Adelaide

Yeah, great point! Anyone else feel free to weigh in, but that makes sense and does make this idea a long shot in feasibility. That being said, if anyone has any graduate studies grants they are familiar with, have obtained, etc., even if they are just a fraction of the cost, I'd still love to hear if people have something in mind. I've been searching ProFellow in the meantime.

Due to life limitations (not wanting/being able to move), I don't believe a fully funded MFA program is an option for me right now. However, I don't have the cash to spend on the degree, and for me personally, I don't want to take out loans. Or at least make the loans very, very, VERY minimal. ("Minimal" is subjective for everyone, I realize.) I know some schools do partial funding or award a select few a fellowship, but I was also wondering about obtaining non-loan funding outside the institution you're attending. Does anyone know if getting enough money for MFA from outside sources is a thing? I am going to contact my undergrad alma mater too because I do know they award a few alums some money for graduate school and continue researching places that give grants for graduate school. But I'd like to know if anyone here knew anything about this. Is it possible to cobble together enough grant money to fund an MFA? Of course I realize costs of every program differ, but just gauging a general idea, any thoughts, or if anyone has a sweet, sweet grant opportunity they think would fall into this area. I'm a woman in California, if that helps, though I know other demographics may play into it. Thank you!

UC Irvine is definitely coastal and urbanish in the Southern California sprawl sense! LOL. But they have a fiction and poetry MFA. Fully funded for three years (according to their website) but another very competitive one I believe. My only other SoCal one in mind isn't an MFA, so this may be useless info for you, but there's also USC's PhD in creative writing, which is usually about 5 years, I think, all funded. I've done a lot of research and the Bay Area MFAs have pretty limited funding as far as I can tell. If they do award funding, I don't think it's like the guaranteed funding for the entire cohort like Irvine might, for instance. They might be a handful of fellowships available, for instance. Like based on what San Jose State's MFA page says, it seems like not everyone gets a fellowship. If anyone has fully-funded Bay Area MFAs they know of or can talk more of funding in Bay Area MFAs in general, please drop your knowledge, because I'm curious!

To be clear, I'm describing just the financial payoffs that Columbia might offer, not the creative, intellectual, or social ones.

I agree with feralgrad. I say don't go. Yes, going to Columbia could theoretically land you great contacts and set you up for great future success in the writing world, whatever that means to you. But nothing is remotely guaranteed, especially when it comes to money, and going into (what sounds like to me) tens of thousands of dollars in debt for this degree is a risk not worth taking. Like feralgrad said, you will likely be paying off this debt for many years. And with interest, you will end up paying much, much more than you took out. I do not know your personal financial situation, your specific career goals, your specific job prospects, so a lot of this is devoid of context, but that's my general advice. If you do not have access to your own cash to pay this tuition up front, don't go. You already are in a wonderful position of having no debt from undergrad and I wouldn't jeopardize that.

It takes a few days, but they should let you in. I joined a few months ago (and then left when I dropped out of this application cycle, though clearly I'm still lurking around here, LOL) and it also took several days. They may do some checking to make sure you're not an admissions committee member or something?

My opinion is your recent MA professors are still pretty good choices. But I say this as merely an MFA hopeful that has done a bunch of research, not as someone who has ever actually applied, gotten in, or known the inner workings of a program. Based on what I've read, though, many people do not have (recent, numerous) relationships with creative writing profs that they can use for letters of recommendation. Some people even use supervisors from work or anyone else that can comment on their sanity and ability to work with others in a collegial way. Instructors of creative writing are optimal, I imagine, but it does run the gamut. That being said, your instructor(s) from a decade-plus ago might still be viable or even preferable recommenders. If you do wanna contact them, I would talk briefly about your stint as their student and send your current sample and your statement of purpose to jog their memory and let them know what you're capable of now. (You might have planned to do this anyway; probably good practice for all letter-writers you're asking.) Letters of recommendation are a much-discussed topic in the MFA Draft '19 Facebook group. If you haven't looked there already, request to join and then search "letter of recommendation" to see what everyone else has been saying. I have seen similar questions to yours and there you can find advice from people who have actually gotten into programs. Edit: I just found this article. (Maybe you've seen it.) While it only expresses the view of that person, and may not ring true for all admissions committees, it seems thoughtful enough: https://kendalldunkelberg.com/2015/02/22/letters-of-recommendation-for-mfa-in-creative-writing/. Good luck! I'm still deciding about my MFA applications this year. Not sure if I actually will apply, but good to brush up on knowledge nonetheless for the future. Hence my presence here.

(Hm..seems my link not working. Anyway, let me know if I missed something on the program's website, too. I looked for but sometimes I'm a space cadet and I miss things.)

Hi, folks. I've been scouring the UNLV MFA website and these forums, but I have several questions (for UNLV students or anyone in the know) about the translation and study abroad aspects of the program. I am also thinking of just contacting the school itself, but in addition to these questions, I'm curious about anyone's experience in the UNLV MFA! I want to know you're feeling about the program or how you felt if you've left. What level of competency in a non-English language must you demonstrate to get in to the program at all, if any? I imagine some would be needed prior, but I don't see it on the requirement list. I see no language test requirements or "fluency" mentioned. Super confused. What level of competency in a non-English language must you possess to successfully complete the foreign language/translation and study abroad coursework and semester? If you want to focus on a specific language/country that speaks a specific language, but no UNLV faculty specialize in that language, must you choose another? I think that's all for now. Thanks!

I'm wondering the same thing. Other than "your best work" and "front-load your best work with the best of your best work." This looks like a good resource to start with. However, I wanted to pull up a chair and see if any other poet MFA-ers or professors have some good knowledge from experience.

Hey! I don't have specific recs, but there are so many programs out there (hundreds?? someone help me out here) that you sort of need to narrow your search criteria to get meaningful advice on programs. I believe there are some universally acknowledged "top programs" that are known for quality, generosity of funding, and competitiveness of entry. But you may have a lot of other factors that complicate that list: whether you write poetry or fiction or nonfiction, your purpose in getting the degree (development of your craft, credential, knowledge production), whether you can move anywhere to go to a school or have a limited geographic area, whether you need funding or are willing to pay tuition, etc. And I'm only speaking about programs in the United States, I'm not sure about elsewhere. I would advise making sure you've nailed down your own personal parameters and then begin your search, including asking for others' advice on what they would recommend.

Just wanted to check in as a (potential) application for Fall 2013. I wanted to say hi since Af-Am Studies is my sort of homebase, though I might be applying to Religion, American Studies or History programs, but to do essentially Af-Am studies-type stuff. ANYWAY I hope the Fall 2012ers are well gearing up for their first year. I'm not well-versed in a lot of African-American studies programs which is why if I do apply this year it'll only be for a three or four at most. But I did talk with a lot of professors this summer at an academic program and they offered a variety of tips about applying to grad school. I don't know if people have specific questions, but you can give me a try. Almost every professor I talked to was an Africana Studies professor in some capacity (though that wasn't necessarily their department) and all were people of color. So if you're interested in knowing something I might be able to pass on the info!

I cannot help you with information but (if you haven't already) I suggest some determined Googling and inquiring with professors you know in your field that might know of programs open to that. Try to find scholarly books written about superheroes or comics or other related topics and see where the authors teach and possibly where they did their graduate work. Also, this topic should probably be moved to the Lit, Rhetoric and Composition board since has to do with applying.

I'm sorry, fuzzylogician is right, it's not a good look. What I will say if you are very invested in finding out about that department, I will say if it's been many months of silence would I suggest contacting higher-ups. And definitely don't call out a specific professor for not replying. I would just express your interests/specialty, describe your efforts to find information and ask for a connection. By "bump you up on the email list" I wasn't talking about asking people to put in a good word just because you want it, but present yourself as an exciting candidate that they will want to talk about. Or...poop on this too, but I don't think that's outrageous...

ponponpon, that is a tough situation. Maybe you could contact the chair of that department, and ask about the work of their colleagues, possibly bump you up on their priority list in their email inbox; OR contact a dean that is linked with the graduate school student issues. I assume the dean knows all the faculty, and though he/she may not know the ins and outs of the faculty's research, they might be able to increase your chances of talking to or finding out about the work of those professors. While I don't think you should mention professors whose work you don't know, I don't see how it's bad to mention professors you haven't personally talked with. Not everybody everywhere will necessarily get back to you, and you still need to talk about them and why you might want to work with them! (Then again, I could be totally wrong.) What I have heard from multiple professors from various universities about applying to grad school is do not rely on one professor in that department. People have said it multiple times here, but I guess I want to emphasize it. Even though a professor may say they are definitely taking students, millions of unexpected things could happen during your time with that professor, especially at a long PhD program. One professor I talked to mentioned the death of another professor, which was of course very sad in itself, but also left her PhD students left with no one to carry them through.

Thank you, Lux Lex Pax! I feel a little dumb for missing that. Somehow I scour the website for some things and completely miss others. I appreciate the info. If anyone has any first-hand experience with faculty at Princeton, please also let me know. It's very comforting to see the interdisciplinary encouragement on the website, but it's also good to get some accounts of how some professors might operate, too.

Cool, thank you. I've talked to a couple of Princeton people and they haven't mentioned that program. My focus is in 20th (bleeding into 21st) century African American religion, with an emphasis on women (I get more specific, but that's the general idea). I know there are multiple faculty members in the Religion department who can advise me and specialize in subjects surrounding my field, so that's not a problem. I'm just wondering if I can do ethnography and not catch hell for it.

Hey everybody! I've noticed that various folks have applied to the Princeton PhD in Religion, so maybe someone's familiar with the department. I know that Princeton's departments are fairly conservative in terms of sticking to the "accepted" methodologies of the discipline. However, Religion is inherently interdisciplinary, right? Would it follow that I would get support if I wanted to do something that was historical, literary and sociological? I haven't read the work of the faculty yet, so I probably should look there as well, but if anyone has insight, please share! Thanks!