MFA 2019 Freak Out Forum

[justaylor]

On 1/12/2019 at 5:10 PM, IrisR said:

 

No I wouldn’t be terribly upset, though I do think I will be accepted into at least a couple of programs. I believe in my work and I had my recommendations written by well known artists in their fields who know a number of faculty at the schools I applied to. I am currently teaching art and English in Barcelona and will soon move to Madrid with my partner so if I don’t get accepted then I’ll just continue to teach here and apply again next year. I am also tattooing and traveling so I would not be devasted if I didn’t get in but I still have my hopes! 

[justaylor]

On 1/12/2019 at 5:10 PM, IrisR said:

 

Also, I’ve been researching programs and preparing my portfolio for almost 2 years. I know that it is nothing like a lottery. It literally couldn’t be less like a lottery. 

[justaylor]

On 1/12/2019 at 5:10 PM, IrisR said:

 

I’m just dumbfounded at the amount of false information here to be honest. A minimum of ten schools? So your mentors were encouraging you to blow 1000 dollars on app fees? That’s just bad advice? Your art should speak for itself. And then you get the opportunity to do so in your statements and essays. The faculty spends weeks and months going through applications and finding the proper candidates. How the hell is that anything like a lottery? I’m just genuinely at a loss for words for how wrong all of that is.

[Meaou]

@justaylor On the other hand, there's at least one unknown variable not related to one's work - the balance of a selected cohort. E.g., admissions would go for a heterogeneous group of people, especially in terms of research topics, background, and gender. 

@henryfive they didn't, but international applications might have declined. It's much harder to get any kind of U.S. visa than ever before. This is no statistical sample, but two of my friends are stuck under the administrative check after applying for their U.S. visas, although they were offered admissions and partial funding to their respective colleges. 

@IrisR You can only marginally improve your chances of winning a lottery by buying more tickets. The same holds true for an MFA program. 

It might be fine if you're doing an Art History degree or you don't care about the location, but it won't be easy to find ten programs in Photography that have strong professors whose interests and practice align with one's direction. If one has a direction, of course. I imagine it's similar in other mediums. 

I ended up applying to four programs, and it was a hell of a lot of prep. I can only raise a hat to someone who applied to 10 schools for the effort, but it's not unlikely this time would be more useful to narrow one's choices and make better work.

[MjamesPDX]

4 hours ago, justaylor said:

I’m just dumbfounded at the amount of false information here to be honest. A minimum of ten schools? So your mentors were encouraging you to blow 1000 dollars on app fees? That’s just bad advice? Your art should speak for itself. And then you get the opportunity to do so in your statements and essays. The faculty spends weeks and months going through applications and finding the proper candidates. How the hell is that anything like a lottery? I’m just genuinely at a loss for words for how wrong all of that is.

I can’t see the quote you were responding to anymore, so they must have deleted their original comment..

I’ve only seen one person on here so far who got an interview notice.. anyone else hear back anything or get some foot traffic on their websites?

[Kvir]

5 hours ago, MjamesPDX said:

I can’t see the quote you were responding to anymore, so they must have deleted their original comment..

I’ve only seen one person on here so far who got an interview notice.. anyone else hear back anything or get some foot traffic on their websites?

Most schools wait until after their application deadline has passed and they've had time to review applicants to start calling folks for interviews, so I wouldn't be concerned about a lack of interview action this early in the game! 

[henryfive]

19 hours ago, MjamesPDX said:

I can’t see the quote you were responding to anymore, so they must have deleted their original comment..

I’ve only seen one person on here so far who got an interview notice.. anyone else hear back anything or get some foot traffic on their websites?

UT Austin looked at my site the day I submitted my app but besides that no other .edu hits. Things should start picking up in the next couple of weeks, especially in early Feb.

[MjamesPDX]

14 hours ago, Kvir said:

Most schools wait until after their application deadline has passed and they've had time to review applicants to start calling folks for interviews, so I wouldn't be concerned about a lack of interview action this early in the game! 

Trying desperately to distract myself with good books and new studio projects. Anyone got a list of yummy reads? Currently re-reading Art & Fear, but would love some other recommendations!

[Bodys]

1 hour ago, MjamesPDX said:

Trying desperately to distract myself with good books and new studio projects. Anyone got a list of yummy reads? Currently re-reading Art & Fear, but would love some other recommendations!

Off the Wall is a great book by Tomkins about Rauschenberg that I really enjoyed. 

Also have been taking a wheel-throwing class for the first time to distract myself with an entirely new medium! 

[henryfive]

1 hour ago, MjamesPDX said:

Trying desperately to distract myself with good books and new studio projects. Anyone got a list of yummy reads? Currently re-reading Art & Fear, but would love some other recommendations!

 

23 minutes ago, Bodys said:

Off the Wall is a great book by Tomkins about Rauschenberg that I really enjoyed. 

Also have been taking a wheel-throwing class for the first time to distract myself with an entirely new medium! 

Wheel-throwing is so difficult at first! What a wonderful way to distract yourself.

I think starting a new hobby, doing a lot of self-care (whatever that looks like to you) to keep the stress in check, spending time with your loved ones, etc. are all nice ways to pass the time. I took a great mini vacation in a nearby city over the weekend with one of my best friends and it was just what I needed.

I think it's worth noting that last year I only applied to one school and didn't get in. I was super bummed but it ended up being an amazing year for me professionally. I moved into a new work position that has been life-changing and it wouldn't have happened if I got into that program. I find that it is often true that things work out as they should.

Keep your chins up and try to think positively! I know that can be difficult. But I know that I did my absolute best with my applications and that's all I can do. 

[MjamesPDX]

13 minutes ago, henryfive said:

 

Wheel-throwing is so difficult at first! What a wonderful way to distract yourself.

I think starting a new hobby, doing a lot of self-care (whatever that looks like to you) to keep the stress in check, spending time with your loved ones, etc. are all nice ways to pass the time. I took a great mini vacation in a nearby city over the weekend with one of my best friends and it was just what I needed.

I think it's worth noting that last year I only applied to one school and didn't get in. I was super bummed but it ended up being an amazing year for me professionally. I moved into a new work position that has been life-changing and it wouldn't have happened if I got into that program. I find that it is often true that things work out as they should.

Keep your chins up and try to think positively! I know that can be difficult. But I know that I did my absolute best with my applications and that's all I can do. 

So so true! I also only applied to one school this year, so I'm right where you were this time last year. Crossing my fingers for you this time around and hoping everyone takes some good self care time   Also, I'll look into Off the Wall! Thanks for the recommendation.

[CatchThemAll]

 

 

[vegetables]

Hey y'all

Anyone log in to OSU's Applicant Center recently and notice a change in their applicant status?

 

Edited January 16, 2019 by vegetables

[henryfive]

43 minutes ago, vegetables said:

Hey y'all

Anyone log into OSU's Applicant Center recently and notice a change in their applicant status?

 

Yes! There is a “Decision” link now. It says I was accepted! ?

I didn’t get an email or anything though. 

[vegetables]

36 minutes ago, henryfive said:

Yes! There is a “Decision” link now. It says I was accepted! ?

I didn’t get an email or anything though. 

Ditto! I haven't heard anything directly from the department either.

[henryfive]

21 minutes ago, vegetables said:

Ditto! I haven't heard anything directly from the department either.

I think on the forum from last year or the year before people had their decisions posted on the site before being contacted, too. Congrats!

[cfree]

On 1/14/2019 at 12:22 PM, MjamesPDX said:

Trying desperately to distract myself with good books and new studio projects. Anyone got a list of yummy reads? Currently re-reading Art & Fear, but would love some other recommendations!

Here is some fiction I've been enjoying recently. I'm looking for novels with artist protagonists, if anyone knows any good ones!

"A Little Life" by Hanya Yanigahara (one of the main side characters, JB, is an artist)

"Conversations with Friends" and "Normal People" by Sally Rooney 

"Tin Man" by Sarah Winman 

"The Green Road" by Anne Enright (family drama with a hilarious cameo appearance by Richard Serra at a dinner party)

Edited January 16, 2019 by cfree

[Fridayz]

13 hours ago, henryfive said:

I think on the forum from last year or the year before people had their decisions posted on the site before being contacted, too. Congrats!

Congrats you two!!! Was OSU first choice for both of you?

[chartblob]

Amazing that some of you have already gotten acceptances - congrats!!  I thoroughly spooked myself by looking through last year's forum and seeing how early first rejections got sent out for some of the schools I applied to (Madison and Northwestern specifically).  I got my first analytics hit from Madison yesterday, eek

[Bodys]

1 hour ago, chartblob said:

Amazing that some of you have already gotten acceptances - congrats!!  I thoroughly spooked myself by looking through last year's forum and seeing how early first rejections got sent out for some of the schools I applied to (Madison and Northwestern specifically).  I got my first analytics hit from Madison yesterday, eek

Me too, with those schools specifically! Each day that I hear nothing I get a little more anxious because I figure they have to interview sooner rather than later to make a decision that quickly.

Honestly I'm going to be so relieved when this waiting period is over, even if all I get are rejections!

[chartblob]

1 hour ago, Bodys said:

Me too, with those schools specifically! Each day that I hear nothing I get a little more anxious because I figure they have to interview sooner rather than later to make a decision that quickly.

Honestly I'm going to be so relieved when this waiting period is over, even if all I get are rejections!

Same here!  Though it looked to me like last year Madison and Northwestern (and Yale, and a few other schools) sent out initial rejections at the same time that they sent out their first interview requests, so that's helpful at least to know you're out of the running early on instead of waiting for months!  Or being totally ghosted.  There's definitely plenty to obsess about ?

[Bodys]

13 minutes ago, chartblob said:

Same here!  Though it looked to me like last year Madison and Northwestern (and Yale, and a few other schools) sent out initial rejections at the same time that they sent out their first interview requests, so that's helpful at least to know you're out of the running early on instead of waiting for months!  Or being totally ghosted.  There's definitely plenty to obsess about ?

Oh! I didn't realize that - that's good to know and makes a lot of sense.

[MikeM77]

Hi all,

anyone applying to Yale?

[henryfive]

17 hours ago, MikeM77 said:

Hi all,

anyone applying to Yale?

Yes, I did!

[darsenbehelm]

Wow, Oregon is really making the rounds this year. Looks like an amazing program and great part of the country for focus to complete a 3 year degree. I too applied  good luck!