Beta Mike

Thanks! I'm not thrilled about moving to Ames but I had that big-boy moment with myself before I sent out my apps and asked "If you ONLY got into (XXXX) would you really move there?" If you don't need loans that makes an enormous difference. Everyone's financial motivation is different, so I understand that the debt-free MFA isn't a rule for everyone.

@romola I have a fully-funded and a probably-not-at-all funded offer, so I did a bit of research. The TA I've been offered essentially amounts to about $25 an hour in wages and another $10 an hour in tuition remission. It also includes health insurance. I compared the cost of monthly student loan debt payments to the value of investing the same amount of money per month for the 10-year duration of a standard loan repayment. The math was grim. Funding makes an astronomical difference in your long-term finances because instead of having compound interest working against you (debt), you could instead have it working for you (investment). I think it's worth it to regroup, maybe take an online workshop from UCLA ( @Sleam check out UCLA's online workshop for sure if you end up not getting in this year - I'd be super hesitant about paying $32k for the low-res.) , and then reapply to try to get full funding—that was my plan until I just got the funded offer after I'd given up hope (I thought notifications had to be out by the 15th for some reason and I got mine on the 17th). Years ago, I got shutout in my PhD attempt and I decided to cast a much wider net this time around. I got rejected by the so-called 'top tier' schools, but I'm glad that I expanded my search.

Thanks @aridari after another brutal slew of rejections, I got a fully funded offer from Iowa State!! Still waiting to hear back from a handful of schools, but I'm pretty sure most of them have sent out notifications already...

Ugh, just got another rejection. University of New Mexico, nonfiction.

I had a similar experience with NAU. I got an email from the graduate school saying I had been recommended for admissions. It threw me off, but the creative writing department emailed me with a formal acceptance the following day. I think it's definitely a good sign for you!

@Sleam @badeyebrows New member (been lurking for a couple months) and fellow nonfiction applicant here. My season started with a rejection from one of my favorite programs: Arizona. Minnesota then rejected me. But then came a ray of sunshine: an acceptance at NAU. They still haven't notified me of their funding offer, which is creating a new kind of unique and protracted agony, but it's certainly nice to have an acceptance under my belt. I applied to a single PhD program in clinical psych about 6 years ago and learned a great deal from that process, including the hoary adage 'don't put all your eggs in one basket.' If things don't work out for you this season (my condolences badeyebrows), I'd advise you to widen your search if at all possible (I applied to 12 schools this time around). Northern Arizona isn't a top-ranked program, but the faculty there seem amazing. Their funding situation is also not perfect, but I found a handful of very appealing programs (Fresno State, Montana, Moscow Idaho) that fund approximately 50-75% of their applicants, so it's certainly not necessary to only apply to fully-funded programs. I was also rejected by NWP in Iowa. This, combined with rejections at AZ and UMN are indicative that maybe my application wasn't top-tier material, but I'm very glad that I widened my search and included the likes of NAU. There are so many complicated and very personal decisions to make throughout this agonizing process, but if NAU offers me funding, I'll be over the moon at the prospect of going there, even though it may not be an uber-elite program. As of right now, it seems like a better option than waiting another year and reapplying elsewhere...