MFA 2018 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

[midtown_magic]

For Photo MFA, I have narrowed things down to Columbia College Chicago (with full scholarship) and RISD (with about $15k/year in funding). Feeling unsure of my move here.

[TinaSlay]

22 minutes ago, midtown_magic said:

For Photo MFA, I have narrowed things down to Columbia College Chicago (with full scholarship) and RISD (with about $15k/year in funding). Feeling unsure of my move here.

Hmm . . . honestly, I'd say RISD. The full funding is great for CCC, but as far as I know, they're not super well known. RISD is one of the best, on the other hand. And at least you're getting 15k a year, so it's not nothing. That might be supplemented by the fact that Providence is a more affordable city than Chicago.

Edited March 23, 2018 by TinaSlay

[StarryNight_1]

42 minutes ago, midtown_magic said:

For Photo MFA, I have narrowed things down to Columbia College Chicago (with full scholarship) and RISD (with about $15k/year in funding). Feeling unsure of my move here.

I'd say RISD too. Idk much about CCC, but I would say look at all the intangibles you'll be gaining at each place. If you think the faculty, overall exposure and resources at CCC suits you best, then hey, you've got yourself a free education. But if you think for a moment that no RISD  gives you more in comparison apart from prestige then choose that. 
None of this education is dependent on prestige, but the environment and faculty contribute to a lot. 

[chaosforte]

29 minutes ago, TinaSlay said:

Hmm . . . honestly, I'd say RISD. The full funding is great for CCC, but as far as I know, they're not super well known. RISD is one of the best, on the other hand. And at least you're getting 15k a year, so it's not nothing. That might be supplemented by the fact that Providence is a more affordable city than Chicago.

@midtown_magic Not to add to your dilemma, but I respectfully disagree. CCC is a VERY well-known school in Chicago and their photo faculty is extremely strong. They are well connected with galleries in and outside of Chicago. You must be a strong candidate if you got a funded spot. RISD is RISD, but you have to think about what debt will mean to you, if you'll have to carry it. That's my two cents.

Edited March 23, 2018 by chaosforte
grammar

[TinaSlay]

Yeah, I don't know much about CCC! All I was saying is that I think RISD has a much broader appeal outside of their cities than CCC does, and that might be worth something if that's the angle you're going for. Debt and money is definitely a huge factor though. Of course, so is the value of the program and the professors who teach it.

Edited March 23, 2018 by TinaSlay

[midtown_magic]

@TinaSlay @chaosforte @StarryNight_1 Thank you all very much for your thoughts and input. Your collective views sum up my dilemma pretty well - one school has a ton of cache and will leave me with considerable debt and the other school might not have quite the same heavyweight status but is still a top program for photo and would be free. I visited Providence last week and met some students and faculty, and it indeed seemed great, and I plan to do the same for CCC next week. Still, I feel like I am vacillating from day to day with this decision. I guess it's a good problem to have, but I'm starting to agonize over it.

[meowww]

16 hours ago, ni33th said:

Do you mean RCA in London? DONT go there. I only hear bad things about their GD MFA

Thanks! Could you tell me something that you've heard? I also heard that RCA is going downhill recently... however, among my choices, I think RCA is most close to my work direction ... Sooooo hard to make a decision

[charoarte]

1 hour ago, midtown_magic said:

@TinaSlay @chaosforte @StarryNight_1 Thank you all very much for your thoughts and input. Your collective views sum up my dilemma pretty well - one school has a ton of cache and will leave me with considerable debt and the other school might not have quite the same heavyweight status but is still a top program for photo and would be free. I visited Providence last week and met some students and faculty, and it indeed seemed great, and I plan to do the same for CCC next week. Still, I feel like I am vacillating from day to day with this decision. I guess it's a good problem to have, but I'm starting to agonize over it.

Loook man! Follow your gut! Think what school do you see yourself at and choose the first that comes to mind... that’s what I did.  I had full rides and amazing stipends to various schools but i chose the school I wanted to go to the most from the beginning.  The one I first think about 

[blackbirdnichole]

Still awaiting word from Georgia State University for Painting/Drawing...

[ni33th]

8 hours ago, meowww said:

Thanks! Could you tell me something that you've heard? I also heard that RCA is going downhill recently... however, among my choices, I think RCA is most close to my work direction ... Sooooo hard to make a decision

It's not a good time to go right now, they're going through a whole transition period to a new building, and they don't really care about the students right now. 

UK education in general is very hands off. If you're American and you're used to that system of education, you'll feel like you're not getting educated in the UK and that there's no structure, it's all very much up to you. There is no direction that they push you in, so what do you mean by your work direction?

[karain]

13 hours ago, midtown_magic said:

@TinaSlay @chaosforte @StarryNight_1 Thank you all very much for your thoughts and input. Your collective views sum up my dilemma pretty well - one school has a ton of cache and will leave me with considerable debt and the other school might not have quite the same heavyweight status but is still a top program for photo and would be free. I visited Providence last week and met some students and faculty, and it indeed seemed great, and I plan to do the same for CCC next week. Still, I feel like I am vacillating from day to day with this decision. I guess it's a good problem to have, but I'm starting to agonize over it.

Long time lurker here...

Just wanted to say, it sounds lame and obvious but as someone who frequently struggles with decisions, especially important ones... I find that you need to properly write out a pros and cons list, so for this you would have to do a few to get it all in:

pros of going to RISD vs cons of going to RISD,

pros of not going to RISD vs cons of not going to RISD and then

pros of going to CCC vs cons of going to CCC

pros of not going to CCC vs cons of not going to CCC

It sounds excessive and as you're doing it you will probably feel like it's not working but if you put it all down on paper and reflect for a day or two I have always found that it starts to become clear which pros and cons are really the most important to you and then an obvious decision starts to emerge!

[wendi]

19 hours ago, midtown_magic said:

For Photo MFA, I have narrowed things down to Columbia College Chicago (with full scholarship) and RISD (with about $15k/year in funding). Feeling unsure of my move here.

So, uh, idk what anyone else is talking about but Columbia College is well known for their Photography program in particular.  Dawoud Bey is the head of their department right now, IIRC? Also, personally, I think choosing CC looks a little more "with it" on a resume; like everybody knows RISD is good, but Columbia College looks special.  Going to a lesser-known yet known-for-being-fantastic program vs. one everybody applies to by default?  I'm not sure if I'm making sense, and maybe this doesn't matter to anybody else.

As a photographer I'd have no reservations choosing Columbia College here, personally.  I think, however, RISD leans toward a very technological direction and has been doing this techie/green/science slant lately so if that's what you do then you're going to get a lot of great support to do that.

[Sylvieee]

1 hour ago, wendi said:

So, uh, idk what anyone else is talking about but Columbia College is well known for their Photography program in particular.  Dawoud Bey is the head of their department right now, IIRC? Also, personally, I think choosing CC looks a little more "with it" on a resume; like everybody knows RISD is good, but Columbia College looks special.  Going to a lesser-known yet known-for-being-fantastic program vs. one everybody applies to by default?  I'm not sure if I'm making sense, and maybe this doesn't matter to anybody else.

As a photographer I'd have no reservations choosing Columbia College here, personally.  I think, however, RISD leans toward a very technological direction and has been doing this techie/green/science slant lately so if that's what you do then you're going to get a lot of great support to do that.

Yep, I agree. CC has a solid photo program. Paul D'Amato also makes great work. I do know a couple of people that graduated recently that didn't have a good experience but I think it was specific to them and the kind of work they were both making. I've heard both really good and really bad things about the experience of the program.

[Sylvieee]

Could you all share the programs you know about that offer a full tuition scholarship + stipend? Looking for next year. Thanks!

[waitingisfun]

Someone made a topic about this back in 2015, hope this helps!

 

[midtown_magic]

@karain @wendi @Sylvieee Thanks for your perspectives on this. One of the things I am definitely trying to figure out is where my work fits in, though the fact that I was accepted with financial aid from both makes me think they both see me as a decent fit. For what it's worth, here is my website with my current work, if anyone is interested.

http://forrestsimmons.com

[TinaSlay]

27 minutes ago, midtown_magic said:

@karain @wendi @Sylvieee Thanks for your perspectives on this. One of the things I am definitely trying to figure out is where my work fits in, though the fact that I was accepted with financial aid from both makes me think they both see me as a decent fit. For what it's worth, here is my website with my current work, if anyone is interested.

http://forrestsimmons.com

 Good to see another past SCAD student! Nice work - the sixth image in What Else Is There? is super stunning. Good luck with your choice!

[midtown_magic]

@TinaSlay Hey, thank you! I actually went to SCAD a lifetime ago and studied theatre, whereas I only picked up the camera a few years ago. It was definitely a fun time in my life, though.

Edited March 24, 2018 by midtown_magic

[screendoorslams]

anyone else on this thread going to either Rutgers or U. of Florida (accepted into their Art + Technology program)? If you are I'd love to know how you made your decision. I'm having a helluva time deciding.

thank you

[charoarte]

21 hours ago, Sylvieee said:

Could you all share the programs you know about that offer a full tuition scholarship + stipend? Looking for next year. Thanks!

Yeah! This year I was offered full tuition from 

university of Florida + 22,000 a year stipend

university of Delaware + 30,000 a year stipend 

Louisiana state university + 9200 a year stipend 

I also applied to Rutgers  which is also fully funded but i I wasn’t accepted 

[Twin Infinitives]

@midtown_magic Funny that Brian Ulrich teaches at RISD and studied at CCC. I got a slight scholarship award from CCC and would have seriously considered attending had I not received a full ride elsewhere. The presence of Dawoud Bey, Jay Wolke, Paul D'Amato and Kelli Connell definitely enticed me to apply. If you do visit, try to schedule a gallery visit with Jay. I dropped in on one of his private lectures and was really floored by how much enthusiasm and depth of knowledge he was devoting to a single person. I think the prestige and facilities of RISD must have you angling in that direction but I would absolutely 100% go with the full ride from CCC.

[jasminezhang]

Hi all,

For MFA photo, I'm thinking going to School of Visual Art (three years) or Columbia College Chicago (two years). I'm applying for the assistantship and scholarships for sva.

SVA is my dream school but I didn't expect to the three years program, which is very expensive.

Anyone have any suggestions about these two schools?

[VitaminPme]

Sweet relief!  Pratt just called me with an acceptance offer and a 20,000 merit scholarship!

There's still hope for other people who are waiting!

[TinaSlay]

Clearly I was wrong about CCC, 

Had no idea Kelli Connell taught there.

 

Edited March 25, 2018 by TinaSlay

[lowkeydead]

I GOT ACCEPTED TO ICP-BARD MFA PROGRAM WITH 15K SCHOLARSHIP!!!

anyone here who's in too and taking it up !!! pls reply, i have a lot of questions haha