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

[Lee00]

Just got accepted off the waitlist today for MICA (Hoffberger School of Painting) after a skype interview yesterday. Anyone else going? I would love to meet some of the people I will be working with.

Congratuations caffeinated!

So, you are one of 4! I envy you. I'm still waiting for mica hoffberger. I hope I can meet you at school.

[RSeverance]

Congratuations caffeinated!

So, you are one of 4! I envy you. I'm still waiting for mica hoffberger. I hope I can meet you at school.

Best of luck to you! The interview was pretty relaxed and the director of the program was very kind. I hope you hear back soon!

 

(My last post was from my phone so I'm not sure why my account is different now)

[bloodred]

Femnotfem, I am very surprised that you are choosing Indiana U-Bloomington over Cornell. Can you explain why? 

We all have our reasons, but primarily I want to be in a three year program, I hate upstate new york, cornell's facilities just are sub-par to indiana, the studio I would get at cornell is half the size, cornell only accepts 6 MFAs per year that is a very small pool and I love a small department, but that small feels a bit suffocating there.

Teaching experience is also fairly high on my list and at Indiana I have to opportunity to teach classes for two years.

I really like that indiana's printmaking and ceramic departments are amazing and since my background is in that I want to have access to wonderful facilities. Cornell did not give me as much money (the stipend was 6,000 less).

I love love Carl Ostendarp, but it was really hard to make a decision to pick cornell over indiana when i had never visited cornell and went to indiana and absolutely loved it. (I was only given a week to make my decision.)

Blane st. croix who is now the sculpture head at indiana has just as many and maybe more connections in new york than Carl has. 

I'm not at all interested in living in New york city, ever. It seems after people graduate they relocate to a near by larger city for Cornell its NYC for Indiana its Chicago, I prefer chicago. I prefer west coast in general.

and my primary reason, along with a full inter-disciplinary program, for applying to cornell was Carl. Now that he has invested time and effort we have agreed to keep in contact and have discussions about my growth, so thats more than great for me. Cornell has the name, but Indiana brings the goods.

 

all in all if i end up hating Indiana I'll apply to somewhere else next year.

[Neen]

I have narrowed by decision down to the MFA painting program at Pratt or Brooklyn College? 

 

Pratt is $$ but has a better rep then Brooklyn College but Brooklyn College is a lot cheaper. 

 

Anyone have any advice?

I went to Pratt for undergrad which was amazing. But their MFA program and what was coming out of it didn't seem as good. With their high tuition you may be better off at brooklyn college even if it may not have ALL the advantages of Pratt in terms of facilities. I'd look really closely into both, visiting artists as well, and see what is best for you.

[FAR]

Does anyone knows somebody at the Phd Studio art in goldsmith or RCA?!

[esssssssj]

Hi there!

 

I've seen a few people mention IU Bloomington.  I'm also going there in the Fall (painting).  Maybe we could meet up sometime before school starts?  From what I understand, the different disciplines don't always intermingle, so it would be nice to know non-painting people!  I guess PM me, if this sounds like something you'd want to do??  I hope this is the right place to post this...let me know if I should take this elsewhere.

 

P. S. Congratulations to everyone who got accepted to school!  Good luck for those on wait lists or trying to decide!  And to those whose turn was not this year: stay confident, keep working, and remember that the acceptance process doesn't always make sense -- it's not necessarily you and rejection doesn't mean lack of talent!  If you want it, you'll get there.

[fairweather]

Hi there!

 

I've seen a few people mention IU Bloomington.  I'm also going there in the Fall (painting).  Maybe we could meet up sometime before school starts?  From what I understand, the different disciplines don't always intermingle, so it would be nice to know non-painting people!  I guess PM me, if this sounds like something you'd want to do??  I hope this is the right place to post this...let me know if I should take this elsewhere.

 

P. S. Congratulations to everyone who got accepted to school!  Good luck for those on wait lists or trying to decide!  And to those whose turn was not this year: stay confident, keep working, and remember that the acceptance process doesn't always make sense -- it's not necessarily you and rejection doesn't mean lack of talent!  If you want it, you'll get there.

Whoa hey! Just checked this forum for the first time in months, glad I did!

 

Congrats to everyone who got in and to my new fellow Hoosiers!

 

I'm moving to Bloomington in about 2 1/2 weeks and am stoked to start the MFA (I'll be starting the MFA in Ceramics, stoked for life about it)

Meeting up sounds awesome, I already have visited and fell in love with my department mates but it for sure would be nice to get together with the other majors. 

[fairweather]

I would highly suggest Indiana to anyone. 

Everyone that is there absolutely loves it.

the studios are huge!

the facilities are amazing. 

Blane and Mike are so wonderful and have alot of connections in the art world

Bloomington is beautiful and very low cost of living, great biking community, music scene, vegan/veg restaurants. 

They are moving toward being highly conceptual, atleast what i got from them. 

All of the concentrations have their own building which makes you feel really at home in your area of choice. 

Agreed. I accepted my position at IU and I thought my head was going to explode when I visited. I felt immediately at home, everyone genuine and the art community seems strong. 

Didn't hurt that I'm working under my favorite artist, either ha

Can't wait to meet all y'all in Bloomington

[figureitout]

Hey
 

Got accepted into SMFA for the Post Bac. Does anyone know if the on campus bathrooms are communal?

Thanks!

[soyooni26]

Hello guys,

Anyone applying for ceramics?

or anyone doing ceramic works applying for sculpture department?

 

Thanks!

[AllyPugh]

Hi all,

I'm also in the process of weighing up the pros and cons of an MFA in Fine Art (Painting), but I have some questions:

1 - Is there anywhere you can view examples of other successful artist's statements/of intent? (Giving you some way of measuring your stab in the dark?)

2 - If I am not from a Fine Art background (I have a degree in Design and 5 years as a pro designer in London), will this not count hugely against me?

3 - Do they generally look for work that is pushing the boundaries of your discipline in the current climate of professional art, or is it work more that work should be strongly investigative in its own right (making research the bigger factor) ??

Thanks guys

[BlCEO]

Hi all,

I'm also in the process of weighing up the pros and cons of an MFA in Fine Art (Painting), but I have some questions:

1 - Is there anywhere you can view examples of other successful artist's statements/of intent? (Giving you some way of measuring your stab in the dark?)

2 - If I am not from a Fine Art background (I have a degree in Design and 5 years as a pro designer in London), will this not count hugely against me?

3 - Do they generally look for work that is pushing the boundaries of your discipline in the current climate of professional art, or is it work more that work should be strongly investigative in its own right (making research the bigger factor) ??

Thanks guys

 

1. don't look at others statements because you'll be discouraged.

2. depends, but apply anyway.  Anarchy or punk rock, however you sum up rebellion.

3. make what you make, send it in. Anything else would be silly.

[taltalim]

Hi all,

I'm also in the process of weighing up the pros and cons of an MFA in Fine Art (Painting), but I have some questions:

1 - Is there anywhere you can view examples of other successful artist's statements/of intent? (Giving you some way of measuring your stab in the dark?)

2 - If I am not from a Fine Art background (I have a degree in Design and 5 years as a pro designer in London), will this not count hugely against me?

3 - Do they generally look for work that is pushing the boundaries of your discipline in the current climate of professional art, or is it work more that work should be strongly investigative in its own right (making research the bigger factor) ??

Thanks guys

BICEO has got it.

 

1 - You're better off just writing something cohesive and independent. Reading other's statements has always made me feel way superior or way inferior, because they've tended to be very different from mine.

 

2/3 - This depends heavily on the program and what you want to get out of it. My background was in design research, and then I worked in market research for 3 years before applying with work that I made in my spare time. I applied to a whole bunch of programs, and got into a few. My work is somewhere between art and design (pertains to more theoretical design), and I was sort of torn about what programs to apply to - I wound up applying to mostly sculpture, with a couple of furniture design, and one more experimental interaction design program. I know the non-art-specific nature of my application made at least one of the programs to which I applied uncomfortable; when I tried explaining that I had certain research goals in mind, the head of the program kept insisting that his program didn't have a commercial focus (he couldn't understand that design and research in the context of sculpture wouldn't necessarily have a commercial component).

 

You need to understand that applying to art programs is a lot more subjective than other Masters or PhD programs, where they can judge based off of grades, test scores, and relevant professional experience. When it comes to art, some of it will about the visual qualities of your portfolio, but a lot will be more about the internal consistency and your skill in explanation. When I was accepted off the waitlist at one the schools I applied to, I was told that my work itself was alright, but they were really accepting me because of my writing (this is for a sculpure program). Each school is going to have its own agenda - some will want people who fit a current mold that they already have, some will want people who will challenge the status quo within the program, some will accept cohorts of students that are specifically diverse and who they think will complement one another, some will accept students who they think will specifically be successful in the gallery world.

 

Each school will be very different, and decisions can seem almost arbitrary at times. I would suggest figuring out what you want to get out of a program. Is it technical knowledge? That will rule out certain schools and tint your statements one way. Are you looking for success in the world of gallery art? That will be a very different application (and if that's your main goal going in, I don't think I'd recommend an MFA). I'd suggest making a list of your priorities, finding some schools that fit, and actually reaching out to professors well in advance of the application period to find out whether you'd be a good fit for the program.

 

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to discuss further. And good luck!

[BlCEO]

^ PREACH

[NYTreader]

I'm adding to this topic to pull it forward

[kingdom92]

i recieved an email from hunters that the descision will be given in a week....i see that some of you guys have already been accepted.Does this mean that i probably didn't get into the program?..

also i got accepted to rutgers...good funding....butwhat do you guys think about the exposure and facuties there?

i also interviewed at steinhardt nyu....is it a good program?

[kingdom92]

i recieved an email from hunters that the descision will be given in a week....i see that some of you guys have already been accepted.Does this mean that i probably didn't get into the program?..

also i got accepted to rutgers...good funding....butwhat do you guys think about the exposure and facuties there?

i also interviewed at steinhardt nyu....is it a good program?

[Derpderpderp]

I think schools want a diversity in students backgrounds...while I was a painting major at MICA, i have been working in early childhood education for the last 4 years and have never shown/exhibited outside of school. Based on the outcomes, this was certainly not counted against me (if it wasnt positive!) i wouldnt be intimidated by a lack of pedigree, so to speak.

[Derpderpderp]

I think schools want a diversity in students backgrounds...while I was a painting major at MICA, i have been working in early childhood education for the last 4 years and have never shown/exhibited outside of school. Based on the outcomes, this was certainly not counted against me (if it wasnt positive!) i wouldnt be intimidated by a lack of pedigree, so to speak.