mrvisser

It may in fact be the same one!

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Yeah, the voice is definitely similar. Also, I hope I didn't post like ten messages. The site kept making errors on me.

There is definitely a similar voice there.

There is definitely a similar voice there.

There is definitely a similar voice there.

Glad to hear, good luck! Cornell seems like such a cool school.

Yes, because what I definitely did was "encourage" someone to blow off the small stuff. I suggested making contact, and offered that they should be understanding, which they will be if the writing is really top-notch stuff. You're assuming all applicants are on the same level writing-wise. Perhaps FairleyAlfy is above and beyond.

From what I've seen perusing the past years' forums, acceptances go out late January and February mostly, with some taking until March. I think rejections typically take until March. Of course, this is my first year applying, so I'd love to hear from the members who have already gone through this!

Nice list! We have Iowa, Michener, and Vanderbilt in common, and several others are on my "next year" list.

I think they should be understanding. I mean, it all really comes down to your writing, and if you're a great fit for Cornell's program, they'd be stupid to throw that away on a formality.

Welcome! No overdoing it in here! I wish I'd applied to 16, but seven will have to do for this year.

I agree. Obviously there's Iowa, with all its prestige, but generally, as a lot of these programs point out, if you make it in you're already a talented writer. My own list just comes down to which faculty and programs seemed a good fit for me, and a lot of it really came down to the location. I don't necessarily imagine a lot of different outcomes with my own development based on choosing one school over another.

For me personally, I just decided to apply to schools I would be really happy to go to, which is why I took one of those schools off my original list. I'd be happy to go to any of the seven I applied to this year. I just don't think it's worth compromising on. If you don't like the schools that accept you, then it's probably best to put it off for another year. Just take the time to think about it. Thankfully (or dreadfully), there's going to be a lot of waiting time to think before decisions come out!

I just remembered that I initially had a list of seven schools to apply to, and recently decided against one of them without telling my recommenders. So, fuck it, I'm going to apply to one more tonight, which isn't due until January. Woo! Another rush of potential success/disappointment.

Yeah, it's just that one of my professors has an infant to take care of and seemed to indicate that they wanted to know exactly which schools I was applying to and how many letters to write, so I don't want to surprise her with another letter so last minute.

My list is only six for this year, but my list for next year if I don't get in is up to 20-some "maybes" and 14 "definitelys". I really want to add at least one more for this year, but I don't want to ask my professors for one more letter.

Up until just before submitting my applications, I was grinding pretty hard at writing. In November I finished a collection of linked short stories, which I had been working on anyway, but ended up working perfectly for writing-sample submissions. Since submitting my apps I've been taking a little easier in terms of writing. I keep bouncing between two different novels I'm working on, trying to decide which would be my MFA project if I get in. I feel guilty whenever I miss a day of writing, but at least I still read a few hours each day to keep my mind on literature.

Hello! Likewise glad to see a fellow Washingtonian on here. I don't have a lot of insight on the UW grad program, but I actually did apply to it. I majored in journalism, so my world was pretty separate, but I have talked to some CW undergrad friends and have met one of the department's professors, Shawn Wong. From everything I've heard it's a really strong program, and I really like Shawn. He was willing to answer a lot of questions for me on MFA programs via email. One of my friends had some odd editing interactions with one of the main MFA faculty members, but it wasn't anything too severe, just critiques that they didn't necessarily agree with from a creative standpoint. That's all subjective, of course. I'm actually surprised I don't see more people applying to UW. I loved my time there in undergrad, and while I think it's important to move around and experience new things, I wouldn't hesitate to go back to UW if it was my best offer.

Haha this is great to know. I was considering adding it to my list of schools for next year in case I don't get in this year, but that's enough testimony to keep me away.

This is probably just a question to contact schools about, but figured I'd put it out here first: Does anyone know whether you can change your address with the schools before they send out decisions? Just found out my landlord is selling the house I'm living in, so I'll be living elsewhere by the time they make decisions. I can obviously just forward my mail, but I wouldn't want something to get lost. I guess most acceptances are by phone or email?

Just read through last year's thread; what a bundle of joy that was. It was kind of cool to feel vicariously the stress (and occasionally, success) of those applicants.

Although I'm in prose, not fiction, I'd like to plug Theodore Roethke's work. I don't read a lot of poetry, but I'll occasionally go look through his catalog, as well as that of Dorothy Parker.

From the Portland area originally; moved to Seattle six years ago to attend the University of Washington. I've been lucky to grow up in what is in my opinion the most beautiful part of the contiguous 48, and it has been a heavy influence on my writing. Seems like we have a lot of poetry folks in this forum, but I'm going for fiction.