MDP

Gahhh hoping so. Does anyone have a general projected timeline for when the other schools notify? There should be a little stats spreadsheet or something, ha

Is this earlier than normal or do they generally notify around now? I didn't apply here, just wondering whether we might see notifs earlier than normal this season...wishful thinking

Yep, unfortunately it seems to come with the territory. I took a lot of visual/studio arts courses in undergrad and found the same problems there. At this point for me it's just fun to observe. Hard to imagine artists without big egos.

Ahhh makes sense. Congrats to them! My hamster brain is starving for notifs.

Uhhh what's with this result? January 2022 Creative Writing Fiction, New York University Added on January 11, 2022Accepted on 28 Sep https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/?per_page=20&institution=&program=Creative+Writing&degree=MFA

Hell yeah. Beautifully said. I have a friend in the creative nonfiction program at NYU and she says that the camaraderie and collaboration among the CNF cohort is generally great. She said the CNF candidates support one another and most of them have a "quiet, jedi-like self confidence" that enables them to take pride in their work without being assholes. Seems like there's not too much ego getting in the way of their workshop environment. She did say that she has the sense that the fiction program/fiction writers there are much cattier/faker, have bigger egos, etc. (As a fiction writer this pretty much tracks lol).

...also, has anyone else been having acceptance dreams? Dreamt I got into Hollins last night and woke up in a cold sweat for some reason lol. This waiting period can't move fast enough

Re: small vs. big programs, I think some people view it as depth vs. breadth. Some folks value a small class size because it can mean more attention/in-depth workshopping from profs and students. Other people want a larger class size to get a higher volume of perspectives on their work. Both have their merits. Personally, I don't think either approach is better than the other, just preferences

UVA or Hollins. Pretty sold on Virginia. My rents live in Charlottesville

Good luck @eternalwhitenights! I saw your arc from last year on the 2021 Forum (which I finally finished reading yesterday while at work, lol). What kind of stuff do you like to write?

@koechophe Oh, how about: “The bad advice gave me the sense of trolling on GradCafe, as other users had warned me about.”

Another post from @dogearedwhere they elaborated a bit more... I just found it interesting, hadn't heard this perspective before! _________ Posted March 16, 2021 lilacbread This is really insightful, thank you! I'm definitely curious about "perfect" or by-the-book stories looked like. Did they follow traditional themes, turns, styles, plot devices, etc.? dogeared Hi! Yes, great question I can definitely elaborate on. Definitely followed traditional themes, styles, and plot devices. Sometimes we could predict what was going to happen or what choice the author was going to make. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn't exciting? I had trouble picturing these people in workshop. Or sometimes the plot/concept was interesting, but it was executed in ways that weren't testing the writer's limits?? If that makes sense. It seemed like these writers had already found and polished a style and tone that wouldn't really benefit from going to graduate school -- they could definitely start their writing career successfully while grad school would be life-changing for other applicants. This also reflects the personal taste of the committee, which differs everywhere! These were just my specific observations in my institution. Different programs work better for specific styles and aesthetics, which is definitely something that everyone can benefit from considering when creating their list. _________

Found this post from @dogearedin last year's forum (...I have a lot of spare time at my job) and thought it had a lot of great info so thought I would repost here! ______________ Posted March 16, 2021 Hi friends! LONG POST INCOMING. I hope it is helpful. Some weeks back I mentioned that my institution has one final-year student in each genre join the admissions committee and review incoming apps. I got to review incoming fiction applications. I'm very grateful for the behind-the-scenes view I got of the admissions process. This week we finally had our meeting to finalize our list of offers (it was a 3-hour meeting). I wanted to offer some advice and share some observations for anyone applying again next cycle. As a note, of course no advice will be universal. Every department and every writer is different. There is no surefire way to guarantee admission to a program. These are just things I've realized as an MFA student/adcom member and wished I knew before applying. Your writing sample is the most important thing. I think people have been told this already, but I want to emphasis this point. Your CV is not as important. Of course, it might not hurt to have a flourishing CV, but having more publications and experience in literature/writing won't mean much if your writing sample doesn't stand out from the bunch. The CV was the last thing we looked at in applications. Perfect and polished work isn't always the best. It sounds a bit weird -- I know. Of course, you should send what you are confident in. But ultimately, you are meant to grow stronger as a writer in an MFA program. If your writing sample doesn't show that you would benefit from graduate school, then some profs in admissions question what they would even be able to teach you. Think about whether you would benefit from workshop and formal education. The most excited manuscripts to read (which we all agreed on unanimously) were the ones that did something interesting and were kind of rough around the edges. This might not be the case for institutions that value something different than ours, but it is important to us that writers can really grow and get something out of our program. We weren't as excited about people who sent by-the-books "perfect" stories. The writing was great, but it was hard to picture these applicants in a workshop. This is difficult because we always want to submit the best work possible to programs. But to the admissions committees, this sample is all they can use to determine if you would benefit from graduate school. This is something I didn't think about until I was behind the scenes. I noticed myself much less interested in pieces that were perfect. Everyone on the committee was excited about the possibilities for growth they saw in a manuscript and for the successful risk takers that tried something interesting that surprised them. (Again, though, every program and committee will be different) The mindset behind reviewing MFA apps is very different from the mindset behind reviewing litmag submissions. Luckily, I have years of experience reading for litmags. In that scenario, you want to find the polished, well-written, balanced stories that don't need as much work. The ones that are ready for publication. The mindset is different when reviewing writing samples for MFA apps. We generally were interested in innovative forms/perspectives/styles that would greatly benefit from years of workshop and formal education. You do not need an MFA from a highly-ranked program. You do not need the shortest program possible. Look at funding and program fit before anything else! Really think about why you want an MFA. Hopefully you want it because you want to become a stronger writer and work with a community of other writers. Maybe there is a faculty member at the institution you're applying to that you really admire and want to work with. Maybe you want it to pursue a teaching career in creative writing. These are all great reasons to me. But if you just want the MFA to have the MFA, chances are you will make the wrong choices when it comes to which programs to apply to. You might get accepted to these places and not feel fulfilled. When I was first applying to MFAs in 2017, I was really interested in the big-name schools that would make me feel accomplished and important on paper. And I was really interested in the shortest programs possible. I think big-name schools are still worth applying to, of course, if you genuinely believe you could thrive and grow in that school's environment then I definitely think you should apply. And I always encourage "aiming high" because why not? But make sure the faculty and culture of that place fit with your goals. And I genuinely can say that most people I know who have MFAs agree on longer, fully-funded programs being the better choice over 1-year ones. After all, you are there to learn and work on a manuscript. If you can get paid for years to really dig into your work, I would take that. 1-year programs might be stressful and overbearing, and you might finish feeling like you were able to grow or absorb any actual information. Having the time and space to experiment and question everything is really valuable. But everyone is different! Maybe you thrive under pressure or you have other commitments and life situations that make shorter programs more ideal. That totally makes sense. No matter what though, please please please look for FUNDING. If you only aim for the most popular programs, your chances for funding are lower. There is a larger applicant pool. That is a fact. Try adding some lesser-known schools with great faculties. They often have a bunch of funding for you and a smaller applicant pool. After all, if your reasoning for getting an MFA is to learn and grow as a writer, then the name of the school shouldn't be what is most important to you. I stand by this fully. And again, I still think its great to try for more famous programs...don't say no for them. AGAIN: This advice may vary by writer, by program, by admissions committee. Nothing is black-and-white. I just found these things to be really important to consider. This is a lot of writing lol. I'm sorry for the wall of text. I'm happy to DM anyone who wants to talk more. I am graduating with my MFA (fiction) in May, and I've been accepted into a PhD program for English Lit and Creative Writing for the Fall. I am happy to answer any questions! Good luck! ________________ (Again here at the bottom so no one will think I know what I'm talking about... this is @dogeared's post not mine lol. Just reposting)

And no need to feel pained, I think it's awesome that it's done so well. You should definitely send off some more of your newer stuff! I'm trying to muster the willpower to submit to some publications this spring, but part of me just wants to take a break from writing until rejects/accepts come in. I can't focus on much lately, least of all writing...

Yesss totally agree. Genre blending is the best! I know some programs put a lot of emphasis on cross-genre work these days -- VCU and Hollins seem to value it.

These are awesome, thanks for sharing (and making my work day that much better! ) First one gives me some Ready Player One vibes, second one some Eternal Sunshine vibes. I love the speculative fiction feel with each. Funny that the second one includes haircutting -- this story of mine has a (brief) hair cut image at the end, haha. It's a speculative piece from about 2018-2019 (I also haven't been submitting almost anything since early 2020, so I feel you). I still like this story pretty well, though of course it's old now so there are a bunch of things I would change. Nature of the (editing) beast. http://thecoachellareview.com/archive/fiction/resting-state/

Applied to Hollins on a whim yesterday...anyone else applying there for fiction? I liked the feel of their website/location/funding options. Edit: I'm bored at work, post some links to your publications if you've got em.

I SO admire you for doing freelance as your main gig! Seriously, that takes discipline that I have always lacked. Last year I really had to come to terms with the fact that I'm not cut out to be a freelancer. 40 hr/wk in-person job is pretty much essential for me or I make no money and lose my mind, lol. I always have a couple freelance projects on the side, though -- write blogs, design some logos, edit people's fiction. But man, was it hard to try and manage it full time!

Also, just wanted to say I'm grateful for all the people and info in this forum. Y'all rock. I was in Draft on FB my first application cycle and vowed never to enter it again, haha. I know some people find it helpful but it felt too much like a pissing contest to me. Much prefer GradCafe...feels old-school somehow

That's great! Nice going It definitely felt better to get things done in advance. Sure helped to be out of undergrad. First time I applied felt hellish start to finish, in large part because of all the senior year theses and coursework. Working full time isn't always a blast, but it was so much easier to get apps done than when I was still in college!

Wondering the same thing. Best course of action would be to email administration/admissions to check, I would think

Also...I keep getting LinkedIn notifs that I'm showing up in searches, and my dumb hopeful brain keeps thinking "what if it's the adcoms?!" ? (It almost certainly isn't. I know they don't have time to be cruising around on LinkedIn, lmao)

Thanks so much!! I'll definitely do that this week. Re: addiction, AA and 12 Step work have been the real life savers for me. There's just something about talking with other addicts/alcoholics that makes shit okay. Takes time, and every day is still a struggle, but it's getting better. "Living Sober" is a good digestible book for people who want to get sober but are intimidated by 12 Step meetings (but for anyone struggling, I really do recommend AA over everything.) Speaking more generally, DBT/ACT therapy has been really useful for me. "The Illustrated Happiness Trap" is a great book too. It's client-friendly (according to my therapist, lol) and teaches the reader how to understand and respond to their destructive thought patterns. It's great for anyone whether they're in therapy or not. It has cartoons and stuff in it, so it can feel kind of silly sometimes, but it is so accessible and has taught me a lot of useful skills. And on a more fun level...drawing, sewing, journaling, playing Neopets all help. I was told to pick a hobby (or three) that I won't be tempted to be great at. Just one that I can do and enjoy. It's been good advice -- keeps the perfectionism at bay.

Welcome!! Are you applying for fiction, poetry, or CNF? I’m dreading the waiting period too…bleh. Need some more hobbies aside from scrolling GradCafe, haha.

@everyone ...I have a question that may be stupid... are we supposed to send FAFSAs for every school we apply to??? Is it too late to do that? I haven't had to do that shit since I was 18 and applying to undergrad so I've forgotten how to even go about it.