Starbuck420

I have heard that the "specially chosen" Columbia people get a tuition waiver of about half (maybe a bit more). That's it, afaik. And then no one else really gets anything. Not sure what tuition is off the top of my head -- here The Google can help -- but it's very pricey. my friend read for the Columbia Journal when he was there, but I'm not sure if that was paid or how much. In NYC, you're better off working a job outside the university than some part time gig within the dept., I imagine.

Their English PhD program is also the first of the top 30 or so to notify (traditionally) so the early notifications might have something to do with the way funding is approved, or some sort of super secret grad school policy that we know nothing about

yeah, seems to be true sadly. one of my friends (an excellent writer and very kind person whose family is also rich - ha) went to Columbia for the MFA, and when he first told me he went to Columbia I was like, oh, cool! did you get to work with Ben Marcus? and he was like: no lol a counterpoint to that which is just gossip is that he also said Paul Beatty was really nice and accessible, even though he didn't need to be, which warms my heart a bit because his work is so good. never meet your heroes, kids. unless your hero is Paul Beatty

oh yah, not critiquing your response in any way, just adding my own 2 cents. I secretly lust for both of those programs lol, so I have to spend a lot of time reminding myself why it would be an awful idea

I'm not advocating anyone go to Columbia (I guess I would actually advocate no one go to Columbia unless they can somehow pay their own way), ~ but ~ I read a couple of really good novels by Columbia MFA grads last year, honestly, and I was sort of like: damn, I guess it is possible to pull it off. That said, I have heard what happens at Columbia specifically is that there are like 3-4 out of an incoming cohort of ~70 that the famous faculty decide they want to work with beforehand, and that these 3-4 people get some funding and a little bit of preferential treatment. I imagine these are usually the people who publish the novels with major presses, since they are the pets of Ben Marcus, Richard Ford and co

yeah lol I think this is what it boils down to. here, we have the freedom to be doofs. or, in some cases, much worse...

yeah, yeesh. was trying to register a good-faith critique, and did not mean to set this person off yall sorry

I agree with this. Also, gotta say, the way people address one another and the general vibe is very...LinkedIn-ish? kind of button-down? as in, when I'm on there I sort of feel like I'm at a career fair. everyone is very cordial, and in general very forthcoming with information, but the cordiality is a little superficial and I do get the sense that I'm at a massive networking session I really don't want to bad mouth them, because it's a nice group and the people are generally very supportive, but (to me at least) it often feels less like a group of artists and more like a group of job applicants, which is a bit tricky for a number of reasons. But, if that's your thing, and if you're treating the MFA as a professional degree (which at this point it basically is to some extent), then it's probably exactly what you're looking for, and that's totally fine But also, yeah, seconding the anxiety thing. I had to get the heck out of Draft a couple of months ago. Not because I hated it -- mostly it was useful -- but because it basically ceased to be helpful to me once I had gathered some basic background info on application process

noooo! sorry. this is not something to worry about. fwiw, no one is visiting mine, because I don't actually need to have one, lol. I really just use mine when applying for jobs as a way of linking to samples

I don't know about social media, but people on Draft often post about visits to their personal websites from places like Ann Arbor, or Providence, or Amherst at various stages in the process. Not to feed anyone's paranoia/anxiety, but it really does seem like a few programs will occasionally google your name and poke around for a few minutes if they're really considering admitting you. It's possible (and dangerous!) to read into this too much, but it is something to be thinking about, because it is something that occasionally happens, apparently I for one have been checking visitor data on my Wordpress site wayyyyy too much recently (bad! bad applicant! cut it out!)

Yeah, I have heard from everyone/where that the SOP is much less important than the sample, and basically is just an opportunity for you to prove that you're not a bad person. As Mat Johnson of UH (very selective program) says in this video: "It can't look like a letter from the unabomber" edit: used the wrong words!

Columbia is less selective than the fully funded programs (just gossip, but my friend who went there -- and is a great writer, btw -- once speculated the admit rate could be as high as 75%), but has famous faculty -- Paul Beaty, Ben Marcus, Richard Ford, Deborah Eisenburg, others -- and many accomplished alumni. So, it's a draw for those reasons and other more obvious ones: namely, it's in NYC and is an ivy. Honestly, if you're going to pay for it, Columbia is a better option than many places. But yeah, you'll have to pay. Word is they tend to admit classes of ~70 or more and give substantial funding, in the form of partial tuition waivers, to a very small number of applicants (think single digits). Another reason it's less selective is the large size of each cohort. I can't think of anywhere else other than Iowa that has an incoming class approaching that number

lol yes, I do this. Also, I'm sure that people are aware of the extremely long odds of getting accepted off the slush pile, but it bears mentioning: it is almost impossible (really, truly) to get an unsolicited submission published at a top journal, so don't let the rejects weigh you down in any way. The top tier university lit mags often have acceptance rates between 0 and 2%, to say nothing of truly public-facing publications like the Threepenny Review or even the NYer. The vast, vast majority of people published in these journals are either established writers, unestablished writers with agents, or people who already have or are getting their MFAs. This is probably not news to people, but, you know, just saying I can't find it now, but I read this article recently by a former editorial assistant at an unnamed """top""" journal (author is now an editor at Harpers) in which the author talks about how, basically, during his time at this unnamed journal, only 1 unsolicited submission out of hundreds (thousands?) actually made it to publication. And even then, the author says, this one story was only begrudgingly accepted by the senior editors, who it seems did not publish unsolicited submissions, as a rule. Probably a better way of landing a first pub at a top journal is to submit to contests, though these are also becoming increasingly competitive, and the more competitive ones are usually won by established authors and/or people who already have or are getting their MFAs tldr: Anyway, just a reminder to not beat yourselves up about this one thing. Also a reminder of the -- unfortunately quite immense! -- social/artistic capital an MFA can bestow. At the very least, it familiarizes you with the styles of contemporary literary fiction. At most, it could land you an agent. Either way, a gigantic leg up on the rest of us poor schmucks

Super early! I like their application process a lot: 2 rounds, no app fee in round 1, and an initial decision in less than 4 weeks. Very accommodating. I likely would have applied anyway, but the process itself was a draw for me. I wish there were established journals who read and responded to work in less than 4 weeks lol

Any UT-Knoxville applicants here? Round 1 notifications are out

lmao I wish I was in France. If possible, stay in France. kinda serious. Everything is going to you know what here, humanities depts very much included. year(s) off would be a good idea if you can swing it

I would email the dept - or specifically the grad studies - admin person instead of faculty

I don’t know that universities are more excited than normal to admit terminal MAs, but terminal MAs are always money makers for these programs so I excpect terminal MA admissions to continue all through the pandemic and beyond

a colossal, monumental oof

Pitt English (phd and mfa) is not admitting this cycle

I asked Brown and was told that they've yet to decide. Will post something on the website in coming weeks

The chart is really good. Just adding in some anecdotal info: - An o-so-gentle plug for UConn. Traditionally all terminal MAs are fully funded with a full waiver, good insurance, and a pretty generous stipend. Teaching load is 2:2, which is unusually high, but I don't mind since the stipend is competitive and affords greater than subsistence living in the area - Purdue fully funds with a good stipend - Villanova seems to give full funding (full waiver + stipend) to a select number of those it admits. For example, one year I got no funding, the next I got a full waiver but no stipend. I know there are people on this forum who attended with a full waiver and stipend, but it seems like they offer full packages to a select number of those they admit. Could be wrong about this though - Can confirm that Georgetown is now fully un-funded

this is actually a misleading headline but still

https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2020/04/13/boston-university-is-first-to-announce-it-may-postpone-its-fall-term-until-january-2021/amp/ * gulp *

It sounds like you have a fully funded MA offer, which is rare, and thus hard to pass up. I think you should take it unless you're really unenthusiastic about the school. If you do well, or even only reasonably well, it can only improve your chances at most (all?) PhD programs I also don't know if it's possible to defer GTA funding in a normal year, and think it is even less likely to happen now, since universities are likely to be tightening their belts in the face of the recession. Congrats on the acceptances! a funded offer of this kind is something to be proud of