MFA 2021 Freak Out Forum

[SocialKonstruct]

2 hours ago, CSElli said:

This forum has been so helpful for me. Thanks to everyone for being so supportive! 
I have a couple of questions I wanted your opinions on. 
At the end of my MICA interview, the MFA director (who is also an artist) asked me not to contact her about the interview or reach out to her personally. I would like to send a follow up thank you message, and I can send it to the administrator. Should I simply say, “Can you pass along my appreciation for the interview to the director?”. 
 

Also! I have an interview with Hunter this Saturday. What are some questions you like to ask at the end of your interview? 

This is the director here- https://www.joanwaltemath.net/ and https://www.mica.edu/graduate-programs/leroy-e-hoffberger-school-of-painting-mfa/faculty/

[SocialKonstruct]

7 minutes ago, slickjaketheruler said:

I would maybe not follow up if they asked not to email a thank you or contact them a thank you. But I’m a bit confused here, was the MFA director seeming standoffish? I get people are busy, but this is like the 4th time someone had an unpleasant interview moment in this year of interviews.
 

I understand everyone has their own reasons for applying to universities of their choosing, but this to me, from what I’ve seen with everything with MICA, are some huge red flags. I would just really think on it. I know you’ll make the best decision for yourself and why you need from a program (just stating an opinion here). But I’d be really cautious before dropping money on the program.

Honestly prestige is important but honestly if one is going to spend 2-3 years of your life doing a MFA, find your niche and be happy. My life experience has told me that you can't rewind your life and have a redux

[CSElli]

26 minutes ago, slickjaketheruler said:

I would maybe not follow up if they asked not to email a thank you or contact them a thank you. But I’m a bit confused here, was the MFA director seeming standoffish? I get people are busy, but this is like the 4th time someone had an unpleasant interview moment in this year of interviews.
 

I understand everyone has their own reasons for applying to universities of their choosing, but this to me, from what I’ve seen with everything with MICA, are some huge red flags. I would just really think on it. I know you’ll make the best decision for yourself and why you need from a program (just stating an opinion here). But I’d be really cautious before dropping money on the program.

Thank you for your response. I have already decided not to attend MICA due to my experience and others. Even though it was tough, I’m glad I had that experience. I got a new feel for the school before moving my whole life to a different state. 
I have a friend in the low residency MFA program at MICA and she loves it. Maybe this year interviews were odd because it was one on one. The funny thing is, I have actually interviewed with the MICA MFA director before in 2018 and did not have this experience. There were more people interviewing me however (including current MFA students). I was waitlisted in 2018, and decided to try again in 2021. 
 

If you have any questions about my experience feel free to message me. Especially if it helps you with your decision process.
I wish you the best of luck with your future! 

[CSElli]

41 minutes ago, SocialKonstruct said:

This is the director here- https://www.joanwaltemath.net/ and https://www.mica.edu/graduate-programs/leroy-e-hoffberger-school-of-painting-mfa/faculty/

Thank you for the reference. I do have the director’s contact information, and I have actually interviewed with her before in 2018. I did not have the same issues in 2018. My question was mainly if I should mention to the admin (the one who emailed me the zoom link for the interview) to pass along my thanks to the director. Or if I should just say thank you and leave out that extra verbiage. Based on the responses I got, I think I will keep it short and sweet. 
 

If you have any suggestions about questions I should ask for Hunter, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for your insight! 

[joeyjoejoeshabbadoo]

I just interviewed at TCU! It seemed to go well.

They asked me some really interesting questions, including:
What is a difficult problem you encountered in your studio and how did you reconcile it?
in what ways have you connected to your community in the past, and in what ways will you be in the future?

definitely good food for thought, I thought.

[joeyjoejoeshabbadoo]

23 minutes ago, CSElli said:

Thank you for the reference. I do have the director’s contact information, and I have actually interviewed with her before in 2018. I did not have the same issues in 2018. My question was mainly if I should mention to the admin (the one who emailed me the zoom link for the interview) to pass along my thanks to the director. Or if I should just say thank you and leave out that extra verbiage. Based on the responses I got, I think I will keep it short and sweet. 
 

If you have any suggestions about questions I should ask for Hunter, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for your insight! 

Yeah I would also be inclined to take the short and sweet path. What a weird experience you had!

I am a present MICA student and have known faculty and staff of the school to generally be very genial and down-to-earth. if you (or any other prospective MICA students reading) want to know something specific about the school or Baltimore, I'm happy to help.

[pp2345]

Hi! Has anyone heard anything from UCBerkeley and UPenn so far?? 

[slickjaketheruler]

1 hour ago, CSElli said:

Thank you for your response. I have already decided not to attend MICA due to my experience and others. Even though it was tough, I’m glad I had that experience. I got a new feel for the school before moving my whole life to a different state. 
I have a friend in the low residency MFA program at MICA and she loves it. Maybe this year interviews were odd because it was one on one. The funny thing is, I have actually interviewed with the MICA MFA director before in 2018 and did not have this experience. There were more people interviewing me however (including current MFA students). I was waitlisted in 2018, and decided to try again in 2021. 
 

If you have any questions about my experience feel free to message me. Especially if it helps you with your decision process.
I wish you the best of luck with your future! 

Best of luck to you too! I hope everywhere else treats you amazing!

[mari11]

14 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Some folks argue that Columbia's program is in the same route as this. However, to be honest, I think it's an individual step. When I apply honestly I tend to be very self-directly and for me, I will continue doing art even if the world is collapsing around me.

One shining example of success in a MFA program is a recent Columbia program graduate Susan MB Chen. https://susanmbchen.com/. Already fresh out of Columbia, she had already sold every single painting in her first solo painting at Meredith Rosen before the show physically exhibited. The reviews for her work has been glowing and she is cutting a new path for Asian-American contemporary figurative art.

Even though some folks complained that Columbia was falling apart and completely junked out, Ms. Chen's example is a demonstration that where you attend your MFA program can really help to build the connections and establish a critical dialogue between the work and the public. She was able to show that the NYC art world can be understanding of what she was doing. And Columbia's location, prestige and still very respectable studio classes despite the issues show that the hierachy of which MFA programs can help you into the NYC/LA/Chicago art markets are intact here.

You seem very well versed in researching schools. I'm curious your thoughts on this article: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mfa-degree-successful-artists-620891

I'm also interested in your thoughts on CalArts, and it's ability to create connections for emerging artists...

[katfude]

I'm freaking out, has anyone fucked up their slide presentation so bad by going over the time? In sharing my screen I couldn't see what time it was so I gave a 30 minute lecture instead of a 15 minute one.... essentially not leaving time for ANY questions and making them 5 minutes late for the next person. I am SO embarrassed and I'm sure they will not be contacting me again. Has anyone had this experience? 

A WORD OF ADVICE-- HAVE A SECOND CLOCK NOT ON YOUR COMPUTER. 

[paintlayer]

Hello everyone! I too have been a long time lurker of these forums but have not posted until now. This post might be a bit of a journey, but I feel all of you understand this process better than most anyone.

 

I am a painter that applied to 4 programs;

CMU- rejected

VCU Painting and Printmaking- interviewed

MICA Hoffberger- no response

UT Austin Painting- no response

 

My two top programs are VCU and MICA Hoffberger (it sounds like UT Austin is out, since no interview and someone else said they are only taking 1 person, which also sounds insane.) From what I have heard, they are vastly different programs; VCU is more traditional in that it is rigorous, challenging, with more focus on theory and possibly teaching while Hoffberger is essentially all studio time with studio visits and critiques. VCU has several faculty members with some visiting critics and artists, while Hoffberger is completely with the director and lots of visiting artists doing studio visits. And yes, the funding is completely different; VCU is supposed to be generous, while MICA can be expensive. 

My interview with VCU went "well" by which I mean I didn't make any huge mistakes (to my knowledge) but the interviewers were hard to read (especially over zoom.) I would not be surprised if I am accepted, waitlisted, or rejected. It was with the chair of the department who led the discussion, another member of faculty, and a current student. It was mostly conversational but maybe a bit more directed and formal than just a chat. Again, I was not given any indication if my answers were what they were looking for. The questions were pretty typical; why VCU, talk about your work, why an MFA, what are you reading? I know someone who just finished the program, who said it was challenging but well worth it. I was told they would get back as soon as they could without a clear timeline when that would be. I have applied two times previously; rejected very quickly the first year in late Feb, and last year in late March. My interview was just about 2 weeks ago, so who know when I will have any word back. 

Additionally, I am curious about hearing back from MICA Hoffberger. So, yes, you might be saying "you haven't heard back about an interview, you're probably rejected" which is true probably, but the wrinkle in that is that (this may be completely inconsequential) the Hoffberger instagram account started following me a few weeks ago and they only follow a little over a hundred people, mostly artists from the program. I have no idea who runs the account, or why they would start following me from the official account, and it may be nothing. I could be reading too much into it, but when all be have is time to wait it's hard not to try to look for clues. I applied to the program last year, and WAS given an interview but was ultimately waitlisted. Then the pandemic really hit, and I declined to pursue it further because I didn't want my first year of grad school to be remote (no regrets.) Except now I don't know if I am just rejected completely because I didn't move forward during a worldwide health crisis and missed my chance. I do feel sorry for the poster who had such a terrible interview with the director, who seemed lovely during my 2020 interview but it was also with other students and not one on one. 

 

All together, I probably will be back next year (this was my 3rd year) It does seem hard to find information about the different programs that isn't propaganda from the institutions themselves, or from the rank listings. I wish there was more anonymous transparency from former grad students that could give insight into how the program actually works, how they managed to work within them, and ultimately their overall satisfaction with their program. I know they don't have much to compare to (except apparently some people are getting multiple MFAs??) but I have heard some people regret going to their program if they feel they aren't getting much out of them with their faculty. Though I can also imagine people not wanting to expose their program, even if they do have grievances, for fear of tarnishing the prestige of the institution with which they are affiliated as so much seems to rest on reputation. 

 

A huge "Thank You!" to all of you who post frequently. It's been a comfort to read that I'm not alone in worrying, obsessing, and constantly refreshing. If anyone else applied to either VCU or MICA Hoffberger wants to chat, let me know. I'd also appreciate if you post if you are accepted, rejected, or waitlisted, just to give me some indication of when that is happening. 

[piers2]

Just had my Yale Photo interview. Very relaxed, but definitely tripped up on some of the questions. 20 minutes is simply not long enough to answer everything like I wanted to! It could go either way to be honest. 

[SocialKonstruct]

2 hours ago, LisaM said:

You seem very well versed in researching schools. I'm curious your thoughts on this article: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mfa-degree-successful-artists-620891

I'm also interested in your thoughts on CalArts, and it's ability to create connections for emerging artists...

I have a friend/collaborator who is attending his MFA (Arts and Tech) in CalArts and it's a key school for awesome connects into the LA art world.

If you are into highly conceptual art then this is the best fit along with UCLA. If you are looking into more traditional paintings, etc. then Otis would be a good fit there.

[SocialKonstruct]

1 hour ago, piers2 said:

Just had my Yale Photo interview. Very relaxed, but definitely tripped up on some of the questions. 20 minutes is simply not long enough to answer everything like I wanted to! It could go either way to be honest. 

Thanks for sharing. Sorry about the interview. I am curious what you meant by tripped up here?

[PoppyPants]

Anyone get an email from Bard saying they didn’t get an interview but their application of in good standing? What does that mean? I’ll get a follow up rejection later?

[AidaLizard]

2 hours ago, katfude said:

I'm freaking out, has anyone fucked up their slide presentation so bad by going over the time? In sharing my screen I couldn't see what time it was so I gave a 30 minute lecture instead of a 15 minute one.... essentially not leaving time for ANY questions and making them 5 minutes late for the next person. I am SO embarrassed and I'm sure they will not be contacting me again. Has anyone had this experience? 

A WORD OF ADVICE-- HAVE A SECOND CLOCK NOT ON YOUR COMPUTER. 

What kind of program did you interview for? I have never heard of having a slide presentation for a MFA in Visual Arts interview. 

 

[katfude]

2 minutes ago, AidaLizard said:

What kind of program did you interview for? I have never heard of having a slide presentation for a MFA in Visual Arts interview. 

 

Just a sculpture MFA program, specifically asking for a presentation of the work I applied with, so it seemed like a redundant way to learn about a candidate.... oh well 

[SocialKonstruct]

4 minutes ago, AidaLizard said:

What kind of program did you interview for? I have never heard of having a slide presentation for a MFA in Visual Arts interview. 

 

I know that the Yale MFA Sculpture interview does require a physical/virtual slide presentation.

[SocialKonstruct]

16 hours ago, hamburgerhelpme said:

Hello! I applied to PSU and Otis College. I’m an artist working with food in installation and social practice contexts. 

Curious to if anyone has any scoop on Otis MFA programs, I get a feeling the program will be pricy but the faculty I met with were very supportive and warm. 

Hoping everyone gets into their dream schools and thankful to read through your comments.

Interesting that you use food in your artwork. My colleague Bea Hurd uses food all over her work too- https://beahurd.com/

[mari11]

33 minutes ago, SocialKonstruct said:

I have a friend/collaborator who is attending his MFA (Arts and Tech) in CalArts and it's a key school for awesome connects into the LA art world.

If you are into highly conceptual art then this is the best fit along with UCLA. If you are looking into more traditional paintings, etc. then Otis would be a good fit there.

Thank you for your input, I've been trying to gather experiences and information from those who have been or know someone in these programs...very difficult to make these decisions purely through online information, especially when choosing between a number of programs, every little bit of info helps! And yes, I had also read that about CalArts, which makes me feel like it is a good fit in that respect.

[SocialKonstruct]

Just now, LisaM said:

Thank you for your input, I've been trying to gather experiences and information from those who have been or know someone in these programs...very difficult to make these decisions purely through online information, especially when choosing between a number of programs, every little bit of info helps! And yes, I had also read that about CalArts, which makes me feel like it is a good fit in that respect.

Yes... I actually have a class syllabus for their feminist science fiction course and it's dense. Lots of critical theory and very fascinating challenging precepts.

Having an open mind. If you wish for a copy of the pdf, you can e-mail personally

[hamburgerhelpme]

6 minutes ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Interesting that you use food in your artwork. My colleague Bea Hurd uses food all over her work too- https://beahurd.com/

Thank you so much for sharing - your friend’s work is fantastic, very much a similar path I hope to be on. 

[geeeeebie]

On 2/9/2021 at 8:19 PM, Scrambledmegs said:

Yes!  I applied to Yale, RISD, MICA, SAIC, University of Washington, Tulane, Goldsmiths, CMU, Northwestern ATP, NYAA, and Smu.  It was my first year applying and I spent every cent of my money on the fees. So far I’ve had a rejection from CMU and Saic, an interview from university of Washington and Yale (and NYAA), and not a peep from anyone else. Honestly I wish schools would just email me I’m rejected at least. I do feel grateful for the Yale bit because that’s my dream school, but it’s hard to keep my spirits up when every other school seems so devastatingly uninterested. Mica told me today that this is just the “first round” of interviews so anyone waiting on mica, don’t lose hope.  But yeah, this whole process is disheartening, stressful, and difficult. 
 

of course we all are silly chaps trying to get our MFA. A terrible investment for any sane person. Luckily we’re artists so sanity doesn’t apply. A ridiculous process for ridiculous dreams! ❤️? but ahhh what dreams they were...

Have you heard from Tulane? And what department did you apply for? 

[Scrambledmegs]

Just now, geemun said:

Have you heard from Tulane? And what department did you apply for? 

Hey, I applied for painting and I interviewed with them. They were all super nice!
However, I was really disappointed to hear that they are only taking one painter this year. I feel like it would be a little disappointing to not have much of a cohort. Maybe not though! You’d have the professors all to yourself. And the teaching opportunities provided sound amazing along with the funding of course. 

[geeeeebie]

Just now, Scrambledmegs said:

Hey, I applied for painting and I interviewed with them. They were all super nice!
However, I was really disappointed to hear that they are only taking one painter this year. I feel like it would be a little disappointing to not have much of a cohort. Maybe not though! You’d have the professors all to yourself. And the teaching opportunities provided sound amazing along with the funding of course. 

Wow!! Only one painter. Sheesh! Okay I will take that as my rejection then ahahah. Thank you!