Jesse Pearlman Karlsberg

With the help of my family I moved into a great apartment in Troy, NY last Monday and I’m currently in the midst of grad school orientation. I’ve met a few of my new classmates already and people seem nice and interesting. My iEAR class, including me, is just six people. The other five are: Zulma Aguiar, Caterina De Re, Bettina Escauriza, Marshall Trammell, and Yael Kanarek.

After talking with Kathy High, my advisor at Wesleyan, Ron Kuivila, and my friends and family, I’ve decided to accept Rensselaer’s offer of admission. I’ll be working toward an MFA in Electronic Arts in the iEAR program, and will begin my studies this fall, arriving before August 15, when training for my Teaching Assistantship begins.

Over the weekend Kathy High from Rensselaer called to tell me that I’ve been accepted into their MFA program in Electronic Arts with a guaranteed two-year funding package. The faculty are enthusiastic about working with me, and I was accepted from the largest and most competitive applicant pool in the history of the program. The funding package will cover the full cost of tuition and provide me with a $12,000 stipend each year. I would be a Teaching Assistant my first year as a graduate student and would have ‘Professional Development’ responsibilites during my second year.

I also received word from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago that I’ve been accepted into their MFA in Studio Art program through the Sound Department.

I’m currently discussing my options with friends, family, and former teachers. I am excited to have so many wonderful programs from which to choose, and am pleased that I will be able to work in a stimulating artistic environment this fall as I had hoped.

I heard from CalArts today that I’ve been accepted into their School of Music as a first-year MFA student in Composition/New Media.

I’m also eagerly awaiting word from the three other schools to which I’ve applied. RPI, in particular, was already making decisions when I visited earlier this month. Mills College, however, sent me a note indicating that they would notify me in early April.

I had the opportunity these last two weeks to visit Art Institute of Chicago and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to meet with Professors and students, tour the facilities, and sit in on classes. I had a great time at both schools, and I’d like to thank my hosts for showing me around and providing me with plenty of useful information about their programs.

At Chicago, I talked with Nic Collins, head of the Sound Departmnet, and sat in on a meeting of graduate students. I also attended Nic’s class and got a peek at the sound facilities, and the various shops available to students.

Amy Curley showed me around at Rensselaer, and in addition to seeing the sound and video facilities and talking with a bunch of students I was able to talk with Kathy High and Michael Century, meet Pauline Oliveros, Tomie Hahn, Mary Anne Staniszewski, Curtis Bahn, Steve Peirce, and Neil Rolnick (among others) check out a concert by Michelle Nagai, and sit in on several wonderful classes.

I just finished the fourth and final application for graduate school on which I’ve been working. I’ve now applied to CalArts, Rensselaer, Art Institute of Chicago, and Mills College. I’ve been talking over the phone with faculty from these four schools about their MFA programs, and I’m hoping to visit Chicago and RPI in the near future.