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

[Cengstro]

@hastr683 did you decide on UCI or Michigan?

[Poodle-Doodle]

SAIC shantay you stay. Columbia you are the land of tuition for kings and queens. Now, sashay away.

[Gwhar1]

16 minutes ago, Poodle-Doodle said:

SAIC shantay you stay. Columbia you are the land of tuition for kings and queens. Now, sashay away.

Hell yes! Congrats to you and be successful in all your endeavors @ SAIC!! 

[downtomars]

@Poodle-Doodle Hell yeah for no debt. Best of luck to you!

[AnniKatt]

@Poodle-Doodle Congrats and good luck!

[Vespertine]

1 hour ago, Poodle-Doodle said:

SAIC shantay you stay. Columbia you are the land of tuition for kings and queens. Now, sashay away.

Congrats!!

[Impartial]

1 hour ago, Poodle-Doodle said:

SAIC shantay you stay. Columbia you are the land of tuition for kings and queens. Now, sashay away.

Difficult but smart choice – SAIC has wonderful resources, networks, and is set in a city with good school/work/life balance.

[ENP]

On 3/27/2017 at 1:47 PM, MarleneM said:

Hello, 

When were you notified of the fellowship? I was notified of my nomination last week but nothing official from the Grad Division yet. 

Hey Marlene M,

I was notified on March 16. They told me that they received word about the funding earlier than usual. Congratulations on your nomination! What is your degree focus?

Edited March 28, 2017 by ENP

[ZahP]

On 3/27/2017 at 0:47 PM, MarleneM said:

Hello, 

When were you notified of the fellowship? I was notified of my nomination last week but nothing official from the Grad Division yet. 

Notified of fellowship (Graduate opportunity fellowship) confirmation by email March 24 for Desma. Is anyone else here going to UCLA? I would love to talk more about it and organize

[AnniKatt]

I decided to email my admissions counselor directly to see if he could possibly provide me with an updated timeline for when we could hear back about decisions. Got an automatic response saying he is away in China at the moment.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

[sylviecerise]

19 hours ago, Poodle-Doodle said:

SAIC shantay you stay. Columbia you are the land of tuition for kings and queens. Now, sashay away.

SAIC is lucky to have you!!!!! You're going to love living in Chicago!  

[wompwompwomp]

On 3/27/2017 at 11:35 AM, sthahir said:

Hey everyone, I've been accepted into two programs, MassArt's Film/Video and RISD's Digital + Media program. 

I've been swayed by the so-called elitism of RISD but also by the students' ways of doing and their approaches to dense subject matter in the digital world. MassArt just feels good because the departments brand of teaching is something that I resonate with due to it being very similar to one of my favorite professors in undergrad. 

 

MassArt will be roughly $15-20k cheaper per year than RISD, all things considered. 

Location and housing is a huge factor too because I have a small dog, and my partner and I will be moving in together. I want to make this transition easier for them as well. I don't know what having a dog in Boston is like vs. having all that green green nature near the RISD and Brown campuses.

We will be splitting the rent and I want it to be easy on my partner, and because of this Providence seems to more appealing due to it's low cost of living, but perhaps there is more money to be made in Boston.

 

What do y'all think?? I have to let RISD know by the end of the week if I'm in.

If money's note a huge issue for you in terms of tuition, then I'd say definitely go with RISD- definitely a much stronger program, more resources, great facilties access to more interesting visiting artists, and significantly cheaper cost of living- though if at MassArt, even if their visiting artist series is lacking, there are other art schools with public visiting artist lectures that you could catch too. 

Significantly cheaper cost of living in Providence, and if your partner absolutely has to, they can commute to Boston for work (its just a 45 minute train ride). I really don't feel like MassArt has anything that RISD doesn't, except the mission of the school is great in that it is a public art school and is more accessible than RISD, financially and otherwise (MassArt has as great Center for Arts and Community Partnerships which brings art to local communities around Boston). 

If you're worried about being near green nature, Boston definitely has a ton of that- if not right in your neighborhood, you can take the T or commuter rail to several hiking spots. If you live in JP in Boston, you're super close to Jamaica Pond (and the Jamaica Way section of the Emerald Necklace, a chain of parks surrounding the city) for rowboating, sailing, and jogging,running (or picnicking, etc.). You're also close to the Arnold Arboretum which is great for hiking and running and biking. Several campgrounds are within 20 miles of the city as well. Not sure what having a dog in Boston is like, not many places let you bring a dog to a cafe for example, even if its outdoor seating. I don't think there should be issue with finding apartments with landlords who accept pets, you might just have to pay a small fee upfront, but again, not totally sure. 

[sthahir]

16 minutes ago, wompwompwomp said:

If money's note a huge issue for you in terms of tuition, then I'd say definitely go with RISD- definitely a much stronger program, more resources, great facilties access to more interesting visiting artists, and significantly cheaper cost of living- though if at MassArt, even if their visiting artist series is lacking, there are other art schools with public visiting artist lectures that you could catch too. 

Significantly cheaper cost of living in Providence, and if your partner absolutely has to, they can commute to Boston for work (its just a 45 minute train ride). I really don't feel like MassArt has anything that RISD doesn't, except the mission of the school is great in that it is a public art school and is more accessible than RISD, financially and otherwise (MassArt has as great Center for Arts and Community Partnerships which brings art to local communities around Boston). 

If you're worried about being near green nature, Boston definitely has a ton of that- if not right in your neighborhood, you can take the T or commuter rail to several hiking spots. If you live in JP in Boston, you're super close to Jamaica Pond (and the Jamaica Way section of the Emerald Necklace, a chain of parks surrounding the city) for rowboating, sailing, and jogging,running (or picnicking, etc.). You're also close to the Arnold Arboretum which is great for hiking and running and biking. Several campgrounds are within 20 miles of the city as well. Not sure what having a dog in Boston is like, not many places let you bring a dog to a cafe for example, even if its outdoor seating. I don't think there should be issue with finding apartments with landlords who accept pets, you might just have to pay a small fee upfront, but again, not totally sure. 

Thanks for this! 

[wompwompwomp]

12 minutes ago, sthahir said:

Thanks for this! 

Np! Also, you probably gathered- but I never mentioned- I live in Boston, went to undergrad here at SMFA/Tufts and have been in Boston 7 years. I live in JP and if you move to Boston you should try to find a place in this neighborhood for the reasons I described above! If you do wind up choosing MassArt, or if you have other Boston questions let me know!

[MarleneM]

6 hours ago, ZahP said:

Notified of fellowship (Graduate opportunity fellowship) confirmation by email March 24 for Desma. Is anyone else here going to UCLA? I would love to talk more about it and organize

I'm still freaking out about this fellowship! No official word yet on my nomination. That's all I need to accept.

[MarleneM]

17 hours ago, ENP said:

Hey Marlene M,

I was notified on March 16. They told me that they received word about the funding earlier than usual. Congratulations on your nomination! What is your degree focus?

Thanks!  My degree focus is Social Welfare. All I need is the funding and I'll accept UCLA. Anxiously waiting......................

[Chelle1021]

have to choose between SAIC and Parsons... I'm feeling pretty torn right now cause NYC is a great city Does anyone have any opinion about Parsons' fine arts program?? How is it comparing with SAIC's? 

Edited March 29, 2017 by Chelle1021

[MfaNewGenres]

1 hour ago, Chelle1021 said:

have to choose between SAIC and Parsons... I'm feeling pretty torn right now cause NYC is a great city Does anyone have any opinion about Parsons' fine arts program?? How is it comparing with SAIC's? 

I'd say SAIC is a much better program.

But which department you applied?

[Chelle1021]

5 minutes ago, MfaNewGenres said:

I'd say SAIC is a much better program.

But which department you applied?

 

Painting department. For Parsons, it's called "fine arts department" (probably more interdisciplinary). I just don't know how important the location is to MFA practice...

[ZahP]

11 hours ago, ZahP said:

Notified of fellowship (Graduate opportunity fellowship) confirmation by email March 24 for Desma. Is anyone else here going to UCLA? I would love to talk more about it and organize

What dept are you applying to? Did you try emailing the graduate coordinator?

 

 

[hastr683]

On 3/28/2017 at 11:16 AM, Cengstro said:

@hastr683 did you decide on UCI or Michigan?

I'm still deciding, actually. Headed to UCI on April 10th and will make my decison then. UMich is a hard offer to pass up, their funding and facilities are off the chain, so I'm leaning more in that direction at the moment. I have a feeling the community at Irvine is better than UMich, but will wait to see how it feels to be there. 

[chikapea]

Hey @wompwompwomp! I saw where you currently live in Boston and I had a couple of questions if you don't mind me asking...? I'm currently trying to decide between BU and the University of Oregon, and while I really want BU to work out I'm not sure I will be able to cover the cost of living in Boston. I have a very generous offer from UO and would probably come out with very little debt if I went there. BU had a great offer but the cost of living is so high. I have a wife and a 14 month old, which makes finding a family friendly place even more difficult. BU's family housing was $1900.00 which is way too high. Are there any other options (family friendly) that would be around 1000.00 either in Boston or outside of Boston? I will have a car so I would be able to commute. I really like the program and the east coast but I'm not sure I'll be able to make it work and I really don't want to have a job while in grad school. Any help would be much appreciated! 

[Causofit]

On 3/28/2017 at 3:24 PM, Poodle-Doodle said:

SAIC shantay you stay. Columbia you are the land of tuition for kings and queens. Now, sashay away.

Good choice! You'll do well!!

[Causofit]

9 hours ago, hastr683 said:

I'm still deciding, actually. Headed to UCI on April 10th and will make my decison then. UMich is a hard offer to pass up, their funding and facilities are off the chain, so I'm leaning more in that direction at the moment. I have a feeling the community at Irvine is better than UMich, but will wait to see how it feels to be there. 

If michigan offered you better funding DO IT! Seriously!!! Ive heard nothing my great things about schools in michigan! 

 

[Causofit]

19 hours ago, Chelle1021 said:

have to choose between SAIC and Parsons... I'm feeling pretty torn right now cause NYC is a great city Does anyone have any opinion about Parsons' fine arts program?? How is it comparing with SAIC's? 

Im going to go with SAIC! 

something ive noticed about nyc schools is that, access to professors is hard to get!

chicago is a cool ass city, the art is nicely condenced. Its a nice hub. Ull be running around in new york like a mad wo/man. 

For art school- i will say chicago over ny!