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

[lady rainicorn]

Accepted to Columbia! Financial aid details to come soon. Good luck to all the Hunter interviews today!!!!

[Maxine]

Does anyone have information on scholarships or grants for MFA Visual Art candidates? I've received a pretty great financial offer from one of the schools but still have some money to come up with. Are most of you planning on taking out loans to cover the costs? I've been researching endlessly online and haven't found any scholarship opportunities to even apply to! I thought there'd be more options for graduate school funding but it seems like the majority of scholarships are for undergraduate work. WTF!

[jwu]

Does anyone have information on scholarships or grants for MFA Visual Art candidates? I've received a pretty great financial offer from one of the schools but still have some money to come up with. Are most of you planning on taking out loans to cover the costs? I've been researching endlessly online and haven't found any scholarship opportunities to even apply to! I thought there'd be more options for graduate school funding but it seems like the majority of scholarships are for undergraduate work. WTF!

 

hey Maxine,

to answer your question: "Are most of you planning on taking out loans to cover the costs?"

well, I also received a good amount of financial aid, but it still leaves me a lot $$ to come up with, some tuition, required fees, living expenses, etc etc.

I am not sure if it makes sense for me to take loans to cover the cost.. because realistically speaking, I won't get a job with big $$ after grad school, and I don't want to be in debt for the rest of my life...

[Lightswitch]

Congrats, lady rainicorn!!!

 

Does anyone have information on scholarships or grants for MFA Visual Art candidates? I've received a pretty great financial offer from one of the schools but still have some money to come up with. Are most of you planning on taking out loans to cover the costs? I've been researching endlessly online and haven't found any scholarship opportunities to even apply to! I thought there'd be more options for graduate school funding but it seems like the majority of scholarships are for undergraduate work. WTF!

 

 

There are plenty of fellowships out there, if you take the time to dig deep and identify the ones that fit your profile. By profile I mean, your citizenship, your hometown, home state, socioeconomic background, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, undergraduate institution, exact area of study, research interests, international experience/language skills, etc. A lot of funds are restricted in one way or another, so I have found it incredibly beneficial to target my search and have had great results over the years. (For example, one year, my scholarship applications fell through and I was short about $4000 for summer housing and sent out letters to 15+ U.S. organisations based on my citizenship/ancestry, and within a few weeks I was offered free summer housing in downtown Manhattan, so I could do my internship. Sure, I come from a very low-income background, so I have done my fair share of begging throughout college--but have come across very-very generous individuals and organizations.) 

 

Good starting points are the lists of outside fellowships that most schools actually publish on their websites. I'm sure if you ask any of the financial aid offices you're in touch with, they'll be happy to help you and provide a list. Most large $10,000+ fellowships had deadlines in the fall, so you might want to keep that in mind for your second year of grad school. But I'm sure you'll be able to find a bunch of smaller awards to apply for now, if you aren't missing gigantic sums after your institutional grants.

 

I am not a U.S. citizen, so I wouldn't know about the money out there that's restricted to citizens (most of it), but here are a few $10,000+ ones: Cooke, AAUW (for women), Kinley, PEO (for women).
 

[jaybird]

Just curious, but how often is it that people get interviewed and then rejected? Do you really think they interview more people than they're willing to accept or is the interview process just to make sure we're not actually junkies or downright fools??

[jwu]

Just curious, but how often is it that people get interviewed and then rejected? Do you really think they interview more people than they're willing to accept or is the interview process just to make sure we're not actually junkies or downright fools??

besides that "it depends on each program", i would say the average is somewhere around 1:3 ratio?? they usually interview more people(aka the finalists), and then accept part of the interviewed ones.

[ArsenicYellow]

Just curious, but how often is it that people get interviewed and then rejected? Do you really think they interview more people than they're willing to accept or is the interview process just to make sure we're not actually junkies or downright fools??

From what I've heard, they usually have an idea of who they actually want, but always interview extra.

Some examples:

Uconn interviewed 10 people for 5 spots. Before the interviews started, they already had their top 5 picked out (their grad students told us this)

Massart interviewed 12-13 people for sculpture this year and they only admitted 4-5 people.

Indiana Bloomington for scultpure interviewed 7 people for 3-4 spots.

Smfa interviewed 100 people and although they say they don't have an exact number they follow, it seems they admit a little over 50% or less.

My past professors, who did admittance to schools like Syracuse and notre dame have confirmed interviews are basically just meet and greets/personality checks. They want to make sure you have the right personalities for their schools and would fit in/be a good addition. Usually they already know who they want, but seem to interview roughly doubly the amounts just in case their tops are lacking and so they can set up a waitlist. It really sucks to think that you may be traveling just to be waitlisted, but really, its time to be positive and show the best you possible! Maybe one of their tops is just not feeling the school/ has a poor attitude. You may have been that #1 on the waitlist but get bumped because they appreciate your positive attitude.

[Rainbows&Cupcakes]

Rainbows... what program did you apply for? I have not heard a thing yet and I applied for Digital! So far I've heard that Printmaking and Painting have heard back?

I applied for Ceramics.

[capers]

Just got a call from Sanford Biggers, I got into Columbia!!!!!!!

 

Just finished my Hunter interview this morning.  I freaked myself out for no reason, it was really chill!

 

Good luck everybody!

[hdsl]

Holy shit capers! Congratulations!! Decisions decisions!

Just got a call from Sanford Biggers, I got into Columbia!!!!!!!

Just finished my Hunter interview this morning. I freaked myself out for no reason, it was really chill!

Good luck everybody!

[ClaudiaO]

Has anyone heard anything back from RISD digital+media??

I had an interview a week ago, but still no word...wish i knew something one way or the other..the waiting is killing me

[Erpnope]

Yay capers!!!! So so so well deserved!!!

[Ren Adams]

Congrats capers and rainicorn!

[louiseb]

YES! This is where I'm at. Avec Saltz in back of mind. Always. Waiting for Tyler to make their offer, and it is going to be hard to turn down two offers of full funding. It's not as though any of us will graduate into a $100K a year job... Damn my pals that are going to law school/med school.

 

But I loved Tyler. So torn. Have not even visited VCU yet. And I liked Cornell too, it was just different. I need a therapist. The ups and downs of this process have been so crazy... probably vulnerable to heart failure, so much anxiety, ha ha ha.

If Tyler stole your heart, what can you do! The first campus I visited stuck with me, even after visiting a bunch, instinct tends to win out. I hear time and time again that you are much less likely to regret saying "yes" to a place that speaks to you- go where you really feel you'll give it your all....and the rest will be worth it.

[Maxine]

Thanks so much for this advice lightswitch!!

Congrats, lady rainicorn!!!

 

 

 

There are plenty of fellowships out there, if you take the time to dig deep and identify the ones that fit your profile. By profile I mean, your citizenship, your hometown, home state, socioeconomic background, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, undergraduate institution, exact area of study, research interests, international experience/language skills, etc. A lot of funds are restricted in one way or another, so I have found it incredibly beneficial to target my search and have had great results over the years. (For example, one year, my scholarship applications fell through and I was short about $4000 for summer housing and sent out letters to 15+ U.S. organisations based on my citizenship/ancestry, and within a few weeks I was offered free summer housing in downtown Manhattan, so I could do my internship. Sure, I come from a very low-income background, so I have done my fair share of begging throughout college--but have come across very-very generous individuals and organizations.) 

 

Good starting points are the lists of outside fellowships that most schools actually publish on their websites. I'm sure if you ask any of the financial aid offices you're in touch with, they'll be happy to help you and provide a list. Most large $10,000+ fellowships had deadlines in the fall, so you might want to keep that in mind for your second year of grad school. But I'm sure you'll be able to find a bunch of smaller awards to apply for now, if you aren't missing gigantic sums after your institutional grants.

 

I am not a U.S. citizen, so I wouldn't know about the money out there that's restricted to citizens (most of it), but here are a few $10,000+ ones: Cooke, AAUW (for women), Kinley, PEO (for women).
 

[ArsenicYellow]

It's like I am freaking out about everything in the world now. I emailed a few questions to a  professor at one of the universities I'm applying to and she was kind enough to ask if I wanted to have a phone date set up for today. This email was from a week ago and I immediately replied back. Well, I had also forwarded the email to a friend of mine so that he could see the question that I asked her. Turns out, when I replied, I replied back to my friend and not her, so she never got the email. Emailed her with an apology this morning, but havent heard back. 

 

I know things like this may seem trivial compared to other peoples problem on this board and granted, it is, but man, I'm panicking now that I've left a poor impression. It doesn't help that a week ago I sent an email asking for additional funds within my scholarship, she being the person that most likely approves this, and havent heard back, but I'm chalking that up the school being closed last week for spring break.

 

I can't wait to be done with this.

[Erpnope]

Arsenic, i think you're fine. Don't stress out about it too much, I guarentee the professor will either email you in a few hours understanding & asking when you'd like to reschedule and just brush it off as you being busy. Really, no need to worry!

[nirvana4me2]

I applied for Ceramics.

Good Luck! still no word from Dig. Art. I live in Bloomington so if you have any questions, holler at me!

[hdsl]

Did anyone who interviewed at Hunter yesterday ask about when decision notifications will go out? I didn't.

 

Curious because Rutgers has an April 1 decision deadline. I can get an extension at Rutgers but am not sure if I'll need one. 

[Lucia Werd]

It's like I am freaking out about everything in the world now. I emailed a few questions to a  professor at one of the universities I'm applying to and she was kind enough to ask if I wanted to have a phone date set up for today. This email was from a week ago and I immediately replied back. Well, I had also forwarded the email to a friend of mine so that he could see the question that I asked her. Turns out, when I replied, I replied back to my friend and not her, so she never got the email. Emailed her with an apology this morning, but havent heard back. 

 

I know things like this may seem trivial compared to other peoples problem on this board and granted, it is, but man, I'm panicking now that I've left a poor impression. It doesn't help that a week ago I sent an email asking for additional funds within my scholarship, she being the person that most likely approves this, and havent heard back, but I'm chalking that up the school being closed last week for spring break.

 

I can't wait to be done with this.

 

I'm sure the person will understand.  They must see so many stressed out potential students this time of year.  It's normal to make small mistakes like that when your mind is elsewhere. 

[capers]

Holy shit capers! Congratulations!! Decisions decisions!

 

 

Thank you hdsl!!!

Waiting to hear about financial info -  hoping I won't get hit too hard!

How did the Hunter interview go?

[capers]

Thank you Ren Adams and Erpnope!!!!!!  

[ptsd-2013]

SMFA is making acceptance calls today. Those accepted please post your financial offer.

I know they are expensive but I was hoping for more.

Accepted $10,000

[ArsenicYellow]

SMFA is making acceptance calls today. Those accepted please post your financial offer.

I know they are expensive but I was hoping for more.

Accepted $10,000

They seem to have been doing it for the last week, depending on your "department". A performing arts friend got a call last wednesday with a 12k scholarship. Haven't heard back yet but I'm in sculpture.

[chefgummydee]

Got the call on the 15th that MICA had a double dose of good news for me. Accepted to both Hoffberger & Mount Royal. After 3 rejections it was such a relief to finally be accepted somewhere. Now begins the process of deciding which one to choose...