MFA 2019 Freak Out Forum

[19902212]

On 3/5/2019 at 6:57 AM, heydd said:

Hey! Is anyone here interviewing with Hunter? Additionally, does anyone have insight as to what it's like? 

I'm interviewing via Skype on Tuesday. Would love to hear insight on the questions and the open studios from anyone who's able to go in person this weekend. TY! ? 

[farmE]

41 minutes ago, 19902212 said:

I'm interviewing via Skype on Tuesday. Would love to hear insight on the questions and the open studios from anyone who's able to go in person this weekend. TY! ? 

First post.

I'm interviewing at Hunter on Saturday for painting. Planning on going to open studios tomorrow night and will let you know how it goes.

Just to share my other stuff (first time applying):

VCU - waitlisted 

BU - had a good interview (?), waiting to hear

 

 

 

[Bodys]

1 hour ago, Lemon2Lemonade said:

I am puzzled. Might it be that they gave me the update because on Feb. 20 I inquired via email, and mentioned my scholarship time frame? That sounds too far fetch, but I don't know what to think. Anyone else got a response from Tulane? All I know is that they sent me a March 6 email to check GradStatus update, and the portal link showed a pdf letter of rejection. I say do not panic. They said that the committee was meeting at the end of Feb/beginning of March so it is too soon for you all to worry. Tulane is one of the places that has tons of applicants (funding is amazing). It is a small place and they seem to do things in a more relaxed way.  I love the faculty artwork and I was very hopeful, but I am glad to know. 

Received rejection notice via email to check the portal, so mystery solved. Must be sending them out in batches.

[Little Lulu]

2 hours ago, Aatt said:

Just got an acceptance email to MICA! Also just got an interview invite from Rutgers

What Department in MICA? I have not received one yet and now I am just waiting and keep refreshing lol

[SenatorCinema]

UIC application folks, what disciplines did you apply for? I applied for MFA New Media Art several months ago before priority and haven't heard anything, plus the portal says I have everything needed and they are only waiting on the department to review...

[samden]

On 3/6/2019 at 1:03 PM, yessi said:

i just got a letter notification from UC irvine that i've been put on the waitlist, for anyone  who applied there. 

Which program did you apply to? Thanks! 

[SerpentSkort]

Rejected from Alfred ?

[Ais]

On 6 March 2019 at 9:32 PM, Meaou said:

I'm an international applicant (currently living in the States), and – while I don't know what's the average – the advice that I got during my first portfolio review day 2 years ago (from a very kind professor who took a break from the undergrads reviews and chatted with me informally) was: "Don't take the loans, figure out how to do it without paying". 

There are a few great programs that waive tuition for most/all applicants (Rutgers, UT Austin, UCLA, VCU) AND there are state universities where tuition is very low and they might waive the non-resident part of the tuition if they accept you (UoF, Florida State University - these are just the schools in the state I live that have excellent funding). State schools might not have the same reputation as Yale, Rutgers, and other top schools, so if you want to teach they might not be your best bet. But if you need time, concentration, studio space and you're happy with the faculty in your concentration, they are very much worth looking into. 

$10k annual stipend is helpful, but it's not a livable wage in most of the US cities. I would personally not be able to bear the stress of working in the studio, studying AND working a part-time job to pay the bills AND having a private bank loan (but I might be spoiled + I have the elderly family to take care of in my home country). Plus, you won't be able to work full-time or take jobs unrelated to your major outside of campus while you're in school because of the J1 visa restrictions, so your loan would likely end up being more. 

My point is: believe in yourself, it's worth trying to find a school that will help you grow as an artist and not leave you broke. Loans work for some people, expensive schools work for some people, but it's important to decide whether you feel comfortable making these financial commitments and how it will impact your life in the next decade. 

Thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it :-) you're very right about what you've said and needed to hear it. 

As well thank you ablobofcrazy and EastCoastPhoto for your feedback, it is very appreciated.

[justaylor]

Rejected from Tulane 

[calmly waiting]

17 minutes ago, SenatorCinema said:

UIC application folks, what disciplines did you apply for? I applied for MFA New Media Art several months ago before priority and haven't heard anything, plus the portal says I have everything needed and they are only waiting on the department to review...

I applied to photo and wasn't contacted. Others on the forum, across disciplines, have either gone through interviews or been accepted into the program.

I emailed the graduate director last week, asking where they were at in the process, and have not heard back.

[jess_is_over_it]

Just got a rejection from Tulane. 

 

 

[SenatorCinema]

3 minutes ago, calmly waiting said:

I applied to photo and wasn't contacted. Others on the forum, across disciplines, have either gone through interviews or been accepted into the program.

I emailed the graduate director last week, asking where they were at in the process, and have not heard back.

Thanks for the quick response. I hope you hear back soon with good news! My guess is maybe that they are picking their top applicants and offering fellowships before moving down the list so that they can accurately offer that stuff... I've been patient but I am starting to worry!

[jess_is_over_it]

18 hours ago, Arissss said:

OMG... I have a one-year old husky! We should definitely meet up if we both decide to go to Boston haha!

YES!!! My boys will need new pup friends for sure! Follow me on instagram, I wanna see your husky! ig = @jess_is_over_it

[Aatt]

35 minutes ago, Little Lulu said:

What Department in MICA? I have not received one yet and now I am just waiting and keep refreshing lol

Graphic design 

[jess_is_over_it]

12 minutes ago, justaylor said:

Rejected from Tulane 

? Same. I really wanna know who did get in.

[Chauncey]

2 hours ago, Aatt said:

Just got an acceptance email to MICA! Also just got an interview invite from Rutgers

 

2 hours ago, afein said:

Me too! Congratulations!

Baltimore is the most appealing city to me —  cheap and big!

Congratulations! Same here! Just received.

[artsixteen]

1 hour ago, notyrs said:

Anyone else interview with NYU last week (or interviewing soon)? When they emailed me to set up an interview time, they gave me two possible dates (Tuesday or Thursday of last week), so I assumed they were doing all interviews on those days; however, when I spoke to them, they told me they had two more weeks of interviews to go, and were interviewing around 45 people in total...[yikes emoji].

Anyway, in case this info is helpful to anyone, I had a skype interview with Goldsmiths last week, thought it went horribly, and then got an email acceptance less than an hour later! (So, I'm guessing they were just interviewing to make sure I wasn't some asshole). My first acceptance! Feeling pretty good about that, except that they don't have funding for international students of course. 

Officially rejected from VCU painting as of last week Tuesday. Still not a peep from CMU which at this point makes me wonder if they lost my application lmao.

I was supposed to have my interview with NYU today via Skype - but due to technical difficulties on their end (the camera wasn't working), they asked to reschedule. So not sure when my interview will be now... Also congrats on Goldsmith, that's awesome! 

[tee_lemon]

2 hours ago, notyrs said:

Anyone else interview with NYU last week (or interviewing soon)? When they emailed me to set up an interview time, they gave me two possible dates (Tuesday or Thursday of last week), so I assumed they were doing all interviews on those days; however, when I spoke to them, they told me they had two more weeks of interviews to go, and were interviewing around 45 people in total...[yikes emoji].

Anyway, in case this info is helpful to anyone, I had a skype interview with Goldsmiths last week, thought it went horribly, and then got an email acceptance less than an hour later! (So, I'm guessing they were just interviewing to make sure I wasn't some asshole). My first acceptance! Feeling pretty good about that, except that they don't have funding for international students of course. 

Officially rejected from VCU painting as of last week Tuesday. Still not a peep from CMU which at this point makes me wonder if they lost my application lmao.

Oh my gosh! I’m interviewing with NYU tomorrow! Can you give me any insight on how the interview went/who interviewed you/questions? I’m super nervous about it! 

[color_aid]

On 3/6/2019 at 3:34 PM, CatchThemAll said:

Does anyone have experience/insights/tips regarding negotiating for more funding? Is mentioning another school with a better funding a good idea? 

While I do not personal have experience negotiating for more funding, my partner did negotiate more funding going into her Masters. I should note that this wasn't for an MFA, but for an architecture related Masters - so I'm not sure how immediately applicable it is.

That being said, she was admitted to 3 schools and told School A that she got into to other two and couldn't immediately commit. School B was in the same town that she lived in and also had significantly cheaper tuition. After receiving the funding offer from School A, she mentioned School B's cheaper tuition as well as the cost of relocating to attend School A in an email to her contact at School A. She was polite, honest, direct and brief and got an additional $2k in scholarships with one email.

I'll also mention that she took pains to avoid any sort of hardball tactics. She was very aware that if she decided to go to School A (which she ultimately did), she'd be working closely with these people for a few years and didn't want to start that relationship off on the wrong foot.

I hope this helps.

[JennNoelle]

hoping to hear from the remaining schools soon, Was not expecting this load of rejections, although 2 offers are good. Anyone have an experience to share about PAFA? Thanks in advance. 

Painting programs:

UARK rejected

HUNTER rejected

PAFA accepted 40k merit scholarship

Rutgers rejected

Boston University no word

Tyler no word

Ole Miss accepted, full tuition waiver, 10k yearly stipend 

VCU rejected

Indiana Bloomington no word

[yessi]

2 hours ago, samden said:

Which program did you apply to? Thanks! 

MFA in art 

[SpillToBuilt]

31 minutes ago, JennNoelle said:

hoping to hear from the remaining schools soon, Was not expecting this load of rejections, although 2 offers are good. Anyone have an experience to share about PAFA? Thanks in advance. 

Painting programs:

UARK rejected

HUNTER rejected

PAFA accepted 40k merit scholarship

Rutgers rejected

Boston University no word

Tyler no word

Ole Miss accepted, full tuition waiver, 10k yearly stipend 

VCU rejected

Indiana Bloomington no word

PAFA is undoubtedly a good school, but debt-free plus $10k/year on top at Ole Miss seems like a no-brainer to me.

Edited March 8, 2019 by EastCoastPhoto

[farmE]

1 hour ago, JennNoelle said:

hoping to hear from the remaining schools soon, Was not expecting this load of rejections, although 2 offers are good. Anyone have an experience to share about PAFA? Thanks in advance. 

Painting programs:

UARK rejected

HUNTER rejected

PAFA accepted 40k merit scholarship

Rutgers rejected

Boston University no word

Tyler no word

Ole Miss accepted, full tuition waiver, 10k yearly stipend 

VCU rejected

Indiana Bloomington no word

I did Post-bac at PAFA.  It was a great experience.  The grad chair, Didier, is an amazing person and educator - not to mention super well-connected and a successful artist.  The visiting artists are top notch and there are some other really great faculty members as well.  Definitely a program on the upswing. 

The studios are some of the nicest I've seen, most 2nd year MFAs have big-windowed private studios with a gorgeous view of City Hall.  

Also, there is an annual NYC show curated by Didier and Josephine Halvorson comprised of student work from PAFA and BU.  This year it's at Anna Zorina (in the past it's been at 1969 Gallery and On Stellar Rays).

I'm not too familiar with Ole Miss but that's my 2cents on PAFA.

[zl1279]

Does anyone know when will we hear back from Parson D+T program? It's almost the time! 

[prodmod]

I'm guessing if I haven't been a part of these successive waves of rejections or acceptances from UCLA DMA or CMU that I'm probably on a waitlist? Hoping something happens tomorrow but I really can't be sure. Even a rejection would let me make a decision with the offer I have, but still holding out so I can make a fully informed choice...

Edited March 8, 2019 by prodmod