Itsem

Thanks for your thoughts. I think I've made a devision but I'm going to marinate in it until tomorrow before I let anyone know anything officially.

Today i am leaving NYC headed back home. Back home to make some decisions. SFAI is out. Didnt like the vibe of the place. Program is too big. So now my choices are between City College of New York or Brooklyn College. Any thoughts you guys have would be really helpful. They are both awesome programs and I am having a hard time deciding which one.

Notified today that i have been moved from waiting list to accepted at brooklyn college. Already scheduled a visit while I am up in NYC. off to SanFran tomorrow, then to NYC. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm going to see if they will tell me how far down on the waitlist I am; also going to see if I can come a visit while I'm up in NYC anyway. But in the letter they said they would let me know a final decision by April 30th, and my other two schools want answers by May 1st. But they are on spring break right now, so all this will have to wait until next week.

Snail mail.

Finally...notification from my last school. Waitlisted at Brooklyn College.

Oh Golly No! I'm not that naive. I was using that as a reason why I CAN'T quit my retail job. I know that I will be paying around double what I pay now for rent alone. And having a job to supply this money instead of a private loan is the best option. Most schools cap hours at 20 per week to work anyway, if they even have jobs. That's not nearly enough to live off of. So I'm going to have to supplement any income from an school/art field job with another job anyway, and why not just keep a job that is guaranteed when I relocate with flexible hours, overnight shifts, no responsibility once I leave the building, etc so I can concentrate on making art. It has worked for the past four years of undergrad.

Oh, of course, the retail job is going to be in addition to what i get with the school/art field. Stipends and loans don't cover all the expenses of grad school. SFAI only estimates living expenses at around $4000 per year to live in SF. i need more than that to live in alabama per year, and i dont know if there is any neighborhood in SF where i can pay $275 in rent like i do now.

Jacinto, a friend once told me that a fish it has no idea that it is water until its not. I firmly believe that one doesn't know their identity until they are away from what they are familiar with. Martijn van Wagtendonk once said in a guest lecture that he wasn't Dutch until he left the Netherlands and came to the United States, so maybe getting away from NYC is just what you need to have your processes/thoughts/concepts challenged by people with a new perspective. Being from the south, the east or west coast would satisfy the craving I have for these new perspectives. I'm flying to San Fran on April 17th, so I still have another week before traveling. I'm excited to spend some time in the cities outside of the school itself to find out if i truly want to spend the next two years of my life in that city. I'm also going to visit the branches of the retail company that I work for because I will be transferring to one of those stores. I officially turned down Hawaii and Iowa today, so it will be a choice between San Fran or New York. Which I feel like there is not a bad choice to be made. Have fun while your in San Fran!!!

Just booked a flight to NYC. I haven't been anywhere during the past 4 years of my undergrad and now I'm going to spend 8 days traveling ( 4 in San Fran and 4 in NYC with one day of work in between). Think I've narrowed it down to SFAI and City College. I know that this trip will give me the answer.

Supposedly the money needed beyond the $20,500 can be borrowed under the Graduate PLUS loan, but this amount is decided by the school based on how much they state it cost to attend their school for a year. For example, with my financial offer from SFAI, they say it costs about $40,000 a year to attend. I was offered a $12,000 grant. So that now brings my total to $28,000 and the Unsubsidized loan is for $20,500, and i could get a Graduate PLUS loan for the remaining $7,500. This is a loan that is still through the Dept of Ed. but you have to have a good credit score to qualify for it. It also has a fixed interest rate of around 7% that does start accruing as soon as the loan is dispersed. But this is where having a job during school can supplement most of the room and board cost, also. I personally haven't seen a stipend offered to anyone that would fully cover living expenses anyway. Retail is a good job to have since most are flexible with schedules, etc. I'm going to be transferring locations of my job where ever I go to school, otherwise I wouldn't be able to go.

CONGRATS!!!

I'm trying to see if I can get a "cheap" trip to NYC for the week after I travel to San Francisco to see it for myself. I'm really excited about an opportunity to study art in New York City. Plus the email I received was from Tom Thayer, and he is awesome!! (just happens to be in the Whitney Biennial this year).

Thanks!!! Now I have to book a trip to NYC.

Accepted to City College of New York via email today.