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

[Xxanderr]

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

I always wanted to go to Pratt for undergrad. Never been to visit and I'm not sure how successfully their grad program is.

[_________]

Is anyone else concerned about image quality? The UCLA website asks for images at 1024w x 768h at 72dpi. When I resize my files to that size the quality really suffers. I do pretty minimalist work where details are hard to see from a standard full image frame. Don't know if I am just doing something horribly wrong with my files or if that size is just really small, but when I view the actual size of my images at that pixel count on my 27 inch computer monitor it definitely feels like the images are lacking a certain pop.

 

I'm very close to being able to just plug through my applications, but got hung up and quite concerned by this aspect today.

[Moonjuggler]

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!

I haven't been there yet but I hope to soon, especially to that area. It definitely appeals to my sensibilities. I imagine that will be an extraordinary experience for you to study there. I wish you all the best with your applications. And thanks so much for the vote of confidence, I really appreciate it.

Btw, I've added OSU to my list. Thanks again.

[Moonjuggler]

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.

Thanks for the info on Cornell, it helps a lot. I was close to knocking it off the list so it's good to hear your insights.

As far as IUP, I took a quick look at the website and when I saw a photo of the sculpture facilities, I was really surprised! You guys have a warehouse, that's amazing. How will you ever come back to Brooklyn after having all that space?! I'm going to check it out further, thanks again.

[kogepan137]

 

Is anyone else concerned about image quality? The UCLA website asks for images at 1024w x 768h at 72dpi. When I resize my files to that size the quality really suffers. I do pretty minimalist work where details are hard to see from a standard full image frame. Don't know if I am just doing something horribly wrong with my files or if that size is just really small, but when I view the actual size of my images at that pixel count on my 27 inch computer monitor it definitely feels like the images are lacking a certain pop.

 

I'm very close to being able to just plug through my applications, but got hung up and quite concerned by this aspect today.

 

 

I didn't know UCLA has a size requirement for the portfolio...This is my third year applying to UCLA haha. Well I definitely recommend viewing your portfolio on another computer. Just to check the quality and colors of your images. That is kind of a smaller size though, so I don't get it either..

[taltalim]

Thanks for the info on Cornell, it helps a lot. I was close to knocking it off the list so it's good to hear your insights.

As far as IUP, I took a quick look at the website and when I saw a photo of the sculpture facilities, I was really surprised! You guys have a warehouse, that's amazing. How will you ever come back to Brooklyn after having all that space?! I'm going to check it out further, thanks again.

 

The space is amazing (and not at all crowded), and the private studios are really nice too. And that's just the sculpture studio, and not even the wood or jewelry studios!

 

I grew up near NYC and wanted to leave (didn't apply to any programs nearby), and so I don't expect to ever return to live...when I'm finished, I'll be looking to either go abroad, or find an affordable, smaller, big city like Pittsburgh, Austin, Asheville, etc. And there's always Detroit...

[_________]

I didn't know UCLA has a size requirement for the portfolio...This is my third year applying to UCLA haha. Well I definitely recommend viewing your portfolio on another computer. Just to check the quality and colors of your images. That is kind of a smaller size though, so I don't get it either..

Hah! Yeah, I applied a couple of years ago and didn't see the size requirements then. Probably why it was a no go that year. I went ahead and submitted with their desired dimensions. The images look good enough on small laptop screens, so I'm guessing that might be how they view the images, or maybe they just get so many applications they have to keep the file sizes way down. Who knows.

[bloodred]

getting all this stuff together for another round of applying is completely terrifying.

 

life is death is life is societal fucking horror.

[bloodred]

oh and if anyone has questions about Indiana or Cornell let me know. I have a little insight. 

[taltalim]

oh and if anyone has questions about Indiana or Cornell let me know. I have a little insight. 

 

femnotfem - didn't you wind up at Bloomington? What happened? Just curious because my admissions process there was so weird.

[kogepan137]

Hah! Yeah, I applied a couple of years ago and didn't see the size requirements then. Probably why it was a no go that year. I went ahead and submitted with their desired dimensions. The images look good enough on small laptop screens, so I'm guessing that might be how they view the images, or maybe they just get so many applications they have to keep the file sizes way down. Who knows.

 

Do you know exactly where it says the dimension requirements? Is it on the app itself or some other webpage/checklist thing? 

[beriredux]

Do you know exactly where it says the dimension requirements? Is it on the app itself or some other webpage/checklist thing? 

 

Here:

 

http://www.art.ucla.edu/graduate/Graduate%20Portfolio%20Guidelines%202015.pdf

[Erpnope]

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? 

 

100% of need (of $55k) so whatever that would be for you

for me it was full tuition plus some money for living expenses as well as many people I know. increases slightly the second year.

[Xxanderr]

I think Yale funding was slightly a mystery as not many people get in.Thanks for putting things in perspective, I wasn't sure if the "need base" went as far as a full tuition...

100% of need (of $55k) so whatever that would be for you

for me it was full tuition plus some money for living expenses as well as many people I know. increases slightly the second year.

[TEM33056]

Is anyone else waiting forever for people to upload their letters of recommendation? I hate the idea of something that small to keep me out of a school

[nicotinefig]

I am also waiting for my letters of recommendation.

 

Would anyone be interested in swapping SOPs and giving critique?  I am an international student applying for MFA Sculpture at various schools so the SOP format is quite foreign to me (tho I've written tons of artist statements before). PM me if you're interested.

[arte]

100% of need (of $55k) so whatever that would be for you

for me it was full tuition plus some money for living expenses as well as many people I know. increases slightly the second year.

 

Thank you!!  This is really helpful! I think this is about the only comment I saw on this forum about yale's financial aid.

Can I ask you if the amount of debt is a factor in deciding financial aid? I've tried to find that out, but nothing specific about MFA showed(or yale)

[bloodred]

femnotfem - didn't you wind up at Bloomington? What happened? Just curious because my admissions process there was so weird.

 

I did end up at IUB. I should have chosen Cornell, but you win some you lose some. 

I love the people and the town and even the program, but it just isn't the right one for me....I do primarily performance/sound/video work now and I am just not getting what I need to out of the program. 

 

Alot of strange things happened last year. A first year MFA in sculpture died and the other first year ended up leaving....so I think that was a lot of the confusion in the late acceptances. I know two of the people there now were on the waitlist. and ended up getting in. 

[ilanasola]

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.

IUP = Indiana University Pennsylvania?

[taltalim]

IUP = Indiana University Pennsylvania?

Yup! Seems like people from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan have often heard of it before. I hadn't (I'm from NY), but was curious about Pittsburgh, so I  took a look at all the schools somewhat nearby.

 

I actually applied to IUP's Wood/Furniture program, thinking it might be a bit less competitive, but they called me to offer me a place in Sculpture instead (the Wood program has some external funding for students, and so operates slightly differently). The head of Sculpture is really great, and I have access to the Wood facilities anyway, so it all worked out.

Edited December 26, 2014 by taltalim

[taltalim]

I did end up at IUB. I should have chosen Cornell, but you win some you lose some. 

I love the people and the town and even the program, but it just isn't the right one for me....I do primarily performance/sound/video work now and I am just not getting what I need to out of the program. 

 

Alot of strange things happened last year. A first year MFA in sculpture died and the other first year ended up leaving....so I think that was a lot of the confusion in the late acceptances. I know two of the people there now were on the waitlist. and ended up getting in. 

 

Yikes. That definitely explains some of the weirdness, and helps put some of my own misgivings to rest. I apologize if I steered you wrong when you were deciding last year; I just know that when I visited Cornell, it so drastically did not meet my needs with regard to facilities, and I thought I should share that on here for people who weren't able to visit.

 

What's a bit ironic is that I think if you had decided on Cornell, I might have been offered your place at IUB (Blane had told me I was next on the waitlist), though I'm not sure I'd have taken it.

 

If you do wind up at Cornell, I'd recommend looking up Van Dyk Lewis (in the fashion department at the College of Human Ecology). I've only taken a brief look at your work, but I think a discussion with him could be helpful (he was an advisor and good friend to me when I was in undergrad, and is generally a strange and wonderful person).

 

Good luck!

[ilanasola]

Yup! Seems like people from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan have often heard of it before. I hadn't (I'm from NY), but was curious about Pittsburgh, so I  took a look at all the schools somewhat nearby.

 

I actually applied to IUP's Wood/Furniture program, thinking it might be a bit less competitive, but they called me to offer me a place in Sculpture instead (the Wood program has some external funding for students, and so operates slightly differently). The head of Sculpture is really great, and I have access to the Wood facilities anyway, so it all worked out.

For a variety of reasons, I've decided to wait until the next round of admissions for fall 2016. So, there's ample time to look more closesly at some of the other programs that don't get as much PR. Did you look at Edinboro University in PA?

 

*I was coming from NY, as well.  Finished my BFA at Eastern Michigan University (also, IMO, a hidden gem) when they offered me a full scholarship to do so.  While I do miss NY, and will probably apply to Hunter, there just seems to be more opportunity outside of NYC for a sculptor.

[Erpnope]

Thank you!!  This is really helpful! I think this is about the only comment I saw on this forum about yale's financial aid.

Can I ask you if the amount of debt is a factor in deciding financial aid? I've tried to find that out, but nothing specific about MFA showed(or yale)

 

yeah - they do, they make you fill out a very, very extensive financial aid form if you get an interview. Way more than FAFSA. I forget what it's called. You only have to do it once. There are also sections for you to explain additional burdens or costs that don't show up, extenuating circumstances (IE: My parents are disabled, etc... I have XYZ debt that doesn't show up in any section here, etc) They also ask for all 1099's, W4's etc.. but the good news is you only do it once. Second year you only do FAFSA/IRS data retrieval.

 

Hope that sheds some light

[arte]

yeah - they do, they make you fill out a very, very extensive financial aid form if you get an interview. Way more than FAFSA. I forget what it's called. You only have to do it once. There are also sections for you to explain additional burdens or costs that don't show up, extenuating circumstances (IE: My parents are disabled, etc... I have XYZ debt that doesn't show up in any section here, etc) They also ask for all 1099's, W4's etc.. but the good news is you only do it once. Second year you only do FAFSA/IRS data retrieval.

 

Hope that sheds some light

 

wooowwwww.... thank you!!! this was exactly what I wanted to know!!! my current school doesn't consider debt when deciding financial aid... so I'm having a hard time working+studying...

 

now I all I have to do is get in. 

 

 

 

 

...

[Maya31]

I am new to this forum and I have found this to be an extremely valuable resource. Currently applying to the following programs for MFA Painting. Any other suggestions? Under the radar painting programs? Here is a link to my work. Opinions welcome!

www.nicolasjroche.tumblr.com

Boston University- most likely my first choice. John Walker is the department head and I am excited for the opportunity to study with him

Columbia

RISD

Yale

Carnegie Mellon - really like this program

VCU

Temple-Tyler

SAIC

Pratt