ereid

Hey guys! I finally got my rejection letter from VCU Painting today in the mail. Best of luck to all the other VCU applicants who have been waiting on some news.

I second this. I hate College Park. There is nothing artsy or inspiring about that area, unless you're really into IKEA and used car sale lots and restaurant chains along Route 1. Public transportation to get into DC from College Park is incredibly inconvenient and time-consuming (no metro stop near campus). And the cost of living in the DC area is barely cheaper than NYC. I would definitely visit first - but it would also depend on what your priorities are. College Park as a location is probably not an issue if you plan to be buckled down working in a studio the majority of the time.

Same!

Maybe that's good news? But full disclaimer: I live in Richmond right by campus. It probably didn't even take a day to get the 8 blocks to my mailbox.

FINALLY got something in the mail from VCU painting - an invitation to their summer studio program. I assume this is my rejection packaged with a bow... but there is no explicit language in the letter, just stuff about how the 2012 selection was difficult, they are only able to admit 8 new MFA students, please consider this summer program, here's info about how great it is, etc. My application status online is the same, completed ready for review. I haven't done MFA applications before, but I assume I should still keep an eye out for an official letter of their decision?

They told me 6-8 weeks when I called at the end of February. So I waited exactly 8 weeks, called them again, and they told me official decisions get sent in the mail. Not very helpful.

No freaking kidding, VCU needs to get their act together. I called the VCU graduate office, and they said our online application won't tell us whether or not we've been accepted.

That's a real bummer, I'm so sorry. Did you call the main graduate admissions line? I can only assume the same applies for Painting, but it would be nice to hear for sure.

No joke! I'd love to see your work, Noceh4 (obviously it's awesome) but I know how sensitive that stuff is on the forums. Maybe after decisions are made. Congratulations!!

The studio part sounds awesome! I'm with you - if I don't get into school, I want to find a studio space... and I want to know NOW so I can start looking! The waiting is killer.

I called the VCU graduate admissions office this morning, and the woman on the phone was the friendliest person I've talked to in weeks, even though she probably deals with these calls all day. She said the same thing to me over the phone. I tried to ask about the timeline of the interviews, and if no news means anything, but of course what can else she say? "Decisions are made within 6 - 8 weeks..." so who knows. I can't help but agree no news is not good news, even though it still doesn't sound like anyone from the painting department has heard anything yet.

BOO!! I'm so sorry! Their loss! How did you hear, email?

For sure - I'd rather know now & deal with it than spend another 3 weeks jumping out of my skin every time I get a new email!

That's pretty bad-ass... super secret sleuthing!

For which department?

YES! Lack of news on VCU Painting is killing me. The application said they were doing interviews in February, in last year's forums the notifications came around the 25th, and now February is over... bad news? Faculty just running behind? Congrats to everyone who has interviewed so far. It's always exciting to hear good news in this forum!

Awesome to hear! I obsessively check my application status like 3x a day, and it says exactly the same thing, "Complete ready for review." I think if it actually ever changes, I might have a heart attack.

Damn, you're sure they sent painting notifications already? I know some people in sculpture have gotten theirs. Guess that's not good news for me.

I'm waiting on VCU painting. Haven't heard anything yet.

Blegh. I'm sorry to everyone who got bad news today. Hopefully some good news is on its way...

Hey that's awesome! There's still hope yet!

Haven't seen anything from VCU painting yet, so I'm still hopeful... Congrats to everyone who got acceptances/interviews!

I'm banking on VCU for painting! Good luck... hopefully we'll hear something soon.

YES same! I've only applied to VCU, but my daily routine now consists of checking my application status online and then this forum for any updates... like, five or six times a day!

Not an expert, but I imagine the idea is the TIME you dedicate to art, not the number of final pieces - if you create 2 or 3 large and/or extremely detailed pieces a year, what's wrong with sending 6 paintings with 14 close-ups/details? It's easy enough for evaluators and other artists to tell the works that are so labor intense that they are created over years, not months. Although at the "pre-grad" level of someone's career, I would imagine you don't grow very quickly only creating a few pieces a year. (Not that I am by any means a shining example of cranking out new work...)