buckles

Probably later than other schools because there deadline was later. I assume it'll be around early or mid march.

Got my first rejection. It's nice to finally know. After reading the form rejection letter, I reread the FAQ on the MFA page which made realize I could easily have gotten rejection purely based on the fact that the premise of my story has a speculative/magical realism element while the rest is realistic fiction.

I'm starting to think I didn't get in anywhere.

Thanks for the update. I'm trying to stay hopeful.

@feralgradis GMU your top choice?

I'm excited for you.

I might be alone in this but I just want to hear from Brown already. I'm also hoping that if I get accepted somewhere they'll email instead of call. Still waiting to hear from all my schools. I haven't seen them notify anyone yet. Guess that means I still be hopeful.

@feralgrad I agree that writing for yourself is incredibly important and that an MFA degree doesn't make someone a writer. I also agree that resilence is important in the success of a writer. @Ydrl To answer your question, I can't say that I've swayed from writing fiction but I do read memoirs and CNF, especially when I'm doing research for a story. A few people in my life have suggested that I write a memoir but I'm not sure if I want to and would rather dedicate that time to something I'm passionate about. As others have said, it's okay to write different generes and even if you stay within one genre you can mess around with structure.

Like most of you, I log on to check my application status more often than I should. I prefer seeing in progress instead of complete. Even though they both mean the same thing. Wishing everyone luck.

Whether or not I get into an MFA program, my goal is to write and publish novels. I'm working on one now and a few ideas for others but am making myself work on one at a time. I see an MFA as being part of a community that cares about your passion as much as you do. Most people in my life care about other things. My few writer friends we don't share what we write about which is fine but it would be nice to have more of an overlap. Not against running a writing workshop afterwards but I could also be happy without doing that. I guess I don't really see a degree changing much but I'm open to being surprised.

Brown and Alabama are known for being open to experimental writing. It's not crazy experimental but it is very experimental compared to programs like Iowa.

@anarchisttiger before you hear back go to a few open houses and work on the financial side of buying a house. It's quite time consuming and messy. I'm curious about what everyone writes about.

The uncertainity of where I'll be living next year is driving me insane.

Just curious. Which program to you counts as a safety school?

If you're going to reread your sample, I'd recommend using the read aloud function on word.

My writing sample was the first 2 chapters of my novel, first person present and first person past tense. I think reading submissions is just like going to a bookstore, reading the first few pages, deciding whether or not you like it. Except with submissions, someone reads through the end and their deciding whether they like what you wrote and if you'll fit in there.

Ideas are half the battle. Writing has been keeping me sane.

Have any of you been writing? If I applied to Syracuse, I'd be sad about Saunders.

Regarding admissions decisions, it seems hard to tell. As someone that works in HR, I suspect they give good news before bad news and that the time frames given on their websites don't really hold any weight. Near the end of the time frame given schools know that some applicants are going to call or email asking about their status. I'm not the most patient person so I get that waiting sucks.

Glad to know I'm not the only one anxiously waiting for application decisions. I applied to 4 programs (Brown, Vanderbilt, BU, and Iowa). My top 2 would be Brown followed by Vanderbilt. I'm not excited by Iowa just wanted to see if I could get in. I'm jealous of everyone that applied to Syracuse (dream school). I didn't apply because if I got accepted, I wouldn't be able to say no and my boyfriend is finishing up his MBA so it didn't make practical sense. I submitted a novel excerpt which isn't recommended.