[What should I be doing right now?]

I plan things ahead, maybe sometimes too far in advance and then I get anxiety about it until whatever I'm trying to accomplish is decided and done. I've been thinking about where I want to get my MFA. There are a lot of factors to consider. The ones I seem most concerned about are, am I going to feel safe in the area and will the school I go to have a nice studio and be somewhat interdisciplinary/conceptual/ independent? I also have a dependent little dog named Moxie who is attached to my hip so when I consider moving somewhere for graduate school I consider if the area I live in has apartments that accept dogs (preferably without a monthly pet fee, she's only 6lbs and she's super well behaved!).

Schools I've been considering:

UCLA (Living in that area sounds the most pleasant and the fact that it's hard to get into makes me want it more.)

CALarts

Yale

Mica (I' not sure about these, the programs sound amazing, but I don't know if I want to live on the east coast)\

Cranbrook (Campus looks pretty, but I couldn't find any apartments that were less than 5 blocks away and it looks so gloomy?)

It's also hard because I wont be living in dorms (because of my dog) so I will be driving to school everyday and want to live as close as possible so I don't want to worry about the traffic or neighborhood I live in.

I'll be graduating from MCAD with Drawing/Painting. I'm originally from Alaska and I've always lived with the ocean by my side, so california sounds very appealing.

What I'm wondering is if I'm interested in these schools? What should I be doing to prepare in terms of my work? Here is my work. Should I have more shows on my resume? It's been hard trying to find places to exhibit here for some reason. Also can anyone reccomend any other schools they feel like I'd be suited for? I was also considering University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota, but I'm not quite sure if I want my resume to show that I never left the midwest.

[What should I be doing right now?]

I plan things ahead, maybe sometimes too far in advance and then I get anxiety about it until whatever I'm trying to accomplish is decided and done. I've been thinking about where I want to get my MFA. There are a lot of factors to consider. The ones I seem most concerned about are, am I going to feel safe in the area and will the school I go to have a nice studio and be somewhat interdisciplinary/conceptual/ independent? I also have a dependent little dog named Moxie who is attached to my hip so when I consider moving somewhere for graduate school I consider if the area I live in has apartments that accept dogs (preferably without a monthly pet fee, she's only 6lbs and she's super well behaved!).

Schools I've been considering:

UCLA (Living in that area sounds the most pleasant and the fact that it's hard to get into makes me want it more.)

CALarts

Yale

Mica (I' not sure about these, the programs sound amazing, but I don't know if I want to live on the east coast)\

Cranbrook (Campus looks pretty, but I couldn't find any apartments that were less than 5 blocks away and it looks so gloomy?)

It's also hard because I wont be living in dorms (because of my dog) so I will be driving to school everyday and want to live as close as possible so I don't want to worry about the traffic or neighborhood I live in.

I'll be graduating from MCAD with Drawing/Painting. I'm originally from Alaska and I've always lived with the ocean by my side, so california sounds very appealing.

What I'm wondering is if I'm interested in these schools? What should I be doing to prepare in terms of my work? Here is my work. Should I have more shows on my resume? It's been hard trying to find places to exhibit here for some reason. Also can anyone reccomend any other schools they feel like I'd be suited for? I was also considering University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Minnesota, but I'm not quite sure if I want my resume to show that I never left the midwest.

just make paintings, don't worry about it

[Interviews]

Hi,

i am new to this forum and not thinking of applying to a program until fall 2012. i was reading a few threads regarding different interview experiences people had (yale). someone mentioned bringing work to the interview. i was wondering how this works- do they really expect you to bring a 10 foot painting to an interview, or do they just want to see smaller works on paper that can be carried in a portfolio.

alot of my work is larger scale/in pieces/heavy as hell/ or jimmy rigged in installation. needless to say, it would be a huge challenge to bring my work to a 30 minute interview

thanks