MFA17OrBust
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Posts posted by MFA17OrBust
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@sheherazade Thank you for all the insight you've shared. I wanted to let you know I received official rejection from Boston University this morning. I hope you see movement on the wait list soon. Really pulling for you. Good luck!
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2 hours ago, Scheherazade said:
Did any one else get the "you-weren't-accepted-but-were-among-our-top-applicants" email from Boston University? To follow up on @aridari's previous post, I did get the impression that they have a secret waitlist of sorts, and they said they're sending out further information next week.
Even though the email was essentially a rejection, it was an encouraging end (or near-end) to a season filled with nothing but flat-out rejections. BU has my favorite faculty and was one of my top choices, so it was reassuring to know that they saw something promising in my work, even if I wasn't in the top 2% of applicants. I wish more schools would send out tiered rejections. Given the large applicant pools for so few spots, a rejection could signify anything from not quite making the cut to being a total hack. And when you get so many of them, it's hard not to assume the worst.
The nine other rejections I received came in the following forms:
1. 2 schools sent warm form letters from members of their creative writing departments. These letters included information about how many applicants they received. Incidentally, both programs' acceptance rates were historically higher than those of the programs to which I applied. I thus appreciated knowing that their acceptance rates were in the low-single digits, which helped me conceptualize just how competitive fiction MFA admissions are.
2. 5 schools sent me form letters from the graduate department. 1 sent the letter directly to my inbox, while the other four sent me emails to check my status/find my decision letter on their portals.. All but 1 status check email triggered my spam filter, so I only found out after seeing other acceptances on GC. In one case, the actual status check email came several days after I had already found out my status by logging into the portal. These letters were almost indistinguishable: "Your application received careful consideration. Admissions to Lorem Ipsum University are very competitive, and we regret to inform you that we cannot offer you a spot."
3. 2 schools rejected me through their portals without sending any sort of email, snail mail, messenger pigeon, et cetera. Nor did they bother to include a form letter with the rejection. Even more frustrating, rejections trickled out, so I only found closure through a dread-inducing process of logging in every day (or every hour) after the first reported rejection on Grad Cafe.
And I'm still waiting on one notification (for an application due three months ago).
I gained more respect for the schools in category 1. In a process that often lacks transparency, I appreciated their information about the applicant pool. Their letters, though generic, were also empathetic, which portrayed these programs as warm and caring. As someone who values these attributes in a program, I will likely apply again. The rejections in category 2 were what I expected. Most of them came reasonably soon after their acceptance notifications, so at least I wasn't in limbo for too long.
As for the final category... ugh. Is it that hard to notify applicants who have spent considerable amounts of time and money on your application?
@sheherazade no word yet from BU, so I'm assuming rejection. did your email come from catherine or directly from the university? were you notified in the portal? and i couldn't agree more with your assessment of how programs manage rejection notices: it says something about the ethos of the program. i also agree that they should spend more time/resources to notify applicants in a timely way.
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On 3/19/2017 at 7:28 PM, Sleam said:
Well, I'm not going to grad school. Oh well. Good luck everyone. It's been a learning experience!
I've been off the forum for a few days. Just catching up here. I'm sorry to hear this, @Sleam, but I agree with others who have said they hope this doesn't discourage you. You are a writer-- that is clear. And I wanted to thank you for the positivity and support you've brought to the forum. Wishing you the best.
- tonydoesmovie and Sleam
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I'm an older student -- so old that I have children who complain to me about the ageism they experience in their own work and studies. We happen also to be a family of "Other" in many ways. I have been admitted to 5 programs, 4 of them fully funded, and I'm on the waitlist for another. My understanding is that the current cohorts of the programs to which I've applied cover quite an age range-- from mid-twenties (my kids have forbidden the term "Millenials") to mid-to-late 60's. So, that makes me about average. One of the reasons I wanted to pursue an MFA, apart from learning to write better and focus on the work I've neglected over the past few years, is that I love working with young people. Their ideas, experiences, and points of view have informed my own, and their truth, however unvarnished, gives me hope. So, if I can help some young person (who has loads more talent than I possess) to avoid basic writing pitfalls on their way to greatness-- I'm happy to do it. And I would hope that someone with more experience would be willing to do the same for me. I think on the issue of age, there are some cliches that apply: you're only as old as you feel, and all that. But it's also true that you're only as young as you allow yourself to be.
- Sleam and tonydoesmovie
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52 minutes ago, Hortense said:
@sheherazade I'm in the same boat as you, i.e., one or two programs left who haven't notified. And, honestly, my odds of getting into those programs are nil. JHU was the last school I was hopeful about. So I'm disengaging from the MFA app season as of now. And I'm already starting to have a sense of relief. This whole process has been psychologically onerous. I've had writer's block since January, and normally I never get writer's block. I'm already starting to look forward to writing again. Good luck in 2018!
Best of luck, @Hortense, and I'm glad you'll be writing again. Thank you for all your support on this forum.
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16 minutes ago, Sleam said:
Days are long when I keep checking in. Although I'm about to leave for a week camping in my van with two dogs and a cat called Stephen! No wifi, no phone? I'm not sure what to expect. But I made pizza today just in case... Good luck everyone!
Safe and happy travels, @Sleam
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2 hours ago, manandcamel said:
Accepted to Montana for poetry. No funding - the email says there's only five TA-ships available (not sure if this is across the board or just poetry).
Congrats on the acceptance, @mandandcamel! I hope the funding comes through.
- Hortense, Sleam and manandcamel
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1 minute ago, sadpoet said:
I know this is outside the GMU topic, but I've been accepted to Draft!
Latest news:
University of Houston fiction acceptance
University of San Fransico poetry acceptance
And Rutgers-Newark poetry acceptance
Also, I guess pizza is good luck??
Thank you for the Draft news, @sadpoet ! And just in case, I'll have pizza tonight
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@HebertMarcute @Chickenrun and @Scheherazade -
Thank you for the perspectives on GMU. I've learned more on this forum than from many other sources, and I appreciate the different points of view. Again, just so glad I found this thread. Wishing you all good news, and soon!
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2 hours ago, HebertMarcute said:
i've been lurking for awhile (so thanks!) but just wanted to let you all know that I got a VCU fiction acceptance via email
i'm local so hit me up if you're coming here!
Congratulations! I've heard good things about the VCU program. Do you know much about the George Mason program, also in Virginia?
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2 hours ago, sadpoet said:
Hey All,
I found out about this site less than 12 hours ago, and it has consumed me.
I have a question. So, I applied to Michigan, and I've heard that they sent out all notices. Is this true? I applied, but I'm worried my transcript didn't make it in time. Does this mean that they'd not notify me at all?
Also, does anyone have an idea when Emerson starts sending out letters? I know they do rolling admission, so I thought it might be soon.
I'm a mess and so far have had 2 rejections (Michener & Arizona, which I was particularly sad about.)
Also, I've requested to join Draft, but no one's accepted it, so I'll stay on here to keep updated.
Hi, @sadpoet - I'm new here myself, but I'll share what I have gleaned from this forum and the results database. It appears Michigan has sent notices of acceptance or wait list. All that remains are the official rejection emails, sorry to say. Others with more experience on TGC can certainly advise you better on this point, but I would think Michigan would notify you, regardless of the transcripts. I know very little about Emerson, though you could probably search their history on the results pages and get a feel for their cadence. So sorry about the rejections... it's hard, no matter how many times you read those words. Lots of us have had difficulty getting accepted into the Draft group on FB; I find it just another way to be rejected now, so I've given up on that. There are some very generous folks on here who have kindly relayed information between Draft and TGC, and that has been tremendously helpful. Anyway -- hang in there, and I hope you hear good news soon.
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5 hours ago, Hortense said:
For anyone not on Draft, there were many Iowa poetry acceptances today, a couple of Iowa non-fiction acceptances, and an Ole Miss fiction acceptance.
Thank you, @Hortense! Have you seen a lot of Iowa fiction acceptances on Draft?
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48 minutes ago, manandcamel said:
@badeyebrows @pdh12 @MFA17OrBust @Hortense @BLeonard @Scheherazade @slouching Grad cafe limited the likes I could give. Thanks to each of you for your well wishes. I'm hopeful, but wary.
You're quite welcome, and I'm crossing fingers and toes for you. But I do agree with @badeyebrows : "...X yourself out of the negative..." I'm adopting that as my mantra for this whole venture.
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1 hour ago, manandcamel said:
I've been waitlisted at Michigan! There's a post on Draft atm that's curbing some of my enthusiasm BUT I'm so hopeful.
CONGRATULATIONS, @manandcamel !!!
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4 minutes ago, Hortense said:
I'm guessing no. There just aren't that many notifications on Grad Cafe or Draft. They admit 50 people total, so I'm guessing there'll be more. Also, I think in years past the acceptances were spread out. Hope I'm right, but I don't have any inside information.
Thank you, @Hortense. Sounds right. Sure appreciate the insight.
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So, do we think Iowa has finished acceptance notifications?
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5 hours ago, zen fang said:
Both...oh dear
Do you get the sense U Mich is finished notifying? TGC shows only a couple of fiction acceptances. Wondering how many are showing up on Draft?
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26 minutes ago, Hortense said:
Has anyone heard from Florida for fiction? I thought they'd notified already b/c there's a fiction acceptance and waitlist reported on Grad Cafe. And it was the same day that people on Draft started reporting Florida poetry acceptances/ waitlists. But in previous years they've notified fiction later than poetry. And their deadline was 1/15, so that's a really quick turnaround for a fiction program that gets a lot of apps. So I'm wondering if the Grad Cafe fiction results are fake. Possibly wishful thinking on my part, but it's been bugging me.
You've been so supportive and generous on this thread, I wish I had some info to share with you. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
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42 minutes ago, Scheherazade said:
It looks like Syracuse has sent out all notifications for poetry and fiction, but I don't think Cornell has. There's only been one report -- a fiction acceptance.
Thanks, @Scheherazade. I'm following the results pages here, but haven't been able to access Draft yet. (My FB profile looks pretty suspicious; I never post and I'm rarely on social media.) Thanks for all your informative and positive posts here. So helpful.
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@Chickenrun I'm new here, too, and so glad to find this forum. I think UVA begins notifying in mid March. @Scheherazade Do you think Syracuse and Cornell are finished notifying for fiction and poetry? Thank you!
Fall 2017 MFA
in Literary
Posted
Congratulations, @sleam!