Ydrl

I’m not sure how teaching two classes a semester will exacerbate my health conditions. But I’m determined not to let it hold me back. It’s madness disguised as hope, isn’t it? I don’t expect to get in most of these schools, but my dreams about grad school won’t die regardless. What a strange thing.

Yeah, education for your kid is important. And if Baltimore isn’t a good choice, I wouldn’t apply. Have you thought about U Maryland? It’s in College Park, MD. I’m not sure how close that is to Baltimore, but at least it’s not in Baltimore.

I knew someone told me earlier about Pitt, but I checked the website today and found this. I hope everyone knows at some point that they’re closed for admission. I’m curious, what’s wrong with Baltimore?

Pittsburgh isn’t taking anyone this year. “In response to the disruptions caused by the global pandemic, graduate programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh are pausing admissions for fall 2021. This includes the MFA and PhD programs in English.” I applied to Cornell and Syracuse last year. Syracuse’s rejection letter didn’t have my name, but instead had a generic “To MFA applicants”. I really liked Syracuse, but two of my recommenders insisted I not apply this year to the only school that was so impersonal. Cornell and Johns Hopkins take about the same amount of people, yeah? I love Cornell, the only qualms I have is that I paid $105 for Cornell to reject me on Valentine’s Day. I don’t know much about Johns Hopkins. No matter what you end up doing, I hope everything works out.

Welcome to the thread! Nice to meet you. Honestly I skipped every program that requires a critical writing sample over 8 pages (the best essay I’ve got). And trying to come up with an essay from scratch in three weeks is brutal. Also, is there a program you’re choosing over Purdue? I’m curious.

For Michener it says writing. I didn't apply to NWP.

Welcome to the thread! Say, are you fiction, nonfiction, or poetry? Oh, one school, Michener specifically, they want your name, primary and secondary fields, on the header of the Statement of Purpose. It doesn’t say to put that anywhere else though. I’m confused, but also hoping that I didn’t mess it up.

@FairleyAlfy What schools are you applying to? Also thanks for the tips, I appreciate that.

Good news, I’m not in the hospital anymore, and I sent my writing sample to Texas today. I’m relieved that I did everything I could on my end. I hope my recommender pulls through. Also submitted to U Minnesota.

So, uh, I'm really hoping that I'm not in the hospital, without a laptop, when applications are due... I don't have the virus for anyone wondering, but I'm frustrated and scared. Couldn't my problems be nice enough and wait until January? Feeling the pressure of being sick and applying to grad school makes me want to puke. Anyone want to share how they're coping?

Thank you, I really really like Minnesota. It surprised me when the criteria got changed to the CIC eligible students only. “The Creative Inclusive Cohorts Training Program seeks to recruit academically excellent students with diverse ethnic, racial, economic, and educational backgrounds and experiences.” I‘m happy I fit within those guidelines as a Blasian, but I feel bad for the better writers who would have made it if the virus wasn’t around . That’s the ultimate imposter syndrome right there. And thanks for the tip about the lecture! While I’m more excited about the prospect of working with Kathryn Nuernberger, I’ll still check it out.

Good poInt, this isn’t going anywhere but south. I’m just gonna pretend he doesn’t exist.

So, even though only the second half is directed at me, I can’t ignore your bizarre response in the first half. It’s true, some people get rejected / ignored a number of times and become wildly popular on their own. However, that’s a small number of people compared to those who just aren’t good enough to deserve the spotlight. You could have distanced yourself from the comment about being “God’s gift to literature” but you didn’t. You said there’s nothing that your rejections prove. The height of your hubris is both hilarious and unsettling. The vibes I’m getting from you are the same ones I get when Incels talk about women. The inconsistency of your comments were called out too, but you didn’t defend yourself in any meaningful way...yikes. If no one from Iowa told you that you were a good fit for them, then you don’t have concrete proof that you’re a good fit. Only Iowa can determine you’re a good fit. Again, you aren’t an all-knowing deity. Even if I wanted to see your work, I probably wouldn’t find it, or you, to be worlds better than the rest of the fiction applicants. You aren’t sent by God to give us your writing. As for the “no evidence” thing, there isn’t any evidence that you aren’t making mistakes with your writing sample. All I see are denials and a vacuum in you where your dignity and basic human decency should be.

You having the power to apply to schools while having the virus is awesome. You’re so strong, and I’m rooting for your success. I’m worried about deadlines too, one of my recommenders hasn’t submitted his letter of recommendation and it’s due Dec. 1st (as far as I’m aware). Also, while I have my writing sample, I don’t know what order to put everything in. I don’t think I’m doing great at my SOPs either. I wish I could help but mine probably suck. I hope you get better soon.

For the rest of you, I’m deeply sorry that you have to see me arguing with this dude. It takes a special breed of ignorance and hubris to get me this fired up. I’m not like this offline, and I’m not like this with understanding, rational, kind people like y’all.

You’re funny, “There is nothing fundamental ruining my writing that I don’t see.” I just told you that you can’t see it. You aren’t some all seeing deity, and you aren’t above the rest of us either. Yes, for those who are being seriously considered by the college, it’s quite random and the little things can make a difference. But it’s not like we’re all on the same playing field. Some people are destined for the podium, some people aren’t gonna make it there until they realize they’ve lost. I’m curious, did anyone in Iowa say you’re a good fit for them? Or is it just you locked in an echo chamber? Because to be a good fit for any program, you need to stop being overwhelmingly negative and as dense as a fruitcake.

Uh, no. You don’t have to get an MFA if you’re a writer. Of course you have to read to write, that’s common sense. Of course you have to eat to keep muscle. What you’re doing is twisting my statement about you and your issues into a question I never asked. First, I never said I understood it all about fiction writing and editing, I’m a poet. Stop comparing apples to oranges. Second, I think you don’t understand writing any more than I do. Did you learn anything after years of applications? Besides how to be a jaded, whiny man-baby, of course. How many times will you launch into your broken record speech about editors? No one cares, the majority of us aren’t there yet. We still have a lot of learning to do in order to publish. After a full roster of rejections over multiple years, there are probably fundamental things you don’t see that are ruining your writing, and your chances. Maybe, it’s because you’re not a good fit for the schools you apply to, maybe you think your writing is way better than it is, or perhaps the committees look at your SOP and think that you’re as pleasant as a dumpster fire. It might even be all three. I regret being nice to you in the beginning. I assumed you just needed to talk to people who were in the same situation but were accidentally coming off as mean and insecure. It’s not an accident, it’s a toxic pattern. @feralgrad was absolutely right to call you out.

If you can compare yourself to your teachers and writing influencers, why do you even need an MFA? If you’re that good, stop b*tching about application fees, just submit to literary magazines and leave this thread. Considering your track record with rejections, I’m gonna advise you to take your haughty attitude and swap it for humility. We all have a lot to learn about writing. Pretending you know what you’re doing isn’t gonna make that a reality. Also, I’m fascinated by how you switch between “Where do I find myself a first class editor to boost my chances of acceptance?” and “I’m just as good as the people I admire even if I don’t have an editor.” Maybe decide which paper-thin persona suits you before you think about applying this round.

Would you walk a tightrope if there wasn’t a safety net? That’s exactly how I view this situation. I empathize with you, really. I don’t have a fully fleshed out backup plan either. It scares me that I might have to apply another round after this. At the same time, even if I don’t make it this round, I can take even more time to focus on my health, relationships, and hone my writing as I start living independently. I respect your choice, it’s one that I won’t be making, but you do what you want, I guess. I have some issues with failure being better than being mediocre. 1. Going somewhere that’s “mediocre” doesn’t mean you’ll be forever mediocre. 2. You can leave a school for a different one later. You aren’t trapped there. 3. What on Earth makes failure more romantic than achieving something you want so badly? Most of us on this thread are pursuing a passion that will never stop burning no matter what. It’s quite dramatic that you want to get in somewhere excellent, but would rather fail before accepting that you are the thing you look down on: mediocrity. There’s not a polite way to say this: Get your off your high horse. Right now we don’t compare to the teachers and writers we’re fascinated with. If people like us are good enough to get into grad school, perhaps being mediocre isn’t bad.

It sounds like you don’t have backup plans, kind of the same here. But it also sounds like your mood is spiraling downward real quick (I hope you’re okay). But you’re right, no one is coming to liberate you, because real life is a b*tch. However you are free to explore yourself and your surroundings until you find something that frees you from this state of mind. Thank you for telling me about the schools you’re interested in. I appreciate you responding to that question. I see you’ve only picked fully funded, stellar reputation schools. I did something similar last year. This year I picked some schools with less popularity because they align with things I value more than prestige (faculty, years spent in the program, states I don’t mind living in, cohort size). If you really want to get in somewhere, look for some less famous schools that align with the things you value on your writing journey. I’m glad you’re being honest with us about your thoughts. One thing about published authors. My father has published multiple books and had the same paid editor throughout all of them. His books suck. No amount of editing, not even stylistic editing, can change the content of his sh*tty, sh*tty books. I mean, if you want an editor, sure, whatever. It isn’t cheating to have someone look over your writing and suggest improvements. That’s what I do with my recommenders, all of them have MFAs, we sit down and talk about choices I made and they point out glaring flaws that I’ve missed. I don’t think you’re gonna read this, but in my opinion (which probably means nothing to you) what you need is to reassess your relationship with writing. Writing because you don’t know what else you can do is not a good reason to pursue an MFA.

@feralgrad we keep posting at the same time haha *knocks on wood*. Your messages are compact and direct, and my posts are so so long. Should I start including tl;dr?

I get you’re bitter, and you have a good reason to be. It is stupid, applying to all these schools when there’s a tiny fraction of a chance that we’ll get into a school we want. The fact that schools suck our wallets dry by dangling hope over our heads is really really infuriating. Your feelings are valid. However, I have questions for you. 1. Why are you here if you don’t believe your writing isn’t good enough to get you where you want to go? If you don’t have faith in your work, no one else will care about it. 2. Where are you applying? This is a question I want you to answer with a list. Not all schools have a horrendous acceptance rate. Michener and Iowa? Pipe dreams. New Hampshire? Not nearly as bad (no one posted a rejection in the poetry results). If you have a bunch of schools like Cornell (takes four students for fiction each year), then you’re setting yourself up for heartbreak. If you need suggestions for some schools that aren’t as hard to get into, I made a spreadsheet and would be happy to give you some options to consider. 3. Are you going to contribute anything positive to this thread, or continue treating the rest of us like competition you want to dishearten? We know that other people in this thread might be our competition, it’s common sense. But this is a thread to lift everyone’s spirits, we’re all comrades here going for the same goal. Last year, even though I didn’t get in anywhere, I cried happy tears when @feralgrad got into George Mason. If you don’t want to support the people in our thread, leave. If you want to lash out at people who don’t know anything about you, leave. However if you need guidance, support, cheering up, or friends during this process, you belong here. I don’t know why you’ve had a bad run of applications for the past few cycles and I’m not going to pretend I do. The posters in this thread don’t want you to fail or feel like a failure. At this point, we’ve offered everything we can. I’m gonna extend my hand again, because I want you to succeed. Especially because you seem really crushed about it. I don’t know you. I don’t know any of these people. But I don’t want to see you suffer. Accept our help dammit.

I didn’t realize that existed. I typed out a whole inspiring speech. I suppose that’s the duality of this thread.

TW: Suicide Attempt Let me ask you a few questions: Are you still able to apply again? Do you still have hope? Are you willing to keep trying no matter what? Are you gonna give this your all? I asked myself these questions when I didn’t get in anywhere last year. It took me months to say yes to these things. I wanted to die (and nearly did) a week after my last rejection letter came in the mail. But you know what? It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get back up when you’re knocked down. Because getting up is an achievement. Trying your best is an achievement. Moving past rejection is an achievement. Even though nobody’s gonna give you a standing ovation for each of these small victories, you should be proud that you had the guts to try last year and that you’re trying again. It f*cking sucks to get rejected, and I know it’s weighing on you like it weighs on me. But this time is different. I learned from last year’s mistakes and worked really hard on the thing I could change: My writing. I got back on my feet and I’m offering my hand to you, all of you, let’s get up together.

Uh, hey. It’s time to stop. I’m not sure the message of @Graceful Entropyever got to you. We’re here to support each other, and certainly not to wage war on each other. We’re in the same boat. I know, applying is nerve wracking, and anxiety makes people say the darnedest things. It’d be wise of you to take your energy and put it into your applications. I wouldn’t bother raging against the people who seek to comfort you, me, and everyone else here. If you need help, we’re all here to support each other. But if all you want is to put others down or write cryptic messages that are supposed to make us wary of you, I recommend coming back to this thread when you can ask for advice and support while acknowledging we’re in this together. Collect your thoughts and emotions. Breathe. It’s gonna be okay.