F2021: Design/Tech - NYU ITP, Parsons D&T, Berkeley MDes etc.

[greeeen]

* Copied the title from this thread, because couldn't come up with a better one myself to describe whatever this eclectic grad program should be categorized as. Except this thread will focus on applicants for Fall 2021--I'd love to find a community of people in the same boat as me and share application experiences.

There's a lot of crazy things happening out there right now, and it's been helpful to just have something structured in my life to prepare for, as overly optimistic as that may sound.

If this thread gains traction, let's start a Slack group! I'd love to chat and share our experiences!

About myself--I'm currently working as a SWE in San Francisco, after graduating from UCSC 2 years ago. I love creative coding and UX design, and am planning to apply for NYU ITP, Parson's DT, Carnegie-Mellon MHCI, Aalto A&D MA, and Art Center MDP.

Some career plans I had got sidetracked due to COVID-19, but I'm grateful that I'm still in a good place, and am currently readjusting those plans as well as loosely following a timeline I made for myself for the applications. What does your timeline look like, if you have one? What questions about the app do you have? I'd love to hear from you and discuss!

[rorado]

Hi greeeen, so weird, I've got the same background as you. Been a SWE in SF for 5 years, came from SJSU CS. Been wanting to branch out from traditional SWE job and have always been interested in UX/UI design. Quarantine may be a blessing because it actually gives me time to work on apps/portfolio ?. Was planning on applying to Parsons DT, Pratt IXD, SVA ID. Apps due in Dec/Jan so I'm trying to work on it slowly to not get overwhelmed. It's been tough though, deciding which programs to apply for because everything sounds so similar. I'm really concerned about applying to programs that require coding classes (because I already know that stuff) and/or basically not teaching you anything (my experience with SJSU). These schools just cost so much money. I'm not even really that concerned about guaranteeing me a job afterwards, I just wanna make sure they are insightful and challenging. 

Any concerns with you? 

[greeeen]

On 7/24/2020 at 12:21 AM, rorado said:

Hi greeeen, so weird, I've got the same background as you. Been a SWE in SF for 5 years, came from SJSU CS. Been wanting to branch out from traditional SWE job and have always been interested in UX/UI design. Quarantine may be a blessing because it actually gives me time to work on apps/portfolio ?. Was planning on applying to Parsons DT, Pratt IXD, SVA ID. Apps due in Dec/Jan so I'm trying to work on it slowly to not get overwhelmed. It's been tough though, deciding which programs to apply for because everything sounds so similar. I'm really concerned about applying to programs that require coding classes (because I already know that stuff) and/or basically not teaching you anything (my experience with SJSU). These schools just cost so much money. I'm not even really that concerned about guaranteeing me a job afterwards, I just wanna make sure they are insightful and challenging. 

Any concerns with you? 

Hi rorado--that's awesome!! I'm glad to find someone in the same boat as me.
Yeah, I've had the same issue when researching which programs to apply to, because some programs may be more design- and others more tech-focused. Sorry to hear about your experience with SJSU though. I've heard good things about ITP, I don't know if you're considering it, but if you're interested, this podcast (though it's from 2016) helped me gain a lot of insight into the types of people that applied and what they typically seek in a program like the ones we are applying for.

I definitely feel you on the hope of finding something that is insightful and challenging after the program. I'd love to talk with ya more if you want a buddy to keep you accountable, because I could benefit from it as well, so let me know!

[rorado]

12 hours ago, greeeen said:

Hi rorado--that's awesome!! I'm glad to find someone in the same boat as me.
Yeah, I've had the same issue when researching which programs to apply to, because some programs may be more design- and others more tech-focused. Sorry to hear about your experience with SJSU though. I've heard good things about ITP, I don't know if you're considering it, but if you're interested, this podcast (though it's from 2016) helped me gain a lot of insight into the types of people that applied and what they typically seek in a program like the ones we are applying for.

I definitely feel you on the hope of finding something that is insightful and challenging after the program. I'd love to talk with ya more if you want a buddy to keep you accountable, because I could benefit from it as well, so let me know!

Thanks for directing me to the ITP podcast! I did look into that program, but it seemed much more expensive than the other programs and I thought it might have been too focused on hardware. But those were just assumptions, so I should try and do some more research. 

And yes, I'd totally love to connect! 

[gentvenus]

On 7/20/2020 at 7:23 AM, greeeen said:

* Copied the title from this thread, because couldn't come up with a better one myself to describe whatever this eclectic grad program should be categorized as. Except this thread will focus on applicants for Fall 2021--I'd love to find a community of people in the same boat as me and share application experiences.

There's a lot of crazy things happening out there right now, and it's been helpful to just have something structured in my life to prepare for, as overly optimistic as that may sound.

If this thread gains traction, let's start a Slack group! I'd love to chat and share our experiences!

About myself--I'm currently working as a SWE in San Francisco, after graduating from UCSC 2 years ago. I love creative coding and UX design, and am planning to apply for NYU ITP, Parson's DT, Carnegie-Mellon MHCI, Aalto A&D MA, and Art Center MDP.

Some career plans I had got sidetracked due to COVID-19, but I'm grateful that I'm still in a good place, and am currently readjusting those plans as well as loosely following a timeline I made for myself for the applications. What does your timeline look like, if you have one? What questions about the app do you have? I'd love to hear from you and discuss!

thanks for the sharing, COVID 19 has led to so many disruptions in many aspects of our lives!

[gentvenus]

Any updates?

[greeeen]

@gentvenus@lazzyshivam I can start a discord or slack channel if you all would prefer to chat there

[gentvenus]

That would be cool! Haven't tried slack before actually

[Shruthi23]

On 9/29/2020 at 9:43 AM, greeeen said:

@gentvenus@lazzyshivam I can start a discord or slack channel if you all would prefer to chat there

Would love to join the channel if you do end up making one! I applied to a bunch of programs this year and was supposed to start my masters right about now. But I have had to put my plans on hold :3 I got into a bunch of programs but was only able to defer one of my acceptances 

[gentvenus]

On 10/9/2020 at 4:00 PM, Shruthi23 said:

Would love to join the channel if you do end up making one! I applied to a bunch of programs this year and was supposed to start my masters right about now. But I have had to put my plans on hold :3 I got into a bunch of programs but was only able to defer one of my acceptances 

Oh what about the other acceptances?

[Shruthi23]

6 hours ago, gentvenus said:

Oh what about the other acceptances?

So a lot of colleges didn't let students defer this year, because I think a lot of people were trying to defer and they were worried about losing students. So it was either take up the online session this fall or just reapply in 2021. 

[greeeen]

On 10/9/2020 at 7:00 AM, Shruthi23 said:

Would love to join the channel if you do end up making one! I applied to a bunch of programs this year and was supposed to start my masters right about now. But I have had to put my plans on hold :3 I got into a bunch of programs but was only able to defer one of my acceptances 

Hiya! I'll start one now, and anyone can feel free to join

https://discord.gg/EZZsa5

I'd at least be more active to reply and chat with everyone here.

[ylpp]

Does anyone hear anything from Berkeley Mdes?

[xql]

21 minutes ago, ylpp said:

Does anyone hear anything from Berkeley Mdes?

I applied for Berkeley MDes as well. No update.

[ylpp]

41 minutes ago, xql said:

I applied for Berkeley MDes as well. No update.

Fingers crossed!

[MachaLatte]

On 1/27/2021 at 5:05 PM, ylpp said:

Does anyone hear anything from Berkeley Mdes?

I got an interview from Mdes

[Cloudialyp]

On 2/17/2021 at 11:10 PM, MachaLatte said:

I got an interview from Mdes

Have you heard anything from Berkeley Mdes after the interview? ?

[MachaLatte]

2 hours ago, Cloudialyp said:

Have you heard anything from Berkeley Mdes after the interview? ?

No I haven't. How about you?

[greeeen]

I've heard from ArtCenter MDP for an interview, if anyone's interested.

[Cloudialyp]

15 hours ago, MachaLatte said:

No I haven't. How about you?

I haven't either.

[xql]

Does anyone received updates from Berkeley MDes?

[MachaLatte]

On 2/21/2021 at 4:07 PM, xql said:

Does anyone received updates from Berkeley MDes?

I did, I got in! They sent me an email yesterday around 12:30pm. And luckily, I was admitted and got a $20,000 scholar award. 

[sensen111]

10 hours ago, MachaLatte said:

I did, I got in! They sent me an email yesterday around 12:30pm. And luckily, I was admitted and got a $20,000 scholar award. 

Hey. I also got the offer but not much scholar award like you. Would you accept this offer or choose another one?

[MachaLatte]

9 hours ago, sensen111 said:

Hey. I also got the offer but not much scholar award like you. Would you accept this offer or choose another one?

I‘m still waiting for Harvard, MIT, Columbia and CMU.

 

[dkdivkv]

Hi, is there anyone who had an interview and has not heard anything from them since then?