MFA 2020 Freak Out Forum

[MYJ2020]

On 1/22/2020 at 7:44 PM, hht said:

It’s my #1! Pretty devo not to get an interview this round. I totally wrecked the first one though. Too nervous because I wanted it too much

The interview was pretty much a whole day affair, including a lunch with prospective students and the faculty, a tour, crits and a 20 min interview with 2 faculty and one current MFA student. They asked me what I’d been doing since my BFA, and then some q’s specific to my practice.  
 

According to a current student, last years intake included 4 students that attended the interviews in person and 4 that Skyped in. 
 

Let me know if you need anything else. Good luck! 

This is very useful!! thank u. It will be my first interview so I'm a bit nervous...

[latenightlatte]

2nd go around for me. 

I don't think I can provide too much insight but last year I interviewed at Rutgers, SAIC, CalArts, NYU and Hunter. I was outright rejected by Yale and UCLA.

I had an inkling to wait another year, and considering the funding I was offered was less than I had hoped for I figured it would be better to postpone than shell out the dough and regret it.

In hindsight, this was the right decision for me. My work grew a lot and I feel I'm in a much better place to wring as much as I can out of grad program. I know it's a sample size of 1 but I'd really encourage considering delaying if you're on the fence after your offers come in. (of course if it's your dream program / the fundings there just go crush it). 

This year I've applied to:

CalArts
NYU
RISD
Rutgers
SAIC
UCLA
Yale

I'd say most of the interviews went as expected but I'm happy to share more specific experiences. As is typical I wound up spending a fair bit of time at each school pre and post interview so have a light impression of each.

The one thing I will say is that the printouts they ask you to bring for Hunter interviews are the images you discuss with your interviewers. That was a bummer, I brought some very unflattering cheap color copies. They clearly hadn't looked at/ were unfamiliar with the work so working from them wasn't super ideal. I had assumed they were just to refresh peoples memory while they deliberated. 

Anyway, fingers crossed!

 

 

 

[MIQI]

3 minutes ago, latenightlatte said:

2nd go around for me. 

I don't think I can provide too much insight but last year I interviewed at Rutgers, SAIC, CalArts, NYU and Hunter. I was outright rejected by Yale and UCLA.

I had an inkling to wait another year, and considering the funding I was offered was less than I had hoped for I figured it would be better to postpone than shell out the dough and regret it.

In hindsight, this was the right decision for me. My work grew a lot and I feel I'm in a much better place to wring as much as I can out of grad program. I know it's a sample size of 1 but I'd really encourage considering delaying if you're on the fence after your offers come in. (of course if it's your dream program / the fundings there just go crush it). 

This year I've applied to:

CalArts
NYU
RISD
Rutgers
SAIC
UCLA
Yale

I'd say most of the interviews went as expected but I'm happy to share more specific experiences. As is typical I wound up spending a fair bit of time at each school pre and post interview so have a light impression of each.

The one thing I will say is that the printouts they ask you to bring for Hunter interviews are the images you discuss with your interviewers. That was a bummer, I brought some very unflattering cheap color copies. They clearly hadn't looked at/ were unfamiliar with the work so working from them wasn't super ideal. I had assumed they were just to refresh peoples memory while they deliberated. 

Anyway, fingers crossed!

 

 

 

Hi latenightlatte! This is my first time applying but I can see the reasoning behind you postponing a year. I obviously don't know you, but I think you made the right choice

I'd love to hear your experience with the Rutgers interview. When did they invite you? How was the structure of the interview like? So on and so forth. I believe they conduct interviews on-campus?

[latenightlatte]

18 minutes ago, MIQI said:

Hi latenightlatte! This is my first time applying but I can see the reasoning behind you postponing a year. I obviously don't know you, but I think you made the right choice

I'd love to hear your experience with the Rutgers interview. When did they invite you? How was the structure of the interview like? So on and so forth. I believe they conduct interviews on-campus?

 

I had a really positive experience at Rutgers. The interview request went out the 2nd week of February. 

The day was sort of framed around a campus tour and seemed largely designed to make current grad students, and potential cohort, available to talk to (at least fairly) privately. That was really nice. The interview itself was a lot more like a friendly studio visit than some sort of defense of the work. If I remember correctly they gave me space to talk about the work, their own responses to it, and if/how I was considering their reads to it. From there it was mostly talking about artists we like / things we've been thinking about/ and some stuff around media theory I am/was interested in. I felt like I was given space to speak freely and be pretty vulnerable but they also didn't expect me to lead the conversation the entire time. 

Of the interviews it was one of, if not, my favorite. I left it with a strong desire to get back to work and make more shit.  
I know some folks skyped in, and it's pretty clear they're not a school that's going to hold that against you. The faculty seemed very conscious of the cost of grad school / economic outlook of being a practicing artist but if you're in the area or can make the trip I'd really encourage going. 

As a school it's rich for space, but maybe not so much some other resources. Personally that doesn't bother (granted I'm mostly a painter), I've generally made due with whatever tools I've had around. I've always felt like I was running out of space and it seemed like that wouldn't be the case there. 

Edited January 24, 2020 by latenightlatte
clarity

[rag124]

Vcu photo and film interview notifications were sent this morning, if anyone's looking out for that.

[hht]

 

For anyone waiting on Carnegie Mellon interviews, I received a request yesterday.

[Rtwoneday]

On 1/22/2020 at 9:43 AM, atb said:

I got accepted into OSU and am just curious about word from other schools.

I'm envious, but congrats, good luck on the rest as well!

[babsi]

Heyyy all,

This is my second time applying. I applied to four programs last year and was rejected from three and waitlisted at one. Stung at first but I was ultimately sooo grateful for the extra year and feel that my work is in a much better place-- definitely feel ready!. This year I'm applying, for painting/printmaking, to the following:

 

UCSD

UCLA

RISD

CalArts

Yale

VCU

 

Shooting high. We'll see!  Pretty anxious to start hearing. 

[6370013010006936780]

7 hours ago, latenightlatte said:

2nd go around for me. 

I don't think I can provide too much insight but last year I interviewed at Rutgers, SAIC, CalArts, NYU and Hunter. I was outright rejected by Yale and UCLA.

I had an inkling to wait another year, and considering the funding I was offered was less than I had hoped for I figured it would be better to postpone than shell out the dough and regret it.

In hindsight, this was the right decision for me. My work grew a lot and I feel I'm in a much better place to wring as much as I can out of grad program. I know it's a sample size of 1 but I'd really encourage considering delaying if you're on the fence after your offers come in. (of course if it's your dream program / the fundings there just go crush it). 

This year I've applied to:

CalArts
NYU
RISD
Rutgers
SAIC
UCLA
Yale

I'd say most of the interviews went as expected but I'm happy to share more specific experiences. As is typical I wound up spending a fair bit of time at each school pre and post interview so have a light impression of each.

The one thing I will say is that the printouts they ask you to bring for Hunter interviews are the images you discuss with your interviewers. That was a bummer, I brought some very unflattering cheap color copies. They clearly hadn't looked at/ were unfamiliar with the work so working from them wasn't super ideal. I had assumed they were just to refresh peoples memory while they deliberated. 

Anyway, fingers crossed!

 

 

 

Which department did you apply for at SAIC? How was your interview? 

[latenightlatte]

17 hours ago, 6370013010006936780 said:

Which department did you apply for at SAIC? How was your interview? 

The painting department. 

I don't remember too much of the interview honestly. So I'd guess it went fine?
It was my first one though, and I was a bit nervous, so I'd definitely remember if it was particularly challenging or abrasive. 

I do remember the studios were a little cave-like and didn't have too much natural light. Probably feels different when more people are there working. While the school encouraged interdisciplinary practices the painting department is on its own floors. I'd wager you don't have a natural day-day interactions with other disciplines and would have to more actively seek them out. 

[nbh]

Flying into Philly right now for my first interview with Tyler. Anyone else gonna be there tomorrow?

[MYJ2020]

On 1/24/2020 at 2:38 PM, hht said:

 

For anyone waiting on Carnegie Mellon interviews, I received a request yesterday.

I applied to CMU too, but heard nothing back yet

[MellonHead]

21 hours ago, NickHobbs said:

Flying into Philly right now for my first interview with Tyler. Anyone else gonna be there tomorrow?

I skyped in but will fly there later to say hi in person. It went well I think! There was around 6 of the faculty (I think) and the list of interview questions to prep for from last year was very helpful to me. 

[nbh]

28 minutes ago, MellonHead said:

I skyped in but will fly there later to say hi in person. It went well I think! There was around 6 of the faculty (I think) and the list of interview questions to prep for from last year was very helpful to me. 

Awesome!! Which list?

[MIQI]

4 hours ago, NickHobbs said:

Awesome!! Which list?

I went digging and found this list in the 2018 freak out forum I think. Not sure if it's the same one. Hope it helps! Good luck

Common Questions Visual Arts Applicants are Asked During an Interview

How does your work fit in with the contemporary art world/scene?

Why do you want to go to XXXXX?

Why do you want to go to grad school? Why now?

What resources of this program will be the biggest benefit to your development as an artist?

What is your work about?

What are your influences?

What for you constitutes a good work of art?

What draws you to a piece of work?

What motivates your work?

Who are your main influences?

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

What do you think is a good critique of your work/bad critique?

Why/how did you choose the people who wrote letters for you?

How will you contribute to this program?

What do you do for fun?

 

What artists do you like? (you can have a list prepared)

What artists who are no longer living influence you?

What book are you reading right now? What do you think about it?

What are you working on right now?

Please explain this work (xxxx03.jpg)

What is your favorite piece of art? Why? (Title, artist, year)

Can you describe yourself, such as personal habit, etc.

Do you get along well with others?

What would you bring to a group dynamic ?

 

What can you offer this program? Any special skills?

What do you think is a good way of critiquing? a bad way?

What other aspects of culture influence your work besides art/art history?

How do you see yourself taking advantage of this school’s environment/program?

What exhibition have you been to in the last year?

What have you done since you’ve graduated?

What contemporary artists are you into, and why?

Tell us about the conceptual underpinnings of your work?

Talk about your process.

What do you think about *this essay*? (related to your work)

How is your work related to *this movement*?

Do you have any questions for us?

What do you think about (artist, movement, subject/topic)

What can't you stand? Why?

What do you think about your own work?

How do you want your work to develop?

Why are you making the work you're making, and why do you want to keep doing it?

Meaning behind your subject matter?

So you've written a good amount about your practice in your statement...can you expand a little more?

What was the last show you saw that had a profound effect on you?

 

Ideas for Questions to Ask During Your Interview

What's the degree of permeability between the department's different studio areas?

What do the teaching assistantship duties generally consist of?

Will I be assisting a professor, or will I be teaching my own class?

Have recent alumni stayed in the area or ventured elsewhere? 

What is the grad student to faculty ratio? 

Ask for more information about particular courses in the curriculum.

 

Other Tips

Be able to speak about the professors work and why you are influenced by it. 

Write a follow up Thank you email within 48 hours after your interview.

[Nonameguy101]

Hello! Has anyone heard anything from Boulder Ceramics yet? Or VCU?

[HydroHydra]

Hi all,

I applied to:

Yale Sculpture

Columbia Sculpture

Columbia Painting

VCU Sculpture

VCU Craft and Material Studies

UCLA Sculpture

Hunter

MICA Sculpture

I’ve only heard from MICA sculpture for an interview request. 

Hope everyone is taking care of themselves during the wait game. Good luck! ? 

 

[nbh]

Me trying to negotiate with these grad schools in a month or two:

[Squirrel8296]

Time to throw my hat in the ring.

I'm applied to:

• UC Riverside
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (New Media)
• University of Illinois at Chicago (New Media)
• UC Irvine (Electronic Art and Design)
• IU (Digital Art)
• UCSD
• SAIC (FVNMA, Printmedia, Sculpture)
• Purchase's MA Art History and MFA Visual Art 

So far I haven't heard anything.

My work is at: merlintlee.com and on instagram at m3r71n and wizigns

Edited January 27, 2020 by M3R71N

[Squirrel8296]

On 1/22/2020 at 10:17 PM, 6370013010006936780 said:

Anyone here applying for SAIC's FVNMA (Film Video New Media and Animation)? I keep checking my vimeo's analytics every day to see if they've been watching my stuff and apparently they haven't watched the videos all the way through? Does anyone know if what's embedded into the eportfolio section of SlideRoom shows up in the stats? I'm so curious.

I just checked my Vimeo and they hadn't watched my videos all the way through either... maybe they only need to see a bit in order to form an opinion?

Also were your views from California? That's where the location they were watching showed up as (I only used Vimeo for SAIC)

[nbh]

Invited for interview with SAIC painting and drawing earlier today via email.

[countchocula]

Received invitation for interview from UC Irvine MFA Visual Art via email today

[hht]

Hi All. Received interview request for Tufts today. 

[6370013010006936780]

4 hours ago, M3R71N said:

I just checked my Vimeo and they hadn't watched my videos all the way through either... maybe they only need to see a bit in order to form an opinion?

Also were your views from California? That's where the location they were watching showed up as (I only used Vimeo for SAIC)

No, I'm in Chicago. So they seem to have watched my reel all the way through on thursday? When you're on analytics, on the advanced filters section, you should be able to check 'review.slideroom.com' under the source URL section. That's how you know for sure. Let me know if it works!

[countchocula]

On 1/20/2020 at 10:02 PM, nevermind777 said:

I heard that many Hunter students feel that the program accepts too many students and as a result you do not get enough individual attention. Best of luck in your transfer @yungcoconut 

Hunter's Spring 2020 class is only 4 students, which might be an indication of how many they will accept during this round of interviews. They accepted 13 in Fall 2019 for a total of 17 in the 2019-2020 school year. They're either being much more selective or are not receiving as many applications. Best of luck to those waiting for interviews!