GoldenTree

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone has heard about acceptances from Greensboro? No one's mentioned it and there's been no results posted on the gradcafe. Still though, the silence alongside the date is making me think people probably heard back by now. And I could just be unaware of it.

Congrats, Branch! I remember when you first came on the thread! Really happy you got in somewhere. I hope it all works out great for you 🎉

Thanks! Congrats on your waitlists as well. I'd like your post but I'm out of reactions. My two waitlists are for poetry, although I also did some fiction/dual-genre applications too which none have turned out thus far. I'm trying not to put too much hope into these waitlists. I already feel disappointed about the process and I'd hate to be crushed again, I guess when I finally feel somewhat at peace about everything. So it's a strange liminal space to be in with the waitlists. I definitely understand where you're coming from. It's a good sign tho as you mentioned.

I got a waitlist for Arkansas! A total surprise as I never reached out to my rec letter writers to see if they submitted letters. (I wasn't ready for them to ask if I had been accepted and for me to have say "no"). Only two more schools to find out about. 🥺 Still no acceptances, but at least I know I'll be finishing this app cycle with two waitlists.

Congrats to everyone who's gotten acceptances lately! I haven't been on as much (currently in Nashville for a conference so a bit distracted). After 7 firm rejections though, I got my first waitlist at the University of South Carolina for poetry today! Makes me really happy tbh even if nothing comes of it.

I was just wondering, for anyone that knows that they got into round 2 for Arkansas, were you notified via email from the school at all? Or did you have to fill out an application? I never reached out to my recommenders so that school has just been an unknown for me.

Ditto. And @saramsarang you have all the right to be sad about this. That's something my boyfriend told me last night as I was so upset about all this MFA stuff, but it's true. It hurts for the hopes to die and for us to want and fight for something, not yet receiving it. There's always still hope though and I know as writers we so crave external validation sometimes. For someone to say, "yes, I want the work. I love it." We don't always receive that though and then there are these periods where we have to believe in ourselves or else I think we'd all give up. I'm glad you got the sign. Because I believe in you and I've had my own experiences with signs that have greatly helped me. If you ever want a friend I know @TheGreatLoudini offered, but I'd be open too. Whether you'd wanna talk about MFAs, writing, sadness, signs, or whatever, it'd be good with me. If not anything that's alright too. Regardless, I still hope you get in one of those remaining three even though I know you seem to have given up a lot of hope. Keep on believing and I hope you try again eventually or just starting publishing if this current cycle doesn't work out. Either way you wrote an inspiring post that uplifted others and have been a wonderful person to have on this forum.

So I applied to 16 schools, 14 of which had application fees. I got 9 need-based fee waivers out of the 14. I remember I tried to get a 10th fee waiver from the University of Kansas and they said they ran out of them and couldn't give me one due to lack of funding (try to apply earlier for them, I guess). For all of these fee waivers though, I had to demonstrate financial need. These schools required me to show my SAR from FASFA, a letter from my financial aid office from my university stating I was a Pell grant recipient, or something else similar. It wasn't common for someone to just believe my financial need and give it to me without evidence (like what my advisor said would happen). That never happened if it was need based. The exception and easiest fee waiver to get was Ohio State, I think, cause it was in the FreeApp Big Ten thingy. I don't think I had to show anything for that school. It just works and waives the fee if you have over a 3.0 GPA, are a US resident, and are applying to a MFA or PhD.

I'm definitely feeling the same honestly. I noticed they had Aimee Nezhukumatathil on staff alongside one or two other poets who sometimes write about the natural world, and I honestly thought I had a chance considering nature is pretty much present in everything I write. I even studied Aimee for my honors project. But I'm not from the south and don't write about the south, so honestly, I'm not too shocked. Congrats to everyone that made it and has been accepted! But I also think it's important to remember if one school doesn't feel wowed by us, that doesn't mean another school won't. Writing is art, and art can be very subjective. I also remember hearing Kaveh Akbar speaking once. He's well known in the lit community now but he was talking about how he was rejected from all these fully funded programs and had to push himself into a low residency MFA. He's an amazing writer and his story I think, should teach us that it's not these schools, that determine how great we are. It isn't. These programs can help us with our work definitely, but it's the writer oftentimes that defines themselves, not the school or program or award.

Hi and welcome! To access the draft spread sheet yourself you'd have to join MFA Draft 2024 on Facebook. It might take you a couple weeks to get accepted into the group though. I'm not on draft, I've been relying on people's mentioning which probably isn't the best but it works for me. In the meantime, if you're curious about a specific school you could always scroll through the thread or ask about a specific school on the thread. Hopefully that somewhat helps

I would say spirituality, my own crisis with hope, ecological & capitalism concerns, trauma, disability, and the inclusion of fairytale elements be it thematically or through these ideas of the imaginary journey if that makes sense to anyone.

I definitely understand you! Believe me, I do! And I know this is just some online forum that feels distant at times but we all are experiencing this together. I know for me I do currently have 4-6 unofficial rejections, half my schools are basically gone. And it does bother me, that I can't even say with 100% finality that those schools are done. Still though, I can say with 90% that they are. I would encourage you to focus on the schools you have left, if any, and not the schools that are likely to pass way. Remember too, writing is something no one can take away from you, from any of us. It isn't a job or a career. It's us on the page. It's a life long dedication to the craft. No program or rejection can take that away. I'll also share something. I'll be in Nashville for a conference in about a week and half. I haven't gotten a firm rejection from Vandy yet but an unofficial one (I did a poetry application). Before I go, I'll be contacting them and asking for one. I should be gifted that as I'll literally be in their neighborhood. If there's a school you really want to be sure has rejected you, maybe ask them? Someone earlier, weeks ago, mentioned it as a bold thing to do. But I'd much rather muster up the courage, let the dream fully die, rather than not know for another few weeks and be upset over it. So, no push, but something to consider if there's one or two schools specifically you want clarity on.

Thanks for the workshops and residency info! I didn't know about those so I appreciate it I definitely agree about being a bit confused if John Kessel is still there in some kind of capacity. I'm not really sure why they still list them if they are no longer there. Maybe because these writers have made an impact on the program? Cadwell Turnbull would have been great to learn from too! It's sad these writers have moved on but I definitely understand, everyone has their own life path and everything.

Welcome Branch, I'm rooting for you too! I also write speculative fiction and although I'm applying mostly in poetry, am doing some fiction apps too (including to NC-State). Also, a note about NC-State. When I applied there, I thought John Kessel was still on faculty (the result of applying to so many schools, likely) but since he's no longer there, I'm not sure how Spec-friendly NC-State is anymore. I hope you get your dream school but just a note about it.

Tbh tho, I'm not sure they've accepted anybody yet, or if they have, I don't know about it. I'm not on draft but no one's mentioned anyone getting accepted there to my knowledge. So even if it is double-posted, I do think there's still could be a chance unless a bunch of acceptances & waitlists already went out. I'm gonna hope that isn't the case.