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

[VitaminPme]

7 hours ago, AngryHarold said:

i've been in conversation with Pratt, and they offered me another 10k in scholarship money! so it looks like i'm most likely heading to NYC in the fall. i think i'm going to live in the dorms for at least a semester, just so it's easier to find an apartment. it's not exactly easy to find a place to live while i'm living in the Midwest, and apartment hunting for NYC online is like navigating a minefield. apparently my gf can move in to the dorms as well! 

i've done a lot of research about negotiating scholarships, and it's definitely worth trying. 

anyway, who else is going to Pratt? i'm 99% sure i'm going, so it would be cool to get to know other students and their work beforehand! i'm going for Painting and Drawing, btw. 

WowWow, Congratulations!  Thanks for sharing, I'd like to negotiate with Pratt  for more funding. They gave me 20K. 

I'm curious to know how you approached that if you'd be willing to share? I am still waiting to hear back from my prof/recommender who has connections to Pratt to see what she thinks. 

I think your housing plan sounds reasonable. It'll be better to get the lay of the land and then make an informed decision.  I talked to some students while I was there for a tour in the fall, and some of them had pretty reasonable rents (I'm from an expensive city and am used to insane prices already, so I might be biased:))

[Karisjns]

7 hours ago, AngryHarold said:

i've been in conversation with Pratt, and they offered me another 10k in scholarship money! so it looks like i'm most likely heading to NYC in the fall. i think i'm going to live in the dorms for at least a semester, just so it's easier to find an apartment. it's not exactly easy to find a place to live while i'm living in the Midwest, and apartment hunting for NYC online is like navigating a minefield. apparently my gf can move in to the dorms as well! 

i've done a lot of research about negotiating scholarships, and it's definitely worth trying. 

anyway, who else is going to Pratt? i'm 99% sure i'm going, so it would be cool to get to know other students and their work beforehand! i'm going for Painting and Drawing, btw. 

If you need roommates, me and my boyfriend are moving to NYC from the Midwest too! I'm going to NYSS for painting which is close to Pratt!

[cme000]

Rejected from Temple via the application portal. They never sent a notification to my email-- I just happened to check it this morning. 

 

Edit: Forgot to say-- I still have not heard from University of Washington. They said applicants should know by late March, but.... I dunno. Probably delayed rejection. 

Edited March 30, 2018 by cme000

[Valleyth]

On 3/26/2018 at 7:52 PM, Mandyww said:

Anyone heard from Pratt Integrated Practices? 

Haven't heard anything from Pratt Integrated Practices either...

[AngryHarold]

3 hours ago, Karisjns said:

If you need roommates, me and my boyfriend are moving to NYC from the Midwest too! I'm going to NYSS for painting which is close to Pratt!

i'll definitely let you know asap. part of the dorm decision is that i can use loans for the rent initially. i don't know if im going to have enough saved up before moving to cover everything for an apartment. if i end up thinking i can swing it, i'll definitely contact you. where are you in the Midwest, if you don't mind me asking?

[am_thorn]

Waiting....

I'd have to give up wisconsin funding to wait to hear back about the waitlists since everyone's deadline is the same

Stressssssssed....Spending my weekdays refreshing my email

Program: MFA Painting

Wisconsin-Madison: Accepted with funding

Pratt: Accepted with no funding

RISD: Waitlist

MICA: Waitlist

SAIC: Waitlist

Temple: Rejected

Iowa: ???

Bard: Rejected

Edited March 30, 2018 by am_thorn

[AngryHarold]

4 hours ago, VitaminPme said:

WowWow, Congratulations!  Thanks for sharing, I'd like to negotiate with Pratt  for more funding. They gave me 20K. 

I'm curious to know how you approached that if you'd be willing to share? I am still waiting to hear back from my prof/recommender who has connections to Pratt to see what she thinks. 

I think your housing plan sounds reasonable. It'll be better to get the lay of the land and then make an informed decision.  I talked to some students while I was there for a tour in the fall, and some of them had pretty reasonable rents (I'm from an expensive city and am used to insane prices already, so I might be biased:))

thank you! 20k is still pretty damn good. they seem pretty generous there, which is good considering how much the tuition is.

i asked one of my interviewers if we could discuss some of my concerns about cost of living and logistical issues such as apartment hunting. he agreed to talk via Skype, so we set up a meeting. during our convo i was pretty upfront about my financial situation (it's not good, lol), and he offered to go talk to the director about giving me a bit more. i got an email the same day with a better offer. it was very simple, but i didn't directly ask for more. he brought it up.

i also sent Boston a letter detailing Pratt's prior offer earlier this week, and explained my situation. i directly requested more scholarship money, and they said they are going to review my scholarship offer and see if they can give more. still haven't heard back. i was just exploring my options. 

i did a lot of research before requesting more money, and i guess it's a pretty common practice. just be polite, honest, and appreciative of your current offer. it can't hurt to try. i found an example letter that someone used for law school and sort of based my formatting/language on that. there's also youtube videos with financial aid officers that discuss this process. even if a school states on their site that there's no wiggle room (which Pratt did), try it anyway. 

yea, i'm sure there's rentals somewhere that i'm just not aware of that are reasonable. i'm not familiar with the subway system or neighborhoods yet, so i just want to get a better understanding of brooklyn before i settle somewhere for a year. 

[Karisjns]

16 minutes ago, AngryHarold said:

i'll definitely let you know asap. part of the dorm decision is that i can use loans for the rent initially. i don't know if im going to have enough saved up before moving to cover everything for an apartment. if i end up thinking i can swing it, i'll definitely contact you. where are you in the Midwest, if you don't mind me asking?

Oklahoma!

[k8artist]

Was just offered a spot at VCU for sculpture!!!!!!!! Hoping I can plan a visit this week to check it out. The waitlist can be a stressful place but worth it!!!!

[VitaminPme]

36 minutes ago, AngryHarold said:

thank you! 20k is still pretty damn good. they seem pretty generous there, which is good considering how much the tuition is.

i asked one of my interviewers if we could discuss some of my concerns about cost of living and logistical issues such as apartment hunting. he agreed to talk via Skype, so we set up a meeting. during our convo i was pretty upfront about my financial situation (it's not good, lol), and he offered to go talk to the director about giving me a bit more. i got an email the same day with a better offer. it was very simple, but i didn't directly ask for more. he brought it up.

i also sent Boston a letter detailing Pratt's prior offer earlier this week, and explained my situation. i directly requested more scholarship money, and they said they are going to review my scholarship offer and see if they can give more. still haven't heard back. i was just exploring my options. 

i did a lot of research before requesting more money, and i guess it's a pretty common practice. just be polite, honest, and appreciative of your current offer. it can't hurt to try. i found an example letter that someone used for law school and sort of based my formatting/language on that. there's also youtube videos with financial aid officers that discuss this process. even if a school states on their site that there's no wiggle room (which Pratt did), try it anyway. 

yea, i'm sure there's rentals somewhere that i'm just not aware of that are reasonable. i'm not familiar with the subway system or neighborhoods yet, so i just want to get a better understanding of brooklyn before i settle somewhere for a year. 

Thanks, AH.  That's really helpful.  I'm gonna talk to my prof about and maybe make a move.  I'm definitely grateful for the 20K, and I might end up with more scholarships through my undergraduate program, so I consider myself very lucky!

[Nadds092]

On 3/22/2018 at 5:16 PM, meowww said:

Thank you so much. Actually I was worried about their too small class and city

I went to VCU for undergrad and have lived in Richmond for 9 years. I absolutely love it here, it’s got an incredible art community and it’s an amazing place to live. It’s really booming right now too, so it’s be a great time to move!! Happy to answer any other Richmond questions if you need insight!! 

[TinaSlay]

Anyone know of any good grants, maybe some specifically for graduate students (or inverse, some general grants)? I'm having some trouble finding some to apply to that aren't uber specific. 

[k8artist]

2 hours ago, Nadds092 said:

I went to VCU for undergrad and have lived in Richmond for 9 years. I absolutely love it here, it’s got an incredible art community and it’s an amazing place to live. It’s really booming right now too, so it’s be a great time to move!! Happy to answer any other Richmond questions if you need insight!! 

Hello! I have recently been accepted into VCU. Are there any places in Richmond you wouldn't want to live in or to stay away from? I have kids and am trying to find a safe location with good schools and daycare?? 

 

[Nadds092]

58 minutes ago, k8artist said:

Hello! I have recently been accepted into VCU. Are there any places in Richmond you wouldn't want to live in or to stay away from? I have kids and am trying to find a safe location with good schools and daycare?? 

 

Hey! So Richmond is a relatively safe city, and there’s really nowhere I wouldn’t go during the day. At night is a different story, but even then it’s not that bad. Richmond has gotten a lot more expensive in the almost decade I’ve lived here and I’ve lived all over Richmond. There isn’t anywhere I wouldn’t really live I dont think. I currently own a house in the Church Hill neighborhood. It’s crazy popular with some of the cities best restaurants. It’s to the East of downtown so it has a slightly secluded feel from the rest of campus and The Fan and where more of the activity is, but I personally love it. It feels more like a neighborhood to me than the other areas near campus. That being said, I also love the Museum District. I can’t really speak to day care but a lot of my friends that have young families all live in North side. Houses are a lot bigger and so are the yards. I would say the only area I wouldn’t live in would be South Side, but not because of any safety reasons but just cause I like being on the north side of the James. It’s just easier in my opinion even though it’s not technically that far at all from VCU. Personally if I was going to VCU again right now I’d probably live in the museum district. It’s not the cheapest and it’s a bit popular but you get a lot out of being (relatively) close to campus, restaurants, parks, the VMFA, Carytown, the grocery store, and Scott’s addition which is a super hot area right now with a ton to do. Fwef. I hope that helps! Haha feel free to dm me more questions!

Edited March 31, 2018 by Nadds092

[Nadds092]

5 minutes ago, Nadds092 said:

Hey! So Richmond is a relatively safe city, and there’s really nowhere I wouldn’t go during the day. At night is a different story, but even then it’s not that bad. Richmond has gotten a lot more expensive in the almost decade I’ve lived here and I’ve lived all over Richmond. There isn’t anywhere I wouldn’t really live I dont think. I currently own a house in the Church Hill neighborhood. It’s crazy popular with some of the cities best restaurants. It’s to the East of downtown so it has a slightly secluded feel from the rest of campus and The Fan and where more of the activity is, but I personally love it. It feels more like a neighborhood to me than the other areas near campus. That being said, I also love the Museum District. I can’t really speak to day care but a lot of my friends that have young families all live in North side. Houses are a lot bigger and so are the yards. I would say the only area I wouldn’t live in would be South Side, but not because of any safety reasons but just cause I like being on the north side of the James. It’s just easier in my opinion even though it’s not technically that far at all from VCU. Personally if I was going to VCU again right now I’d probably live in the museum district. It’s not the cheapest and it’s a bit popular but you get a lot out of being (relatively) close to campus, restaurants, parks, the VMFA, Carytown, the grocery store, and Scott’s addition which is a super hot area right now with a ton to do. Fwef. I hope that helps! Haha feel free to dm me more questions!

Omg! Also, Parking on campus is the worst ever!!!! A lot of my friends would park in the garages but I never wanted to pay the rates. So when planning where to live I would check out the bus routes or consider biking if you’re open to it. Richmond is a very bike heavy city. 

[Karisjns]

I haven't seen many post about it but I got into the New York Studio School this past week. Received my acceptance via email a day after my interview. Just waiting on funding.

If anyone is looking to room with people who are headed to New York, I'm game!

[charoarte]

was anyone able to get financial assistance from Hunter? Also rejected from temple haha... And got into VSC this summer! Has anyone gone? 

[k8artist]

On 3/30/2018 at 8:05 PM, Nadds092 said:

Omg! Also, Parking on campus is the worst ever!!!! A lot of my friends would park in the garages but I never wanted to pay the rates. So when planning where to live I would check out the bus routes or consider biking if you’re open to it. Richmond is a very bike heavy city. 

Thank you so much!!! I have been looking and found some awesome places in the museum district that also have a good elementary school! Hopefully I will be visiting VCU this coming week to check everything out in person. Richmond seems like an interesting place. 

[cornflakes]

Has anyone else been waitlisted at Yale's 3-year GD program? I was also wondering if anyone has any advice on 3-year MFA programs. I have been accepted to a number of them but the cost seems prohibitive. Are they worth it?

 

[cottonbuds100pcs]

40 minutes ago, cornflakes said:

Has anyone else been waitlisted at Yale's 3-year GD program? I was also wondering if anyone has any advice on 3-year MFA programs. I have been accepted to a number of them but the cost seems prohibitive. Are they worth it?

 

hey, my friend attended yale 3 year graphic design program, according to them, the cost of attending 3 year GD program is only attainable if you got admitted with need-based financial aid (like yale) or merit-based scholarship + grants (like risd), i'm not sure about the others, you could pm me with more questions so i could ask them further

cheers and good luck

[thirdtimesthecharm]

Having a hard time choosing between BU and Hunter...anyone have thoughts/opinions? 

[AngryHarold]

15 minutes ago, thirdtimesthecharm said:

Having a hard time choosing between BU and Hunter...anyone have thoughts/opinions? 

did you receive any funding from either?

[thirdtimesthecharm]

14 minutes ago, AngryHarold said:

did you receive any funding from either?

I did for BU but not Hunter. 

[AngryHarold]

10 minutes ago, thirdtimesthecharm said:

I did for BU but not Hunter. 

i guess i would consider location and name recognition of the schools (if you plan on teaching). 

the thing that makes BU a hard sell for me is that Boston isn't that much cheaper to live in than NYC, so i don't feel like i'm getting that great of a deal financially. BU seems to be on an upswing thanks to Josephine Halvorson taking over the program, but i still have some concerns about the lack of showing opportunities in Boston. most of the grads end up moving to NYC after graduation, so i think any community that would be developed with fellow students would become fractured right after school is over. i also didn't get the sense that there's any connection to the New York art scene besides the visiting artists program (i asked questions about this during my interview). i will give BU credit though, the artists they bring in are really impressive, but this just isn't something that is a top priority to me. i have had studio visits with really successful artists in undergrad, and the feedback was very valuable, but it didn't really provide any sort of lasting connection, so i'm a bit skeptical about the long-term usefulness. this is just my experience, of course.

so to summarize:

- Boston doesn't have a flourishing gallery scene, so you would have to move if showing is important to you.

- Boston is expensive to live in, to the point where you might as well live in NYC if you have the option. Thankfully BU is relatively cheap from a tuition standpoint, but Hunter is cheaper.

- BU's visiting artist program is fantastic, but you'll have to decide how useful you find this to be.

- BU is on the upswing, but it doesn't have the name that Hunter has (at least not yet)

- It seems like a good program if you want to buckle down and focus on your work, but it seems like working in a vacuum. some people don't mind this, but i've been working in Milwaukee for five years, and i'm sick of feeling disconnected from the "art world", so this would bother me a bit.

- I've heard first-hand from students about how much Josephine and the fellow faculty members care about their job, and there seems to be a lot of individual attention for students. 

 

Hunter has a lot of benefits. It's in NYC, so gallerists will be in close proximity, and from what i've heard, they walk through the Hunter studios frequently. Your work will get much better exposure than BU. Hunter is also dirt-cheap compared to other "Top 10" programs. I worked for an artist that went to Hunter, and he got noticed through exposure to gallerists while in school. i don't know much about Hunter besides this, but on paper it seems like a much better option when compared to BU.

 

it's up to you, but i would pick Hunter based on my own priorities, which are exposure, location, and finances. another thing to consider (if you want to teach) is name recognition. this may seem unfair or irrelevant, but schools care a lot about hiring teachers that have bigger-name MFA programs on their resumes. they use this to sell the school to prospective students. it's unfortunate, but it's business. 

[thirdtimesthecharm]

@AngryHarold  Thank you for being so generous with your response!!  This is super helpful with a lot of things to consider!!! I have had some of the same thoughts...glad I have a little more time to think things through.