teasel

An extremely accomplished poetry teacher of mine, who had almost 40 poems published in journals last year, lets his poems sit for 2-5 years before considering them finished. A 2-5 year waiting period isn't right for everyone, but it's definitely helped me to revisit work months or even years after the red-hot moment of creation has cooled. 

I had two stories in my portfolio last year: one I had worked on for 4-6 months, and one I started just a couple weeks before the deadline (I would not recommend this, obviously). I was pretty happy with the first one, and I had nothing else in my portfolio that I felt anywhere near as proud of. I decided to take a gamble. I think it helped that I modeled my last-minute story off a particular author (and one who isn't well-known in literary circles).
So to sum up: not terribly polished. My program is pretty "progressive" aesthetically, so I think the adcom looks for unique ideas.

Just got waitlisted at Idaho for poetry! and so the waiting continues...

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 ❤️ 

Another rejection here today from UC Davis! Came in the form of a portal update email. This one definitely hurts a little more (especially considering the unwaveable $120 application fee and my heart being pretty set on California) but we're pushing through. So far it's been only rejections here; Northwestern, UMich, and UC Davis now. Holding out for UC Irvine, Brown, Boston, Mills, and CCA San Francisco as much as I can. Not letting this ruin my day today because I got my unemployment back pay from 3 months today and if you asked me a few days ago if I thought I could even still consider grad school this year I would've told you no because I had no money for it and still no job. Keep pushing, y'all. I know it can be really disheartening and frustrating but I promise you're not the only one feeling this way. 

First acceptance! Sarah Lawrence, Poetry. Lovely, warm phone call from Paige-Ackerson Kiely. She mentioned that AWP is this week and that they were generally swamped, but that next week would be more clear. Makes sense that other programs might also be experiencing delays due to AWP.
Anyone have experience with Sarah Lawrence and/or Bronxville? Long ago, I dated a guy whose Mom lived in Westchester. It was beautiful, but tony and filled with a lot of white people (don't get me wrong, some of my best friends -- also me; although my birthfather is from Bolivia; but I currently work with uber-rich white people and I'm pretty over it). I wonder about cost of living, especially since the program is only partially funded. Would love any insights about the program or the area.
Thanks so much for letting me hang with y'all here in GradCafe. I would be feeling insane right now without your generous sharing.

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 ❤️ 

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 

Hi everyone! I applied to New Writers Project (poetry) at UT Austin and received a notification that I'm on a "very short" waitlist. I also applied to Michener. Any poetry applicants heard from Michener yet?
 

I also got an interview with BK College! I think I've asked this before with no luck but does anyone have any insight into their particular interview process? Thank you in advance!

WOW!!! Yay!!! Congrats!!! I hope you rock your interview and I hope you get ALL the money.
I'm reading "A Suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth, and loving it so far, too. Also, I haven't been doing a terribly good job of doing other things, but trying to remedy that today. Also, music. Lots of music.

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 ❤️ 

just landed an interview for Brooklyn College (my top choice if I ignore financial restrictions). felt auspicious because it’s bernie’s alma mater and he emailed me about Walmart in the exact same second

I think it largely depends on the program. For instance, more sought-after, fully funded programs are (I think) more likely to get who they want, and I think there's generally not much movement on their waitlists. But the big exception there is that if the programs are of roughly equal standing and are looking for similar qualities in applicants, they're often vying for one another's applicants (for example, I know Iowa and Michener often have overlap).
In terms of personal experience, I was waitlisted for half the programs I applied to last year (Minnesota, Madison-Wisconsin, and Michener). It's hard to know what it means when you're told you're on a waitlist because schools differ greatly in how long their waitlists are (some only have five students while others seem to have upward of 15), and they don't usually tell you exactly what number you are. For example, Madison-Wisconsin said I was "near the top" of their waitlist; in the end they took three people who they'd made original offers to and three from the waitlist, so I could have been #4 or even lower and it's just impossible to know. Minnesota told me upfront I was #7 on their waitlist, and I moved closer to the top as it drew nearer to the 14th. Ultimately, it was looking likely that I'd get in, but at the very last moment I got an email saying the program had been "asked to admit fewer students for next year" due to covid and therefore wouldn't be taking students from the waitlist. And I don't know where I was on Michener's waitlist. But from what I've seen on gradcafe, I *think* it's rare for them to have more than one person move on from their waitlist. Don't quote me on this, lol.
Anyway, all of this is to say, it's really really hard to know what your chances are of making it off a waitlist. However, you might be able to advocate for yourself and/or for more information by letting a program whose waitlist you're on know that you've been accepted at another competitive program. 
(Hope there was something helpful there! Good luck!)

Received a full tuition scholarship

Excuse me wtf? I got into U New Hampshire????? WHAT

Thanks for writing this. I suppose all of us have our different reasons for wanting to pursue an MFA and it's worthwhile to examine what those reasons really are, although I'm sure there's plenty of overlap among us. I've been writing for about 8 years on and off with a bit of success but COVID upended my non-writing career and made me rethink priorities. Now I just want more time to hustle magic out of my soul through writing full time. But I'm not sure whether in reality an MFA would be helpful, even if it forces me to write everyday. I applied to a wide range of programs within commuting distance. I was not especially invested in any one. My thinking was if I get in somewhere, then I would investigate more deeply: try to suss out the vibe and moral of the students and who is actually doing the teaching. OTH, assuming this cycle does not work out (looking probable), I may try a low-residency or maybe take another shot at this next year. 
 

Now that's just fowl.

Excellence In Pizza Consumption: @teasel
Excellence in Boss Hangs: Quail.
May we all have the confidence of a quail among turkeys.
 

Me, praying to a god I don't believe in: I just ate some pizza, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE.
In other news, I saw a herd of turkeys blocking the road today and there was a lil california quail hangin out with them. He thought he was a turkey :')  
 
 

@fishfish24 I'm also about to reach jungle status--starting some seeds for my Spring garden this week! Also might start seeds for my summer garden but I have no idea if I'm getting off these waitlists. If I don't get in this year you better believe I'm going ALL OUT on my garden lmao. I had fungus gnats one year and the best thing you can do to prevent is to mix boiling water with your seed starting/potting soil mix to kill any eggs. I also second the neem oil suggestion ❤️ 
 
Really sorry for those that are hurting today. I've reached a weird place where I'm finally accepting that I have no control over this outcome beyond the work I've put into my applications. Knowing and accepting are two different things apparently, haha. It hurts to be told "no" when you're hoping for a "yes." No one is disputing that the odds are terrible, that many of us might not be ready for an MFA yet (tho that's certainly not a random internet stranger's place to discern, myself included). But that also doesn't change the fact that if you want this badly enough, you will keep writing. You may apply again, or you may choose to form your own writing community. Maybe you realize a business built on competition and rejection is not something that makes you happy and you go a different direction--none of this is bad. I actually know two people who dropped out of MFA programs because it was making them miserable.  Both of them still write and publish. I'm not saying it's going to work out for all of us, I'm just saying that there are many paths to happiness and I feel sorry for those who become bitter and contrarian in an effort to disguise their low self esteem. Let's all take a breather and remind ourselves why we started reading & writing poetry/prose/essays to begin with. Is it to feed your ego and sense of "greatness" or is it because it nourishes you somehow? What has this process taught you, for better or for worse? Personally it's taught me that I might have ADHD lol. It's also taught me that what I really want is to be a part of something greater than myself in terms of a solid writing community. It would be great if that happened in the form of an MFA, but maybe it means being more proactive in my current community or moving to a different city in search of more opportunities. Anyway, this is a long ramble-y way of saying that I have really appreciated everyone who has participated in this thread.  

Me, praying to a god I don't believe in: I just ate some pizza, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE.
In other news, I saw a herd of turkeys blocking the road today and there was a lil california quail hangin out with them. He thought he was a turkey :')  
 
 

Me, praying to a god I don't believe in: I just ate some pizza, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE.
In other news, I saw a herd of turkeys blocking the road today and there was a lil california quail hangin out with them. He thought he was a turkey :')  
 
 

Me, praying to a god I don't believe in: I just ate some pizza, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE.
In other news, I saw a herd of turkeys blocking the road today and there was a lil california quail hangin out with them. He thought he was a turkey :')  
 
 

Me, praying to a god I don't believe in: I just ate some pizza, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE.
In other news, I saw a herd of turkeys blocking the road today and there was a lil california quail hangin out with them. He thought he was a turkey :')