Boomer not Ok

On the age thing, adcoms in fully funded programs may not want writers in their 50s or 60s who have never taught before instructing teens or 20 yr olds. (Most fully-funded programs offer tuition reimbursements in exchange for teaching.) I'm speculating here, but I can see from an adcom perspective that there could be generational or "relatability" issues that could adversely affect a teaching environment where there is a significant age difference between an inexperienced adult teacher and students. There could also be the issue of finance. Some one in their 50s may have a decent income and/or accumulated assets and can afford to pay for their MFA. No matter how compelling their writing may be, is it fair they take the place of a younger person who demonstrates talent but who cannot afford to pay? I'm thinking these factors come into play in their decision-making too.

Yeah, I definitely got a very cliquey vibe from the admits. And since it's probably the most selective program to get into in NYC, they can rightly be proud of it.

I agree. The optics of their youtube open house were just plain bad. I'm sure they didn't mean it, but it was mostly young white women projecting massive privilege.

Forgot: the prof said he didn't think they had had any one over 40 and basically they look for younger people to "mold," if my memory serves. It seems like having a writing track record or voice already would not help you get into this program.

Thanks for the recs. Good to know. I only looked up current admits and could not find any of them publishing fiction in lit mags. It struck me as odd for a school this competitive

I saw the Hunter prof say what he said AFTER I had applied. IMO their Youtubed Open House gave off a weird vibe. Since they publicly list their admits, as they pair them with established writers to do "research" for them, I tried to find some published work from their admits but couldn't find any. So I've no idea what they look for and I regretted applying there. As for the age thing, I'm not sure, but if you are past 40 I don't think it works for you, at least with funded programs. My only proof of this, though, is getting a waitlist at a mostly funded program (McNeese), but bear in mind this program only requests an SOP and writing submission. So, they had no idea about my age, recs, "quality" of undergrad institution, and since they don't charge to apply, I assume they get a fair amount of apps. But I could be wrong about the age thing, although I think most programs indicate the average age is mid to late 20s.

Don’t let the haters get you down.

Thanks. That would be great. It seems like CU is done with acceptances but the reporting on Results seems very low given cohort size, so I’m not sure.

Congrats on CU. Did you find our recently? Are they done with their acceptances?

Seems CU is doing a slow rollout. I don't have access to Draft so I don't know what's been reported there though. My sense is that there may be fewer admits than normal bc of COVID deferrals last year and maybe this is why it has been so slow. They may also be trying to engage in yield protection and trying to sense whether their top picks are already committed elsewhere. Just speculating...

Got a reject email from Lauren Grodstein at Rutgers Camden, which was weird, bc they posted the decision a few days ago. For a moment, I thought the email was going to say, "Wait, we made a mistake," (lol) but alack not... Also, got a waitlist at McNeese State. Tally now: 2a/1w/5r/4p

Congrats on New School. I'm not sure if there's ever a "right time" to do an MFA. Or at least it differs for everyone, I guess, depending on desire, circumstances, resources and other factors. I'm middle-aged (kids in college) with advanced degrees in unrelated fields. I've never done a workshop or a creative writing course and I never thought about getting an MFA when I was younger. It's only when I started writing poetry and fiction about 8 yrs ago and found I kept coming back to writing, and thinking about it all the time, that I started to take the idea of getting an MFA seriously. I feel now is the "right time" for me, b/c I feel I could use the benefit of a writing community as well as finding mentors who could help me shape my work, especially a novella I've completed. But maybe I'll find getting an MFA sucks and I'll be like the man said, "Get me the fuck outta here." Then, I'll explore other options (low-res maybe, workshop classes etc.). In any event, I think you'll know when the time is right for you and then hopefully you will find a program that's a good fit.

I think New School and CU which have large incoming classes are in semi-chaos bc of COVID deferrals. I sense it may be harder than usual this year to get in to these programs. Last year would have been the time to apply.

I agree. I do think there is some subjective factor here you cannot control though. I think the poster did indicate their program was looking for "roughness" and "unpolished gems", whereas other programs may be looking for more polish, less experimental stuff. Who knows? Maybe some adcoms like prose stripped of adjectives and adverbs, whereas others appreciate lush, rambling, paragraph long sentences rich in simile and metaphor. It would be good to know before applying what style of writing the program likes, but they don't really tell you.

Not sure where you're getting 24k from? Is that the NYU rate? I think CU is north of 70k.

Congrats. I also just got the letter. I did not see anything relating to funding. Did you get a funding offer?

Could be any number of reasons: Location. Size of faculty and/or particular teachers on that faculty. Additional opportunity to use the resources of the institution the state or city school may not have, access to lit mags, etc. Where some one decides to go and how they spend their money seems to me to be their biz, although IMO going into massive for an MFA is probs a bad idea, bc very few people, even very talented writers (especially poets), can make a living off their work. They end up teaching or going into publishing or figuring out it was med school all along they really wanted. But then, again, I think most folk know going into a "writing" life has its other rewards, if not pecuniary.

I like "Aroint thee, ye rump fed ronyon."

It's got to be the incommensurable one, the one that has no center nor circumference. An agonizing suspension between possibility and actuality...true torture

People waiting on Emerson, I emailed them to thank them for my prior inquiry and they emailed me back my app had been reviewed and I'm in. I think they may have a "rolling" system, so you may want to email them to query your status. Official decision and financing will come later this month. At least things are moving. NYU came out today (nyet, nein, no, not happening) and since the CORN(b)ELL tolled for me nor lolled the BROWN cow, and UMass declined my blandishments, I'm 2 for 4 so far and waiting now to hear back on 6. Really not sure if I want to go through this again next yr.

Dude, I hear you. It kinda sucks. But if you want to get cynical about it, I was shocked to discover recently there are actually paid consultants out there who can “help” you put together your MFA app. Seeing that really depressed me.

Anyone seen anything from CU for fiction yet on Draft? I’ve only seen reports for CNF. I have a feeling CU may admit less than usual this yr bc they said on their “open house” they took in more than usual last yr bc of deferrals. It was amusing, though, when the dean of admissions and finance was asked by someone what their acceptance rate was and she does a panicked deer headlight freeze/blink and mumbles “I’ll have to check on that...” like that number down to decimal point percent isn’t seared into her brain...

My speculation is ya nailed it.

OK, so today's the Ides of March, so I'm feeling extra jumpy and hyper-aware, b/c I'm still waiting on 8 schools. Kinda like Odysseus, drifting aimlessly, clapped in irons, howling into the void, "Aeolus, give me some fucking wind..." This is a bad kind of weird.

I'm not sure it's as dramatic as that. I wonder sometimes for the places that get north of 600 apps whether undergrad CW teachers' pets are wading through the slush pile determining our fates.