MFA 2022 Freak Out Forum

[123123435]

28 is a perfect age to start grad school in my view. I'm actually 10 years older than that. But I did a grad degree in another field at exactly that age -- 28, and my cohort was mostly the same age. Do it!

Edited November 4, 2021 by 123123435

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

6 hours ago, 123123435 said:

28 is a perfect age to start grad school in my view. I'm actually 10 years older than that.

Oh-Fasho!!! I stand with the geriatric crew.

Higher education is for EVERYONE, and should NEVER be viewed as something only for the very young. That is a totally capitalist/industrialist perspective that relegates human beings to a net-worth commodity. I can see how that could be a thing because the American education system relies HEAVILY on corporate contributions to push students into corporate fields. I think that is wholly unethical.

This board has pretty interesting people. I worked as a stagehand/audiovisual tech for most of my life. When the the banks, Wall Street criminals, realty corporations, and ultra-wealthy collapsed the economy in 2008, I lost a lot of work. By 2013 I had cashed out my annuity, maxxed out my credit cards, and spent all my savings trying to maintain the same lifestyle I had before the TOTALLY avoidable, Great Recession.

As an older student, I ended up attending community college courses just for the FAFSA awards so I wouldn't be on the streets in a cardboard box. Before I knew it, I had three AA degrees and qualified for the CSU and UC. I applied at both, got into all of the programs I wanted, chose one, and completed it. Now I'm on my way to an MFA, and already accepted to one program. I want to be a professor in the Chicano Community.

Just being in college has put me into positions to meet people who have helped elevate my practice to a level where I can now sustain my life, almost entirely with art. Thank you to the students, staff, and faculty who comprise the unbeatable California Ed System.

No matter what your age, higher EDU is vital. It's not about sitting there and memorizing rote lectures, or mastering the perfect brush stroke. You should be reading art history and mastering the FUNDAMENTALS of art on your OWN. If you don't know art history or work on the fundamentals, the "ELEMENTS OF ART," you shouldn't call yourself an artist. Just like if you don't know your way around an engine or how it was developed, you shouldn't call yourself a mechanic.

If you want to be an artistic success and higher education is your thing, the reality about university is that it's about making connections with like-minded individuals who are doing the same thing you are, and elevating your institution and community, no matter WHAT your age.

 

[Eric from America]

Hey, everyone! I graduated from VCUarts MFA Kinetic Imaging (time-based and new media art) program last spring (2021). This forum was helpful when I was applying, so I'd be happy to pay it back if I can and answer any questions that might help you. In addition to Kinetic Imaging, I also took classes from other departments at VCU like Sculpture and Photo + Film, and I probably had classes with other students from almost every other department (graphic design, painting/printmaking, craft/ceramics/glass/fiber/wood, etc.).

I also have experience all the way through the interview and decision process at other schools I applied to (CalArts, Columbia, Cranbrook, NYU, RISD, SAIC, SVA, University of Michigan), so might be able to answer some questions on those, particularly emerging media, video art, sound art, etc. 

I see some people say they are interested in VCU. VCU's grad open house is Sat. Nov. 13: https://arts.vcu.edu/academics/graduate/virtual-open-house/

Good luck everybody! 

 

 

 

 

 

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

HI!!! ?

I've got my letters of recommendation confirmed, my portfolio is as solid as it's gonna get, and my history, backstory and all that is good.

At this point I feel confident about submitting my applications. But at the same time I don't feel confident at all. SOME OF YOU GUYS OUT THERE CREATE SOME DAMN GOOD ART. It's intimidating. ?

I don't remember if it was the Stanford or UC Berkeley open house where I heard this, but allegedly, the earlier you get your application in, the better. But I keep getting this feeling of dread every time I think about submitting what I've got, like all of a sudden something in my life is gonna happen that's going to take me to the next level because I've still got a few public art projects that won't be finished until years end. But if I don't submit till January then I don't submit till January, which sucks.

Has anyone submitted yet? Do schools ACTUALLY care if you submit early? Specifically the UC or Stanford? I have no reason not to hit the go button, I'm just really nervous, which I shouldn't be. If for some reason all the other programs tell me to kick rocks, I'm still already admitted to a fairly prestigious art program via deferment, but it's SO expensive and the funding isn't that great. But that program is the straight up PERFECT fit for me.

Has anyone been in contact with department faculty at their chosen institutions? Did it go well?

Meh... Ranty thoughts...

Anyone? ?

[foundobjectlife]

I am going back and forth on the CV or Resume - Is an MFA resume or CV simple and only art related or more of a resume you would submit to a job. More robust with all work experience etc. Just trying to get a feel:) Thanks!

[Strawberrycat]

12 hours ago, The-Fourth-Dimension said:

HI!!! ?

I've got my letters of recommendation confirmed, my portfolio is as solid as it's gonna get, and my history, backstory and all that is good.

At this point I feel confident about submitting my applications. But at the same time I don't feel confident at all. SOME OF YOU GUYS OUT THERE CREATE SOME DAMN GOOD ART. It's intimidating. ?

I don't remember if it was the Stanford or UC Berkeley open house where I heard this, but allegedly, the earlier you get your application in, the better. But I keep getting this feeling of dread every time I think about submitting what I've got, like all of a sudden something in my life is gonna happen that's going to take me to the next level because I've still got a few public art projects that won't be finished until years end. But if I don't submit till January then I don't submit till January, which sucks.

Has anyone submitted yet? Do schools ACTUALLY care if you submit early? Specifically the UC or Stanford? I have no reason not to hit the go button, I'm just really nervous, which I shouldn't be. If for some reason all the other programs tell me to kick rocks, I'm still already admitted to a fairly prestigious art program via deferment, but it's SO expensive and the funding isn't that great. But that program is the straight up PERFECT fit for me.

Has anyone been in contact with department faculty at their chosen institutions? Did it go well?

Meh... Ranty thoughts...

Anyone? ?

I think they just really don't want people to wait until the last minute and crash the app sites because everyone is doing it at once, or have issues last minute that could have been resolved before the deadline. I'm going to use as much time as I can to re-work everything I have, but I'm going to try to still submit a couple of days before each deadline. If you're not planning to complete anything new for your portfolio or edit your statements any more, then you could just submit them, but it could also be good to take a break from your statement for a week and then look over it again with fresh eyes to see if you'd like to change anything. 

[Strawberrycat]

1 hour ago, foundobjectlife said:

I am going back and forth on the CV or Resume - Is an MFA resume or CV simple and only art related or more of a resume you would submit to a job. More robust with all work experience etc. Just trying to get a feel:) Thanks!

I think typically you'd put mostly art related stuff on it, but relevant education or work or volunteer experience is important too. I would take a look at a few websites of current MFA students at some schools you're applying to and see if they have their CVs available to look at, because that helped me know what to put on mine.

I have a section for Education, Shows (solo and group), Art-related scholarships/awards, Academic scholarships, Features/Publications, and Volunteer Experience (related to art). 

Other things to include could be residencies if you've done any, teaching experience, etc. 

[worldcleft]

I missed the Bard and Columbia info sessions couple hours ago (totally knocked out, damn international times)
Anything of significance to report?

Columbia has had issues with its studios which I am not sure were resolved, and Bard had a bit of an exodus of faculty, but last I checked their website they seems to have been able to recruit new faculty.

Both schools are a bit shakey on my list because I don't think they have a whole lot of funding for internationals and are on the pricier end. I admire a lot of the alumni who came out of both though.

Edited November 14, 2021 by worldcleft

[Eric from America]

I just saw an alert on this: Virtual National Portfolio Day is in 5 days, Sunday, November 21,  1 pm – 5 pm EST.

https://nationalportfolioday.heydays.io/conventions/396

It says there will be 56 schools, so there's maybe a pretty good chance at least one school you are interested in will be there. That includes CalArts, Cranbrook, SAIC, SVA, VCUarts, University of Michigan, RISD, Glasgow School of Art, Pratt, Parsons, MICA, etc. etc. 

I went to an in-person portfolio day when I was applying, and was able to meet with people from six schools, for maybe 20 minutes each. I got a lot of helpful advice, met a lot of cool people, ended up applying to all six of those schools, and got accepted by 5 of them and waitlisted by the other one. So, definitely my recommendation is to go to a portfolio day if you can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

On 11/14/2021 at 12:15 PM, Strawberrycat said:

I think they just really don't want people to wait until the last minute...

That's really good advice. I'm a year out of graduation from the CSU, and I don't really have any peers up here in Northern California to talk to about it because I'm from San Diego. Since I've been in Sacra I really haven't gone out of my way to form a peer group, so reading people's ideas like yours on this board is helpful.

I think you're right. I need to put this material away for a while, to be sure. I've read it every day for the past few weeks. I know it's not good or productive to do that, but getting an MFA in the program you want is one of those things you do in your life that can and should change the course of everything you've got going on.

I feel like what I'm doing with my education is one of the most impactful things I'm doing with my life, because it is. There is so much opportunity to be had while working towards an MFA when you go to school in a city that is NEAR things. It's why I want to be in L.A., San Diego, or the Bay.

I've been looking at "higher level" art schools like Cranbrook and Yale. they look cool, but they aren't near anything. That doesn't seem worth it to me. I learned how to be creative when I was like 5-10 years old. I refined it in my teen years. I got good at it as an adult. And as an undergrad I learned why I WANT to do this as a full-time gig.

Now that getting my MFA is a thing, I want to make sure that I'm in a situation to link up and do awesome things with others like myself, and be in an area where something is always going off. I NEED to work with professors that are on the same trip as me, that's why I clicked with Nao and Edgar and Jennifer and Ruben. I don't need to up my art game, I need to up my DOING COOL STUFF in a great area game.

That's why my write-ups are flipping me out. I'm going to stop reading my stuff for a week. I'll read it once moar, next Monday, then I'll turn in all my apps next week and see what's crackin.

[katfude5]

Is anyone feeling the temptation to make work that conforms to structure of the portfolio, and refrain from work that may not read as well in the application?

I have always made bodies of work with a variety of subjects/mediums within them, so my former work has a lot of different ideas going on that work well to show depth in applications. The work that I would like to pursue at the moment is a bit quieter, and involves a repetitive motif that I am afraid may be feel redundant in a slideshow format. I am concerned about how to approach this work, and can feel the approaching deadline shifting my ideas in an unnatural way. Is anyone else experiencing this kind of forceful pressure that is changing your studio practice?

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

1 hour ago, katfude5 said:

Is anyone feeling the temptation to make work that conforms to structure of the portfolio, and refrain from work that may not read as well in the application?

YES! ∆∆∆THIIIISSSSS∆∆∆

Some of the programs I'm applying to are very much in this "art theory" type of thing. I've never seen the use of it when I see dirt or paint shavings strewn about a gallery with some plastic hanging over here with a broken chair, and calling that "art." In higher education, I've felt bullied into accepting this... situation... as something that society MUST endure. Like "Piss Christ," things of that nature.

The art that I create is public, fine art for the PEOPLE, not studio art for elite ivory tower intellectuals who like to mill about with their wine and talk about the academic side of whatever they do. It's boring, pretentious, and doesn't serve the public good.

All through my lower division education I was told that "Chicano Art isn't 'high art,'" and that I need to get more "experimental," whatever the heck that means. There's been experimental art from the Dada all the way through the Fluxus and Postmodern. It's been a hundred years, and we've WON at that kind of bleeding edge art.

I try to create beautiful things that the working class finds relatable, and that's what I'm going to stick with. I've definitely felt discriminated against for being Chicano, and creating that type of work. 

This year I've created a few experimental art pieces for the EXACT thing you state about having to conform to this old Postmodern/theoretical motif, but I recoil and feel awful when I look at my own art, in that style. I believe that reluctance to experiment is keeping me back in the academic art world, for sure.

I'm not trying to bag on anyone on a personal level if they work in that sphere, but it's not me, and I'm tired of being told that my representational public art just doesn't hold up against a bunch of paint being thrown against a wall, or a blank canvas that's supposed to make you think about oppression, or whatever.

I won't be including anything in my portfolio that doesn't represent me and the working class. Everything I include will be beautiful and for the people. 

[Strawberrycat]

On 11/15/2021 at 5:47 PM, katfude5 said:

Is anyone feeling the temptation to make work that conforms to structure of the portfolio, and refrain from work that may not read as well in the application?

I have always made bodies of work with a variety of subjects/mediums within them, so my former work has a lot of different ideas going on that work well to show depth in applications. The work that I would like to pursue at the moment is a bit quieter, and involves a repetitive motif that I am afraid may be feel redundant in a slideshow format. I am concerned about how to approach this work, and can feel the approaching deadline shifting my ideas in an unnatural way. Is anyone else experiencing this kind of forceful pressure that is changing your studio practice?

I definitely feel similarly! It's tough to figure out what the right path is with everything, let alone at the right time with these deadlines. I've recently scrapped or postponed some larger, more extravagant kind of ideas to work on some smaller, quieter things because they feel more genuine to me right now, but I sure hope it reads in the portfolio, seems like such a risk, but I think  the reality is that we can't know exactly what will click with faculty and I've heard a lot of stories where what someone thinks of as their "weakest" portfolio pieces are what actually catches the reviewers' attention. If you feel like you need to talk out where your ideas are going versus what is expected of a portfolio more in depth, feel free to message on here, but good luck with it anyway! 

[katfude5]

12 hours ago, Strawberrycat said:

I definitely feel similarly! It's tough to figure out what the right path is with everything, let alone at the right time with these deadlines. I've recently scrapped or postponed some larger, more extravagant kind of ideas to work on some smaller, quieter things because they feel more genuine to me right now, but I sure hope it reads in the portfolio, seems like such a risk, but I think  the reality is that we can't know exactly what will click with faculty and I've heard a lot of stories where what someone thinks of as their "weakest" portfolio pieces are what actually catches the reviewers' attention. If you feel like you need to talk out where your ideas are going versus what is expected of a portfolio more in depth, feel free to message on here, but good luck with it anyway! 

Thanks so much for this-- I'm so glad I'm not alone and that's a REALLY good point about the "weak" one-off pieces being surprise. I wasn't planning on having to reapply since I was enrolled in an MFA program and made big plans to make big in depth pieces like you were saying, so the shift back into smaller more intimate work has been a bit of a labored directional change, but hopefully it'll work out in the end. I'm just picturing everyone else applying with big intricate installation shots from their countless solo shows, and mine are just pictures from my studio. Definitely feeling the pressure this time around. 

[f.m.m]

Hi

I hope you are well.

Do you know Umass (MFA) has a full tuition waiver+stipend? or how much is its high amount of scholarship?

Tnx

[SpillToBuilt]

8 hours ago, f.m.m said:

Hi

I hope you are well.

Do you know Umass (MFA) has a full tuition waiver+stipend? or how much is its high amount of scholarship?

Tnx

https://www.umass.edu/art/sites/default/files/assets/art/2021_mfa_handbook.pdf Page 20: stipend, tuition waiver, plus health, dental, and vision insurance coverage. 

[katfude5]

On 11/19/2021 at 10:25 AM, f.m.m said:

Hi

I hope you are well.

Do you know Umass (MFA) has a full tuition waiver+stipend? or how much is its high amount of scholarship?

Tnx

just a heads up though, the incoming first year students this year were all full instructors of record instead of teaching assistants, and there was a grievance filed to the union last year about unfair pay etc. etc.

 

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!!!

It's friggin 10 DAYS & counting for Stanford. That's the day I'm turning in all my applications, as well, I think... I'm not a studio artist who does shows, so I don't have tons of studio art to add to my 2021 portfolio for this year since last round. I've got two 2021 moving picture pieces I'm completing using MAX 8, TouchDesigner, and After Effects.

I have a good amount of art from 2020 and the years before. I've also got a few public art pieces that I'm gonna use in my portfolio that aren't complete yet that will not be finished until Late December 2021 and January 2022. I'm posting them in my submission portfolio as "works in progress."

PLEASE SHARE YOUR PORTFOLIO LINKS! I would love to see what's up with everyone. Plus, I'm certain it would help you! We're all artists, and the goal is to let others see our art, so It's fun to share. ?

Please check my partial portfolio, out. I'll provide the link below. It's my art group's site, but all the art below the first few painted pieces are all mine, starting with the large bronze sculpture of Zapata. I'll prob add the last couple moving pictures vids in the next week.

If you were here for the last round you might have already seen my portfolio. I'm excited to see what all the kool kidz are producing!!! Plus, it's good to put someone's art and face to their name and avatar.

? Stone 1 Art ?

[123123435]

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating! -- Meanwhile, I'm sitting here thinking about my portfolio. ? lol

How's everyone feeling about applications this year? Sending positive vibes to those applying, hoping you're feeling like there are exciting options in front of you and you're feeling good about your work.

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

DOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Is anyone else applying to Stanford??? Tomorrow is the due-date for MFA applications, and I'm still sitting here not finishing my app. I don't know why, but I feel nerve wracked about it. I'm mid-aged, so I shouldn't be phased about this, but i am, I'm totally phased. I realize that it's just school, and I've got several other programs I'm applying to, but Stanford is special to me.

I feel like I've got a good shot at acceptance, and that I'm a really strong candidate. Still, I've lost some sleep over this. There are a few schools that mean a lot to me: Stanford, USC, Yale, and a couple of the UC's, as well as San Diego State University. I've lived in San Diego, L.A., and the central valley, and I think that living in the Bay Area would round out the Califas experience, but I'm torn about Los Angeles because L.A. is the edge of the world, and where I NEED to be for art, period.

Is anyone else currently accepted to a good program but exploring other options? Is anyone as nervous/excited as me, or has the pandemic and crazy politics over the past few years burned everyone out and jaded us?

Times are still so weird. I feel like I did a couple of years after the 9/11 terror attacks, like everything is fundamentally different now, but it hasn't caught up yet. We're STILL in this COVID thing with no sign of it slowing down. What if this new strain really starts taking people out again? Will we even be in class next fall??? What is the future for the arts???

Maaaan... Crazy stuff.

[Pickle555]

14 minutes ago, The-Fourth-Dimension said:

DOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Is anyone else applying to Stanford??? Tomorrow is the due-date for MFA applications, and I'm still sitting here not finishing my app. I don't know why, but I feel nerve wracked about it. I'm mid-aged, so I shouldn't be phased about this, but i am, I'm totally phased. I realize that it's just school, and I've got several other programs I'm applying to, but Stanford is special to me.

I feel like I've got a good shot at acceptance, and that I'm a really strong candidate. Still, I've lost some sleep over this. There are a few schools that mean a lot to me: Stanford, USC, Yale, and a couple of the UC's, as well as San Diego State University. I've lived in San Diego, L.A., and the central valley, and I think that living in the Bay Area would round out the Califas experience, but I'm torn about Los Angeles because L.A. is the edge of the world, and where I NEED to be for art, period.

Is anyone else currently accepted to a good program but exploring other options? Is anyone as nervous/excited as me, or has the pandemic and crazy politics over the past few years burned everyone out and jaded us?

Times are still so weird. I feel like I did a couple of years after the 9/11 terror attacks, like everything is fundamentally different now, but it hasn't caught up yet. We're STILL in this COVID thing with no sign of it slowing down. What if this new strain really starts taking people out again? Will we even be in class next fall??? What is the future for the arts???

Maaaan... Crazy stuff.

I just submitted my application to Stanford. If it makes you feel any better I was definitely extremely anxious all of last week. It's definitely nerve-wracking, putting oneself out there like that, on top of everything else going on in the world. Anyway, we'll all get through this, slowly but surely. Best of luck to you, and everyone else applying. 

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

1 hour ago, Pickle95 said:

I just submitted my application to Stanford.

IT'S PICKLE! Hi Pickle! ? How come everyone here is called foods and animals??? There's Pickle, KillerDonut, KatFūde, Strawberry Kat, AncientQuail, and then TheRealSriacha. Strawberry Kat and KatFūd are interesting because they are both foods, both animals, and both kats.

I don't know if you being as anxious as me makes me feel any better, but at least I know that you and I are in the same boat and feeling nervous about the same thing together. Ha ha! For realz, tho. ???

Would you be willing to share your art? If you don't want to put it on the board you can D.M. me.

I'm gonna submit tomorrow. I know there's at least one other person on here that applied at Stanford. What if we all got in? Wouldn't that be weird? 

I appreciate your kind words. Good luck to you, as well!!! 

 

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

UCLA FACULTY AND STUDENT PANEL FOR PROSPECTIVE MFA STUDENTS

Saturday, December 4TH, 1:00PM Pacific Time

"Please join us as UCLA Art faculty and students discuss the MFA program and application review process. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions of panelists following the discussion."

--> UCLA MFA WEBINAR REGISTRATION <--

 

 

 

 

 

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

HI! Anyone else attend the UCLA thing, yesterday? I'd like to hear other people's impressions of what was discussed.

Here's what I thought:

When I did the panels with USC, Stanford, UCI, Berkeley, etc... I have so far felt that the professors were interested in the student body and what was going on, and that the students felt that there was something worthwhile at their particular learning institution that set them apart from others, besides the big name. I did not get that impression, with UCLA.

I brought up a question as to if UCLA has, is, or was ever directly involved with public art, specifically with respect to the Chicano community. The moderator took my question and muddied it up with two other peoples questions and gave it back as an incoherent statement about how rad it was to be in L.A. because people in L.A. like to dance, have art shows, and do art stuff. Great...

The question came up several times asking the panel, "what makes UCLA stand out as a particular institution for the pursuit of art?" Again, "people in L.A. like to dance, have art shows, and do art stuff."

The entire panel completely lacked focus. The painting instructor was talking about how she wishes people would talk to her about sculpture, the photography instructor was talking about New Media, and the sculpture instructor did not have much to say about anything relevant to what I do, in art.

The student body was really bizarre and had to constantly be coerced and pushed into speaking. One of the students was a major in Russian linguistics, and didn't even claim to be an artist. Another student was an English major, or something??? They were trying to be all like, "look how kool and diverse we are," but it didn't feel like that. It felt disjointed. Between the non-art students who never introduced their craft in depth, and the professors who had no center, I couldn't make heads or tails of what the point was.

The most asked question was, "what does UCLA want to see in a portfolio?" The heck... YOUR ART. 

The panel offered few reasons to consider UCLA as any more relevant than any other school other than, "we're UCLA." One of the big selling points of pursuing an MFA at UCLA, however, was 24 hour studio access. I already had that during undergrad. Third year upper division undergraduates at my university got their own studios, too, and that was at Cal State. The other big selling point for UCLA was the ability to learn and do whatever you want, which seems totally unstructured and reflects as such in the student bodies artwork. And, of course, they kept repeating "people in L.A. like to dance, have art shows, and do art stuff."

I looked up the professors and students in the panel, during the discussion, and their art certainly did not blow me away, and the community outreach was non-existent, especially compared to USC.

Seems like the perfect students for UCLA are the kind who like to yakkity yak yak about philosophy, social justice, and "critical art theory." If that's what they do there, then kool, that's awesome. But I don't think that's for me. I need to continue to create PUBLIC ART FOR THE PEOPLE. I'm still going to apply at UCLA because they have Rodney McMillian, and I really would like to be either in L.A., or the Bay. Plus, I'd really like an opportunity to work in an environment and be that person who takes other artists with me into the public art domain, but that USC deferment is looking better and better, every day.

Did you have a different experience? What are your thoughts? Did UCLA come off to you as AMAZING as the students & faculty claimed it was?

Do tell.

[thepictureisstill]

Hi y'all -- just want to make a plug for Illinois State University's MFA. We're a fully funded 3 yr interdisciplinary program and have a Feb 1 deadline for applications.

I used this page extensively in 2014-2015 when I applied to ten MFA programs. The freak out forums are both wildly helpful and anxiety-inducing. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 2017 and now have a TT job at ISU. I'd be happy to answer questions about either program, or even applying to grad programs in general.

Good luck everyone!