morninwood

I would say that my reality is that many of my favorite artists were making art at a time when MFAs were either not sought after, important or necessary. Some of my current favorite artists do have MFA's and a good chunk from "hot" schools

when I think of "hot schools" the first MFA programs that come to mind based on reputation, success of alumni ( showing, residencies, grants, teaching ect...), prestige and location are Yale, Columbia and UCLA. But the hottest probably between Yale and Columbia @Drip I visited UCSD. It seemed very cliquish. It's really hard to break into the SD art scene and the scene is mostly made up of SD students. When talking to some of them I got the impression that most chose SD because of the financial aid they were offered, location and the laid back vibe of the program. With schools like Columbia it's very intense with a great amount of pressure you have studio visits every week and people in and out of your studio regularly at SD according to a current grad, it's up to YOU to request visits ( you could basically hide out in your studio and never talk to anyone if you wanted ).