TonyB

Thank you!

Thanks!

Visited the ASU and UCI MFA sites recently (within the last month) and saw that each program's funding package had been increased by about $2k/yr. Went back yesterday and found that not only had both pages been completely (and badly) redesigned, but funding had been knocked back down to pre-makeover levels. Did anyone else notice this? I'm beginning to feel like I hallucinated the whole thing...

You could also try one of the low-residency programs like Stonecoast, UC Riverside, Western State Colorado, Red Earth, or Goddard that seem to be open to "popular fiction" of all varieties. North Carolina State, Syracuse, and Kansas are allegedly open to sci-fi/fantasy stuff as well.

Also look for schools that don't necessarily fund EVERY acceptee, but still offer a fair amount of funding. Pro: better chance of acceptance. Con: the possibility of being accepted w/o funding, in which case you'd have to decide if you still want to attend. I'd personally recommend not going anywhere unless you get funding.

Thanks for all the great info so far! I will definitely look into the NYC and GaTAPP programs, as I'm quite open to relocating pretty much anywhere. Most of my family and friends, coincidentally, are looking at leaving Ohio within the next year or two, so before too long there won't be much keeping me in the Buckeye state anyway.

This is an example of the type of program I'm talking about, for those not familiar: http://nau.edu/CAL/English/Degrees-Programs/Graduate/MA-Secondary-English-Education/ I've been researching MFA programs (Creative Writing) for years but have only just recently started to look into programs like this. My primary concerns are whether 1) These programs actually include ALL the coursework needed to acquire a teacher certification. I looked into a post-BA licensing program once -- one that didn't even confer a master's degree! -- and they said that, with all the content area courses I'd have to take (having majored in Communication rather than English, History, etc. for my undergrad) I'd end up taking more than 60 credit hours, so these 30-40 hr programs seem too good to be true; and 2) What the funding situation at these programs is like. For instance, I know that many MFA's are fully funded, and even those that aren't not uncommonly offer stipends of $15k or more, tuition remission, etc. I've found many MA program sites tend to be more cagey with this type of info, however. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I feel like, once programs in ANY discipline become widely known to be fully funded, they tend to catapult up the list by several spaces and automatically become "elite," in terms of number of applications received, etc.

Anime-inspired avatars are one of my triggers.

I've had good experiences emailng the heads of MFA/English programs at Ohio State, West Virginia University, Northern Kentucky, University of Dayton, and Cleveland State.

Was wondering if anyone had any info on this program... the UNM website lists graduate assistant salaries at $20k/yr (you have to dig for it a bit, it's not really publicized on the MFA page), and I heard from an alumnus on Twitter a while back that they fund everyone they admit. Yet I've never really seen them on any of the fully funded programs lists that are floating around out there, and in fact their site doesn't specifically say that the program is fully funded. I also recently read (in an interview on Affording the MFA, I think) that their TA salary is only $16k. Anyone have any personal experience with this program, as an applicant or otherwise?

I've heard North Carolina State is a fully funded program, or close to it. They're also amenable to genre writing, if that's anyone's bag. They are cagey about their funding, though, unlike most of the big schools on the Funded MFA list. I've heard it's around 11k/yr, for what that's worth.

So in other words it's good enough for them to read while passing some time on the john, but not good enough to talk about in their precious workshops. I'd call that looking down. As others have noted, I've heard U. Kansas, Southern Illinois, possibly Brown, and North Carolina State are amenable to genre fiction. Low res programs tend to be a lot more open to it, including Stonecoast, Seton Hill, Western State Colorado, Red Earth (Oklahoma City University), and Goddard.

That's 'cause they don't have funding. Been whittling down my short list for the 2016 season. I'm thinking I REALLY want to try and get out of the Midwest, so I'm looking at schools like Irvine, U. Oregon, and the New Mexico's and Arizona's. The funding at Michigan and Cornell is too good to pass up, so I'll probably hit those again as well.

I've heard that most schools in New York offer little to no funding. (And in such an expensive city... ugh). Good luck!

Just get one of those little portable fireplaces to cart around with ya.

He's clearly worried that he'll accept B, tell A he's not coming, then A will badmouth him to B and cause them to rescind their offer. That's very unlikely, I should think, but I'd imagine it COULD possibly, theoretically happen. I have to wonder how harsh School A has actually been with him, because he seems VERY intimidated.

Boo. There should be some kind of a reasonable cut-off if someone just doesn't respond.

Yeah, U. Iowa's creative writing grad program is the most prestigious in the country, though Iowa State has a pretty impressive one as well.

Got it.

Keep in mind, however, that human beings (including college profs and MFA faculty members) are fickle and emotional creatures, and don't always make decisions fairly or rationally. I'm not sure how the average MFA selection committee works, but for the sake of argument let's say a group of ten faculty members each reads X number of submissions, then picks out the handful they REALLY like and brings those to the table for the rest of the committe to read. Now say the guy who gets your submission REALLY doesn't like first person, or yours is the twentieth straight first-person story he or she has read. You can't tell me they may not just toss that baby on the other side of the pile, just for the sake of wanting to read something a little different. The "avoid first person" advice came from a member of the MFA selection committee at UW: Madison, one of the most prestigious and selective programs in the country. I didn't pull it out of my behind or pick it up from somebody on Reddit. This is inside information, and from a credible source! Her exact words were that the constant use of first-person tends to make submissions feel as though they are all written in the same "voice." It prevents particular submissions from standing out... and that could be enough to get your story shuffled to the bottom of the pile, regardless of how good your writing might be.

That link didn't work for me.

How do I send a Word or PDF file to you guys, by the way?

That sounds fine (the story, I mean). If it was people hunting vampires or something, you'd be dead in the water, but it sounds like you're taking a fairly literary/mainstream approach to those elements. And sure, I'll be glad to read your stuff. Just stick to short fiction... I don't know if I have the time or energy to edit a novel. ;-) You don't know how disappointed I'm going to be when I find out you're not really Christina Ricci.

The key to tipping that balance is to have plenty of mundane, slice-of-life-type stuff going on, throw in a few ethnic characters (preferably Spanish-speaking), and most importantly, don't offer any explanation or rationale for the supernatural happenings in the story whatsoever. Mythology and world-building are the stuff of sci-fi/fantasy, not magical realism. By the way, anyone willing to read and critique a couple of short potential writing sample submissions would earn my undying gratitude.