pananoprodigy

AMAZING!!! Congrats!!

20 total! I know most people do p for pending but the math was hurting my brain so I decided I like p for programs lol. Currently have 7 left which somehow also feels like a lot for this late in the game. And yes, please dm me! Would lovee to chat and bounce thoughts!!!

I applied there too! No news yet

Can't believe how slow this week has been on my end; I REALLY thought it was gonna be a big one.

This is wild and I REALLY appreciate you sharing it. Didn’t apply to NYU just because I’m from new york and wasn’t that interested in moving back but this kinda thing seems important for all of us to be wary of regardless of program. Weird times we’re living in, man.

Waiting on them as well, and haven't heard anything. Was their deadline way earlier last year? Bc last year's spreadsheet has people getting interviews as early as late Jan

Definitely just wait! There’s still over a whole month till deadline day, anything can happen. South Carolina will be an option for you no matter what but imo there’s zero reason to cut off other options before you even have them unless you’re 10000% positive South Carolina is it

This is wild lmao - like yall really couldn't have taken a second pass at this, Davis??? jeez

No sameeee cus where are they??!

Looks like two poetry waitlists and one fiction 😕

I'm also waiting to hear back from 7 and right there with you re: decision making. I just want to KNOW what my options are even if they're not the options I was hoping for. fhsdjhfsdkf edit: and so far this week is SLOWWWW

Just those two so far!

First UNLV rejection on the spreadsheet, for those who applied there

I have what might be a hot take about funding & finances. So, the collective sentiment about going into debt for your MFA is don't, which I think is a good rule of thumb to follow re: debt in general. That said, the vast majority of masters degrees in other fields are not funded. It feels like the trade off with fully funded MFA creative writing degrees is that you're probably not going to come out of it with a job offer to be a full-time writer, because those job offers don't really exist, so at least you're not also coming out with a ton of debt. However, I almost feel like this line of thinking is outdated. The job market in general is so bad that the kind of instability we learn to live with as writers is becoming the norm for many other industries that were previously considered stable. I have multiple friends from my previous MFA degree who realized they couldn't make a living on writing alone and went back to school to get another masters in something more "employable." Unfortunately what most of them found after coming out of those programs is that the job market being horrendous is not a writing-specific dilemma. They're still struggling to achieve financial stability, and now they're in even more debt from a degree that's not their #1 passion (writing). All this to say, if you really weigh your options and you know that being in an MFA program is what you need right now, and your only option to do that is taking on some debt, I don't think it's inherently a bad decision. Now, I absolutely would not recommend taking on debt to cover full tuition and living expenses for a whole MFA, which is what I did for my MFA in screenwriting. That's a chunk of debt that will most likely follow me for the rest of my life, and I'm in the process of making peace with that. But if you can offset the cost of an unfunded degree with some combo of a wee bit of funding from the school, working in a coffee shop, private scholarships, or whatever, I don't think going into some amount of debt for your MFA is any more risky or dumb than going into debt for a degree that seems more employable. Because in this day and age even the employable degrees aren't guarantees of employment, so you might as well do something you're excited about. Just my two cents. TL;DR: Debt sucks but so does the job market. Do what's best for you.

I found this strange/potentially annoying too. I get that there are sooo many things that go on behind the scenes that we’re not privy to, but it was my understanding that they only admit people they’ve interviewed, so it’s kind of crazy to me that they would send that to everyone who applied and not just the ones from the interview list.

With only one report I think it's way too soon to count it as a rejection. Don't lose hope!

The most consistent piece of advice I've gotten re: SOP is that it's not the place to get creative. Obviously that doesn't mean making it boring (it should still be super well written), but overall it should read much more academic than your writing sample, and should always hit a few of the same key points: your background & previous experience (both in writing and in life) your interests/focuses as a writer (maybe even what you're planning to work on during the MFA) your artistic influences (they want to know that you're actively reading and learning on your own) your readiness to contribute to an MFA program (examples of why you'd be good in a workshop setting, any prior teaching experience even if it's not writing related, etc.) why this program specifically interests you I'm sure there are others that I'm missing, but these seem to be the ones I hear over and over again. Hopefully it won't matter tho and you'll get some good news from Brown!

Sorry you're having a tough time 😕 it's rough out here for sure. I've been on a classic Parks & Rec binge, and I've also been shamelessly consuming fanfic. Those are sort of my go-tos. Oh, and and I also started watching youtube walking tours of random cities I've never been to while I walk on the treadmill (i.e. fantasizing about moving to a remote Swedish village if the whole MFA thing doesn't work out)

Just checked for ya, no Chapman reports yet!

Hope you hear soon! Riverside's such a cool town and the campus is lovely!

Who are you waiting on? Hate to say it but it’s still relatively early-ish- still 46 days til April 15 🤪

God I knowww this whole week has been brutal on my end

Welcome! Looks like there was one CNF reported today; the rest are all fiction/poetry

YESSSS @exvat @quadcrossedfingers and @everything bagel lover!!!! CONGRATS!!

WYOMING COME THRU!!! (today please!?) I'll be bringing my cat! He's 19 and gets a specific monthly shot for arthritis so that's been a pretty big consideration especially with the more rural schools I applied for.