dooooodle

I'm still paying off loans (almost done, though!), and so are all of my friends from undergrad, so maybe that puts my background into perspective for you. The grad students I mentioned came from similar economic situations. We're not from the privilege you're alluding to. I understand where you're coming from. My comment about SLC being self-conscious about its price tag is more about the school/administration knowing that its average student can't afford it. That's the case even more-so with the graduate students. They don't want their grad students to be sidled with additional debt that's probably left over from undergrad or accrued from just existing as an adult. Money was definitely a topic, of course, but none of us were unhappy with how Sarah Lawrence aided us, worked things out, and then re-worked them when hard times hit. Hope this clarifies things.

I see a lot of Sarah Lawrence acceptances on this thread... Congratulations to all of you! Because that's the case, I'm going to out myself and tell you I did the entirety of undergrad at SLC from 2008-2012. I love good ol' Sadie Lou (as us alums call it). One of the reasons it's known for being a writing institution is because all students must do a ton of writing, even if the literary arts isn't a focus. There are numerous creative scholarly publications, and there's also a well-known, well-attended poetry festival every spring. I will say that undergraduate and graduate students don't interact very much. Most of the graduate classes are in Wrexham, which is a cool Tudor-style building on the edge of campus. The creative writing grads that I did meet as an undergrad were brilliant, diverse, and seemed happy; money didn't even come in conversations even though we were in school during the Great Recession. Yes, SLC is an expensive school, but they are very self-conscious about it and like to help every student the best they can. One of the reasons SLC is so costly is because it runs on the Oxford tutorial system with a low student-to-teacher ratio. This sets it apart from other liberal arts institutions. A little about Bronxville... it's a quiet, upper-class Westchester town with not much to do. If I were you, don't live there. Live in the city! If you want to get technical about it, SLC is in Yonkers. You can take a 50min local train ride or a 35min express train from Grand Central in Manhattan (or an even shorter one from 125th St in East Harlem) to either the Fleetwood or Bronxville stations. I can't emphasize enough how easy it is to get to and from the city, and most professors commute via the Metro-North. Overall, suppose you like your offer and are leaning towards Sarah Lawrence. In that case, you won't be disappointed with their prestigious faculty, proximity to New York City, appreciation for the literary arts, and reputation. Hope this helps.

Just gained access to Draft and there was an Iowa update this morning. Whoever called and asked last week clarified that fiction and poetry acceptances should be done by the end of THIS week (I don't know if that means Friday or Sunday). So, you're not foolish! Hope that helps.

Has anyone who is a member of Draft seen more Iowa Fiction updates? It seems pretty quiet here (on Grad Cafe) since yesterday... Thanks, gang! Good luck to everyone!