MFA 2021 Freak Out Forum

[eiffel65]

Has anyone heard from SAIC MDDO yet? I've seen people getting decisions from other departments, some only by letter, some email, some phone. Sick of checking my spam folder and mailbox many times a day!! They said they'd release all decisions by the 1st but I fear mine may be coming by snail mail.

[dgrkrk]

Finally got my rejection from CMU ? It's tough out there

[Niloosi]

9 minutes ago, eiffel65 said:

Has anyone heard from SAIC MDDO yet? I've seen people getting decisions from other departments, some only by letter, some email, some phone. Sick of checking my spam folder and mailbox many times a day!! They said they'd release all decisions by the 1st but I fear mine may be coming by snail mail.

Same here. Waiting and refreshing email ...

[Strawberrycat]

I just got an interview request from USC with slots for 3/12, so they're still sending requests out as of today! I'm so nervous about interviews. If anyone knows specifically how USC conducts their interviews and what questions I should prepare for, I would appreciate advice so much. It looks like the slots are only 15 minutes long, so not a very long one. 

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

29 minutes ago, Strawberrycat said:

I just got an interview request from USC with slots for 3/12, so they're still sending requests out as of today! I'm so nervous about interviews. If anyone knows specifically how USC conducts their interviews and what questions I should prepare for, I would appreciate advice so much. It looks like the slots are only 15 minutes long, so not a very long one. 

Congratulations, same, but for the 8th. Do you have a site with your portfolio? Would love to share.

[Strawberrycat]

4 minutes ago, San Diego Stone said:

Congratulations, same, but for the 8th. Do you have a site with your portfolio? Would love to share.

Congrats too! I have one that I'm working on updating a bit. I'll send it to you in a message! 

[sunnydelightt]

39 minutes ago, Strawberrycat said:

I just got an interview request from USC with slots for 3/12, so they're still sending requests out as of today! I'm so nervous about interviews. If anyone knows specifically how USC conducts their interviews and what questions I should prepare for, I would appreciate advice so much. It looks like the slots are only 15 minutes long, so not a very long one. 

I also got an interview for the 12th

[Strawberrycat]

1 minute ago, sunnydelightt said:

I also got an interview for the 12th

Yay, congratulations! Would you like to share websites or social media through message as well? ? If not, no worries! 

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

31 minutes ago, Strawberrycat said:

Congrats too! I have one that I'm working on updating a bit. I'll send it to you in a message! 

Thank you! I've got an RFQ site for my "art crew," collective, so it's not comprehensive like my application portfolio. But you can tell which artwork is mine because I'm in the photos. I also sent in a few links from my YouTube which I also composed the music on. I'm happy to share my art. Look forward to checking yours out.

 

EDIT: I edited out my links. Thought maybe I should just pm them.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by San Diego Stone
Thought maybe I should just pm art links.

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

6 minutes ago, sunnydelightt said:

I also got an interview for the 12th

Awesome! Congratulations. I hope we all get chosen. ? Got a link to your art?

[Killerdonuts]

1 hour ago, ZellFin said:

As a heads up for anyone waiting to hear back from Concordia University, I emailed their admissions office and was notified of my admission status. 
 

I’m accepted, so very happy but wondering if it’s typical for Canadian MFA programs to just not interview? 
 

Good luck to everyone else waiting! 

Congrats! I'm curious if there was an update to the admissions section of your Concordia Student Center profile, or did you just reach out to them for an update? Thanks! (I just emailed them myself, but my Student Center profile still says my application is being assessed....feels like a rejection might be coming. bummer.)

[eiffel65]

57 minutes ago, Niloosi said:

Same here. Waiting and refreshing email ...

Good to know I'm not alone in this! Judging by the "results" section, MDDO responses are always sent via postal service, so at least we can assume the letters have been mailed by today and are in the system somewhere. I'm nervous and a little annoyed. Who does ONLY letters in 2021!

[ZellFin]

6 minutes ago, Killerdonuts said:

Congrats! I'm curious if there was an update to the admissions section of your Concordia Student Center profile, or did you just reach out to them for an update? Thanks! (I just emailed them myself, but my Student Center profile still says my application is being assessed....feels like a rejection might be coming. bummer.)

I wouldn't be concerned with the status on your Student Center profile! Mine still says that it is being assessed also. I just reached out to the MFA admissions and they let me know. Good luck! 

[sunnydelightt]

33 minutes ago, San Diego Stone said:

Awesome! Congratulations. I hope we all get chosen. ? Got a link to your art?

thanks! I don’t have a website but my Instagram is @deannabarahona if you are interested. I post my art there! 

[paintlayer]

Has anyone been accepted to the Hoffberger program yet?

 

I got a 2nd "hang in there" emails but no word on my status, and I'm curious if anyone else has been accepted already. 

[Strawberrycat]

1 hour ago, sunnydelightt said:

thanks! I don’t have a website but my Instagram is @deannabarahona if you are interested. I post my art there! 

Your work is great! I think you'd like Diane Williams' work a lot if you haven't seen it yet. She's one of the current mfa students there and she does a lot of awesome text and textile art. 

[BlackSheepCollective]

On 2/25/2021 at 9:57 PM, 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.

I see you also applied to Otis College of Art & Design too for the MFA in Fine Art/Social Practice. I can tell you that they are interviewing last week and this week. I did my interview today. Kade Twist is just an all around honest, down to earth, cool dude to chat with. Very honest about the program and you could ask him anything. The cohort is apparently around 5 people. I asked him about timeframes for decisions and he told me I was accepted and this was a formality. I absolutely appreciated his honesty. Good luck to you and I hope you interview with Otis. I was unsure about them at first, but I attended one of their virtual open houses and their pitch was great. 

[ShydreezyWrites]

Received an acceptance from the writing department at SAIC. News on funding to come in the next few weeks. Anybody from the writing department receive any funding yet? 

Congrats to everyone who received an acceptance! This ish was stressful AF. 

[Maldoror]

6 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

8 hours ago, geemun said:

This is a very personal decision and one I think you should think really long and hard about, but from everything I've been told from mentors and artists - get the cheapest MFA possible especially when there are so many great programs that are more affordable. I mean if you're thinking of keeping your mortgage vs school, i would definitely do what I needed to do keep the mortgage. I'm also from a financially challenged background and have 30k in undergrad debt. I have barely made a dent in it. You could regret not going to SAIC for the experience but be in a financially stable place, or go to SAIC and be so burdened by debt that it leaves a cloud over it. 

I actually don't agree with that assessment. Getting a MFA cheaply is not bad but often, one can say that many MFA programs seem to be cake decoration. But then again it's like gambling. If you are confident that you can go to huge places in the contemporary art world then don't go cheap with the MFA (you could do more than one but...).

Thank you for all the helpful inputs!

Right now I’m mainly trying to make a decision between UMN and SAIC.

UMN provided a very generous funding package and is a 3yr program. They have a summer artist residency program in Berlin which is a plus as I always wanted to study abroad. My concern is that the cohort is very small... The same concern applies to UIC as well. Though it means better student to faculty ratio and maybe more focused?

SAIC on the other hand has a larger cohorts and a vibrant community. It’s more theory based so it’s a better fit for me. I’d like to have a gallery career in the future and I feel like I could benefit from going to the “right” city and studying in a reputable program? Teaching is a more sustainable way to maintain a studio practice, but from my conversations with a couple of grads from both schools it felt to me that secure a stable position in academia is extremely difficult. I survived with very little money in undergrads, worked many part time jobs to support myself and my parents. I didn’t have any student loans but it was such a stressful experience that I don’t wish to repeat. It’s probably unfeasible to work that many jobs in grad school anyways… The current student loan interest rate for grad school is at 4.3%, with a 50k loan I'll need to pay $311/mo for 20 yrs. This monthly payment can be saved by not partying, not smoking, eating 2 meals a day and not have a dog. Idk…I mean… am I still in my right mind?

[katkat]

Just wanted to share I received a phone call today with an acceptance into Northwestern ATP!

[sunnydelightt]

1 hour ago, Strawberrycat said:

Your work is great! I think you'd like Diane Williams' work a lot if you haven't seen it yet. She's one of the current mfa students there and she does a lot of awesome text and textile art. 

Thanks! I’ll definitely look her up thank you

[geeeeebie]

55 minutes ago, Maldoror said:

Thank you for all the helpful inputs!

Right now I’m mainly trying to make a decision between UMN and SAIC.

UMN provided a very generous funding package and is a 3yr program. They have a summer artist residency program in Berlin which is a plus as I always wanted to study abroad. My concern is that the cohort is very small... The same concern applies to UIC as well. Though it means better student to faculty ratio and maybe more focused?

SAIC on the other hand has a larger cohorts and a vibrant community. It’s more theory based so it’s a better fit for me. I’d like to have a gallery career in the future and I feel like I could benefit from going to the “right” city and studying in a reputable program? Teaching is a more sustainable way to maintain a studio practice, but from my conversations with a couple of grads from both schools it felt to me that secure a stable position in academia is extremely difficult. I survived with very little money in undergrads, worked many part time jobs to support myself and my parents. I didn’t have any student loans but it was such a stressful experience that I don’t wish to repeat. It’s probably unfeasible to work that many jobs in grad school anyways… The current student loan interest rate for grad school is at 4.3%, with a 50k loan I'll need to pay $311/mo for 20 yrs. This monthly payment can be saved by not partying, not smoking, eating 2 meals a day and not have a dog. Idk…I mean… am I still in my right mind?

Do you have a strong/stable career now? I only ask because 300 a month sounds doable if you have one, but I can tell you i make in the 50k range in NYC and paying rent + all other bills plus my loan payment (which is around the same) is... hard. I am so grateful for the federal deferment right now LOL 

I think you make a good point about your personality though. If you really feel like you need to be around a lot of people for your creativity to thrive, that is good to keep in mind. But i like to think of a small program that offers a lot of aid as a place that really wants to invest in YOU. They believe in their students, they want to put money into you and your experience. I think that's really valuable. 

I think either way you should feel really great that you got into both of these programs and are having to make this decision lol 

[erinwhomst]

Just curious - has anyone applied to and heard back from Boston University? Anything about interviews, acceptance offers, or rejections?

They're tied for my first choice and the more rejections I get back from programs the more "freak-out" I get lol

[berries]

3 minutes ago, erinwhomst said:

Just curious - has anyone applied to and heard back from Boston University? Anything about interviews, acceptance offers, or rejections?

They're tied for my first choice and the more rejections I get back from programs the more "freak-out" I get lol

I had an interview for BU Painting last week but haven't heard from them yet about the final decision. 

 

Has anyone received financial aid package from SAIC Painting yet? I'm accepted but haven't received any information regarding financial package.

[katfude]

1 minute ago, erinwhomst said:

Just curious - has anyone applied to and heard back from Boston University? Anything about interviews, acceptance offers, or rejections?

They're tied for my first choice and the more rejections I get back from programs the more "freak-out" I get lol

What program did you apply for? I had an interview with the sculpture department on the February 24th, and they said I would hear back in the middle of March. I think I heard that people had interviewed with painting as well, but I'm not certain.