spearmo

Most graduate schools are a lot of teaching and theory. There's few programs that emphasize the workshop. I know people at Cinncy and they said it was a tough program, but a very fruitful experience. Some are less rigorous than others for sure. Others have a lot more funding and good opportunities to participate in other areas aside from teaching. Some will offer assistantships for working on research projects, editing their literary journals, etc. I've heard good things about Texas Tech. I'm applying to schools close to home this time around. Here's my list: University of North Texas Texas Tech University of Houston Oklahoma State University of Missouri - Columbia Pending application at Western Michigan

If you're ambition is to end up teaching, my advice would be to consider the MFA, but with the caveat of doing your research and finding funded programs. It might also be a good idea to consider sending out your work to a few places, if you feel your work is strong enough. newpages.com is a great resource for finding writing programs and journals to submit to. The MFA and the PhD program can be good for getting your hands dirty with teaching if they offer teaching jobs. Although, I'll tell you now that the adjunct and graduate student professor pay isn't much and at some schools it's abysmal. The good thing though is that they provide teaching experience at the college level. But beware, like any job in academia, you'll have to be aware that publishing is a major part of it and while most professors at CW programs now only have an MFA, the job market is getting tougher and more and more CW professors have PHDs. And while I do know some CW faculty that dropped out of MFA programs or only have BAs, I think they end up being the exception and the thing that have going for them is that they publish books and win major awards, although I know one of my professors told me that the school he worked for was sort of reluctant to hire him without it and he's won major awards and is widely recognized as a good writer. Which is funny to me. To improve your chance, you should become involved in your writing community, start a reading, read for your school's literary journal or find out about one where they need readers, go to book-fairs, get familiar with literary journals, and maybe send out some of your work to a few places. There are some well-respected lit journals edited by undergraduates or that focus exclusively on publishing undergraduate student's work. Ultimately, it's your choice and you follow what you want. Best of luck!

When I finished my undergraduate degree, I told myself that I would purposely take a year off and I tried applying to programs where I would teach abroad. I applied to a program in Korea, but the plans fell through because I applied late and there's some mix-up with my application. My plans for getting teaching experience and traveling were then off and I did volunteer teaching for an ESL program (unpaid and I ended up living with my parents). Then I tried my hand at substitute teaching, but that lasted for a day and it's actually more competitive than you might think. I ended up back in fast-food with a BA and ended up moving up to Wisconsin for a girl and lived there for nine months. Despite the set-backs, in the back of mind, I knew I would still apply to an MFA program and so while in Wisconsin, I applied to the schools nearby due to my relationship, but only one accepted me and fortunately it was the one I wanted all along and I'm grateful, (Sarah Lawrence College). Many people people in my year did take the crooked path and had experience doing odd jobs or had decided to go back to school later in life, some had even traveled abroad at some point. Some actually came straight from undergrad too, but I guess they made it somehow. But what matters is writing and reading and hoping eventually you'll be happy with what you write.

I hope you got into a program! I don't think it will make or break your ms. It depends on who your readers are and which programs you apply for, the one that picks you will see something in there and take you as you are.

I have a friend at Columbia's MFA program. She likes it so far. Although, she told me she didn't get to choose her thesis advisor, which I found strange. Both have writers that I love on there. But when making the decision, you should try to research a little about the writers you might end up working with, Also, NYC is expensive to live in and I don't think it would be as costly at Brown. But the advantage of NYC is that there's lots of readings and events that you can participate in the literary culture. Although, being at a smaller school, you get to know your fellow students better and get more face-time with your faculty, which would be an advantage.

Many people in my creative writing program came from different backgrounds and some had never taken a workshop before or been out of school for a few years. You can apply if you feel you have a strong writing sample. Look for schools that offer a lot of workshops and if you've been missing out on literature courses, don't hesitate to ask your writing professors for book recommendations. Some schools offer courses on the craft of writing, but it might be best to call the school and ask them the question of what type of classes they offer. It might also be good to try to take a workshop outside of the MFA program. There's a lot of great places that offer community workshops. You could even try Meetup.org and see what you find. I hope this helps.

I'm looking into applying to some PhD programs in creative writing. My MFA was in poetry a couple of years ago. I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for what some good example topics are for a critical writing sample. (some are looking for 10-15 pg) I haven't done much critical writing since undergrad (about 6 years ago now) and have only done some book reviews here and there. Also, does anyone know how much the critical writing sample matters over, the cw portfolio and aren't there programs that don't require it? Schools I'm considering: Texas Tech. U of Cincinnati, U. of Houston, U of Missouri, W. Michigan, U. of GA. Any advice would help. Thanks!

More British comedy: Spaced. Watch it. It's totally worth it and very relatable to the post-graduate life. IT Crowd is fun too. Louie is great too.

I went to SLC for cw too in Poetry and graduated in class of '12. The best thing you can do is look for apartments using the Housing page on the SLC boards. You could probably called the grad studies office and they'll direct you to the forum. Rooming with people is best. If you want to live close to campus (which in my opinion is better for your first year for community involvement and getting to know people. I know moving to NYC is expensive for one, and two it can be a bit isolating without knowing many people) you should try to look on craigslist or partnering with someone already there and looking at the area close to the Cross County Mall in Yonkers. I lived in the neighborhood there and it was usually a twenty minute walk to campus. What's nice is the neighborhood bars in Bronxville and parts of Yonkers. Most of the people in the program would use Palmer Lounge or Station House as an excuse to gather those that lived in the city for a drink after our Happy Hour readings and this was convenient because of the MetroNorth being right there and allowing those that didn't come out often to stay for at least a drink. Then there's the Malt House and Burke's in Yonkers. The Malthouse has cheap beer, a jukebox and pool, which is nice. Burke's has food. Outside of going to events on campus, there's not much else to do, but the fact that SLC, at least when I was there, hosted readings or some sort of event every week, it was nice to be close to campus and not find an excuse to not go. Rent can run you into about $600-800/month if you split it with someone three ways if you go for this route. There's the Beeline bus system too, but it stops running to the bus stop on campus after 7PM, I think and you have to walk a bit further to the other ones. If you have a car and want to live close to campus, that's an option too. You can also try living in Bronxville too, but they have limited options for apartments that are affordable. There's apartments you can try on Midland Ave, Bronx River Rd (although, most of them are co-ops and would probably be sublets), and things running along Kimball Rd neighborhoods. SLC campus, itself is beautiful and if you live in those areas close to campus, it's an easy MetroNorth ride to the city. It takes about half an hour going to Grand Central. Although, this is expensive since it's about 14 bucks round-trip. You can get a monthly pass and try living in areas of the city. Affordable neighborhoods to try would be Morningside Heights, Washington Heights, Harlem, and Inwood. But these neighborhoods could make the commute to SLC annoying. Most neighborhoods in Queens are affordable, I know some people that commuted from Astoria. Brooklyn is getting expensive and it seems anything east of Williamsburg is affordable. But commuting from the city is expensive unless you can get your work to pay for it. I hope this isn't over load. But feel to free to ask me other questions, if you end up with any. Best, S