MFA 2013 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

[Erpnope]

Louise - check out UCLA and Calarts.

[aschelp]

sure. from my perspective, UofC is on par with the others and might even have more going for it. obviously this is just my take on things, and a lot of people would disagree, but the MFA landscape can change pretty quickly and i think many have already caught on. UofC has all the resources and institutional prestige to have an MFA program at the level of the acknowledged ivies, but they havent shown an interest in building such a program until very recently. in the last two years theyve gone through some serious changes - new crazy-awesome building, very notable faculty hirings, and increased funding to students. its not seen as an established 'power-house' type program like Yale or Columbia, but it very well might be in the near future. the students and other interviewees i talked to at each program seemed to all be at an equally high level.

my concerns: chicago does not have as much of an art MARKET as ny, though it did seem to have a very lively art scene. also, hyde park, where UofC is located, is a bit south of the thick of things. but then again, its a really cool area and they do have one of the best contemporary art institutions in the country, the renaissance society, which is on campus. i hear there are some pretty bad neighborhoods south and west of the school, but the students pegged it as a non-issue....

side note: im very skeptical of the notion that ny/la are the best/only places to be successful. chicago is less expensive and might be a better place for beginning-career artists.

i havent made any decisions yet as I'm still waiting to hear from Yale, but to be honest, im leading towards UofC - call me crazy. i might change my mind within the next couple weeks... we'll see

 

 

oh, also, one of the students at UofC told me they took all of the MFAs on a two week all-expenses-paid trip to Beijing and hung out with ai weiwei at his house...

 

Thanks!! That's the hunch I've had from looking into it, just wanted to hear from someone who's been to all 3. 2 weeks in Bejing? sweeeeeet

[beards]

Anyone going to BU? I got into Pratt and SVA as well but BU offered the best financial aid. (None from Pratt, not much from SVA)

What opinion do you guys have about BU as a university in general, and their college of fine arts?

 

Still waiting on RISD.. Going to find out on Monday whether I made it off the waitlist or not. Hate that they're taking so long!

 

I don't know about graphic design, but I've always heard really good things about BU's painting program.  SVA and Pratt have the advantage of being in NYC if your looking for that, but at least for painting I think BU has a better reputation.

[printmaker2013]

Rejected from USF:( Letter said they accepted less than 10%!!! So much for USF being a "safe" school.

[GreenPainter]

MICA low residency MFA in studio art vs SVA MFA Art Practice (also low residency). Accepted to both, 1/3 funding for MICA and 1/4 funding for SVA...leaning heavily towards MICA. Opinions re pros and cons welcomed. Best to all.

[buddyholly]

hey guys, if anyone has been accepted to UIC and doesn't plan to go (i mean, you really, really know it, maybe have accepted another offer already or intend to this week), could you please let them know? all things considered, i'd prefer to go to UIC, where i'm wait listed, over the schools to which i've been accepted. so, please, please, if you know you aren't going to accept their offer, could you tell them? 

[honeycleaner]

....i need another month to make this decision.

[greenpainterbean]

....i need another month to make this decision.

 

I cannot believe this forum exists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I applied to Bard (rejected), Hunter (rejected), and Yale (waitlisted). I was just googling around trying to find info about being on the waitlist - guess I found the right place!

 

Congrats to those of you accepted! I don't know if I should get my hopes up about getting off the waitlist at Yale, I want in so bad. Maybe it will help my chances for next year.

 

Honeycleaner- just knowing you aren't sure if you'll accept gives me hope! Always make the choice that is right for you, trust yourself, and you can't go wrong. I ended up transferring twice while I was in undergrad and found that my instincts were always right. Goodluck!

[emeliej]

....i need another month to make this decision.

I'm with you on that one...

got ONE week! no idea what to do. obviosuly I'm not complaining that I have choices. very happy and grateful for that but I can't visit the schools and can't figure out what "feels" right.. sure, I could go for the money but the difference is only like $2000/year. Arizona seems like the better photo program on paper (and obviously in rankings) but I'm weirdly drawn to Florida and got a good feeling about it early on when talking to the faculty there, although they do very different work than I.. but I don't know if I got that feeling simply because I didn't think the other programs were options then and just tried to get my mind set on it. damn. I'm confused haha. this whole process messes with your head a little for sure.

 

I really REALLY wish I'd get off the waitlist at VCU    but they only take 5 so I'm going to pretend it's not an option.

[honeycleaner]

Congrats to those of you accepted! I don't know if I should get my hopes up about getting off the waitlist at Yale, I want in so bad. Maybe it will help my chances for next year.

 

hey greenbean, there's a chance my spot at Yale will open up. i'm like 55-60% UChicago and 40-45% Yale right now.

[paintandspackle]

I think yale used to be a lot better, know a bunch of people that went there recently and said it wasn't what it was cracked up to be. UChicago looks like an awesome program, and I'd probably choose columbia over yale.  Columbia has been getting way more attention recently, and can't beat being right in manhattan.  

[jackthecrow]

I think yale used to be a lot better, know a bunch of people that went there recently and said it wasn't what it was cracked up to be. UChicago looks like an awesome program, and I'd probably choose columbia over yale.  Columbia has been getting way more attention recently, and can't beat being right in manhattan.  

 

I can't say much for the other schools (since obviously I don't attend them), but Yale's been awesome for me so far...I don't know if that helps anyone's decision much.  But, congrats to those of you who've been accepted and hopefully I will see y'all next year.

[honeycleaner]

I think yale used to be a lot better, know a bunch of people that went there recently and said it wasn't what it was cracked up to be. UChicago looks like an awesome program, and I'd probably choose columbia over yale.  Columbia has been getting way more attention recently, and can't beat being right in manhattan.  

CAN beat the cost of living/working "right in manhattan," though. if $$ wasnt a factor, Columbia would still be in the running... but the debt that some of these places are putting the majority of their students into should be illegal **cough SAIC/Columbia cough**. I do like Yale a lot, but UChicago's program structure seems more akin to what art actually is in contemporary theory. I am also weary of going to a school that graduates 60+ MFA's a year as opposed to UChicago's 8-10.

Edited April 7, 2013 by honeycleaner

[honeycleaner]

I can't say much for the other schools (since obviously I don't attend them), but Yale's been awesome for me so far...I don't know if that helps anyone's decision much.  But, congrats to those of you who've been accepted and hopefully I will see y'all next year.

hey jtc, do you feel that the discourse within the painting program requires you to articulate or position the things you make as being within or originating from 'painting?' (regardless of the things formal/material outcome)

Edited April 7, 2013 by honeycleaner

[paintandspackle]

Yeah, ive heard columbia does give some people funding, but otherwise it's way too expensive. I imagine yale isnt much better in that respect though.  Lots of yale people here in BK doing nothing special, a few that are doing great. In the end I think it just comes down to how good your work is and the value/intensity/mentorship of the interactions you have with your faculty and peers. I grew up in CT and the cost of living there isn't much better than BK, if at all.  Either way definitely all great school in their own way, but it's what you do with your resources that counts, and debt definitely makes no sense when you're not gonna get any nearer to having employment.

[jackthecrow]

Yeah, ive heard columbia does give some people funding, but otherwise it's way too expensive. I imagine yale isnt much better in that respect though.  Lots of yale people here in BK doing nothing special, a few that are doing great. In the end I think it just comes down to how good your work is and the value/intensity/mentorship of the interactions you have with your faculty and peers. I grew up in CT and the cost of living there isn't much better than BK, if at all.  Either way definitely all great school in their own way, but it's what you do with your resources that counts, and debt definitely makes no sense when you're not gonna get any nearer to having employment.

 

As discussed in the Student Finance thread, Yale is need blind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission), meaning your ability to pay tuition will not effect your status of admission and more importantly -- if you can't pay tuition, you won't pay tuition.  Personally, they virtually waived my tuition, and I know this is true for a lot of the students -- so In my case, it actually became the best financial choice. 

 

In regards to your comment regarding coming down "to how good your work is and the value/intensity/mentorship of the interactions you have with your faculty and peers," well...yes, this is true regardless of which institution you attend.  No school will guarantee success, Yale, Columbia or otherwise.  That being said, it's still a damn fine school with some of the best resources in the country...so you could do a lot worse.

 

@Honey, I'll PM you in a bit, maybe I can answer/follow up on some of your questions.

Edited April 7, 2013 by jackthecrow

[honeycleaner]

Yeah, ive heard columbia does give some people funding, but otherwise it's way too expensive.

even with half-tuition covered youre looking at $80,000+ of debt. its an MFA, not an MBA... cant stomach it.

 

@Honey, I'll PM you in a bit, maybe I can answer/follow up on some of your questions.

awesome, thanks

[chefgummydee]

Anyone have an analysis/opinion on MICA vs. Hunter?

[Erpnope]

Yeah, ive heard columbia does give some people funding, but otherwise it's way too expensive. I imagine yale isnt much better in that respect though.  Lots of yale people here in BK doing nothing special, a few that are doing great. In the end I think it just comes down to how good your work is and the value/intensity/mentorship of the interactions you have with your faculty and peers. I grew up in CT and the cost of living there isn't much better than BK, if at all.  Either way definitely all great school in their own way, but it's what you do with your resources that counts, and debt definitely makes no sense when you're not gonna get any nearer to having employment.

 

Hmm. Define 'doing nothing special' like - working on art for themselves, occasionally showing, and holding down a whatever job, or just not making art anymore? I'm curious about this. Not in a snippy way.. genuinely curious!

[GraphicDesigner]

Waiting for RISD's email now! It's April 8th.. Time to contact the wait-listed-s.

[capers]

CAN beat the cost of living/working "right in manhattan," though. if $$ wasnt a factor, Columbia would still be in the running... but the debt that some of these places are putting the majority of their students into should be illegal **cough SAIC/Columbia cough**. I do like Yale a lot, but UChicago's program structure seems more akin to what art actually is in contemporary theory. I am also weary of going to a school that graduates 60+ MFA's a year as opposed to UChicago's 8-10.

 

this right here

[Jacque]

I finally committed to a grad school and now all those anticipation, nervousness, and freak out feelings have subsided, which is a nice change of pace compared to the last few months.  Although, those stresses are now replaced with the stress of finding an apartment in a new state among other moving and expense related concerns.

 

As of last week I turned down RISD's offer, and I am headed to MICA this Fall.  I'm pretty interested to see what the make up of my cohort will be.

[hdsl]

HDSL and jaybird I took a nap and thought some more and MAYBE you got off the wait list? I mean, they asked for a decision within two weeks... I hope that is it!!!!!

Oh I hope so! I'm at a residency right now and have no cell service. I can't call the admissions office until next week!

I'll send an email once things settle here but I'm guessing I won't get an immediate response.

 

Jaybird let me know if you get anymore info on this confusion.

 

Thanks for keeping your fingers crossed capers! I have my toes crossed!

[GraphicDesigner]

I finally committed to a grad school and now all those anticipation, nervousness, and freak out feelings have subsided, which is a nice change of pace compared to the last few months.  Although, those stresses are now replaced with the stress of finding an apartment in a new state among other moving and expense related concerns.

 

As of last week I turned down RISD's offer, and I am headed to MICA this Fall.  I'm pretty interested to see what the make up of my cohort will be.

 

 

Coool congrats!

Were you for the 2 year GD programme at RISD or 3 year?

I was waitlisted for the 2 year programme so I'm hoping I miiiiiiight get some good news sooon!

Fingers crossed.

[Mustafa]

Hi 

 

I am in waitlist for 3 yr GD program at RISD. They were suppose to inform till 8th april but havent recieved any communication from them yet.

 

Has any one else in waitlist recieved any mail from RISD.

 

Thanks