Greithe

Count me in, please. I haven't been able to find any local writing groups where my writing fits in at all, and certainly none where we all share an objective, so I would appreciate such a chance as this. Thank you, pattycat!

Looking at last year's IWW results here, the first acceptance calls from IWW went out about this time, continued for some while, and rejections followed in the mail in March, continuing into April. That's not to say the system may change at any point. Who knows what Covid and other circumstances are impacting these days.

To be completely fair, we knew when we applied that we had a 99% chance (well, a 97% or so chance) of rejection. The volume of applications against the size of the cohort makes that the reality. I honestly love people who hang onto hope in the face of odds like that. That's been part of the fun, and the misery, of this whole adventure, for me anyhow.

Thanks, and you too! Right now I'm fine with rejections as long as I can get this over with, and just have some direction and a plan. I imagine a lot of us are in the same boat with that. It's the where-will-I-be-next-year feeling that's the worst.... especially when I realize I applied to at least one school that's so far away, I probably wouldn't be able to afford to move there if I did get in pffft (good job! lol) I have learned, in an already longish life, that whenever disaster strikes (apart from anyone dying), it's clearing the way for wonderful things ahead. Happens EVERY time. So I've learned to be grateful whenever the roof caves in, and keep looking ahead for new good things. They always come, eventually. ❤️

He was my treasure, God rest his sweet soul! And yes, exactly; we haunted Lough Key Forest Park quite a bit. I write fiction rooted in landscape and folklore, on the edge of magical realism, and like to explore how the old stories keep retelling themselves in every generation. I've been published; I've gotten some compliments for setting and voice etc, but my challenge is digging deeply enough emotionally, daring to be vulnerable enough for the story, and that's where I'm hoping MFA workshops can help me. IFFFF I can get in, and that's looking so iffy right now lol - I'm still waiting to hear from five programs, or 4 once Iowa finishes calling its lucky few. If I don't get in anywhere this round, I'll go job hunting for now and try some low-res options next go, I think. Or, maybe just live in a van near the beach. That's really getting tempting these days!

Oh, do I have family photos on Galway Bay! We lived just a few hours northeast, not quite halfway to Mullingar. Our beloved old service dog was born in Mullingar, so that town will always have a place in my heart. My kids went to school across the street from a famine graveyard that had been turned into a lovely memorial park. Oh, I miss it, I miss it. Let me know when I can read your book! ❤️

Thanks! And I love your name - I used to live in Ireland, and darn near studied Theology at one point. ? Looking around the Iowa site, it seems they've even assigned us University ID#s and everything - I suppose it's necessary to process us through the admissions system, but still, thousands of people going in and out of their system every year without even enrolling just seems mind-boggling. I will be very happy on the day I delete the last portal bookmark, and close the door on this life chapter. What a wringer lol.

I wish I'd paid attention to that too, now. I've gotten no phone call, and my application status is still "In Progress" but like you, I can search the catalog from the portal, and see the Spring classes. Probably it means nothing, but as you say... scraps of hope, until it's really over. Good luck!

I would gladly be an honorary Mom for you whenever you need one. During our transition (and it really is "our", the world shifts for the whole family for a while), I ended up on anxiety medication for the first time in life, because of the panic attacks thinking of my beautiful sweet child (okay, he's in his thirties, but, MY CHILD) out in a world that is so damn narrow-minded and mean sometimes, even to the point of being dangerous. So yeah, I really did pay attention to the gender/sex choices on the applications, with the realization that those were probably a good indicator of how supportive or even aware the academic community there is, when it comes to trans, nonbinary, genderfluid, intersex and other people who are confronted with this Male/Female box thing all the time. Will it make any difference in my choice, if I'm lucky enough to get a choice between programs? It actually will, yes. The lone university who only offered Male/Female went to the bottom of my list, though I love their program. Because, MY CHILD.

I'm the proud mom of a trans guy, and your post made me smile more than anything else has in a long time. Thank you! I did notice, while applying to programs, what choices were offered regarding gender and/or sex, and was disappointed to see that one university still only listed two choices. One out of seven total, so that's progress. Slow, too slow, but it's out there.

Oh dear. Sleepless night ahead for me! Pattycat, I hope they're not finished the phone calls yet. Who knows? With so many schools reporting earlier than they did last year, I had dared to hope the opposite was true - that the competition would be less fierce this year somehow, with fewer applicants. My head knew better, but my heart was a fool.

Funny you should say, because my Plan B (possibly C) is going for my Ph.D. in Education, and Delaware is on my shortlist for that, along with a few programs in Virginia. I grew up in Maryland, so that's as close as I can get to home without having to live in my car due to housing prices. Whichever road you land on, good luck! I love Delaware's beaches and little towns.

Agreed also - I went back to finish my undergrad in my mid-40s, on campus, and all through the first week, other students were looking at me like "Who brought their Mom?" Pretty soon, however, I was just another student in the class and I had a blast being back in the classroom. One afternoon my theater classmates found out I'd never been to a Starbucks, so they dragged me there and treated me to my first-ever salted caramel something-or-other, then cheered and yelled when I took the first sip. I still laugh about that. Going back to school was the best thing I ever did for myself, on a lot of levels. And Paul, glad you stayed! My quantitative GRE score is so much worse than your writing one! ?

Good luck for both - Gainesville is beautiful and such a nice place to live. We're 2 hours south of it and feeling the same! I have one kid who's terrified of tornadoes so is praying for Not-Iowa and Not-Illinois, while the other kid's occasionally shouting out things like "WHEN IT SNOWS CAN I GET A SCAAAARRRFFF?" I'm getting tired of telling them that this time next year, we may well STILL be sitting in the same old Disney World traffic every time we go out, while I bite my nails through another round of this. ? I'm praying for early answers too! And maybe a scarf!

Teaching certification in some places is made to look and sound so complicated, but your school will walk you right through it and everyone needs teachers now - that sounds like a great plan to me! (English teacher here ha ha) Some of the most joyous moments of my life were in the classroom with my kids. Of course I also ended up with high blood pressure and anxiety medication by the end of the first year, so..... ? Good luck if you do it! My own kids and I have been talking about Plan B from the beginning, because of the admission percentages for MFA programs. We know we want to leave Florida. The oldest wants us to buy an RV again and go workamping until I try again next year, but I think the pandemic probably tanks that plan for now. If I end up empty-handed this year and next, then I may go for a Ph.D. in Education instead, if I can get the funding. It's always about the funding.

I love this idea. Mostly rejections don't bother me at all anymore, but sometimes I do get my hopes up. For those, I promise myself something that I can look forward to. Usually it's a day at the beach but not always. For instance, back in November I entered the NYC Midnight Microfiction 250 contest, and bought myself a box of chocolates for when I got news I didn't get through to round two. Turns out I DID get through, so now I still have the box for when I don't get through this round, which I'm pretty sure of. I couldn't get the story right this time to save my life; just not feeling it. So, looking forward to those truffles and coconut clusters already. lol

That's exactly how it came across to me, at least, and I thought your assessment was spot on. The group's definitely helpful, but you're right, more civil than it is friendly, and while a great source of information, not a fun place to hang out - that's my experience anyhow. I'm grateful for it, but prefer the camaraderie I see here. The reply you got shocked me, honestly. I'm disabled too. Can't help but wonder if her SOP and LORs tell the same story we're hearing here.

I love the approach you took - that sounds like a paper I'd love to read! I also wasn't an English major (Folklore Studies and French Literature) but am currently finishing an M.Ed. in Literacy Education. Only one of my apps requested an "academic" writing sample, and that was for the TA application. It didn't specify literary criticism or anything really, so I sent in a 12-page research literature review paper instead that earned an A in my current class, and honestly, I have been second-guessing that decision ever since. My hope is this: either it's fine, because at least the paper shows I can organize and write on a graduate level, or, if they really want a literary analysis instead, that they'll get back to me to fix. I might be wrong on both points, but to date, anytime a transcript or LOR didn't arrive or some other small thing went wrong, admissions offices have quickly gotten in touch and offered help. I honestly just didn't have the time or energy, at the end of all these applications, to sit down and write a whole new paper from scratch with any confidence. Through October and December, my 5 applications were nearly a full-time job, and I'm frankly exhausted. I not only had to research programs, but as a single mom, I also had to look at livability, local schools, and available autism resources for my kids, which knocked out a lot of programs I might have otherwise applied to. So, you're not alone, but really, none of us are. ? Good luck with all your apps!

YES. Just four days after I could finally stop checking them every day to see if all the LORs and transcripts had been received. Everything's now complete....and pending. ? I'll be with you in spirit every time you check yours.

A poet in MFA Draft '21 on Facebook posted news of an acceptance from Illinois's Poetry program today too - and I loved one of the comments where someone said "It has begun" - yes, it's all suddenly feeling very real. Ugh! My kids laugh now every time I say, "WHY did I DO this to myself?" ? Good luck everyone!

Well, being in Polk County "Poke Canny" and working at Legoland, I have about $32 left after all the application fees, so cost of living was a big factor in choosing where to go. I applied to Iowa, Illinois, GCSU, and WVU (my undergrad was from Fairmont State in West Virginia). My kids have autism too, and so for a lot of reasons any Big City was a non-negotiable no, for now. Pasco is NOT far from me! But you have beaches, and I have *shudder* the legendary I-4. I'm happy to drive it to hang sometime, coronavirus and weather permitting. ☺️ We can stare at our phones together, willing them to ring lol. ?

That's funny - when I was deciding where to apply last summer, my whole family agreed on one thing: "Not Florida!" We're in Polk County and used to work for Disney LOL - anywhere but here, man. Good luck getting to NYC! What an amazing place to study writing that will be!

I had this problem years ago - lots to keep me up at night as a mom lol. The doctor suggested no caffeine after noon, and plenty of physical exercise sometime during the day like hiking or something to get the heart rate up, and those two things really did help. But I found that the real trick is to routine myself to sleep. For me, that meant getting out of the habit of turning on lights when it gets dark outside - I let it get dark inside too, and keep lights low. After dinner, I take a slow hot bath, and journal a few pages before picking up a book and reading myself to sleep. After dinner is all about winding down: no loud music, no adventure movies, no screen time (well right now I'm working on another SOP so tonight's an exception!). Eight nights in a row though, I'd be reaching for the Jameson or the Nyquil, or a really boring documentary, whatever helps you out. You need your sleep! Good luck!

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and just finished my applications on Christmas Eve. I'm going for fiction, and applied to Iowa, U. Illinois, WVU, and Georgia College. I'm a single mom and newly-unemployed public school teacher, so couldn't justify the expense of applying to more than a few programs, though narrowing down the list took weeks! This is something I've wanted to do for over a decade, but I had to wait for family reasons. Good luck to everyone this winter! Thank you for being here - I'm already calming down a little, after reading your posts. ?