Vermont College of Fine Arts Reviews

"I attended and graduated from VCFA. My instinct when I first started was to leave the program. I wish I had followed that instinct. Although the tuition is competitive with other masters' programs, I never felt like I was getting anything for what I was paying for. There was no guidance and I felt like I had to guess and come up with what I thought would work and what kind of artwork I could make that would concur with their conceptual intellectual art standard. The instructors were distant, and the climate was extremely critical. There was also an unfriendly cliquish feel and a distinct feeling of art snobbery although they professed to wanting to be socially aware and unbiased. We received zero support and coaching as to a professional art career after graduating. I am still in debt from this useless degree."

"VCFA, at the time I attended (2010-2012) offered a low-residency two-year MFA program. Mine was in poetry. I was pleased with the organization and management of the residencies, and the professors are all top-notch writers. Their feedback was meaningful and well-reasoned. It made me a better reader, writer, and the intensity led to a lot of personal growth. Having my master's has had an incalculable effect on my career and earning, even though I now teach slightly outside the writing and literature field. All this said, it's an expensive program. All of my employers have cared that I had my master's, but none have cared that it was fancy and expensive. I'm working on an M. Ed. now and planning on an Ed. D. after that. Those two programs combined will cost less than my two years at VCFA. You get a lot and it's a quality program, but the debt to reward isn't in your favor unless you have some monumental grants and scholarships. I'm glad I went, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend you do it."