MFA 2014 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

[bathtub]

Iomarch, if that works out for you do tell! I can't imagine asking would hurt you. Worst case you'll be ignored and depending on your toughness you could probably take it. (I used to be tough then I got rejected from Yale. Ha. Kidding!)

[Loric]

I just checked my email box and if you remove the mentions of the school name in emails to friends/family, I have 50 emails threads back and forth between them and myself. That's just one school.

 

Some are automated messages about this or that, some are marketing "come to this info session" deals, but a good number are between myself and the admissions person. I wish my file wasn't such a fiasco.

[mlk]

mlk...so when you re-applied to Yale, did you submit a completely different body of work than your first go-around?

 

Congrats on your interview.  Good luck!

ya- in fact, after my first round of rejections I was like "fuck this I'm making work for myself" which eventually evolved into the portfolio I have now... and I also took 2 years off and then applied again... and I am very grateful for the life experiences I have had in the meantime and absolutely believe they made me a way better artist (and I think this regardless of whether I get into any of the schools to which I applied)

also I should note that from my group of applicant friends at SAIC, the 3 people that got into yale are all doing -okay-, but one who got rejected and went to SAIC is now showing at Lehman maupin, one who didn't even get an interview and went to northwestern is showing at emmanuelle perrotin at paris, and one who went to hunter is now a saatchi artist... another one who went to northwestern is tearing it up in chicago and showing at the MCA there... the only reason I didn't apply to any of those schools is because I relocated to NYC (for a bf)...

[mlk]

ya- in fact, after my first round of rejections I was like "fuck this I'm making work for myself" which eventually evolved into the portfolio I have now... and I also took 2 years off and then applied again... and I am very grateful for the life experiences I have had in the meantime and absolutely believe they made me a way better artist (and I think this regardless of whether I get into any of the schools to which I applied)

also I should note that from my group of applicant friends at SAIC, the 3 people that got into yale are all doing -okay-, but one who got rejected and went to SAIC is now showing at Lehman maupin, one who didn't even get an interview and went to northwestern is showing at emmanuelle perrotin at paris, and one who went to hunter is now a saatchi artist... another one who went to northwestern is tearing it up in chicago and showing at the MCA there... the only reason I didn't apply to any of those schools is because I relocated to NYC (for a bf)...

oh also another one who got interviewed and then rejected from yale to go to SAIC just finished the core program at houston... and two saic MFA grads are in the whitney biennial this year... it's a good school!

[ismewilde]

oh also another one who got interviewed and then rejected from yale to go to SAIC just finished the core program at houston... and two saic MFA grads are in the whitney biennial this year... it's a good school!

 

I think its a good program. I almost went there for undergrad, but couldn't swing it even with the merit scholarship they offered. I still kept the big beautiful book they sent me. Someone in my program now went there and had to transfer to our school (probably due to costs) and he couldn't get ours to accept the painting credits from there. 

 

Anyway, didn't apply for grad school due to their 1 full and 1 partial scholarship policy, but I do like the classes they offer and their location. A recent grad of their MFA photo program came to give a talk last fall about his work and I thought it was pretty spectacular. He really loved it there. 

[ismewilde]

Have any of you guys ever contacted a school that rejected you afterward to get feedback? Is that not kosher? I'm thinking of doing it if I am rejected.

A couple of times after I got rejected from grants or residencies I contacted someone to see if they could give me feedback and what they told me was helpful. In one case I was ambitious but my past work wasn't anything like what I proposed so they had no confidence in my ability to carry out the proposal. Another time it turns out they didn't have anything bad to say since I was actually pretty close and they simply went with a different theme that the owner liked. That makes rejection a lot easier! It's a human communicating with you instead of a form letter.

But is that creepy? Do schools have a policy to not talk about decisions?

 

I wouldn't think it would be creepy. Some schools state explicitly on their website that they cannot give feedback (and I would think that it would be difficult if there are hundreds of applicants). I would think others would be more accommodating and willing to share. It would be nice to hear the reason and get some constructive criticism (such as not right fit, undeveloped SOP, unclear portfolio, etc.). 

[FAR]

Congratulations for who got to the interview at Yale!

I did get rejected - now waiting for USC and UCLA.

Do you have any idea when those schools speak?

[bathtub]

Looks like Columbia, Hunter, UPenn design notify in March.

[bandito]

FAR, from what I found it looks like UCLA contacts early march and USC I think does some kind of interview... but I'm not sure when people get notified for that.

[kafralal]

Congratulations for who got to the interview at Yale!

I did get rejected - now waiting for USC and UCLA.

Do you have any idea when those schools speak?

 

It seems the Erpnope got the first (for this site) phone call interview from UCLA last year seems on Feb 19th and final decisions started to show up on March 7th.

USC is a little more mysterious. Skype interviews were done early March and final notifications were sent out mid to late March. I'm not sure when people got interview invites.

[meese]

Ya, all mine says is "Incomplete Items Outstanding" (which I called them about, my transcript got lost in the mail so I emailed one and then had to mail a new one). So unless it saying "This is a summary of the processed application that was selected." at the top of the form means anything, I'll have to wait until Monday to call or for the snail mail.

 

That's what mine says too. It's because one professor hasn't sent in the recommendation either because of slideroom problems or being busy I have no idea.

Just sent him another email. I'm about getting to the level of bribing him, or begging. I can't tell

[kafralal]

It seems the Erpnope got the first (for this site) phone call interview from UCLA last year seems on Feb 19th and final decisions started to show up on March 7th.

USC is a little more mysterious. Skype interviews were done early March and final notifications were sent out mid to late March. I'm not sure when people got interview invites.

 

Also, not everyone who gets accepted to UCLA gets a phone call...their official stance is that they don't interview but sometimes they give you a call.

 

What program area did you apply to FAR?

[Lenticchie]

Was inspired to look at all of the online applications this morning to see if there was any news, like you guys did with Yale. When I dug around a bit on Temple's admissions portal I learned when I clicked on my submitted application that I've been rejected at Tyler. Doesn't feel great, but right now knowing about a rejection feels better than obsessing over not knowing!

Sorry to hear that, but I feel ya. Got rejected from Yale, rejection doesn't feel great, at least we know. What program did you apply for at Tyler? If you don't mind me asking.

Onward and upward.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Lenticchie

[DidacticPrinter]

Sorry to hear that, but I feel ya. Got rejected from Yale, rejection doesn't feel great, at least we know. What program did you apply for at Tyler? If you don't mind me asking.

Onward and upward.

MFA in printmaking. I'm wondering if they do their decisions departmentally, maybe?

[Loric]

MFA in printmaking. I'm wondering if they do their decisions departmentally, maybe?

 

Well their lives are paperwork, so it'd make sense that they get through it faster than someone whose filing system is "where the muse takes me" (and possibly color coded.)

[fairweather]

I feel like a crazy person but I am considering applying to Hunter's IMA program and the Dramatic Media program over at UGA.... I really like both programs and I'm 90% done with all of my other apps. Since I am already applying to 9 this would be 11, which feels like a lot to me. Then again, I don't know my chances and art is subjective so I'm not 100% sure that anyone will actually like my work or thesis proposal... Is anyone else applying to 10+ schools?

 

If you have any questions about UGA feel free to shoot me a message. Spent the better part of the last decade living there/loving life, have mostly good things to say about that school and Athens. For sure an Athenian for life. 

[okayokokay]

Got an interview at Yale for Painting 0_0

Can I be real? So. nervous.

[ismewilde]

Got an interview at Yale for Painting 0_0

Can I be real? So. nervous.

congrats! good luck!

[pulpandink]

I am thinking Tyler works departmentally. My application status says 'complete, ready for review' and I applied for Fibers.

[Mr.X]

I revert back to this when I have a lot of stress. Hope it helps a few of you on here with waiting for the inevitable:

 

[Loric]

I am thinking Tyler works departmentally. My application status says 'complete, ready for review' and I applied for Fibers.

I think a lot if schools in our fields do. Administrative staff doesn't presume to know a good candidate and leaves it mostly to dept who takes as long or short of a time as they feel like.

[tabbykiki]

There seems to be a lot of people in these threads who only apply to the top 10-20 schools. (according to US News) 

 

And several of these people seem to be on their 2nd or 3rd application season.

 

I'm curious as to why people continue to apply to these "top tier" schools. 

 

Besides reputation, are these schools offering something that similar but lesser known (ranked) schools could offer with a much higher acceptance rate? 

 

Not trying to sound antagonistic, just genuinely curious.  

 

I am so glad you mentioned this. I don't know if anyone else had a "strategy" when they narrowed down the schools they ultimately applied to, but I did. My first criteria was if I would be happy there and / or liked the program and profs. After I narrowed the list down with this, then I compiled some heavy research to spread my odds around. Numbers I took into consideration were: # of Applicants, # of Accepted, Acceptance Rate, Average Stipend, Tuition Remission, and Cost of Living.

 

There were a lot of programs I really could see myself attending, but my goal was NOT to apply only at the top tier schools but rather have a good solid chance of getting in to several places based on stats based on chance of acceptance. Here's how it shook out for where I applied:

 

Notre Dame - 7%

VCU - 12%

RISD - 22%

George Mason - 26%

SCAD - 41% ("safety school")

Virginia Tech - 50%

UCF - 50%

U of Baltimore - 64%

 

Getting the numbers took some digging and some may be a bit skewed depending on if it includes the entire grad school acceptances or not. But, I thought it was worthwhile to spread my numbers around. Of course, VCU & Notre Dame are my dream schools, but if I get accepted to any of the others, I would attend. The decision ultimately comes down to funding. 

 

I'm really surprised that others may not have researched the schools extensively on the basis of applications vs. acceptances. There are some real gems out there that perhaps do not get many applicants but are great schools. Take Virginia Tech's MFA in Creative Technologies program 10 applicants, 5 accepted in 2012. Excellent funding. One of the profs even took the time to Skype with me before I applied in November to tell me about the program. I'd be honored to attend here and even though it's only a 50% acceptance rate, you have a hell of a better chance gaining acceptance here than at say VCU where they get approx. 726 apps vs 84 acceptances. Just something to think about. 

[Loric]

It does sound like a good program, but.. it's in Virginia and I'm not sure I could handle that.

[tabbykiki]

It does sound like a good program, but.. it's in Virginia and I'm not sure I could handle that.

 

LOL. I ended applying to several programs in VA... Guess anything is better than Michigan in my eyes

[EDay27]

LOL. I ended applying to several programs in VA... Guess anything is better than Michigan in my eyes

Hey BLR, fellow Michiganian here :-) My feelings towards the motherland vary on a day-to-day basis, but I think Detroit has a lot to offer artists and entrepreneurs right now. We've got problems, for sure, but the cost of living is low and the art scene is wide open for experimentation. No set style predominates, and I've found the artistic community to be pretty inclusive. In times of crisis, opportunities for change and innovation have a chance to flourish. "Barn's burnt down- now I can see the moon."- Japanese poet Masahide, as quoted by John Gallagher in "Reimagining Detroit".

At the same time, I totally understand your desire to get away. I wish there were more galleries here featuring contemporary art, more public support for the arts in the form of grants, and a larger base of wealthy art patrons. $$ Not to mention the debacle that is ArtPrize (aka DragonPrize). But enough about America's high-five… haha

Anyway, like you, I chose my prospective schools on the basis of location, faculty, alumni work, and numbers (acceptance rates, tuition, etc). One former professor of mine recommended the CAA directory and it became a very helpful resource in my final selection. Peterson's guide was good too. I ended up applying to one school in Michigan (WSU in Detroit, my fav city) and a few others all over the country. I think it was a logical strategy, time will tell! I wish you the best of luck. Just curious, did you do your undergraduate studies here in MI?