MFA 2021 Freak Out Forum

[WeWillAllPersevere]

On 2/28/2021 at 3:56 PM, Wwwildatheart said:

CalArts sent out invites to a photo history class or critique. Anyone have thoughts on which one would be better to go to? Or is there any CalArts candidates who have decided on one or the other? Or lastly anyone have experience doing these things through another program? Thanks

I am more interested in the photo history class but they sent me the syllabus to prepare for class? Are you planning to go to all the events scheduled for Thursday?

[geeeeebie]

On 2/28/2021 at 6:30 PM, dgrkrk said:

I haven't ? 

Update from GSU - I emailed and was told that they sent out first round of applications but that they are waiting to hear form those folks and funders before sending more offers/making any more decisions. So ... sorta hopeful!!?!

[Killerdonuts]

3 hours ago, Coco88 said:

What program did you apply for? Painting and drawing? Congrats!

Hi emailed the Concordia MFA studio art folks after seeing @ZellFin post, and this was the reply:

"Thank you for the application.  Decision letters will be sent in early March.  Thanks for your patience."

I applied for Drawing & Painting. Feels like a rejection might be coming my way, if they told @Zellfin they were accepted when they inquired via email, but didn't tell me my application status. Bummer...but still holding out a little hope. (Hoping Tyler will come through)

 

[ZellFin]

3 hours ago, Coco88 said:

What program did you apply for? Painting and drawing? Congrats!

Hey, thanks!  I applied to Painting and Drawing. 

[anonymousartstudent]

3 hours ago, TheePainter said:

Hi!!

I was just accepted to UPenn and SAIC Painting!! I haven't heard from either about financial aid yet. Still waiting on Parsons Fine Arts and MICA Mount Royal. 

omg congratulations! I also applied UPenn and they told me all the decision come out on March 11th? How did you receive your acceptance?Was it an official letter or phone call from the faculty? Now I am very nervous.....?

[seenmanwell]

3 hours ago, lizavetar96 said:

Also, Parsons asked to have a second call with me for tomorrow (Photo program). I am quite nervous as our first interview was really long and intense. I am wondering what other questions they have. 

Did they tell you why they wanted a second call? I interviewed with the photo department two weeks ago but they told me decisions would be sent out by the second or third week in march. 

[lizavetar96]

14 minutes ago, seenmanwell said:

Did they tell you why they wanted a second call? I interviewed with the photo department two weeks ago but they told me decisions would be sent out by the second or third week in march. 

They said that they have “a couple of follow up questions about my work”. Can I ask who you interviewed with you?

last time for me it was James Ramer and Simone Douglas and tomorrow it will be Ramer and Arthur Ou.  

[seenmanwell]

1 minute ago, lizavetar96 said:

They said that they have “a couple of follow up questions about my work”. Can I ask who you interviewed with you?

last time for me it was James Ramer and Simone Douglas and tomorrow it will be Ramer and Arthur Ou.  

I interviewed with Ramer and Arthur Ou. I had met with Ramer about three or four times before the interview process so Arthur led the interview. He asked about my process, inspirations and how my work fits in with other contemporary artist. Then allowed me to speak about a few of my pieces. He was very laid back. 

[lizavetar96]

1 minute ago, seenmanwell said:

I interviewed with Ramer and Arthur Ou. I had met with Ramer about three or four times before the interview process so Arthur led the interview. He asked about my process, inspirations and how my work fits in with other contemporary artist. Then allowed me to speak about a few of my pieces. He was very laid back. 

Gotcha. Thank you. Maybe it is a dumb question but I always wonder what exactly is meant when I am asked about the process. Should I talk about practical and technical realities or my work? Or the way I conceptualise it? Or both?

anyhow. I am a bit worried about all this.  

[seenmanwell]

Just now, lizavetar96 said:

Gotcha. Thank you. Maybe it is a dumb question but I always wonder what exactly is meant when I am asked about the process. Should I talk about practical and technical realities or my work? Or the way I conceptualise it? Or both?

anyhow. I am a bit worried about all this.  

I dont think you should be that worried. I doubt that they invite individuals back for a second interview that they intend to decline admissions to 

I think it was a bit of both. I answered the question more so about the conceptual framework of my portfolio and the ideas that highlight it. When I was answering the question I did choose an image from my portfolio and talk about the cultural references that are reflected in that piece tying it back to the original question if that makes sense. 

[AidaLizard]

Anyone know what the finacial aid is like at VCU for sculpture? 
I know tuition is roughly 49k for out of state grad students for the two years but anyone heard of what the financial aid offer was for a recent MFA candidate?

I'm curious because I have two other offers and I'm waiting to hear from VCU atm and I want to have an idea of what to expect.

[SocialKonstruct]

3 hours ago, geemun said:

Thank you for saying this. I think its important people realize "affordable" is different for different people and that NY may not work for everyone. I live here and grew up here and dont think its affordable aha. I can't afford studio space either (and I work a full time job, which most artist I know do not) and my partner and I have a "home studio" which is just the bedroom in our one bedroom. It works perfectly for us, but its not the big beautiful studio space you see many others having. Now I also know artists with many roommates who pay less in rent, but pay about the cost of rent for a studio monthly. It greatly depends on HOW you want to live, and WHY you want to be someplace. Debating one city over another feels a bit silly on here when it should really be about the school experience you want and what you plan to do after. 

Yes and no. Most of that decision falls on the individual on whether the person will want to remain with the community associated with the MFA program or move elsewhere. But every artist has a different plan so one cannot generalize the future for each person here.

[SocialKonstruct]

20 minutes ago, AidaLizard said:

Anyone know what the finacial aid is like at VCU for sculpture? 
I know tuition is roughly 49k for out of state grad students for the two years but anyone heard of what the financial aid offer was for a recent MFA candidate?

I'm curious because I have two other offers and I'm waiting to hear from VCU atm and I want to have an idea of what to expect.

We had two folks from the Utah area who went or are going to VCU and they tend to be rather generous with financial aid from what I gather :).

[AidaLizard]

2 minutes ago, SocialKonstruct said:

We had two folks from the Utah area who went or are going to VCU and they tend to be rather generous with financial aid from what I gather :).

Thanks for responding that they are generous, but do you have any actual info? 

[SocialKonstruct]

Just now, AidaLizard said:

Thanks for responding that they are generous, but do you have any actual info? 

Sadly enough, the two folks I don't know personally so I wouldn't have any hard stats (that's private) but I gather implicitly that VCU is very helpful. In fact, one of the folks is attending the MFA in painting and she is pretty happy about it.

[AidaLizard]

Just now, SocialKonstruct said:

Sadly enough, the two folks I don't know personally so I wouldn't have any hard stats (that's private) but I gather implicitly that VCU is very helpful. In fact, one of the folks is attending the MFA in painting and she is pretty happy about it.

I was hoping someone said something along the lines of whether most grads get either fellowships or assistantships, if anyone pays any tuition out of pocket, etc. not people's private financial info thanks. 

[katfude]

Just now, AidaLizard said:

I was hoping someone said something along the lines of whether most grads get either fellowships or assistantships, if anyone pays any tuition out of pocket, etc. not people's private financial info thanks. 

This might be a bit tedious, but if you can't find any info in other places-- try searching on the 2019 or 2020 freak out forum to see if you can find some people who were accepted and posted about their aid just to give you some sort of idea what they offer

[SocialKonstruct]

Just now, katfude said:

This might be a bit tedious, but if you can't find any info in other places-- try searching on the 2019 or 2020 freak out forum to see if you can find some people who were accepted and posted about their aid just to give you some sort of idea what they offer

Possibly that could work but considering that last year was a crazy year with COVID-19, I would not rely too heavily on historical data which is anecdotal from previous threads here tbh. Schools changed funding on a dime in 2020.

[katfude]

Just now, SocialKonstruct said:

Possibly that could work but considering that last year was a crazy year with COVID-19, I would not rely too heavily on historical data which is anecdotal from previous threads here tbh. Schools changed funding on a dime in 2020.

Obviously.. but if they are just trying to get a general idea, then talking to the former students that you know will be of no help either. Why be a contrarian when you already jumped in with prior students experience? 

[Artist99]

Any news on UCI? Its been radio silence since my interview at the beginning of February!   

Edited March 2, 2021 by Artist99

[aniben3]

9 minutes ago, AidaLizard said:

I was hoping someone said something along the lines of whether most grads get either fellowships or assistantships, if anyone pays any tuition out of pocket, etc. not people's private financial info thanks. 

Hey, so I talked with VCU fiber/craft & material studies in November, and I asked about funding and it sounded like first year was funded with assistantships, and then second there was a chance it might not be. I also talked to a current VCU student from another department earlier in the year and they were able to get second year funding, but it wasn't guaranteed. They recommended changing your residence to Virginia as soon as you get there to qualify for in-state tuition the next year if you didn't get more funding.

[SocialKonstruct]

VCU's website does list the following here: https://arts.vcu.edu/academics/departments/sculpture-extended-media/student-resources/funding-opportunities/

 

Graduate Teaching Assistantships

(GTA’s) provide full-tuition waivers and generous stipends in exchange for 15 hours of work per week. GTA assignments include serving as teaching assistants for full-time faculty, teaching independent classes, providing technical support in the department’s studios and shops, well as other potential opportunities within the sphere of arts practice and research. GTA assignments rotate each semester, and we work with students to match assignments with their interests and skills.

 

Graduate Research Grant

Each year, students from graduate programs across The School of Arts apply for Graduate Research Grants to make their projects a reality. Through a competitive review, VCUarts graduate students are awarded grants of up to $3000 for projects that support and develop their creative practice, research, and scholarship.

Application and more information

Graduate Student Travel Grant

VCUarts awards Graduate Student Travel Grants to support original scholarship. The mission of the program is to help fund travel that falls outside of University activities, such as invited conference presentations and exhibitions occurring in professional venues.

Funds are available as follows:

• Conference attendance in the U.S.: Up to $300
• Presentations, exhibitions and performances in the U.S.: Up to $500
• International conference attendance: Up to $700
• International presentations, exhibitions and performances: Up to $1,000

Application and more information

Affiliated Residency Programs

The VCU Department of Sculpture + Extended Media is proud of the substantial, often life-long bonds that form within the close-knit community of our studios. At the same time, we recognize the need for artist’s networks to extend beyond the borders of the program. In an effort to bolster such relationships, we have partnered with a number of high-profile residency programs, including SOMA Summer (Mexico City), the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture (Maine), Yale Norfolk (Connecticut), and Mildred’s Lane (Pennsylvania) to support student participation in these programs

 

[SocialKonstruct]

Good news. Columbia just updated its student list to show who is attending the current iteration at their MFA program: https://arts.columbia.edu/visual-arts/students

[-----------]

I wish I would have looked at tuition cost at USC a while back. MAN, USC IS EXPENSIVE. I've been trying hard to scope out funding sources for an MFA in Fine Art, there, but I'm not finding much either on the net or on the phone. I'm going to bring this up at my interview next week and see what they've got going on. It's absolutely impossible for me to justify dropping 250 stacks on an art degree from anywhere, especially when I'm doing well already. Does anyone know anything about Graduate funding at USC that I'm not aware of???

I'm a Chicano artist and really want to work on a degree with 2 of these great professors in specific at USC that just seem perfect and on the same page with me, it's why I only applied there. I want to teach art and be a good influence for Chicano kids to look up to who have disadvantages like I did because of where we come from. But the cost, seriously. I can't go a quarter of a million dollars into debt to work a career that basically amounts to minimum wage in California. I'll die in debt!

I really hope that USC has a solution, otherwise I'm just going to have to apply at other schools in November.

Any ideas or good info? Please don't say Fastweb.

Meanwhile, enjoy this song. I really like it. It's both depressing and uplifting.

 

[geeeeebie]

40 minutes ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Yes and no. Most of that decision falls on the individual on whether the person will want to remain with the community associated with the MFA program or move elsewhere. But every artist has a different plan so one cannot generalize the future for each person here.

Yes thats what I said.