MFA 2023 Freak Out Forum

[dwidnvowni]

13 minutes ago, Croissant Waffle said:

Okay so here's what I got for graphic design:

SVA - Accepted ( sent an email asking for $$ but silence)

MICA- Accepted with $

RISD- Waitlisted 

Can I defer my admission for one year bc of the financial issue? I got a smaller scholarship than I expected..  

How did you know you were on the RISD waitlist? Did they send an email?

[Croissant Waffle]

1 minute ago, dwidnvowni said:

How did you know you were on the RISD waitlist? Did they send an email?

Hey, you go check your portal's status. You'll see... 

[etm94]

20 hours ago, bloopers said:

Thank you and congrats on Yale!! Quite a feat. What do you think made you a more successful candidate the second time around? Any insight is much appreciated. Others are welcome to answer this too! 

Speed and quantity were things I tried to stick to this time around, without sacrificing quality (so basically scaling down on the size of the work quite a bit). I re-applied as soon as I could (so they don't forget me lol) and with an almost entirely new portfolio; I think I only recycled one artwork from my previous application. when I interviewed i also presented 4 brand new artworks and 4 sketches that I made after submitting my application and before getting the interview invitation.

Choosing to re-apply right away with new work definitely isn't possible for every re-applicant depending on life circumstances and the nature of their work. but I think for my case specifically, it felt necessary and was doable (with a lot of struggle), and I think it's what got me in!

[rhonda89]

20 hours ago, bloopers said:

Thank you and congrats on Yale!! Quite a feat. What do you think made you a more successful candidate the second time around? Any insight is much appreciated. Others are welcome to answer this too! 

Hopping on this because I got some pretty spectacular advice my second time applying and I went from being rejected literally everywhere to having some acceptances. I spent the year in between application cycles getting involved in my local art collective, organizing shows, teaching classes- essentially immersing myself and getting a ton of experiences that I could relate back to my research + career goals (I'm also a few years out from undergrad so it was useful to basically relearn how to talk about art again). I did ask the same people for recommendations, and I think it was useful for me to be able to show them a list of things I had done in the past year because it showed them I was serious and dedicated, and gave them new things to write about. I did also completely redo and restructure my portfolio which is a whole other thing, but the main thing is that I don't think it's bad to ask the same people for a LOR

 

[ninja35]

1 hour ago, cornchip said:

congrats! I just got into MICA sculpture. My award is a 30k/yr merit scholarship which is so nice. 

Wow that’s so amazing! Congratulations to you, you must be so happy! I received for 18K/yr but seems very less. 

[scoobydooby888]

Has anyone heard back from CCA's MDes in Interaction Design program?

[AJJAY]

Seeing some positivity in here this week! Looks like lots of people are finally getting their answers.

 

I'm trying to hold out hope but this radio silence is the worst. Just reject me already and stop the bleeding. 

[Mutya]

9 hours ago, soph8ahotdog said:

I asked about deferral here last week too... Following the topic in case anyone has good insight about deferring at a full-residency program. 

My own two cents, from my last time in MFAs (Bard dropout here), was that they allowed people to take summers off (it's a low-res program) but I don't know if anyone ever deferred their first year. So, a lot of people would put off their second year or third year and in the end, the classes became very mixed (when I was there, there was only one student graduating in Film/Video because everyone else had deferred that summer). 

Hi @soph8ahotdog! If you don't mind sharing -- what were your reasons for dropping out of Bard? I'm mostly curious if they included institutional factors, unless you are willing to share beyond that can be helpful. I got accepted into the Film/Video discipline and seriously considering it as my top choice. For context: I'm in my late 30s, married, a parent, immigrant of color, previously dropped out of my first film school (undergrad) in my home country, and finished my film undergrad in a suburban town in WA where my family is currently based. Thank you!

[SocialKonstruct]

9 hours ago, soph8ahotdog said:

have you interviewed at any of these spots? only asking because our list of schools is quite similar

Interviewed at ArtCenter and Calarts; radio silence from UCLA.

Feeling rather uneasy atm and next week moving into a new house so trying to get life stuff together.

[cyb3rci3lo]

update:

SAIC: rejected

RISD: rejected

BU: rejected

Rutgers: rejected

VCU: interviewed, waiting

Hunter: interviewed, waiting

i'm glad everyone's getting answers! i've been getting a slew of rejections, really hoping to hear back some good news, it's super difficult to stay positive 😕 good luck to those stuck in limbo/getting rejections, this sucks and i'm wishing all of us luck for this year and the next 😞

[_solvely_]

Hey guys,

What is the reputation of Maine College of Art and Design like?

Is it considered a good school and is it worth going to study?

Will appreciate if someone can shed some light on this  

 

[blueangel]

I got admitted into SVA and MICA for Painting today! MICA scholarship is 15k/academic year. I'm praying that there's still room in Pratt and need to re-prep for the interview.

Yale - rejected
Hunter - rejected
RISD - rejected
SVA - accepted
MICA - accepted
Pratt - interview soon
NYU - silence
Columbia - silence

[AJJAY]

13 minutes ago, _solvely_ said:

Hey guys,

What is the reputation of Maine College of Art and Design like?

Is it considered a good school and is it worth going to study?

Will appreciate if someone can shed some light on this  

 

Hey! I'm not sure about reputation but I had them on my list for a while. Ultimately decided as a PoC I would feel more comfortable in a location with other artists of Color, so I didn't apply, but I can say that their grad student advisor was SUPER cool. We video chatted for about an hour and he gave me lots of great information and tips of what to look for as I continued my search. 

 

On another note, I have been to Portland Maine, where the school is located, and it is absolutely GORGEOUS. There are ports, old brick buildings, cobblestone streets, amazing seafood, and lots of fun dive bars and classier whiskey bars too (went there on my honeymoon back in 2021). 

 

Looks like its ranked #89 by US News & World Report so its got some prestige.

 

[picklejar16]

No email yet,  but checked portal and I'm officially into NYU Tisch with a small scholarship!!!!!

[fieldtrip]

Hey folks… if you’re waiting for that UCLA rejection make sure to check your portal today ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[languis]

16 minutes ago, fieldtrip said:

Hey folks… if you’re waiting for that UCLA rejection make sure to check your portal today ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Thank you, I needed this lol. Looks like it's gonna be East Coast for me! 

[Miso]

24 minutes ago, fieldtrip said:

Hey folks… if you’re waiting for that UCLA rejection make sure to check your portal today ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Yup UCLA rejections finally dropped today. Idk why they put it in our portals without emailing us. But this was very expected

[Inthemiddleofariddle]

16 hours ago, languis said:

Congratulations! I also got accepted to Boston University today too! would you mind sharing what financial package you received? I got 40% on top of the 50% the whole art school does. So total would pay 18k per year. I have a similar offer from PAFA and NYAA and I'm starting the negotiation process for all schools.

Hey!!! Congratulations! That’s great news, I also got an identical package offer, 40% on top of the 50%, I bet you can negotiate it though especially if you have other offers that compare! This was actually my best offer haha so I’m going to try and negotiate but it might be difficult. Feel free to message me though if you have updates or want to talk more about the program

[risaurus]

Hey, guys please shed some insights on how to negotiate for scholarships. Whom should I email? Apart from referencing scholarships from other college acceptances what other strategy can I use? 

It's all looking too expensive for me and I don't want to defer another year! Need to make a final call within the next few days. 

 

Edited March 8, 2023 by risaurus

[Flowerflower]

Anyone hear from these places for painting/studio art 

Ohio state

Michigan state 

university of Washington (said would send out results no later than 3/17)

Washington state

 

[cyb3rci3lo]

I GOT INTO VCU !!!!! good luck to everyone !!! a huge weight has been lifted, i hope everyone else gets to feel this ❤️

[CactusWren22]

1 hour ago, Gaara said:

Yup UCLA rejections finally dropped today. Idk why they put it in our portals without emailing us. But this was very expected

UCLA turned us into practicing conspiracy theorists. Paranoia, doubt, and wrestling with the truth only to find out the result from the internet.

[SocialKonstruct]

54 minutes ago, CactusWren22 said:

UCLA turned us into practicing conspiracy theorists. Paranoia, doubt, and wrestling with the truth only to find out the result from the internet.

Yep got my UCLA rejection today too. ArtCenter and Calarts are left now.

[reallyfamousartist]

2 hours ago, Flowerflower said:

Anyone hear from these places for painting/studio art 

Ohio state

Michigan state 

university of Washington (said would send out results no later than 3/17)

Washington state

 

I haven't heard from Washington state yet

[SocialKonstruct]

Okay updated list as of today:

MFA PROGRAM Fall 2023	CONCENTRATION	STATUS
Yale University	Sculpture	Rejected
Yale University	Painting and Printmaking	Rejected
UCLA	New Genres	Rejected
Columbia University	Printmaking	Rejected? (Assumed)
School of the Art Institute of Chicago	Painting/Drawing	Rejected
School of the Art Institute of Chicago	Photography	Accepted
School of the Art Institute of Chicago	Sculpture	Rejected
Calarts (California Institute of the Arts)	Art (Integrated Media)	Rejected
Calarts (California Institute of the Arts)	Art + Technology (Integrated Media)	Interviewed
Calarts (California Institute of the Arts)	Photography and Media (Integrated Media)	Rejected
ArtCenter College of Design	Art	Interviewed

 

I already started to craft my list of schools to apply for in Fall 2024 just in case

Edited March 8, 2023 by SocialKonstruct