MoJuiced

the torture never stops http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdbtZqEyE7U

I have considered PhD programs, but I thought I'd start with trying to get an MFA. Publishing is the path to teaching creative writing at the college level. Masters and PhDs expand your job opportunities, as you are able to teach a greater breadth of courses, but I only want to teach creative writing. I'm really just going one step at a time here and I'm open to variations in the future. I did think about Denver. I was really hoping to get into UC Davis which is an MA.

I want to teach.

I can't help but read grad-school-related symbolism into this magnificently poetic rorschach

I do know (at least within my field) that there can be several phases to the process. For instance, in creative writing, they read your portfolio first and foremost. If your portfolio is good enough that it merits consideration then they actually review your other materials. Otherwise they don't even read your LoR or look at your transcript, etc. I'm not sure how many phases there would or could be, and I'm sure different programs do it differently, but if the school has made some decisions previously and you have not heard word back then it likely means you're still in consideration. I would suspect that the specific phrase 'holding pattern' was just that person's term for it. If we delve further into that specific phrase then it might suggest you're unofficially wait-listed, but not so strongly as to have them inform you, since 'holding pattern' usually means a plane is in line to land after others get the first opportunities -- so perhaps it's like a wait-list for a wait-list. Just conjecture on my part. Hope that helps! Good luck!

No word back from Indiana, so I'm just gonna guess we hear from them on Monday

I feel the same way. I just need one!

Too late, but I was chipper. It would be ethically suspect if a polite, inquiring email was a deal-breaker.

I'm on it!

Oh, I agree with you. (I'm not the one who posted that result, btw) I like Michigan and wish they had accepted me.

Jealous of and vicariously pleased for the full-ride WashU acceptee. Twas my numero uno. ?

Indiana and Brown at this point. However, I only applied to programs that I really wanted to attend -- the cost of sweeping me away from LFK. Each has it's unique qualities so it's a win-win-win-win if I can just get in-in-in-in. Le Sigh.

It's a good program, I wanted to go there, but rankings are a mixed bag in creative writing especially. What that poster puts forth is very plausible. Sometimes being at the (perceived) top leads to a different kind of behavior by a program. Not everyone in academia sees it as their mission to assist and make you the best you can be, but rather to see if you have what it takes to get their stamp of approval. Rankings lead to efforts to maintain rankings and ironically the rankings are significantly derived from how many applicants there are and then new prospective students are seduced to apply to top ranked programs the following year, in a most circular and self-fulfilling way.

Congrats!

HAHAHAHA! Oh yeah, Mizzou, right... ;-) You're cool in my book; we know what's good. Here's something else amusing

This is hilarious. I'm the one who (mis)quoted Honey Boo Boo for my Michigan rejection.

1. When having shelled out time, effort, and money for the application, one should at least get a form letter email. 2. Form letter emails are awful and patronizing. Just give it to me straight, no sugar-coating nor chaser. 3. At least have the decency to send me the form letter email while I'm eagerly waiting all day, rather than sneaking it in after 2am so that I can wake up to bad news. 4. Grumble, grumble.

if you beat Robot Odyssey you should be awarded an EE degree

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/01/robot_odyssey_the_hardest_computer_game_of_all_time.html THE HARDEST GAME OF ALL TIME

I can certainly relate. I really dislike receiving rejection emails in the middle of the night so I have something nice to wake up to. Meanwhile, I'm all eager anticipation during the daylight hours.

I came to creative writing so that I would not have to narrow my focus of subjects. I believe in the power of generalists -- the specialists need people to bridge the divides. Richard Feynman said so much and I know he wasn't joking. "In this age of specialization men who thoroughly know one field are often incompetent to discuss another. The great problems of the relations between one and another aspect of human activity have for this reason been discussed less and less in public. When we look at the past great debates on these subjects we feel jealous of those times, for we should have liked the excitement of such argument. The old problems, such as the relation of science and religion, are still with us, and I believe present as difficult dilemmas as ever, but they are not often publicly discussed because of the limitations of specialization." Everything is connected; everything is one thing. Universe.

Can you tell me a bit about the process of getting into the program in Korea?

MFA Poetry candidate here, erm, candidate to be a candidate ;-) I graduated 2012, took that whole year off working in a billing office. I used my free time to read, research, and write. Began my grad apps about a year ago. Now here I am. I still work in the billing office but since submitting my applications, I've given myself a moratorium on working actively on my writing. I subscribe to a theory that getting away from things is beneficial. Plus I can feel myself desiring to get back to it and that's only building. If you have the ability to travel I would suggest that. Life experiences are invaluable. I want badly to just jaunt about, stashing things in my head for recollection later. I had taken time off in my undergrad (before I came across creative writing) and I find that my experiences in life away from academics--both the good and the bad--have been a reservoir I have drawn on since. (I began undergrad in 2002). I'm a big proponent of the 'crooked path', as my mentor termed it. I'm also approaching the likelihood of busting on this go-around and I plan on applying again next year or teaching English in Korea... and I'm leaning towards Korea: travel, save money, meet people, see things, experience things, write, read, LIVE. After that I might pursue the MFA again or not. I ultimately want to teach creative writing at a college level, but I'd be happy doing so at another level or in another capacity. I'll get there one way or the other, and I'm primarily concerned with being experienced and knowledgeable -- the other stuff can sort itself out. (I'm also turned off by the politics and sociology of academia)

The sky is dull gray The birds do not show or sing I wait for good news.

It's only when we try to stringently plan and control our lives do we constantly meet with disappointment. When I travel I like to have a number of things I'd enjoy doing and then I take them as it's convenient. Alternately, I have friends who try to micro-manage their vacations to the point of inevitable dissatisfaction. It comes down to a psychological concept of 'loss aversion'. When you think of something as being 'in hand' it's especially tough to deal with not having it, and consequently people behave so as to not lose even the thing they don't yet have. When you view a potentially attainable thing as not being yours, but it could be, then we act freely towards that possibility. You have a situation where you can go to graduate school. It's not mandatory and you'll have a good life without it, but once you put in all that work and start envisioning yourself getting accepted and going to that school it's hard not to fall into a frame of mind where not getting into the program is a net loss. If on the other hand you assume you won't get in and that your current status of not being in grad school would just be continued pending a rejection, then getting accepted is a bonus. Sadness is still there, of course. I haven't loved being rejected; but I was ready for it. This is partly why such wisdom as "enjoying the journey" are resonant and powerful -- when you relish the effort towards some goal over the goal itself, then you can't lose. Obviously, it's tricky to strike a balance between thinking positively (I can do this) and having tempered expectations (I might not succeed). For me, I languished in undergrad for a while so actually getting my bachelors was an achievement. I'd feel silly taking that for granted now and being overly disappointed if that's all that I get. I'm also quite a happy and privileged person, so it helps to stay grounded knowing others have much more trying things they deal with. It's hard to translate this from intellectual to instinctual, but I've somewhat trained myself in this regard. Sports have been very helpful in teaching me these lessons too. I hope any of this helps!