MFA 2020 Freak Out Forum

[janelane2]

56 minutes ago, MFA Troll said:

JYAS!! You got it! I'm trying to minimise biographical details to focus on US not me, but the truth is that my worldview is 100% shaped by the opportunities I've had building relationships with poor people. Thank you for pointing this out, it's the fundamental flaw in my argument. My uber confident, aspirational 24 year-old self would have shut this all DOWN, but that was the Jeffery Deitch era to my credit... Since you asked, I develop arts and literacy programing for students with disabilities (including trauma) and english language learners. The community that I have served for the last 7 years is in an immigrant enclave that is the most devastated by COVID-19, my facebook feed makes me cry everyday because people are dying. I also work in family shelters across the NYC, so I have experiential knowledge of the material conditions that poor people face. Yesterday, Cuomo cut all this programing and yet the cruise ship industry is bailed out.  I have also worked in highly privileged schools which forced me too drop the concept of meritocracy which defined my 20s. In my freetime, I organize with local anti-gentrification/housing-rights and anti-ICE advocacy groups. I'm in direct communication with my local city council person regarding rezoning issues. I participate in rallies, phone bank for radical forms of local representation and do tabeling. I also make art. I'm picking on you guys because, as many have pointed out, yes I'm going through trauma at this moment. But so are you (unless your one of the rich kids), you just can't see it yet. I'm furious at banks for exploiting entire generations of young people and they should be burnt down. I don't think art in and of itself and affect political change without institutional critique. Art schools (really all of higher-ed) aren't in a position to make this critique because the institutions are married to capital. Higher-ed is a credentialism racket,  pursuit of knowledge is secondary.  I think more people should have access to paintbrushes. Yes, focus on craft  and knowledge throughout your life,  just don't cloister yourself navel gazing cults. Definitely don't give banks your money. 

i totally hear you. you just reminded me of the time i semi-broke down in front of a poorly-paid, depressed adjunct painting instructor in my last year of undergrad. i was making these shitty little paintings at the time and volunteer teaching art classes for low income kids. the volunteer teaching was really eye opening. he came to my studio to critique me and i was just like "what's the point of this? who are these paintings for? why am i making these? to hang in a gallery for  rich people to buy? i should just give up and become a nurse or a social worker and get a job that actually helps people." and he just laughed at me and was like "at least you're not a banker." then i went through a political art phase that ended after i showed the paintings in a gallery that, yeah, was only attended by a certain demographic, and the paintings likely didn't change anyone's opinion of the social issue i was trying to bring awareness to... to nobody's surprise. after that i decided it's basically pointless to try to do anything 'radical' within this system--because participating in it is not radical unless you're doing some really smart institutional critique, which, as you said, is more or less impossible in the context of higher ed and most gallery circuits.

it was really a struggle to decide to be an artist as opposed to a job that has a tangible positive impact (social work, etc) because, as the process of making art itself feels self indulgent, the whole thing rests on the faith that art is important and helpful for society. then when art is enraptured in capitalism/the pyramid scheme of academia or however you put it, it does make me doubt the whole thing. it's a double bind. once you reach the end of this line of thinking, what's next? you're right, it's basically revolution. lol

i don't disagree that higher-ed is a 'credentialism racket' but i think the experience is what you make of it. for me i am operating on the leap of faith that making work is somehow important and a worthwhile use of my time. some days i have more faith in it than others. i don't think this is irreconcilable with activism and organizing.

 

[Pickle555]

oh lord, all these aggressive attempts to evangelize this forum with "radical" thoughts are so exasperating. if you think we haven't heard it all before, or aren't living in the same world that y'all are........ girl, delusion.

i hear you all, but there comes a point where it stops being accessible and turns into people just getting off on listening to themselves think/speak. 

so much energy/potential in the wrong place..

xoxo

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Pickle95

[MIQI]

1 hour ago, Pickle95 said:

oh lord, all these aggressive attempts to evangelize this forum with "radical" thoughts are so exasperating. if you think we haven't heard it all before, or aren't living in the same world that y'all are........ girl, delusion.

i hear you all, but there comes a point where it stops being accessible and turns into people just getting off on listening to themselves think/speak. 

so much energy/potential in the wrong place..

xoxo

 

This is arguably the part that annoys me the most. If you have to forcefully insert your unsolicited opinions here and hijack this forum as your personal outlet, at least have something new to say...

For someone who wants to convince us that we ain’t as “special” as we think, they sure think they’re special enough ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edited April 19, 2020 by MIQI

[leavesinthefall]

Is anyone else here going to Artcenter for Graphic Design (Two year track)? Saw some other admissions to the program on the results page, was wondering if y'all ended up accepting or not! 

[TheBarnOwl]

Just declined my offer at Hunter this morning (painting), so for those on the waitlist, I hope some good news will be coming your way!

[janelane2]

Have any of you guys heard of funding increasing for students not deferring this fall? A friend just told me he heard someone was offered more money as an incentive to stay in the program...

[ih8cinema]

On 4/13/2020 at 2:22 PM, lazuli. said:

Hey! So I got in for MFA New Genres on March 2nd. The April 15th is the deadline for the $800 tuition deposit, which means you probably will be taking my place as I don't intend to pay/attend. I imagine they would get back to you potentially offering you a place? But don't hold me to that.

I had to call it quits because the COVID-19 outbreak has meant the slowing of income and responses from funding bodies and has affected my household and my application (I'm an international student from London). I was offered a few scholarships from the school but the overall cost is still a bit obscene, and when I emailed them my circumstances the first thing the finance office said was: "we have no additional funding" and "we understand you will have to make difficult decisions". To which I though, hm 800 towards a deposit or towards living costs during a literal pandemic. 

If Columbia is the place you really want to go and you have your heart set on it & you have the means to cover the cost of Columbia which is pricey (and I am questioning its worth thanks to https://www.instagram.com/columbiavisualartsmfa/ which has been exposing the asbestos in studios, missing faculty, dissatisfaction of students) then go. But I would say go to the school offering you free tuition. I have a full ride to Parsons which I think I am going to accept over Columbia mainly because I wanted to be in NY and I personally think an MFA is fundamentally what you make it. You're dedicating 2 years to improve on your skill, craft, concepts, and ideas and I think one can thrive wherever. No amount of money or famous name of a school guarantees success. I think we're all just navigating this strange world trying to make it work

Have attached an email the current students sent me just for reference!

 

 

Hey, would you be willing to pass along the full version of this email (if there's any more) as well as the attachment they mention? I can't stop thinking about it, might use it as source material for new work... !

[ih8cinema]

3 hours ago, janelane2 said:

Have any of you guys heard of funding increasing for students not deferring this fall? A friend just told me he heard someone was offered more money as an incentive to stay in the program...

I haven't heard of this, but what program offered your friend more money?

[Loleagle]

5 hours ago, janelane2 said:

Have any of you guys heard of funding increasing for students not deferring this fall? A friend just told me he heard someone was offered more money as an incentive to stay in the program...

yes, this is happening. but the conversation is still in progress. (is my understanding)

Edited April 21, 2020 by Googlyeyes

[dr. t]

Hi all - just stepping in as mod here. We had some confusion over on the back end and some stuff got deleted from this thread. We're looking to restore it, as this is not something we do except for literal spam or abuse. 

Which brings me to my point: on this forum, you are free to disagree with things that are being said, and to express that disagreement in both text and with the downvote button. But none of this is behavior for which you should be filing reports to the moderator staff. And although you may disagree with it, nothing posted so far in this thread is disallowed by forum policy; I have myself given the advice that it is foolish to go down an academic path in this economy for fields I know better. The silences I handed out the other week were simply to calm down a feedback loop, not an indictment of posters' behavior. Continued abuse of the reporting function to flag posts with which you disagree will itself require moderator attention.

Please do continue to report posts with literal spam, which is to say posts which are simply trying to sell you something. Please also report threats, direct or implied, that are made on these forums. These reports help the mod team out greatly.

Thanks.

-T

[cubby]

Hi all, I'm looking for some etiquette advice. I was officially rejected from a grad program about a month ago, and today I received an email from the director of the program encouraging me to reapply. I'm not sure how common it is to get emails like this (it's the first one like it that I've received), and the email itself was brief and just nonspecific enough that the same one could have been sent to others. My question is, should I respond? It seems like the polite thing to thank her and reiterate my respect for the program, but if it's a general/automated courtesy that many applicants receive, then maybe a response isn't appropriate. I didn't interview or anything, just got straight rejected. I'd love to hear what others have done in this situation. Thanks in advance!

[3131n3505e]

6 hours ago, cubby said:

Hi all, I'm looking for some etiquette advice. I was officially rejected from a grad program about a month ago, and today I received an email from the director of the program encouraging me to reapply. I'm not sure how common it is to get emails like this (it's the first one like it that I've received), and the email itself was brief and just nonspecific enough that the same one could have been sent to others. My question is, should I respond? It seems like the polite thing to thank her and reiterate my respect for the program, but if it's a general/automated courtesy that many applicants receive, then maybe a response isn't appropriate. I didn't interview or anything, just got straight rejected. I'd love to hear what others have done in this situation. Thanks in advance!

If someone reads your email in response, it will demonstrate eagerness to join the program and potentially further develop a relationship with the school. If it’s automated or no one reads your email, nothing changes for better or worse. I would send the email.

[Loleagle]

On 4/23/2020 at 2:26 AM, cubby said:

Hi all, I'm looking for some etiquette advice. I was officially rejected from a grad program about a month ago, and today I received an email from the director of the program encouraging me to reapply. I'm not sure how common it is to get emails like this (it's the first one like it that I've received), and the email itself was brief and just nonspecific enough that the same one could have been sent to others. My question is, should I respond? It seems like the polite thing to thank her and reiterate my respect for the program, but if it's a general/automated courtesy that many applicants receive, then maybe a response isn't appropriate. I didn't interview or anything, just got straight rejected. I'd love to hear what others have done in this situation. Thanks in advance!

Hi, I got a similar response from Yale (they asked me to reapply in the rejection letter)...I was able to ask a professor who used to be on the admissions committee at Yale and she said that they are saying this because they really do want you to reapply and that this means they will remember your name. My letter also specifically mentioned that they wanted to see more development of my work. I think especially if you have her email it is a great idea to respond. many MFAs that I know get into their top choice the 2nd or 3rd time they apply so this is a great sign:) good luck.

'

Edited April 24, 2020 by Googlyeyes

[MYJ2020]

On 4/16/2020 at 10:45 AM, longtimecoming said:

Hi Guys,

Does anyone here know anything about Georgia State Universities' MFA program, and/or specifically the painting department? I was accepted to the program, and I'm really excited about it, but before the pandemic, I planned to visit the school. Now that this isn't possible, I'm hoping to talk to anyone who is an alum, has heard about it's reputation, etc...

Thanks for sharing anything you can!

In case it's useful for anyone: I was accepted at SMFA, Goldsmiths MFA, ArtCenter, and GSU. I was rejected from Yale, Columbia, RISD.

 

I got to visit their open house last year. Their MFA programs are fully funded + TA, which is great. Also Atlanta is less expensive compared to other cities. Depends on what you're concerned about I guess, finance? reputation? ...

[3131n3505e]

Anyone happen to know when waitlisted people typically get off the waitlist? I was waitlisted on April 13th.

[Loleagle]

19 hours ago, 3131n3505e said:

Anyone happen to know when waitlisted people typically get off the waitlist? I was waitlisted on April 13th.

I would look through last years forum? I think that I remember people were getting off waitlists as late as July for a fall start

[Pickle555]

On 4/25/2020 at 1:33 PM, 3131n3505e said:

Anyone happen to know when waitlisted people typically get off the waitlist? I was waitlisted on April 13th.

If this helps, I got off a waitlist a little over a month after being notified about being put on the waitlist. 

Best of luck.

[longtimecoming]

On 4/24/2020 at 12:01 PM, MYJ2020 said:

I got to visit their open house last year. Their MFA programs are fully funded + TA, which is great. Also Atlanta is less expensive compared to other cities. Depends on what you're concerned about I guess, finance? reputation? ...

Agreed, all of that makes the program very appealing. Also, I really love the work the professors are doing and everyone whose participated in the program speaks very highly of it. I feel great about the school, however, I wish Georgia's governor wasn't reopening the state, but that's a whole other issue. My initial question was more along the lines of general reputation.

[juchang]

On 3/21/2020 at 11:18 AM, hht said:

Anyone have any news on Emily Carr?

 

Hi hht, did you hear back from Emily Carr? I accepted my offer for MFA 2020- would be nice to know if there are anyone else here who plan on attending this fall.

[hht]

7 hours ago, juchang said:

Hi hht, did you hear back from Emily Carr? I accepted my offer for MFA 2020- would be nice to know if there are anyone else here who plan on attending this fall.

Hi juchang! Yes, I did. I also accepted the offer! With some hesitation for current world conditions of course. Were you in the meetings on Friday - I was on the later one. I found pre-emptive planning on the Fall semester pretty reassuring. How are you feeling about it all?

[SocialKonstruct]

16 minutes ago, hht said:

Hi juchang! Yes, I did. I also accepted the offer! With some hesitation for current world conditions of course. Were you in the meetings on Friday - I was on the later one. I found pre-emptive planning on the Fall semester pretty reassuring. How are you feeling about it all?

Which program are you entering for EC?

[hht]

28 minutes ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Which program are you entering for EC?

Hi SocialKonstruct. MFA Full res.

[SocialKonstruct]

Just now, hht said:

Hi SocialKonstruct. MFA Full res.

Gratsssssss! That’s so awesome! I am still trying to hammer out where I want to go in three years.

[juchang]

14 hours ago, hht said:

Hi juchang! Yes, I did. I also accepted the offer! With some hesitation for current world conditions of course. Were you in the meetings on Friday - I was on the later one. I found pre-emptive planning on the Fall semester pretty reassuring. How are you feeling about it all?

Yay! Are you excited? Yeah the current circumstance is unsettling and I share your hesitation. I didn’t accept my offer until last Thursday, probably why I wasn’t informed of the meeting. Did you get to meet some of the other incoming students via group video chat? Are you located in Vancouver? I don't really know how  to feel about anything... trying not to get ahead of myself but also wanting to be prepared. Would you mind sharing what went on during the meeting? 

[SocialKonstruct]

12 hours ago, juchang said:

Yay! Are you excited? Yeah the current circumstance is unsettling and I share your hesitation. I didn’t accept my offer until last Thursday, probably why I wasn’t informed of the meeting. Did you get to meet some of the other incoming students via group video chat? Are you located in Vancouver? I don't really know how  to feel about anything... trying not to get ahead of myself but also wanting to be prepared. Would you mind sharing what went on during the meeting? 

Hey there  Do you have any examples of your work btw?