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No MFA news for me just yet (other than the high spot on my waitlist, which I don't think I ever posted about? Fingers crossed for that!!) but I found out I made it to the next round in the publishing internship I applied for! Either way, I'm feeling more hopeful than I was back in late Feb/early March, and am getting back into better routines as far as reading and writing go, too. I hope everyone here gets good news and more clarity this week! It's been such a long application season and an even longer year+ (at the very least, if not many, many more) since we started this journey. Major props to everyone for persevering throughout all of this ❤️

I just want to come out and say I don't believe the purpose of this forum should be to discuss the private lives and experiences of users, especially when it relates to cross-posting or sharing things made within a private group such as Draft onto this forum with absolutely no permission or consent to do so. To be blunt: if you're concerned about a user, reach out to them directly. And, if you're a troll, kindly fuck off. The world is hard enough right now without someone singling out people who may or may not be struggling.

hello! In a similar boat here! From what I've seen advice-wise, it's perfectly reasonable to check in and with other inquiries, though as Greel said, I think as long as it's not constant pestering. As far as who to reach out to, if there's no public listing for the director, I think it's completely reasonable to reach out to the program liaison. If nothing else, maybe consider asking them if—in the event they can't answer your questions— they'd be willing to put you in contact with someone who can.

i'm really glad I was distracted when this Brown news dropped, bc otherwise it fully has the power to wreck me (in part bc I think this means all of my schools have now officially contacted ~some~ if not all people, and I was starting to try to really prepare myself for rejections but I don't think I'm ready to get them almost all at once hahahaaA)

I was absolutely LOSING my mind when I was waiting to get into Draft, and it was largely because of an almost identical list of schools. So, I absolutely know where you're at / want y'all to know you're not alone! Hope everyone is taking care of their hearts this week, staying hydrated, taking your vitamins, etc ❤️❤️

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. as someone who only just joined Draft somewhat recently, I'll quickly pass on what others said to me—don't worry too much about getting accepted into the group in the meanwhile, it can take a few weeks to get approved because of how many requests they get etc! Here's, to the best of my knowledge, all the current info about these schools that I've seen (apologies in advance if any of this is outdated, others pls feel free to correct or add on!) UVA: a student indicated that acceptances should go out by email sometime in early-mid March, with rejections and waitlists following later. Brown: as some others have posted here, there's some possibly sus reports on results for a single poetry admission and several rejections, but everyone on Draft is of the consensus that these may be fake, as no one else has reported any news. NYU has made several calls to candidates accepted with major fellowships, but it's atm unclear if or when more acceptances/waitlists will be going out. It sounds like frequently people hear back all the way through April (though that can go for lots of programs!) No news on Columbia (yet!) Several Michener and NWP decisions have gone out to my knowledge, though I don't believe all have so I'll be holding onto that hope for ya in the meanwhile ❤️ Quite a lot of other programs seem to begin with poetry admissions, and at the very least it seems like fiction and poetry don't always inform about decisions at the same time, so it's worth keeping that in mind if you start to see acceptances coming from the other genres at any of the above schools!

I'd be down for a poetry zoom, if others are ! Looking ahead to the possibility of a clean sweep in my first round, as others have said, I'm definitely psyched to connect with other poets in any way. Hope everybody is taking care of themselves going into this weekend ! ?

congratulations!! ?

Oh, I'm absolutely not writing like normal—and it's killing me! I'm sure like you said once all the decisions are in I'll snap back into it, but right now I feel like my creative block is contributing to some of my anxieties about my ~ future ~ as a writer, if an MFA doesn't work out for me. But, I'm trying to make myself get into a better writing routine so that even if it's not my "normal," it's at least something. And thanks to everyone who suggested other craft books! I'm definitely trying to make sure I keep up on my reading even if I'm not writing as much as I'd like. It's been tough to adjust to not being in school anymore while also waiting to hear back...

oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!! Getting a physical mail—a big envelope/package, at that!— just feels cruel ? I hope you get the real deal soon ? what a great selection!! Do you have any recommendations for other craft/litcrit books? I feel similarly that it'd be helpful to recenter myself, and it's something I'm realizing I'm missing in the absence of craft classes recently. (I just graduated in December and it's been a real adjustment to try and settle into writing/reading routines outside of coursework!!)

Take a deep breath! I say this with nothing but compassion, because I am an anxious overthinker, and I get it, but I've also worked in higher ed admin and none of these things - the marketing email, the particular wording of the portal status - mean anything. I too am desperate for any info right now. But the only things that actually mean something are personal responses from the school. We're in the midst of historic snow here in the south. Thankfully the historic cold is abating some. Hope you all are staying warm and finding healthy ways to stay busy through the waiting! Thank you, everybody! These are really helpful reminders. I think I started to spiral because my first rejection in this whole process was only through the portal, so I'm definitely giving them way too much power now. I really appreciate everyone's perspective. I hope everyone is safe, warm, and giving themselves (more than) a little grace through the waiting. Take care of your hearts — and overthinking minds! To switch gears: what's everybody been reading lately? I'm wrapping up Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day and—speaking of Khadijah Queen, who is just wonderful—finished Anodyne yesterday, which I highly recommend!

It could be, though admittedly I'd be confused if mine were only just officially in since I / my recommenders sent them all in by December 11...but, it could just all take a while to process / to be reflected in the portal! Sorry if I contributed to anyone else's overthinking... ? I just wish I could fast forward to April so I'd at least know. I knew this was going to be hard, but dang...

now I'm trying hard not to overthink why mine would be so late...but, I'm going to stick with my previous answer and hope with everything in me (for all of us!!) that it's just a clerical thing and doesn't have any bearing on where they're at in the decision process right now ?

Sorry if this has been asked before, I tried to look for the answer on Draft as well, but do we know how many schools/which ones require interviews first..? Is it a standard practice for most of them, or does it vary quite a lot?

I'm going to be a total hypocrite, but this makes me think all the more that we should try not to read into it, then! Especially if Brown typically sends out decisions in March, which is what I've gathered from the results page...maybe the later date on mine just indicates there being a lag due to volume this year? Wishing you all the best with this and all of your apps ?