MFA 2025 Freak Out Forum

[figg]

What kind of questions do they usually ask in the Yale sculpture interview? I'm afraid they might throw in something I never expected...

[manti]

6 hours ago, dakota said:

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. 

 

 

 

 

Last year for Yale the last interview was on Friday Feb 23 and the results came out on Tuesday March 5. That's 11 days in between results. The last interviews are being done today at Yale so it is very possible that you won't hear back in time. What's the worst that can happen if you accept Cranbrook and then take back your commitment? It's on them for not being in line with the norm tbh... 

[freshman2024]

I dont know if anyone else is in this boat but figured I would check, I was accepted into Ohio State, and was nominated for a fellowship. I haven't heard yet if I was awarded it, I'm probably attending anyway but on my offer letter it said I would hear the week of 2/24, haven't heard anything. Would you guys check in with the program? I don't want to be annoying but obviously would like to know. 

[beanbagboy]

Does anyone have any insight or feedback on what attending Tyler or Rutgers would be like? Are the faculty supportive? If you toured these places, did you like the facilities and vibes? 

[Calcifer]

Anyone else staying on top of the NIH funding getting cut? I’m wondering, I have yet to hear back from like 3 schools post-interview. Schools like OSU and wisconsin seem to have a lot of trouble with it. I’m wondering if waitlists will even be honored, or if open spots will simply be nullified. How are yall feeling about it?

[freshman2024]

28 minutes ago, Calcifer said:

Anyone else staying on top of the NIH funding getting cut? I’m wondering, I have yet to hear back from like 3 schools post-interview. Schools like OSU and wisconsin seem to have a lot of trouble with it. I’m wondering if waitlists will even be honored, or if open spots will simply be nullified. How are yall feeling about it?

Were you accepted to Ohio? Funding for the arts seems super secure. 

[Copytheline]

13 hours ago, artstudent555 said:

Anyone who is an international student who interviewed at Rutgers? 

I interviewed at Rutgers but didn’t hear back from them.

Edited 17 hours ago by Copytheline

[mmav]

1 hour ago, Calcifer said:

Anyone else staying on top of the NIH funding getting cut? I’m wondering, I have yet to hear back from like 3 schools post-interview. Schools like OSU and wisconsin seem to have a lot of trouble with it. I’m wondering if waitlists will even be honored, or if open spots will simply be nullified. How are yall feeling about it?

I don't think the those federal level decisions are going to affect MFA funding at most programs...it's more localized to like how much money the school/ public uni system the program is a part of, most of these things do not rely on federal grants the way STEM grad programs do (since STEM grad students work in labs, which rely a lot on grants for funding). NIH specific funding cuts shouldn't affect MFA programs at all since NIH grants are for STEM research labs.

Edited 17 hours ago by mmav

[swordfish111]

anyone know when we will hear from ucla or northwestern

[dakota]

11 hours ago, figg said:

What kind of questions do they usually ask in the Yale sculpture interview? I'm afraid they might throw in something I never expected...

No curve balls, just more questions than other schools - and they want brevity. They asked me the usual questions you’d expect, plus how you handle conflict, how you work (pace, approach, specific questions related to work in portfolio); and they asked me a specific question related to the concepts in my statement. Hope this helps in time! good luck

Edited 13 hours ago by dakota

[dakota]

4 hours ago, beanbagboy said:

Does anyone have any insight or feedback on what attending Tyler or Rutgers would be like? Are the faculty supportive? If you toured these places, did you like the facilities and vibes? 

Rutgers: Great vibes, pretty great facilities, better than many, depends on what you need - is their equipment not on their website? they have a gas kiln which is rare. Metal shop is larger than I saw at Hunter. Love the current cohort. There’s a separate makerspace lab across from the shop/studio building that also has pay-to-play digital stuff

[kamlee]

18 hours ago, manti said:

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.

Wow thank you so much! That means a lot. I’ve been very lucky this round to have had such success. I hope interviews have been going well for you and that you get accepted into the program(s) you are hoping for! 

[ChainLink]

17 minutes ago, dakota said:

Rutgers: Great vibes, pretty great facilities, better than many, depends on what you need - is their equipment not on their website? they have a gas kiln which is rare. Metal shop is larger than I saw at Hunter. Love the current cohort. There’s a separate makerspace lab across from the shop/studio building that also has pay-to-play digital stuff

This might be really specific but when you say pay-to-play digital stuff do you mean people pay for time on the machines etc, just wondering if they said any specifics on that. My work is very reliant on these digital fab spaces so I’ve been trying to get more information on what they are like but there’s not too much info online.

[Josh Turner]

I have applied to UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSD, Cornell, SVA and Hunter and till now I've only heard back from SVA which I actually got in. I see that people have already interviewed UCSD and got admissions. how come they're taking for ever to get back to me ;(. and looks like no one has heard back from UCLA. I've applied for the New Genre program. 

 

[kamlee]

12 hours ago, prettypinkpearls said:

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) :,)

I have heard from CalArts, they didn’t do any interview with me they just sent an email out with my acceptance a few weeks ago. Not sure if that’s the same process for everyone and for every program, but it seems like they might not do interviews. That was for graphic design! 

[frogpainter]

I got into Herron!!! My first acceptance so I am super excited - they said they'd have an official offer letter with the finacial info mid-march, so will have to wait for that before I decide anything. I really thought I bombed the interview because I was so nervous at the beginning I kept losing my train of thought and felt like I was barely even answering the questions, but I did feel more confident in the rest of my answers so guess I didn't do too bad! If anyone here has info about the school or Indianapolis I'd love to hear it. 

[dakota]

37 minutes ago, ChainLink said:

This might be really specific but when you say pay-to-play digital stuff do you mean people pay for time on the machines etc, just wondering if they said any specifics on that. My work is very reliant on these digital fab spaces so I’ve been trying to get more information on what they are like but there’s not too much info online.

Ya it’s a bit strange, but when they say on their website “access to a maker space with new digital fabrication equipment” they are referring to a separate Makerspace (that seems best for small projects).  It’s available to use by anyone at Rutgers, and has small 3D printers, a tiny vacuum former, a UV printer, mat cutters, embroidery machines, laser engravers, and some more stuff I prob didn’t clock. It’s not part of Mason Gross and I’m guessing would require a membership and payment. But I’d email Rhys/Mason Gross shops if you got in and really wanted a better low-down. The website does list a lot but it feels abstract without a tour. I just re-read it and saw that I forgot to mention that they do aluminum foundry pours! 

Edited 13 hours ago by dakota

[manti]

Does anyone who interviewed for Yale in painting/printmaking want to talk about how it went? You can DM me if you want to be private.

[sara-z]

15小时前，新生2024说：

我不知道这艘船上是否有其他人，但我想我要检查一下，我被俄亥俄州立大学录取了，并被提名为奖学金。我还没有听说我是否获得了它，反正我可能会参加，但在我的录取通知书上，它说我会在2月24日那一周听到，但什么也没有听到。你们能签到这个项目吗？我不想惹人讨厌，但显然想知道。

Wow, congratulations! What major/department are you applying for? I applied for the art and technology major at OSU, but there was no news.