MFA Admission Replies - short and simple

[brosenth1984]

Painting. Good luck.

Thanks, I'm not holding my breath. I am moving image, and my recommender got a call from them saying that they didn't "get" me... apparently a few others did, so whatever

[cd3]

So do we have a sense of when Columbia is notifying people of interviews? I'm so antsy I can't stand it.

[julieopp]

Ok Helen, well best of luck with your applications. Be sure to let us all know when you get those interviews at Columbia and UCLA.

she's not lying, there is no interview "day" - ucla gets over 1300 applicants a year - the interviews take up several *days*. same with columbia and yale. i know people at all three schools in the mfa studio programs...all had interviews. and not phone interviews, real live interviews. those are three of the most competitive programs to get into - you'd better believe they're going to interview you. and unlike a lot of other schools - an interview doesn't not guarantee you a position. for as many people i know at those schools - i know even more who interviewed but didn't get in.

[helenforsdale]

like everyone here, i'm not holding my breath, julie.

and no need to be snarky, i'm just telling you that the schools interview, that's all.

Ok Helen, well best of luck with your applications. Be sure to let us all know when you get those interviews at Columbia and UCLA.

[brosenth1984]

my understanding (from the Open House) was that Columbia interviews would be mid march, however all schools seem to have a lot of applicants this year, and maybe it is taking them longer than expected to get through the first rounds. No news is good news.

[helenforsdale]

yeah, i remember rejection letters went out around the 2nd week of march last year.

and apparently all schools are reporting dramatic increases in applications this year - most likely due to the economy. which is strange, considering how many galleries in new york have closed down this year - you'd think there'd be less people trying to break into the art market.

someone posted yale's application stats this year - i wouldn't be suprised if columbia has similar numbers...most people who apply to yale tend to apply to columbia as well.

my understanding (from the Open House) was that Columbia interviews would be mid march, however all schools seem to have a lot of applicants this year, and maybe it is taking them longer than expected to get through the first rounds. No news is good news.

[brosenth1984]

helenforsdale said:

yeah, i remember rejection letters went out around the 2nd week of march last year.

and apparently all schools are reporting dramatic increases in applications this year - most likely due to the economy. which is strange, considering how many galleries in new york have closed down this year - you'd think there'd be less people trying to break into the art market.

someone posted yale's application stats this year - i wouldn't be suprised if columbia has similar numbers...most people who apply to yale tend to apply to columbia as well.

Yeah, its strange isn't it? I work in an admissions office (for Dec. Arts History) and we expected applications to be down, but they are up a lot (i mean dec arts aint gonna get you a job). Frankly, I think it is mainly a rise in people coming straight from undergrad because there are no jobs and they figure they are better off postponing living in the "real world" until things pick up.

also, what is up with schools informing people on multiple days? WashU called and accepted me today, but I had seen another posting of an acceptance by them, so i assumed i was already rejected? These programs are all really small, so how hard is it to call 10 people in a day?

[akinanana]

Right now:

Yale- Interview 3/24 (Does anyone have advice on shipping large works?)

Columbia- haven't heard

USC- haven't heard

UCLA- haven't heard

i'm starting to get stressed out..... :shock:

[canfac]

Hello all,

I'm applying in Photography

my results thus far

I see some of you were invited for interviews at Hunter; which programs were you applying for? and how did they contact you?

Yale: Interview (in the mail a few weeks back)

Columbia: Nothing yet

Parsons: Interview (phone call yesterday)

ICP-Bard: Interview (Email on monday)

Hunter: Nothing yet

[cd3]

hey canfac, yes I'm doing photography too, and got an interview with Hunter. they contacted me via phone last week, the 21st. Like you, I applied to Parsons and Columbia as well. haven't heard from either. congrats on Parsons!

[canfac]

Hey cd3,

Thanks. I think parsons has a good program. Fairly young faculty making strong work.

The phone call I received led me to believe they are very disorganized over there. I wouldn't count yourself out in the least.

where did you do your undergrad?

[beaks]

UIC Studio Arts (sculpture)

[cd3]

hey canfac,

thanks, yeah I agree, Parsons is doing interesting work. I met a guy who is nearly finished with the program and he basically said the same thing - that it's an interesting, developing program that is young, and has some of the growing pains that go along with that. That said, he seemed very pleased with his experience there.

I got my BA in creative writing at the Univ. of Washington - and then spent a year at ICP in their general studies certificate program. I have been worried that not having a BFA would hurt my chances getting into MFA programs. I'll find out soon enough I guess :!:

good luck to you!

[hornedfrogmeg]

Dang! You've already heard from Parsons? That's exciting. Hopefully that means I will hear back from New School's Media Studies MA program soon.

[canfac]

It is early yet with parsons. They sounded really disorganized. Setting up an interview felt like dealing with the cable company.

Update from Columbia: Painting and Photography programs are still reviewing preliminary apps. (friend in the program reported)

{CD3} Who did you study with at ICP? The BFA thing will not matter if the work is good. Its probably in you corner; these programs like to integrate different backgrounds and points of view.

[cd3]

Thanks for the update on Columbia, canfac! Let's hope they start making some initial decisions soon. At ICP you end up studying under a lot of different faculty, but my two primary mentors turned out to be Robert Blake (for crits) and Jerry Vezzuso (color printing). It was a good overall experience, albeit an expensive one. Have you taken classes there?

[canfac]

How about that. Jerry V is a good friend of mine. studied c printing with him in SVA about 5 years ago and been friends ever since. That guy knows everybody. I was a TA at ICP for a semester a few years ago. Spent a lot of time in those darkrooms.

[cd3]

That's awesome, I love Jerry! and the ICP darkrooms. He encouraged me to apply to SVA for their masters program, do you have any opinions on it?

[helenforsdale]

wow, how many people is yale interviewing? congrats to all of you. wish i had applied, but their early deadline was too much for me this year.

here's a question - is yale interdisciplinary in the same way that columbia is?

i'm curious if columbia will report stats in terms of how many people have applied, and to which dept. i could be wrong, but i think new genres gets the most applications. if not, i think it's a close second to painting...

i don't suppose yr friend in the program told us who we could bribe?

[royalt3240]

I am under the impression that there are A LOT of applicants this year. I know from what i've seen at school, undergrad enrollment is down too, because no one can get loans. So schools are tightening their belts, and those with bachelors who can't find work are flocking to school. It's a bad balance of supply and demmand. the schools can be as picky as they want to be. I think that is just the way it is. I know Brandeis is looking at selling off many of its artworks and artifacts in order to balance their budget because their primary benefactors lost hundreds of millions to Madolf. Hello bad economy....

Nice. My sentiments exactly.

[mtung]

All programs are Painting & Drawing, except for Hunter, which is Drawing/Printmaking/Works on Paper.

SAIC - Interviewed on 3/8, waiting.

Hunter - Interview on 3/14 (notified via phone 2/17).

Columbia - Rejected.

VCU - no response

UCLA - no response

RISD - no response

MICA - no response

Tyler - no response

UPenn - no response

[julieopp]

RE: shipping large works.

i'm having a similar dilemma trying to figure out how to get my large paintings to yale from california. i don't want to unstretch.

the solution i am considering right now are bicycle boxes - you can get them for free at most bike stores and they are faily large (i think 31"x51"x8" is standard - you want the total dimensions to be under 90 inches, and total weight under 50lbs) they are fairly high quality boxes. Then i was browsing forums of people who ship bicycles in them, and they say that FedEx is the way to go (much cheaper than UPS or USPS). so its not a perfect solution, and unstretching would be cheaper - but its something to consider.

i'm also making a bunch of smaller (2'x3') versions of my large paintings so that i can bring them with me to the interview. i'm not going to recommend that to others because you'll call me crazy, but that is the plan

cheers!

Right now:

Yale- Interview 3/24 (Does anyone have advice on shipping large works?)

Columbia- haven't heard

USC- haven't heard

UCLA- haven't heard

i'm starting to get stressed out..... :shock:

[canfac]

hello all,

Helenforsdale: Yale interviews....... I wasn't given a concrete #, but was told that the list of interviewees was "Very short".

Generally these programs will interview twice the admitted class and perhaps a few more. For Photo I'm guessing Yale picked 20-25 people.

Yale is not as interdisciplinary as Columbia. The departments are a bit more segregated in terms of buildings studios and crits. But I was told students are welcome to sit-in on crits and attend lectures in other departments.

Last year Columbia admitted 3 students for photography. They interviewed 6. This year I hear that number will go up a few.

Does anybody know of a program in any field that is more competitive than that? With those numbers I doubt even bribes work!

cd3: SVA is a terrific program. The faculty is really diverse in practice and very well established. I know quite a few people who have come through the program making great work and are well established themselves. In NY, SVA is a very reputable school. If you compare their faculty list to any other school, you will notice it is twice as long. So many artists teach there part-time. The strength of SVA....by the time you graduate you will know more than enough people to be able to find good freelance work to support yourself and pay back your 100 grand in loans. And you will know the right people to show your work to.

Bad news is, the food in that part of town SUCKS.

[cd3]

Thanks for the SVA thoughts canfac - their faculty list is absolutely impressive, and I agree that you see a LOT of SVA students graduating with a good amount of "attention" in publications, shows, commercial work, etc. Plus, I just like a lot of the student work I've seen. I guess I've felt a little skeptical becuase I have also heard they accept larger numbers, and wondered if that lack of selectivity reflects poorly?

Columbia acceptance rates are totally depressing. When I met with their admissions director for a tour, the first thing out of her mouth was, "We've got the toughest acceptance rates in the country." Greeeat.

[caro]

Yale painting info.

Yale interviews 75 painting applicants, from which the take about 20. So if you have an interview your chances are relatively good. They like big work in the interviews, and work that can be hung up easily.

They also like to see new work produced after you submitted slides. To the applicant reproducing their paintings for their Yale interview: bad idea. That will just confuse the committee. Better to just make new ones. Ship the big ones already stretched if you can, but make sure the boxes are easy to open/close and all the works and box are labeled with your full name.

Bring a bunch of drawings with you too if you want, and printouts of any good 3-d stuff you may have made might be good. Try to find out who is interviewing you ahead of time. Finally, Yale painting is quite interdisciplinary for a "painting program". Good to bring in your digital video to show the interviewers, for example.