interviews

[rama]

@chenga Congratulations! I am interviewing there too.

I am going for 11X14. ICP-Bard actually mentions that prints should be no larger than 11X14 (in their application)

I have no idea how many people are being interviewed though.

[Loosenyourtalktapes]

Little Nova: What department at MICA did you apply for. It seems no one has received a MICA rejection letter yet but some have interviews. Should I give up if I haven't heard yet? Thanks for your help.

[littlenova]

@Loosenyourtalktapes: I was interviewed by the low-residency summer program. I also applied to the full time Photography program and will have an interview with them next month. They started interviews at Mount Royal/Hoffberger already but, the other programs are taking their sweet time. You might be in good shape!

Do NOT give up hope. They'll probably get in touch with you soon. After talking with them, I am so excited and they are #1 on my list. Their new faculty is AMAZING. I came back from Art Basel/Nada in Miami this year and half the damn fair came out of MICA. It's an exciting time to attend for sure.

best of luck!

[james]

Littlenova: thanks for sharing bout MICA interview, mines on the 4th. Totally with you on that school, I wanna go sooo bad! after visting in the fall it went from low on the list to my first choice! UT is right up there with it though, I dont think I could turn thier funding down. No matter how good a program I cant see 50k in debt helping my career.

[littlenova]

@James: Yeah...The price tag is a bit steep...She mentioned some fellowships, though. But, if you have a chance at full funding with a solid program...I'd take it. My professor used to say, go to a top program or go somewhere for free. UT is a solid program. If VCU can offer me full funding, that would be the only scenario that would have me turning down MICA. We just bought a house in DC and pretty much...it would be a dream come true because I wouldn't have to relocate.

Good luck at your interview! Knock' em dead...

[littlenova]

as of 6:00 pm tonight...

Weird.....Your interview went well and we'd like you to visit us on campus......email from the director of my program at MICA...???? Second interview or feeler or what? Bizarre.

[tink23]

as of 6:00 pm tonight...

Has anyone done an interview at Hunter recently or know about the situation?

[atrawickb]

Thanks, any information would be great.

i was granted an early interview at yale a couple of weeks ago because i happened to be passing through town anyways on my way west.

it was pretty intense and all i can say is you might as well just stick to being yourself because they are probably going to try to throw you off. first it was an interview with two faculty members, reed and messer. and then a second interview with two current mfa painting students. and then a long tour with another student.

they also said that they had had over 600 applicants in painting, that they were going to interview about 70, and accept about 20.

that is: they accept 20 people, for 20 spots.

they year before they accepted 21 people, and all 21 came!

--the year before that, they accepted 24, and 23 came--one was stolen by columbia.

that's it. good luck everybody.

[mnchick]

@atrawickb: yikes! now i'm super nervous.LOL

can someone tell me how the interviews for yale is different from the interviews for saic, if are any differences?

[alizarin]

Hi guys, I have some questions to those who have an amount of experience interviewing:

Is it bad to be confident during your interview (will this be seen as being too arrogant, as if you're assuming you're already "in")? And if you're not confident, will this be seen as a weakness?

Also, is it bad if you defend your work in a diplomatic way (not indignant or irrational)? Will they take this as not being able to accept criticism?

And if you don't defend your work much (in fear of being perceived as not taking criticisms well), will they see this in a bad light?

Should I just think of an interview as a critique?

Last question, is it okay to wear jeans and tennis shoes? Or should I dress up a little? Thanks, any advice will help

[atrawickb]

@atrawickb: yikes! now i'm super nervous.LOL

can someone tell me how the interviews for yale is different from the interviews for saic, if are any differences?

@mnchick

i did the saic interview on the phone, but it was just with one prof. a lot of the same questions come up all around. once you've done one interview, the rest aren't so much different:

"why are you applying to our program? what contemporary artists are you into and why? what would you bring to the program? tell us about the conceptual underpinnings of your work? etc.

[michaelwebster]

Hi guys, I have some questions to those who have an amount of experience interviewing:

Is it bad to be confident during your interview (will this be seen as being too arrogant, as if you're assuming you're already "in")? And if you're not confident, will this be seen as a weakness?

Also, is it bad if you defend your work in a diplomatic way (not indignant or irrational)? Will they take this as not being able to accept criticism?

And if you don't defend your work much (in fear of being perceived as not taking criticisms well), will they see this in a bad light?

Should I just think of an interview as a critique?

Last question, is it okay to wear jeans and tennis shoes? Or should I dress up a little? Thanks, any advice will help

I have had a phone interview with CCA and Calarts and in person with SAIC and UNCGreensboro. So far I have gotten in at CCA, SAIC, and I think I have gotten in at UNCG. I was confident going into UNCG and SAIC's interviews, and I think it helped. I knew I could answer any question they threw at me. Most programs will try to offer a critique/alternative idea, and if you can easily explain why you prefer what you did, then defend away. But if you think their suggestion is better, then admit it. Just dont make your defense sound defensive. If they mention something or someone you are unaware of, write it down, look it up later, and send a thank you email with a mention that you looked it up. It shows you want to learn.

Dont think of an interview as a crit, because you want to be the one doing the most talking during an interview. Elaborate on their questions and make sure you say what you want to say about your work. Dont leave out an important part of your process just because they dont ask about it specifically.

Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. Dont look grungy(unless your work is about grungy) and dont dress in an expensive suit (unless your jeff koons), most people will dress it up a little from their everyday wear, but dont make it look like you tried too hard.

[alizarin]

I have had a phone interview with CCA and Calarts and in person with SAIC and UNCGreensboro. So far I have gotten in at CCA, SAIC, and I think I have gotten in at UNCG. I was confident going into UNCG and SAIC's interviews, and I think it helped. I knew I could answer any question they threw at me. Most programs will try to offer a critique/alternative idea, and if you can easily explain why you prefer what you did, then defend away. But if you think their suggestion is better, then admit it. Just dont make your defense sound defensive. If they mention something or someone you are unaware of, write it down, look it up later, and send a thank you email with a mention that you looked it up. It shows you want to learn.

Dont think of an interview as a crit, because you want to be the one doing the most talking during an interview. Elaborate on their questions and make sure you say what you want to say about your work. Dont leave out an important part of your process just because they dont ask about it specifically.

Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. Dont look grungy(unless your work is about grungy) and dont dress in an expensive suit (unless your jeff koons), most people will dress it up a little from their everyday wear, but dont make it look like you tried too hard.

Thanks, Michael. That certainly helps a lot. Congrats on your acceptances!

[Artist1]

Anyone have interviews for Painting/Drawing at:

Columbia

SMFA

Yale

What questions did you get asked? How did it go? Did the interview differ from any other schools? How long was it? Did you get in?

[colbz]

@mnchick

i did the saic interview on the phone, but it was just with one prof. a lot of the same questions come up all around. once you've done one interview, the rest aren't so much different:

"why are you applying to our program? what contemporary artists are you into and why? what would you bring to the program? tell us about the conceptual underpinnings of your work? etc.

I know this post was a while back, but in case you see this....I'm wondering, does it lower your chances if you interview over the phone instead of in person?

[michaelwebster]

I know this post was a while back, but in case you see this....I'm wondering, does it lower your chances if you interview over the phone instead of in person?

I am not sure about mnchick, but in my experience I saw it made a huge difference. In my program they accepted 10, and only 1 of those was a phone interviewee, but about 1/3 of the people interviewed did so over the phone. You basically must be international to get in from a phone interview it seems. This person was in London doing a residency. I phone interviewed with CalArts, and even though it went perfectly and it was with a dean or director of the graduate program I was wait listed. I didn't want to fly from NC to CA. Maybe some others have had different results?

[colakyngo]

Hi,

I agreed with you. Any way, your points of view make me thinking about some thing for my project.

Pls try to keep posting. Tks and best regards

If you want to get more materials that related to this topic, you can visit: Graphic design interview questions

Best regards.

[lolapola]

I was also having interview anxiety. So I compiled all the sample questions I could find from last year's posts(sorry, i can't remember who posted what):

What for you constitutes a good work of art, what draws you to a piece of work? what motivates your work?

who are your main influences?

why do you want to go to graduate school?

where do you see yourself in 10 years?

why do you want to attend *this* school?

how does your work fit in with the contemporary art world/scene?

or describe your work in the context of contemporary art movements?

What do you think is a good critique of your work / bad critique?

Why/ how did you choose the people who wrote letters for you?

How will you contribute to this program?

What do you do for fun?

What artists who are no longer living influence you?

What books are your reading right now?

What are you working on right now?

Do you have any questions for us?

Be sure to name names. Remember not just artists but names of specific works, series, etc... plus quotes from artists/authors: you should have them ready.

please explain this work (xxxx03.jpg)

- Have you done research about cranbrook, how much do you know about cranbrook teaching method

- can you describe yourself, beside the graphic design world. such as personal habit etc.

- Do you have any question?? (I think this is important part since I think they want to know your interest about attending this school)

What is your work about?

What are you working on right now?

What artists influence your work? (Make sure to include some dead artists from long ago! Not just contemporary stuff. Remember titles of specific works and some quotes the artist has made.)

What draws you to a work of art?

What other aspects of culture influence your work besides art/art history? (Something along these lines...)

What book(s) are you reading right now? What do you think of them? (It helps to remember specific quotes that you find meaningful.)

Why do you want to go to our school?/How do you see yourself taking advantage of (insert school here) environment/program? (Make sure you research the school thoroughly -- know the faculty you will be working with and the types of courses offered.)

Finally, have some specific questions ready about the school. The interviewer will ask you if you have any questions, and you don't want to be caught scratching your head at that point...

Although at times frustratingly basic, these are all important questions. Before the interview, have some solid ideas about what you will say and how you will phrase it. For me, the most difficult questions are the ones that ask for a specific name or title. Be ready for those. Know the names of artists/authors, names of their works, and things they have said. Refer to those in your answer. Be specific, and be wary of over-generalization -- the more vague you are with a response, the more questions the interviewer will ask, and the more difficult it will become.

Good for anyone who has interviews coming up! It helped me a lot!