saramsarang

There is another Michener acceptance on the draft spreadsheet, which makes that two in total and one more left. So I suppose I can cross it off my list. Pretty devastating to receive back-to-back blows after Cornell, but I feel like I did that to myself with all the schools I applied to. I guess they were all long shots to begin with, so I'm just going to soldier on until the end of the cycle and then call it a day.

Ahh ripp I feel like I spoke Michener into existence. But anyways, trolls on draft are very unlikely and that person seems have been the linchpin for all the other acceptances as well, so I'm inclined to believe we'll be seeing Michener decisions go out in the upcoming hours and days. Good luck to everyone, guess we'll just have to let it play out!

Ahh same. The only schools I'm left to hear back from are Syracuse, UT Austin (Michener), Brown, Michigan, Iowa and NYU which honestly have the same likelihood as Cornell or JHU or any of the other rejections I've received so far. I've heard people say that if you've gotten one acceptance you're likely to get at least one more since your quality of work is good enough for the standards that these schools run in. So I'm just waiting for the rejections to pile up in my inbox at this point. I hope we receive just the one acceptance at least, it's all that I need honestly. So fingers crossed, hopefully it works out for us! Here's to hoping.

I believe they were accepting poetry and non-fiction this year? I emailed them because they website was confusing and was told fiction was next year so I didn't apply to the Litowitz this year....Did I get that wrong? @Rixor Really sorry to hear about the sudden confusion in the program, I hope it ends up working out for you, seems really unfair to have this uncertainty after acceptances have gone through. Sending you lots of hugs and luck, hopefully another acceptance also turns up so you're not dependent on this one alone. Also I am here to report I too received my Cornell rejection and I'm grateful for once because I finally got the rejection email instead of being left in limbo!

Thing is NYU starts with the highest funding package. So it's possible that each of the candidates in each genre have gotten the highest funding and the rest are yet to follow spread out through the upcoming weeks. Admittedly, it is very early for NYU, even with the funding package because they've tended towards March and April for decisions in the last couple of years. But each year is different so I wouldn't completely discount the current reports. At this point, all we can do it wait and watch.

Grief is a theme that bleeds heavily in my work, it just happens even when I don't intend for it. Otherwise the themes I write about are rooted in South Asian women and culture, family dynamics, queerness and just a little bit of hope in that grief. Mostly I write about whatever, for me stories tend to be more character driven than plot driven, so I jump a lot through themes. For a long time I thought I was going to be writing in the romance genre but I ended up writing this speculative fiction/ magical realism piece for the mfa apps and it really surprised me and broadened my horizons! It's been super interesting to read everyone's answers and it's pretty cool to see so many different approaches and themes. Everyone here is super cool honestly, pretty honoured to be in the same cycle as all of you.

Ahh that makes sense, thank you so much!

Hi everyone, quick question! I remember there was a poetry acceptance for Syracuse on the draft spreadsheet but it's just been that one and I don't recall seeing anything about fiction anywhere. According to last year's spreadsheet, rejections went out on the first of March...so does this mean the ball is still rolling for Syracuse or have fiction acceptances and waitlists gone out already and I should cross it off the list?

I'm really happy for people, it's great to see people get acceptances and waitlists, especially since all of us were stressed and trying to get through the silence. This little rant isn't meant to take away from anyone's news in any way but I can't really talk to my friends or parents about this right now since I'm managing their emotions a little bit and it's complicated, so I just wanted to let it out here, sorry about this. Again, I don't want to take away from anyone's win, I'm really genuinely so happy for everyone! I'm sitting on four 'unofficial official's rejections and I don't know what to do with myself. I wake up every day thinking this is the day I'll finally see the rejection email in my inbox...but the day never comes. I can't even take it positively like 'no news is still good news' because more schools release decisions and it just keeps adding to the pile. Like even for UIUC I think I was the last of people to receive the rejection. I understand I'm an international applicant and my surname begins with one of the very last letters in the alphabet and all of the factors that go into it, but at this point the radio silence in my inbox is just killing me. Anyone have any advice to offer? I'm just gritting my teeth and hanging in there because I'm waiting on rejections rather than acceptances and I feel kind like I'm slowly losing my mind.

@Rixor Congratulations on the waitlist, hopefully it will get turned into an acceptance!! Moreover I hope U of Washington works out for you. Sending good luck your way! @pomeloCongratulations on your acceptance, so happy for you!! It's amazing to see a wave of good news, here's to more of it!

I'm still waiting on the JHU rejection email and I feel kind of ridiculous. They're just rejecting me, so can't they send out all the rejection emails at once instead of whatever this slow prolonged torture is 😭 Like at this point I just want to be able to cross it off my list!

Ahhh congratulations!! That's wonderful news. From what I've seen through the last couple of years' forums, you have a very good chance of getting in, you're really 'this' close I believe, very few people make it to round two. So just hang in there and fingers crossed that you receive an acceptance soon!

There are Arkansas round two updates on the draft spreadsheet (Fiction). Apparently the recommenders have been directly contacted for LORs if you've made it to round two and in case of Interfolio, the LORs automatically get sent in. Unfortunately it is the middle of the night where I am from so I have to wait for a few more hours before I can contact my recommenders and ask anything. Absolutely nerve wrecking but I'm going to force myself to go to sleep and shut down my brain for now. Meanwhile though I'm manifesting good news for all of you guys!

Thank you for putting this on here, I'm in the same boat and I'm so incredibly exhausted as well. I feel like some part of this exhaustion could also be burnout since we worked so rigorously on our apps. Honestly, I don't know if it's weird? My friends all chalked it up to my general personality and mindset since I'm not a very optimistic person. But I was a little surprised at how fast I'd become jaded about the whole thing. I think in some sense we're just protecting ourselves by already expecting the worst, so that we can save ourselves some of the grief and pain of it in the future. This week especially I spent a whole lot of time wondering why I even applied to the MFA knowing it's such a crapshoot but I genuinely can't think of anything more I want to do with my life, so I came to a 'it is what it is' conclusion. Sometimes I think it's all we can do, hold on and ebb with life's flow. I'm sorry, I don't have any words of comfort to offer but I just wanted to say you're not alone. Please feel free to vent and rant as much as you want though. Sending you lots of hugs and I hope you can share the burden instead of carrying it by yourself!

I think this mainly depends on what kind of person you're recommender is. Some of them might not be "gift" people per se, so just write them a long letter and throw in a nice card in that case. Otherwise, food items like chocolates, coffee or tea packets/jars etc might also work. If they're book lovers, find a book they might enjoy reading-- if they are professors, maybe something in their area of research might also interest them. If you know the recommender really well, something more personal like a scarf or bag (tote or handbag etc) or jewellery (if they're people who like wearing jewellery) or if they belong to a certain culture and you have something specific to their culture they might like, for example, clothes. Otherwise even decor/ showcase pieces, something small and not easily breakable would do. I'm sure there are a lot of other ideas to consider, but these are some that I had since I've been looking at some options for my recommenders as well.

Congratulations to everyone who's gotten acceptances so far!! It's been exciting to watch you guys get one step closer to your dreams. Hugs for all of you guys! Just thought I'd share this quote/music lyrics with everyone as well. It's pretty inspiring and comforting! "May your trials end in full bloom. Though your beginnings might be humble, may your end be prosperous."

No, I completely get what you mean but at the same time, that's not really what I was addressing. I think you may have misunderstood my message a little or maybe I'm misunderstanding you. All of us here are applying for the MFA because we need it in one way or the other. It is true some of us have more privilege than others. As an international applicant, I completely understand, trust me. You don't know the number of times I've cried looking at how I can't find my people on the MFA pages of all of these prestigious programs and when I do, they're inevitably part American or hold other white country passports. So yes you're correct, artists from the rural as you put it, rarely make it unless they are allowed into these circles. Hell some of us applying as international students can only get started on our writing journey if we get into the MFA because we lack the privilege and resources that you previously mentioned. All of that is completely true. But when I meant there are successful writers without the MFA, I did not mean OP/Scribe did not need an MFA but that it's unhealthy to hinge one's entire writing worth solely on the MFA acceptances. Rather than thinking they suck because they didn't get into any schools (supposedly), I'd rather have them try again one day, and regardless, keep writing (as long as it makes them happy), because more often than not applicants stop writing for a while at least since we tie our entire being into the MFA and it feels like the universe is collapsing around us. And like you've pointed out, in the end the system itself is rigged in many ways, so there's only so much we can do. I do not want them to blame themselves and think that the decisions are an accurate or complete reflection of their writing ability. Sometimes they might not be a part of the slush pile. Also, we're only at the beginning of the cycle, we have all the way until April to go and they're already having a rough time, so I just wanted to comfort them and make sure they didn't lose all hope. I'm sorry if my message offended you in any way, but that really wasn't my intention!

Heyy! I'm probably not the most qualified to give advice on this but I just want to say that, that is absolutely not true. It's pretty standard in MFA programs to apply for ten programs on average, so that should tell you about how competitive they are. Also, you have to remember that there are a lot of people with diverse backgrounds and various experiences applying, there is no norm in the MFA. Generally speaking, there are a lot of things that go behind the scenes on decisions and acceptances/waitlists/rejections. Unfortunately, the process isn't transparent and personalised/individual feedback is not possible so it may leave you in the dark about where to improve. Writing much like any other art is subjective so it's possible you weren't a good fit in the overall cohort of this year or a particular faculty didn't connect with your story this time around etc. There are so many factors, even just minor ones that play into decisions. If there's one thing that both applicants and veterans in the MFA have said over and over, it's that "the MFA is a crapshoot". So many writers who have succeeded, and are considered to be immensely talented do not hold MFAs, some of them were even rejected. The whole process is so unpredictable. So please please know that the MFA decisions are not a reflection of your writing. While you may look back on your writing sample and find areas you could have written better, know that time always helps in improving your writing. We're always constantly evolving as people and our writing evolves with us. So don't stop writing no matter what. If nothing, please know that we are all proud of you just for submitting to so many schools. It takes a lot of courage to apply and put your work out there. You worked really hard on these applications and you did your best, so now just hang in there. If you get in, cheers; if you don't, it's not the end of the world, the words will find you again and you will find it.

Thank you so much for sharing this. It means a lot to me and gives me hope for the future. Like many others, I've put my whole being into the MFA and I'm trying to figure out who I am as a person without writing or English, so it's very comforting and inspiring to read this and know that eventually it'll be okay. Thank you.

Thank you so much! I wish this season works out well for you as well ~

Ahh hello everyone, after all that worrying about a silent rejection two weeks ago, I finally did receive a form rejection from UIUC today. I wasn't upset about it when I first figured it out two weeks ago and I'm not really upset about it now either. Deep down I think I know since I'm a first-time applicant and also straight out of undergraduate, I'm going to be seeing 12/12 rejections. I come from a country where the opportunities and resources for writing are really low or are available only to people who have money, and there's a lot of stigma in choosing the Arts. I've been fighting my parents six years now, just to get to apply for writing. So I'm actually more worried about explaining the rejection to my parents since they're waiting for an "I told you so moment". Well, it is what it is and in any case, I'm glad UIUC didn't leave me hanging. Silent rejections are the worst arghh. This is my first rejection and maybe it is for some other people too. I just wanted to say that you're not alone and life will eventually work itself out. Six years ago, hell even two years ago, I didn't even think I would be allowed to write. So just keep hanging on. Onwards to February, I suppose! 0a/0w/1r/11p

Ahh I see, thank you so much for sharing! It was helpful to hear this, put some things into perspective for me. I do hope this application season goes well for you, good luck!

Ahh I hope this year is your year then! Keeping my fingers crossed for you. Can I ask what back up plan you had? I know first year applicants always hold hope but go in knowing it could be 0 acceptances despite giving our best. So what did you do for a whole year before reapplying? I'm a first time applicant, so I'm just bracing for the worst! So any advice would be helpful.

Oh, I somehow seemed to have missed that! I also hadn't realised that Jess updated the 2024 response sheet. Thank you so much for letting me know, really appreciate it.

Hello everyone! It's only just January but I'm already going a little crazy from the waiting since universities have started sending out notifications. The forum seems less active this year than the previous years but regardless I hope we can cheer each other on and get through this together! I just had a quick question! On the Draft, people have said that they've received waitlist emails for both fiction and poetry from UIUC. I'm wondering whether UIUC has already sent their acceptances then? I'm a first-time applicant so I'm not too sure about how it all works, but as far as I remember reading from previous years' forums, I know schools usually send out waitlists after acceptances...so I'm just a bit confused. I'm already expecting rejections across the board but I wanted to know whether I should count UIUC off or hold onto hope (vainly really) for it since only waitlist notifications have gone out.