fishfish24

Thanks! Honestly, it was kind of odd; I got an email saying a decision had been posted to my application status page and I completely assumed it was a rejection. But there was a warm letter of admission in the portal.

Thanks so much But point is, you could be hearing today! Good luck.

Does anyone have conclusive info about fiction at Michener?

I literally just got accepted at Virginia Tech for fiction an hour ago!

Hey all! I took a (much needed and prolonged) break from gradcafe. Have to say, I missed the community! In any case, I'm a little daunted by the backlog of pages and wondering whether someone could update me on Michener waitlist news. Has there been any reported movement/debate here or on Draft (I never did get on there...). Thanks!!! Looking forward to catching up on everyone's good news:)

Wish I had any news for you on that front, but there was no mention of poetry ?

Thank you SO much for celebrating with me! I can't tell you how great it is to be cheered on by this virtual crew/community whose individual fates I've come to care about so much in the past two months ❤️

Thank you!! A personal email. My portal hasn't been updated yet.

Babes, I was just waitlisted at Michener for fiction!! ❤️❤️❤️

Lol, so yesterday was my birthday and NWP sent me my rejection email, six hours apart, *twice* ?

Haha, I did EXACTLY the same thing.

Welcome! It's okay, we don't bite! (Well, except a certain recurring troll, but you'll know him when you see him...). My advice: there's a fine line between overanalyzing your applications once they're in (and beating yourself up for weaknesses you find) and bringing a calm critical eye to them with a mind toward improving for the next round if you don't get in. Personally, I polished my fiction writing sample extensively, but I have a background as an editor and a poet, so I'm meticulous about errors and extremely particular about word choice, sound, juxtaposition, etc. That said, those qualities don't necessarily make my writing sample more appealing than someone's who has a lot of raw potential that is a little messy and ripe for being honed. I write very quiet stories, which don't tend to compel readers the way a lot of more dramatic work does... all of this to say, it's a very individual process and there are few general answers that apply to everyone. I would recommend giving yourself as much time with your writing sample as possible. Over everything else. That's where you should put 90% of your time and energy. And only submit the story(ies) you feel the very best about. For example, if you know you have one stellar piece and nothing else is as good, don't add a second for the sake of variety, length, etc. Final recommendation--if you haven't attended one yet, I'd apply for one of the more well-known summer workshop (Tin House, Sewanee, VQR, Breadloaf, etc.). They give you access to a community of non-, current-, and pre-MFA writers who have a lot of insight on all this stuff. You might walk away with a new letter of recommendation, a great crit. on a writing sample piece, a writing mentor, etc. Also they're an amazing atmosphere for generating work. (PLEASE forgive me if I'm preaching to the choir here!) Hope there's something helpful in there! Best of luck on your apps and welcome to the stressing;) Edit: Sorry if that sounded pedantic... my evening brain is currently at fried egg status... As always, feel free to take it all with a grain of salt!

Congrats!!!! I, too, am out of reactions, haha. But very happy for you:)

Hey, sorry to hear you're having a rough time of it. I'm also really struggling with rejections this year (it's my second round applying). What comforts me the most is recalling people who've been rejected from five or seven programs only to be accepted at Iowa or Michener or Hellen Zell. Those stories serve as a great reminder not to measure yourself by rejections. And remember, if a program takes 4 writers and has a 5-person waitlist, you could be number 10 or number 1000 and you wouldn't know the difference from a form rejection. Try to have faith in your work, take comfort in group critiques and feedback from workshops, measure your work by peers and mentors you trust. I was waitlisted at three great programs last year and have received straight rejections this round even though I know my applications were stronger. Bottom line, applying to MFAs is a shit show. Take heart. Sally forth. Writing is one of the hardest things you can choose to do with your life because these are the kinds of odds you will always face. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, or that you aren't meant to write!❤️

My sentiments exactly

Someone just posted a fiction acceptance from Notre Dame...

Glad it's helpful! Yeah, Minnesota was a little brutal, haha. I actually don't have any offers so far this cycle, but I still have five programs to hear back from, so I'm just going to hope...

Haha, thank you so much. Actually super grateful for the vote of confidence. I've gotten straight rejections so far this year. And I know my application was stronger this cycle. Just goes to show how hard it is to make predictions about this process!

I think it largely depends on the program. For instance, more sought-after, fully funded programs are (I think) more likely to get who they want, and I think there's generally not much movement on their waitlists. But the big exception there is that if the programs are of roughly equal standing and are looking for similar qualities in applicants, they're often vying for one another's applicants (for example, I know Iowa and Michener often have overlap). In terms of personal experience, I was waitlisted for half the programs I applied to last year (Minnesota, Madison-Wisconsin, and Michener). It's hard to know what it means when you're told you're on a waitlist because schools differ greatly in how long their waitlists are (some only have five students while others seem to have upward of 15), and they don't usually tell you exactly what number you are. For example, Madison-Wisconsin said I was "near the top" of their waitlist; in the end they took three people who they'd made original offers to and three from the waitlist, so I could have been #4 or even lower and it's just impossible to know. Minnesota told me upfront I was #7 on their waitlist, and I moved closer to the top as it drew nearer to the 14th. Ultimately, it was looking likely that I'd get in, but at the very last moment I got an email saying the program had been "asked to admit fewer students for next year" due to covid and therefore wouldn't be taking students from the waitlist. And I don't know where I was on Michener's waitlist. But from what I've seen on gradcafe, I *think* it's rare for them to have more than one person move on from their waitlist. Don't quote me on this, lol. Anyway, all of this is to say, it's really really hard to know what your chances are of making it off a waitlist. However, you might be able to advocate for yourself and/or for more information by letting a program whose waitlist you're on know that you've been accepted at another competitive program. (Hope there was something helpful there! Good luck!)

Thanks! ?

Has anyone heard/seen anything from NWP?

I believe Michener is done with fiction acceptances, but I'm not sure about poetry.

Fiction or poetry?

Thanks! I'll check it out!

Did the fourth round of peroxide today ?