MFA 2022 Freak Out Forum

[Mfanymph22]

Just now, Danais said:

did you have an interview?

Nope,absolutely no news!

[Danais]

1 minute ago, Mfanymph22 said:

Nope,absolutely no news!

i am not sure then, i received an invitation for an interview on Feb 16th , that they will be interviewing on either March 11 and 12th 

[Mfanymph22]

18 minutes ago, Danais said:

i am not sure then, i received an invitation for an interview on Feb 16th , that they will be interviewing on either March 11 and 12th 

Oh okay,from the expanded media department right?

[nobodyok]

On 3/11/2022 at 9:10 PM, HJAn said:

Congrats!! I've been waitlisted. It's one of my top choices so I'm hoping for a slot to open up...

What other schools did you apply to? - if you don't mind me asking

Congrats on being waitlisted though, people certainly get in off the waitlist. A spot could open up!

And sure, here's my list:

UChicago ~ rejected (interviewed/waitlisted last year; nothing this year)
Yale ~ rejected with encouragement to reapply
UPenn ~ interviewed; accepted
UCLA ~ nothing
VCU ~ nothing
UArk ~ nothing
U of Florida ~ nothing

[nobodyok]

18 hours ago, CactusWren22 said:

Got into the MFA program at Penn (found out Monday). Pretty much received the same offer (just take out student loans to pay for it) lol. Still waiting for UCLA (I applied with a Photo concentration) to establish basic communication. Might end up just applying to MFA programs with rolling deadlines.

Nice! I just kept getting email reminders to check at 12pm EST on March 10th, which I mistakenly thought meant I didn't get in. I applied for Sculpture. Also nothing from UCLA, but I know what that means. Do you think you will be considering Penn?

[nobodyok]

Any UF applicants hear back yet?

[f.m.m]

15 minutes ago, nobodyok said:

Any UF applicants hear back yet?

Hi, I got an Email 10 days ago which I am on waitlist (MXD program).

[Danais]

2 hours ago, Mfanymph22 said:

Oh okay,from the expanded media department right?

painting

[Pickle555]

Just officially declined my offer at UCLA (painting). Very hard decision to make, but ultimately I don't see myself there and didn't want to prolong the process. Hopefully they can offer the spot to someone who really wants it!!! 

Still deciding between Yale & Stanford. I didn't think a program would sway my decision as much as Stanford is but the offer is almost too good to give up. Health insurance, tuition is paid for, hefty stipend...!

Anyway, just thought I should share. Good luck to everyone and their decisions, didn't think it would be this hard lol.. ?

[CactusWren22]

2 hours ago, nobodyok said:

Nice! I just kept getting email reminders to check at 12pm EST on March 10th, which I mistakenly thought meant I didn't get in. I applied for Sculpture. Also nothing from UCLA, but I know what that means. Do you think you will be considering Penn?

I'm still considering Penn (I'm going to visit on the 25th) they really responded positively to my portfolio which is pretty cool. I don't know anyone who applied to UCLA with a Photo concentration whose been contacted by the school lol (I'm not sure what's going on). This is my first cycle of MFA apps and we did pretty good.

Edited March 13, 2022 by CactusWren22

[Strawberrycat]

1 hour ago, Pickle95 said:

Just officially declined my offer at UCLA (painting). Very hard decision to make, but ultimately I don't see myself there and didn't want to prolong the process. Hopefully they can offer the spot to someone who really wants it!!! 

Still deciding between Yale & Stanford. I didn't think a program would sway my decision as much as Stanford is but the offer is almost too good to give up. Health insurance, tuition is paid for, hefty stipend...!

Anyway, just thought I should share. Good luck to everyone and their decisions, didn't think it would be this hard lol.. ?

Did you get to go visit Yale in person? 

[Pickle555]

46 minutes ago, Strawberrycat said:

Did you get to go visit Yale in person? 

I haven't, they didn't necessarily offer. However I have been in communication with them about visiting and they said I could. I'd just have to figure everything out myself (travel, lodging, etc), which I guess isn't the hardest thing in the world to figure out, but it's been a little difficult having to do so around my job. Stanford paid for our visit (travel & lodging) which definitely made things easier. Anyway, I do plan on visiting (hopefully before April, if all goes well), which I'm sure would make the decision easier to make.

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

15 hours ago, Strawberrycat said:

 

Haha just looking out! 

Oh-fasho! Nothin but ❤️.

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

3 hours ago, Pickle95 said:

Just officially declined my offer at UCLA.

 

Awww... I was kinda hoping you were gonna go to UCLA so I can go say hi to you from USC. I've grown to like a lot of you guys on here, even people I just meet.

I always hope that people I talk to on GradCafe who are considering USC or other L.A./Southern California schools accept admission there so I could have some pals I already met already once I move back down. I know a few people in L.A. because I'm from San Diego, but I haven't lived down there in a long time.

L.A. is definitely hectic. It's the edge of the world.

That's cool you declined the offer to UCLA tho. You just made a wait-lister very happy! ?

[Strawberrycat]

1 hour ago, Pickle95 said:

I haven't, they didn't necessarily offer. However I have been in communication with them about visiting and they said I could. I'd just have to figure everything out myself (travel, lodging, etc), which I guess isn't the hardest thing in the world to figure out, but it's been a little difficult having to do so around my job. Stanford paid for our visit (travel & lodging) which definitely made things easier. Anyway, I do plan on visiting (hopefully before April, if all goes well), which I'm sure would make the decision easier to make.

Dang, that's great that Stanford covered travel/lodging! You have two amazing choices. I know it's going to be a tough decision. I hope you are able to visit Yale and that you feel really good about whichever decision you make! 

[Itty Bitty]

On 3/12/2022 at 11:29 AM, Eric from America said:

Hey, congrats on getting accepted to both SAIC and MICA low residency! I was accepted at SAIC low residency a couple years ago, as well as SAIC Film Video New Media Animation and SAIC Art & Technology, so I know quite a bit about SAIC. I was living in Detroit at the time which made SAIC pretty easy to visit. I did not apply to MICA so I don't really have a first-hand comparison between the two.

They are both really well-respected schools, so you probably can't go wrong either way, and your decision is probably going to be based on your own personal preferences. Like, I remember there were several SAIC faculty members (Lee Blalock, Claudia Hart, Gregg Bordowitz, etc. etc) I was really interested in working with who were then teaching in their low residency program. So, if all else seems equal, your decision might come down to which school has the most faculty that are most interesting to you. Oh, and, they are obviously in different locations, which maybe allow you to do different things when on or near campus and which maybe attract students from different locations. 

And, OK, I'm looking at MICA's website and it looks like some key differences between the two are: 1) MICA is a three year program, SAIC is a two year program. 2) Both schools have online classes during the fall and spring, along with in-person summer classes, but MICA also has a short in-person winter session. SAIC had the option of taking electives during winter session or during the summer, and if you chose to do them during the winter session that could be in Chicago but also could include study trips to New York or Los Angeles (I was applying pre-covid, so I'm not sure about study trips lately or currently). 3) SAIC would connect you with a mentor that was local to you for studio visits, etc during the fall and spring. I don't see anything local like that from MICA, but like I said, I know a lot more about SAIC so maybe I'm just missing that. 

So, assuming they cost roughly the same money-wise, those seem like the key differences.

I hope that's helpful. Like I said, both very well-respected schools, so you probably can't go wrong and it will come down to your own personal preferences on what matters most to you. Good luck on your decision, let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck wherever you end up!

 

 

 

 

 

On 3/12/2022 at 11:29 AM, Eric from America said:

Hey, congrats on getting accepted to both SAIC and MICA low residency! I was accepted at SAIC low residency a couple years ago, as well as SAIC Film Video New Media Animation and SAIC Art & Technology, so I know quite a bit about SAIC. I was living in Detroit at the time which made SAIC pretty easy to visit. I did not apply to MICA so I don't really have a first-hand comparison between the two.

They are both really well-respected schools, so you probably can't go wrong either way, and your decision is probably going to be based on your own personal preferences. Like, I remember there were several SAIC faculty members (Lee Blalock, Claudia Hart, Gregg Bordowitz, etc. etc) I was really interested in working with who were then teaching in their low residency program. So, if all else seems equal, your decision might come down to which school has the most faculty that are most interesting to you. Oh, and, they are obviously in different locations, which maybe allow you to do different things when on or near campus and which maybe attract students from different locations. 

And, OK, I'm looking at MICA's website and it looks like some key differences between the two are: 1) MICA is a three year program, SAIC is a two year program. 2) Both schools have online classes during the fall and spring, along with in-person summer classes, but MICA also has a short in-person winter session. SAIC had the option of taking electives during winter session or during the summer, and if you chose to do them during the winter session that could be in Chicago but also could include study trips to New York or Los Angeles (I was applying pre-covid, so I'm not sure about study trips lately or currently). 3) SAIC would connect you with a mentor that was local to you for studio visits, etc during the fall and spring. I don't see anything local like that from MICA, but like I said, I know a lot more about SAIC so maybe I'm just missing that. 

So, assuming they cost roughly the same money-wise, those seem like the key differences.

I hope that's helpful. Like I said, both very well-respected schools, so you probably can't go wrong and it will come down to your own personal preferences on what matters most to you. Good luck on your decision, let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck wherever you end up!

 

 

 

 

 

[Itty Bitty]

On 3/12/2022 at 11:29 AM, Eric from America said:

Hey, congrats on getting accepted to both SAIC and MICA low residency! I was accepted at SAIC low residency a couple years ago, as well as SAIC Film Video New Media Animation and SAIC Art & Technology, so I know quite a bit about SAIC. I was living in Detroit at the time which made SAIC pretty easy to visit. I did not apply to MICA so I don't really have a first-hand comparison between the two.

They are both really well-respected schools, so you probably can't go wrong either way, and your decision is probably going to be based on your own personal preferences. Like, I remember there were several SAIC faculty members (Lee Blalock, Claudia Hart, Gregg Bordowitz, etc. etc) I was really interested in working with who were then teaching in their low residency program. So, if all else seems equal, your decision might come down to which school has the most faculty that are most interesting to you. Oh, and, they are obviously in different locations, which maybe allow you to do different things when on or near campus and which maybe attract students from different locations. 

And, OK, I'm looking at MICA's website and it looks like some key differences between the two are: 1) MICA is a three year program, SAIC is a two year program. 2) Both schools have online classes during the fall and spring, along with in-person summer classes, but MICA also has a short in-person winter session. SAIC had the option of taking electives during winter session or during the summer, and if you chose to do them during the winter session that could be in Chicago but also could include study trips to New York or Los Angeles (I was applying pre-covid, so I'm not sure about study trips lately or currently). 3) SAIC would connect you with a mentor that was local to you for studio visits, etc during the fall and spring. I don't see anything local like that from MICA, but like I said, I know a lot more about SAIC so maybe I'm just missing that. 

So, assuming they cost roughly the same money-wise, those seem like the key differences.

I hope that's helpful. Like I said, both very well-respected schools, so you probably can't go wrong and it will come down to your own personal preferences on what matters most to you. Good luck on your decision, let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck wherever you end up!

 

 

 

 

Hi Eric, 

Thank you so much for thoughtful response. It is very helpful.

Did you feel like you got enough one on one and hands on time and attention from your SAIC mentor during the fall and winter sessions of the Low Residency program?

This is such a tough call because I like each school for various reasons. Both will be about the same financial commitment when considering duration of the program, granted monies, and relocating to the respective cities. Both are highly regarded schoolds. Both have professors I would like to study with. 

The biggest difference I can see so far is:

1. The size of the program. SAIC has 22-30 people in their low res program, which will give more exposure to colleagues but seems like less attention from Mentors during the summer. MICA has 8 students in the program which would seemingly give a lot more attention and exposure to the students, but is a smaller pool of people one meeets during the summer. 

2. The SAIC mentor program when arriving home (Los Angeles) will be someone potentially from a different field, and we cannot meet these mentors until the fall, but they will be in ones region so they will be home site visits. At MICA my mentor would be one of the people with whom I interviewed. That mentor will be at the program in the summer (and in my field), along with others and the students can have three in one summer. Then in the fall the student continues to have the same mentor with them virtually, and brings progress to Baltimore in January but no home visits All in all that mentor will be with the same student for all four year. So they get to know the work better, but they are not in your home location at all. 

3. Length, and of course SAIC is 3 summers and MICA is 4 summers. 4 summers seems like a long time. 

Thank you again for all of your input. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your respone.

Best, 

Leah 

[SadPainter]

I’m on the waitlist for Tyler (second year in a row!) and wanted to see if anyone had any suggestion for what I could do? Other than telling the department head that yes I do want to stay on the waitlist and yes I do really want to go there. 

[slickjaketheruler]

33 minutes ago, 1800goodluck said:

I’m on the waitlist for Tyler (second year in a row!) and wanted to see if anyone had any suggestion for what I could do? Other than telling the department head that yes I do want to stay on the waitlist and yes I do really want to go there. 

After visiting Thursday, I got a bit of insight on how their funding works and how they shuffle students around.  

Apparently, the students there get a certain number of semesters funded in the form of TAships that come with a stipend. Certain applicants are considered for fellowships based off of diversity and portfolio where part of the their stay is funded by temple and the the specific department in the form of additional TAships. This is often something that the Dean of the university overlooks so it has nothing to do with your relationship with the program. The rest of the TAships get divided amount grad prospective grad students so that they have anywhere from 2-4 semesters funded completely. Hence why they keep some programs small so that students that are there are able to have funding to be engaged and focused on the program.

After meeting in person, the print head talked about my position right now and how they already had one student confirmed for teaching in Rome for a year, and another student that was offered the fellowship. My offer and if I get in or not is dependent upon how that pans out with what they can give me.

What I would do though, is disclose any offers you have already with your department. The print head is going back to the dean with my offer to try and counter what I have to secure more funding so that they can give me an offer. So if you have anything, it’s worth mentioning to your department.

[SadPainter]

4 minutes ago, slickjaketheruler said:

After visiting Thursday, I got a bit of insight on how their funding works and how they shuffle students around.  

Apparently, the students there get a certain number of semesters funded in the form of TAships that come with a stipend. Certain applicants are considered for fellowships based off of diversity and portfolio where part of the their stay is funded by temple and the the specific department in the form of additional TAships. This is often something that the Dean of the university overlooks so it has nothing to do with your relationship with the program. The rest of the TAships get divided amount grad prospective grad students so that they have anywhere from 2-4 semesters funded completely. Hence why they keep some programs small so that students that are there are able to have funding to be engaged and focused on the program.

After meeting in person, the print head talked about my position right now and how they already had one student confirmed for teaching in Rome for a year, and another student that was offered the fellowship. My offer and if I get in or not is dependent upon how that pans out with what they can give me.

What I would do though, is disclose any offers you have already with your department. The print head is going back to the dean with my offer to try and counter what I have to secure more funding so that they can give me an offer. So if you have anything, it’s worth mentioning to your department.

That is extremely helpful information. They mentioned a sculpture TA-ship during my interview (I have worked as a shop tech for the past 4 years) and I now understand more why. 
I do not have any other offers and would take literally anything which I’m tempted to say but also I don’t want to come off as desperate as I actually am. 

[slickjaketheruler]

48 minutes ago, 1800goodluck said:

That is extremely helpful information. They mentioned a sculpture TA-ship during my interview (I have worked as a shop tech for the past 4 years) and I now understand more why. 
I do not have any other offers and would take literally anything which I’m tempted to say but also I don’t want to come off as desperate as I actually am. 

I’m sorry you are in that position. Reapplying is always frustrating so the impending nature of an offer maybe coming through is quite frankly, annoying.

[SadPainter]

2 minutes ago, slickjaketheruler said:

I’m sorry you are in that position. Reapplying is always frustrating so the impending nature of an offer maybe coming through is quite frankly, annoying.

Yes, it is difficult to express how frustrated I am with the entire process. It’s been three years of trying to get grad school to work out and here I am trying to figure out how to beg a dept head to let me in when ultimately he might not even be able to. But I also really appreciate the information as it makes the whole thing less of an ego blow! 

[slickjaketheruler]

1 hour ago, 1800goodluck said:

Yes, it is difficult to express how frustrated I am with the entire process. It’s been three years of trying to get grad school to work out and here I am trying to figure out how to beg a dept head to let me in when ultimately he might not even be able to. But I also really appreciate the information as it makes the whole thing less of an ego blow! 

It’s really just incredibly competitive school. Print is looking at 2-3 people this year, and since 2 offers have been given out with a full ride being one of them pending, who knows if I’ll actually get one based on other applicants.

[Ponygurl]

6 hours ago, 1800goodluck said:

I’m on the waitlist for Tyler (second year in a row!) and wanted to see if anyone had any suggestion for what I could do? Other than telling the department head that yes I do want to stay on the waitlist and yes I do really want to go there. 

Did they tell you you’re on the waitlist? I haven’t heard anything since my interview and am assuming I’m on a waitlist or they’re just waiting a long time to reject me lol

[thatdesigndude]

Accepted to ArtCenter MFA in graphic design! ?