Fall 2016 Applicants

[betsy303]

I personally wouldn't pay for a MA degree unless I have a lot of cash. I would say this - regardless of the MA program or PhD program, I wouldn't apply with expectation of getting a phenomenal funding offer. For example, not everyone at Williams gets full tuition remission, stipend, etc. At most places, bartering, negotiating, etc occurs. There are a few MA programs out there that do garuntee tuition remission and stipends (I think Amherst and Tulane) but you may still need to dig into your pocket to cover further living costs. Again there are a whole trough of programs that do occasionally/frequently give funding Williams, SMU, Wisconsin, Chapel Hill, etc. But I wouldn't expect a funding package during the application process. 

[radredhead]

@betsy303 oh yes, I understand about the extra cost of living expenses and have factored that into the overall cost of attendance. That is why the tuition/stipend aid is making such a large impact on my decision. I know that the funding for MAs in humanities is few and far between. I've had some schools offer me a lot and some none at all. Pretty unpredictable, unfortunately.

[welshforjohn]

21 hours ago, estrella414 said:

Hi everyone! I've been following this thread for a while, and I'm just wondering if anyone can give me some advice here?

I've been admitted to the MA art history for both NYU-IFA and CUNY Hunter. Personally I am a bit prone to Hunter (cheaper, only MAs, good reputation too) but meanwhile I'm not so sure if I'm making the right choice.. I don't have a bachelor degree in art history, and I'm not 100% sure if I will pursue a PhD or not in the future (probably will work for some time first) so my advisor suggested that I start with the MA. Actually, I've checked all the discussions regarding the same dilemma and learned a lot from everyone's sharing. It seems like Hunter would be a better choice than IFA since it's not so "cashcow" and without the competition of PhD students. Just wondering is anyone (or know someone) currently studying at IFA or Hunter who can share some experiences or ideas about the MA program? How's the job placement of both programs' graduates? What about those who continue on a PhD degree (good PhD placement or not)?

Any suggestions or ideas are welcomed. Thank you!

Yes, does Hunter's MA program have a good reputation and placement record at top PhD programs? And are there any other relatively inexpensive or funded MA programs in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic or Midwest besides Williams, Tufts, Bard, UMass Amherst, SUNY Stony Brook and Hunter?

This thread has gotten dead since most people have received their acceptances or rejections by now, I'm assuming.

[AllArt]

To RadRedHead

17 hours ago, radredhead said:

So I received my funding info from my top choice MA program, Bard CCS, and they are only offering 10k a year. I have a fully funded offer at UC Irvine, by far a less known program, but the faculty is great. I didn't like the feel of UCI when I visited, would probably have to be a commuter student, and I don't really want to live in Los Angeles/SoCal anymore. However, I already have debt from undergrad and I think taking out the loans to attend Bard would be very irresponsible. I'm trying to follow up with them on any kind of appeals or discretionary funding, but I know their endowment is really bad and anticipated this being an issue (though I was hoping to receive about 20k since I've heard people have sometimes received about 50% of tuition.)

What would be your advice in this situation? Another possibility was turning down every offer and apply to CUNY Hunter or Williams. Unfortunately, I have not taken the GRE (no one required it?) and I'm an extremely poor standardized test-taker. I also am not fluent in any foreign languages and fear my Spanish isn't good enough to pass the language requirement, and it has little relevance to the type of art I want to work with (contemporary new media & performance.) There's the risk I wouldn't get accepted at all, even though I know I am a good candidate apart from these snags.

Re Hunter: I  have lived in Brooklyn for 5 years and have many friends who have attended the MFA program at Hunter. I can attest that there are no scholarships and total tuition will run about $30K for the 3 years, pretty cheap. So  you get a studio in NY for about $10,000 a year, which is fairly good. However, some of the studios are shared.  You also definitely need at least $25K a year to survive in NY without being homeless. So for 3 years of bare bones living expenses in NY city will definitely be $75K of loans. Also, even though Hunter is quite cheap, it is also almost as competetive as Columbia to get accepted. About 1000 applicants per year apply to Hunter. Turning down a full scholarship to UCI to maybe apply to Hunter (and maybe the northeast ?) in the future may turn out to be you getting no MFA.  

I would strongly consider the UC Irvine offer, especially if you get free tuition and a stipend! Regardless of being a commuter and 'not liking the feel', you could try it for 1 year and decide after that and you haven't lost a huge amount tuition money. Also, you might 'not like the feel' of Bard when you actually get there, and yet you'd be paying to go to school there. I have contacted Bard and the absolute most amount of funding you can get is 50% tuition, but that is rare. Most get 25% tutition off. Add up living expenses at Bard ($20K a year bare bones for rent and food with no car add a car and $25K a year).  As far as making it as a successful artist in NYC goes, Bard is a bit out of the way and I don't personally know anyone who has taken the trip up there.  It's a little too far and everything is in NYC regarding galleries, museums, lectures.  You might be better off just moving to New York, finding a job, and making art rather than being strapped to a huge loan in grad school. 

But the UC Irvine offer would be great if they pay a stipend to cover your apartment cost. The faculty at UCI also is very well connected to the art world not just in LA but also NY and internationally as the artworld is quite global now. Making it in L.A. is basically making it in NY, London, or Shanghai for that matter. A prominent gallery in L.A. often has other branches in NY; things are pretty interchangeable as long as its a powerful urban artworld.  The connections at UCI could be just as valuable as Bard, but UCI is free--what's your hang up with accepting the offer and giving it a try there then re-assess school/MFA/artworld after 2017.

 

17 hours ago, radredhead said:

 

 

[radredhead]

@AllArt Thanks for this advice! Just to clarify, though, I'm applying to critical & curatorial studies, so my goal is to be a curator rather than a working artist. I do have an art practice, but it's not my professional aim. I've also been working professionally for the past 5 years as an arts administrator, so I do have a good glimpse into the LA art scene. I'm looking at grad school because I've been having a hard time shifting out of admin & into curating and research.

LA's art philosophy is less focused on conceptual and more on form. It's very irreverent here, and steeped a lot with Hollywood culture. It's not a fit for me. I've spoken to my would-be advisors at UCI and they were very blunt that, if I wanted to relocate to NYC after graduation, I will have to spearhead the effort to make connections out there. Their network is very strong in SoCal, but outside the region it doesn't have as much influence. The general consensus is that if I want to live out east, I should go to school out there. I'm not as concerned about Bard's "remote" location, as the majority of grads end up in NYC and most of the faculty works down there as well. My commute to UCI will end up being up to 2 hours in traffic. That's the drive-time between Bard is from NYC. 

Also, keep in mind that cost of living for LA is also about 20-25k on a bare minimum (and, btw, Bard quoted 15-20k.) UCI is a 3 year program, and Bard is 2. That means UCI, despite waiving tuition, will require me to take out that extra year of loans. It partially cancels out the difference in tuition at Bard. I followed up on a living stipend and housing, and no, that's not included in my offer. Luckily I have a great, rent-controlled apartment, but if I want to move closer to campus it's going to be extremely difficult to find anything as affordable as where I live now.

My biggest reasons for wanting to leave LA comes down to a variety of mental health factors not totally related to my academic interests. Plus, many of my friends are moving out of LA -- the influx of people here is a bit misleading, because the turnover is high and many people don't stay more than a few years. Realistically, though, it's looking more and more like I will take the UCI offer and just have to tough it out here. I've thought about just moving to NYC without a master degree, but I don't have the capital to do that long-term and would only have about 3 months to find steady employment. Grad school overall is probably a really bad choice for me re: debt and poverty! But I've been stalled out trying to move on without a degree, so maybe it's time.

[feelthebern16]

I asked UCSB for an update and they said decisions will be made by the 15th. I wasn't invited to their visitors day/weekend...does this mean I'm NOT rejected? Lol...so desperate.

Thanks

[lotte-laserstein]

2 hours ago, feelthebern16 said:

I asked UCSB for an update and they said decisions will be made by the 15th. I wasn't invited to their visitors day/weekend...does this mean I'm NOT rejected? Lol...so desperate.

 

The last contact I had with UCSB they said they were putting financial packages together, which was why it was taking so long. When I talked with my POI a few weeks ago I'd received an official admittance, but no contracts or financial info, and they said it would be weeks before they had things together. I would contact the person you applied to work with and ask for a firm answer. At this point, as far as I know, they have their top choices from the people invited to the visit, and they're trying to get their ducks in a row. The person you applied to work with should have their list and know for sure whether or not you're on it, or at least be able to give you some more information besides "we'll tell you later". The impression I got over all is that it's a great program with some administrative/financial issues going on, which is unfortunately leaving a lot of people hanging. 

[feelthebern16]

thanks @lotte-laserstein! super helpful. 

[saturness]

On 4/8/2016 at 10:45 AM, feelthebern16 said:

I asked UCSB for an update and they said decisions will be made by the 15th. I wasn't invited to their visitors day/weekend...does this mean I'm NOT rejected? Lol...so desperate.

Thanks

They told me the same thing and now it's the 13th, and still no decision. It's pretty frustrating. I already accepted an offer elsewhere because I'm 99% sure UCSB will reject me (I wasn't invited to the visitors weekend & there's been zero contact from them), but I just don't see why they wouldn't tell that to me! 

[feelthebern16]

@saturness my thoughts exactly! They must at least know who is rejected...ugh.

[m-artman]

Happy Decision Day everyone! Best of luck to you all!

[unanachronism]

2 hours ago, m-artman said:

Happy Decision Day everyone! Best of luck to you all!

Hey I see you decided on Williams (I think I know who you were from the admit visit). Congrats! I'm in off the waitlist and desperately trying to make my final decision.

Does anyone have any advice for Brown PhD vs. Wiliams MA?

thaaaanks

[feelthebern16]

I still haven't heard from ucsb! Crazy! 

[saturness]

@feelthebern16 Neither have I, it's so irritating!

[betsy303]

5 hours ago, unanachronism said:

Hey I see you decided on Williams (I think I know who you were from the admit visit). Congrats! I'm in off the waitlist and desperately trying to make my final decision.

Does anyone have any advice for Brown PhD vs. Wiliams MA?

thaaaanks

I think Brown depends who your advisor will be. Its definitely not what it once was (their department has significantly shrunk in size), but I know of many folks who went there to study photography and are quite successful. If it were me, I' would probably take Brown and be done. Going for the MA would mean you have to apply again for your PhD in a few years. 

[m-artman]

On 4/15/2016 at 1:56 PM, unanachronism said:

Hey I see you decided on Williams (I think I know who you were from the admit visit). Congrats! I'm in off the waitlist and desperately trying to make my final decision.

Does anyone have any advice for Brown PhD vs. Wiliams MA?

thaaaanks

I know exactly who you are from that Brown vs. Williams! What did you end up choosing?  

[nudeinbrook]

Did anyone apply to SUNY Stony Brook (PhD)? I STILL haven't heard back: I emailed their department last week and have yet to receive an answer. At this point I've made other plans, but I'd like to think my application fee would at least warrant a response...