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

[Czarina]

to be quite honest this is my first year applying for an MFA prog. and in retrospect i feel like my application could've been put together more strongly. live and learn.

trying hardest not to be a whiny baby/alternating between feeling like a moody wreck and telling myself this:

 

Sorry to hear that. It was just one combination of possibilities that didn't work out—it has little to no bearing on other outcomes.

 

What school was that for and what other places have you applied to?

 

Edit: this is directed to czarina

[kafralal]

from UMich.

other schools I applied to: USC, UCIrvine, MIT, and VCU

 

These are all very different programs. No need to worry.

[kafralal]

to be quite honest this is my first year applying for an MFA prog. and in retrospect i feel like my application could've been put together more strongly. live and learn.

trying hardest not to be a whiny baby/alternating between feeling like a moody wreck and telling myself this:

 

Right. I took a long time to post that last comment...got distracted. Sorry.

[kafralal]

How many people are waiting on UCSD?

[Czarina]

Thank you both for the words of encouragement.  It wouldn't be the end of the world to have another year of saving money/more shows/perhaps a residency and most importantly new work  

Edited February 5, 2014 by Czarina

[klp]

This wait is driving me mental. I've applied to a few more since I joined this forum, just to prolong the agony.

 

Good luck everyone!!! And especially to all the printmakers

[Loric]

Well, some encouragement today..

 

Someone on twitter asked a "friend" of mine in the field why they don't have any sort of stuff to encourage young people to be interested in the industry/art.. yadda yadda.. I retort that the industry is insular and closed to outsiders, but some like myself are persistent.

 

Like raptors throwing themselves at different parts of the fence looking for a weak spot.

 

And this industry pro, who knows I'm fighting my way in by force, PM's me "Life finds a way.."

 

I'm counting that as encouragement from someone I admire in the field.

[meese]

I'm just going to go ahead and cross SAIC off my list if the mfa photography calls went out.

Ah well. Four, maybe three to go.

One app didn't get everything in on time because of that stupid snow storm. Such is life

[seeingeyeduck]

Where Is "here" iomarch? Wherever it is, I guess I imagined there would be a few more. Then again, most people crazy enough to have gotten a BFA aren't quite ecstatic about digging themselves a deeper whole for an MFA.

We're high rollers I guess. Like lil' Weezy.

Lol. I'm in the Bay Area but I only applied to three schools. I think maybe others like CCA and Mills get many more apps? Maybe someone else can speak to that.

[Ariet]

University of Pennsylvania just called and I got an interview next week on Wednesday which is awesome since they are one of my first choices! So excited and nervous.. 

[bathtub]

Oh noooooooo! Now I have to feel bad about UPenn too? Yikes!

Wait- I could be jumping the gun. I could be. It's true.

They were all excited about my stuff on portfolio day.

Sigh.

Ariet, are you a painter?

I'm starting to think I should have applied with sculpture....

[bathtub]

No, I see you are a photographer/new media.

Anyway, all the best to you.

[marzipanned]

I got the Penn call, too. Balances out the Davis rejection that came this morning...

 

Don't worry, bathtub! They're doing this by phone, so it may take them a while to get through the list.

[bathtub]

Ha, ups and downs. Better to end the day feeling popular though!

[Ariet]

I'm digital art, it's likely they may just want to interview me because my portfolio is intermedia. I'm still super excited, it is the first I have heard back from anyone and since this is my first year applying I sort of thought all my feedback would be negative.

[ismewilde]

Well, some encouragement today..

 

Someone on twitter asked a "friend" of mine in the field why they don't have any sort of stuff to encourage young people to be interested in the industry/art.. yadda yadda.. I retort that the industry is insular and closed to outsiders, but some like myself are persistent.

 

Like raptors throwing themselves at different parts of the fence looking for a weak spot.

 

And this industry pro, who knows I'm fighting my way in by force, PM's me "Life finds a way.."

 

I'm counting that as encouragement from someone I admire in the field.

 

Loric,

 

I'm guessing you are referring to the film industry and I having been involved I can say that if you want in, you will find a way in. If that is the case, you should realize that film making is a group effort and it takes a TEAM to make something great. It is easy for me to spot the weak link in a film (whether director, writing, acting, casting, music, editing, etc.) and EGOS can kill a project faster than anything. I've seen/read about it time and again. I worked with Bruce Dern awhile ago and at the time got to hear quite a bit about the business. I moved to LA shortly after, and got to know quite about the business while there. There are shady elements just as there can be in the art world, but its up to you to remember who you are and what you truly want. If you love film and desire to make beautiful scenery/art or combine the two you will find a way. 

 

Glad you got a message from someone you admire. Just remember that there are many ways to approach a dream. You may feel shut out- just find another way. 

[Loric]

Loric,

 

I'm guessing you are referring to the film industry and I having been involved I can say that if you want in, you will find a way in. If that is the case, you should realize that film making is a group effort and it takes a TEAM to make something great. It is easy for me to spot the weak link in a film (whether director, writing, acting, casting, music, editing, etc.) and EGOS can kill a project faster than anything. I've seen/read about it time and again. I worked with Bruce Dern awhile ago and at the time got to hear quite a bit about the business. I moved to LA shortly after, and got to know quite about the business while there. There are shady elements just as there can be in the art world, but its up to you to remember who you are and what you truly want. If you love film and desire to make beautiful scenery/art or combine the two you will find a way. 

 

Glad you got a message from someone you admire. Just remember that there are many ways to approach a dream. You may feel shut out- just find another way. 

 

Not film, but similar sort of mindset. The idea of the project's goals being important, not the ego, and the emphasis on the team were actually major points in my SOP.

 

Too bad my first contact after the submission suggested it hadn't been read. I think I was very nearly cut during that "quick flip through" of the portfolio - my inquiry and subsequent protest probably at least got me into the second round.

 

Come to think of it, I'm not really sure why the admission rep said what he did to me.. he could have said nothing. I could have simply been given a glance by a few powers that be and easily rejected. I'd probably know the answer by now. Instead he said something.. well, he went out of his way to email the adcom people and then call me as soon as one of them responded.

 

The one who responded spoke with the royal we, rather, claimed a consensus of thought on my work.. that wasn't pretty. "The consensus is that Mr. Loric needs to show more.."

 

That phrase is going to haunt my dreams forever. And when it was said to me on the phone by admissions rep I pretty much went into triage. "Well what can I do to show it to them? How much time do I have? How many pieces?" etc..

 

And going back to.. why'd he say anything...? I have this weird suspicion that if I let him finish the sentence it'd have been something like "..and so we're unable to offer you a place here XYZ at this time."  But since I didn't, and whatever happened, happened, my last bit of info is that after my submission that "several people" (adcom members?) were looking at my additional materials "last week" (as of the time of the email asking about a probable timeline.)

 

I also know that my evaluation is taking a strangely long time, that the program has very unclear guidelines that admissions is working to rework and make clearer, that admissions admits they have no clue about the medium and are learning a lot from the applicants, and that the head of admissions knows about my file because of how long it has taken from start to finish since it went to the committee (apparently deadlines do exist! even if they're ignored!)

 

So I guess what I'm saying is that if you ever wanted to say it was a simple process.. it's not. I guess this is good, but I can't help but feel for the hard sciences.. they're so used to things being so cut and dry. Maybe it's because we're in the arts that we get more wiggle room, but it doesn't seem like things are all that different on the other side of the fence. And I could have just been declined after that first vague pass.. while right now I pretty much have proof of serious consideration. Sometimes there is a level of luck it seems.

[Loric]

Oh lord, and to make sure I wasn't imaging what was said to who and when I pulled up the email exchange after the phone calls and the "additional materials" I submitted.

 

Omg.. omg. omg.. I'm soo not getting in. *headdesk*

 

You know that feeling when you've forgotten a piece of work and you go back and look at it again and you're like "Gee.. that's crap."

 

Yeah, that feeling.

[Loric]

Anywho.. this:

 

[PrettyPrettyPrincess]

I applied to Ohio State, Nebraska@Lincoln, Boulder, and Minnesota-Twin Cities.  But OSU is definitely my first choice, so I'm quite happy.

I haven't heard back from anyone else - but it's still really early.  From what I understand alot of schools don't notify until March.

 

Where are you applying?

I applied to Ohio State, Nebraska@Lincoln, Boulder, and Minnesota-Twin Cities.  But OSU is definitely my first choice, so I'm quite happy.

I haven't heard back from anyone else - but it's still really early.  From what I understand alot of schools don't notify until March.

 

Where are you applying?

Nice. I was just curious. Congrats on OSU! That's awesome that you were accepted to your first choice. I applied to West Virginia, Hawaii, Arkansas, & Bowling Green State University. I have heard nothing yet. But the apps were due Jan. 15th and Feb. 1st. Evidently BGSU's deadline was extended til Feb. 15th, so I'm sure I have a while before I hear anything.

[fishing26]

Hey all,

Been following this forum for some time - decided to join. First year applying, only applied to SAIC (Painting) and Northwestern. Didn't get an interview invitation from SAIC so guessing that means certain rejection, but is anyone applying to Northwestern/heard anything?

[pottedpythosplant]

Hey all,

Been following this forum for some time - decided to join. First year applying, only applied to SAIC (Painting) and Northwestern. Didn't get an interview invitation from SAIC so guessing that means certain rejection, but is anyone applying to Northwestern/heard anything?

 

I applied to Northwestern. I haven't heard anything yet, but noticed from last years forum that most people heard back around second week February. Such a competitive program! I'm nervous. 

[pulpandink]

I applied to Northwestern as well, but haven't heard anything yet. I won't be surprised if I don't get an interview, as I think I'm more practice-based than they are looking for. For fellow University of Michigan applicants...has anyone been contacted for an interview yet?

[EDay27]

Finally decided to step AWAY from my computer today. Started a new painting, had some soup, chilled with my man, and when I returned to my computer there was an acceptance email from the University of New Mexico! It felt magical. No details on funding yet, they'll be sending more information via snail mail… It was the only application I sent through the mail, I did it terribly last minute and paid a fortune for rush delivery, but now I'm so glad that I did! 

[seeingeyeduck]

I was scouring the results and realized that there is no acceptance from Berkeley in the results at all for MFA. Not a single instance; the acceptances are all art history PhDs.

 

Thinking back on the interview, it makes sense that they are much more theory-oriented. They asked about artists that I admire. Oh and they also talked about a couple of items on my CV, so if anyone of you still have to interview, think about how what you've done has changed your practice and process. Good luck, everyone!

 

Don't feel too bad if you get rejected. It's early, and we are lucky in art to be able to do work on our own, independent of labs and institutions, though I suppose that's less true for large scale sculptors. I really feel for cell bio people who can't just do it from their homes or anything. At least we can work on portfolios and try to apply for residencies and grants.

 

To give you some perspective, I'm going on 31, so if you are in your mid-20s, there's still a lot of time. Maybe it's also good to think whether you want to apply years in a row. It's a lot of money if your app hasn't necessarily changed much over a year. Maybe it'd be a good turn of events to live life a little and gain some experience that you can then turn into a plus on the app. Even if you make technical progress, it tends to take more item to develop ideas and get into a groove there, so maybe exposing yourself to new experiences might be a good way to get interested in the world. Your profs can teach you technique, but they can't give you your ideas, so I'd say working on that is super important in addition to simply churning out work. For all the people waiting anxiously - take the time to make new work! That's why we're all here, right?

 

And life really does go on without an MFA. One of my lecturers in UG drove a cab and shot on his own til he secured the teaching job. He doesn't have an MFA, just a BFA, and this is at a damn good school, so it really isn't the end of the world! You just gotta focus on the work because in the end that is ALL that matters and you need to learn how to propel yourself through making work even if there is no prospect of school, because after all, that is what will happen after school. 

 

I've had a LOT of ups and downs - a long stretch of downs! - so if I can get interviews, then there's hope for all of us. Now if they would just let us know already!

Edited February 6, 2014 by iomarch