MFA 2026 Freak out Forum

[Meepmorpmoop]

Got accepted to Saic fvnma. No mention of any scholarships or awards in my letter tho lol. Anyone know if this will follow soon? 

[crash1996]

38 minutes ago, Meepmorpmoop said:

Got accepted to Saic fvnma. No mention of any scholarships or awards in my letter tho lol. Anyone know if this will follow soon? 

for me, when i open the decision letter in the SAIC grad portal, i can scroll down and see the scholarship letter under the decision (though, it doesn't look like it's including any FAFSA-related stuff?). you could also reach out to the grad admissions office if you want to double check though

[person41925]

19 hours ago, Headlessowl said:

I just got accepted into Tulane's MFA Studio Art program with the focus on photography!!! They also guaranteed full tuition is covered+stipend and free health insurance which makes me ecstatic.

 

In addition to that I had my interview with HDK Valand this morning, and it felt very rushed on my end, but it was also 4:30 in the morning so I am not that stressed about it. 

Tomorrow I have my interview with CalArts tomorrow which honestly I think will be a fun time, but its nice to have an acceptance from one of, if not my top school. I am pretty sure Tulane is where I will be going unless the Adler scholarship (full ride) for Valand goes to me. 

I am still looking forward to hearing back from SAIC and their funding offer for FNVMA as well as UCLA, but I do not have high hopes that it can compete with Tulane.

Congratulations! When did you do your interview? Wondering what their timeline looks like.. 

[fancywriter14]

I hate to be annoying but I'm driving myself crazy. Has anyone NOT received a photo decision from SAIC? I still haven't heard ANYTHING and I'm obsessively checking my email every 3 seconds

[dislekzo]

1 hour ago, fancywriter14 said:

I hate to be annoying but I'm driving myself crazy. Has anyone NOT received a photo decision from SAIC? I still haven't heard ANYTHING and I'm obsessively checking my email every 3 seconds

Same here but applied to the sculpture department. I heard some people already had their interview and my portal has been the same no changes at all

[Meepmorpmoop]

2 hours ago, crash1996 said:

for me, when i open the decision letter in the SAIC grad portal, i can scroll down and see the scholarship letter under the decision (though, it doesn't look like it's including any FAFSA-related stuff?). you could also reach out to the grad admissions office if you want to double check though

U know what I think it’s because they’re still waiting on my official transcript. So tbd on that!

[marxista]

anyone heard back from UCLA post interview? New Genres particularly?

[Yoasianguy]

Has anyone heard back from UT Austin after interview?

[Autumn2026]

Has anyone heard from the University of Arizona?

[Björk]

45 minutes ago, marxista said:

anyone heard back from UCLA post interview? New Genres particularly?

Did you have an interview with them? When? I’ve heard nothing. 

According to this (https://www.art.ucla.edu/assets/uploads/graduate-admissions/2023-faqs.pdf) they don’t send notifications until mid-March. Last time I applied I got rejection on March 8 after no interview. 

Edited February 26 by Björk

[Cclaura]

9 minutes ago, Yoasianguy said:

Has anyone heard back from UT Austin after interview?

Not yet. 

[Yoasianguy]

2 minutes ago, Cclaura said:

Not yet. 

Thank you 🤢🤮🥴

[Cclaura]

16 minutes ago, Autumn2026 said:

Has anyone heard from the University of Arizona?

Interviews were last week. 

[Emolibra97]

36 minutes ago, Björk said:

Did you have an interview with them? When? I’ve heard nothing. 

According to this (https://www.art.ucla.edu/assets/uploads/graduate-admissions/2023-faqs.pdf) they don’t send notifications until mid-March. Last time I applied I got rejection on March 8 after no interview. 

Hi, I'm also waiting to hear back from UCLA photo. Apparently they don't do that many interviews and it very much depends on the discipline. This is from their FAQ page: "The department does not hold formal interview dates. Interviews are conducted for some finalist candidates, at the discretion of the faculty."

[Cclaura]

57 minutes ago, Yoasianguy said:

Thank you 🤢🤮🥴

It’s so anxiety inducing because they were my first interview back in January. Lol. So the amount of time between then and now makes me second and third and forth guess myself. Lol. Just tell me one way or the other! 

[Yoasianguy]

6 minutes ago, Cclaura said:

It’s so anxiety inducing because they were my first interview back in January. Lol. So the amount of time between then and now makes me second and third and forth guess myself. Lol. Just tell me one way or the other! 

Same for me omg I was told that they would give us some update/need more time email this week 🫥 I thought I might be forgotten about ...

[Q-Q8]

18 hours ago, paintstress said:

anyone on the uchicago waitlist planning on going to the prospective student day? anyone accepted to uchicago planning on declining? 

I will go

[mfa20262026]

Did anyone in SAIC photo hear back about the scholarship package? I was told a few weeks ago I was accepted through a professor I interviewed with and just got the official acceptance email today. I have a friend in another medium there who already was offered a full ride.

Also still waiting for my official offer from Columbia. I was also informally accepted already but am waiting for the offer. Still waiting on a response from RISD. The interview was at the beginning of the month. Not sure if they have sent out decisions already or if they're waiting till March. 

Edited February 27 by photophotophoto

[courierstrocked]

10 hours ago, photophotophoto said:

Did anyone in SAIC photo hear back about the scholarship package? I was told a few weeks ago I was accepted through a professor I interviewed with and just got the official acceptance email today. I have a friend in another medium there who already was offered a full ride.

Also still waiting for my official offer from Columbia. I was also informally accepted already but am waiting for the offer. Still waiting on a response from RISD. The interview was at the beginning of the month. Not sure if they have sent out decisions already or if they're waiting till March. 

 

Did you get the informal acceptance from Columbia during the interview?

[marxista]

12 hours ago, photophotophoto said:

Did anyone in SAIC photo hear back about the scholarship package? I was told a few weeks ago I was accepted through a professor I interviewed with and just got the official acceptance email today. I have a friend in another medium there who already was offered a full ride.

Also still waiting for my official offer from Columbia. I was also informally accepted already but am waiting for the offer. Still waiting on a response from RISD. The interview was at the beginning of the month. Not sure if they have sent out decisions already or if they're waiting till March. 

I got acceptance at Columbia as well! Nothing from RISD though—I want to wait it out since I think I prefer RISD if I don’t get into UCLA but I have hope! 

[courierstrocked]

34 minutes ago, marxista said:

I got acceptance at Columbia as well! Nothing from RISD though—I want to wait it out since I think I prefer RISD if I don’t get into UCLA but I have hope! 

What discipline for columbia?

[orangeorangecake]

Here's an update on my results for reference—though it might not be very helpful.

I'm really unhappy with these results. I might try again for another year or just give up altogether.

Rejected: Yale&Oxford UK, no interview

Interview scheduled:Goldsmiths University of London MFA Fine Art, NYU Steinhardt MFA Studio Art

Interview completed: CalArts MFA Art, Cranbrook Print(verbal offer from the artist-in-residence)

Accepted: SVA MFA illustration as visual essay

No response rejection: All the Ivy League: Columbia, Pennsylvania, Cornell

[Headlessowl]

22 hours ago, person41925 said:

Congratulations! When did you do your interview? Wondering what their timeline looks like.. 

Thank you!! So the first round of interviews were in the week of the 6th of February, the second round and final round of interviews were on the 20th. At the second round they told me they were only talking to three people including myself to see how it we do conversationally talking about our work, and debating opening up a second slot for the photo program instead of just the one. Which specific program under studio art did you apply to?

Edited February 27 by Headlessowl

[Nodog]

Has anyone heard from RISD following their interview? Looking at previous years, it seems many programs sent out unofficial decisions earlier in February, but I haven't seen anyone mention hearing from them as of yet this year.

[MFA26]

.

Edited February 27 by MFA26