koechophe

Heya folks. I've been a reader for my college's literary magazine over the summer. The vast, vast majority of pieces I read are from MFA graduates or MFA candidates. Being in that seat where I have to say yes or no to incoming pieces has taught me a lot about what the difference between a "yes" piece is and a "no" piece is (and for reference, there have been dozens of "no" pieces and only like 2 "yes" ones... which I think is a lot like MFA applications lol). Here's some advice if you're still working on your writing sample: -Good, solid prose is an entry requirement. I honestly thought literary magazine submissions would be filled with a lot of really mediocre writers, but they aren't. The writers are, for the most part, fabulous, and have very solid prose. You can tell these people know the craft and know the basics and principals. The writing is clean and polished from a prose standpoint. A lot of people feel like that's not important, but from my experience, it's more like it goes without saying that you already know your stuff. -... but good, solid prose isn't enough to get you noticed. This actually sort of threw me, since I always thought the person with the best prose, mechanically speaking, would be the "winner." But as I'm reading, that's not the case, and in fact, one of my "yes" recommendations wasn't actually quite as solid on prose (it was still good, but it wasn't as amazing as some of the other ones I've seen.) Basically, prose seems to be a "you must be this tall to enter" line, not the end-all be-all for good writing. -Your writing needs to feel like it is contributing to the literary conversation. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what made me say "yes" to the few I've said yes to. At the end of the day, it comes down to whether the piece felt like it had something interesting to say. I read a lot of pieces about popular topics which treated those popular topics... pretty much like everyone else does. They were well-written, and they were genuine, but it felt like a lot of them were saying things the same way everyone else has said them. I doubt everyone says yes for the same reasons, but the reasons I find myself saying yes are based mostly on: Does this feel like a new insight? Does it feel like they're approaching the topic from a new angle/perspective? Does the work appropriately embrace complexity and nuance? Is there enough ambiguity in the piece to allow it to be analyzed, while also having enough specificity to feel intentional? The pieces I read which got a yes just went a hair further than the rejected ones. They were just a bit more unique, enough to make me think after reading them. I hope some of this helps. I also highly recommend looking for opportunities to volunteer for a literary magazine. It's been one of the single best experiences for making me look at my writing in a harsher light. Best of luck!

So basically, you're more likely to get notified today, BUT it might not happen. Schools will only notify you of a waitlist rejection "sometime" after they have filled their entire cohort. Unfortunately, not every school prioritizes this, and it may take a few days (or weeks) from when they filled their cohort. There is also a lot of movement even among people on waitlists, and this movement can take time (where they notify next person, next person says no.) So it happens, sometimes, that people can get waitlist offers after April 15. You'll likely get some closure today, hopefully, since a lot of movement does happen today. Hope that helps! Stay strong, it's almost over ?

Happy deadline day, everyone! Hope some of you who are in waitlist-purgatory get some movement today ?

Huge congrats! It really is awesome to have someone tell you how much they believe in your writing. I hope your time at the program is fantastic!

Hey folks, I've officially accepted my spot at McNeese. As much as I wanted to give ODU time to make an offer if they were going to make one (I was waitlisted a few weeks back), I felt ready, so I committed. Good luck to everyone here who is still waiting, and if you come back next year, don't mind the troll =).

Wow, I've actually never heard of that before. A lot of users on draft talk to people while still on waitlists. I guess Hollins did (does?) have a big waitlist, but still seems a bit harsh lol

This is viewed as totally normal and please feel free to do this. The thing is, schools know that people on waitlists can sometimes have to make some REALLY quick decisions (since a lot of movement happens like the week before the deadline). So they are aware that people want to be ready. You are totally welcome to do this, it is not a breach of etiquette whatsoever. So the term "Fully funded" is a specific category: It means that 100% of students accepted receive a tuition remission (for all the tuition) and a stipend of some sort. That is a particular category of schools. That being said, there are a lot of schools who are "partially funded," meaning they fund some or all of their students with offers that remit some or all of their tuition and possibly include stipends too. Sometimes people end up with better funding at "partially funded" universities than fully funded ones. The categorization is a little bit asinine because "fully funded" schools can charge huge amounts in fees and have super expensive costs of living, making them less economic than partially funded ones. I would still be careful with schools that say there are "opportunities" for work that will help you pay for it without being specific. A lot of schools require you to work for them for XXX amount of time (usually a year) before they start remitting tuition (if we're not talking specific, department promises). Also, a lot of times these spots are competative, so it'd suck to end up at a school, think you're going to get funding, and then not. Usually best to make sure you've got a solid, specific funding offer before acting. That's why people find fully funded ones appealing--it's already baked into their acceptance. But "partially funded" places can be a much better option than people give them credit for.

It really does suck. But I will say, the second time was easier for me than the first. The second time, I sort of knew what I was getting into and felt better about my apps, and I also was more ready to accept not getting in. You might take a year off in between (I probably would've been wise to tbh, but no regrets here), but even if you don't, I highly recommend finding some good people to workshop with and just focusing on your writing while you wait. It really helped make my second round a lot easier. I've seen a lot more people get in on a second/third/fourth round than a first one tbh.

Really, genuinely happy for you! Boy, did they make you wait for it lol, but I've really been hoping you'd get a good result. I wish you all the best in your program ? So pleasantly surprised at how many of us on the forum got into programs this year. It's been great to see.

Wow, congrats! Sounds like you've had a stellar season!

Huge congrats! I'm really glad you got some good news after a long, stressful season.

Iowa sends their rejections in the mail, so if you haven't heard back, there's all sorts of things that could've gone wrong there. I would really recommend just emailing the staff for your status. People on Draft have done that and gotten rejections that way. If you were waitlisted, you'd likely know by now via email, unfortunately.

Someone posted on Draft that they're turning down their spot at Hollins (Poetry), so hopefully someone movement on the waitlist today.

He's referring to a specific user on a specific Facebook page called MFA Draft. She's a frequent on that site and she holds the claim that the prestige of your MFA does affect your chances of getting published and into fellowships, all other things being equal. My research into the people who get into fellowships and who get published suggests otherwise. On a per-capita basis for things after graduation, a lot of these schools are very, very level, even schools that aren't "big names" like University of Houston or Boise State University. My conclusion from that is that it has less to do with "which" fully-funded one you go to. Also, the take that some small programs are as hard to get into as Iowa is, on a numerical basis, pretty easily provable. Iowa usually offers around 25 slots for poetry and 25 for fiction. University of Florida, this year, offered 2 for each. Does Iowa get 12X the number of applicants as Florida? Not even remotely. Florida got hundreds this year, whereas Iowa statistics suggest around 1k each year. Sure, you can make the argument that Iowa got higher-quality applicants, but considering it's more well-known, that is actually doubtful. Well-known things tend to get more applicants, period. That was my main point. If a program only accepts an extremely small cohort, it can be just as hard to get into as a well-known one that accepts a comparatively larger cohort. Not to say that getting into Iowa isn't a HUGE accomplishment, it really is. I recommend that anyone applying for an MFA apply to both types of cohorts. Getting in is extremely random. Some forum/draft users get accepted into the "top tier" schools while also being rejected from the other ones. It really does depend on what the program wants.

That's kind of a tricky question, since for a LOT of things you'd do with an MFA, "prestige" isn't that important. If you're looking to be a teacher of some sort, prestige sort of matters, but only in the question of "did you do your MFA somewhere funded with teaching experience?" Any fully funded one will likely do about the same, some a hair more than others, but there's not that much difference, if any. To be frank, the more "prestigious" programs are often not any harder to get into than the little ones that only accept 3-5 writers a year. Since (to my knowledge) both are fully funded, you're going to be checking the "prestige" box with either just fine for teaching. If you're looking to get things published, prestige matters even less. The fact that you have an MFA doesn't even matter that much there tbh, the MFA is just there to make you a better writer and the theory is better writing (as well as contacts, those definitely don't hurt) will help you get published. If you're looking to do something else with your MFA... I'm not sure what else you'd do with one tbh. Maybe some sort of professional gig? In that case, prestige "might" matter, but I doubt there'd be a difference between the two you listed. I think in most cases, prestige is one of the least important factors when picking a school. It's better to research costs/funding, teaching loads, how much you like the area, how the faculty are, how big/small the incoming cohort is, how well you jive with the current cohort, and any other factor that determines how good of an experience it will be.