Rixor

I actually almost completed my application to CU boulder... Until I realized about their funding system! A shame; both CU Boulder and CSU seem like they have lovely programs but I likely wouldn't be able to afford either. Interesting to know we're in the same boat.

I'm sorry to hear that!! 13 more to go, right? I hope you hear better news soon.

Welcome back!! I hope this cycle goes well for you! The wait is killing me, too. It's my first cycle and I definitely feel a little insane. Goodness I really hope there's more news this week--really hoping schools want to push decisions before the AWP conference instead of after. Apparently AWP is almost always in late March, so it being so early this year could make waiting extremely long... I'm hanging in there... Kind of. Second-guessing literally everything. I mentioned my sole publication and a low-prestige award nomination, maybe I shouldn't've--maybe that came off as vain? I didn't apply to enough schools. Didn't properly explain my career aspirations. I have K-12 teaching experience so I expanded on that a lot in hopes it'd net me a TAship but they probably think it means I aspire to be a professor, which I hear is a terrible thing to write in SOPs.😔 Ahhh. I realize that I can't change what's submitted and that all we can do is wait. Just wish I could fall asleep until March.

Man, and I thought my ten schools were a lot... Now I'm thinking I should've applied to a lot more. I don't know if y'all relate, but I keep thinking about my applications with regret. "I should've mentioned this," "I should've cut this," etc. Ugh. Good things to know for next year, I suppose, if needed. Good luck, loveintrastevere! I'm hoping you get into one of your top choices! Did you happen to hear back from Boise State at all? Apparently a poetry applicant got an inteview invite. I haven't heard anything, but I'm fiction. Thank you Orangee! I'd love to learn (I'll try to message, if that is a thing on this site!). Also, congratulations on the acceptances and waitlists from your last cycle! I hope you get even more this round:)

Congratulations on finishing up apps! I hope you hear good news this time around:) and I hope that you're able to stay unbothered by the decision rollouts. Could I ask how many schools you've applied to? That'd be me! My undergraduate degree is in biology and I really enjoyed studying fish, so if I don't get accepted this round (which I realize is unfortunately likely) I've been really considering work up in the Bering sea as a fisheries observer! I'd love (and deeply appreciate) to get any insights you might have! I know nothing about Alaska, except that people say it is cold, dark, beautiful, and expensive. My concerns with observing center the culture aboard fishing vessels, which I've unfortunately heard horror stories about.

Wish I had a good answer to that. I'm the least productive I've ever been at work or on my novel--it's so hard to focus on anything. I've been playing video games in my free time, mostly! There was an excellent Draft thread of novel recommendations so maybe I'll check those out, too.

Pardon my awful speculation--I find it helpful to avoid refreshing all my portals. Ohio State notified early... Illinois was about on time. BU apparently notified early. Virginia Tech notified several weeks early. Boise apparently sent out poetry notification several weeks early too. Historically, U-Mn notified acceptances tomorrow, the 26th. (Anyone else apply there? It was my first application/SOP so I'm cringing now just thinking about it and expecting a rejection. But even getting a rejection on the board feels better than waiting--really hoping to hear back!) Next week based on last cycle we might hear from Oregon State, Arkansas, Florida State, U of Oregon, Miami, and Cornell. And, if things are keeping up the trend of being early, maybe Northwestern, George Mason, Bloomington, Kansas, Utah, and Wash U. Look forward to it everyone!:) Good luck!

Hello! It's so helpful to talk about. UTK sent out waitlists 2/23 last cycle, if that helps. Most schools seem to be sending out decisions really early this year, though, so I wonder if you'll hear sooner. Ole Miss sent round 2 notifications 2/15 last cycle. A hand written note sounds very lovely. Congratulations on the waitlist!! I'm hoping you hear an acceptance too:) I applied for 10 schools, too--it's my first cycle. Really hoping I get an admit. Trying to prepare for that not to be the case.

Oh my hopes are through the roof now 😭 I keep having dreams that wake me up at night about getting a phone call from my top choice. Thank you for the info!!

I'm so sorry. I would be heartbroken. It's cruel of them to send out such a cold email so soon. They could've at least used your name. Remember that the admissions process is imperfect and impersonal and relies quite a bit on luck. It's probably a room of people spending many hours at a time reading through dozens of dozens of writing samples. The criteria they act on could be totally arbitrary and based on their personal interests; the same writing sample can get rejections at some schools and massive stipends at others. I've also heard stories of people re-submitting the same exact materials to a school twice and getting an acceptance only the second time. A rejection isn't in any way indicative of your worth as a writer. Someone on Draft pointed out that they might also be trying to rush their process given that their program is only one year long. You've still got Amherst, Brown, NYU, and those fellowship. It's not over! I'm rooting for you and I hope you get good news soon!!

If you uploaded the screenshot to Imgur or another service, you could post the link to it here. That sounds like a form rejection to me. That's standard for big schools like BU. You genuinely shouldn't let it discourage you, though! Plenty of people received rejections today. I'm sure your application materials were lovely.

The Facebook group has an excel sheet with last year's and this year's notification dates. Would post it here, but I don't think we're allowed to. I've been comparing those with the Gradcafe dates (by looking through the CW results from last year). So, a bit of both!

Just in case you're sitll interested--I have a blank Facebook account that I never use (and that has a fake name) and they still let me in:) It's been helpful to be a member of the group. I just wish I'd joined before I sent all my apps! Good luck on all your applications!

Noticing a ton of early decisions... And Texas State University extended their deadline. Does that mean this this year had a smaller-than-average applicant pool (and therefore, that we all have better chances)? Or am I reading way too into it? 😅

Good luck!! And congratulations on graduating!! If you don't mind me asking you quickly--I'm also a lesbian. Did you mention it at all in your SOPs?

Is everyone else finding it as difficult to focus as I am? I've made barely any progress on my writing projects and at work, all I can think about is edits I should've made to my SOPs. Is everyone else neurotically refreshing Facebook, Gradcafe, and Gmail? Or just me? 😅

That's a really noble goal to have. Good luck!! I'm hoping you get into all the programs you've applied for! COVID and senior year of undergrad really set me back on health. I've been on a self-improvement journey motivated by the possibility of grad school. Down 40lbs so far... But the 'waiting' period of hearing back from schools is really testing me. I'm even more stressed now than when I was actively applying. 😅

Well, I'm hoping for the best for both of us:) You're right--getting out there is a valuable, enriching experience. I think it'd also improve our applications for next year, if we need to go through another cycle (hopefully not!). I've felt similarly stagnated by a 9-5 and COVID. I hope you get admitted!! But if not, I hope you're able to try something new and have an adventure!

Haha... I wish I knew. I'm only one year out of undergrad, so I'm living with my parents to save money. I'd really, really like to move out of my empty little hometown and start working towards positions in academia, and getting into grad school would help me do that. But this is also my first year applying, and, again, I'm only one year out of undergrad, so it's scary to know that it's very likely I won't get in at any of the ten unis I applied for. My current back-ups are just to go do something unprecedented. I'm thinking I'll apply to become a flight attendant or try to teach English abroad or go work on a big fishing vessel in Alaska or something. I desperately need new experiences (and money lol) and I'm tired of feeling 'stuck' in the place I grew up. Also, I think it'd benefit my writing to 'put myself out there.' My 'plan' probably isn't the smartest, but yeah.

Hi everyone! I guess I'm just going to post my stats and schools... Talking about this process seems to make it a little less scary, and I've found some solace in reading through last year's thread, so it's only proper that I pay it forward. I'm 22 years old and one year out of undergrad, where I got a BS in biology and minored in CW. I have one short story published in a lit magazine. I've only applied for fully-funded programs, all of them in fiction. Ten total! They're ASU, UMn, UW-M, UW-S, NAU, UNLV, UNLV-R, SFU, BSU, and OSU. So, so far, 0a/0w/0r/10p I'm trying to temper my expectations--I realize it's extremely unlikely that I'll get into any of these programs--but I hope I get at least one 'a!' Wishing all of you the best of luck!