MFA 2023 Freak Out Forum

[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!).

[Garamond]

27 minutes ago, futuredesigner said:

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!).

I think 4 minutes is a lot of time for any one answer. I timed myself reading my answers (they were about a paragraph long) and it took me about 40-60 seconds at a steady pace. I think 4 minutes worth of content at a normal speaking pace is about two pages and some, which is a lot. I would time yourself with your answers to get an idea, but I think 100-130 words should be an adequate amount for any question. Don't forget, they will want to talk to you about your answer before going to the next question.

None of the interviews I had went into deep talks about my portfolio, but it's very straightforward and representative portfolio. I imagine they would want to know your thought process and defending the end result of what you came up with.

I will DM you my answers to the Wisconsin interview so you can have an idea to work with. It's less of a recital of answers and more like notes that I can refer to.

[futuredesigner]

8 minutes ago, Garamond said:

I think 4 minutes is a lot of time for any one answer. I timed myself reading my answers (they were about a paragraph long) and it took me about 40-60 seconds at a steady pace. I think 4 minutes worth of content at a normal speaking pace is about two pages and some, which is a lot. I would time yourself with your answers to get an idea, but I think 100-130 words should be an adequate amount for any question. Don't forget, they will want to talk to you about your answer before going to the next question.

None of the interviews I had went into deep talks about my portfolio, but it's very straightforward and representative portfolio. I imagine they would want to know your thought process and defending the end result of what you came up with.

I will DM you my answers to the Wisconsin interview so you can have an idea to work with. It's less of a recital of answers and more like notes that I can refer to.

You are the best, thank you! I'll practice and hopefully I don't over or under explain myself during the real interview.

[Miso]

Hard to believe UCLA already sent out interview invites last week. I just talked to someone at UCLA's MFA program and she said interview invites are usually sent out mid February, late February, or early March. She also said she doesn't know if they were already sent out because the faculty is in charge. 

In previous years of this forum usually a few people get ucla interview invites. It's hard to believe they came out last week and not one of us got an invite. Maybe one or two people received invites early from a specific department ?‍♂️

Anyone bold enough to call or email UCLA faculty and ask if interview invites were sent out? lmao jk ?

Edited February 7, 2023 by Gaara

[risaurus]

For anyone else who applied to MICA, just received an Interview Invite for 2-Year GDMFA.

Edited February 7, 2023 by risaurus

[Forms Without Formula]

Interviewed with SVA a week or so ago, but still waiting to hear from University of Oregon, SAIC, MassArt, Pratt, and Tulane…. I saw some of y’all got interviews from Oregon, SAIC, and MassArt, anyone heard from Pratt? Tulane deadline was on the 1st so I figure they’ll be a little slower coming out… Figuring I didn’t get into U of O, SAIC, and MassArt since I haven’t heard but trying to stay hopeful, getting real sick of constantly checking my email, but grateful for this forum and all of your updates and support!!

[Miso]

Just got off the phone with Erin Kermanikian (Assistant to the Chair) and she confirmed that UCLA doesn't send all interview invites at the same time. She said the faculty reaches out to finalist via email or phone at different times. 

[Painter12345]

20 minutes ago, Gaara said:

Just got off the phone with Erin Kermanikian (Assistant to the Chair) and she confirmed that UCLA doesn't send all interview invites at the same time. She said the faculty reaches out to finalist via email or phone at different times. 

Legend, thanks Gaara

 

and good luck!!!

[SocialKonstruct]

1 hour ago, Gaara said:

Hard to believe UCLA already sent out interview invites last week. I just talked to someone at UCLA's MFA program and she said interview invites are usually sent out mid February, late February, or early March. She also said she doesn't know if they were already sent out because the faculty is in charge. 

In previous years of this forum usually a few people get ucla interview invites. It's hard to believe they came out last week and not one of us got an invite. Maybe one or two people received invites early from a specific department ?‍♂️

Anyone bold enough to call or email UCLA faculty and ask if interview invites were sent out? lmao jk ?

I don't think that UCLA has said anything yet. I am thinking more of next week. It's pretty early. I still haven't heard from ArtCenter or Columbia either.

[anonymousartstudent]

hey...I am not sure if Columbia sent out interviews to all yet, but I received my interview invitation from them yesterday. I was so surprised and did not expect to come so early this year....They told me that interview will be 30mins long and I am wondering if anyone had any experiences or friends who know what kinda questions they ask? 30mins sounds a lot to me...I have done mostly just 15mins...just did one today with university of oxford...Wish everyone good luck! Finger Crossed for all of us!

[mfadoom]

11 minutes ago, linlinlin said:

hey...I am not sure if Columbia sent out interviews to all yet, but I received my interview invitation from them yesterday. I was so surprised and did not expect to come so early this year....They told me that interview will be 30mins long and I am wondering if anyone had any experiences or friends who know what kinda questions they ask? 30mins sounds a lot to me...I have done mostly just 15mins...just did one today with university of oxford...Wish everyone good luck! Finger Crossed for all of us!

what discipline did you apply in?

[mfahopefulfunding]

1 hour ago, linlinlin said:

wondering if anyone had any experiences or friends who know what kinda questions they ask? 30mins sounds a lot to me...I have done mostly just 15mins...just d

Congrats @linlinlinon the interview at Columbia! I am unfamiliar with Columbia's interview process but from prior year's successful interviews at California College of the Arts and School of Art Institute of Chicago interview questions included: 

• Why grad school at this time?

• What faculty would like to work with and why? 

• What other artists or movements influence your work? 

• What are you currently working on in your studio practice and what are you reading?

• What social/political/contemporary issues are you investigating with in your work?

• How do you deal with conflict in a group setting?

• How do you feel about moving to [insert school] location?

• How do you deal with challenges, failures, difficult situations? Please share an example. 

On a similar but different context, does anyone have any insight to Yale Sculpture interviews? Would you suggest to present new work for the portfolio section or ok to stick with the work submitted for the application?

Also, does anyone have any insight into Bard Sculpture MFA?

Thank you!

[ninja35]

3 hours ago, risaurus said:

For anyone else who applied to MICA, just received an Interview Invite for 2-Year GDMFA.

Me too! All the best to you  which faculty is preferred? Anyone who has done this has any insights?

[sillystring]

I'm applying to non-specific media or installation programs, so my experience might be different than others, but I've gotten a rejection from Northwestern and had an interview with U of Iowa. I'm still waiting on responses from Rutgers, Michigan State, U of Oregon, Cornell, UC Irvine, and UCLA.

Regarding Iowa's interview, I applied to the Sculpture & Intermedia program. The questions were actually less intense than I had been preparing for:

1. Why did you choose the Sculpture and Intermedia Program at UIOWA? Please name the three strongest aspects of our program that made your decision.
2. Our TAs teach either introduction to Intermedia or intro Sculpture courses.  Which course would you prefer and most closely aligns with your skill set?
3. What new research directions do you hope to pursue if admitted to U. Iowa?
4. Have you researched Iowa City?
5. Why do you want to pursue an MFA?
6. Please tell us about one or two of your best pieces in more detail.

Of course, I still properly freaked out about them and was overthinking them all right up until I had my interview lol. I was only asked three from the list, and the discussion was a prompt 20 minutes. Hope that might help someone out there!

Great job so far everyone, stay strong!

[Croissant Waffle]

I just got an email from MICA for the interview.

I applied for the MFA Graphic Design.

[Croissant Waffle]

Hi, I'm an international student and I applied for 2-year MFA Graphic Design. 

School lists that I applied for:

RISD ( interview requested for 3-year track )

MICA ( interview requested )

SVA  ( interviewed )

ArtCenter 

CalArts

SCAD

[painterJJ]

7 hours ago, linlinlin said:

hey...I am not sure if Columbia sent out interviews to all yet, but I received my interview invitation from them yesterday. I was so surprised and did not expect to come so early this year....They told me that interview will be 30mins long and I am wondering if anyone had any experiences or friends who know what kinda questions they ask? 30mins sounds a lot to me...I have done mostly just 15mins...just did one today with university of oxford...Wish everyone good luck! Finger Crossed for all of us!

Congrats!!!!! Fingers crossed for your interview

Did you applied for Ruskin(oxford) mfa and Columbia Visual arts? I had applied to Ruskin mfa and haven't heard back 

[d.arren]

On 12/25/2022 at 10:08 PM, CMUSchoolofArt said:

Just dropping a note about my grad school experience. When I applied, I was accepted to Cranbrook, RISD, and four of my other top choices.

I made the decision to attend Carnegie Mellon’s School of Art. I was promised “substantial funding” and told that the program was “highly selective”.

What actually happened at CMU was much different. I found out quickly that the funding was not what I thought, and that the program wasn’t “selective”- it just couldn’t keep students enrolled. 

The class ahead of me had mostly dropped out, and my colleagues were literally hysterical about how horrible the program had been for them. Multiple former students I met told me their experience at CMU had harmed their career, and left them without any career opportunities. Students showed up at my house- unannounced- unhinged and in hysterics, before later dropping out- crying about how faculty mistreated them. Faculty immediately began harassing, haranguing and psychologically manipulating and abusing me. This was all the first month.

I complained about the toxic experience, and the retaliation was swift. The faculty I was assigned to work with immediately began to pick me apart, intentionally and maliciously disparaging me to other students and ridiculing my projects without any reason. These are faculty who haven’t published any books, nor had any gallery representation. They were targeting me-not because of the nature of my work- but because of retaliation, gender bias and I guess their overall penchant for psychological abuse.

The most disgusting part of my first year was meeting the former head of the school, John Carson. Carson is a talentless tyrant who sat on people’s careers to squash their potential. He was a sick, childish and toothless bully who used his power to enable abusive faculty and to hobble students who complained of the abuse. Carson was constantly mocked and ridiculed by both his own faculty, staff and many students during his time at CMU. He wasn’t even hired by the faculty vote- many claim he was head simply due to a partner-hire because CMU wanted to hire his wife.

Carson immediately began harassing me as soon as it was clear I was gay. He refused to let me enroll in the international study abroad program, and he intentionally assigned faculty to me that he knew would continue his campaign of harassment. Carson is a homophobic anti-artist who was the most unwelcoming, unfriendly, unprofessional and sick individual I have ever come across. He has had no career, has no legacy, and should have never accomplished more than a menial day job. He is the penultimate example of how heterosexual people succeed without any talent.

CMU only got worse. Ali Momeni, a faculty member, began sexually harassing an undergrad I mentored, and Momeni also started harassing incoming female faculty members, inviting them to his apartment after job interviews. Ali Momeni, between 2013 and 2016, was reported to Title IX for harassing at least four different individuals. He was eventually terminated in 2016, but the university covered everything up, and this has allowed him to go on teaching and continue to work in this field, despite his history of sexual harassment. CMU’s response to my involvement in a title IX investigation has been to permanently ban me from campus.

In the last three years, Carnegie Mellon School of Art has been secretly and covertly retiring nearly it’s entire faculty. Starting with Elaine King in 2017, Lowry Burgess (5/2017), Martin Prekop (5/2018), Carol Kumata (4/2021), Joe Mannino (5/2021), John Carson (5/2022) and Susanne Slavick (5/2022). That’s basically two faculty a year for the first five years of Charlie White’s position as head of the department. This exodus is not a coincidence. The seven faculty above, who once comprised the majority of the department, had no gallery representation, no ongoing career, and shouldn’t have had jobs in the first place.

During this time, the artist Echo Eggebrecht taught painting, but was quickly and quietly terminated for being intoxicated at work. Allison Smith came, but quickly departed. The university hired Jessica Beck, associate curator from the Warhol- despite numerous reports of her abusive behavior. She was also later released.

The university has retained several faculty that have had numerous, ongoing complaints about their work practices, notably Suzie Silver, Paolo Pedericini, Angela Washko, Andrew Johnson, and Melissa Ragona, who now calls herself “Cash”. As a student of these faculty, I can say without hesitation that Ragona is a legitimate sociopath, who intentionally highjacked, manipulated, and sabotaged my art career. Silver is an abusive and outrageously hostile person who curses, screams, and physically threatens students, faculty and visitors. Johnson and Pedericini are psychologically abusive and hostile people who enjoy having the authority and power to demean and insult others, without reason or justification. Johnson only has the job because of his wife, Susanne. 
 

CMU is an incredibly abusive and destructive place because of the tenured faculty who intentionally harm students. I am sincere in my hope that no one makes the same mistake I made and destroys their future by attending their MFA program.

Hi, so I read this post after having already applied to CMU, but I want to thank you for sharing this and sorry for what you had to go through. I, like someone else just posted, got the email to interview with CMU, and I am still going to do the interview, but it seems pretty unlikely that I would actually go here if accepted now. Would you mind, if you are willing, to share any more information, especially about what exact issues occurred with the funding?

[ninja35]

Does anyone know if SVA sent out all the interview invites? ?

[risaurus]

5 hours ago, Croissant Waffle said:

Hi, I'm an international student and I applied for 2-year MFA Graphic Design. 

School lists that I applied for:

RISD ( interview requested for 3-year track )

MICA ( interview requested )

SVA  ( interviewed )

ArtCenter 

CalArts

SCAD

Hey, you applied for a 2-year track at RISD or 3-year? I applied for 2-year, and am still waiting to hear back.

[sussy.spacek]

16 hours ago, Boolakanaka said:

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

Are you sure you're not conflating students with faculty? Faculty members and core critics definitely commute but they don't go in everyday. But I think, majority, if not all students, live in New Haven during their time in the program.

Edited February 8, 2023 by sussy.spacek

[sussy.spacek]

10 hours ago, linlinlin said:

hey...I am not sure if Columbia sent out interviews to all yet, but I received my interview invitation from them yesterday. I was so surprised and did not expect to come so early this year....They told me that interview will be 30mins long and I am wondering if anyone had any experiences or friends who know what kinda questions they ask? 30mins sounds a lot to me...I have done mostly just 15mins...just did one today with university of oxford...Wish everyone good luck! Finger Crossed for all of us!

ahhh congrats and good luck!! i applied also but have not gotten any updates yet so likely am getting a rejection. ? did you get a status update in the application portal or did they email you?

[sussy.spacek]

18 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! ?

Hi! I interviewed for some grad schools last year, and from my experience (based on where I was accepted and not), DO NOT worry about talking too much! Admissions committees want to hear you, your enthusiasm about your craft, what inspires you, but also of course, keep your sentences concise and coherent. You have to consider how the faculty might be listening to hear how you'll participate in group critiques!

Backstory: I interviewed at RISD and they only really ask me 3-4 questions because I talked so much (I likely preemptively answered a lot of their questions, so for example: I talked in depth about how my work related to books and essays I was reading before they even got to ask "what are you reading"?). I could tell it was going well because they were really engaged, and it eventually became conversational and gave me some recommended artists and books to look at! I had my Yale interview shortly after RISD's, and I was definitely overthinking it because of nerves (of course). I thought, "I talked too much during my RISD interview, why don't I leave room for the interviewers to ask me more?" Bad approach and idea! There was a lot of dead air during my Yale interview. They seemed disinterested, and it likely came off that I lacked enthusiasm. I didn't create opportunities in my interview to really talk about the content in my work. I just answered their questions almost too directly, without expanding on it deeper and connecting it back to the broader picture of why now? Why Yale? Why painting? Needless to say I was rejected last year. But got accepted into RISD, which I later turned down.

Don't think about the number of questions that they'll ask you, think about trying to make a human-to-human connection through conversation. It's your interview. You should feel empowered to run it, and also remember, you're interviewing THEM too.

My advice is you want to say more than less! If you catch yourself rambling, that's okay! Just think of a way to close your ideas or thoughts as neatly as possible.

I'd love to hear what other folks think, or if they've had a different experience?

Anyways, good luck! I'm putting myself through this process again this year, and so far have been invited to interview for Yale (again) and Cornell.

Edited February 8, 2023 by sussy.spacek

[risaurus]

Did anyone interview with VCUArts before? I'm curious to know about their interview structure. I am invited to interview with the faculty and the graduate students. Are the panels separate or do they sit through it together to interview the candidate?