MFA 2023 Freak Out Forum

[lysol]

Has anyone else had any issues logging into the UCLA Portal?

 

Have tried every login password i can remember possibly using and it keeps saying they don't even have my email on file, had no issues logging in prior to submitting and have email conformations saying they received my app to the email i used 

got my rejection from northwestern and my invitation from yale yesterday! Not too sad about the northwestern rejection because it wasn't really a good fit for me, kinda bummed yale isn't doing interviews in person this year because for me personally I think I interview much better in person than on zoom, wanted a good excuse to visit NY for a couple days too lol

[cornchip]

7 hours ago, Pavol R said:

When applying to Yale MFA painting/printmaking , does anyone know how much importance yale puts on your previous gpa ? Is there a minimum gpa one must have to be considered? 

I can't imagine that your GPA would have a huge impact on your application. I suppose if your GPA is really low they might ask you to explain it. Some people take a huge gap between undergrad and the MFA, or their undergrad was in something other than art, so undergrad GPA isn't very telling about the person and their artwork. The thing I have heard consistently through this process is that your portfolio, letters of rec, and statement are the most important parts of the application. 

[impliedpaste]

Anyone happen to hear from Boston University (painting) yet? 

[Frank0000000]

2 hours ago, lysol said:

Has anyone else had any issues logging into the UCLA Portal?

 

Have tried every login password i can remember possibly using and it keeps saying they don't even have my email on file, had no issues logging in prior to submitting and have email conformations saying they received my app to the email i used 

got my rejection from northwestern and my invitation from yale yesterday! Not too sad about the northwestern rejection because it wasn't really a good fit for me, kinda bummed yale isn't doing interviews in person this year because for me personally I think I interview much better in person than on zoom, wanted a good excuse to visit NY for a couple days too lol

I just tried and everything seems ok on my end.. hoping we hear from them soon though! sorry you're having issues with the portal that's frustrating ?

[lysol]

Yeah figured out the account itself as attached to an old email, even though I entered my new one for all the fields in the app- looks the same as when I submitted it... Hopefully it will be sent out by friday

have opened and viewed the application without actually doing it multiple times over the years for UCLA just out of curiosity, was super stressed and regrettably procrastinated on my apps and the login didn't save like all the other schools, honestly submitting everything was really stressful and a total blur for me, sure it was like that for a lot of people though haha

[redCat]

For anyone applying to Boston University I just got an invitation to interview for graphic design! It's only 15 minutes long ?

[ninja35]

Hii so glad I stumbled upon this forum! Anyone heard back from SVA MFA Design/MICA GD MFA?

[paintrizzler]

UCLA interview invites went out already, a week-ish ago

 

[Painter12345]

1 hour ago, paintrizzler said:

UCLA interview invites went out already, a week-ish ago

 

That sucks! How do you know?

[d.arren]

Hi everyone, found this recently and it has been very helpful. Figured I would also share briefly that I applied to nine schools with a photo/video concentration. I already completed an interview at one, University of Arizona, and then got a rejection from Northwestern. Seems it is also a rejection from UCLA if the interview requests have already gone out. The ones I am still waiting on are U Michigan, UT Austin, VCU, UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, and Wash U in St Louis. Good luck to everyone and will update if I hear back from other schools.

[d.arren]

20 hours ago, Frank0000000 said:

Got my official rejection from Northwestern this morning! Wasn't too disappointed because I didn't get an interview invite so I wasn't expecting too much ?

Hoping to hear back from UCLA or Stanford soon!!! Anyone applying to the University of Michigan? 

Yeah I'm applying to Michigan as well and assuming the interview requests will come out soon if they haven't already (hoping obviously that they haven't lol).

[risaurus]

12 hours ago, redCat said:

For anyone applying to Boston University I just got an invitation to interview for graphic design! It's only 15 minutes long ?

Hey, any suggestions on how to choose the right faculty to interview with?

[redCat]

3 minutes ago, risaurus said:

Hey, any suggestions on how to choose the right faculty to interview with?

One of them I researched when applying and had mentioned her work in my statement. I really loved her website and the projects she does with students so I went ahead with her. I'd look at their work and see what aligns the best with your work and interests.

[risaurus]

Did anyone hear from VCUArts or SAIC for MFA Vis Com yet?

[u54rterytuuyrtrtrty]

did ucla invitations go out already? don't they notify rejections? ?

Edited February 7, 2023 by u54rterytuuyrtrtrty

[art12345]

6 hours ago, paintrizzler said:

UCLA interview invites went out already, a week-ish ago

For painting or which departments? Did they reach out by email?

[futuredesigner]

Does anyone have any interview tips for 3-year graphic design students candidates? ?

My interview is going to be 25 minutes long, and I assume they'll ask me about specific projects in the portfolio or ask me to talk about a project. In addition, I assume they'll ask me the basic questions, "Why grad school now? Why this school?" etc.

How much time should I allot for each question? I don't know how long the portfolio is or how many questions they'll ask me, I just won't want my answers to be too long or ramble, but I also don't want to overestimate how many questions they'll ask me and give 1-minute answers to 3 questions.

Thanks for any help! ?

[u54rterytuuyrtrtrty]

2 minutes ago, futuredesigner said:

Does anyone have any interview tips for 3-year graphic design students candidates? ?

My interview is going to be 25 minutes long, and I assume they'll ask me about specific projects in the portfolio or ask me to talk about a project. In addition, I assume they'll ask me the basic questions, "Why grad school now? Why this school?" etc.

How much time should I allot for each question? I don't know how long the portfolio is or how many questions they'll ask me, I just won't want my answers to be too long or ramble, but I also don't want to overestimate how many questions they'll ask me and give 1-minute answers to 3 questions.

Thanks for any help! ?

mine is for sculpture but any guidance would be incredibly welcome

[Boolakanaka]

On 2/6/2023 at 9:40 AM, blueangel said:

Rejected from Yale ? not hugely upset about it as I do want to live in NYC. Now I'm really praying for Pratt and Columbia!!

More than a few folks who do a Yale MFA actually live and commute from NYC.

[blueangel]

18 minutes ago, Boolakanaka said:

More than a few folks who do a Yale MFA actually live and commute from NYC.

I was trying to make myself feel better about my rejection. I understand that students do that though. 

[paul123]

17 minutes ago, Boolakanaka said:

More than a few folks who do a Yale MFA actually live and commute from NYC

Ah well in that case we should feel upset. 

Has anyone heard from Pratt or Bard? For those waiting for Columbia, in 2020 I got an interview there, but it didn't come until February 19th. Their deadline was also more than a week later than other schools, so I wouldn't be surprised if those letters didn't go out until next week. 

 

[ninja35]

2 hours ago, risaurus said:

Did anyone hear from VCUArts or SAIC for MFA Vis Com yet?

Nothing yet! And i applied before the 1 Dec deadline for SAIC

[onetwothreefourfive]

Just heard about an Interview from CMU

[Garamond]

2 hours ago, futuredesigner said:

Does anyone have any interview tips for 3-year graphic design students candidates? ?

My interview is going to be 25 minutes long, and I assume they'll ask me about specific projects in the portfolio or ask me to talk about a project. In addition, I assume they'll ask me the basic questions, "Why grad school now? Why this school?" etc.

How much time should I allot for each question? I don't know how long the portfolio is or how many questions they'll ask me, I just won't want my answers to be too long or ramble, but I also don't want to overestimate how many questions they'll ask me and give 1-minute answers to 3 questions.

Thanks for any help! ?

I don't think an interview that is 25 minutes long will only have 3 questions (I could be wrong) so I wouldn't worry about keeping answers as short as possible.

For reference, I had an interview with Wisconsin that was 30 minutes, but they sent me the 8 questions ahead of time. Some were so closely related that when I answered earlier ones, they were also answers for later ones, so they only ended up asking me 6 questions. There was also time for bits of natural conversation in-between (talking in specifics about the program you're interested in) as these interviews typically do. They kept it a tight interview to fit in the allotted time, so I only had time to ask one question.

I usually write answers beforehand to questions I think they ask (like why this MFA, tell us about yourself) so I remember the points I need to get across. You don't need to recite them word for word, but I find it better if I have some reference to pull from.

Keep an eye on the time so you don't feel disoriented. Remember that natural conversation can flow off-subject for a bit and that is to be expected. And if you're worried that the interview will be too short, you can always use that extra time to ask them questions (maybe 2 or 3 depending on time.)

Best of luck with your interview!

[futuredesigner]

44 minutes ago, Garamond said:

I don't think an interview that is 25 minutes long will only have 3 questions (I could be wrong) so I wouldn't worry about keeping answers as short as possible.

For reference, I had an interview with Wisconsin that was 30 minutes, but they sent me the 8 questions ahead of time. Some were so closely related that when I answered earlier ones, they were also answers for later ones, so they only ended up asking me 6 questions. There was also time for bits of natural conversation in-between (talking in specifics about the program you're interested in) as these interviews typically do. They kept it a tight interview to fit in the allotted time, so I only had time to ask one question.

I usually write answers beforehand to questions I think they ask (like why this MFA, tell us about yourself) so I remember the points I need to get across. You don't need to recite them word for word, but I find it better if I have some reference to pull from.

Keep an eye on the time so you don't feel disoriented. Remember that natural conversation can flow off-subject for a bit and that is to be expected. And if you're worried that the interview will be too short, you can always use that extra time to ask them questions (maybe 2 or 3 depending on time.)

Best of luck with your interview!

Thank you for sharing your experience, it's really helpful! I'm awful at interviews and am really worried about rambling for so long that they end up not asking as many as they would've wanted, haha... For a question like "Why do you want to go to grad school?," would a 4-minute answer be too long for example? I don't want to regurgitate my existing application materials, but I also don't want to sound like a completely different person than my statement. I wish they would send me the questions beforehand..

How long do you think I should allot for each portfolio project they ask about? Did Wisconsin ask you to talk about any of your works?

Hope you get in! ?? ? I might have considered applying, but I didn't realize that they had a graphic design focus until it was too late (I thought they only had focuses in printmaking/textiles!).