goodcynara
-
Posts
122 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by goodcynara
-
-
59 minutes ago, JPReinhold said:
Just wanted to sign off and say "bye" to everyone on here! I chose my school and I'm moving on to obsessing about moving. (Just FYI - I still haven't heard from Univ Florida, Univ Alaska Fairbanks, Florida State Univ, or Northern Michigan. ?♀️
REMEMBER - there will be BOATLOADS of waitlist activity. People are getting in off of waitlists weeks before they normally do right now - most people applied to so many programs and will only go to one.
HANG IN THERE and keep your hopes up!Congrats! Wishing you much joy and success!
-
50 minutes ago, Cristie said:
This is a tough one. If this were me, I'd have to really ask myself if I had the kind of self discipline a low-res would require. My poetry professor did one (in Maine?) and raves about it. But I need to be IN/AT school to learn best (covid taught me that). So I think it comes down to YOU, not them. I'd also email your chair, AND mentor/professor and pose the situation to them. Get 2 different professional opinions from those who know you and probably about those programs. Might want to write "urgent". Good luck, interested to see how you work out of this pickle! Lol. Give an update!
Thanks, @Cristie! I have been making work in other disciplines (music, theatre, multimedia performance) on my own for a couple decades, though it's true that I've had the benefit of incredible collaborators. Some time ago, I reached out to two of the poetry instructors with whom I've been studying over the past year. Between the two of them, they attended both of the low-res programs to which I applied and had nothing but wonderful things to say about them. But I will take your advice and reach out again with the current situation. I am also going to reach out to a friend who is an accomplished and esteemed novelist; perhaps she knows some of the faculty here or there.
One fiction writer who attended Bennington said that he definitely feels that literary journals give his work more attention post-Bennington. I'm in it to devote concentrated time, energy, and study to developing my craft, but that certainly doesn't hurt!
Thanks so much for weighing in - very generous of you. I'll report back when I have news!
-
51 minutes ago, feralgrad said:
That's tough. In my mind there are several factors to consider.
Low-res (to my knowledge) doesn't usually offer funding, but it's easier to hold a job outside the university. That can be valuable if you're already on your career path.
Personally, I had no strong career prospects yet. The work I do as a TA is preferable to my other options on the job market. The professionalization of the MFA (via teaching, lit mags, etc) is valuable for me. At this age (24), I can afford to take the pay cut (my stiped is about $18k right outside a major city). Not to mention I wanted a close-knit community, and that seemed (keyword seemed) easier to achieve in full-res. For all these reasons, I went with full-res.
I know that was mostly my experience, but maybe it's helpful to compare your priorities to mine?
That comparison is indeed helpful! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!
Perhaps chief among my issues is that I WANT TO GO TO ALL THE PROGRAMS!
-
45 minutes ago, Brightstar2044 said:
I graduated from Bennington in, gulp, 1996. I was in the second class. The program is incredibly good, rigorous, and demanding. Liam Rector was the program director at the time, and he brought phenomenal writers in to lecture. The main reason I went to Bennington, though, was for the opportunity to grow as a writer and not for the letters MFA.
Same! Megan, Bennington's current Associate Director, sent me the itinerary for their recent residency and it looks fantastic. A friend who graduated last year echoed your experience of it being incredibly good and rigorous. If you're not following them on Twitter, I recommend it. They are making a concerted effort to connect with and celebrate their alumni, and it's full of interesting tips. Thanks for sharing your experience!
-
Does anyone out there have experience with both low-res and full-res programs that you'd care to share? One of the low-res programs I am seriously considering has a strict acceptance cutoff of 5PM EDT tomorrow. I realize that no one can solve this but me. But in the name of due diligence, I'd be grateful to hear about any relevant experience.
[A bit of background, should you care to read:
I'm extremely lucky and grateful to have been accepted to two low-res and two full-res programs, and am doing as much research as I can to determine which program will offer rigorous study that will help me to create the best version of a project I'm passionate about as well as significantly develop my writing in general.
I have interviewed three people from both low-res programs to which I was accepted (Bennington, VCFA). All absolutely loved their program and said it transformed their writing and trained them to have a daily writing practice that has held even through traumatic life events.
Tomorrow, I will interview two current students and one alum from the two full-res programs to which I was accepted. Additionally, over the next couple of weeks, both of these full-res programs are holding extensive accepted student events, including sample classes.
I am still waiting on final funding offers for three of the four programs to which I've been accepted, plus pending decisions from three more programs. All good! I wouldn't be sweating this one bit if Bennington's acceptance deadline was April 15. As it stands, the only way to keep my toe in with Bennington AND stay open to the other programs is to pay the deposit for a January start.
I'd welcome your thoughts/feedback.]
-
Just now, CrankyGinger said:
That is so awesome! Omg it’s as if this school is screaming at me that we’re meant to be. We’ll have to discuss all that and how you’re leaning.
Totally. LMK how your meeting with Paige goes!
-
32 minutes ago, CrankyGinger said:
Wait, wtf, are you serious???!! I mean, I definitely have a big boner for their program, but that is just a cherry on top. I have mine on Wednesday!
No joke! Faculty member Jake Slichter wrote a book about his days in Semisonic! And here's a cool interview with David Ryan about his connection to writing and music. Duuuuuuuuuuuuude.
- CrankyGinger and dooooodle
-
2
-
18 minutes ago, CrankyGinger said:
I went to it and honestly it got me really excited about possibly going there. The program is all about craft and community, so it doesn't have that cut throat competition approach. It was a lot of fun and inspiring, at least for me. I'm having a zoom chat with Paige next week to discuss more about it one on one.
DUDE. I learned in my meeting with Paige yesterday that two of their faculty members are veteran drummers from a couple of super cool bands: The Lemonheads and Semisonic! Damn SLC, you are winning my heart.
- CrankyGinger, omgalexx and lilacbread
-
3
-
2 hours ago, dogeared said:
Hi friends! LONG POST INCOMING. I hope it is helpful.
Some weeks back I mentioned that my institution has one final-year student in each genre join the admissions committee and review incoming apps. I got to review incoming fiction applications. I'm very grateful for the behind-the-scenes view I got of the admissions process. This week we finally had our meeting to finalize our list of offers (it was a 3-hour meeting). I wanted to offer some advice and share some observations for anyone applying again next cycle.
As a note, of course no advice will be universal. Every department and every writer is different. There is no surefire way to guarantee admission to a program. These are just things I've realized as an MFA student/adcom member and wished I knew before applying.
- Your writing sample is the most important thing. I think people have been told this already, but I want to emphasis this point. Your CV is not as important. Of course, it might not hurt to have a flourishing CV, but having more publications and experience in literature/writing won't mean much if your writing sample doesn't stand out from the bunch. The CV was the last thing we looked at in applications.
- Perfect and polished work isn't always the best. It sounds a bit weird -- I know. Of course, you should send what you are confident in. But ultimately, you are meant to grow stronger as a writer in an MFA program. If your writing sample doesn't show that you would benefit from graduate school, then some profs in admissions question what they would even be able to teach you. Think about whether you would benefit from workshop and formal education. The most excited manuscripts to read (which we all agreed on unanimously) were the ones that did something interesting and were kind of rough around the edges. This might not be the case for institutions that value something different than ours, but it is important to us that writers can really grow and get something out of our program. We weren't as excited about people who sent by-the-books "perfect" stories. The writing was great, but it was hard to picture these applicants in a workshop. This is difficult because we always want to submit the best work possible to programs. But to the admissions committees, this sample is all they can use to determine if you would benefit from graduate school. This is something I didn't think about until I was behind the scenes. I noticed myself much less interested in pieces that were perfect. Everyone on the committee was excited about the possibilities for growth they saw in a manuscript and for the successful risk takers that tried something interesting that surprised them. (Again, though, every program and committee will be different)
- The mindset behind reviewing MFA apps is very different from the mindset behind reviewing litmag submissions. Luckily, I have years of experience reading for litmags. In that scenario, you want to find the polished, well-written, balanced stories that don't need as much work. The ones that are ready for publication. The mindset is different when reviewing writing samples for MFA apps. We generally were interested in innovative forms/perspectives/styles that would greatly benefit from years of workshop and formal education.
- You do not need an MFA from a highly-ranked program. You do not need the shortest program possible. Look at funding and program fit before anything else! Really think about why you want an MFA. Hopefully you want it because you want to become a stronger writer and work with a community of other writers. Maybe there is a faculty member at the institution you're applying to that you really admire and want to work with. Maybe you want it to pursue a teaching career in creative writing. These are all great reasons to me. But if you just want the MFA to have the MFA, chances are you will make the wrong choices when it comes to which programs to apply to. You might get accepted to these places and not feel fulfilled. When I was first applying to MFAs in 2017, I was really interested in the big-name schools that would make me feel accomplished and important on paper. And I was really interested in the shortest programs possible. I think big-name schools are still worth applying to, of course, if you genuinely believe you could thrive and grow in that school's environment then I definitely think you should apply. And I always encourage "aiming high" because why not? But make sure the faculty and culture of that place fit with your goals. And I genuinely can say that most people I know who have MFAs agree on longer, fully-funded programs being the better choice over 1-year ones. After all, you are there to learn and work on a manuscript. If you can get paid for years to really dig into your work, I would take that. 1-year programs might be stressful and overbearing, and you might finish feeling like you were able to grow or absorb any actual information. Having the time and space to experiment and question everything is really valuable. But everyone is different! Maybe you thrive under pressure or you have other commitments and life situations that make shorter programs more ideal. That totally makes sense. No matter what though, please please please look for FUNDING. If you only aim for the most popular programs, your chances for funding are lower. There is a larger applicant pool. That is a fact. Try adding some lesser-known schools with great faculties. They often have a bunch of funding for you and a smaller applicant pool. After all, if your reasoning for getting an MFA is to learn and grow as a writer, then the name of the school shouldn't be what is most important to you. I stand by this fully. And again, I still think its great to try for more famous programs...don't say no for them.
AGAIN: This advice may vary by writer, by program, by admissions committee. Nothing is black-and-white. I just found these things to be really important to consider.
This is a lot of writing lol. I'm sorry for the wall of text. I'm happy to DM anyone who wants to talk more. I am graduating with my MFA (fiction) in May, and I've been accepted into a PhD program for English Lit and Creative Writing for the Fall. I am happy to answer any questions! Good luck!
Incredibly generous. Thank you for taking the time to post this!
-
3 minutes ago, shakyboots said:
It can't hurt you to inquire. They aren't that sensitive and ready to reject, lol.
LOL, thanks!
-
Hey y'all - What are your thoughts on emailing a program that has not yet responded? I had decided against this, but something just posted on Draft is leading me to reconsider. Would love to hear your experience with this.
-
16 minutes ago, oubukibun said:
Technically, that's non-fiction since it actually happened and it is a recounting of the event.
I don't think anyone here really needs to worry about being terrible writers. Part of writing is that continuum of changing styles and evolving technique.
Besides, someone out there wholeheartedly believes the Twilight books were written just for them, and adore each installment, and love the prose.
It seems silly to ever think of oneself as a terrible writer in general... Perhaps one just hasn't found the writing one should be writing is all.
LOL, agreed on all counts!
-
-
17 minutes ago, Blackhole said:
that's so lovely. I am a journalist and I figured I can't write fiction. We see such weird stuff around us all the time that it is very hard for me to imagine plots and stuff. Today I interviewed a man who raped a woman and then married her to escape punishment and thinks he did nothing wrong. I listened to him for hours and then I saw the rejection. And it didn't bother me somehow. That's the thing. We become such tough people sometimes.
But maybe I can dance.
I will dance.
At 41, it isn't a bad thing to dance. It is good exercise at least.
This is a potent, lovely, and honest scene. You can write fiction. You can write.
-
5 minutes ago, omgalexx said:
Creative Non Fiction! I'm excited for the mock class later this week for my genre.
I'm really interested in the program and excited about the idea of being by the city but not in the city lol. But I didn't get much funding...I'm hoping to ask for more and see how that is received.
Do it for sure. Paige said that more funding can definitely open up circa the April 15 deadline.
-
16 minutes ago, M-Lin said:
Sorry to hear - rejection sucks.
I saw that you like Leonard Cohen.
Here is one more thing you could do to deal with rejections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFl7Aex-FN4
(context: the journalist Maziar Bahari was imprisoned and being interrogated in Iran for 118 days, and, at one point, he chose to dance to the music in his head, though I think this didn't happen in real life lol)
Here for the LC love. If you haven't gotten to the posthumous release, Thanks for the Dance, beautifully produced by his son, Adam, it is a stunner.
-
6 minutes ago, omgalexx said:
ahhhh.... I feel that doesn't bode well for me not hearing anything . Thank you!
I'm also accepted to Sarah Lawrence! How are you feeling about the program? Did you go to their admitted students zoom yesterday?
I did. I also had a meeting with Paige this morning. They continue to impress me at every turn. I don't want to talk out of turn, but sounds like @CrankyGinger may be feeling similarly. Are you poetry or fiction?
-
26 minutes ago, omgalexx said:
Has anyone contacted UC Riverside about when we'll hear our decision?
Someone from Draft emailed them about a week ago and was told he was waitlisted for fiction. I believe a second person was told that they "hope to make all decisions by mid-March."
-
11 minutes ago, Ydrl said:
Yeah, I suppose the vast majority of us word vomit on the internet.
I'm hoping to do things outside of teaching as well. Being in the publishing industry sounds awesome to me, and at one point when I didn't know what the hell I was saying, I told my intro to creative writing prof that I wanted to be a literary agent. I still feel that now if I'm being honest.
@Ydrl: You might enjoy this engaging podcast of Victoria Chang interviewing in-house literary publicist for Copper Canyon Press, Laura Buccieri, who continues to work as a poet and sounds like the loveliest person:
Host Victoria Chang and guest Laura Buccieri, Director of Publicity at Copper Canyon Press, discuss the life of a literary publicist: strategies for gaining reviews, managing author expectations, discovering the story of a book, the longevity of poetry, and Laura’s commitment that every book gets heard. Part 1 of 2.
https://antiochlitcit.libsyn.com/antioch-litcit-3-laura-buccieri
- cecsav, arden, largeheartedboy and 1 other
-
4
-
2 hours ago, orangeslice said:
I GOT INTO EASTERN WASHINGTON. Literally speechless. No word on funding yet but hopefully soon. Came after 11 straight rejections. There is hope, people!!
1a/0w/11r/4p
Congrats!!!
-
29 minutes ago, ilikepoetry said:
my guess is they are salty that iowa has (slightly) more black professors and students ? , but just a guess ( can confirm many a white man were admitted tho ??? )
Ha! "Salty" is one of my favorite descriptors for potentially problematic dynamics. Thanks for hipping me to this.
-
Hey IWW applicants - A newly-posted IWW rejection in Results is accompanied by a note that states, "Not surprising, given their most recently declared direction." I'm not aware of this declaration - does anyone know where I might learn about it? I'm assuming I'll soon receive a rejection letter - just curious.
-
1 hour ago, ilikepoetry said:
i heard about poetry last tuesday! in an email they said that all acceptances go out by march 25
Woo hoo! Congrats! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
-
1 hour ago, corgeel14 said:
Any news from UC Irvine????
I applied in poetry and haven't heard a peep. Nor has my colleague, who applied in fiction. I saw one poetry acceptance in Results. Anyone out there want to identify themselves as the accepted writer, ease our minds, and proclaim your awesomeness?
2021 Applicants Forum
in Literary
Posted
They are very lucky to get you!