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I also submitted about 9-10 pieces with detail shots of all.

Declined Tyler...hope that opens up a spot for some lovely person on here!

Does anyone else get a bad feeling about a school based on how they treated you as an applicant? My sister just got the VCU rejection letter for me at her house. I think it's tacky to advertise for their summer program via rejection letters. I will forever associate VCU with an extremely long wait time for bad news.

My advice: just pay the deposit for the one that's earlier. If need be, you can always forfeit that money for a better offer.

When I called VCU Sculpture yesterday, they said they had put letters in the mail this week. I'm guessing anyone who got in would have gotten a call? Good luck with your decision. It's hard to turn down a good stipend!

Yeah, sometimes having options is worse than just having one acceptance perhaps. I wasn't picky at the start of this process, but have become so after getting into two places. Good luck with your choice. Make sure you do what you feel is best for you.

A good site to check out in regards to making financial choices is mrmoneymustache.com...not specifically for grad school, but for life in general. Even if you have to take out loans, living by some of the ideas laid out on that site will reduce the amount of debt you end up with.

What's the deal with VCU? Would love to know what my status is.

Congrats and good luck! I hope they are generous with you. They were originally my top choice for undergrad, but they were not at all generous and I ended up going somewhere else. It's shocking. So I hope they've changed in all these years!

Do you live in the UK? From what I can tell, the tuition at Slade is £21,000 for international students. After conversion, does that equal less than U Penn or SFAI?

Anyone heard from Tyler sculpture? I'd like to know if I have 3 schools to choose from at this point or 2. (Well, technically waiting to hear from VCU sculpture too, but at this point I don't think I got in.)

Frustrated with my tiny touch screen at the moment...realized I've accidentally given some arrow down reputation ratings that were meant to be up! Anyone know how to undo that?

Jenny, I'm on a bus at the moment, but saw your statement. It's really good, actually. I will take another look when I am in a better location and have time to properly respond. I think taking some years off would be amazing for you. I also wanted a good mix of not too traditional and not too conceptual...that's why looking at student work is so important, I think. I really value the "visual" aspect of visual art, so if too many students seemed to not care about that fundamental part, I wasn't interested. I was painting at the end of undergrad, and the basic way of working has remained similar, but the ideas behind everything are so much richer now, and I also don't paint anymore. As you work, you may start to see certain themes reoccurring in your your paintings. The concept is there somewhere, it just needs to shine! I thought my work was about one thing and realized it was totally something else that kept emerging. Many of my projects were not even fully realized or well-put-together, but I think the schools that have taken interest in me valued the ideas behind them. As for what to do, I recommend a working holiday: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/workingholiday/chinawhs.htm Take your brushes and paints and have a blast, get some life experience, make new friends, and have tons of stories to tell. If you're into landscape, NZ will be inspiring. There is also a similar visa for Australia. I spent 2+ years after undergraduate travel this way. It definitely changed the way I thought about art, life, and the world. I'll write more later.

Jenny, I'm so sorry that this process has been hard on you. It's quite an awful process! I waited 7 years before applying for an MFA program. When I do graduate, it will be 10 years after I received my undergraduate degree. The time away from school has been both hard and wonderful. What country are you from? I may have suggestions for what to do until you apply again, depending on the country. You are a very talented painter...but I do agree that "the transition towards more idea-driven work" is a great idea. Though beautiful, your paintings come across as assignments. (Are they?) I will be happy to try to make a list of schools I think would be a great fit for you. I think many people apply to Yale, Columbia, etc because of the rankings and not because they are a good fit. If you find the right fit, I think the funding will come with it. Just my opinion. How I chose schools was partially based on potential funding and student work. Was I drawn to the work? Could I imagine my work in the context of what I saw happening there? etc Also, if you need someone to read your statement, I'd be happy to! I'm decent at editing.

I'd go with option one. Sounds best for you and your family. Option 2 is the worst.