teasel

Don’t know if anyone else applied to Alabama in fiction, but I just got an email and I’m on the waitlist! So glad that my first (official) notification of the season was a good one after presumed rejections from WashU and Vandy. Keep your heads up! ?

this is THE. VIBE. INDEED!!! i'm young and have NOTHING to lose. not a penny to my name and i owe nobody. trying to make some foolish choices before the inevitable, dreaded "settling" into a career.

Oh absolutely. My UMass Amherst rejection was crushing because I just had this (unfounded) feeling that I was meant to be there. My other big one is UNLV. There are other programs I adore, programs that may be objectively better fits for me once I start looking at logistics more, but my heart has been with UMass and UNLV since the start.

Research is a basic skill required of anyone applying to graduate school. If you have questions regarding the specifics of a program, I recommend contacting the program directly.  

Very true! Even the most "marketable" genres of the MFA are subject to a lot of luck and uncertainty. I'm just living in the moment--kind of seems like the infrastructure o the US is crumbling anyway, I figure I might as well do whatever I want in terms of what time I have. It's easy for me to say that though--I don't have kids or other people that rely on me. Maybe one day I'll get more serious about having a stable career and go into teaching, but for now I'm just trying to embrace a sense of adventure 

Couldn't agree more on the benefits of studying poetry. I tend to think about a lot of things in terms of their musicality, and having that layer of razzle-dazzle makes good fiction truly shine, in my opinion.
Marketability of the skill has definitely informed my interest in screenwriting, but let's be honest, if any one of us is pursuing an MFA with money in mind, that person is deeply misguided on several levels.

ME TOO! What genre?
NVM just saw poetry too, awesome.

I used to write poetry quite a lot, and a lot of my prose tends toward the poetic (rhythm, internal rhyme, metaphor, etc.) but it has been a few years since I set out to "write a poem". Lately, I've been doing 30 minute "free writes", just putting down words as they come into (out of? sometimes it's hard to tell which way it's going) my head. That process has given me a lot of raw material that might be better suited for poetry. I dunno!
I definitely like to get around with my writing. A couple months ago I started writing a script for an animated series, which has been really enjoyable! Screen/Teleplay is an awesome format to work in. I'm really aching to get into Michener, as screenwriting would be my secondary focus.

Just received an email accepting me to UMKC! 

First of all YESSSS @Ydrl!
Also, at the risk of being that guy, any whisper news in Cornell? I have tried to keep this to myself, but it’s my top pick. I have believed until now that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that I might get in, but I’m starting to think I have a shot. 
Dying to hear from them, Iowa, and Michigan. ?
 

do yall also have schools that you're weirdly attached to and like it would REALLY hurt to get rejected from? im AFRAID for my HEART. i mean, they're all excellent programs but my attraction to some of them is like entirely unfounded and has very little basis in objective information lol it's vibe city and im the mayor but it sure would suck big time to be inevitably rejected from at least one if not all of them. this mercury retrograde is certainly not helping matters ;_;

Research is a basic skill required of anyone applying to graduate school. If you have questions regarding the specifics of a program, I recommend contacting the program directly.  

I would think that including publications on your CV demonstrates that you're active in the literary community, which doesn't seem like a bad thing at all. I mean, it's about the writing sample first and foremost anyway. I wouldn't stress the little stuff! A top 30 publication is something to be proud of either way. 

I would think that including publications on your CV demonstrates that you're active in the literary community, which doesn't seem like a bad thing at all. I mean, it's about the writing sample first and foremost anyway. I wouldn't stress the little stuff! A top 30 publication is something to be proud of either way. 

I also figured I might as well say hi to you all, since I'm refreshing this page every 20 minutes or so during work anyway! This is my first time applying and my confidence is pretty low after reading through this forum (I found it last week) and seeing how competitive things are. But I also decided to apply last-minute, so I'll be ok either way. If I don't get into any, it was definitely a learning experience for future attempts.
The only school I applied to that has sent out results so far is University of Oregon. I didn't hear anything, so I'm scratching it off my list. Nine left to go! Glad this forum is here, bc I'm trying not to rant to my friends too much-- I'm sure they're all sick of hearing me talk about it. But this process is so all-consuming. Anyway, thanks for all your posts. It's nice to help pass the time when there's nothing to do now but wait. 

In a similar vein as @catastroph, I'm a first-time applicant, and I only decided to apply last spring after learning about fully-funded programs. So far, I've received two rejections (applying CNF) from Minnesota and Idaho while I wait on what I assume will be rejections from Oregon State, New Mexico-Albuquerque, Nevada-Las Vegas, Washington-Seattle, and Columbia. Either way, I was wondering what second-, third-, and beyond-time applicants do to prepare for the next application cycle. Obviously, continue reading and writing and editing, but do you guys have any particular strategies for targeting the weaknesses in your rejected application? I also come from a family of non-scholars, and was wondering if anyone had any helpful resources regarding grad school. I found a really cool group of MFA candidates who will look over your writing sample + statement of purpose if you are an underrepresented writer. Any other resources like this? 
Thanks! And crossing my fingers for us all! 

Ready for it! I was in a bad mood yesterday, but today's better. Ready to hear from the rest.

Me too dude, and even thought I was fully anticipating it I still melodramatically stared at the ceiling for like 30 minutes ❤️ hang in there!! 
 
 
Hi, welcome!! We applied to a lot of similar schools--I'm still waiting on UMass for poetry as well. My status changed to "update pending" this morning, but other than that I've haven't gotten any emails or anything. I was just rejected by Minnesota so I'm kinda hoping UMass will put me out of my misery... I'd like to compartmentalize this icky feeling within the confines of today lmao. 
Anyway, best of luck to everyone ❤️ do something nice for yourself today 
*Edited for typo

Me too dude, and even thought I was fully anticipating it I still melodramatically stared at the ceiling for like 30 minutes ❤️ hang in there!! 
 
 
Hi, welcome!! We applied to a lot of similar schools--I'm still waiting on UMass for poetry as well. My status changed to "update pending" this morning, but other than that I've haven't gotten any emails or anything. I was just rejected by Minnesota so I'm kinda hoping UMass will put me out of my misery... I'd like to compartmentalize this icky feeling within the confines of today lmao. 
Anyway, best of luck to everyone ❤️ do something nice for yourself today 
*Edited for typo

Me too dude, and even thought I was fully anticipating it I still melodramatically stared at the ceiling for like 30 minutes ❤️ hang in there!! 
 
 
Hi, welcome!! We applied to a lot of similar schools--I'm still waiting on UMass for poetry as well. My status changed to "update pending" this morning, but other than that I've haven't gotten any emails or anything. I was just rejected by Minnesota so I'm kinda hoping UMass will put me out of my misery... I'd like to compartmentalize this icky feeling within the confines of today lmao. 
Anyway, best of luck to everyone ❤️ do something nice for yourself today 
*Edited for typo

Hi! I'm getting married in 3 weeks, facing a moving deadline, and am also feeling the anxiety. You're definitely not alone! 

Thank you ! I have some family in the northwest and have always wanted to live there; I really love both UW and WWU's programs, and Bellingham in particular has definitely become a part of one of my MFA fantasies for sure. Fingers crossed !

Hi, everyone! I just discovered this forum this week and was lurking a bit, but the waiting is killing me, so I decided to introduce myself and talk to you lovely folks in case it might help! (You all seem great!)
I've been playing the UMass Amherst waiting game, too, amidst their spread-out notifications...As of yesterday I was "Under Review," and today I'm "Update Pending," with no email yet. I'm not on Draft (requested access but doesn't seem like I'll get it, not totally sure how it works) but it seems like from what y'all said it's game over for this one. I just wish they'd go ahead and reject me so I can let go of my last reckless shred of hope, haha. I'm trying to keep the faith about the rest of my applications, but this will be my first result, and I'm pretty much terrified to say the least.
I'm waiting on Iowa, Brown, UVA, University of Washington (Seattle), and Western Washington University for poetry... I was going to apply to Buffalo's MA with the certificate in innovative writing, too, but they're not accepting admissions this year, sadly. I'm feeling pretty stupid for throwing my hat into so many competitive rings, to say the least, especially because this has basically been my dream since before undergrad.
Best of luck to everyone, and thanks for reading ! : )
 

Guys, I made a friend at Barnes and Noble today. He’s an older poet and he’s so cool. I don’t meet many poets in person, especially these days, so it was refreshing to physically talk to someone who’s so knowledgeable.

With you on this. It’s my first application round and I *know* to more or less expect rejections across the board, but it’s a hard thing to actually internalize. 
 
My probable rejection from WUSTL is making me nervous for the more popular / ‘prestigious’ programs, but trying to remind myself that 1) yes, it’s all subjective, 2) it only takes one acceptance and 3) life goes on. 
 
All the news on Draft today gave me a minor anxiety attack, but it’s honestly soothing to have a broader community full of people going through the same thing and getting the same rejections. We’re in it together!! 
 
Anyway, trying to distract myself and get excited for the future, whatever that may look like. Best of luck to you and everybody else.