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

[pulpandink]

Thanks, kafrala.   I agree that anyone looking at my CV will see my trajectory as a teacher, so I will most likely leave that out of any Statements of Purpose. I've created art in isolation up until the past few years and I worry about my limited exhibition exposure, but that is what it is.  

[kafralal]

From all I have heard, limited exhibition experience is not something to worry about. Focus on the work, the ideas behind it and where you want to go with it. You can address what you have been doing instead of seeking out exhibitions and why that was a priority for you at that time etc. in your SOP if you think you need to.

[kafralal]

Thanks flow!

[kafralal]

Did anyone do the webinar session for SAIC's new low res program?

 

I noticed that the webinar session still isn't up, so I'm posting the notes I took from it. I didn't write down anything that I'd already seen on the program web page. Navigaton on the webinar site was pretty clumsy and we were writing our questions while the presentation was going on, so I may have made mistakes - please double check this info if it is important to you.

 

Non-residency (home) time: the expectation is that you devote 20hrs / week to your work. There will be 2 critiques per semester with the alumni assigned to advise you, plus ongoing online peer to peer discussions.

 

6 wk residency time: Very Intense. You have full range of facilities available to you. Individual studios will be all together during the first summer, the next two summers you have your choice of studios dispersed over the entire campus, depending on your needs.

The dates will be mid-June to the end of July (2014 start is June 14). You will arrive over the weekend before the start date, get set up, have orientation and studio assignments for a Monday start. At the end you move out over the weekend after the end date.

The core faculty will be there for the entire 6 wks, while other faculty will come and go. Visiting artists will stay for 1 week each.

 

Dec 1st is deadline for priority application—we were encouraged to get applications in for the priority date. You can still apply until the beg of Jan, but because it is their first year and the residency starts in the summer, they are hoping to get the applications out of the way as soon as possible.

 

Can contact S Romon with Portfolio questions: sramon@saic.edu

They are hoping to fill 20-30 spots with a mix of artists, art historians, educators, curators, and feel that this mix is one of the unique features of their program

 

They drew our attention to the letter from the director of the program on the wesite.

 

Tuition hadn't been confirmed yet.

Hope this helps

[carmeneliz]

I have gotten so much helpful information from lurking in the shadows of last year's admissions freak out forum, that I'm happy to see this new one starting up - especially since I'm beginning to put together my applications now.  This is my first round of apps, and I am a mixed media painter applying to 

 

Tulane

University of Michigan

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

University of Minnesota

SAIC

& Ohio State  OR RISD

 

It is really important for me to get a good financial aid offering (which is why I'm on the fence about RISD although its a dream school of mine), and get some Teaching experience during the program as well.  Something that I'm most nervous about is the quality of my images for the portfolio. Here is a link to my webiste:  www.carmeneliz.com

I would appreciate any feedback.  I'm trying to form a realistic list for myself and not overthink this, but I still worry about not including enough "safety schools" and alternatively not taking enough risks applying to more highly competitive programs.  This is probably everyone's dilemma though...

 

[kafralal]

In general your images look good, but they are small so details are lost. If the source images are larger and you submit them that way, it shouldn't be a problem. I'm assuming that the admission committees project the images large onto a screen, so they need to look good that way.

[fire bad!]

Hello all, Im new to the board and currently researching MFA programs, looking for some advice.  If you can bare though a long winded set-up, I would love your feedback:

 

I am a bit of a non-traditional applicant as my undergraduate and professional background is in more of a technical realm.  My undergrad was in broadcasting with about 20 hrs of art electives, and I currently work as a A/V engineer.  I feel my portfolio (all time-based work--video, sound, projection mapping, some max/msp programming)  is strong, but I have nothing to list as far as public exhibitions.  Still, I think my diverse background COULD be a real asset if I find a program that would be willing to consider an applicant like me…

 

I applied to only one program last year, more or less to test the waters.  The feedback I received following my rejection led me to believe my portfolio was strong, but not really understood by the admissions board.  To be honest I think my personal statement was underdeveloped, and while the program seemed exciting, the department as a whole was probably not a good fit for me.  I have a better understanding of my creative process and goals this time around.

 

I want a program that can can be highly experimental with a big emphasis on teaching experience.  Beyond video, sound, and projection, I have a strong interest in the psychological and physiological responses to auditory and visual stimulation, so a program with a strong research element or thesis option would be excellent, though I have no idea how common something like that is.  Im not looking for a huge program here, and I doubt I could really compete for admissions at the top programs in the country, so smaller or slightly under the radar programs would be fine.

 

Right now I think the faculty and programs at UT Knoxville (transmedia) and University of Kansas (expanded media) seem intriguing.  Im also looking into UT Austin's Transmedia program.  Beyond that Im kind of at a loss-- Can anyone point me in the direction of some other programs?  Ill consider just about anything, but would love to find something in the midwest if possible or any other locations with reasonable costs of living, but obviously finding the right program is the most important part.

 

Thanks for any ideas you would like to share!

[kafralal]

Hi Fire bad!

 

Welcome!

 

Its pretty quiet here these days, so I thought I'd just send a message , so you know there is someone out there. Wish I could be more helpful—the only place that I could think of that might be of interest is MIT.

 

Good Luck.

[kafralal]

I just got an email that there is going to be another SAIC low-residency info webinar on Oct 9 @ 6:30 (CDT). The info and link for registration is on their webpage.

[thepictureisstill]

Hello friends,

I know the University of Michigan is quite generous in their funding...but can anyone else recommend some affordable programs that offer intermedia?

Also, feel free to check out my website www.ruthkburke.com if you have time! I'll do the same for anyone else!

[aschelp]

Hello friends,

I know the University of Michigan is quite generous in their funding...but can anyone else recommend some affordable programs that offer intermedia?

Also, feel free to check out my website www.ruthkburke.com if you have time! I'll do the same for anyone else!

usc, university of chicago, northwestern, ucsd, cornell, and stanford all offer substantial funding and are interdisciplinary.

[Yellow Magnet]

I'm jumping into the MFA applicant pool for Fall of 2014.  Anyone else here for sculpture?

[bandito]

I'm jumping into the MFA applicant pool for Fall of 2014.  Anyone else here for sculpture?

 

Yea, I am applying to sculpture programs at:

Columbia

SAIC

UCLA

USC

UCI

 

Should be an interesting 7 months.

[Yellow Magnet]

Yea, I am applying to sculpture programs at:

Columbia

SAIC

UCLA

USC

UCI

 

Should be an interesting 7 months.

 

 

I visited Bard. It is super expensive (private and lacks funding), and seemed a bit lonely and strange during the summer. No one is there, but it is located on the Hudson in the woods, so it is a peaceful and beautiful environment. The nearby train will take you to nyc in an hour though. It is a great program, but their facilities seem limited. Bard gets really great visiting artists in for critiques from nyc, and a friend of mine who did their MFA there loved it, and is doing well with his art and teaching career. He went straight from Bard to the Whitney ISP. The price and lack of funding makes it financially impossible for me, though.

 

For sculpture + extended media, VCU has really great facilities, and post all their equipment on their site. That program is somewhat interdisciplinary, because they clearly encourage you to use all the resources they have available. I don't know how rigorous the theory/writing side of the program is, but I will be visiting again this fall and asking more specific questions, which I will post here. 

 

http://arts.vcu.edu/sculpture/mfa-program/facilities/

 

For me, VCU could be free (I'm in-state and impoverished) and have a TA spot or stipend if I got in. They are a big state school, and have the resources to give out funding. The TA positions are competitive, which means they come with more money. But they give them out before the first year, so you have extra money to work with right away. 

If either of you guys want info on the VCU sculpture program, let me know. I'm not applying there because I went to VCU for my sculpture undergrad.  Or if you want to share portfolio work, statements, etc for feed back I up for that too.   Feel free to PM me.  Not that i don't want to share on the forums, its just i'm not running into as many sculpture related posts on here. 

 

Best of luck with the upcoming application season.  

[Kelly Anna Yllek]

Extremely panicked. I have tried and failed the last two years, but third time's the charm right?

I believe I have all my ducks in a row and am working my ass off trying to be the most stellar applicant I can be. Working full time, taking two grad classes part time after work, doing as many publications and shows as I can get my work into for the last year - I started up a second internship my town to get more archival/art restoration experience. 

Granted, I have been running myself to exhaustion some days but I know this persistence will be worth it. I made the mistake of not going to an in person interview and am going to rectify that by meeting with my POI in November for one of the school events. 

I'm afraid if all the work I am doing amounts in another rejection year I will be severely depressed.  

[meese]

Oh god, I already feel behind. Anyone else applying for photography?

[bannedinbc]

Is anyone else applying to, or has anyone here applied to UCLA with video/performance/etc. work?

The portfolio guidelines specify that no more than 4 web-links to individual time-based works are permitted. Am I reading this right? Out of 20 possibilities, I can only submit 4 works that are time-based?

grumble grumble grumble guessishouldhavelookedatthatbefore

[kafralal]

The way I read the info is that everyone submits 20 images. If your work is time-based then your 20 images should be stills or performance documentation of time-based work—the 4 web-links are in addition—but they can all be time-based. The descriptions you include with the stills will clarify that they are performance stills, what they do and anything else you think the committee should know.

[bannedinbc]

Yeah, I read it that way too. Just a little peeved.

[tabbykiki]

Anyone know anything about Virginia Tech's MFA in Creative Technologies?

[kafralal]

For those researching programs, the college art association's directory might be worth checking out. I just got an email announcement of it through art&education.

https://services.collegeart.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=CAA_New&WebKey=59c76735-9d2c-4133-9e92-aabaf39285e0

[BBrowne]

Hello. First time applicant. Just moved to NYC from Boise, ID; plan on staying in the area.

 

Applying to: 

 

Hunter

Rutgers

Yale

Columbia

SVA

 

Here I am: www.benrbrowne.com

Edited October 24, 2013 by benbrowne

[kafralal]

Food for thought.

 

http://www.alternet.org/education/5-ways-students-and-debtors-are-fighting-student-debt-right-now?paging=off

[kwonberry]

Noticed the traffic here is pretty quiet. Guess I've been busy, or more importantly everyone else is? Should I stir the pot? Things to mull for the '14 applicants that helped me/ that I've noticed.

 

Don't over-think the image count/video count. Your best work is all that matters. That said sometimes your best work is that embarrassing thing you haven't had the heart to put on your site. Every school is looking for something different, but generally speaking they are trying to create a group dynamic of divergent opinions/backgrounds. They are also arbitrary and fickle. Stylistic/superficial alignments to faculty (tailoring your work to fit a 'dream school') is basically a supreme waste of time. One of my fellow first years tailored the statement for each school, I wrote one for all apps, whatever works. Write in a matter that reflects you, not your expectations or perceived expectations of what a statement should be.

 

I might think of more. 

[kafralal]

Hi Kwonberry,

 

If you don't mind my asking, how many acceptances did you get with that 'one for all' app? And how about your fellow first year who wrote different ones? Not sure how useful this info would be...just something to consider, I guess.

 

How has your experience at UCLA been so far?