teasel

Hmm.. I could see how this could be easy to read into but I think he's politely telling you that if you didn't receive an email that you are not on the first tranche of the wait list. You might still be on it, but they are actively figuring that out. I'm pretty sure he's just telling you to wait it out until the end of next week before inquiring about your status again. Sorry, I know that's not the answer you want!! *also adding that I didn't apply to SIUC. Hope someone else might have more insight for you! Hang in there

Congrats on your acceptances!! I guess the real question comes down to how much in loans you'd have to take out to go to your dream school, and if you feel it's do-able to pay it back. Worst case scenario the dream school helps you with your writing but the job you get afterwards doesn't pay a ton of $ (but who knows! You mention connections are a factor, but you also mention that an MFA is risky no matter what, right?) Using a loan calculator might help determine how much interest you'd be paying and how long it might take to pay off. Obviously if you feel that you could work a bit on the side and pay it off w/o stressing yourself out horribly, then maybe it's worth considering if you truly think you'd regret turning it town. Another thing you're probably already looking into but that's worth mentioning: how much does it cost to live in DC? Would you have to take additional loans for housing, too? Whatever you decide, I hope you're talking to current students!! I'm sure they have a lot more insight on how the funding situation has worked for or against them. Again, congrats and best of luck!

I'm pretty sure I'll be accepting my offer from UVA!!! I've been hesitate to talk about it because things feel up in the air still in some ways. The faculty are so insanely talented and the faculty member I spoke to was very kind and happy to answer my questions. Honestly feel like this is the best fit for me. At this point I'm taking myself off a few waitlists, but I'm still waiting to hear back about my waitlist to University of Michigan, mostly because the funding is so great but also because I miss living near my family in the midwest. If I was fortunate enough to get accepted off the waitlist, I would at least consider it. I think what makes me anxious about UVA is the fact that I've never lived in the south east part of the US! But I think it would be pretty exciting, too.

The only reason I said anything is because I published some poetry on my social media and didn't realize the repercussions until much later!! You should totally do whatever you want, I just wanted to make sure you knew it would count as "previously published." The lit mag world is full of weird rules that I'm still figuring out too I use google docs personally with my writing group! You can leave "notes" and suggestions in the margins and it can be accessed by multiple readers at the same time. It's also possible for you to make a separate, anonymous email if you're worried about privacy in an online group. I think that there are also FB workshop groups for MFA applicants but I understand if that's not a route you're interested in!

Just follow your gut--sorry if that's "woo woo" or not what you want to hear, but if your heart is set on IWW and you're not feeling the offers you received, you have your answer. What is it about the four dream schools? Is it the "prestige"? It's a totally legit reason! I just think it's worth examining why these other offers don't excite you in the same way. Either way, you should be very proud of yourself for your acceptances, especially during such a competitive year. If you are okay with waiting and are sure you wouldn't regret turning down the other programs, then there's nothing wrong in waiting as long as you know it's a gamble. Someone was waitlisted by IWW last year and rejected without a note this year, so it's kind of a crap shoot no matter what. Sorry if this isn't helpful! But I think it's okay to follow your heart, as corny as it sounds, as long as you're really taking a realistic personal inventory

Hey guys, chiming in to give my two cents, for whatever its worth. I'm not on an admissions committee. This is just 100% my perspective, much of it subjective and based off of my last year of personal research. Take what's helpful, disregard what isn't. *don't publish your creative materials on a public forum. You might wish to revise and send to lit mags, contests, etc. and it's a great way to make a piece essentially unusable. While not everything is publishing material, why take the chance? There are folks who have had materials from their applications published in top tier magazines after the fact *I don't know if adcoms are ageist, and anything we say is speculation at best (or as one person said, it's hard to prove either way). However, I think some folks in their 20's have an advantage in the sense that they often still have fresh contacts, mentors, counselors, letters of rec, etc... academic resources that are arguably much harder to gather when you've been out of school for awhile. Not saying it's always like this, or that it's fair, but it seems like an advantage. Ex: I considered reaching out to a professor I had a decade ago for a letter of rec, but there's no way it would have gone as far as a more recent writing mentor who could speak to what I was doing presently. That said, I think that older applicants have other advantages too, such as possibly more experiences to draw from, maybe more experience presenting themselves professionally, any number of things, really. Again, this is speculation. We're all on different paths, w/e age we're at. For reference, I'm 28 and have had a very unconventional education and been working in the service industry for many years. Not exactly "academic" material by pretentious standards. But hey, I was accepted to a "top five" program (if you believe in ranking) and I'm waitlisted at four fully funded programs, so I'd like to think this door is open for all sorts of writers. I do wish there was more transparency, but whatcanyado *there are going to be bougie folks wherever you go--the fact that any of us can even consider getting this degree is, arguably, privilege. I say this as someone who until this year didn't even have a savings account. But for real, there will be problematic dynamics at all of these places... that said, I wouldn't ignore red flags. *Maybe there are literary geniuses who get into their dream school on the first try without doing ANY workshops, research, and without reading widely but it's the exception and not the rule. Try again!! Don't give up!! Unless it's making you miserable, or you realize it's just not for you, of course. I talked with so many folks this cycle, some who applied 4 (FOUR!!) times over the years, and one of whom got multiple offers from prestigious programs this cycle. It's okay to go back to the drawing board. Don't internalize the rejection, just learn from it. This was apparently a brutal year. And anyway, if we want to be writers, rejection is just a part of the deal. It sucks, but there it is. I cried over a lit mag rejection last week, but I'm already submitting other things... am I crazy? Probably. But if you really want to be a writer, you'll get through it and try again, because you *have* to... you gotta want this really bad. Hang in there! *edited for general wordiness and a typo. Also I accidentally said I was 27 and I'm actually 28 lmao

Heck yeah, that sounds fun! I'm actually trying to visit a friend who lives way off in the middle of nowhere this week, haha. A mini writing retreat : ) So I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it or not, but please add me to the group and I'll see what I can do!

I'm guessing that calls went out and that we're waiting on snail mail for waitlists & rejections at this point, but this is really just speculation on my part. Apparently someone received an acceptance call in late March last year. I would tag the post/person, but it was from quite awhile ago!

Waitlisted for poetry at UW Seattle!!! They cut their incoming class by two thirds this year it seems... Anyway, hoping I get accepted from at least one of these waitlists. Condolences to those who've received rejections this week. I also received my Brown rejection, which was not surprising but still not a great way to start the day. I'm essentially just waiting on UVA (and Iowa snail mail) so I'm coasting until April at this point. In the meantime, I'm finally writing new material and sending things out to pubs again. Just trying to adapt as best I can!! Hope everyone is doing well--haven't been on here as much, but I'm wishing y'all the best.

Saaaame haha. Also, I am definitely freaking out. I'm realizing that while I'll be pretty devastated if I don't get into a program, that the root of the issue is that I hate my job and was really hoping to move someplace new with a clear and defined purpose.

CONGRATS!!!!!! Damn, that's hella impressive. Can't remember if you mentioned waiting on other programs, but I'm betting you'll have options!

Yeah... you're not wrong. I went to Sarah Lawrence for part of my undergrad. Actually, I was there from 2010-2012, so maybe we know each other @dooooodle ! I definitely agree with a lot of what you mentioned... the conferences were probably the moments where I learned the most when it came to my writing. Anyway, if you can handle the trust fund kiddos playing thrift store dress-up and condescending to you about the bourgeoisie (that they're soooo clearly not a part of), then maybe your experience will be different. I feel like those of us on significant scholarship and financial aid found each other pretty quickly. Most of us transferred or dropped out all together. That being said, the faculty and classes were amazing. I was never more depressed than when I had to leave, but it was probably one of the smartest decisions I ever made, financially speaking. I guess you could say it was a very rude awakening to the realities of the world. I think that now that I'm older, I probably would have had an easier time. But such is life! If you can financially swing it, then I say go for it.

Yesterday around 9pm I had got a call from a "no caller id" number. I let it go to VM, but of course no message was left, and now I can't stop thinking about it AND DEAR GOD I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life!!!! As far as portfolios go, I guess my advice (for what it's worth) would be to REVISE REVISE REVISE--give the portfolio to a teacher or mentor you trust, ideally someone who reads contemporary publications and maybe even has an MFA themselves. Someone who understands what you're trying to accomplish in your writing (not someone who just wants you to write like them). I think it's really tempting to try and get feedback from friends and family, but unless they read literary magazines it might not be super helpful and just make you second guess your own instinct. I know the goal is to be "teachable," but you still want the writing to be GOOD. I mean, it seems kind of like a contradiction but there is a level of polish that should be noticeable. In other words, there should be intention in your writing--you thought about this line break, this particular word choice, this particular tense, etc. etc. I think one thing that really helped me this past year was reading widely and habitually. And not just the classics, but things that are CURRENT. Anyway, congrats to all those who heard back from places today! Wishing everyone the best ❤️

Congrats!!!! I didn't apply to NWP, but I applied to Michener (poetry) and haven't heard anything. If you search "creative writing" under the grad cafe results page, it shows one acceptance for poetry from a few days ago. I usually trust the results from the draft group more, since it's less anonymous but who knows? Fiction acceptances seem to have gone out already from what I can tell at least

Everyone seems to be checking portals! I guess that's one more thing to obsess over hahah. My UVA portal just says "submitted." I don't know if it's all that helpful to be fretting over this when they probably won't be reaching out for some time.. That said, I get it. I'm going crazy over here In the meantime, I just started this book called "The Queen of the Night" by Alexander Chee and have been loving it so far. I've also been playing WAY too many video games... I think these are the only two things that fully distract me from this whole crazy process. Am curious to hear what non-app related things you've been doing to keep occupied. I have started leaving my phone in the other room and that's really helped (apparently I have no self control lol). And CONGRATS @Ydrl !!! And to everyone else with good news ❤️