MFA 2025 Freak Out Forum

[ArtsyAF]

On 2/26/2025 at 11:09 AM, K84_Po said:

Wondering how much funding everyone else got from Cranbrook. Even with 25%, it's so expensive🥲

Anyone else negotiate aid?

Hey there, congrats on your acceptance! I was just accepted as well and totally feel ya, but I will say the Cranbrook admissions/financial team is GREAT and so responsive. I was actually accepted last year and successfully negotiated more aid, unfortunately it just was not enough for me to attend. I was accepted again this year and am trying to negotiate more aid right now! With this now being my second MFA cycle I can confidently say it is super normal to negotiate aid with all of your schools!!! Write a professional and concise email stating; your strong desire to attend Cranbrook(or fill in the blank with any other school), how eager you are to grow and learn at said institution, how THIS program aligns with your practice/goals, and acknowledge/appreciate the already generous funding offer!! If the place is your #1 choice let them know! You can also say you are considering other schools and mention the funding offers that are causing you to debate your final decision(this seems bold but is normal, do so tactfully and it is totally appropriate). They are choosing us as much as we are choosing them! This is our education at the the end of the day and they know we have many things to consider before making our final decision. Let them know how badly you want to go here, how serious you are about your future, and how thrilled you are to be accepted and awarded BUT also if there is any possibility of receiving more funding at this time. We all got this, best of luck to everyone negotiating funding and those still waiting to hear back from schools:)

[Kalonde]

3 minutes ago, K84_Po said:

It should be in the official letter of acceptance once you get it! Financial aid office has been really responsive

Thanks I saw it in my email as soon as I sent that! lol

[K84_Po]

4 minutes ago, ArtsyAF said:

Hey there, congrats on your acceptance! I was just accepted as well and totally feel ya, but I will say the Cranbrook admissions/financial team is GREAT and so responsive. I was actually accepted last year and successfully negotiated more aid, unfortunately it just was not enough for me to attend. I was accepted again this year and am trying to negotiate more aid right now! With this now being my second MFA cycle I can confidently say it is super normal to negotiate aid with all of your schools!!! Write a professional and concise email stating; your strong desire to attend Cranbrook(or fill in the blank with any other school), how eager you are to grow and learn at said institution, how THIS program aligns with your practice/goals, and acknowledge/appreciate the already generous funding offer!! If the place is your #1 choice let them know! You can also say you are considering other schools and mention the funding offers that are causing you to debate your final decision(this seems bold but is normal, do so tactfully and it is totally appropriate). They are choosing us as much as we are choosing them! This is our education at the the end of the day and they know we have many things to consider before making our final decision. Let them know how badly you want to go here, how serious you are about your future, and how thrilled you are to be accepted and awarded BUT also if there is any possibility of receiving more funding at this time. We all got this, best of luck to everyone negotiating funding and those still waiting to hear back from schools:)

Thank you! This is really helpful.

You negotiated with financial aid, not the department head, right? Have they told you anything about federal funding? I was told they're still working on that.

Best of luck!

[Kalonde]

I got full tuition for Cranbrook

[ArtsyAF]

17 minutes ago, K84_Po said:

Thank you! This is really helpful.

You negotiated with financial aid, not the department head, right? Have they told you anything about federal funding? I was told they're still working on that.

Best of luck!

So both years for Cranbrook, I reached out to Julia Delagarza who is the 'Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid'. She is great! I talked with her a ton during and after the application process both times around. She is who sent me my offer and I assume everyone else's(idk if it differs for other programs/AIRs). The department heads don't have any say over funding and who gets it, I was told this by my AIR. He was very open about being vocal about funding you needed and reaching out to the financial/admission team. I have not heard about federal funding, last year they told me in March so maybe the timeline is similar. They were able to let me know before the deadline to decide so I could make my decision with all of the info I needed.

[K84_Po]

Just now, ArtsyAF said:

So both years for Cranbrook, I reached out to Julia Delagarza who is the 'Director of Enrollment and Financial Aid'. She is great! I talked with her a ton during and after the application process both times around. She is who sent me my offer and I assume everyone else's(idk if it differs for other programs/AIRs). The department heads don't have any say over funding and who gets it, I was told this by my AIR. He was very open about being vocal about funding you needed and reaching out to the financial/admission team. I have not heard about federal funding, last year they told me in March so maybe the timeline is similar. They were able to let me know before the deadline to decide so I could make my decision with all of the info I needed.

You're seriously amazing! Thank you!!!

[ArtsyAF]

19 minutes ago, Kalonde said:

I got full tuition for Cranbrook

AHHHHHH CONGRATS GILBERT FELLOW! That is so incredibly exciting:))))))))) 

[frogpainter]

I interviewed with Herron last week and they told me they'd let me know if I got in or not by the end of this week....so nervous !! I kept thinking about what I did wrong in the interview or could have done better but trying to stop obsessing over it lol. 

 

Still haven't heard back from VCU painting/printmaking either, I'm surpised nobody here has! I applied last year too and got rejected, I don't remember the exact date but it was late February/early March that they let me know. 

 

Also congrats everyone on the offers!!

[manti]

People who are waiting to hear back after interviewing, how do you think the interviews went? I couldn't tell one way or another with these interviewers, they all had on their poker faces. I always heard that if you have a tough time during interviews then that actually might be good sign. I definitely don't feel like I have it in the bag. I also wonder if anyone knows how important the interviews are? I know the work is the absolute most important thing but I wonder how much more they can clean from a short 20 minute interview.

[Kalonde]

I saw somebody say that SAIC will put out scholarship letters in March, is this separate from what's on your aid summary or should i assume I just didn't get a scholarship?

[artlife]

Congratulations to all of the recent admits! Has anyone received a decision from SAIC Low Res?

Edited Thursday at 09:48 PM by artlife

[mermaidkt33]

28 minutes ago, artlife said:

Congratulations to all of the recent admits! Has anyone received a decision from SAIC Low Res?

Same question. I am waiting to hear back on this!

 

[sarinnn]

1 hour ago, manti said:

People who are waiting to hear back after interviewing, how do you think the interviews went? I couldn't tell one way or another with these interviewers, they all had on their poker faces. I always heard that if you have a tough time during interviews then that actually might be good sign. I definitely don't feel like I have it in the bag. I also wonder if anyone knows how important the interviews are? I know the work is the absolute most important thing but I wonder how much more they can clean from a short 20 minute interview.

I'm still waiting to hear back from two schools after interviews, and after getting one waitlist and one acceptance, I feel they don't have a huge impact in the overall application, or at least not in the way we think they do. I thought I did the worst in both of the interviews I heard back from, but was pleasantly surprised with the results. I think its more likely that they have a positive impact on the application than negative, at least compared to how we perceived it.

[mermaidkt33]

3 hours ago, Kalonde said:

I got full tuition for Cranbrook

You seem to be getting a ton of offers! Congrats! I am interested to see your work if you don't mind sharing your socials or a website.

[Yaah]

2 hours ago, Kalonde said:

I saw somebody say that SAIC will put out scholarship letters in March, is this separate from what's on your aid summary or should i assume I just didn't get a scholarship?

I’m also waiting for the email.

[prosthetic_head]

Booked a flight to visit Purchase 😵‍💫 haven't been to NY in ages so I'm excited to do some city exploring also.

if anyone else attending accepted students day wants to connect feel free to message me! 

[paintstress]

3 hours ago, Kalonde said:

I saw somebody say that SAIC will put out scholarship letters in March, is this separate from what's on your aid summary or should i assume I just didn't get a scholarship?

yeah that was me! i saw on the link they provided that financial aid packages go out starting march 1st, i attended the interview in person and they had a financial aid presentation after which i went to, i just took a look at my notes from that and they said at that presentation that financial aid info will be confirmed by late march/super early april latest. 

[kamlee]

Update on the schools I applied to this round (my first round of grad applications):

RISD: Accepted & waiting on financial aid package to be sent out next week

Yale: Interviewed & awaiting response 

Cranbrook: Accepted with half tuition scholarship 

CalArts: Accepted 

SVA: Accepted 

Otis: Accepted 

I feel like my stress that has been taking over my life the past few months is finally going away. Things are starting to feel real! 

 

[beepbeepmeep]

columbia - no response

bard - no response

SAIC- accepted, 100% full scholarship (!?!??!)

Cal Arts - accepted with a 70% scholarship, negotiating

Currently waiting to hear from my top choice, a fully funded program which I don't want to mention because it's so niche could give away my identity. But I had an interview with them!

I really wasn't considering Cal Arts or SAIC that hard but obviously now I am. I really wanted a miracle columbia scholarship or this fully funded program I'm still waiting on. Pretty bummed I didn't even get an interview with columbia.  I honestly cannot believe SAIC offered me this scholarship because I completely flubbed the interview, as it was the day after a horrible life event.  I will probably go wherever gives me the most $$

[Cowbot]

First time applying! I only applied to 2 schools. 

Rutgers - accepted 

Yale - interviewed and awaiting response 

Good luck to everyone!! We've got this! 

[manti]

1 hour ago, kamlee said:

Update on the schools I applied to this round (my first round of grad applications):

RISD: Accepted & waiting on financial aid package to be sent out next week

Yale: Interviewed & awaiting response 

Cranbrook: Accepted with half tuition scholarship 

CalArts: Accepted 

SVA: Accepted 

Otis: Accepted 

I feel like my stress that has been taking over my life the past few months is finally going away. Things are starting to feel real! 

 

Wow, congrats! I haven't seen anyone get this many acceptances before, you should start some kind of MFA prep course. And congrats to everyone else for getting in, it's really encouraging. It's good to hear that others felt they didn't do so well on the interviews but got in despite that.

[artstudent555]

Anyone who is an international student who interviewed at Rutgers? 

[paintstress]

2 hours ago, beepbeepmeep said:

columbia - no response

bard - no response

SAIC- accepted, 100% full scholarship (!?!??!)

Cal Arts - accepted with a 70% scholarship, negotiating

Currently waiting to hear from my top choice, a fully funded program which I don't want to mention because it's so niche could give away my identity. But I had an interview with them!

I really wasn't considering Cal Arts or SAIC that hard but obviously now I am. I really wanted a miracle columbia scholarship or this fully funded program I'm still waiting on. Pretty bummed I didn't even get an interview with columbia.  I honestly cannot believe SAIC offered me this scholarship because I completely flubbed the interview, as it was the day after a horrible life event.  I will probably go wherever gives me the most $$

congrats thats amazing, what department/medium did you apply for?

 

[dakota]

Yale timing? Does anyone know when Yale gets back with results after interviews? I know they are still interviewing all day Friday...

Cranbrook response timing and scholarship? I got accepted to Cranbrook with $41K/year but they want a response by March 11th (they aren't signed onto the April 15th agreement). No extensions, I asked. Also, is it weird that they offered $9K short of full tuition? Anyone else in this position? I would feel bad asking for more if that was considered the full scholarship... but UT Austin offered me a full ride plus $21K in take-home TA pay... so I've gotta ask.

I really loved the Artist-in-Residence at Cranbrook, but meeting their response deadline would mean accepting blind... I'm whipping out a same-day-round-trip to visit, but I can't get out to UT Austin before Cranbrook's deadline, even with a travel stipend. A video tour will have to do.

I'm trying to relax and let go and enjoy the first few days off from this wild ride of applications and interviews, but this timing is a puzzle I can't quite figure out.... help!

Also got into Rutgers via call - no letter yet and I understand they are a "full ride" school but curious for more details.

(Also waiting on interview results from Hunter - 2-3 weeks y'all say? and no news from Bard - that's a quiet waitlist, it seems).

 

Congrats to all. This was my second time around and I got 2 interviews but 0 acceptances in 2023. 

 

 

 

 

[prettypinkpearls]

Hi! I was wondering if anyone has heard back from CCA (Design) or Art Center (GD)? I had an interview with CCA last week and loved the faculty but have no clue if my interview went well... I also still haven't heard from CalArts and assumed that all of the interview requests have already been sent out and acceptances have pretty much already been distributed (and that I probably got rejected) :,)