MFA - the outcast of graduate students!

[Loric]

Seriously, why does every website and topic assume if i'm going to graduate school that I'm going to be a "scientist?"

 

And in "common areas" of forums and chats it's not cool to be in the arts.. because.. "Why would you need a graduate degree for that? You could learn it on your own!"

 

Yeah, you could do science on your own too dipwad. Go build that lab in your garage with the gas line for the bunsen burner and liquid nitrogen tanks and let me know how that works out for you.  What? You cant afford your own autoclave? 

 

I'm pretty much over being marginalized by the vocal majority.

 

My first foray into graduate school was in theatrical design to boot - what do these naysayers expect? Me to have my own theater, director, costumer, lighting designer, cast, crew, and performance space in my garage? Jeeze, for smart people they're pretty stupid.

 

Anywho, just a communial rants - vive l'art! Etc etc..

[Eatin' Biscuits]

The vast majority of people going to grad school *are* going to be scientists - social, physical, life, whatever. It's a pretty easy assumption to make. I skip the topics that don't apply to me.. perhaps you could employ the same strategy.

Edited December 5, 2013 by Eatin' Biscuits

[danieleWrites]

The title of this threat reminds me of Dana Gioia's 1991 article in the Atlantic: Can Poetry Matter? Of course, it's about poets, poetry, and the academy, but it does have some pretty thought-provoking insights on MFA programs and the expectations MFA students often have. It's less of an issue for stagecraft than poetry, I have no doubt, because there's a market for drama graduates who get paid to do what their MFA taught them to do, whereas, there's little to no market for poetry.

 

Still, a look at MFA mills.

[Loric]

The vast majority of people going to grad school *are* going to be scientists - social, physical, life, whatever. It's a pretty easy assumption to make. I skip the topics that don't apply to me.. perhaps you could employ the same strategy.

 

So because a train of thought is the easiest, it's the one you should follow?

[GeoDUDE!]

Loric, inductive reasoning is very natural. You are guilty of it all the time........ be it right or wrong assumptions. Since most people on here are a form of scientist, its natural to assume the highest probability. Yay logic.

[Eatin' Biscuits]

So because a train of thought is the easiest, it's the one you should follow?

 

Absolutely. Are you familiar with the phrase "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras?"

[Loric]

Loric, inductive reasoning is very natural. You are guilty of it all the time........ be it right or wrong assumptions. Since most people on here are a form of scientist, its natural to assume the highest probability. Yay logic.

 

Here..? In the "Arts" forum..? Really..?

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I was thinking of doing an MFA in creative writing (probably poetry). I'm finishing my sixth and final year of undergrad as we speak. I went full-time the whole time too. I'll have like 200 credits. Anyway, after two years of taking random classes at a community and transferring to the local shit-hole university, I declared for the major in "interdisciplinary studies in arts and humanities." Pretty much because I didn't want to choose a major and I got rejected by the only other school I applied to (a major-free, grades-free hippy private liberal arts college). I had to choose a minimum of three fields to take classes in. I chose linguistics, English and philosophy. I wasn't a huge fan of literature but I took a bunch of creative writing classes. I was actually pretty good at it. I didn't write all the pussy flowers-and-feelings bullshit that everyone else was writing. I was considering going to one of those low-residency MFA poetry programs. The only reason I decided against it was because I realized I didn't have much motivation to write creatively when I wasn't being forced to. So I ended up staying an extra year beyond my senior year (fourth year) to get a second major in linguistics. I wasn't comfortable with graduating with a meaningless interdisciplinary degree in nothing. Then, shortly after, I became interested in specializing in computational linguistics for grad school. I spent the next year and a half doing the complete opposite of what I did my first 4.5 years of college. I took nothing but math, physics and computer science. Sometimes I still think about just burning all my shit and hitchhiking across the country, working on the greatest poetry compilation of the 21st century. 

Edited December 12, 2013 by JoeyBoy718

[Loric]

I was thinking of doing an MFA in creative writing (probably poetry). I'm finishing my sixth and final year of undergrad as we speak. I went full-time the whole time too. I'll have like 200 credits. Anyway, after two years of taking random classes at a community and transferring to the local shit-hole university, I declared for the major in "interdisciplinary studies in arts and humanities." Pretty much because I didn't want to choose a major and I got rejected by the only other school I applied to (a major-free, grades-free hippy private liberal arts college). I had to choose a minimum of three fields to take classes in. I chose linguistics, English and philosophy. I wasn't a huge fan of literature but I took a bunch of creative writing classes. I was actually pretty good at it. I didn't write all the pussy flowers-and-feelings bullshit that everyone else was writing. I was considering going to one of those low-residency MFA poetry programs. The only reason I decided against it was because I realized I didn't have much motivation to write creatively when I wasn't being forced to. So I ended up staying an extra year beyond my senior year (fourth year) to get a second major in linguistics. I wasn't comfortable with graduating with a meaningless interdisciplinary degree in nothing. Then, shortly after, I became interested in specializing in computational linguistics for grad school. I spent the next year and a half doing the complete opposite of what I did my first 4.5 years of college. I took nothing but math, physics and computer science. Sometimes I still think about just burning all my shit and hitchhiking across the country, working on the greatest poetry compilation of the 21st century. 

 

I went to a grades-free major-free hippie liberal arts college for a whopping single semester!

 

I had to explain the transcript to the adcomm.. and every adcomm i've ever encountered since then. No one ever knows what to make of it.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I went to a grades-free major-free hippie liberal arts college for a whopping single semester!

I had to explain the transcript to the adcomm.. and every adcomm i've ever encountered since then. No one ever knows what to make of it.

Yea, in hindsight I'm very glad I got rejected. Although I transferred to a low-tier state university, I'm glad I went to a traditional college. My community college in Palm Beach, FL, had some deal with Hampshire College, some hippy liberal arts school in Massachussetts. I found out about the deal the day before their deadline. They did give me an extension but I still got rejected. I ended up transferring to the university that shared a campus with my community college. It was the only other school I applied to--as a last resort. Edited December 12, 2013 by JoeyBoy718

[Loric]

I got into my major-U (just go north and a little "left" and you'll find it, it's hard to miss.. go bulls!) because my hippie school had an agreement with them that anyone who dropped out of hippie school was guaranteed a slot to "transfer" (really, start over).  Hippie school only took 500 incoming students each year, only like 2 dozen finish the program. Most are gone by the end of the first semester.

 

It was like Battle Royale up in there..I had to wait in line to get the withdrawal done by the dean. Looking back, i think the most terrifying aspect was that because the school was so small, the dean actually knew who I was and mentioned reasons he suspected I was going to be one of the next wave to drop out. Lord, I'm recalling the convo now and he was like "I have friends in the Ivy League if you're interested.." Long story short he saw it coming and it wasnt academics based. I wore Nike's at a hippie school - one that had a seminar on how to chain yourself to a tree properly during the orientation week (you put your arms through a metal pipe and then handcruff yourself - that way they cant just cut the handcuff off by snipping the chain.) To say that I didn't fit into the student body was an understatement. One of my gradeless classes had a seminar on the historic trees on the campus, at one point in which I remarked, lloudly "Oo, the grain of that wood is lovely - it'd made a beaitiful desk!"

 

In retrospect it's hilarious and I was oblvious to how it was all really working... from the lesbian "tribal leader" insisting i come to her dorm and be interrogated after class one day ("Why ARE you here Mr. Loric..?") but at the time it really wasn't much fun.

 

And I went and applied to the school because an obnoxious hippie PETA girl in high school wouldnt shut up about it and then got rejected.. and that was hilarious so I applied and wrote a nonsense essay about clouds.. and got in.. with a poor GPA, good SAT scores, and not much else.

 

Oh, so many memories coming back - my "pal" there was a former french model who someone threw paint on the first week because they thought she was wearing leather/fur. I think she quit a week or two after me. Other girls at the school would say to her, randomly as we were walking to class, "Why do you try to be so pretty?!? You're ruining it for other women!"

 

It was insane. Lol.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Loric

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I got into my major-U (just go north and a little "left" and you'll find it, it's hard to miss.. go bulls!) because my hippie school had an agreement with them that anyone who dropped out of hippie school was guaranteed a slot to "transfer" (really, start over).  Hippie school only took 500 incoming students each year, only like 2 dozen finish the program. Most are gone by the end of the first semester.

 

It was like Battle Royale up in there..I had to wait in line to get the withdrawal done by the dean. Looking back, i think the most terrifying aspect was that because the school was so small, the dean actually knew who I was and mentioned reasons he suspected I was going to be one of the next wave to drop out. Lord, I'm recalling the convo now and he was like "I have friends in the Ivy League if you're interested.." Long story short he saw it coming and it wasnt academics based. I wore Nike's at a hippie school - one that had a seminar on how to chain yourself to a tree properly during the orientation week (you put your arms through a metal pipe and then handcruff yourself - that way they cant just cut the handcuff off by snipping the chain.) To say that I didn't fit into the student body was an understatement. One of my gradeless classes had a seminar on the historic trees on the campus, at one point in which I remarked, lloudly "Oo, the grain of that wood is lovely - it'd made a beaitiful desk!"

 

In retrospect it's hilarious and I was oblvious to how it was all really working... from the lesbian "tribal leader" insisting i come to her dorm and be interrogated after class one day ("Why ARE you here Mr. Loric..?") but at the time it really wasn't much fun.

 

And I went and applied to the school because an obnoxious hippie PETA girl in high school wouldnt shut up about it and then got rejected.. and that was hilarious so I applied and wrote a nonsense essay about clouds.. and got in.. with a poor GPA, good SAT scores, and not much else.

 

Oh, so many memories coming back - my "pal" there was a former french model who someone threw paint on the first week because they thought she was wearing leather/fur. I think she quit a week or two after me. Other girls at the school would say to her, randomly as we were walking to class, "Why do you try to be so pretty?!? You're ruining it for other women!"

 

It was insane. Lol.

I probably know the school. North of bulls U with initials NC. A girl from my community college transferred there and only lasted one semester. She was a weirdo hippy though. I'm surprised she didn't last.

[VioletAyame]

Here..? In the "Arts" forum..? Really..?

 

Come on really? You just said "And in "common areas" of forums and chats it's not cool to be in the arts... I'm pretty much over being marginalized by the vocal majority." So people assume in the common areas and you complained about the common areas. "Here" is the forum in general, not the Arts subforum. You're not even trying.

[St@rdust]

If art wasn't marginalized, would it be art?  

[St@rdust]

Absolutely. Are you familiar with the phrase "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras?"

 

Depends where you are. Context matters.

[pearspears]

I got into my major-U (just go north and a little "left" and you'll find it, it's hard to miss.. go bulls!) because my hippie school had an agreement with them that anyone who dropped out of hippie school was guaranteed a slot to "transfer" (really, start over).  Hippie school only took 500 incoming students each year, only like 2 dozen finish the program. Most are gone by the end of the first semester.

 

It was like Battle Royale up in there..I had to wait in line to get the withdrawal done by the dean. Looking back, i think the most terrifying aspect was that because the school was so small, the dean actually knew who I was and mentioned reasons he suspected I was going to be one of the next wave to drop out. Lord, I'm recalling the convo now and he was like "I have friends in the Ivy League if you're interested.." Long story short he saw it coming and it wasnt academics based. I wore Nike's at a hippie school - one that had a seminar on how to chain yourself to a tree properly during the orientation week (you put your arms through a metal pipe and then handcruff yourself - that way they cant just cut the handcuff off by snipping the chain.) To say that I didn't fit into the student body was an understatement. One of my gradeless classes had a seminar on the historic trees on the campus, at one point in which I remarked, lloudly "Oo, the grain of that wood is lovely - it'd made a beaitiful desk!"

 

In retrospect it's hilarious and I was oblvious to how it was all really working... from the lesbian "tribal leader" insisting i come to her dorm and be interrogated after class one day ("Why ARE you here Mr. Loric..?") but at the time it really wasn't much fun.

 

And I went and applied to the school because an obnoxious hippie PETA girl in high school wouldnt shut up about it and then got rejected.. and that was hilarious so I applied and wrote a nonsense essay about clouds.. and got in.. with a poor GPA, good SAT scores, and not much else.

 

Oh, so many memories coming back - my "pal" there was a former french model who someone threw paint on the first week because they thought she was wearing leather/fur. I think she quit a week or two after me. Other girls at the school would say to her, randomly as we were walking to class, "Why do you try to be so pretty?!? You're ruining it for other women!"

 

It was insane. Lol.

Is this real life, lol. 

[seeingeyeduck]

Is this real life, lol.

It sure would make a great book...