Scribe

Nah. I think I’m gonna beat myself up until there’s an “a” in my signature. or the rest of my life.

Unclear and angering.

Don’t feel too bad. I did the same thing.

I’m assuming rejection myself. Do NOT give me hope.

Sorry, where are we seeing 3 per genre? I’m feeling sick about this.

Yeah, it’s the oldest. But people who have wanted an MFA since before Dunham was born are what kept their application numbers up. They’re beaten only by UT and JHU I think. and I absolutely agree about it being miles beyond them or even most others. malcolm gladwell is right that at some point rankings are stupid. but Iowa is past that point.

Elitism? I’m not sure I’ve seen a school posted here that wouldn’t be considered elite. Iowa, however one feels about the particulars of the program, has earned its status. Honestly, my only issue with them is I feel they’re stingy. Otherwise I think they are easily in the top five.

just looked that up. going wouldn't help me at all though. Man, I have to go to bed.

but isn't that the way? it isn't going to have any effect if others have already reported. they've reported here too and say they're international. so they're reporting a phone call at 930 EST which means, if they reported immediately, the call went out after 8 pm on a holiday in Texas. there's a lot of if's but i need to be skeptical.

do we believe the Michener report?

Newark, Tucson, and Zell also.

Except for Brown, I'm waiting on these too. And like you, I just need one. Here's to hoping.

i hope so. these soft rejections are killing me.

aaaaaand now Tennessee is apparently sending out.

Wtf??? When did they stop funding?

There are at l ast two DTA programs in the US but ain’t nobody got time for that.

oh no! that blows goats. best of luck.

thank you all so much. your advice is practical AND encouraging. tell me this, do you folks typically send a cover letter with your work? is that standard or not? if so, what does one say and perhaps just as important, what does one not say? ETA: University of Arizona is sending out notifications for nonfiction and apparently for "optional" interviews. THIS calls for some discussion. anyone have any deets about this? do we think it will carry over to the fiction or poetry genres?

i think it's largely content related (typos, mentioning things i shouldn't in the supplemental statements, etc) but there's also navigating the applications. there were times things weren't uploading, other times i uploaded things in the wrong place or with an inappropriate file name. even now, i have trouble accessing the portal for UNM. and of course there's getting my recommenders sorted. i just see myself thinking i've submitted to the right place or in the right way and it actually being a waste of time.

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I would barely know where to get started submitting to literary journals. I know nothing about the business end of this. There's a bunch of links up on draft for figuring out where to submit but even that seems foreign to me. I mean, i just know i'd do something wrong. I cannot believe all the missteps I made during the application process. maybe i just need to break the seal.

bingo. all of this. i wonder if that urban legend is true: every now and then some smart ass types up a classic novel, sends it out to publishers and agents, and watches it get roundly rejected. let's not forget timing. I'm not the same writer I was last year. {fun fact while i wait for the delay: last year there were 492 responses on the draft spreadsheet. as of now, we're up to 463}

doubtful. i can't say for sure but in the link i posted above were two PhD's who went for MFA's. Some schools do want a ba in a related field, some don't care at all. i would bet dollars to donuts the overwhelming majority of programs, like 99% wouldn't care. and if you knew who they were, don't tell them.

no and yes. I'm not really thinking about best to worst. you're exactly right about subjectivity and quantification, but/or maybe because of that, even in phd programs for the hard sciences, it doesn't work out that everyone is ranked in the same order. it certainly doesn't mean the top instructors are at the top schools or that you'll do "better" in the "better" school. but it a process that often runs in yearly heats, it might be nice to cross some programs off your list or - if i'm honest - cross off all the programs and stick with wearing the hardhat.

This has been posted about on Draft as well. There is sometimes an architecture to a cohort. For example, one reason a waitlist might not be ranked is because the faculty is waiting to see who drops out. depending on that acceptie's attributes, a decision is made about which alternate to contact. Prufrock is absolutely correct. your odds don't change based on other results. He's wrong about his gamble causing the rejections. the fact is we can't know why. this is NOT a reflection on talent or skill or anything else. and when you think about it, that's too bad.

The problem is, no one is looking for anything exactly. I'm a bit surprised at your professor; nothing is for sure. Iowa and Michigan were always long shots - for everyone. this whole game is a long shot. what that means is that you can't believe your best isn't "enough". it just doesn't work that way. You can skip to about 18:45 if you want if you want context, look her up. it's not about how "good" you are.