Low Res v. Full Time : Exploring the Options

As my first semester teaching at the college level was in full swing, I was so thankful that I had made the change to allow for a more flexible art making schedule. My students were awesome, invested, and talented. I knew I wanted to continue teaching in this arena.

My MFA research continued. I looked at the US News rankings for general studio programs, sculpture programs, and new media programs. Reputation was important. I thought that if I was up for a teaching job at an art school, I might have a better chance of getting a position if the school I went to was highly regarded. My years of teaching experience, exhibition resume, and work would fill in the rest. I focused on the top 25 and then looked at tuition cost, scholarship/fellowship availability, faculty, facilities, alumni and location. I read some helpful blogs that included “under-recognized” schools and schools that offered a near full time ride for being a teaching fellow.

I narrowed my interest by location first. I would stay along the east coast, go to California (which is where my significant other and I planned to end up) or go to Chicago. There were some great schools elsewhere, but I couldn’t see myself moving there long term. I scheduled some tours for schools in cities that I would be going through in the next few weeks-- Columbia (ranked #10), MICA (#7), SAIC(#2) and Temple’s program Tyler (#13).

My experience at Columbia was interesting. We walked through the main campus of the lib arts college to

get to orientation. It was gorgeous. I always wanted to live in the city. The faculty was all razzle dazzle (Kara Walker, Sanford Biggers, Shelly Silver, Sarah Sze—people I really admired. It was here that I first met Matthew Buckingham who worked in the film and video department. He wore a bow-tie, round mousey glasses and didn’t seem quite as hyped up as the rest of the faculty. He seemed the most down-to-earth and I was excited about working with him.)

The open house was jam packed.  The faculty was really direct and no-nonsense in explaining the program and answering questions. They were clear on the competitive nature of the program. As departments started to break off for Q&A sessions, you could feel the competitive atmosphere. I was intimidated. Some of my fellow candidates took the opportunity to let the light shine on them. Me me me me meeee….

My boyfriend thought they were mostly pretentious kids. Over lunch I tried to explain that this would be the norm for art schools. We headed to open studios uptown a short walk to a typically, old, run-down art building.  The spaces varied in size and light depending on what student worked on. They had their own doors and few common areas for exhibitions. The work was just…okay, which I guess is to be expected.

The vibe wasn’t great. It was mostly art school work I’d seen a million times. So maybe this place was more about making those essential NYC connections. The faculty announced that next year’s students would be working with Kara Walker on a public project. Sounded thrilling to me. (It turned out to be her project at the Domino factory.) But I left feeling undecided.

MICA was next, and although I wasn’t big on the idea of Baltimore, the school was awesome. I had a great tour, loved the vibe and the work, and was excited about the resources and public opportunities available. Studios were smallish with curtain doors, out there were some big dark spaces you could sign out for video installations. The admissions team was very accommodating about fitting in an early tour on my way to install a project in Richmond. I was becoming more interested in MICA because of the Low Residency option which was 8 weeks during the summer, for four summers. I knew it was a competitive program, very well respected…and very expensive.

SAIC was promoting a brand new low-res program too, but shorter than MICA’s—6 weeks for 3 summers. It was farther than Baltimore, but close to some family. I liked the idea that Chicago had its own art scene and was well connected to both coasts. We visited in December; it was cold and ugly out, and we had to pay $30 or something outrageous to park in the garage. I tried to remember that I would be there in the summer. I had come during warmer times and knew it would be nice weather.

The students leading the tour were very open about their experiences and down to earth. The tour, though, was sooooo long because the facilities were massive. Building after building of equipment. Coming from a lib arts school, I had never seen anything like it. It was overwhelming. The studio spaces they showed us were kind of small. Canvas curtains hung in the doorways. But I liked it. The cost was definitely an issue, but they offered a bit more in the way of scholarships than MICA. I didn’t get to interact with the faculty, but Matthew Buckingham was slated as an adviser and Art History teacher and Laurie Palmer, an artist I knew for collaborative work, was part of the core faculty.

Tyler was located on the edge of the rougher part of Philly. I was excited about being in Philly, but not sold on being there for the full-time program. There was no dedicated new media program there, so I would be applying to the sculpture department. The sculpture faculty and students were great--really helpful and proud of their program in an un-pretentious way. The studios were big and all had doors and locks. I was most interested in Tyler’s reputation for teaching fellowships. Because I had ten years of teaching experience, I felt that I had a good shot at a fellowship. It would help build my student portfolio and offer a very reduced tuition. However, the opportunity was currently available to second year students only.

I had visited another low res program the year before UArts, also in Philly, but right in the middle of everything. I love Philly because even though it’s a major city, it’s so manageable. I’m not afraid to drive there. It also has that strong neighborhood vibe, lively art/music scene and beautiful architecture. My experience at UArts special. The faculty and students are so invested in the program and very warm and welcoming. It’s an art school with great facilities in general, some fabulous architecture of its own, and a tight community. During the fall and spring semester, they pair you with a mentor close to your home and encourage you to think big about who you choose. They also offer teaching assistantships. They rank in the 50’s for US News, but I was still considering them because I clicked with the people immediately, totally dig the city, and had received a sizable scholarship from them when I applied last year.

I was also considering Hunter for its price, reputation, and location. It was a full time program and I had visited for an MFA show a few years ago and spoke with several students. The gallery space is enormous. The students I spoke with worked with New Media and felt plenty of support despite the fact that there was no dedicated New Media program.

SVA’s full time program was high in the rankings and known for their New Media work. I spent a bit of time there visiting a friend who taught there. I also heard that they had a low res program happening, but it wasn't my program.

Bard was still in the running for its highly reputable low res program and faculty. It was also close, which was convenient.

I was interested in a few schools in California because of the film/video reputation. There seemed like a few affordable full time option, particularly Berkeley. USC caught my attention in Blouin Art’s top 10 list. The price tag said $27,000 of free. The “free” tuition was awarded in as teaching assistantships. At this point, I decided I couldn’t do a full time program in CA. My relationship was somewhat flexible, but we were not in a place where we could move across the country permanently, and I didn’t want to go alone.

I decided I could do low res in CA and had a friend near San Fran; so I looked into San Francisco Art Institute which had a well-established low res program. SFAI emphasizes their interdisciplinary program. This was right up my alley. They ranked in the #20s and were already on my radar. The admissions department was top notch-- prompt responses, practical advice, friendly, knowledgeable. The school was bringing a collaborative art duo specializing in new media out to work with us this summer. I had a phone conversation with the artists and loved the vibe. They were from NY and were former alumni. They said that choosing to go to art school in CA changed their lives. It was an entirely different pace and outlook than NY. This is something I had heard before and was seriously considering.

Living in NY my whole life had contributed to a fierce belief that NYC was the art capital of the world. But I was becoming aware that this wasn’t the case; there was a much more global thing happening than I cared to admit. I wanted to break out of that.  SFAI was looking better and better.

I originally planned to apply to MICA, SAIC, SFAI, Columbia, Hunter, Tyler, UArts, and Bard, some low res and some full time programs. The problem was, I was on adjunct salary, application fees added up to around $700 and money was so tight. I had to really make some decisions. I decided on low res for the way it would fit into my lifestyle. I could keep building up my experience teaching at college and I wouldn’t have to uproot my little family. It would be a summer adventure, wherever I went.

Columbia and Hunter both had the most expensive application fees at $120 each; so taking them off the list helped. UArts waived my fee since I had been accepted the year before. I prioritized SAIC’s early deadline because the fee was reduced to $40 if I could get it in by November 30. MICA was $60, which wasn’t bad. Bard was around $70. SFAI waived my fee since I was in a financial bind. (Sometimes it pays to ask!) But then there was Tyler. I decided that even though it was full time, I would apply because it offered the nearly free tuition and the teaching fellowship. It was close enough that I could make it work for my family if necessary. There fee was around $70 also.

For the most part, all the colleges used the same application slide manager, which made it easy to submit images because I could pull from an image pool that I only had to upload once. But it’s worth talking to the admissions team about what you submit. Every school is looking for something a little different. For example, Bard wanted 5 examples of older work along with 20 of new work. SFAI wanted multiple bodies of work. Everyone wanted an essay, but each was slightly different. I asked for letter of recommendation ahead of time and the application website allowed them to be submitted electronically; so no stamps necessary.

The applications were in. And the waiting began.