MFA 2022 Freak Out Forum

[Ponygurl]

Just now, imnotsure said:

Congrats!!

Congrats to you too!!! Which school if you don’t mind me asking

[imnotsure]

On 4/6/2022 at 11:01 AM, painting549 said:

anyone else waitlisted from rutgers hear back yet?

 

4 hours ago, Ponygurl said:

Congrats to you too!!! Which school if you don’t mind me asking

Rutgers

[gizmo]

I've heard some people received acceptances to NYU Studio Art, I guess I am on an unofficial waitlist? Is anyone else waiting too?

I was accepted to another school that requires the deposit by May 1st.  I've never been on a waitlist before, I suppose you just lose your deposit later if you get off the waitlist? I'm considering reaching out to NYU for more information/update, curious if anyone has done something similar or has any thoughts/experience?

Edited April 17, 2022 by gizmo
typo

[709 LurkerA2V]

h aha!!?

✌️?‍♂️

[whitewhales]

I think at this point most people have committed to a school and then there’s the waitlist group - I got called in to talk from the waitlist and offered a spot in my top program. The vibes and dynamics are so great, I love the faculty member I spoke with - but I’m being asked to commit to a decision in 24 hours without a formal acceptance letter.. is this commonplace for others in waitlist mode? I don’t feel like it’s exactly fair and it seems like there isn’t even a deferral policy at the school (also a bit odd). I have a lot of commitments that I need to account for as an international student and things that need tying up here, and I’m heavily leaning towards declining the offer in a very long polite but thorough email on how this is not enough time for me and that I will apply again next year. 
 

Given this is my first time applying to schools and first time being in a waitlist situation and offered a position - please advise on how to transition gracefully moving forward while maintaining good standing with my school of choice.  

[hairyeyeball]

@whitewhales I believe that many schools required their initially accepted applicants to commit by last Friday, April 15th. Now the schools will try to fill any remaining spots as fast as possible, hence the 24 hour pressure you're dealing with. Why so time sensitive? Because if you and any of the others at the top of the waitlist say no, they'll need to hustle to contact other applicants on their waitlist, hopefully reaching them before they've committed to other programs. It's a high-pressure shuffle for all involved.

I suggest telling them you're thrilled and interested but you need until this Friday or whenever to figure things out. If you're already considering turning them down, you have nothing to lose by asking for a little more time

edit: also, congrats on the acceptance! That's a triumph even if you don't end up going

Edited April 18, 2022 by hairyeyeball

[kiwi_mango]

Does anyone if schools notify people on the waitlist once all spots in a program are filled? 

[Strawberrycat]

On 4/19/2022 at 8:18 AM, kiwi_mango said:

Does anyone if schools notify people on the waitlist once all spots in a program are filled? 

I think most will send a rejection letter once all spots are for sure filled and they close the waitlist. Every school does things a little differently, though, and on varying timelines. 

[Loleagle]

Has anyone heard anything from Skowhegan ?

[Xyz2022]

Quick question, has anyone heard or got a funding offer already from University of Minnesota (MFA program, college of design)?

[chewythecat]

anyone have any experience/success deferring their acceptances for the following year? Do certain schools refrain from deferring acceptances? I'm assuming you'd have to reinterview for scholarships/grants. 

[thatdesigndude]

Hello lovely people, I wanted to share a final post here to close the loop.
After visiting both CCA and ArtCenter this month (and a lot of overthinking)...

I have committed to the MFA in Graphic Design at ArtCenter! ??

I’m happy to connect with any designers outside of the forum, send me a DM and we can exchange social media accounts.

cc @Strawberrycat, I know you wanted an update haha

 

[Strawberrycat]

1 hour ago, thatdesigndude said:

Hello lovely people, I wanted to share a final post here to close the loop.
After visiting both CCA and ArtCenter this month (and a lot of overthinking)...

I have committed to the MFA in Graphic Design at ArtCenter! ??

I’m happy to connect with any designers outside of the forum, send me a DM and we can exchange social media accounts.

cc @Strawberrycat, I know you wanted an update haha

 

Congrats on the big decision! I hope you have a great time at ArtCenter!!!

[salvarezisonline]

Hey! Congrats to everyone who got accepted. I'm a first year MFA candidate at the University of Missouri, and it's already been a pretty transformative experience, so I'm excited for y'all~

On the off-chance that any of y'all lurking on this thread are thinking about grad school and just waited a little too long/didn't get in somewhere/etc., the program that I'm in still has a few spots open and is willing to take late applications. Feel free to send me a DM if you're interested :~)

[gizmo]

Anyone put (or about to put) a deposit down but still waiting to hear back from schools?

[709 LurkerA2V]

hi  congrats! !   ??? 

   ?

grats

[hairyeyeball]

Bard MFA update: for anyone considering applying, FYI they're pretty disorganized and unprofessional when it comes to admissions. I wasn't going to bother posting about this because I thought I would eventually get some answers, but it seems there is no one on the other end of the several email addresses I reached out to. All of the status updates and good news I received came from their automated system, not from real people. Just a heads up for future applicants: don't expect a personal touch from Bard.

[ronniebee]

@hairyeyeballwhat happened? all my contact there has been thru actual people. what discipline are you in  ?

[ronniebee]

On 4/8/2022 at 5:26 PM, hairyeyeball said:

I've seen some current/recent students posting about Bard here, sounds like their MFA program is struggling to keep up with the strains and challenges of the pandemic.

Did anyone here interview for Bard?I 'm curious to hear about other people's interviews, insights on the program, and where you're at with it now... I'm on the wait list.

@hairyeyeball sorry I went back and found this post. My interview with Bard was good, my interviewers were really engaged and I felt the questions were good. I feel like this is whole process went super fast but I've never applied to a grad program before, but. it feels crazy to go from interview to attendance in less than two months.

[709 LurkerA2V]

??

?        ✌️

 

?‍♂️

[initalics]

On 2/25/2022 at 10:23 PM, RyanV said:

I interviewed with Columbia Tuesday for Photography, it was a lightning round interview 10 questions with exactly 20 minutes. I was left with 2 minutes to ask about the program. They said it would be in the coming weeks to hear back. I hope weeks means soon ??

Not sure if someone asked this already; do you remember some of the questions they asked you? 

That would be much appreicated. I'm trying to prepare for everything. 

[RyanV]

11 minutes ago, initalics said:

Not sure if someone asked this already; do you remember some of the questions they asked you? 

That would be much appreicated. I'm trying to prepare for everything. 

Most of the questions were generic but one which threw me was what other faculties you would want to work with. Also what do you want to get out of the program and what you will contribute to the program. I didn’t get in ( got waitlisted) but I’d recommend doing their drop in tours, it’s an opportunity to speak one on one with current students. Wish I had done that in advance. The students were very candid.

[RyanV]

15 minutes ago, initalics said:

Not sure if someone asked this already; do you remember some of the questions they asked you? 

That would be much appreicated. I'm trying to prepare for everything. 

The other thing I didn’t know was that while they take 3-4 students for photo they try to have a distribution of focuses. I.e. as a process based photographer I’m really competing for one spot. One spot will likely go to someone with a more documentary focus etc.. so it’s a bit different than other schools that way. Not sure if that is true with other mediums. (This is anecdotal from current students)

[initalics]

6 minutes ago, RyanV said:

Most of the questions were generic but one which threw me was what other faculties you would want to work with. Also what do you want to get out of the program and what you will contribute to the program. I didn’t get in ( got waitlisted) but I’d recommend doing their drop in tours, it’s an opportunity to speak one on one with current students. Wish I had done that in advance. The students were very candid.

 

2 minutes ago, RyanV said:

The other thing I didn’t know was that while they take 3-4 students for photo they try to have a distribution of focuses. I.e. as a process based photographer I’m really competing for one spot. One spot will likely go to someone with a more documentary focus etc.. so it’s a bit different than other schools that way. Not sure if that is true with other mediums. (This is anecdotal from current students)

Thank you so much for all that info. Don't say you didn't get in. Hold on to you being waitlisted, ya never know best to be optimistic.

[dawndothat]

Hello everyone, I haven't decided on the MFA programs I want to apply to yet, but I'm looking at Yale(painting/printmaking), RISD(painting), Columbia(visual arts), and SAIC(Painting.&Drawing). 
I made videos, installations, and oil paintings during my undergrad. But I'm thinking about including only oil paintings with several series of my works in a portfolio(because my undergraduate thesis exhibition was of all oil paintings. And I've done oil paintings last six months).

Here is the thing I'm afraid that is putting only oil paintings into the portfolio might not be a good idea. Should I put a few videos or installation pieces together with oil paintings or focus on the media(oil paints) that I deal with best in the portfolio?

Edited September 30, 2022 by dawndothat