150) without knowing funding info. Unless you are prepared to pay for your tuition, don't do it. Figure it this way: $800 spent on a program you can't afford, is less cost-effective than $1200 (a later booked ticket) to visit a place you could definitely go to. i wasted $600, don't make the same mistake!

I would say in this case, make a deposit for your second choice to this school. If you get the scholarship, politely withdraw due to "unforeseen circumstances" it is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

i agree, post bacs are a huge waste of money. You are better off applying to tons of less competitive residencies, or taking out a loan to rent a studio full time.

go to Pratt. Cranbrook is a far better education, but you will make better contacts at Pratt and you are in a commercial field. They are all working designers with studios, and you could land a job in NY immediately after you graduate, plus, jobs in NY pay more than anywhere else in the country.