MFA 2015 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

[beriredux]

Okay... I feel kinda dumb here, but what's an SOP?

 

No need! It stands for Statement of Purpose. 

[FAR]

Great Piece by Jerry Saltz about MFAS .... Must read

 

We Need to Reconsider Art School

 

http://www.vulture.com/2014/12/we-need-to-reconsider-art-school.html

[thepictureisstill]

Great Piece by Jerry Saltz about MFAS .... Must read

 

We Need to Reconsider Art School

 

http://www.vulture.com/2014/12/we-need-to-reconsider-art-school.html

Saw the updated vulture article yesterday- here's to hoping my schools are generous. 

[thepictureisstill]

No need! It stands for Statement of Purpose. 

 

 

Don't feel dumb! It's the document that you essentially tell the school what you're going to do/what your motivations are/a little bit about your work etc. Every school has different requirements for their SOP. It's a beast so I strongly suggest to begin writing it many months out from your application. 

[dncgz4]

SOP.. Oh yeah.  I've done it.  Just didn't know what the acronym was.  I'd be down to do a swap review with someone.

[kogepan137]

Is anyone else having a tricky time balancing multiple applications? Are you using one statement for all your applications or are you tailoring each one? I'm trying to tailor mine, but it definitely takes time. It also really sucks that different programs have different word limits and portfolio image limits..

[Summers]

Is anyone else having a tricky time balancing multiple applications? Are you using one statement for all your applications or are you tailoring each one? I'm trying to tailor mine, but it definitely takes time. It also really sucks that different programs have different word limits and portfolio image limits..

I find it tricky as well. I'm working on statements at the moment . Some schools are very specific in what they want you to write, while others don't specify. Some are one page limits, some two pages. Some want just an SOP while others want an SOP and an artist statement. In some cases, I'll be writing almost an entirely different statement. For the schools that ask for a 500 word limit SOP, I feel like I'm struggling to address everything. Does anyone have any suggestions for what the most important things are to include in the SOP and how much weight to give each of them? Thanks!

[taltalim]

When I applied, I had maybe 6-8 different paragraphs that I'd swap in and out depending on the need (like cover letters). Then I'd tailor things a bit more specifically to each school (mentioning the specifics of why I wanted to go there, faculty I wanted to work with, etc.)

 

I think that the staples for an SOP are:

-a brief artistic statement/summary of work,

-why you want to/feel ready to/feel the need to go for an MFA at this time

-why you feel that an MFA at this particular program will be right for you.

 

For me, when I had a 500 word limit, it took about 6 iterations, slowly scraping words away bit by bit. I showed it to my wife and friends to see what I could cut out. It really honed things. Obviously the artist statement is the most important part - ideally it's unique enough that it will catch the committee's attention, while complementing your portfolio. It's also crucial for you to be able to summarize your own work thoroughly in a few sentences - an elevator speech of sorts.

 

I'm done with my crits and everything after Friday, so if anyone would like to send over a SOP, I'm happy to take a look then - just message me.

 

Good luck!

[Moonjuggler]

Hi, I'm trying to narrow down my list. I'd love to stay in nyc but my ideal school should have great sculpture facilities and I'd like to go for free, if possible.

This is what I have so far.

(I went to Brooklyn College for my BFA)

 

Yale (Sculpture)

Hunter (Sculpture)

VCU (Sculpture + Fibers)

UCLA (Sculpture)

SAIC (Sculpture + Fibers + Body & Garment)

U Texas at Austin (Sculpture)

UPenn (Sculpture)

Syracuse (Sculpture)

 

Cornell?

Stanford?

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston?

Bard?

Columbia?

Queens CUNY

CITY CUNY 

[thepictureisstill]

 

Hi, I'm trying to narrow down my list. I'd love to stay in nyc but my ideal school should have great sculpture facilities and I'd like to go for free, if possible.

This is what I have so far.

(I went to Brooklyn College for my BFA)

 

Yale (Sculpture)

Hunter (Sculpture)

VCU (Sculpture + Fibers)

UCLA (Sculpture)

SAIC (Sculpture + Fibers + Body & Garment)

U Texas at Austin (Sculpture)

UPenn (Sculpture)

Syracuse (Sculpture)

 

Cornell?

Stanford?

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston?

Bard?

Columbia?

Queens CUNY

CITY CUNY 

 

Have you looked at OSU? Columbus has a thriving art community and OSU sculpture program is beyond stellar. It's well funded and you can work with Ann Hamilton, fiber queen

[thepictureisstill]

I find it tricky as well. I'm working on statements at the moment . Some schools are very specific in what they want you to write, while others don't specify. Some are one page limits, some two pages. Some want just an SOP while others want an SOP and an artist statement. In some cases, I'll be writing almost an entirely different statement. For the schools that ask for a 500 word limit SOP, I feel like I'm struggling to address everything. Does anyone have any suggestions for what the most important things are to include in the SOP and how much weight to give each of them? Thanks!

Most schools iterate what they want to see in the SOP. My statement and SOP have overlapped when I've had to submit both- they're by the same author though so they should be fluid and make sense together.

[Moonjuggler]

Have you looked at OSU? Columbus has a thriving art community and OSU sculpture program is beyond stellar. It's well funded and you can work with Ann Hamilton, fiber queen

Indeed, you are right, I may need to add this. Thanks! So challenging to get this list down to ten as that is what the FAFSA limit is. You managed to come up with a solid list and I love that you have Burren on it. 

[taltalim]

 

Hi, I'm trying to narrow down my list. I'd love to stay in nyc but my ideal school should have great sculpture facilities and I'd like to go for free, if possible.

This is what I have so far.

(I went to Brooklyn College for my BFA)

 

Yale (Sculpture)

Hunter (Sculpture)

VCU (Sculpture + Fibers)

UCLA (Sculpture)

SAIC (Sculpture + Fibers + Body & Garment)

U Texas at Austin (Sculpture)

UPenn (Sculpture)

Syracuse (Sculpture)

 

Cornell?

Stanford?

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston?

Bard?

Columbia?

Queens CUNY

CITY CUNY 

 

I can say definitively NOT Cornell if facilities are important to you. I went there for undergrad and visited again before I finalized my application list. Art tends to fall second to architecture when it comes to facilities, and as of last year, shop hours were not 24 hours - you needed a shop tech supervising before you could do anything, and the foundry was no longer usable. Most of the student work was (understandably) highly conceptual, without much technical execution.

 

If you're looking for a good safety school with good facilities, I'd recommend IUP (where I'm at currently). I moved from Brooklyn to be here (which is a tiny, tiny town about an hour from Pittsburgh). It's a small program, with large studios, and really great sculpture facilities which are getting better all the time. There's also an incredible (separate) woodshop, and I hear that the fibers area is well-equipped (and under-utilized). Assistantships are also plentiful, and come with a tuition waiver and small stipend.

 

This is NOT currently a prestigious school, but I think it's a gem in the rough. I picked it because of the facilities, because the head of the sculpture program here is young and capable with an active studio career, and because Pittsburgh is an interesting place to be right now. I applied on a lark, didn't think much of it, and wound up being really impressed when I visited. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

[arte]

This is my list of schools... I'm going to apply for sculpture program, and would like to get some money if possible...

I got my BFA from SAIC. SAIC was great, but I want to go somewhere else. 

I do not need much facilities, since most of my works are found object based and conceptual.

 

any other recommendations?

what's the difference between Ohio state and Ohio university???

I heard that their program is great, but I'm a little concerned that Ohio may not be best fit for me...(never left city in my life...)

 

West

1.     UCLA

2.     Stanford

 

Midwest

3.     U of Chicago

4.     U of Michigan

 

North

5.     Temple

6.     Yale

7.     VCU

8.     Cornell

9.     Columbia

[thepictureisstill]

This is my list of schools... I'm going to apply for sculpture program, and would like to get some money if possible...

I got my BFA from SAIC. SAIC was great, but I want to go somewhere else. 

I do not need much facilities, since most of my works are found object based and conceptual.

 

any other recommendations?

what's the difference between Ohio state and Ohio university???

I heard that their program is great, but I'm a little concerned that Ohio may not be best fit for me...(never left city in my life...)

 

West

1.     UCLA

2.     Stanford

 

Midwest

3.     U of Chicago

4.     U of Michigan

 

North

5.     Temple

6.     Yale

7.     VCU

8.     Cornell

9.     Columbia

OSU- In the busy and awesomely tolerant/accepting/artsy city. OU-in beautiful and semi-isolated appalachia, OH, but it's 1.5 hours from Columbus so definitely not far. I'm not familiar with the faculty at OU but I can attest for OSU's facilities, faculty and funding….totally stellar. Check out Ken Rinaldo, Doo-Sung Yoo, Ann Hamilton, Malcolm Cochran, Carmel Buckley, Richard Harned…Sherman Studios (where Sculpture is)/main campus art buildings have everything you'd need and  a really great clean space. Columbus is beyond affordable, it's going to be really tough for my partner and I to leave. Housing is cheap, there's tons of food, lots of art spaces that are conventional and non-conventional. I actually have a large group of friends that migrated to Chicago and adjusted very well. They're also looking into building a hi-speed railway from Cbus to Chi, too. Kinda cool. PM me if you want any more info. I love Columbus!

[thepictureisstill]

Indeed, you are right, I may need to add this. Thanks! So challenging to get this list down to ten as that is what the FAFSA limit is. You managed to come up with a solid list and I love that you have Burren on it. 

Burren would be sweet. I've been to Ireland a couple times and love the country. I began with 19 schools and narrowed it down…then had 13 and couldn't cough up the extra $300 to apply with the holidays/rent and such. Your work looks awesome, I bet you get in everywhere you apply!

[kogepan137]

Has anyone visited Pratt? Is it a good school? I know it's really expensive..

[thepictureisstill]

Is anyone else applying to UC Boulder? I'm getting mixed signals from them about my transcripts. The grad coordinator said they go to the grad school, but the grad school says they're not received on my online status thing. My undergrad degree went to their grad school and my non-degree undergrad work went to their art program. Should I just cough up the $11 and send them again? Thoughts?

Also, I'm 3/4 of the way done...three more applications to go!
Excited to get back to making things and applying for as many shows/grants possible to get things set up for this summer. Hows everyone else coming along?

[Xxanderr]

I have been looking over other freak-out forums from the past two years and I have yet too see any post regarding how much aid Yale offers it's accepted applicants.  I know how Yale distribute aid is soley need base.

 

Majority of you guys have Yale on your prospective schools list.... Does any know how much does Yale cover for tuition typically? 

[Thisismyusername7]

I am still waiting on a two more of my recommendations to come through. Starting to get a little worried   Does anyone know if you can submit your application before all your recommendations come through? I know MassArt actually sent out a email recently about how you can go ahead and submit your application without all your recommendations linked.....but, is that true for the other schools too? Is that the norm? 

[beriredux]

Yes, it is the norm. You can submit your applications before your recommenders submit their letters. 

[Thisismyusername7]

Hey thanks beriredux! Anyone else still waiting on recommendation letters to come in? 

[thepictureisstill]

Hey thanks beriredux! Anyone else still waiting on recommendation letters to come in? 

Yep! I've submitted 7/10 applications and I know one of my recommenders has only submitted to 1 school thus far. One has to take into consideration if your recommendation is coming from an academic, they're currently completing finals and such. I have heard that letters can come after the deadline (as long as you've put them into the system). You can also go back in and send reminder requests once said application is submitted. I kept very organized and asked my rec's to have everything ready by 12/15.

[VLynn]

Yep! I've submitted 7/10 applications and I know one of my recommenders has only submitted to 1 school thus far. One has to take into consideration if your recommendation is coming from an academic, they're currently completing finals and such. I have heard that letters can come after the deadline (as long as you've put them into the system). You can also go back in and send reminder requests once said application is submitted. I kept very organized and asked my rec's to have everything ready by 12/15.

 

I'm in a similar position- nearly completed my applications, but I had to go to a plan B recommendation after I didn't hear from one of my original LORs for three weeks. Needless to say, I got a bit nervous, but I'm sure this has been a pretty stressful process for everyone applying. 

[muddysushe]

Helllooo.

 

For those applying to Cornell: anyone submitting in the Writing Sample / Optional Upload section?

 

Didn't see any supplemental material required for the Art program, but maybe I'm missing something? Thanks!