Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Reviews

"I've just completed the first session of my low residency MFA at PAFA and thought I'd write a review for others considering this approach to obtaining the degree. Overall, my experience so far has been overwhelmingly positive: the staff and faculty are genuinely committed to supporting the students in creating our version of a successful art career. The summer program was rigorous without being unreasonably so and my fellow students are a remarkable group of dedicated creators. I went to a large university for my undergraduate degree and a mid-size school for an earlier graduate program, so being in a small school environment has been a new experience for me with the pros and cons you might expect: lots of individual attention and responsiveness balanced with being under-resourced in some ways. I found the school to be helpful in providing financial aid and scholarship support. I think staffing and resources are a common reality in higher education right now, still dealing with the fallout post pandemic. There are programming pieces that mitigate the small size: the Visiting Artists Program and the guest critic program expose the students to additional perspectives and opinions which are so valuable, and the school is integrated with other arts organizations, galleries, and artists in the city which opens up other opportunities for exposure and learning. Also, the school is adjacent to the PAFA museum, another valuable resource. With one session completed, I am already deeply reconsidering my work and how I intersect with society as a working artist."

"Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts charges close to 40,000 a year which is basically as expensive as most prestigious school in the United States. However: 1. This school changes its advertisement strategy according to whatever is fashionable(give some thoughts to that). In other words, don't trust what they tell you. 2. It markets itself to teach you a little bit of everything and that you can do anything you want and that they are all inclusive of all sort of ideas and will help you make better art etc. Beware of their rhetoric, if you go to school here, you are not going to learn anything of substance. No teacher will genuinely answer a serious question and almost always avoid your question with trickery, diversion, circular reasoning and more. You won't learn anything in depth. They want to keep you in a post-modern paradise flying with unicorns. 3. Read a book called "Talking Art: The Culture of Practice and the Practice of Culture in MFA Education". Yes, the book was about MFA but BFA at this school is basically a Watertown version of that. Read it, and use your own judgement. 4. There is a general anti-captialism, anti bankers. Not to give an opinion on those issues. You will see teachers, staffs, administration kissing asses of the same people they claim to despise. Who fund anyway right? lol. Double talk all the time. Back stabbing are common. Do go to this school if you: 1. Have a lot of money to waste. 2. Retarded and brain-dead who like to praise and be praised on the most superficial things. 3. Genuinely a degenerate. People here are trickster, chameleon, retarded deceptive, or naive who deserve to be preyed."

"Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts(PAFA) is an amazing school. I did my undergraduate studies at The Ohio State University where the size of the school is overwhelming at times. It was easy to fall through the cracks and be forgotten about. The intimate size of PAFA is perfect for your own personal studies. They encourage your own research into what you are interested in while also instructing you in exploring new modes of artistic production if it better illustrates you as an artist. The faculty deeply cares about you as a person and they are also actively involved in the arts to help get you into the scene to show work as well as network you to valuable connections for the rest of your artistic career."

"I appreciate the exposure to so many art critics and other artists who evaluate my work. Everyone here is focused on helping each individual become a successful practicing artist. The campus is small and right in the center of midtown Philadelphia. That’s good because there is always something to do or someplace to go. That’s also bad because it’s impossible to park, traffic is always congested and if you live away it can be a long commute. I just started but believe I will flourish here and am excited to see my growth over the next two years."