SK91

I don't have any problem with lit courses; not necessarily my strongest area, but certainly something I have both experience and interest in. I just looked at Old Dominion's course catalog (didn't realize course catalogs were publically available, I'm kicking myself right now) and honestly, they seem to have a fairly bog-standard selection of courses. Nothing really stands out. As far as UNCG being a "studio program," they seem to have the same options for lit courses, even if they're not required (presumably, they'd fulfill elective requirements). My goal for the program is to produce publishable fiction, as opposed to entering academia (with copy-editing as my stable career option; I believe all three of the programs I mentioned offer internships/classes for that) so literature and theory courses are not necessarily my highest priority. Now that I know that looking at their specific course offerings is a possibility, I at least have more options for researching the programs.

Does anyone have any thoughts on choosing between UNC-Greensboro, Old Dominion, and SUNY Stony Brook? Stony Brook isn't offering me any funding for the first year, Old Dominion is offering a fellowship, and UNCG is up in the air. Otherwise, I'm at a bit of a loss deciding whether any of those programs is better than the others.

I'd love to hear what you think about those schools. I'm mostly concerned about the academic quality, regarding an English MFA, but anything you know about those schools--culture, campus, customs, etc.--would be welcome.

Is one better than the other? I like Old Dominion's Norfolk campus slightly better, but it's a three-year program. I'm offered the Perry Morgan fellowship at ODU, and tuition waived+stipend at both. Does anyone have any insight into the reputation of each as a grad school?

Long story short, I've been accepted to a chunk of the schools I've applied to for a Creative Writing MFA. I'm most interested in Eastern Washington U, Stony Brook, UNC Greensboro, and Old Dominion (and I'm waiting to hear back from NC State). Of the four, Stony Brook is the only one not offering an assistantship. The others are waiving tuition and providing a stipend if I choose to attend. Old Dominion is offering a fellowship (Perry Morgan Fellowship), but it's a three year program and the school seems to rank fairly low on lists, though I'm not sure what that would mean for an MFA program (it otherwise looks pretty good). Does anyone have any advice or experience in choosing between those programs? Are any of them clearly superior to the others in terms of academics and professors? What should I look for in choosing the best among the English MFA programs? On talking to students and professors working at those places, I'm not getting a distinct feel for the advantages or what makes those programs attractive compared to others. What questions should I ask, what signs are there that a program is desirable or should be avoided? What metrics, if any, can I use to measure the effectiveness of these programs? (My goals for the program are probably fairly typical--time to practice and perfect writing, study the craft, etc. I plan on studying fiction, with the end goal of publishing novels (as opposed to entering academia). I have experience as a copy-editor, and I can at the very least round out my portfolio with work at a journal to speed my progression in that field so that I'll have regular work to support myself with after graduate school. I don't plan on pursuing a PhD.)