Follow up on Career Services

I am currently debating on whether or not to do an artist residency program or a studio program. The difference is that most artist residencies are awarded with a fellowship and/or stipend to young artists and are given housing, meals, and sometimes cover materials. Studio programs generally do not award monetary assistance unless it is through undergraduate courses. I was told to consider going to a top artist residency even if I have to pay for it because it would pay off when I applied for grad schools, in other words it would show that I was ambitious and persistant enough to want to pursue a residency program that may have seemed out of reach on my own. Also, in the mean time while I apply to these, I also am considering applying for the Dean's Council Residency here at MCA because it gives you access to the school and all the work spaces, and it also gives you means to your own studio in the graduate center for one semester.