exvat

Will add for myself: I am still waiting to commit, based on and at the encouragement of conversations with schools and their current/past MFAs. They have told me that, for my individual circumstances, waiting and gathering more data is the best strategy for me right now. The thought of a rescinded acceptance because of funding issues, politics, etc. does not frighten me, even if I assume it's a realistic possibility. My life collapsed in 2023; I lost much, nearly died, and miraculously recovered. An MFA is what I want to do next with my life, and I am thrilled to have been accepted to 2 amazing programs in my dream city. But if the rug gets pulled out from under me by a rescinded acceptance—even if it's partly because I waited to confirm my slot—then, as I shared here in a story like six weeks ago, "Oh! Okay, bye bye." I have survived far, far worse. I have lost much, much more valuable things than a slot at a vaunted MFA program. If I lose this too, then I will pivot and figure something else out. I learned that I had resilience beyond anything I could have imagined, and I suspect many here would find the same in such circumstances, either in the midst of or after the suffering. I will not let the specter of one possible future haunt my present. It took me 39 years to learn that, but that lesson alone has reduced my own suffering in this application cycle enormously. May you all be at ease 🙏

Just chiming in to say that from a coldly mathematical perspective, you need at least 3 data points to define a trend—and even then, it's probably a flimsy assumption to make any consequential decision on, barring significant contributions from other data sets. (Count the modifiers and conditionals 👆)

Heading to AWP, will be at the big poetry events, the NYU meetup on Friday, etc. HMU if you wanna do a Grad Cafe coffee or boba something-or-other. Or just look for the guy meditating in the quiet room 😆

I was accepted for poetry on March 3, and I believe I saw someone else here report a waitlist 😕

Hell yeah you did, congrats!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Words of caution to those looking at another application cycle and considering degrees they're not exactly stoked about.

That's a totally cool option, def. I also saw some cool combo degrees while prepping for my application cycle this time, but my focus is v narrow (MFA only), so I didn't bite. But the Columbia JD/MFA program was kinda compelling for a hot sec. Then I came to my senses and remembered getting an MS in something I wasn't passionate about, and how it nearly killed me.

Is there a Grad Cafe AWP meet-up? Even if just for hugs and therapist referrals 😂

Welcome to Spring / Late March! Chiming in to say I'm happy with the results of my second application cycle, and incredibly grateful that I took time after the first season to live my life as a person and a writer before applying again. Made all the difference in readiness, focus, and discernment. I would have gotten so, so much less out of an MFA had I been accepted my first round. However much I was disappointed back then, now I'm grateful for those straight rejections.

100%. First teaching of the Buddha in the Dhammapada is that suffering is made in our own minds. In the long run, distraction only causes suffering; but in the short term, distractions can help balance perspective. I got two tattoos and did like twenty miles of walking meditation just waiting for NYU and Columbia; helped immensely in the short term, and because the distractions weren't unwholesome, helpful in the long run too.

Brown University versus the world

Condolences on your loss, wishing you peace and ease 🙏

Pruuuuuuu___!!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Corroborating with something someone at Vanderbilt told me: that while the program says MFAs shouldn't have outside employment, the stipend doesn't reasonably cover living expenses in Nashville, so the unspoken reality is that they'll grudgingly allow you to keep a job as long as you show up to 100% of program responsibilities. Miss one thing tho, and it's likely to be unpleasantly addressed. I got a "better to ask forgiveness than permission" vibe around extra-program employment.

Yes!! Screamingsportsbaby.gif, baby!!!