goodcynara

You too! I'll look forward to hearing what you decide!

Yes! Congrats. The bi-weekly meetings with an advisor are attractive to me as well, as is the proximity to NYC. A couple of writers I know speak highly of Matthea Harvey's work and one of them is friends with Sally Wen Mao and RA Villanueva. Seems like an excellent program. I'm also waiting to hear back from eight others, though Rutgers Camden is not among them. The plot thickens!

Excellent! Looking forward to hearing what you decide!

Thank you!!!

Woo hoo! Me, too! Did you apply in Poetry or Fiction?

Ha! This GIF made me smile. Thank you so much!

Holy heck, no joke! Thank you. You nailed it.

Thank you so much! I'm out of GradCafe "reactions" for today, which are now being transferred to my physical body in a weird but not wholly unpleasant 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.

What's your waiting room soundtrack? Today, mine is a classic courtesy of the great Bob Marley. I don't wanna wait in vain for your love I don't wanna wait in vain for your love From the very first time I placed my eyes on you, girl My heart says follow through But I know, now, that I'm way down on your line But the waitin' feel is fine So don't treat me like a puppet on a string 'Cause I know how to do my thing Don't talk to me as if you think I'm dumb I wanna know when you're gonna come See, I don't wanna wait in vain for your love I don't wanna wait in vain for your love I don't wanna wait in vain for your love 'Cause if summer is here I'm still waiting there Winter is here And I'm still waiting there Like I said It's been three years since I'm knockin' on your door And I still can knock some more Ooh girl, ooh girl, is it feasible? I wanna know now, for I to knock some more Ya see, in life I know there's lots of grief But your love is my relief Tears in my eyes burn, tears in my eyes burn While I'm waiting, while I'm waiting for my turn See! I don't wanna wait in vain for your love I don't wanna wait in vain for your love I don't wanna wait in vain for your love I don't wanna wait in vain for your love I don't wanna wait in vain for your love, oh! I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna I don't wanna wait in vain, no I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna I don't wanna wait in vain, no I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna I don't wanna wait in vain No no no, I, no I (I don't wanna wait in vain) It's your love that I'm waiting on It's my love that you're running from It's your love that I'm waiting on It's my love that you're running from

Totally. People with lives. Gross.

Just sought out "Chasm;" looks like a fun read, thanks! I resonate with your gladness about programs you didn't get into; understanding in hindsight that they wouldn't have been places where you would have thrived. Truly helpful for me to remember that what is for us will not go by us. I love that you love the world and its scenery and I feel a little better knowing you're out there advocating for it with your art. You'll know what to do. You cannot lose.

Fantastic and generous. Thank you for this.

Thanks so much!

Ah, good to know. Thanks!

Your maverick path and focused aesthetic make me want to read your work, and obviously, ISU and UNLV feel the same! Congratulations again. I grew up in Michigan and Minnesota, and both places have become far more diverse since I lived there as a kid. The tiny town in Minnesota where my parents live, once mostly white, is now 35% Mexican with a growing Somalian population as well. The lakes, the geese, and unexpectedly, the light -- an inhabited, diffused pink-gold at certain moments in twilight, enswathes me in a liminal calm. In winter, there are cardinals and a rush of strength that runs up from sleeping roots in the frozen ground to reassure your feet that you can do anything, or at least go on. Like many of us who moved west, I wanted something different culturally and socially. Only you can decide what will feed you on the daily in terms of human interaction -- whether you need it at your coffee shop five minutes away or whether you're willing to hop in the car and drive an hour or a few. I will say that as an inhabitant of California who has spent significant time in the high desert (Joshua Tree and surrounding), if you have never lived in the west, come. Vegas itself is one thing, but the desert speaks. I have spent entire days doing nothing but looking out over a relatively unremarkable stretch of desert behind my ex's old place and it transformed my mind in way that nothing else has. As someone with a journal in ecopoetics, you're way ahead of me in all of this. Just throwing in my two cents because hearing from others about this sort of stuff can be like a horoscope -- it's all true and it's all false. You take what resonates with you and leave the rest. I sincerely look forward to reading your work. I hope you'll return one day and leave a link.

Knowing that your work is resonating with those who are part of the conversation you are joining is profound. Thank you for giving me another reason (besides a completely gorgeous day) to celebrate!

My request to join Draft has also been pending for over a week. If anyone has insights about this, would love to hear. I may message one of the moderators.

Wow, so true! Keep the faith! Nice! They are clearly on your team! Congrats!

Remember that per the Council of Graduate Schools resolution, you have until April 15 to accept an offer of funding. Re-posting this helpful info from the U-W website in case anyone needs it: Wisconsin Protocol Like most institutions with a graduate program in creative writing, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools and as such is bound to the following resolution: "Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution." You can see the full resolution as well as a list of council members by clicking here. We at Wisconsin advise any applicant who is feeling pressured to accept another MFA program's offer before the April 15th deadline to simply send the program a friendly email that states, "I see that your institution is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools. As such, I believe that I have the right to consider your offer up until the April 15th deadline as established by the council. Thanks so much!" Most universities are big places where one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing. Showing them you know your rights will help ensure that your rights are respected. At Wisconsin, our promise is simple: We will make our decisions by March 15th. Should you be placed on our waitlist, we will tell you up front. We won't put off giving you an answer about your status simply so we won't have to tell you you've been waitlisted. While we will tell you if you are on our waitlist, we will not discuss the nature of the waitlist, e.g. how many students are on it, where a particular student’s place is. We will respect the April 15th deadline as established by the Council of Graduate Schools. Out of respect to you, (not lack of interest!) we will not call you repeatedly just to "check in with you" to see if you've made a decision. All our students are fully funded, which means we won't at any time threaten to yank or alter funding to pressure you to say yes before April 15th. Finally, we urge all MFA applicants to know their rights and to ask the schools they're applying to in advance if they are members of the Council of Graduate Schools. If they're not familiar with the CGS's resolution, send them a link to this page. We hope that by spreading the word regarding applicants' rights, all students can begin their graduate studies on the right path. https://creativewriting.wisc.edu/gradapply.html

Ohhhhhh yesssssss!

Just here to say you are a badass - waitlisted at all of those excellent programs!

OMG YES YES YES!!!

WOOOO!!!

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