MFA Sculpture Interview Process...

[cool90068]

Hello -

I am trying to prepare for MFA interviews at USC Roski ( a phone interview which will take place tomorrow at noon) and an interview at Yale at the end of the month. I applied for Sculpture.

Has anyone been through this interview process before and know what to expect? I normally get very nervous and inarticulate in high stress situations and so I'm trying to prepare the best that I can.

Anyone heard anything about UCLA Sculpture MFA?

[akinanana]

when did you find out about USC? did they say they notified everyone? i don't think they give interviews to all their candidates.

i don't know anything about UCLA sculpture...

[cool90068]

I got an email on the 26th and a call this weekend with a follow-up call to happen in an hour and a half. I am under the impression that they do interview all candidates but I can't say for sure.

[manugonza]

hey, i'm also waiting on UCLA, I was looking at admissions results on this site and someone said they got an email to set up an interview on feb 19th but it says 2008, I don't know if they made a mistake or it was actually from last year.. it was for interdisciplinary studio though..

[ssap]

Yeah, I still haven't heard from UCLA either. Does anyone know if they call you only to clarify something or only if they are super interested in you? Has anyone actually gotten a phone call from UCLA this season? Do you know how many sculpture students they take each year?

Sounds like this year is a tough one with everyone trying to go back to school. I'm wondering what kind of work everyone is submitting with. If anybody has a website with work on it, maybe you can share with the group if you don't mind? I'm still working on getting my images online. thanks and good luck.

UCLA - no news

UofChi - no news

SAIC (sculpture) - rejected

SAIC (fibers & materials) - no news

CCA - interview in feb, no final news yet

[cool90068]

Any updates of UCLA or VCU Sculpture?

[dryeyes]

any word on USC Roski, ooh got a rejection from Columbia today

[cool90068]

I had an interview at USC on the 1st but haven't heard anything since then except that they have chosen their 8 already

[leblanc]

I haven't heard back from UCLA either. Judging solely from MFA exhibition photographs, I would surmise they only admit about 5 sculpture majors each year. But I can't verify this. VCU is taking a long time to get back to people. I would suspect that they start contacting people as late as April, given the fact they sent out an email to all applicants explaining that they were running late. I also inquired about my application status there due to the fact that another school was already asking for a decision on an offer, and the person who responded (urgently) brought up the fact that April 15th is the agreed upon deadline for making decisions. This seems to indicate that VCU will be holding out till the very end.

cool90068 has already had their interview at this point, but since this forum is about interviews I thought I'd post my thougts. I just had one over the phone with Carnegie Mellon last night. Though every school/interviewer is different, judging from my own experience as well as what I hear from others, you'll probably be asked the following things:

What is your work about?

What are you working on right now?

What artists influence your work? (Make sure to include some dead artists from long ago! Not just contemporary stuff. Remember titles of specific works and some quotes the artist has made.)

What draws you to a work of art?

What other aspects of culture influence your work besides art/art history? (Something along these lines...)

What book(s) are you reading right now? What do you think of them? (It helps to remember specific quotes that you find meaningful.)

Why do you want to go to our school?/How do you see yourself taking advantage of (insert school here) environment/program? (Make sure you research the school thoroughly -- know the faculty you will be working with and the types of courses offered.)

Finally, have some specific questions ready about the school. The interviewer will ask you if you have any questions, and you don't want to be caught scratching your head at that point...

Although at times frustratingly basic, these are all important questions. Before the interview, have some solid ideas about what you will say and how you will phrase it. For me, the most difficult questions are the ones that ask for a specific name or title. Be ready for those. Know the names of artists/authors, names of their works, and things they have said. Refer to those in your answer. Be specific, and be wary of over-generalization -- the more vague you are with a response, the more questions the interviewer will ask, and the more difficult it will become.

As for nervousness, maybe you should have a friend do a mock interview. When it comes times for the real thing, do your best to be articulate but don't rush through a rehearsed response either. Try not to see the interviewer as authority, but as a peer.

I hope this is helpful and good luck to everyone with their interviews.