_redrabbit7

Just received a call. Someone I know got into Brown for fiction. The email was sent to them yesterday, at 9:32 p.m.

I’ve been paralyzed all day, waiting for Brown. I just got out of bed to do the dishes. Now I’m going to make myself something really nice for dinner. Tomorrow shall be D-Day. 24 hrs more and we’ll all be put out of our sorrows and miseries. But until then, do not be discouraged, and do not be fearful. The acceptances and rejections have been finalized. I would that we all make it in, but some of us might have to wait until the next cycle. Whatever the outcome, be of good cheer, and never stop writing!

I emailed Nelson Peter yesterday. He sent me the waitlist email last year. This morning, before responding to my email, he sent out the fiction waitlist. I didn’t get one. I’ve been reeling since then. His email by the way: “Many thanks for your inquiry. The Literary Arts faculty admission committee has just submitted its admission recommendations to the Graduate School -- we hope that review will be completed soon, at which time we'll share admission news with applicants.”

Waitlists first. They haven’t called people for acceptances.

Oh, so sorry to hear that. I also applied to three schools in the Top 10 and have been rejected by two so far. Hoping for some good news from Brown honestly. 🙏🏾🙏🏾

To my knowledge, only Brown poetry acceptances have gone out so far. I know someone who got in. And my roommate (a current grad in fiction) told me the other programs will send out their acceptances before or by Saturday, ahead of spring break next week. Until Saturday night, I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for some good news.

It was 1,100 last year.

I’ve begun to pick Scam Likely calls. You never know. 🙂

SHENODAAAAAAAA! CHANNNERRRRRRRR! CAYLEEEYYYYYYYY! 🥱

I believe he meant generally.

Hey guys, my roommate asked a professor in class yesterday about whether acceptances had been sent out and they said no acceptances, waitlists, or rejections had been sent out by Brown University. They have another class today so he’s going to ask another professor. I’m redacting the names of these professors for his privacy.

Lol, same way I ask myself how people write compelling stories under 5k words. At 5k, I’m just beginning to say what I want to say. I think mine stem from influences. I read Coetzee a lot, and he’s only written about three or four short stories through his career, which are not particularly good as standalones.

I’m out of reactions but I like what you said about your work in relation to David Foster Wallace’s. I’m embarrassed to say I’m not familiar with his work. I think applying for both poetry and fiction next year is a nice idea. But, hey, it’s not over yet until you hear from Brown. ✌🏾

Oh, wow. I don’t write short fiction too! I don’t think my writing is complex, but it’s long and verbose, because it’s autofiction, oftentimes with no narrative arc or plot. Think Karl Ove Knausgaard or Teju Cole or W. G. Sebald. I don’t write poetry.

I submitted a novel excerpt too. And every single time I got a rejection from a school I go back to read it and it reads like shit. 🤦🏾‍♂️

Oh, nice! I don’t think your GPA should be an issue. I applied in 2023 without a bachelor’s and was waitlisted for the cross-disciplinary track, although I’d used the transcript of an MFA I was still undergoing at the time. As for that MFA too, which was in painting, I’d gotten in without a bachelor’s at all. I think it’s always about the writing sample.

I’ve been living in Providence as an international student for nearly three years now and I think I like it here a bit. It’s suitable for a solitary creative life, if that’s something you’re interested in. It’s quiet and boring, nothing much happens outside the Brown-RISD area. There’s a bookstore in Downtown called Symposium; I go there often to get a supply of books. By the way, I asked my roommate this morning, a current grad in fiction at Brown, and he told me he didn’t think acceptances had been sent out yet. He hadn’t heard anything. He would ask a professor in class today. None of my two other friends in the fiction and poetry tracks had heard anything too. The only acceptance we’ve heard of so far might be an early notice or a hoax.

Hello, all. Has anyone heard anything else from Brown since that one call reported on Friday?

Hello, anyone heard from Brown yet?

Has anyone heard from Johns Hopkins or Brown University yet?

yes you can. i think they should be willing to recommend you again next year. until then, keep hope alive since you still have two pending applications. i also got an MFA already (completing it this June actually), getting a second one, but got waitlisted by the only program i applied to.

Received an email a few hours ago informing me that I've been waitlisted for Brown Digital/Cross-disciplinary MFA. Two applicants have been accepted and two waitlisted. They said they received 1,100 applications for 12 spots across all their Lit Arts tracks. I'm so worried right now. What's the probability that someone will reject Brown's offer so I could get their spot? 😔

I do not know much about the ceramics program at RISD. I cannot really say if there's anything you should be worried about. It's not about what RISD is not great at, Yale just happens to have a better program. The faculty is more committed to the growth of their students. And they have a track record to prove it. And an amazing faculty too, especially Meleko Mokgosi, who I personally admire for his cerebral approach to artmaking. I combed through every ranking before I came to RISD. I only applied to the top three art schools in the US: Yale, RISD, and SAIC. I got into both RISD and SAIC on scholarships but didn't get into Yale. I chose to attend RISD because it's closer to Connecticut and New York. My expectations were high before I came to RISD, but within a semester I was so disappointed and disgusted with myself because I wasn't making the progress I desired in my practice. Part of this stemmed from my inability to get tangible help from my faculty. The critiques did not help and I'm telling you this, honestly, the critiques DID NOT HELP! I was creatively stranded. And at the time I heard that another student wanted to drop out after that first semester so they could reapply to Yale (they eventually didn't). You mention that RISD caters more to students who are interested in pursuing teaching. I think that is true. I've takne courses in collegiate teaching. But there's also this longstanding problem with the graduate painting department that refuses to take its own students to teach at RISD; they're always looking for graduates from Yale. This matter escalated over the last few years that, beginning in 2023, in order to contain this ruckus, the graduate painting department was forced by its students to begin to retain at least one graduate as a faculty post-MFA. Yale is not a "hyped" school. Before I decided to go to graduate school I read the CVs of almost all their outstanding painting graduates, from the late 90s till date. I read everybody's CV. They have a track record of excellence. The biggest artists to have emerged from RISD to date attended before I was even born: Kara Walker (1994), Julie Mehretu (1997). Yale is still producing at least one amazing artist every single year (most recently Tunji Adeniji-Jones [2017] Dominic Chambers [2019] Chibuike Uzoma [2021]). And I noticed that Yale graduates who decide to teach after their MFAs are appointed associate professors immediately after grad school [Njideka Akunyili Crosby (2011), Jennifer Packer (2012), Jordan Casteel (2014), Devan Shimoyama (2014)]. I don't know of any RISD grads who have gotten the same reception. My advice to anyone applying to any MFAs would be to research. Decide for yourself what you want to get out of an MFA. Then do your research and find the best program that you think can help you. Good luck to you guys in your applications. ***RISD has the best undergraduate program in art, though, that is undeniable. There are Yale grads who attended RISD for their undergraduate degrees, such as Tavares Strachan (2004). And there are undergrads like Anna Weyant and Sacha Gordon.

Send a DM to @elenabulet on Instagram. She's a current photo grad and she's amazing.

I'm a current MFA in painting student at RISD. Please, go to Yale if you get accepted there.