gremlingirl

first of all, a huge CONGRATS to those who have already been accepted to programs!! also congrats to those who may have already received some rejections-- you're f*cking rockstars. it seems to me like there is an overwhelming amount of positivity on here and on Draft, with tons of acceptances posted already. what an exciting time!! with my programs not sending out notifications until mid feb-march, i'm just enjoying watching everyone else hear back. i am a bit concerned, however, that my top program might notify later than usual this year. the letters of recommendation-- usually due two weeks after the application-- aren't required until over a full month after this year's due date. am i reading too much into this, or should i expect to hear back much later than expected? am i just being crazy? help

i really enjoyed 'bird by bird' by anne lamott! it was recommended to my undergrad cohort by a scriptwriting professor, though it focuses mainly on long form fiction

i hope everyone's doing okay with the stress of notifications!! just a reminder that ANYONE can post acceptances/rejections on this website... even if they're fake. i know in past years that people have posted false acceptances to mess with those who are anxious to hear back-- so keep your heads up and don't panic too much!<3 also, i've been binging 'what we do in the shadows' to cope with my own stress and i can't stop thinking about the similarities of the few trolls in this thread and the energy vampires in the series... i think perhaps we may have a few in our midst...

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i don't know, i guess i just have a different perspective on the process of applying to MFA programs in writing. who gets accepted and who doesn't is entirely subjective, and isn't reliant at all on how many or how few programs a person applies to. sure, applying to more programs will give your portfolio more of a chance to be seen by a program that might accept it. but there's more that goes on behind the scenes: the cohort the university already has, the staff that may or may not teach specific styles of writing, the personal opinions of application readers, the type of cohort they hope to create, etc etc. for me personally, i chose to apply to much fewer programs that i know check off all of my boxes as opposed to wasting the money on applications (money that i don't have) for other fantastic programs that don't necessarily serve my personal goals. i think being optimistic about this process is vital-- there's no use in deciding you're f*cked before you even get the 'you're f*cked' email. plus, as artists, we all must be resilient. negativity does not serve resilience well.

hiii everyone! i obsessively checked this thread last year, so i decided to hop in the conversation this year before the chaos truly ensues. i'm now a full year out of undergrad, and applied to eight programs last year with 0 acceptances. it was a huge disappointment, but now i couldn't be more grateful for the time i was able to dedicate to my writing while taking my "gap year" (at least that's what i've been calling it to make myself feel better, lol)! this year i'm only applying to three programs, and have very specific desires when it comes to a program's curriculum-- last year i applied to essentially every school that i could afford. i understand that i have cast a much smaller net this time around, but i feel much more confident in my sample and applications. wishing everyone the best of luck! is anyone else having a hard time writing new pieces during this waiting period? or is that just me?