treaux

Northwestern Litowitz rejection in my inbox. Ah, well.

Stop emailing me, Bed Bath & Beyond! Now is not the time!

No posts about Litowitz yet on Draft, though, which is a little weird.

Well shit. I applied to Litowitz in Fiction so I guess there's a rejection incoming next week...

Take a look at the results board: https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/?per_page=20&q=&institution=Cornell+University&program=&degree=MFA Looks like last year Poetry went out 2/22, and Fiction 2/25.

Seems like rejections have gone out for Alabama, and admits/waitlists have gone out for Cornell poetry. (Haven't seen anything for fiction.) The slow drip of information is torturous! ETA: Historically it looks like Cornell poetry and fiction decisions don't always go on the same day.

Fiction, I think.

I'm actually trying not to check Draft too much. Honestly if I see that someone else has been accepted or rejected to a program that I've applied to it's just going to send my anxiety through the roof. I'd rather just find out when I find out.

Happy February everyone!!! Totally feel both of you on the antsy to know x dread to really know combination.

Not over-scheduled enough apparently because it's 2:00p here and I am incredibly stressed. Ugh. I just want to hibernate until the end of March.

Take a look at least year's results posts: looks like Wyoming, Northwestern, University of Oregon, and UIUC all started to notify the first week of Feb. (I didn't apply to all those schools, but they're all on the results board.) But don't let me infect you with anxiety!! There's always a good chance things take longer this year. Do as I say, not as I do!

A couple of schools that I applied to notified this week last year, so I'm a teeeeensy bit on edge. (I know there's no guarantee they'll notify at the same time this year, but still.) On one hand, I'm dying for news, and on the other hand, if it's bad news I'd rather not receive it lol. I did try to aggressively over-schedule myself this week so I'd be busy.

How's everyone feeling this weekend? Anyone doing anything fun to distract themselves from the anticipation and dread?

Someone posted that they were notified about a Pitt interview, too. Just FYI in case anyone applied.

Damn. Mic drop. In all seriousness, thank you so much, @asmodeo! I hadn't seen the Mat Johnson thread or the Alex Parsons letter, and they were both really illuminating reads. This part from the Parsons is crazy: We score each application on a scale of 1-5, with 5 as the best. Generally you need to score a perfect 15 to be admitted, which is to say you impressed a minimum of three faculty members. Just shows how insanely competitive and subjective the process is. I mean, even I wouldn't rate my writing a 5/5, lol. If you don't mind sharing, what eight schools did you apply to?

Sorry OSU folks, hoping you get better news from other programs soon. I keep telling myself that by two weeks from today, I'll probably have heard back from at least one school ... And then by two weeks after that, I'll probably have heard from at least a few schools ... And hopefully that can keep me sated until two weeks after that ... and so on and so forth. The waiting game is cruel!

Is anyone else applying 5+ years out of undergrad? I'm having difficulty explaining giving up a job that pays money and investing in my (non-writing) career to my parents/peers/etc.

It has been quiet on the thread this year, hasn't it? I also applied to Michener in fiction/screenwriting, though Michener notifies so late and is so selective that I mostly try not to think about it. Just FYI — some people on Draft have been posting OSU decisions (fiction and poetry), so you might hear news sooner rather than later! Fingers crossed for you!

Long-time lurker who just submitted my last application of the season... Rewarding myself by finally making a post and basking in the forum solidarity! I'm feeling pretty anxious, to be honest. I knew paying tuition for an MFA was going to be unconscionable for me in the long run so I only applied to fully funded programs. And I had a strong preference for rural/non-urban locations (generally I prefer environments where the sheep outnumber the people) which cut the list down a lot more — no heavy-hitters like WUSTL, Vandy, Hopkins... Basically every school on my list has a rounding error for an acceptance rate — which I knew was going to be the case — but now that the wait has started I'm feeling the urge to panic apply to a bunch more programs just so to increase the chances I get in somewhere. I feel like I'm oscillating between telling myself that the most likely outcome by far is that I don't get into any programs, and I should manage my expectations and just be pleasantly surprised if I do happen to get in anywhere and little bouts of manic confidence ("of course I'll get in somewhere! My recommenders think I'm amazing!) The other issue is that I don't have a good back-up plan for my next year if I don't get into any programs, but I'm feeling super stagnant creatively, personally, and professionally, so I know I need to make a change and it will just be so much easier if that change comes in the form and structure of grad school. So that's my little intro ramble. If anyone wants to share where they applied/what their top choices are I love reading that kind of stuff. Or if anyone wants to talk about books, I just finished Patricia Lockwood's Why Is No One Talking About This and was actually a bit underwhelmed.