cactusflower

No, I think it's fairly common to hear back from waitlists last minute, as many people take their time trying to decide between offers. So, makes things stressful, but it really could go either way.

Hey all, I've mostly been a lurker on here but it has been very helpful and informative to read through everyone's thoughts, especially those who have more experience applying! Congrats to those who are accepting amazing offers, and best of luck to those of you who are waiting to hear about waitlists. I posted a while ago about this, and now, my feared predicament has indeed become my reality: I'm a creative writer who also wants to eventually do critical work, and I applied to both creative programs (PhDs with creative dissertations) and English Lit/Rhetoric programs. I am now trying to decide between A) an offer from the English Lit program at one of my first choice schools in a location I'm very excited about with amazing funding and B) an offer from a Creative Writing program at a school in a location I would consider (interesting to me, but a place that I don't know much about) with less than stellar funding (i.e. less money and a lot more teaching). School A has very exciting faculty, and School B has faculty who are less famous, maybe, but still exciting to me in terms of the types of writing they do. I am having a hard time deciding what to prioritize, so I'll ask generally--is anyone currently in a PhD in English Lit who is a creative writer in any capacity who might be able to speak to what it's like to try to make room for creative work while in a critical program? Or, if anyone feels like they have knowledge about this in generally and is comfortable messaging me privately, I would love to get some advice. Teasing very different pros and cons has been difficult. On the one hand, having a lot less teaching would make more room for creative work. On the other hand, a creative dissertation sounds very appealing, even with more precarious funding.

Thank you for pointing me to this thread, this is so helpful!

Does anyone here have tips for interviewing for English programs? I have my first interview coming up and I want to prepare appropriately. I know I should be able to talk about my interests and my background. For those of you who have done these interviews: what types of questions did they ask, and is there anything you wish you'd done to prepare?

No, this Lit PhD offer is the only program I've heard back from. I'm assuming a few of the creative dissertation programs have already sent out offers, though.

Thank you for this perspective, it's very helpful! I was thinking along the same lines in terms of the job market.

Hi all! I have an MFA in Creative Writing and I decided this year that I wanted to pursue a PhD--partially for teaching reasons, partially because of personal/academic interest. I wanted to keep my options open (because of how competitive funding can be!) so I applied to a few programs in Creative Writing (or, programs with creative dissertations), a few programs in Literature, and a few programs in Rhetoric and Composition. My academic interests are diverse and interdisciplinary, but the creative programs were definitely my top choice. I just got my first offer (yay!) for a Lit PhD program from good school that I'm excited about in a location I like. So, good news! But now I'm starting to consider whether or not pursuing a Lit/Rhetoric PhD is going to hinder my progress with my creative work. I am working on multiple manuscripts right now and my creative work is my top priority--that said, I've been out of my MFA for a few years now and it's been difficult to make progress outside of an academic environment. I really do feel ready to pursue a PhD, and now I have at least one really good option, but for those of you who are both creative writers and interested in critical English PhD programs: do you feel that pursuing a PhD in English takes away from your time you can devote to your creative work? As I wait for more responses, I want to try to figure out what to prioritize, whether that be location, prestige, or the difference between a creative/critical dissertation. Any opinions in this respect are appreciated!

Hello! If anyone sees this/has knowledge about this sort of thing, I've been working up to asking for my letters of rec (applying this fall/winter) and I have a few questions. First of all, most advice I've seen says not to ask for the letters over email. As I'm a recent graduate that no longer lives in the city I went to school in, this is tough, and I don't really have another way of asking. I suppose I could try setting up a phone call, but it seems to me that this would be a lot more awkward and intrusive than a nicely crafted email. What do you guys think? Secondly, applying to MFA programs is different (at least, it appears to be) than most other degrees because we have to apply to SO MANY schools. I've heard of Interfolio as a method of having your recommenders submit their recommendations once instead of to 15 different schools, but I know that some schools don't accept interfolio or other websites like it. Does anyone have experience with using a software like this? Or on the other hand, how to pleasantly ask a professor to submit a letter for you 15 times? Thanks!

This is how I feel ALL THE TIME. Seriously. I'm applying this year too, and finalizing my list of schools is bringing on a fully-fledged panic attack. Have people been able to sniff out a few programs at which one might have a chance at funding that have an acceptance rate better than 1-5%? I'm going to work really, really, REALLY hard on my sample for this. But it's hard because I feel nervous even at the thought of it, spending money to apply to all of those schools and then not getting in anywhere...

Okay, I know--with the MFA, there is no such thing as a safety school. You can't apply to any school and expect it to be easy to get in, some people take a few years to be accepted, etc. I am applying for the Fall 2016 cycle and am now narrowing down the schools I want to apply to. I'd done research about the top schools and how difficult they are to get into, but there's something about seeing the numbers--1% acceptance, etc.--I'm basically having a panic attack a day. I'm trying to level out my school list with schools that have higher acceptance rates, but I'm having a lot of difficulty finding such information. Poet and Writers no longer ranks the programs even individually (apparently they used to rank them for selectivity and funding) and most of the programs websites have little information. Does anyone here have experience searching out these "lower tier" (in a sense, because as I said, no such thing as safety schools) schools that I can add to my list to give myself a better chance? I'd really, really like to go to school next fall. I'm under no illusions that I'm special or somehow more likely to get into these programs than the other 99% of applicants. Does anyone know where I can find information about less selective schools? Thanks! I mean, we're all in this together, right?