LordQuas

Tying in to this, do you guys think it's a necessity to contact professors you want to work with prior to applying?

Yeah this is a tough one and something I worry about too. If I can offer any consolation, I've heard firsthand from certain professors that they don't look at it as buttkissing and they tend to appreciate it. You might want to read one of their articles and just say what you liked about it, then get into how it aligns with your work.

@SomethingWicked Right now I'm finishing up an MA in poetry and I'm likely going to pursue a PhD in Lit. Workshop just gets so stale, ya know? As for your peers I don't even know honestly. MFAs can be a lot of fun, but don't look as good as a PhD on a CV.

Sup. Little about me: Got a creative writing background but have been yearning for a more academic environment. I'm interested in addiction in literature, as well as psychoanalytical theory. Which era I want to specialize in I haven't totally figured out yet. It's not too soon to stress. I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing.

I'm finishing my MA (poetry) in 2020. It was a funded program but I still have a ton of debt from undergrad. My plan was to go get the PhD, but the more I learn about the academic job market the more it doesn't even feel worth it. I wonder if it'd be better for me to take some time off, pay the debt, then maybe go back to get the PhD if I decide it's worth it. But also, I don't know. I like academia so far, not all of it of course, but I do like it. Maybe the job search won't be as horrible as I think. I don't know. Anyone having the same debate with themselves?

Hey, I'm probably applying to UB for the poetics program. Maybe psychoanalytical program, but most likely poetics. I'm in the same boat because though I'm most experienced in poetry, the avant-garde stuff doesn't really float my boat. I really don't think it will work against you. I've spoken to a student who currently goes there and though we didn't directly speak about her academic interests, she implied that before entering she wasn't really into the avant-garde stuff either. I know hgtvdeathdrive is attending in the fall. Maybe they could speak to this better than I can.

Hello. I'm a creative writer. I have a chapbook and some other small pubs/awards, but my interest in literary criticism is fairly new. I'm a little warn out from workshop and I think a PhD in lit could make me a stronger candidate for the job market. I'm particularly interested in ecocriticism and Joseph Conrad, maybe sprinkle in a little Cormac McCarthy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not quitting creative writing, but I think now I want to be both a scholar and a writer. Most of my recommendations are going to be from creative writing profs. They have phds, but in creative writing. One of them has published a few articles on Conrad though, in nice journals. I think SUNY Buffalo and Connecticut may be good fits for me because they seem to offer some fluidity between lit and creative writing, but I'd still be enticed to give the ivy leagues a shot. Do you guys think if my WS were good enough I'd stand a chance?

So do you guys have a personal way of formatting your plays? Or do you follow the standard? Is it expected that you follow the standard in your mfa application? This is all still pretty new to me so I'm trying to get better antiquated with the etiquette.

Which plays are you guys reading right now?

So like, have you guys had any plays produced? I've looked at some of the profiles of current playwriting students at yale and brown and they seem to already have quite a bit of success in the field. Is it standard to have had a play produced before applying? Poetry and Fiction MFAs don't look at your publication history at all. This is the case for most of them at least. I'm getting my MA in poetry right now and I was thinking about getting an MFA in playwriting thereafter. I've had some publications in poetry. Do you think I should include that in my playwriting app? Considering I have nothing to say about my plays other than the work itself.

How many applications do you think Yale gets a year?

Diddo. I've now heard back from all the schools I applied to. Currently on two wait lists. One for playwriting, one for poetry.

I actually can't remember how I came across it. I applied really late so I was frantically looking all over for places that were still taking appies. That's actually my number 1 right now and hearing that Zebra got an interview and I haven't heard anyhting makes me feel like a rejection is coming. But on the bright side I did get waitlisted today from another school, but for poetry.

So do you need like super good grades to get into Yale or Brown? Or is it like the other MFAs where the grades don't mean much and it's mostly the writing sample?

Yeah besides writing I watch a lot of TV. I've got a pet cockatiel who's pretty cool but also a little shithead somethimes. I'm still in undergrad so that takes up most of my time. On breaks I work a variety of driving jobs. Not cool driving jobs mind you: Uber, pizza delivery, an auto-broker, that sort of thing. I'm into hiking and other outdoorsy stuff. Sometimes I do standup comedy, but I'm honestly not a huge fan, I enjoy comedy writing quite a bit more. Who's next?