itsbeensnowing

I'd personally definitely attend a program that's 90% funded. The "don't pay anything out of pocket" is a solid rule since MFAs don't have the same tangible return on investment as other degrees and you'd rather focus on writing during the program than have to do a lot of outside work just to pay for it (let alone keep up with living expenses), but there's still an intrinsic value to a master's degree that'd be worth the 10% to me. Nobody should put themselves in a debt hole for an MFA, that's for sure. So it does depend on one's own financials and post-degree plans. Also, some programs are more diploma-mill-y than others, obviously I wouldn't pay any amount for a program I don't believe in. Last cycle, I only applied to fully funded programs, because I figured it just wouldn't be worthwhile otherwise. Not just financially, but because I shouldn't go down this path if I'm not a good enough writer to get into one of these programs. But, idk, I have a computer science degree and was able to keep the costs down for that, so it wouldn't be so bad to turn the tables and pay for a not-so-useful degree. I think this past year of relative aimlessness has me a little more desperate. I still ended up applying mostly to fully funded programs again this time around, but I wanted to give myself more leeway. (I think two of mine aren't fully funded, and I'd be happy to get into either. Not that they're really any more likely than the others.)

I get the feeling there'll be a lot happening this week, but maybe that's wishful thinking. I'm getting antsy with all these decisions from schools I didn't apply to.

Kindred spirits!! ❄️ Fair enough to both of you! I should probably preemptively do some research about that, at least for my top programs, just in case. It's like I'm worrying about the hypothetical of a hypothetical, but I guess that's what we have to do when we don't know exactly where our lives are going next! Of course, if I do end up getting into an MFA this season (especially with funding), that'll be a pretty easy decision. If not, I'll treat this as a potential backup plan.

Does anyone know if getting an MA in creative writing would hurt my chances of being able to get an MFA later on? I have an acceptance at a 1 year MA program, but if attending that would close the door on being able to do an MFA somewhere down the line, I'd probably rather just wait another year and apply next cycle if I don't get into any MFAs this time around.

It's probably worth going through your applications and getting ahead of the issue. Some schools might not do you the courtesy of reaching out about it before getting in the thick of applications. (I think most would, but you never know.) One rec being late isn't the end of the world but you'd want it in as soon as possible. This is part of why I used Interfolio, though that's presented some of its own issues.

Are you trying to post a link? I think such posts get held in a queue for manual review to prevent spam.

Is there anything from UC Irvine on draft? There's a waitlist notification on the gradcafe results, was wondering if that's corroborated. They've always done the waitlist a good couple weeks after acceptance notifications. Maybe people were already accepted and just successfully kept it a secret? (I know Irvine asks them not to say anything.)

I would not worry too much about this. There is no true "kiss of death," especially for creative writing MFAs, where the SOP plays a very minor role compared to the writing sample. There's probably some committee member out there who would be put off by mental illness mentions, but the reality is that for every piece of advice regarding SOPs you find, there will be another piece of advice out there that directly contradicts it. This is of course true when you have online anons trying to reverse engineer someone's success or failure and attribute the results to particular elements of the SOP, but it's even true when you're hearing it straight from the horse's mouth. Different people/programs want different things, and not all of those preferences are going to be made clear. I remember coming across two SOP guides by two committee members from two different programs (one was Dave Madden, the director of the University of San Francisco's MFA, the other I believe was Stephen Graham Jones but I can no longer find his post) in which one said you should avoid mentioning any faculty by name (because the person reading the application might not be someone you mentioned, which is a "bummer") and the other said you should absolutely mention faculty (because if you show respect for their work, they're more likely to return the favor). And you'll find other advice elsewhere that doesn't quite line up with either of those. So I've learned to take any sort of advice with a grain of salt. (There's nothing wrong with Dave Madden's post -- he says himself at the end that he's never denied an applicant because of something they wrote in their SOP, and he's never been the only person reading an application, so his opinion isn't the be-all end-all -- but a good chunk of his advice could be contradicted by someone else's advice online.) The best you can do is follow the prompts each program provides (e.g. some do ask for a focus on personal autobiography, some are more interested in literary influences and academic history), everything else is pretty much unknowable besides the blindingly obvious "don't seem like a horrible person" stuff. I also think a lot of advice about excluding mental health talk from SOPs is more relevant to non-creative grad programs than to MFAs. Mental illness is not a great reason to go into a chem PhD or something, but it could very well be an important component to one's writing process and journey. I could see a committee member taking "an MFA will give me the stability I need" the wrong way, but you also have no way of knowing how they will interpret anything.

Rejecting via snail mail seems so silly to me, especially when they're mostly just form rejections anyways. Really committed to tradition, I guess. I didn't apply to Iowa, but UC Irvine also sends out physical rejection letters and requires hard copies of materials. They briefly lost my manuscript and said they would just print it on their side, which I couldn't help but think they could have done in the first place. (My printing quality wasn't great, so I was a little disappointed when they ultimately located my mail.)

I just got my rejection 😭 life comes at you fast

I applied to 10 schools last year, and I do think that's about as many I could possibly apply to while giving every application a suitable amount of individual attention. I ended up doing a lot more research over the past year and swapping some schools out (got rid of some far reaches that I had only applied to because of their name recognition in favor of some that I think would be a better fit), and I didn't intend to go over last year's number but ended up throwing in some last minute "why nots" into the mix, so ultimately I've applied to 15 this time around. Honestly, past a certain point idk how much adding new applications actually changes your odds, assuming you're applying to places in the same general realm of selectivity. I get the sense (which could be wrong) that most people who've gotten into one program have also gotten into at least one other, so that lowers the chances of one of those extra few programs being the end-all be-all. And as you add more programs, you're probably moving away from ones that are the closest fit for your work and being more indiscriminate about it, which in turn might make it harder to individualize the application. But, still, it's hard not to feel like throwing some extra applications in won't hurt (and creates a larger pool of potential committee members who might appreciate your work), which is why I did so this year. Realistically, if I succeed this time around, I don't think that will be what made the difference (but it'll be funny if it does). If there's any constant in the universe, it's that I'll always question my portfolio choices, and I'll always cringe when I think about my SOPs. There's always room for regrets and what-ifs, especially when there aren't really universally agreed upon rules for how to approach these materials. All we can do is cross our fingers and, if it doesn't work out, try something new next time around.

Just put me in cryosleep until March 😭

Thank you, and you too! Hopefully things work out for you the first time around and you won't even have to fall back on plan B!

I majored in computer science, so my backup plan was to just finish up that degree (graduated in spring 2023), move back in with my parents for a bit, and try to find a job (with the hopes that I'd only be there for a year 🤞) so I could pay off my loans and hopefully save some money to prepare for grad school. Well, that turned out to be a bit idealistic: I searched for jobs for many months and applied to hundreds but never got further than a phone interview. So now I'm still living with my parents, and I have a couple part time jobs for the time being (telepractice facilitator at an elementary school, data analyst for a small tech company -- I was interning there before graduation and just stayed, but still no full time work) where I'm making a meager wage. Now that I'm done with grad applications, my plan this year is to once again apply to jobs in my field in case I again don't get into any MFAs (hope for the best, expect the worst!), and this time one of those things has to work out because I really can't waste another year. Unfortunately my situation isn't the most universally applicable 😅. Of course, I also wrote enough during the year to have entirely new portfolio material for this season's applications (I had a hard time letting go of the stories from last year, but I do think my writing is stronger now), and I painstakingly redid all of my SOPs. I wish I had written more, and despite all of my free time I actually read substantially less last year than the preceding years, probably because I was just constantly stressed out. If I don't get into a program this year, at least I'll have time to right that wrong.

I went 0 for 10 last year, so I'd like to think I've grown a thick skin against rejection (I haven't). Already going better this time around because I got on that Urbana-Champaign waitlist, but I sort of expect that to be my very early peak. Last year Michelle Latiolais gave me hopium by including a handwritten note with my UCI rejection. I wonder if she just did that to get $135 out of me again. I guess I'd pay that much for a little validation (even if they take forever to get those rejections out...)