MFA 2023 Freak Out Forum

[lebleu]

22 minutes ago, painterJJ said:

Hey everyone! After all those numerous rejections from SAIC, RISD, Yale...

just got invited for Hunter MFA!!!!

Is there any advice for the interview like typical questions, topics, the atmosphere...

This is my FIRST invitation and since I'm an international (non-native English), I'm super nervous right now...

Any advice would be help me a lot. 

Oh, I applied with painting, btw 

Hi PainterJJ, I'm international student and non-native English speaker as well so I can definitely relate to your anxiety.

I did some research and found this interesting thread that might be helpful for you.

Good luck!

 

 

[Mar-Kiece]

2 hours ago, Gaara said:

I feel you, this is my second year and there's no way I wanna go through this process again. Majority of the schools I applied to are taking way longer than I expected. Compared to last years forum, a lot of schools on my list are behind schedule. 

Idk if @Mar-Kieceinterviewed at U of O for sculpture or photography so if it was photography maybe there's still a chance for you. But stay strong and don't lose hope, you could just be on the waitlist, you never know. 

I interviewed with a photo concentration!

[painterJJ]

1 hour ago, lebleu said:

Hi PainterJJ, I'm international student and non-native English speaker as well so I can definitely relate to your anxiety.

I did some research and found this interesting thread that might be helpful for you.

Good luck!

 

 

Fingers crossed for you as well.

This thread you uploaded seems to have precious insights on mfa interview! Thanks 

Cheers to every international applicants struggling under the pressure of interview ? 

[Miso]

46 minutes ago, Mar-Kiece said:

I interviewed with a photo concentration!

Thanks for letting us know! 

@Forms Without Formulamaybe U of O only did photo concentration interviews. Sculpture and Painting & Drawing could be up next, you never know ?‍♂️

Some schools release interview invites in waves. 

[Forms Without Formula]

4 hours ago, Gaara said:

Thanks for letting us know! 

@Forms Without Formulamaybe U of O only did photo concentration interviews. Sculpture and Painting & Drawing could be up next, you never know ?‍♂️

Some schools release interview invites in waves. 

Yeah let’s hope!! Time to focus on my Pratt interview later today, anyone else already interview with them yet?

[rhonda89]

Small update! Received my official acceptance with scholarship to NYAA today after having an informal acceptance over a Zoom call a few weeks ago. Got my official acceptance to Tyler on Feb. 6 and still awaiting information about funding (does anybody know what that timeline typically looks like?) and also got a rejection from SAIC Painting by e-mail Feb. 8th. It sounds like interviews already went out for Cornell, RISD, and VCU so I'm not hopeful about those. Still waiting on word from NYU and PAFA. Hope everyone gets some good news today

[thisisnotapipe]

Had an interview with a program earlier this week and was asked (what I thought) was a weird question. They asked where else I applied and if I had any interviews with those programs already. I felt forced to answer it but wondered if that was (1) an appropriate question to ask (2) if anyone else had this experience before and how they handled it? 

[paul123]

4 hours ago, Forms Without Formula said:

Yeah let’s hope!! Time to focus on my Pratt interview later today, anyone else already interview with them yet?

Good luck! My Pratt interview is tomorrow. I'd be very curious to hear how it went, if you're willing to share. (Though, mine is for photography.) 

[cornchip]

38 minutes ago, thisisnotapipe said:

Had an interview with a program earlier this week and was asked (what I thought) was a weird question. They asked where else I applied and if I had any interviews with those programs already. I felt forced to answer it but wondered if that was (1) an appropriate question to ask (2) if anyone else had this experience before and how they handled it? 

I've gotten this question a few times already in interviews. I'm not sure exactly what it means. I've always answered truthfully. It might be that they are just trying to get a sense of you as a grad applicant, but also the school's competition? In any case it's a good reminder that as much as we are trying to get accepted by these places, they are also vying for our acceptance! 

[c0c0]

Hi everyone, just checking in to see if anyone has heard from RISD Sculpture MFA about interviewing. They told me that notifications will likely to go out by Jan 30th but I still haven't heard a thing. Thank you all!

[u54rterytuuyrtrtrty]

1 minute ago, c0c0 said:

Hi everyone, just checking in to see if anyone has heard from RISD Sculpture MFA about interviewing. They told me that notifications will likely to go out by Jan 30th but I still haven't heard a thing. Thank you all!

do you mean post interview or being contacted to interview? I interviewed on Monday and they told me it would be about two weeks to get the final desition.

[c0c0]

4 minutes ago, u54rterytuuyrtrtrty said:

do you mean post interview or being contacted to interview? I interviewed on Monday and they told me it would be about two weeks to get the final desition.

Yes I mean being contacted to interview. Thanks for the reply! Did you apply for the sculpture department? If so I guess I didn't get in

[u54rterytuuyrtrtrty]

1 minute ago, c0c0 said:

Yes I mean being contacted to interview. Thanks for the reply! Did you apply for the sculpture department? If so I guess I didn't get in

yes for sculpture ? don't get discouraged!! they release their first picks by the end of february but you have march still since maybe some people won't accept their offer.

[palmtreefig]

Hey !

Just wanted to send some ???about Bard MFA. The program is pretty broke so funding is shit for new students (I've heard students getting anywhere from zero dollars in scholarships to the most being $10k after some very hard bargaining). One international student went to administration to ask for more money as they can't legally work in the US and the admin told them to "move back home" lol. PS Bard does not sponsor student visas.

Painting is especially a mess. With Painting having some absolute tyrants as co-chairs last year who tried to kick out two students just for asking for critique of student works within their discipline. A faculty member who would follow students around arguing with them and poking them lol. Many of the painting faculty will not be returning. So if you are planning on working with Firelei, I have bad news for you. 

Photo has had a constantly revolving door of co-chairs and faculty so I would triple check on the faculty before accepting a spot and don't go by past years' faculty. 

With Bard....I just wouldn't plan on getting substantial aid or having the faculty that they list on the website. However sculpture is still in pretty good shape. Hope the situation gets better for the other disciplines.

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by palmtreefig

[dawndothat]

Has anyone prepared a slide or images for an interview(painting)? What if there is no instruction about it? Should I prepare my portfolio as a slide? 

[paintgal]

has anyone heard from Hunter or Columbia ? (painting)

[paul123]

1 hour ago, palmtreefig said:

Hey !

Just wanted to send some ???about Bard MFA. The program is pretty broke so funding is shit for new students (I've heard students getting anywhere from zero dollars in scholarships to the most being $10k after some very hard bargaining). One international student went to administration to ask for more money as they can't legally work in the US and the admin told them to "move back home" lol. PS Bard does not sponsor student visas.

Painting is especially a mess. With Painting having some absolute tyrants as co-chairs last year who tried to kick out two students just for asking for critique of student works within their discipline. A faculty member who would follow students around arguing with them and poking them lol. Many of the painting faculty will not be returning. So if you are planning on working with Firelei, I have bad news for you. 

Photo has had a constantly revolving door of co-chairs and faculty so I would triple check on the faculty before accepting a spot and don't go by past years' faculty. 

With Bard....I just wouldn't plan on getting substantial aid or having the faculty that they list on the website. However sculpture is still in pretty good shape. Hope the situation gets better for the other disciplines.

 

Ah that's good to know. And too bad to hear, since the Low Res aspect would make it easiest for me to actually do. Are you a current student? I'd be curious to know what the Photo students' experiences have been like. I guess constantly changing faculty is better than incredibly abusive faculty. I guess. Do you have any insight into why the program is having so much trouble? 

[risaurus]

I have my MFA GD/VC interviews with UIC, CalArts and MICA today (16th Feb) and BU and VCU tomorrow (17th Feb)! Super stoked and excited. Does anybody have any interview experience with these colleges or some advice?

During my last interview (with UAL), the interviewer talked more than I did and I felt really bad about it later. Is there any way I can try to engage my interviewer in a flowing conversation naturally?

I've researched the kind of questions that come up, but I have no idea how to answer them in a natural yet impressive manner. Please share some insights on this!

All the help is sincerely appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Forms Without Formula]

3 hours ago, paul123 said:

Good luck! My Pratt interview is tomorrow. I'd be very curious to hear how it went, if you're willing to share. (Though, mine is for photography.) 

Just had my Pratt interview! It went well, it was me and 2 members of the faculty, felt conversational and laid back. They brought up my portfolio and had me talk about some of the work, they asked why grad school now, they asked about my future goals, and how I wanted the audience to experience the work. I get so nervous and scrambled but just gotta breathe and pretend I am a calm person! And then of course they asked if I had questions for them which always trips me up, I feel like in the past I would ask super specific random questions but this time I asked them what makes Pratt stand out in their eyes and that seemed like a better question that they were able to elaborate on more. If anyone has good suggestions for what kind of questions to ask I will take them in case I have any more interviews!!

[blueangel]

Still haven't heard from: 
Columbia
Hunter

Heard from: 
Pratt: asked for school transcripts only but nothing else
RISD: asked to complete financial aid form but nothing else
Yale: rejected
SVA: did an interview
MICA: I just got notified that I'm a finalist for MICA Painting! They said official decisions will be announced mid-March. They then invited us to campus tour, another virtual panel for questions, and counselor appointments. 

All for MFA painting

Edited February 15, 2023 by blueangel

[Forms Without Formula]

39 minutes ago, blueangel said:

Still haven't heard from: 
Columbia
Hunter

Heard from: 
Pratt: asked for school transcripts only but nothing else
RISD: asked to complete financial aid form but nothing else
Yale: rejected
SVA: did an interview
MICA: I just got notified that I'm a finalist for MICA Painting! They said official decisions will be announced mid-March. They then invited us to campus tour, another virtual panel for questions, and counselor appointments. 

All for MFA painting

Congrats on being a finalist for MICA!! In my Pratt interview for sculpture he said they were still really early in the interview process so good wishes to you!!

[Thursdayhasnofeel]

so my UT Austin Sculpture homies, anyone hear back post interview?

[edgecase]

36 minutes ago, Thursdayhasnofeel said:

so my UT Austin Sculpture homies, anyone hear back post interview?

I interviewed there in photo not sculpture, but they told me not to expect to hear back until late March, because of bureaucracy things, so it might be the same across the department. That feels like soooo long from now!

[cornchip]

got an interview request for Hunter yesterday

[paintinggggggg]

I got a phone call from Columbia to schedule an interview for Painting! They called on Monday morning.
And I got an interview email from Hunter (work on paper) yesterday.

Did anyone hear back from UCLA painting??