miyamoto81

Do it! If you really want to go there, do it as many times as you have to. A. it shows the progression and evolution of your work. B. it shows that you are willing to do what you have to in order to make it happen. I heard of a story last application season of a girl who applied to Yale 4 times before they accepted her.

I know Jonathan Katz heads the Ph.D. program at SUNY Buffalo. He's generally fabulous. He also used to head a department at Yale, so he's got the chops to back it up. Just a fyi.

I agree with Michael - if you don't want to end up in that much debt, taking a museum job while working on your own stuff may give you more opportunity down the road.

Do you know Hung Liu's work? She's personally one of my favorite artists and an all around fabulous person. Y'all have similar style (aside from subject matter). She teaches out at Mills College near San Francisco. Google her if you're interested, it might be a place to consider for the next batch of applications.

So when UCSD totally allowed the whole wide world to see the applicants to the program (through their online portfolio that they have you build), I got an insight into the type of people they are looking for. They even had some kind of ranking system in place, so one could see who was ranked the highest. The people they seem to be into are usually very heavily based in art/technology/science/philosophy and, from the work they ranked, how those things tied together in the portfolio. A lot of the work was very interdiciplinary, very sculptural or performative. A lot of video. My suggestion to you, if that really is your top choice, would be to research the program a lot between now and the deadline. Google people who have graduated from the program. Know that Lev Manovich is a bigwig there and he's all about the "new" new media. Look at current grad work. Also, I know a few people from this forum have gotten in. I would search through the threads, find them and PM them if they don't respond to this specific thread. To reiterate lfwd, I wouldn't worry so much about your GPA or your no name school. Just make sure your portfolio is stellar. Similar programs? I would check out RISD's D+M, Carnagie Melon, SUNY Buffalo's Visual Studies, and Cal Arts' Art and Technology. I see you're already looking into NYU and University of Minnesota. Both of those programs I think would be great for what it seems you are looking for.

I concur.

Just fyi, for all you painters and/or sculptors out there: http://joanmitchellfoundation.org/artist-programs/artist-grants/mfa

Also, for all you painters/sculptors out there: http://joanmitchellfoundation.org/artist-programs/artist-grants/mfa

For anyone looking to next year, just in case y'all haven't seen this: http://www.nyfa.org/level4.asp?id=174&fid=1&sid=51&tid=205

Nope. The silence is deafening. (And slightly scary.)

Ahhh, you're talking about SAIC not SFAI. My bad, sorry. Carnegie Melon is ranked #1 for Multimedia/Visual Communications in the US News listings, whereas SAIC is ranked #3. Those rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, as just like everything else in the art world, it's all a popularity contest. However, It's still a good school. And if they are giving you money, all the better. Unless you'd be heartbroken if you don't go to Chicago and spend a ton of money, CMU seems like the better deal to me. "Multimedia and visual communications is an evolving area, and graduate degree programs span video production, interactive design, and journalism instruction. These are the best fine arts schools for multimedia / visual communications." http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-fine-arts-schools/multimedia-visual-communications-rankings

Pittsburgh is definitely not San Francisco, but Carnegie Melon is a better school than SFAI. AND they are offering you that much money?? I'd take Carnegie Melon in a heartbeat.

Yeah, I hear you - I've had a similar conversation with them. If I don't end up getting enough I very well might find myself reapplying for programs next year . . .

Oh sweet baby Jesus, in the name of all that is good and holy, please let Rutgers come through with some funding.

Visible - Wow, that's crazy, not to mention highly unethical on behalf of school b. I don't think you're crazy at all to wait a year - work on your portfolio and put together something you're really proud of (not that I'm saying you didn't already). I think as long as you have a place to live and a job and don't have to move, waiting another year is the way to go. And don't apply to school b again. I'm in a similar situation, in terms of turning down a really good school because of finances. I've had people tell me that if I ever want to be a "serious" artist, that I just HAVE to go to that school. A load of bollocks if you ask me.

Depends on whether you want to shell out the money for NYU. Brooklyn is considerably cheaper.

Yeah, I hear you. It's like, do I take a leap of faith or do I go with a solid answer?

I hate to say it, but unless you've got a lot of money saved up, it is kind of a "no brainer." But ASU is a good school - believe me, you could be doing a lot worse.

Ok - I will admit, I am used to New York - and no one has a public transportation system like NYC does. However, all the times I've been in SF - especially if you need to get out of the immediate city - a car has always been useful. Do you absolutely need one, no probably not. But it's not like NYC where you could totally survive without it. Though, I agree that having a bike would probably be more practical. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Good - I was reacting more towards what SFAI was telling you. If they are really going around telling prospective students that it only costs $4k per year to live in SF - well, that just seems irresponsible on their part. And I agree with you to an extent that working is better than taking out loans - however, I will also say that there might need to be a balance in that. I'm looking at the same juggling should I go to a program that's not fully funded. I think that I will end up trying to work part time and taking out enough loans to offset not working a full time job. I would just be careful not to over extend yourself in work until you know the full rigors of what your program will be like. You don't want to burn yourself out at both ends, or more importantly, work yourself too hard so that you aren't realizing your full potential in your program. I say this as reassurance for myself as well. Believe me, the prospects of not being able to survive financially while doing my MFA has had me lying awake at night, trying to work it all out in my head. I know it's not an easy decision in any direction.

What?! $4000 PER YEAR for living expenses, in SF?! Ummmmm, maybe if you like, don't pay rent, or eat out, or take the Bart anywhere, or have any kind of life. Or buy art supplies. That's a ridiculous assessment and totally not true. We've talked about this - San Francisco is an awesome, beautiful city. The whole bay area really, is just totally gorgeous in many ways. But like any major metropolitan area, it's not cheap. And you need a car. The one downside about SF is that the public transportation isn't great, especially within the city itself. I can tell you first hand that paying $275 in rent - in San Francisco - is just not going to happen. Even if you are looking at a studio apartment, outside the city - or even a room in a house/condo somewhere, I would expect to pay anywhere from $600 - $1000+ depending on the neighborhood. And that's on par with if you move to the NYC area as well. I mean, I'm not trying to spell out doom and gloom, but you should have realistic expectations for this. Unless of course you've got the hook up from the real estate gods - in which case I will be totally happy to line up some sacrifices to them for a little good fortune myself!

Good luck, ltsem! We'll be waiting for a report back!

I actually just called them, and they said that when you submit the Fafa, you're automatically in line to apply for all the scholarships that Cal Arts gives out. They said that I could try to apply for the Graduate Plus loan, which will most likely need a co-signer unless you have pristine credit, or to look for outside scholarships. I must admit, they weren't particularly helpful. They also said to try Fast Web, which is an online data base for scholarships, though you'd have to search through them to make sure you can apply as an international student. Though the problem is now that most scholarship deadlines for the upcoming year have already passed. At this point, I'm wondering if it's worth trying to defer for a year as I simply can't afford to go.

We kid, we kid!

I wasn't necessarily expecting to a lot from Cal Arts themselves, but I totally didn't realize that the cap for federal loans was so low. For whatever reason, I had thought it was higher. But then for those of us who aren't from money, I am really curious as to how people pay for it? I mean, do they just take out private loans? Not everyone who goes to any of the top ten schools can be rollin' in the dough. Unless there is some kind of secret artist funding scheme that I am not aware of . . . "if we're including graphic design (and why would we..amiright?)" HA! Cheers to that!