MFA 2017 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

[manohman]

hello! 

 

So i'm applying this year, again. I got accepted this spring at CSM,unconditional offer- but did not receive the scholarship which I so desperately needed,such a bummer,anyway

i'm hoping to apply to yale this year,I am wondering how tough is the competition.Since i am desperate for a full ride and apparently yale offers one just to figure out my chances.

Also getting accepted into the school of your choice and not receiving the funding sucks big time still experiencing alot of burn from that .

 

Goodluck everyone! 

p.s my website www.nairamushtaq.com any insight on work is also welcome.

 

[PoMo Blues]

Glad to see someone got the forum going! I lurked last year in anticipation and am excited to start the process myself. Anyone else looking at MIT? I had a one-on-one visit in March that was a lot of fun (nerd alert). Other options I'm considering: Cal (dying to work with Charles Gaines, my hero), SAIC Low-Res, Texas, USCD, and Yale. If anyone has any good theoretical interdisciplinary programs I'm overlooking, please let me know. 

[sylviecerise]

1 hour ago, PoMo Blues said:

Glad to see someone got the forum going! I lurked last year in anticipation and am excited to start the process myself. Anyone else looking at MIT? I had a one-on-one visit in March that was a lot of fun (nerd alert). Other options I'm considering: Cal (dying to work with Charles Gaines, my hero), SAIC Low-Res, Texas, USCD, and Yale. If anyone has any good theoretical interdisciplinary programs I'm overlooking, please let me know. 

UChicago seems like it would be a really good fit for you! I went there for undergrad and it is the ultimate nerd school. It's an interdisciplinary program with a lot of really great resources. There's a fellowship for collaborating with grad students in the sciences, a makerspace with 3d printers & laser cutters & such, and Jason Salavon is on the faculty. 

[PoMo Blues]

11 hours ago, sylviecerise said:

UChicago seems like it would be a really good fit for you! I went there for undergrad and it is the ultimate nerd school. It's an interdisciplinary program with a lot of really great resources. There's a fellowship for collaborating with grad students in the sciences, a makerspace with 3d printers & laser cutters & such, and Jason Salavon is on the faculty. 

Thank you! I will check it out!

[arte]

How many schools are you guys applying to?

This is my second year and my list is keep growing... and growing.

Now it's eleven and I'm considering adding three more schools.

and why am I double spacing???

[sylviecerise]

I'm the opposite—I started with a long list of schools that is now quite short. Axed SAIC after visiting last week; the program felt a little too impersonal. I'm now at 5 schools / 6 programs (applying to both FMS and Sculpture at Tyler). I'm still on the fence about how Yale would match what I'm looking for in a program, so might cut that as well after their visit day. 

Edited November 7, 2016 by sylviecerise

[KRT]

13 hours ago, arte said:

How many schools are you guys applying to?

This is my second year and my list is keep growing... and growing.

Now it's eleven and I'm considering adding three more schools.

and why am I double spacing???

I applied to 7 last year got into 4 (but they were not the right fit). Applying to 3 this year but of course this scares me a little. It is also due to not having enough money to spend on more application fees! I think applying to as many as you can afford and think is a good fit for your work is a good overall strategy but would say really research and visit some programs ahead of time if you are able to because online presence can be so different than visiting in person.

[Xxanderr]

SAIC is huge, it's like a factory there!  I'm looking at Yale more closely, and I'm think it might be the best fit looking at most recent alum work.

Did anyone go to Grad Portfolio Day in Chicago? I went it was empty...there was barley any lines. Between the low attendance at Grad Portfolio Day in Chicago and this year Freak-out forum being so quiet... it almost seems like less people are apply to MFA programs this year?  

 

 

[sylviecerise]

11 hours ago, Zander said:

SAIC is huge, it's like a factory there!  I'm looking at Yale more closely, and I'm think it might be the best fit looking at most recent alum work.

Did anyone go to Grad Portfolio Day in Chicago? I went it was empty...there was barley any lines. Between the low attendance at Grad Portfolio Day in Chicago and this year Freak-out forum being so quiet... it almost seems like less people are apply to MFA programs this year?  

 

 

I had registered to go, but ended up skipping out. That's pretty surprising it's so empty! It'll be interesting to see if there are less people applying... SAIC has also felt very pushy about recruiting, but I don't know if they're always like that.

[PoMo Blues]

I'm attending SAIC's portfolio event here in Austin next weekend - I'm pretty curious to see what the turnout will be after reading this. Speaking of, have any of you ever attended one of SAIC's portfolio events? Any advice? I planned to bring my laptop to show them work and have a list of questions ready to go (although most have already been answered by attending one of their seminars)

[sylviecerise]

23 hours ago, PoMo Blues said:

I'm attending SAIC's portfolio event here in Austin next weekend - I'm pretty curious to see what the turnout will be after reading this. Speaking of, have any of you ever attended one of SAIC's portfolio events? Any advice? I planned to bring my laptop to show them work and have a list of questions ready to go (although most have already been answered by attending one of their seminars)

I went to SAIC's grad day in Chicago last month. I brought my laptop as well and found that worked well for showing work. I also had my statement pulled up, as one of the people I met with wanted to look through that. Both the faculty members I met with were fairly conversational and mostly directed the conversation towards my work and less towards questions about the program. I did make sure to prep for a few questions in advance too—they seemed surprised when I asked specific questions about the program that showed I had read about them before I went, so would advise to show that you've researched SAIC. 

[meghanmetier]

On 11/5/2016 at 10:49 PM, PoMo Blues said:

Glad to see someone got the forum going! I lurked last year in anticipation and am excited to start the process myself. Anyone else looking at MIT? I had a one-on-one visit in March that was a lot of fun (nerd alert). Other options I'm considering: Cal (dying to work with Charles Gaines, my hero), SAIC Low-Res, Texas, USCD, and Yale. If anyone has any good theoretical interdisciplinary programs I'm overlooking, please let me know. 

Have you looked into UCIrvine? It has a high reputation in LA, tuition is covered and sounds like it could be a good fit with you! 

I went to Chicago last weekend as well and yea it did seem dead. Only school that had a long line I waited for was VCU, the reviewer told me I could find all the questions I was asking online and wish I didn't waste my time standing there so long. 

I visited Hunter and Pratt this week and I want to apply to both, really have my heart set on Hunter.  I got good reception from Tyler and Tufts so I'm applying there as well. I visited MICA last year during their grad thesis exhibit and had a good feel there, but now I'm not sure about applying I'm a little skeptical. 

[PoMo Blues]

Started applications officially today and am already freaking out since the first deadline is a month away! Where did time go? 

How are you selecting your recommendation letter writers? I've been out of school a few years and find this a perplexing decision. I know residency staff are an obvious choice, what would you think about peers? Particularly those that attended the school to which you are applying?

[Poodle-Doodle]

So last night I had the most disturbing dream ever. I dreamt that I was being interviewed for an MFA program at RISD (It gets better, this is but a dream). My appointment was 2PM. I got there at 1:30PM. At 1:50PM I stood outside the space, double checking my slides for the presentation and realized that my first slide was a complete mess. So for some bizarre reason, the interview space was outdoors and in the Caribbean on a stony Hill, and the interviewers watched me correct the mistake from the inside looking out. I walked in at exactly 2PM. There sat Theaster Gates, Pepon Osorio, a friend of mine -who is an artist- and the fourth interviewer left because I wasn't there before 2PM. Theaster told me "If you want to get into YALE, you have to respect our time. So we are deducting 10 minutes from your interview." 

Am I the only one tripping? Good luck everyone! 

[E-6_Processing]

2 hours ago, Poodle-Doodle said:

So last night I had the most disturbing dream ever. I dreamt that I was being interviewed for an MFA program at RISD (It gets better, this is but a dream). My appointment was 2PM. I got there at 1:30PM. At 1:50PM I stood outside the space, double checking my slides for the presentation and realized that my first slide was a complete mess. So for some bizarre reason, the interview space was outdoors and in the Caribbean on a stony Hill, and the interviewers watched me correct the mistake from the inside looking out. I walked in at exactly 2PM. There sat Theaster Gates, Pepon Osorio, a friend of mine -who is an artist- and the fourth interviewer left because I wasn't there before 2PM. Theaster told me "If you want to get into YALE, you have to respect our time. So we are deducting 10 minutes from your interview." 

Am I the only one tripping? Good luck everyone! 

I'm still having nightmares about the election.

[PoMo Blues]

SAIC's portfolio day here in Austin was dead. I saw 4 other applicants and the person ahead of me on the schedule didn't even show. Totally worth it though - got a waiver for my application fee today! 

[langley]

Hi all-

I just wanted to recommend everyone to look at UC Riverside if you are looking for a fully funded program with TAship. It's a great program and you can message me if you want more info. I feel it's a bit under the radar, but same distance from LA as UCI or CalArts. It's a tiny program so there's lot of attention from faculty. Not medium specific if that's your thing. I just started here and when I went through interviews last year, was most impressed with this school over the other UCs in southern california. 

 

Good luck to everyone!!

[KRT]

Does anyone have any insight into University of Wisconsin- Madison in regards to their painting program? I know that they are highly ranked and have gotten good reviews from people but while their website is informative their student work is not showcased well. Thanks!

[pbnc]

On 2016年11月22日 at 8:28 AM, langley said:

just wanted to recommend everyone to look at UC Riverside if you are looking for a fully funded program with TAship. 

Where can I find a list of such schools? 

[YayYayYay]

22 hours ago, pbnc said:

Where can I find a list of such schools? 

I found this list from last year: 

 

[Poodle-Doodle]

On 11/30/2016 at 0:13 AM, KRT said:

Does anyone have any insight into University of Wisconsin- Madison in regards to their painting program? I know that they are highly ranked and have gotten good reviews from people but while their website is informative their student work is not showcased well. Thanks!

1

I don't know about painting but definitely can speak on the ceramics program there. It is awesome! I have a friend doing grad school on a fully funded awarded. 

P.S I am always suspicious when schools hide their students like that. 

[KRT]

Thank you poodle-doodle. I am also wondering about their funding this year because of the situation with their governor reducing their budget at Wisconsin- Madison. 

[let_me_in]

QQ - Is anyone even considering USC after their Grad Student blackout in 2015? Just wondering if anyone has heard anything about how the program is rebuilding, or if the consensus is to stay far far away...

 

[YayYayYay]

1 hour ago, let_me_in said:

QQ - Is anyone even considering USC after their Grad Student blackout in 2015? Just wondering if anyone has heard anything about how the program is rebuilding, or if the consensus is to stay far far away...

 

After the class dropped out, they had just one student remain, and attend the program. She decided to drop out earlier this year, and listed her reasons why in an open letter. A lot of it is kind of obvious problems one can expect that comes with having no community of colleagues. But it bothers me that the program itself seemed apathetic about problem solving. 

http://hyperallergic.com/306729/only-student-left-in-usc-roskis-mfa-program-drops-out/

 

[Xxanderr]

View the new faculty appointments here: https://roski.usc.edu/faculty-hire.

 Even if USC MFA Program somehow manage to appoint Moses and Jesus as new faculty hire, I still wouldn't touch this program with a 10 ft poll. The senior administration that was responsible for all of this still has not resign. Apply at your own risk!

 

5 hours ago, let_me_in said:

QQ - Is anyone even considering USC after their Grad Student blackout in 2015? Just wondering if anyone has heard anything about how the program is rebuilding, or if the consensus is to stay far far away...