MFA 2022 Freak Out Forum

[SadPainter]

I am a long time lurker but this my first time posting! I wanted to give back to the community as I am constantly checking here to see who has sent out interview requests. This is my third year applying for an MFA in painting and freak out forums have been a guiding force for the emotional roller coasters that have been my past two application cycles!
 

Tyler— interviewed last week 

UW Madison— no response 

Rutgers— no response

Hunter— no response

Columbia— no response 

 

good luck everyone!!

[whitewhales]

15 minutes ago, hellotothefuture said:

Hey everyone!

 

I am an international applicant and I applied to MFA sculpture programs at different universities in USA but I haven't heard back from any of them so far?  I applied to RISD and Hunter in the first week of January but no words so far. Does this mean rejections are around the corner?

I think you’re fine.. not many people have heard back yet. It’s still early. 

[slickjaketheruler]

3 minutes ago, 1800goodluck said:

I am a long time lurker but this my first time posting! I wanted to give back to the community as I am constantly checking here to see who has sent out interview requests. This is my third year applying for an MFA in painting and freak out forums have been a guiding force for the emotional roller coasters that have been my past two application cycles!
 

Tyler— interviewed last week 

UW Madison— no response 

Rutgers— no response

Hunter— no response

Columbia— no response 

 

good luck everyone!!

How was your interview with Tyler? I have mine with printmaking tomorrow.

[pkaz]

46 minutes ago, hellotothefuture said:

Hey everyone!

 

I' am an international applicant and I applied to MFA sculpture programs at different universities in USA but I haven't heard back from any of them so far?  I applied to RISD and Hunter in the first week of January but no words so far. Does this mean rejections are around the corner?

I'm an international too. I applied for US universities last year and for all of them, I heard back in early March (interview and then acceptance).
Apparently, sometimes it takes longer for internationals since they are in a different pool.

Edited February 1, 2022 by pkaz

[SadPainter]

6 minutes ago, slickjaketheruler said:

How was your interview with Tyler? I have mine with printmaking tomorrow.

It was most of the painting department on zoom which is good to know beforehand as it can be pretty overwhelming to see 6 other people on the zoom screen. They each asked a question about my statement or my work but most questions were very open and not overly specific— “what will you bring to the program?” “What do you want out of graduate school?” “What do you plan on doing during your MFA?” 

[whitewhales]

11 minutes ago, pkaz said:

I'm an international too. I applied for US universities last year and for all of them, I heared back in early March (interview and then acceptance).
Apparently, sometimes it takes longer for internationals since they are in a different pool.

Wow thanks for letting us know that. I’m an international student too. I guess I just need to buckle down. Kind of makes me sad / mad that I thought my anxiety would be over this month.. I guess not. ??

[The-Fourth-Dimension]

5 hours ago, pkaz said:

February is among us!

Indeed.

A couple years ago I tried applying to an MFA program, but I didn't put in any LOR's and half-assed it, so I was not admitted. The next year I applied to one school and was admitted to the program I wanted, but funding was bad because I only applied there. This year I applied to a handful of universities and I'm waiting to hear back. I've seen a couple of the homies online get interviews at Stanford and UCI, where I also applied. That's rad, and I'm hoping for the same so I can make an informed decision with options, this time around.

Like many of you I am stressed about it. I'm feeling the need to get going again.

I've been practicing public art during COVID, but not so much with other artists, and I miss that. It's gonna be nice to get back into the world of other artists doing kool stuff, and earning my MFA along the way. I'm looking forward to being able to share MY knowledge and experience with other peeps.

I'm curious about what types of artwork and artists people on this board are into. Anyone have any faves? I mentioned earlier that David Middlebrook is an artist I've looked up to for several years. I also like Jeff Koons, a lot, as far as big-shot artists go. I also really like artists within the Chicano Community like Yolanda López and Esteban Villa.

What artists do all you forum gangstaz enjoy??? ?

[whitewhales]

11 minutes ago, 1800goodluck said:

It was most of the painting department on zoom which is good to know beforehand as it can be pretty overwhelming to see 6 other people on the zoom screen. They each asked a question about my statement or my work but most questions were very open and not overly specific— “what will you bring to the program?” “What do you want out of graduate school?” “What do you plan on doing during your MFA?” 

I’m nervous about speaking to 1 or 2 people at once. I can’t imagine how you felt speaking to 6. But maybe the “group dynamic” diffuses nerves and keeps it a little more casual? 

[pkaz]

Everyone is saying the number of applicants decreased this year in comparison to last year. I hope it's good news for us ?

[whitewhales]

18 minutes ago, pkaz said:

Everyone is saying the number of applicants decreased this year in comparison to last year. I hope it's good news for us ?

Number of total applicants or number of international applicants? 
 

I mean it makes sense. The pandemic has thrown everyone off track and why would anyone want to leave home  and their jobs just to end up in online classes? Especially, especially studio based degrees.. 

[whitewhales]

35 minutes ago, The-Fourth-Dimension said:

Indeed.

A couple years ago I tried applying to an MFA program, but I didn't put in any LOR's and half-assed it, so I was not admitted. The next year I applied to one school and was admitted to the program I wanted, but funding was bad because I only applied there. This year I applied to a handful of universities and I'm waiting to hear back. I've seen a couple of the homies online get interviews at Stanford and UCI, where I also applied. That's rad, and I'm hoping for the same so I can make an informed decision with options, this time around.

Like many of you I am stressed about it. I'm feeling the need to get going again.

I've been practicing public art during COVID, but not so much with other artists, and I miss that. It's gonna be nice to get back into the world of other artists doing kool stuff, and earning my MFA along the way. I'm looking forward to being able to share MY knowledge and experience with other peeps.

I'm curious about what types of artwork and artists people on this board are into. Anyone have any faves? I mentioned earlier that David Middlebrook is an artist I've looked up to for several years. I also like Jeff Koons, a lot, as far as big-shot artists go. I also really like artists within the Chicano Community like Yolanda López and Esteban Villa.

What artists do all you forum gangstaz enjoy??? ?

Yeah thanks for sharing Middlebrook I really enjoyed his work. That was nice. Maybe you could start a thread for everyone to discuss art? I’m sure a lot of people would hop on it to kill time while waiting anxiously! 

 

I personally come back to this thread to see updates on peoples application journeys and don’t have the mental or physical energy to share much information other than application updates on my end, and department observations, apologies. 

[hellotothefuture]

52 minutes ago, pkaz said:

I'm an international too. I applied for US universities last year and for all of them, I heard back in early March (interview and then acceptance).
Apparently, sometimes it takes longer for internationals since they are in a different pool.

Hey! Glad to hear that. Which universities did you apply for? Did you get acceptances in all of them?

I just heard back from the University of Michigan MFA Program and my application could not be reviewed any further because my referee did not submit the letter of recommendation. They said now I have to apply for fall 2023... I feel terrible because I do not know how and why they skipped it as they sent the letter to RISD, Hunter and Purdue. 

[pkaz]

2 minutes ago, whitewhales said:

Number of total applicants or number of international applicants? 
 

I mean it makes sense. The pandemic has thrown everyone off track and why would anyone want to leave home  and their jobs just to end up in online classes? Especially, especially studio based degrees.. 

Number of total applicants.
It's surprising to me because I thought now that the Covid situation is (relatively) in control, borders are open and classes are mostly back on to face to face, people are supposed to apply more. ?

[hellotothefuture]

1 hour ago, whitewhales said:

I think you’re fine.. not many people have heard back yet. It’s still early. 

Thanks! I hope at least I would make it to the RISD and Hunter interviews.

[hellotothefuture]

31 minutes ago, pkaz said:

Everyone is saying the number of applicants decreased this year in comparison to last year. I hope it's good news for us ?

WOW!  I hope it is true.

[Pickle555]

1 hour ago, hellotothefuture said:

Hey everyone!

 

I am an international applicant and I applied to MFA sculpture programs at different universities in USA but I haven't heard back from any of them so far?  I applied to RISD and Hunter in the first week of January but no words so far. Does this mean rejections are around the corner?

I don't know about sculpture, but a friend of mine got an email last week from RISD Painting for an interview. So maybe the rest will be coming out soon. 

[pkaz]

1 minute ago, hellotothefuture said:

Hey! Glad to hear that. Which universities did you apply for? Did you get acceptances in all of them?

I just heard back from the University of Michigan MFA Program and my application could not be reviewed any further because my referee did not submit the letter of recommendation. They said now I have to apply for fall 2023... I feel terrible because I do not know how and why they skipped it as they sent the letter to RISD, Hunter and Purdue. 

I applied for Northwestern, San Francisco State, De Paul, Full Sail and Sacred Heart. (MFA in Film)
I got rejected from Northwestern and accepted from the rest. I didn't accept the offers though because I didn't receive any scholarship and on top of that, borders were close to internationals. this year I only applied for Canada and Europe (since it's extremely more affordable and I don't have to rely on scholarships.)
I'm sorry to hear about your situation. it sucks but hopefully, you will get accepted from the rest.

[SadPainter]

45 minutes ago, whitewhales said:

I’m nervous about speaking to 1 or 2 people at once. I can’t imagine how you felt speaking to 6. But maybe the “group dynamic” diffuses nerves and keeps it a little more casual? 

I interviewed with Pratt in 2020 and it was just two professors and me and it was so much more conversational. They really won me over during their interview. I also interviewed with NYU in 2020 and it was 4 professors, an administrator, a current student, and a recent alumni. They were all in a room together and I was on zoom which was a bad dynamic. They projected my portfolio on the wall where I couldn't see it which was awkward to deal with.

Tyler was intimidating but each professor seemed like they were actively trying to make me feel comfortable. They seemed to know having such a big zoom is intense but they were trying to make it as friendly as possible. I would just focus on each person asking the question and you will be fine!! 

[whitewhales]

22 minutes ago, hellotothefuture said:

Thanks! I hope at least I would make it to the RISD and Hunter interviews.

9 minutes ago, 1800goodluck said:

I interviewed with Pratt in 2020 and it was just two professors and me and it was so much more conversational. They really won me over during their interview. I also interviewed with NYU in 2020 and it was 4 professors, an administrator, a current student, and a recent alumni. They were all in a room together and I was on zoom which was a bad dynamic. They projected my portfolio on the wall where I couldn't see it which was awkward to deal with.

Tyler was intimidating but each professor seemed like they were actively trying to make me feel comfortable. They seemed to know having such a big zoom is intense but they were trying to make it as friendly as possible. I would just focus on each person asking the question and you will be fine!! 

That is some really solid advice. Lol!!! I’m dying to know who interviewed you at Pratt. It’s my alma mater and two of my LOR’s came from grad professors that I was lucky enough to have in undergrad. I know one of them is deeply involved in student interviews, and he might not interview me because obviously he wrote me a recommendation. I wonder how schools handle that sort of thing. 
 

The NYU interview sounds awful I probably would have stood up and gone to stand next to the projector to feel a little more in control LOL. Sorry you went through that.. 

[Antisocialprintmaker]

6 hours ago, eatyoveggies said:

Nice! Good luck!! The interview went well. They asked mainly why grad school, why FSU, and asked about my work/influences. 

Their "priority funding" deadline was 1/1 so I applied then. The person I talked to wasn't sure about their timeline either but said they were moving pretty quickly! 

Thank you and good luck to you too! I hope you get in! And thank you for telling me what they asked during the interview!

I submitted it a little later than priority because I am a Florida resident so it’ll only be 5,000 a year roughly without funding so I wasn’t super concerned about their priority deadline

[whitewhales]

28 minutes ago, pkaz said:

Number of total applicants.
It's surprising to me because I thought now that the Covid situation is (relatively) in control, borders are open and classes are mostly back on to face to face, people are supposed to apply more. ?

People are antsy and unsettled. It’s going to take a decade at least post end of the actual pandemic to feel like things were as they were before.. 

 

[whitewhales]

1 hour ago, pkaz said:

I'm an international too. I applied for US universities last year and for all of them, I heard back in early March (interview and then acceptance).
Apparently, sometimes it takes longer for internationals since they are in a different pool.

I was wondering, between interview and formal acceptance how long did you have to wait?
 

 

[nobodyok]

13 minutes ago, pkaz said:

Number of total applicants.
It's surprising to me because I thought now that the Covid situation is (relatively) in control, borders are open and classes are mostly back on to face to face, people are supposed to apply more. ?

hello ~ i work on staff at a university and can share that applications SURGED (2x) last year, and this year they dropped back down to our usual average. so it might be more like we're back to applying with the standard amount of competition. last year was intense -- more applicants and less spots due to covid-related deferments (depending on where you applied). i've come to understand that it's pretty typical during economic recessions or uncertainty for people to go back to school. i would guess that normalcy seemed more achievable prior to Omicron hitting in December, and maybe less people were looking to apply this year? either way, all we can really do is put our best work forward, be confident, and cross our fingers. haha

[whitewhales]

34 minutes ago, hellotothefuture said:

Hey! Glad to hear that. Which universities did you apply for? Did you get acceptances in all of them?

I just heard back from the University of Michigan MFA Program and my application could not be reviewed any further because my referee did not submit the letter of recommendation. They said now I have to apply for fall 2023... I feel terrible because I do not know how and why they skipped it as they sent the letter to RISD, Hunter and Purdue. 

That’s awful I’m so sorry.. U Mich is a great program. Are you going to wait for next year or set your sights on your other schools? 
 

I didn’t realize schools took the LOR’S so seriously. They needed just 1 letter from 1 person? 

[whitewhales]

29 minutes ago, Pickle95 said:

I don't know about sculpture, but a friend of mine got an email last week from RISD Painting for an interview. So maybe the rest will be coming out soon. 

Honestly looking forward to my rejection from RISD. They rejected my undergrad application lol, I did it for kicks this time around. And good luck. ?