MFA 2025 Freak Out Forum

[VanillaYogurt]

33 minutes ago, sarinnn said:

anyone else still waiting to hear back from RISD after interviews? 🥲 it's not looking good chat

yup! the wait is brutal...

[Cowbot]

16 minutes ago, kamlee said:

what discipline did you apply/interview for?

Photo! What about you?

[sarinnn]

I applied to digital media! Haven't seen a lot of people who applied to this program. They told me I would hear back early March, but seeing unofficial acceptances go out for other departments has made me super anxious to hear back lol. 

[kamlee]

31 minutes ago, Cowbot said:

Photo! What about you?

oh that's awesome! I'm sorry you've had to wait so long to hear back though, that's brutal! 🥲 I applied to graphic design and heard back about a week after my interview which was so nice to not have to wait very long

[sCuLpTuRe123]

On 3/3/2025 at 3:15 PM, zaline said:

Hi! I've heard back from all of the schools that I applied to and here is where I stand. I applied to all schools in textiles/fiber

RISD: Accepted with at 50% scholarship

VCU: Accepted and waitlisted for funding

Tyler: Accepted and still waiting to hear back about funding.

I am curious to know people's thoughts about going into debt for grad school? I guess my approach to applying to schools was to see where I got in first and then figure out how to pay for it later... I'm definitely not going to art school with the plan of going on to get a high paying job after (lol) so I am wondering if anyone is willing to share their thoughts about how they may or may not be thinking about debt. I suppose there is the possibility that I could still get good funding from VCU and Tyler, but i'm not banking on it.

I don't think it's worth going into huge amounts of debt for grad school - especially since there are so many fully funded programs that offer generous stipeneds. I've heard that VCU's funding is not great especially with all the fees and the small stipened amounts. There are a number of schools in the country that offer stipeneds that are $27,000 or higher. 

Of course I want a good MFA program, but a program with a "liveable" wage is the number 1 priority for me. 

[dj_buckweed07]

Hey friends! Has anyone who’s been accepted to ASU planning to reject the offer? I’m first on the waitlist;)  and would love to know!

[intheclerb]

Did anyone else interview for SAIC ceramics, still waiting for a response 😫

I got rejected from the Alfred ceramics waitlist today RIP. I'm gutted, hope all my other rejected queens out there are okay, this is the worst 😱

[Plausiblefox]

12 hours ago, unlikely012 said:

Has anyone had an interview with Pratt that might be willing to share a little bit about their experience? I have my interview with them this week and am a little nervous to speak to two profs together since the rest of my interviews have been one on one. Not necessarily looking for specific questions they asked if that's too personal, just the overall focus/style of the interview!

I interviewed with them today. It was a 20 minute conversation. I didn't find the two people vs. one person to be that different. They took turns asking questions which mostly felt pre-planned. They both took notes while I answered. They started the interview with me choosing one of my portfolio images and describing my process conceptually and technically. Then they asked about what my work was about/my approach more generally across the whole portfolio. They also asked me: Tell me about yourself. Why do you want an MFA now? Why Pratt? How do you think your work will change during grad school? Do you have any questions for us? I also mentioned knowing former students and they asked what their names were. 

[Plausiblefox]

On 3/3/2025 at 5:17 PM, intheclerb said:

Hey guys I have my Columbia interview on Friday, applied with sculpture. I am very nervous and intimidated, has anyone interviewed there and if so can you tell me any info that would help me prepare?

I'm currently not accepted anywhere so feeling immense pressure to do well, but also I'm not not sure if I will get enough funding to attend even if I were accepted. Any thoughts are welcome!

I interviewed for painting last Friday and also felt very intimidated! Idk how different it will be for sculpture. All my interviewers where painters. The interview was with five people, three professors and two alumni. 

They started by asking "Tell me about yourself and your work." Then they asked a lot of questions following up on what I said about my work and what I had written about my approach in my statement. They also asked my to choose a piece in my portfolio and talk about it. I talked about the inspiration for the piece, how it fit into my portfolio conceptually, and the techniques I was using to create the piece. And then they asked me a lot of followup questions about my explanation.

They also asked Why Columbia? how moving to NYC would change my work, and if I had questions for them.

Overall I felt like they were paying close attention to my answers and asking really specific and complex follow-up questions. But they seemed genuinely interested in what I was saying and wanted to know more. For an example of a follow-up they asked: How do you grapple with the challenging subject matter of spirituality in your work while approaching the more formalist aspects of your work? 

They were polite but didn't give me a lot feedback on how I was doing (facial expressions or responses) and I had no idea how I did coming out of the interview.

Edited Wednesday at 03:14 AM by Plausiblefox

[intheclerb]

6 minutes ago, Plausiblefox said:

I interviewed for painting last Friday and also felt very intimidated! Idk how different it will be for sculpture. All my interviewers where painters. The interview was with five people, three professors and two alumni. 

They started by asking "Tell me about yourself and your work." Then they asked a lot of questions following up on what I said about my work and what I had written about my approach in my statement. They also asked my to choose a piece in my portfolio and talk about it. I talked about the inspiration for the piece, how it fit into my portfolio conceptually, and the techniques I was using to create the piece. And then they asked me a lot of followup question about my explanation.

They also asked Why Columbia? how moving to NYC would change my work, and if I had questions for them.

Overall I felt like they were paying close attention to my answers and asking really specific and complex follow-up questions. But they seemed genuinely interested in what I was saying and wanted to know more. For an example of a follow-up they asked: How do you grapple with the challenging subject matter of spirituality in your work while approaching the more formalist aspects of your work? 

They were polite but didn't give me a lot feedback on how I was doing (facial expressions or responses) and I had no idea how I did coming out of the interview.

Woof sounds intense! Congrats on interviewing, and thanks for your reply, it's really helpful to know a bit more

[Plausiblefox]

Did anyone get SAIC scholarship info today? I got a loan offer but I'm wondering if that means I'm not getting any merit funding.

Also, has anyone heard back from NYU painting?

[dandyline]

12 minutes ago, Plausiblefox said:

Did anyone get SAIC scholarship info today? I got a loan offer but I'm wondering if that means I'm not getting any merit funding.

Also, has anyone heard back from NYU painting?

I just checked SAIC and yeah same for me, loans but no merit funding. Definitely a bummer.

[Kalonde]

27 minutes ago, dandyline said:

I just checked SAIC and yeah same for me, loans but no merit funding. Definitely a bummer.

I was a little confused about the wording of the email because it says your funding information will be in self service and mail but another page only mentioned mail. So maybe it hasn't been properly updated? Wishful thinking I guess 

[dandyline]

45 minutes ago, Kalonde said:

I was a little confused about the wording of the email because it says your funding information will be in self service and mail but another page only mentioned mail. So maybe it hasn't been properly updated? Wishful thinking I guess 

Maybe. I only saw it because I'm chronically checking portals, so it could still be processing? Wishful thinking has been my best friend throughout this application season so I'll go with it haha

[nanaaaa]

I'm just asking out of pure curiosity, but how old is everyone here applying? I'm in my mid 20s and I don't know why but I almost feel already too old to start a new chapter in my life. 

[Cowbot]

1 hour ago, nanaaaa said:

I'm just asking out of pure curiosity, but how old is everyone here applying? I'm in my mid 20s and I don't know why but I almost feel already too old to start a new chapter in my life. 

I’m 25! Mid 20s is actually the time most people go back for their MFA, so if you’re looking to be part of the norm you’re exactly on track. But there’s no such thing as too late!

[boltcutter]

2 hours ago, nanaaaa said:

I'm just asking out of pure curiosity, but how old is everyone here applying? I'm in my mid 20s and I don't know why but I almost feel already too old to start a new chapter in my life. 

NOT TOO OLD. I'm in my later 30s with a family and a job. Every school I talked to seemed not only accepting of but excited for older students - they told me the median age for grad school is now is actually like 27-35.

[tryinggg]

So, I got a call from one of my top choices last Thursday telling me I was on the waitlist and to expect an official email in a few days. It’s almost been a week, should I reach out? It’s probably just the stress of this whole process but my first instinct is to worry

[Kalonde]

5 hours ago, nanaaaa said:

I'm just asking out of pure curiosity, but how old is everyone here applying? I'm in my mid 20s and I don't know why but I almost feel already too old to start a new chapter in my life. 

I'm 24. I definitely think it's better to at least have a little life experience before going back for the MFA. One of my art acquaintances just recently got his MFA in his mid 40s. As long as life lines up I don't think you can be too old!

[kamlee]

5 hours ago, nanaaaa said:

I'm just asking out of pure curiosity, but how old is everyone here applying? I'm in my mid 20s and I don't know why but I almost feel already too old to start a new chapter in my life. 

I’m 28. I don’t think mid 20s is too old to start a new chapter, I actually think that’s probably on the younger side for an MFA degree! Most friends/colleagues of mine attended in their late 20s/early 30s. 

[Turtle222]

2 hours ago, boltcutter said:

NOT TOO OLD. I'm in my later 30s with a family and a job. Every school I talked to seemed not only accepting of but excited for older students - they told me the median age for grad school is now is actually like 27-35.

I'm 40

[boltcutter]

2 minutes ago, Turtle222 said:

I'm 40

GOOD FOR YOU! by the time I was 28 I thought I was too old and then gave up the dream. What bunk that was. 

[Turtle222]

8 minutes ago, boltcutter said:

GOOD FOR YOU! by the time I was 28 I thought I was too old and then gave up the dream. What bunk that was. 

Ha same, but here we are!!

[prosthetic_head]

Im 32 and didn't start thinking about going back until I turned 30. it's never too late to start a new chapter in your life! personally I'm glad to have had this much time to figure out my practice outside of school, etc

Edited Wednesday at 03:59 PM by prosthetic_head

[Sleepyguy]

22 hours ago, mmav said:

UCLA and UC Irvine sent out their rejections today 🥴

I'm officially only waiting to hear back from Parsons DT for anything, and waiting post-interview for UCSD and UW Seattle

Still haven’t heard anything from them, hopefully later today