MFA 2021 Freak Out Forum

[sunnydelightt]

1 hour ago, papayalalala said:

One quick question for everyone who got an interview.

Were your recommenders professors?
I graduated a few years ago and due to Covid, I wasn't able to have any interaction in person with them so I went with people that'd seen my works in person this year and none of them were art professors nor my former professors.
 

Yes, I only got professors. I tried to get professors who were Alumni, or worked with the school at some point for my letters of rec. 

I was told to get people who are still practicing art. And basically the more well-known the better.

Edited February 11, 2021 by sunnydelightt

[Gahhhhhhh]

1 hour ago, papayalalala said:

One quick question for everyone who got an interview.

Were your recommenders professors?
I graduated a few years ago and due to Covid, I wasn't able to have any interaction in person with them so I went with people that'd seen my works in person this year and none of them were art professors nor my former professors.
 

Out of three only one was a Professor. I graduated in 2017. 

[HB9bird]

1 hour ago, slickjaketheruler said:

I wanted to throw this question out there. Did anyone have a rough first interview? I had a really rough interview on Tuesday night that didn’t go very well or expected at all. Lots of questions I didn’t expect to be thrown my way with answers I didn’t have fully fleshed out. Anyone have any tips in regards of how to recover from a rough interview? I’m learning that it’s okay to have notes prepared for the interviews, and trying not to be so hard on myself about it.

Yes! My first one did not go well. My answers were not what she wanted to hear. My other 2 went really well. I clicked with the last two. That solidified that the first place just wasn’t for me. Also, even though it went poorly, she gave me great feedback and it made me think a lot about what to say next time. It was super beneficial even though it wasn’t “a success”. 

[geeeeebie]

2 hours ago, papayalalala said:

One quick question for everyone who got an interview.

Were your recommenders professors?
I graduated a few years ago and due to Covid, I wasn't able to have any interaction in person with them so I went with people that'd seen my works in person this year and none of them were art professors nor my former professors.
 

Havent gotten an interview yet but only one of my recommenders was a professor. One is an artist/curator and the other an artist/museum worker. I graduated in 2015 and didnt stay in contact with many professors (a lot have retired since) but kept in contact with one via instagram (thank god for social media, because he really got to see an evolution of my work on there) 

[everyonelikesbubbles]

3 hours ago, papayalalala said:

One quick question for everyone who got an interview.

Were your recommenders professors?
I graduated a few years ago and due to Covid, I wasn't able to have any interaction in person with them so I went with people that'd seen my works in person this year and none of them were art professors nor my former professors.
 

I think having your recommender be a teacher is not as important as having someone who knows you,  can speak to your practice, and also give context to what you make / your space in your local art scene. 

Consider people who can answer: what is your trajectory? What is your growth? How are you in conversation with the contemporary moment? Where does your work fit in with art history? The benefit of a professor, though, is that they can speak about how you are as a student and as a member of cohort. Are you open-minded? Are you easy to teach?

My recommenders were a professor, a museum curator, and a biennial director. I think stature may help minorly, but the best recommender would be someone who has a connection with the faculty in which you are applying, which may be difficult to determine. Also--better to waive your rights and keep the recommendation letter private when adding your recommender emails...

Edited February 11, 2021 by everyonelikesbubbles
typo

[geeeeebie]

Have any of you reached out to schools for updates? If so, how long after the deadline did you email? 

[Sofullsofull]

Did you guys email professors after the interview ? 

[basilmari]

33 minutes ago, Sofullsofull said:

Did you guys email professors after the interview ? 

I waited a little bit, like a day and a half, but then, yes. It felt right to me.

[bearwallow]

As promised, the MICA Mount Royal Timeline: 

"Hello Emily!

I wanted to send a quick follow-up, as promised. The Mount Royal faculty are conducting their reviews and interviews in rounds. I've checked with the faculty and they've told me they have sent out the first round invites already.

The reviews will continue throughout February so it is too early to give you a definitive answer on the final status of your application, but I understand that you have other plans to consider! I can definitely leave your application active throughout the review process but I likely won't have a final answer until early March.

I hope this helps, and sorry that I don't have more concrete information at this stage!"

Sent from MICA office of grad admission 

Edited February 11, 2021 by bearwallow

[ShydreezyWrites]

7 hours ago, seenmanwell said:

I've been watching/lurking on this forum for the last three weeks figured I would jump in. 

I applied to MFA photo programs:

Parson - interview (next week)

Pratt - interview (next week)

RISD - radio silence

Yale - denied 

SAIC - interview (next week)

Columbia Chicago - radio silence

Did anyone else apply to RISD or Columbia Chicago for MFA photo and already get word back?

I applied to Columbia college and SAIC for creative writing. Got an interview with SAIC and have been in regular contact with the admissions director at Columbia College. However, he did say that they start sending our interview request the last week of February; not sure if that applies to the photography program as well. 

[ShydreezyWrites]

On 2/10/2021 at 3:27 PM, Reida said:

Art + Tech, wbu?

Creative writing. 

[lizavetar96]

I got an interview with U of Washington for Photo!

did any of you guys interviewed with them?

 

(also, is there a reason why we are asked if we waive our rights to look at our recommenders letters? I did not waive my rights for my first University application for some dumb reason and I am afraid something went wrong because of it) 

[Sofullsofull]

I heard if the interview is intimidating it is a good sign and if professors are just being nice it is a bad sign. Is it true? 

What do you think?

[Hphphphp]

Just now, Sofullsofull said:

I heard if the interview is intimidating it is a good sign and if professors are just being nice it is a bad sign. Is it true? 

What do you think?

I think it depends.... “intimidating” is subjective. In my opinion it ultimatelY depends on how you handle whatever demeanor you encounter. If a program REALLY wants you they will try to sell the school to you, in that case they may not want to be intimidating. Unless it’s a very prestigious school in which case they don’t need to sell.  Anyways, If you have written a really good statement of purpose (for the schools that require it, this is not the artist statement) then they may find themselves in the odd situation where they don’t need much clarification. 

[HB9bird]

23 minutes ago, Sofullsofull said:

I heard if the interview is intimidating it is a good sign and if professors are just being nice it is a bad sign. Is it true? 

What do you think?

I can only speak from experience.

Idk about “intimidating”, but I had one that did not go well and I haven’t heard anything from that school.  

I had 2 that went really well. They were excited about my work, etc. I got offered admission to one a few days later & the other one said I made it to the next round.

The one that didn’t go well wasn't intimidating, but I wasn’t giving answers that she wanted to hear & I could tell. 

I think you’ll know if it goes well vs. not during the interview.

[HB9bird]

2 hours ago, Sofullsofull said:

Did you guys email professors after the interview ? 

Yes, but I did it when I had something constructive to say. I didn’t do it just because that’s what’s expected of an interviewee. I didn’t do it just to say thank you. 

[Sofullsofull]

26 minutes ago, Hphphphp said:

I think it depends.... “intimidating” is subjective. In my opinion it ultimatelY depends on how you handle whatever demeanor you encounter. If a program REALLY wants you they will try to sell the school to you, in that case they may not want to be intimidating. Unless it’s a very prestigious school in which case they don’t need to sell.  Anyways, If you have written a really good statement of purpose (for the schools that require it, this is not the artist statement) then they may find themselves in the odd situation where they don’t need much clarification. 

Thanks for your answer!

[Sofullsofull]

14 minutes ago, HB9bird said:

Yes, but I did it when I had something constructive to say. I didn’t do it just because that’s what’s expected of an interviewee. I didn’t do it just to say thank you. 

Yes it makes sense. Thanks!

[SocialKonstruct]

On 2/10/2021 at 7:36 PM, Reida said:

I also applied to theirs! How do they like the program?? 

It was so so awesome! His name is Patrick Winfield Vogel and we are very close friends. Expect a huge amount of tough but creative readings as well as a very open type of practice. If you want something with lots of direction or instruction by the numbers this would not be a good fit however.

[sakuya020]

Hi guys, quick thing, did anyone apply to RISD MFA Graphic Design this year? Interview or any feedback from the school?

[Multiple_Realisms]

18 hours ago, sunnydelightt said:

Yes, I only got professors. I tried to get professors who were Alumni, or worked with the school at some point for my letters of rec. 

I was told to get people who are still practicing art. And basically the more well-known the better.

Sorry I'm new here and I think I'm accidentally replying to a reply to the original post. At any rate, I am applying to MFAs this year as a career change without an undergraduate degree in the arts, and so I had a lot of nerves about not having practicing art professors as references. I sent a portfolio to my home university's MFA program and when we did a brief Zoom meeting (for which I had to be really persistent to get), they ended up saying that I could use anyone who could provide a past professional or current "character"-type reference. I ended up with one professor of sculpture whom I'd taken a class with in the past, one community college professor where I took a welding class, and my former teaching assistant supervisor where I did some PhD studies in the social sciences. So, a total hodge-podge. I guess my point is, there are definitely folks out there without the tidy resume or reference list, and for me it has been a conversation point rather than a limitation. Good luck to you! 

[jack343234]

Has anyone heard from Hunter, Pratt, or Columbia for MFA Painting as to when to interview requests will come out?  Has anyone received one.

[JellyRoll]

SAIC low-res? Anyone?

[artist wannabe]

12 minutes ago, jack343234 said:

Has anyone heard from Hunter, Pratt, or Columbia for MFA Painting as to when to interview requests will come out?  Has anyone received one.

almost every day i come here to see if Columbia has any updates.... nothing.

[hsag]

Just an update for anyone interested - I wrote an email regarding UCLA's interviews and this was the response:

"Notification is typically sent out mid-March. At that time, all applicants will be invited, via email, to view their application decision status online.

Please note that the department does not hold formal interview dates. Interviews are conducted for some finalist candidates, at the discretion of the faculty. Finalist applicants may be contacted by faculty via phone, email or skype, in the time leading up to notification."