xenawins

Oh. My correspondence was from someone in the program, so I assumed (since it happened on the same day) yours was too.
But I guess... I can verify they are in fact looking at applications? Since they said what happened with mine is the system uploaded blank slides where the SoP and CV should've been, that's not something they should've known unless they were actually looking at apps.
So they're looking at apps!
I feel this. I was like "Hey, if they're looking at my SoP and CV that means I didn't get thrown in the trash bin of applicants whose writing sucks... right? Maybe? Pretty please?"

Wow, that's something I've never heard of before. 
I mean, if we're looking on the positive side, I can at least say, "Hey, this means they're looking at applications!"

Hello, just letting you know that that was the troll posting under a new account again. Your kindness and empathy will be wasted on them, unfortunately. 

I'm curious why you're applying then? Seems like a lot of work to do for something you're good without. Also, I have a lot of compassion for this mindset. It was the exact mindset I had when I applied to UMontana years ago. I didn't get in, because on some level, I was scared to put my best self forward and irritated at the gatekeeping mentality of having my work judged. (not saying any of that is applicable to what you're feeling, just sharing my own experience) I've worked through that and am a much better writer now (I think). I do hear you though - if I don't get in, I'll keep writing. I have two published books (small press and indie) but I would love to teach and gain more experience/opportunity to dive deeper into my craft, especially through a literary lens. Those are my motivations now and though rejection will sting, I also know my love of writing continues on with or without a MFA.

I'm curious why you're applying then? Seems like a lot of work to do for something you're good without. Also, I have a lot of compassion for this mindset. It was the exact mindset I had when I applied to UMontana years ago. I didn't get in, because on some level, I was scared to put my best self forward and irritated at the gatekeeping mentality of having my work judged. (not saying any of that is applicable to what you're feeling, just sharing my own experience) I've worked through that and am a much better writer now (I think). I do hear you though - if I don't get in, I'll keep writing. I have two published books (small press and indie) but I would love to teach and gain more experience/opportunity to dive deeper into my craft, especially through a literary lens. Those are my motivations now and though rejection will sting, I also know my love of writing continues on with or without a MFA.

At some point, you have to call it good. I also have some regrets about some schools that I've found interesting after the fact. Brown and VTech among them. But yes, it's ridiculously expensive and time consuming! We can only do the best we can with what we've got at the time. Maybe these "missed" ones can be a seeded opportunity for next round if needed. Hang in there!

I'm curious why you're applying then? Seems like a lot of work to do for something you're good without. Also, I have a lot of compassion for this mindset. It was the exact mindset I had when I applied to UMontana years ago. I didn't get in, because on some level, I was scared to put my best self forward and irritated at the gatekeeping mentality of having my work judged. (not saying any of that is applicable to what you're feeling, just sharing my own experience) I've worked through that and am a much better writer now (I think). I do hear you though - if I don't get in, I'll keep writing. I have two published books (small press and indie) but I would love to teach and gain more experience/opportunity to dive deeper into my craft, especially through a literary lens. Those are my motivations now and though rejection will sting, I also know my love of writing continues on with or without a MFA.

At some point, you have to call it good. I also have some regrets about some schools that I've found interesting after the fact. Brown and VTech among them. But yes, it's ridiculously expensive and time consuming! We can only do the best we can with what we've got at the time. Maybe these "missed" ones can be a seeded opportunity for next round if needed. Hang in there!

Interesting note in the world of "shit happens" in applying to schools... I received a message from ASU saying there was someone else using my social security number??? I'm flabbergasted, though they said it could be a simple mistype in someone's application, so I had to send a special encrypted email through ASU with actual pictures of my social security card. And yes, I double checked to make sure I wasn't yeeting my information into some phish void. Have never encountered this before but it does make me a bit nervous that maybe my info is being used by someone else. Hahahahahha or maybe *I* was the one who mistyped it! Fun things to mull over as I agonize in wait-and-see purgatory.

Also...is anyone else now starting to panic about not having applied to enough schools/not having applied to a wide enough range...nothing to do now. My only solace is that I know I did better this round than last. 

I console myself with the fact that applying for the schools can actually be dang expensive. 
I think my 10 schools came out to about $800. Even 2-3 more could've put me over $1,000 lol. 

So, I took a break from posting on here to check my email, and guess what I found in my inbox--an invitation to advance to Stage II of my application for poetry to University of Mississippi! I know this is not an acceptance letter, but it's encouraging to know they responded positively to my writing sample and SOP, especially it being the first application I submitted.
 
Well guys, I guess I have one more application to complete. : )

Can confirm; I grew up in Eugene. Other than being a little college-towney, it is a very nice place to start a family (especially if you like outdoor sports). I was happy to grow up there, although it is the type of place that kids are driven to leave as adults, as me and my brother and most people I know did. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my words. Funny, that's what I say at the end of every submission I query for publication. But honestly, isn't that why we as writers do what we do? Simply to share--our words, our stories. I also applied to schools strewn across the country. I found it difficult to truly know what a program would be like as far as pedagogy and culture, but as a 37 year old who plans to start a family before it's too late, location was one of my top considerations--is the city affordable, family friendly, a place where my partner and I can envision setting up a life, even if only for the duration of the program. I can relate to the urge to start fresh somewhere else, but can also understand how it might be difficult to leave the PNW. I love that area--applied to UO for that reason. What schools are on you application list, may I ask?

I think it's pretty standard for all artistic people to circle the drain.  That tether that connects all writers especially to what we consider a work of art stems from the abyss we don't want to look into too much and yet gaze at incessantly.  Haha.
I told my middle-school drama students just today: If we didn't feel afraid or nauseous before every performance, whether in class or on a stage, how could we be certain we were putting our heart and soul in it at all?
Living in agony is part and parcel, at least for me.  Just last night I excused myself from an extra hour of sleep to finish a 20-page beast of a poem that has been hounding me for 8 weeks now.  Well, hound no more.  Is it any good?  Does it matter?
I wrote it to exorcise a specific moment and experience.  It was written specifically for one person in this world.  These two facts, alone and together, more than justify the existence of the words.
Everything else is just a gift, or better yet, a reason to keep experimenting and playing with an empty page!  This last poem I wrote I decided to say "Fuck the format!" and laid the words and sentences out in the way the actual emotion impacted me right there and then.  And then I thought, "Why not try and recreate a body with some of these stanzas?"  Or have multiple stanzas buried in each other, but spacing the words so anyone reading could choose one or the other?  Was it 100% successful?  Fuck no, haha, but it gave me so much joy to be invigorated this way.
To see myself on a page and be confident to say that I liked that person enough to finish the work.
"Finish it."
That's the hardest lesson, one I will always struggle with (part of the reason why grad school would be such a tremendous help!), but acceptance or no acceptance, the pages will always be there for us.  We just have to make sure we tend to them.  :)
 
Toodles, everyone, it's fun being in the same boat together!  Let's rock it!

It's so interesting hearing other people's experiences. The hardest part for me is the waiting... I can deal with what I know, it's the unknown that drives me batty. Also why I'm doing #sowell during this pandemic and the continuous unknown rolling into year three. ? I'm thinking now though, why doesn't rejection bother me as much? I definitely have a harsh inner critic that vacillates wildly between "this is shit...YOU, in all the ways, might even be shit" to "wow, I think this is pretty great!" I can only say maybe it's because I've come to accept rejection as an inevitable part of being a creative. There is almost nothing as subjective as what one considers art, much less "good" art, so it feels easier to not make it personal to me. After all, I'm not everyone's cup of tea and I'm actively working on my own people-pleasing tendencies so receiving rejection always feels like a healthy process for me to experience. Sorry, all this navel gazing and I know I'm just trying to avoid checking my email again. Carry on! 

Congrats on wrapping up your apps! Looks like a good list  are you a first time applicant or is this your second/third round?
Definitely relate to this  For me, I gotta have a big enough ego to think "This is the best shit ever!" while writing, and enough inner critic to circle back and think "Wow, this seriously needs work." The eternal dance, ha.
Question: do you all find it easy or difficult to keep working on writing during the waiting period? Friends and family keep telling me to write, but I feel so paralyzed.

Congratulations! Whoooo! Thanks for sharing the joy (and hope) for everyone still waiting

For me, it's honestly the rejection that's the hardest. I can deal with my life like it is for another year, it's not a bad life. 
But as a writer, I'm my own worst critic. There's a part of me that thinks some level of that is actually necessary if you want to be good at writing, though I also think we as writers usually take it too far. People that are serious at writing are often seriously hard on themselves, too. 
The waiting is hard on me because it's like this constant reminder of my own fears and self-doubts about myself as a writer. Those negative voices seem much harder to quiet during this period, tbh. 

Last year I panic applied too and all the schools I did that with were the ones I got into. Also we applied to so many of the same schools, poets unite.

Hi everyone! I'm late to join but glad that my apps are finished because that was a hell I was not anticipating. 
I'm a poet applicant and 100% panic applied towards the end because however many schools I had on my list suddenly wasn't enough... now I can't stop checking my email even though it's only January.
My list (in no particular order):
Michener and NWP at UT Austin  North Carolina State University  University of Florida  University of Washington (Seattle)  Florida State University University of Virginia  Syracuse University University of Michigan  University of Iowa  Vanderbilt  Cornell University of Maryland  Best of luck everyone! I look forward to interacting on here!  
 

Congratulations! Whoooo! Thanks for sharing the joy (and hope) for everyone still waiting

Hi Everyone,
Just discovered this forum—alas, months after I submitted all my applications, but scanning the post history has quelled some of my waiting-game nerves. I’m a first-time poetry applicant. I applied to 15 schools (a variety of top and middle tier programs) in hopes of securing acceptance with the first attempt.
I think some of the questions people posed to encourage positive discussion became overshadowed recently by troll bait. Revisiting select questions could bring us back to supporting each other as we twiddle our thumbs. So here goes:
My top program picks are for different reasons. Practically speaking, my partner would rather stay in Austin so he doesn’t have to rebuild his patient practice. Too bad an acceptance from the Michener Center is like winning a golden ticket to Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, but there’s always UT’s NWP. Though, setting practicalities aside, in my heart of hearts, I’m hoping for entry to Washington University in St. Louis. I don’t know why—gut/intuition I guess.  Plus, aside from a short stint in Brooklyn, I’ve lived my entire life in ATX. What with property values jumping from an average of $350,000 to $500,000+ in just a year, the cost of living in St. Louis is looking mighty enticing to me these days. Just the other day, I saw on Zillow that a shoebox sized empty lot two doors down from me is listing for $600,000!
re: to healthy distractions: I’ve been binge reading. Just finished reading Cloud Cuckoo Land and About Grace. Anyone else love Anthony Doer’s work as much as I do? For a poet, I adore his attention to the tiny details where humanity alights and the lyricism he weaves when attending to such details. For whatever reason, I’m having difficulty picking up a book of poetry. Maybe it feels a little too close to my anxiety right now—not enough of a distraction. 

Way back, someone brought up sharing each other’s published work. Here’s a link to one of my publications:
https://www.cathexisnorthwestpress.com/post/mother-days-after-nights-after-lost-in-a-hole-after-her-end
I’d love to read whatever anyone wants to share. : )
 
Also, whoever compiled last year’s dates of acceptance letters from programs, thank you! This helps me redirect my attention—though I’m sure there will be plenty of email checking on the dates mentioned. By the way, does anyone know if most programs deliver acceptances by phone or by email?
 
Best,
Jenny
 

Checked my email because I couldn't sleep – in for Fiction/Prose at St Andrews. In total shock. How am I supposed to sleep now!?
1a/0w/0r/12p

Anyone else feeling so intensely anxious waiting to hear back from schools?
Like, I am barely focusing at work, all I can think about is the programs. I dream about it, I even walk around the prospective cities on google maps ?
It's not even like I think I'll be so crushed if I don't get in. I'll be sad, sure, but I have a decent plan B. Or... maybe I will be a little crushed. The MFA would change my entire life. I quite literally cannot think about anything else. I've been going through last years' grad cafe and Draft like it will actually help! I keep reading over my app materials, imagining it from the POV of the committees. I wish I could chill, my friends are like 'its only 2 weeks till you start to hear back' but every day feels like absolute torture ?
So if anyone else feels as obsessed as I do, dw you're not alone hahaha