MFA 2023 Freak Out Forum

[SocialKonstruct]

Heard back from the ArtCenter financial aid office and it's a done deal.

Got I think a pretty much full ride tuition and then some. Will take out 21k/year loans for food, housing, and misc. expenses.

The journey is over and hope to see other ArtCenter folks this fall! Cheerios.

MFA PROGRAM Fall 2023	CONCENTRATION	STATUS
Yale University	Sculpture	Rejected
Yale University	Painting and Printmaking	Rejected
UCLA	New Genres	Rejected
Columbia University	Printmaking	Rejected
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)	Rejected
Calarts (California Institute of the Arts)	Photography and Media (Integrated Media)	Rejected
ArtCenter College of Design	Art	Accepted and will commit

Edited March 27, 2023 by SocialKonstruct

[pmr98]

On 3/20/2023 at 11:40 AM, tmnc said:

Still haven't heard back from Columbia (printmaking) after interviewing over 3 weeks ago now. At this point I'm assuming i didnt get in, but I guess there is still a chance.

Still waiting on Yale's financial aid office too, has anyone heard back from them?

I'm an international student and I've already heard back from Yale's financial aid office. 
I'd love to chat with anyone who is also in this process. Message me on here 

Edited March 27, 2023 by pmr98

[SocialKonstruct]

22 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Heard back from the ArtCenter financial aid office and it's a done deal.

Got I think a pretty much full ride tuition and then some. Will take out 21k/year loans for food, housing, and misc. expenses.

The journey is over and hope to see other ArtCenter folks this fall! Cheerios.

 

MFA PROGRAM Fall 2023	CONCENTRATION	STATUS
Yale University	Sculpture	Rejected
Yale University	Painting and Printmaking	Rejected
UCLA	New Genres	Rejected
Columbia University	Printmaking	Rejected
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)	Rejected
Calarts (California Institute of the Arts)	Photography and Media (Integrated Media)	Rejected
ArtCenter College of Design	Art	Accepted and will commit

Okay correction: it was a half-tuition scholarship but still better than that of SAIC. Word.

[Miso]

Does anyone know the general rule about including detail shots in a portfolio? For example, if a school requires 15 works of art in the portfolio, should you include 15 different works or is there an acceptable amount of detail shots you can include? I am wondering if a program will not like it if an applicant included let's say 4 detail shots. Because technically they are only including 11 different artworks. What would you guys do if you thought detail shots were necessary for your portfolio? 

11+4 detail shots = 15

12+3 detail = 15 

15 different works + no detail?

Would appreciate anyone's opinion on this. Thanks!

[Thursdayhasnofeel]

On 3/24/2023 at 3:52 PM, onetwothreefourfive said:

Here's an update. Finally heard back from all schools, but because of all the waitlist placements I probably have another few weeks before I make any final decision. 

Program	Medium	Status
Yale University	Sculpture	Rejected
UCLA	Ceramics	Rejected
UC Davis	Interdisciplinary	Rejected
Rutgers	Interdisciplinary	Rejected
UC Irvine	Interdisciplinary	Waitlisted
UT Austin	Sculpture	Waitlisted
UMass Amherst	Interdisciplinary	Waitlisted
Carnegie Mellon	Interdisciplinary	Waitlisted
ASU	Ceramics	Accepted
UCONN	Interdisciplinary	Accepted
RISD	Ceramics	Accepted

Northwestern	Interdisciplinary	Accepted
Hunter	Clay/casting	Waitlisted
UW Madison	Sculpture	Waitlisted

 

 

howdy! have you heard anything from UT yet? I also got waitlisted 

[SocialKonstruct]

2 hours ago, Gaara said:

Does anyone know the general rule about including detail shots in a portfolio? For example, if a school requires 15 works of art in the portfolio, should you include 15 different works or is there an acceptable amount of detail shots you can include? I am wondering if a program will not like it if an applicant included let's say 4 detail shots. Because technically they are only including 11 different artworks. What would you guys do if you thought detail shots were necessary for your portfolio? 

11+4 detail shots = 15

12+3 detail = 15 

15 different works + no detail?

Would appreciate anyone's opinion on this. Thanks!

I never include detail shots. The committee I don't think have time to look at the works in that amount of detail usually.

[onetwothreefourfive]

3 hours ago, Thursdayhasnofeel said:

howdy! have you heard anything from UT yet? I also got waitlisted 

I talked to the head of graduate studies about a week ago. He called and wanted to tell me about funding and said I was high up on the waitlist. But I haven’t heard anything official. What concentration are you?

[Thursdayhasnofeel]

57 minutes ago, onetwothreefourfive said:

I talked to the head of graduate studies about a week ago. He called and wanted to tell me about funding and said I was high up on the waitlist. But I haven’t heard anything official. What concentration are you?

dang, I'm also in sculpture that's not comforting 

[edgecase]

1 hour ago, onetwothreefourfive said:

I talked to the head of graduate studies about a week ago. He called and wanted to tell me about funding and said I was high up on the waitlist. But I haven’t heard anything official. What concentration are you?

I'm also on the UT Austin waitlist (photo). I think it's my top choice, but it's hard to know without visiting or being able to really talk to anyone there yet... this waiting is pretty tough! 

Edited March 29, 2023 by edgecase

[_solvely_]

Hey guys,

Would love to hear some feedback regarding SAIC's Post Bacc Program.

Is this a program worth studying? 

[zemog]

On 3/28/2023 at 1:34 PM, Gaara said:

Does anyone know the general rule about including detail shots in a portfolio? For example, if a school requires 15 works of art in the portfolio, should you include 15 different works or is there an acceptable amount of detail shots you can include? I am wondering if a program will not like it if an applicant included let's say 4 detail shots. Because technically they are only including 11 different artworks. What would you guys do if you thought detail shots were necessary for your portfolio? 

11+4 detail shots = 15

12+3 detail = 15 

15 different works + no detail?

Would appreciate anyone's opinion on this. Thanks!

Hunter only allowed 10 images, so I did 10 works no details. At the interview they asked for 5 print outs, so I included one detail then. With that said, my work is very detail oriented, surface is incredibly important especially since I'm interested in material development, so it was tough. For my other portfolios that allowed 20 images, I included 3 details each showing a different material finish. I'd say maybe 1 or 2 details or none. I think it also depends on your medium(s), I'm a sculptor for reference, but ultimately what is that detail conveying that makes it more important than an entire work?

[zemog]

On 3/18/2023 at 6:44 AM, paintpaiiint said:

Has anyone heard from UCR? I haven't heard anything since my interview.

I was notified on 02.26.23 via personal email that I was waitlisted, #1 spot. I accepted an offer elsewhere and asked to be removed from the waitlist, they were super nice about it. Interview was on 02.17.2023

[zemog]

On 3/19/2023 at 1:13 PM, cyb3rci3lo said:

just got notified im on the waitlist! good luck to everyone, will be taking my name off to accept VCU 🙂

That's awesome! I accepted too. What program are you in? I'm in Sculpture + Extended Media. 

[cyb3rci3lo]

16 hours ago, zemog said:

That's awesome! I accepted too. What program are you in? I'm in Sculpture + Extended Media. 

going in for painting! it's been a wild ride, thankful to have a small community on here during these few months 🙂

[SocialKonstruct]

So quiet this past week here...

[ninja35]

Anyone heard back from mica’s scholarship appeal?

[f_arts]

having a really hard time making a decision and could use some advice! I was accepted to a program that I really want to go to with ~30% funding and so I went through the appeals process and they came back with ~60% and a ta position but it’s still going to leave me around 35k in debt. Can I go back and ask for more money again or is that seen as greedy/ungrateful? I really want to accept this programs offer but I need like 10% more funding. my other offer is an in state tuition school with a stipend that would leave me debt free but I don’t love the program

[d.arren]

Hi everyone, was a pleasure to have some community during this time period, and wishing everyone the best for those who are going to be enrolling in the fall and those who are going to apply again next year. I'm gonna provide a detailed list of my final results for anyone who is curious. I am happy to be attending U Michigan after negotiating some extra funding and learning about other funding opportunities once I'm there to hopefully be able to finish the degree debt-free.

Northwestern - rejected 2/6
UT Austin photo - rejected 2/23
UCSD - interview 1/28, rejected 3/7
UCLA photo - rejected 3/9

U Arizona photo/video/imaging - interview 2/3, waitlisted 2/24 (mentioned in interview: 10k/year stipend, insurance, but ~1k/year in course fees; idk how many hours of work, but there is the possibility of doubling the work for 20k/year)
Carnegie Mellon - interview 2/25, waitlisted 3/15 (was contacted about being taken off waitlist, but they only offer 75% or full tuition remission with no stipend despite ~7hrs/week TA work, so I declined)

U Michigan - interview 2/22, accepted 2/28 (75% tuition remission, extra scholarship, 9k/year stipend for 7.5 hrs/week of work, insurance, project funding, other discretionary funds)
Wash U in St Louis - interview 2/21, accepted 3/6 (75% tuition remission, 4k/year stipend)
VCU photo and film - interview 3/6 , accepted 3/14 (full tuition remission, 10.5k/year stipend for 12 hrs/week of work, but have to pay 6k/year in course fees)

[duderstad]

11 hours ago, f_arts said:

having a really hard time making a decision and could use some advice! I was accepted to a program that I really want to go to with ~30% funding and so I went through the appeals process and they came back with ~60% and a ta position but it’s still going to leave me around 35k in debt. Can I go back and ask for more money again or is that seen as greedy/ungrateful? I really want to accept this programs offer but I need like 10% more funding. my other offer is an in state tuition school with a stipend that would leave me debt free but I don’t love the program

absolutely you can! you should explain your current financial situation and the motives why you can't really get into debt but how you want to accept the offer because it is the right fit for you. I would try!

[blueangel]

Hey all. I was excited to go to Pratt but I didn't get any scholarship, and they gave me a financial aid package of 100k for the first year. There's no way I want to be 100k in debt  is there any way I can ask for a scholarship or anything else to get actual financial help? 

I looked through scholarships but a lot of scholarships seem to be like 1k, not like 20k. 

Also has anyone heard back from NYU?

[hoo_boy]

On 3/28/2023 at 1:34 PM, Gaara said:

Does anyone know the general rule about including detail shots in a portfolio? For example, if a school requires 15 works of art in the portfolio, should you include 15 different works or is there an acceptable amount of detail shots you can include? I am wondering if a program will not like it if an applicant included let's say 4 detail shots. Because technically they are only including 11 different artworks. What would you guys do if you thought detail shots were necessary for your portfolio? 

11+4 detail shots = 15

12+3 detail = 15 

15 different works + no detail?

Would appreciate anyone's opinion on this. Thanks!

I think that (unless you're specifically encouraged to or discouraged from detail shots) you really have to use your judgment on this question, depending on your work and medium and how best you want to convey it to a jury with little time/attention span.

To offer a different perspective from others in this thread, I submitted three stills of videos in addition to uploading said three videos, which I guess could be considered kind of like a detail shot — mainly because I wasn't sure how much of the videos would get viewed and because those videos kind of anchor my whole portfolio. Similarly, I included a couple of shots of an installation I wrote about in my application; not exactly "detail" per se, more like a few versions/iterations of the same project.

Hope this helps!

[lafoa7]

ok hi long time lurker here to vent … long story short i am a waitlist superstar

my stats

vcu (interviewed, waitlisted)

umass amherst (interviewed, rejectedddd)

east tennesee state (interviewed, accepted)

uoregon (interviewed, waitlisted)

um twin cities (waitlisted)

georgia state (interviewed, i have yet to hear and its driving me nuts) … i heard they sent out the first round of letters but i have also yet to be waitlisted or rejected?? 

i have a strong portfolio and im a good writer but i am not a strong interviewer. shout out to the shy guys out there. got interviews p much everywhere i applied as a self taught artist, just to stutter and act awkward on zoom. talking about myself felt… unnatural.

by far my interview at umass was all around BAD VIBES. idk anyone who goes there but that department feels so stuffy and serious and a little cruel for no reason. most awkward interview of my life. did anyone else have a hard time with that dept? even at the more “prestigious” schools like vcu the interviewers were way kinder.

im truly playing the long game. i am waiting on my waitlist answers and it feels like ive been in this process for forever now. mostly just here to commiserate because the waiting game is the hardest part imo.

thanks to everyone for all the info you shared- happy to share anything about my process ❤️

Edited April 6, 2023 by lafoa7

[edgecase]

2 hours ago, lafoa7 said:

shout out to the shy guys out there. got interviews p much everywhere i applied as a self taught artist, just to stutter and act awkward on zoom. talking about myself felt… unnatural.

I feel you! You must have a strong portfolio to get all those interviews, so I hope you can lean into that part and feel that success, and may you end up at a school that's a good fit. I'm also waiting on two waitlists and feeling the stress of April 15th approaching. 

And I know how frustrating it can feel about the interviews, I also feel that I didn't interview well. Of course it's impossible to know what really went into their decisions, but as someone who doesn't have experience in the art world, I just literally didn't understand some of the questions. U of Arizona asked (one of only two questions), "what will your studio practice look like when you're here?" and I really fumbled that answer, and I could tell one of the professors was annoyed that I wasn't getting it. Of course I was rejected.

Coming out of a creative writing MFA, no one talks about having a "practice". Everyone just wants to know what you are working on - a novel? short stories? sonnets? Maybe, what are the themes, what are your influences, are you working in any particular form. No one really cares what story you tell about your "practice", it's all about the actual manuscript and can you deliver on the page. Exceptions are maybe if you're doing a job talk for a tenure track position or if you're pitching an agent or doing something super experimental and hard to understand. There aren't interviews for most writing MFAs. So I was really unprepared for how to talk about my work in that way and didn't even understand the concept of a "practice" even though I've been making visual art for two decades. 

That said, I've learned a lot through visiting schools and meeting other faculty and art students about the discourse in art, so I'll be better prepared for these conversations in the future, and I'm sure you will too. 

I heard some good advice about interviews recently - write out all likely questions and then write out a paragraph answer for each and try to memorize them, seeing if you can hit most of the points. For one of the two schools I got into, they did send the questions ahead of time, and I basically just read off a piece of paper during the Zoom interview. It worked!

Ack, best of luck! 

Edited April 6, 2023 by edgecase

[lafoa7]

4 hours ago, edgecase said:

I feel you! You must have a strong portfolio to get all those interviews, so I hope you can lean into that part and feel that success, and may you end up at a school that's a good fit. I'm also waiting on two waitlists and feeling the stress of April 15th approaching. 

And I know how frustrating it can feel about the interviews, I also feel that I didn't interview well. Of course it's impossible to know what really went into their decisions, but as someone who doesn't have experience in the art world, I just literally didn't understand some of the questions. U of Arizona asked (one of only two questions), "what will your studio practice look like when you're here?" and I really fumbled that answer, and I could tell one of the professors was annoyed that I wasn't getting it. Of course I was rejected.

Coming out of a creative writing MFA, no one talks about having a "practice". Everyone just wants to know what you are working on - a novel? short stories? sonnets? Maybe, what are the themes, what are your influences, are you working in any particular form. No one really cares what story you tell about your "practice", it's all about the actual manuscript and can you deliver on the page. Exceptions are maybe if you're doing a job talk for a tenure track position or if you're pitching an agent or doing something super experimental and hard to understand. There aren't interviews for most writing MFAs. So I was really unprepared for how to talk about my work in that way and didn't even understand the concept of a "practice" even though I've been making visual art for two decades. 

That said, I've learned a lot through visiting schools and meeting other faculty and art students about the discourse in art, so I'll be better prepared for these conversations in the future, and I'm sure you will too. 

I heard some good advice about interviews recently - write out all likely questions and then write out a paragraph answer for each and try to memorize them, seeing if you can hit most of the points. For one of the two schools I got into, they did send the questions ahead of time, and I basically just read off a piece of paper during the Zoom interview. It worked!

Ack, best of luck! 

this is so validating, thanks for sharing your perspective so thoughtfully. theres def something strange abt the level of performativity normalized in explaining your practice as a visual artist that i really struggle with. thanks for your take and sharing. curious where you decided to go. all the best to you!

[duderstad]

5 hours ago, lafoa7 said:

this is so validating, thanks for sharing your perspective so thoughtfully. theres def something strange abt the level of performativity normalized in explaining your practice as a visual artist that i really struggle with. thanks for your take and sharing. curious where you decided to go. all the best to you!

Waitlist gang. I feel validated as well. I did not interview well- I also had a hard time with these abstract questions like : what does your process look like? What does your studio practice look like? I went to art school and even I feel these questions are strange- If anybody has any insight on how to answer them I would be grateful. Also, to all of us waitlisted, hang in there. Hopefully something will come up-