greenleaf

Thank you so much, this is super helpful! Honestly I'm very likely to accept the offer so hopefully we'll be there together in the fall 🙂

hi y'all, popping back in. got into queen's college cuny today, a week after accepting a full time job in nyc. only partial funding, but considering my job would be my funding, i'm faced with the choice of whether to do job+mfa at the same time, or to hold off on the mfa until i can apply again to fully-funded programs for next cycle as i'd originally intended. oh decisions! anyone have any thoughts on the work+mfa bind? also: i'm turning my down my offer at boulder and my waitlist spot at arizona, so hopefully if anyone is waiting for those admissions you'll get some good news soon!

hi y'all. just got waitlisted at NYU. given that rejections were coming in on the draft, i was sure that it was a rejection email, so i was very shocked to be waitlisted, and am very happy! i have a possible job opportunity in nyc so I impulsively applied to a couple of CUNY programs over the weekend as a last-ditch effort but those are looking unlikely since none of my recommenders have replied to my emails lmao. will keep holding onto the NYU hope!

definitely relate. i've learned next cycle i'll only apply to fully-funded programs to make sure the mfa can be dedicated to writing. also nervous about asking my recommenders again. i think i might change one of them out. of the other two, i think they'll be supportive. one of them didn't get into her mfa until the second round and had already been telling me to look at different schools next year. tho i'm not sure what ur recommenders backgrounds are, if theyre writers they understand that applying multiple years is not uncommon for the mfa! and if they're not, theyre human, and it wouldn't hurt explaining your reasoning--your clarity around your priorities is more than reason enough

hi frootkoops. i feel you: im 25, my 1 acceptance is not funded, and i'm waiting on 1 school (prob rejection, not fully funded if i do get in). i don't have wise advice to give but i do have my perspective given my similar sitch. i feel i'm most likely to apply another cycle (whether its this fall or next yr) to keep aiming for a fully funded program. i plan to spend more time identifying programs that have the best fit for my writing and make sure i feel proud of every single poem in my sample. i plan to become accountable to some sort of writing community (i saw someone posted a discord in the fb group i might join). at the very best, it means a fully-funded acceptance. at the very least, it makes my writing better, both for having spent the time to read works by profs in mfas and having crafted a better sample, and i'll feel a sense of pride for seeing growth (i hope). somewhere in between, it might mean publications or new connections. i'm not in a financial situation where i can easily say yes to an unfunded program. i believe money comes and goes but not that much money! i don't want to feel like i'm paying off this decision for the rest of my life. and considering i made the decision to apply late in the game and went mostly off of cities i thought were cool when selecting programs, i know i can be much more intentional in another cycle than i was with this one. if you decide not to go to your accepted program, i'd encourage you not to think of the time between undergrad and the mfa as gap years. you're living life, you're writing, you're gaining material to write with. these years aren't a gap between degrees, they're life happening here and now! put yourself in situations that stimulate writing. i also wonder if there are any more schools in the PNW (or nearby, like california) that are funded that you could consider

received my penultimate response, another rejection. nyu, its on you... you know where to find me.......

i don't have insight/experience, but i surmise it has something to do with early responses for acceptances/waitlists, especially if they're smaller programs... like they hope that after some initial responses they can offer some WLers accepted spots and move folks at the top of the rejection pile onto the WL, knowing that april 15th is a big movement day and wanting to have enough candidates in case they need them. i have no data to back this up but its what i imagine

if nyu accepts 20-30 per genre per their website, and there are only six poetry acceptances in the draft, lets say anywhere from 100-150% of that off draft, then there's still a chance there's a handful of poetry acceptances still to go out...? i feel like i'm in a state of mind between that confused lady with the floating equations meme and that red-faced guy with the conspiracy theory board meme

i think NYU has yet to send out non-fellowship acceptances (or maybe i'm just telling myself that to hold onto hope)

brown rejection came in right at the final note of my mahler 2 listen-thru. gotta admire the universal timing

am also waiting on CU. i think it might be next week for them

i'm ready to bury the hatchet with nyu and brown rejections if they'd only just come

sometimes programs don't do interviews across the board, so i'm hoping you still have a shot at rice. i believe its their first year offering the mfa so im sure theres still elements theyre ironing out. fingers crossed for you, we need weird trans shit!! i hope you get the visibility and support that comes with an mfa, though i'm heartened to know you know ur ahead of the game i write weird trans shit and one of my recommenders advised against applying to iowa and a few other schools cuz they wouldnt really support that kinda work. gotta find your people!

one poetry interview for rice on 2/23. three poetry rejections for boston on 2/27. two nonfic acceptances for unlv, nothing for poetry. nothing for brown but i know we're expecting if not this week then soon. two notre dame poetry acceptances on 2/27 several hopkins poetry acceptances/waitlists on 2/12-14 sorry to hear about NWP. fingers crossed for you and thanks for sharing your experience, its useful for others even if torturous for you. i hope it works out

question while we wait in bated breath for this week's woes: does anyone have any recommendations for first residencies to apply to? i've never thought about attending one, but going through this process is opening my eyes to the value of non-mfa opportunities for writing development and i'd be curious if folks have any thoughts or recommendations about where to start!

new mexico acceptances out one in each genre ;-; on my knees begging new mexico, arizona, and nyu to put me out of my misery this week

correct me if i'm wrong: my understanding is NYU admits 20ish per genre per year, more than other programs because full funding is not guaranteed. all the poetry acceptance so far have been phone calls, so it's possible it'll be staggered over a few days for deborah laundau to make all the calls. which means we might be anxious messes through next week...

i'm gonna be on edge about this all day😭

i really relate to this. 25, state school star, was allowed into the grad poetry workshop where i was told i was a shoe-in for MFAs. feeling top-of-the-game and being in the rejection and waiting wormhole has really skewed my perception of myself as a writer and my confidence about getting into the writing world that it seems the MFA offers, and no one in my support system really gets it. i don't feel the energy to write right now and i feel like even applying to residencies isn't worth continuing this feeling. I know it's worth trying again and again and i appreciate this community and knowing that folks can and do get into programs on the second and third try. i really, desperately want connections with writers who will treat my work with measured care and attention and honesty and that is what i have to sustain myself through this purgatorial search. i also felt the need to apply to a couple of jobs to have something else to look forward to and got interviews now i'm worried i'll hear back from them before the rest of my MFAs and have to make an unsavory decision, but hey, the things we do to deal with the intensity of this application cycle

whatever sauce miffy in the draft is cooking with, i need a taste...

Am also waiting for Arizona poetry! Draft only has nonfiction entries for Arizona, no fiction or poetry. An Idaho fiction acceptance went out on 2/16 and a playwrighting interview on 1/26, also nothing for poetry.

you're right. looks like early March either way. not sure what confused me

anyone apply to university of washington-seattle? based on draft data it seems we should be hearing back from them soon... i'm anxious for them and university of arizona this week

Its after 5 PM Eastern Time, so I have to assume they're done for the day 😕

i understand the personal touch being compelling and exciting for folks getting in... i personally feel like a call to accepted folks and a blanket email to everyone after is what makes the most sense. best of both worlds: they get to be personal, and we get less freaked. i wonder if they are aware of the draft community and how stressful it is for applicants, and whether that would make any difference in their notification practices. maybe folks who get in can bring it up! i'm not thinking i'll get the chance this time around 🙃