Brother Panda

@feralgrad sure thing! Alabama, Michener, New Writers Project, Iowa, U of Arizona, Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Cornell, Houston, Miami (Ohio), USF, Notre Dame, U of Florida, FSU, BU. I think the Florida schools are sort of "safety schools" (if those even exist). I basically picked schools that I thought had enough funding, had good programs, and were in places that I'd like to live, then I applied to all those schools.

Hey y’all. Glad this forum is up. As much as I’d like to just mentally hibernate until decisions roll in, I’ve found myself checking these forums every few days. I am applying to 15 schools. I’ve already applied to 10. Hopefully that’s as overkill as it sounds. I just really want to get in, and so I’m spreading my net wide. A friend who got his mfa at Irvine said he did the same. He applied to 15 and got into 5. Not trying to scare anyone, just relaying his experience. It sounded like a bit of a crapshoot; he got rejected at some lower-ranked programs but was accepted at a highly-regarded program like Irvine. Take all this info as you will. Everyone has their own plan that’s best for them. Last time I applied, in 2017, I only applied to two places and was rejected at both. I had no money to apply at more. Now I feel my writing is much stronger, my aforementioned friend has read my portfolio and loved it, and in good moments I’m feeling optimistic about my chances. So tl;dr, this application process is a bit of a crapshoot, and I wish you all the best of luck! I’m sure I’ll be posting more as decisions start coming in.