MFA 2021 Freak Out Forum

[a_monster]

Finally heard from Tyler Painting. Waitlisted, lol. Anyone else?

[XSX]

3 minutes ago, a_monster said:

Finally heard from Tyler Painting. Waitlisted, lol. Anyone else?

I got accepted. The "funding" they offered though is not good. It would cost $15k per SEMESTER to attend. I have a feeling Tyler lost a lot of funding due to the pandemic, which is maybe why it took so long to hear back from them. 

More than likely going to decline, unless they offer more, but not getting my hopes up. 

[dgrkrk]

1 hour ago, XSX said:

I got accepted. The "funding" they offered though is not good. It would cost $15k per SEMESTER to attend. I have a feeling Tyler lost a lot of funding due to the pandemic, which is maybe why it took so long to hear back from them. 

More than likely going to decline, unless they offer more, but not getting my hopes up. 

If you defer, would the funding still be the same next year?

[rmwphoto]

Hey all, I got an offer from GSU which I'm super excited about! I was able to connect with current grad students over zoom tomorrow, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for good questions that I could ask them to kinda be prepared for the program. I would be moving states so I'm going to ask about living and Atlanta itself, but any other advice?

[SocialKonstruct]

To dig the most obscure (j/k) possible rankings for art schools, let's look at a Chinese ranking system here: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2021/art-design

[Killerdonuts]

4 hours ago, a_monster said:

Finally heard from Tyler Painting. Waitlisted, lol. Anyone else?

Also waitlisted. ☹️ I don't think the funding will be good enough even if I do get accepted off the waitlist. I might apply again next year - I'll be eligible for in-state tuition at that point. Very bummed.

[Hphphphp]

4 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

To dig the most obscure (j/k) possible rankings for art schools, let's look at a Chinese ranking system here: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject-rankings/2021/art-design

 Can someone explain this to me? Is it based on what’s being consumed in the Chinese market rn? Very interesting!

[lizavetar96]

Just got 50 per cent tuition reduction (through departmental assistantship) for SVA’s photography MFA! 
 

very nice and grateful. I still probably can not afford to go there, but I am glad they gave it to me. 

[salad]

On 3/31/2021 at 9:17 AM, nobodyok said:

@salad did you wind up getting any kind of communication from VCU? now that it's officially the end of the month, i'm wondering why i didn't even receive the rejection notice yet lol.

lol no i didn't.... have no idea whats up w vcu 

[nobodyok]

20 minutes ago, salad said:

lol no i didn't.... have no idea whats up w vcu 

sorry u have had the same experience, but comforted to not be alone lol. i work at a university in the field and i'm perplexed by the communication void.. we're not the most on top of our deadlines, but we still sent out the rejections when we sent out the offers & waitlists lol.

[CMCM]

Well my journey for my graduate degree in Design has come to a slow stop. 

Yale - Rejected 

EKA - Rejected

SVA - Accepted (no aid) 

Otis - Accepted (scholarship 50% aid) 

ArtCenter - Accepted (scholarship 50% aid) 

Still deciding between Otis and ArtCenter, it has been a hectic and costly journey. 

Wishing everyone the best of luck, and thank you for answering my questions!  

[sunnydelightt]

On 3/31/2021 at 2:39 PM, XSX said:

. 

Is RISD fully funded like UCSD?

[sunnydelightt]

On 3/31/2021 at 12:30 PM, hello this is said:

what do y'all think of UCSD vs RISD? anyone wanna tell me what to do

Is RISD fully funded like UCSD?

[nonsenseisnowheretobefound]

SVA or CalArts??

 

I got into CalArts's and SVA's MFA Photography program this year, but I'm struggling with the final decision.

To me, New York seems to be a better place to study contemporary photography and has more chances to find a job, but overall CalArts has a better reputation on this program but is located in a relatively poor location (Valencia, 30mi away from center of LA) to develop photography as an art, have a lively social life and find a well-paid job after graduation (I could be wrong about CalArts, though). P.S., SVA offers me 3-year admission and CalArts is regular 2-year. And neither provides any scholarships, tuitions are quite similar but living in New York cost about 1/3 more and needs an extra half a year to a year.

 

Any additional information or suggestion will be appreciated!

 

[a_monster]

2 hours ago, CMCM said:

Well my journey for my graduate degree in Design has come to a slow stop. 

Yale - Rejected 

EKA - Rejected

SVA - Accepted (no aid) 

Otis - Accepted (scholarship 50% aid) 

ArtCenter - Accepted (scholarship 50% aid) 

Still deciding between Otis and ArtCenter, it has been a hectic and costly journey. 

Wishing everyone the best of luck, and thank you for answering my questions!  

If you plan on looking for a job in the LA area after graduating, I think ArtCenter has a slightly better reputation and more extensive alumni network than Otis. That may be biased because my BFA is from ArtCenter though.

[lizavetar96]

5 hours ago, nonsenseisnowheretobefound said:

SVA or CalArts??

 

I got into CalArts's and SVA's MFA Photography program this year, but I'm struggling with the final decision.

To me, New York seems to be a better place to study contemporary photography and has more chances to find a job, but overall CalArts has a better reputation on this program but is located in a relatively poor location (Valencia, 30mi away from center of LA) to develop photography as an art, have a lively social life and find a well-paid job after graduation (I could be wrong about CalArts, though). P.S., SVA offers me 3-year admission and CalArts is regular 2-year. And neither provides any scholarships, tuitions are quite similar but living in New York cost about 1/3 more and needs an extra half a year to a year.

 

Any additional information or suggestion will be appreciated!

 

Congratulations on acceptances! I got into SVA for Photo and would love to see you as a potential member of the cohort. Do you have an IG where I can see your work? (Mine is @erakhilkina) 

personally, I was really excited about applying to CalArts as I absolutely admire their photo faculty - JoAnn Callis and Sharon Lockhart but I never got even an interview. But it depends what kind of photography you do and what faculty can elevate your work best. 
 

sorry, that I can not offer anything helpful, but I really do not know much about the schools. I would recommend reaching out to CalArts alumni to ask questions about their experiences in the schools. (I did that with SVA). 

[dramallama_07]

Anyone here going to SVA this Fall?

[boba_girl]

On 4/1/2021 at 2:14 AM, MFA Troll said:

Try for the Rijksacademie. Free with generous stipend and their reputation envies Yale. The Netherlands is suffering through a bout of neoliberal austerity, so socially supported art institutions are suffering. Plus people hate American these days, but worth a try. LOL know I seem like a total jerk but I think its criminal to burden young artists with unsurmountable debt. 

 

Rijksacademie, KABK, Werkplaats, Sandberg are all great choices in the Netherlands that are very cheap in comparison to the U.S. The only thing is from my experience is that some of these schools severely lack diversity in their faculty. Whereas in American universities, you have faculty that is more diverse, inclusive, and international. To me, learning graphic design from different perspectives/angles is more important than getting schooled by a bunch of pretentious white men. 

[a_monster]

18 hours ago, nonsenseisnowheretobefound said:

SVA or CalArts??

 

I got into CalArts's and SVA's MFA Photography program this year, but I'm struggling with the final decision.

To me, New York seems to be a better place to study contemporary photography and has more chances to find a job, but overall CalArts has a better reputation on this program but is located in a relatively poor location (Valencia, 30mi away from center of LA) to develop photography as an art, have a lively social life and find a well-paid job after graduation (I could be wrong about CalArts, though). P.S., SVA offers me 3-year admission and CalArts is regular 2-year. And neither provides any scholarships, tuitions are quite similar but living in New York cost about 1/3 more and needs an extra half a year to a year.

 

Any additional information or suggestion will be appreciated!

 

I went to CalArts for undergrad for two years for Graphic Design before I took a few years off and then transferred to ArtCenter for Illustration/Painting –– so while I can't speak about the Photography department specifically, I do have some experience with the school in general and living in the area.

CalArts was an amazing magical place. Because they have the performing arts schools like Dance and Music, and hold the gallery openings every week, there was always cool stuff happening on campus. The community aspect on campus was very much a real thing, and there was a lot of interesting cross-disciplinary collaboration happening quite organically. There was way more social interaction between metiers, and between undergraduate and graduate students, than at ArtCenter. (Do not regret transferring in the slightest, but way different vibe between the two schools.) I made a lot of friends at CalArts that I'm still close to, many of them from other programs. We would still go back to CalArts for performances, gallery shows, etc. even years after they graduated. CalArts and its alumni, faculty, students are a genuinely relevant presence in the art and creative scene in LA too.

Valencia kind of sucks, but if you don't mind driving, or make friends who like driving, it's really not that isolated from most of LA. We would drive to Hollywood just to eat dinner sometimes (Hollywood is about a 25 minute drive no traffic, Downtown is like 45, stopping myself now before I turn into that SNL sketch and start listing freeway routes.) Santa Clarita area is also relatively affordable for Southern California. It's easy and convenient to live there in terms of normal life stuff like going to the grocery store, etc., which is nice if you're spending most of your time on campus in the studio.

If you think the CalArts program would allow you to make better work, and the LA scene in general seems viable, I would not necessarily let the location dissuade you.

Edited April 2, 2021 by a_monster

[lizavetar96]

GUYS
 

I got accepted to CALARTS for Photography. What the fuck. I did not even have an interview. I got a notification and I thought it was a rejection. I definitely won't be able to go because of the finances, but the acceptance warms my heart. 

[MFA Troll]

2 hours ago, boba_girl said:

Rijksacademie, KABK, Werkplaats, Sandberg are all great choices in the Netherlands that are very cheap in comparison to the U.S. The only thing is from my experience is that some of these schools severely lack diversity in their faculty. Whereas in American universities, you have faculty that is more diverse, inclusive, and international. To me, learning graphic design from different perspectives/angles is more important than getting schooled by a bunch of pretentious white men. 

Sallie Mae is a girl boss!

[SocialKonstruct]

On 4/1/2021 at 12:36 AM, Hphphphp said:

 Can someone explain this to me? Is it based on what’s being consumed in the Chinese market rn? Very interesting!

? Not sure but these Chinese ranking seems to focus on the undergraduate level I think?

[nonsenseisnowheretobefound]

15 hours ago, lizavetar96 said:

Congratulations on acceptances! I got into SVA for Photo and would love to see you as a potential member of the cohort. Do you have an IG where I can see your work? (Mine is @erakhilkina) 

personally, I was really excited about applying to CalArts as I absolutely admire their photo faculty - JoAnn Callis and Sharon Lockhart but I never got even an interview. But it depends what kind of photography you do and what faculty can elevate your work best. 
 

sorry, that I can not offer anything helpful, but I really do not know much about the schools. I would recommend reaching out to CalArts alumni to ask questions about their experiences in the schools. (I did that with SVA). 

Thank you! I appreciate it. I don’t run an Instagram account though. I’ve talked to some CalArts faculty before but haven’t got in touch with any SVA faculty/alumni. Do you know a good way to maybe chat with some current student?

[lizavetar96]

6 minutes ago, nonsenseisnowheretobefound said:

Thank you! I appreciate it. I don’t run an Instagram account though. I’ve talked to some CalArts faculty before but haven’t got in touch with any SVA faculty/alumni. Do you know a good way to maybe chat with some current student?

Is there a website I can see? I would love to connect. (I connect with SVA alumni by asking the faculty, they were very open and encouraging about this. )

[nonsenseisnowheretobefound]

4 hours ago, a_monster said:

I went to CalArts for undergrad for two years for Graphic Design before I took a few years off and then transferred to ArtCenter for Illustration/Painting –– so while I can't speak about the Photography department specifically, I do have some experience with the school in general and living in the area.

CalArts was an amazing magical place. Because they have the performing arts schools like Dance and Music, and hold the gallery openings every week, there was always cool stuff happening on campus. The community aspect on campus was very much a real thing, and there was a lot of interesting cross-disciplinary collaboration happening quite organically. There was way more social interaction between metiers, and between undergraduate and graduate students, than at ArtCenter. (Do not regret transferring in the slightest, but way different vibe between the two schools.) I made a lot of friends at CalArts that I'm still close to, many of them from other programs. We would still go back to CalArts for performances, gallery shows, etc. even years after they graduated. CalArts and its alumni, faculty, students are a genuinely relevant presence in the art and creative scene in LA too.

Valencia kind of sucks, but if you don't mind driving, or make friends who like driving, it's really not that isolated from most of LA. We would drive to Hollywood just to eat dinner sometimes (Hollywood is about a 25 minute drive no traffic, Downtown is like 45, stopping myself now before I turn into that SNL sketch and start listing freeway routes.) Santa Clarita area is also relatively affordable for Southern California. It's easy and convenient to live there in terms of normal life stuff like going to the grocery store, etc., which is nice if you're spending most of your time on campus in the studio.

If you think the CalArts program would allow you to make better work, and the LA scene in general seems viable, I would not necessarily let the location dissuade you.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Lacking info about SVA still got me debating. But I’m leaning towards CalArts now.