Scribe

Let an old man give some advice: This is nothing. It's everything too, but it's only one everything in a lifetime of everythings. I've heard a bit about privilege here, the idea that there's some unearned advantage or ability that makes unfair one process or another, or perhaps more importantly gives one some advantage in coping. In a process so inherently unfair, it can be difficult to see the privileges one has themselves. If you are young and hanging your future on an acceptance, you can absorb this loss - the race is long. If you are miserable where you are and think this change will cure it, you may be right - but there's more change than this. You took the risk here. You can and will take others. Why wait to be forced. If you are in need of validation, remember this is rejection season not just for us, but for the programs. It's why god created waitlists. Iowa's worth is not determined by the number of applicants or who applies or who turns down their offer. The worth is determined by whatever students attend while they attend. To repeat, we find ourselves engaged and embroiled in a process unfair by any measure. There are to many variables for chance not to have an outsized roll. Life.

i nearly fell off the couch laughing at this. these are very much my people too. Think of brad Pitt in "burn after reading"

you know what would be horrible, if someone was messing with the poster. like someone called the poster as a prank and they really believed it.

wait what? that happened??

ah, that was you. in other news, a question for the hive: 11 people on draft have been waitlisted for fiction at Bloomington. i saw a great number of waitlisted for poetry as well. however, i've seen no acceptances. does this seem weird to anyone else?

that is incredibly impressive! congrats! genre?

Someone on draft posted an interview notification but I don’t feel comfortable doing that yet. This sounds like I should just be happy for the committee that they’re enjoying the application review.

no one laugh at me. what does this mean? “Dear applicant, An update: The Admissions Committee for the MFA program in Creative Writing and Literature—Southampton, New York City, and Stony Brook in between—is reading your application now. The readers on the Lichtenstein Center committee are poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers and we are impressed with the quality of writing samples in the works we have read. To keep you apprised of the process, we will soon be setting up interviews. As we continue the admissions process we want to make sure that you have a supportive cohort. We want to be certain that the workshops we offer will support you in the best ways possible during your literary quest. Stay tuned. You’ll be hearing from us soon. Best wishes, XXX XXX XXXXXX Admissions Director”

Ugh. Why are people like this?

CONGRATULATIONS!

This.

Congratulations! Me too. Is this typical?

Looks like USF is dropping fiction notifications too.

OH NO! YOU'RE RIGHT!

truth. here's another question, does anyone know how long one usually has to prepare for an interview? like if they called, would i have time to remember whatever i said in my SOP? Who their faculty is, etc?

that's crazy. you're totally obsessive and sick. now then, how long is the 2023 draft spreadsheet, and how many people on there got responses from Indiana? there's 11 people on the waitlist this year. I'm wondering how many applied and how many are actually on the waitlist. they won't tell you where you are on the waitlist or how many applied. and of course they won't tell you about how many don't take the offer every year. I mean, i think it's a pretty good program, doesn't everyone else? will they accept new people on draft 23 this year? is it worth it? i might need help.

I only believe it’s true with regard to your writing sample. It absolutely SHOULD contextualize the whole of your work - your purpose. I hate that too but it makes sense. It lets the committee know why writing is important to you in particular.

I wonder if we'd be saying the same thin about ASD or even depression? it's funny how universities can openly discriminate here. although your referenced to unmedicated or untreated conditions would be understandable. I've read a sample SOP from someone who suffered a form of colorblindness i think. they totally made it work for them. i do think there's a danger in using your SOP to explain or even contextualize your writing.

i did NOT know this! or maybe i did but forgot in the ebb and flow of the whole process. In any event, i just checked and there's no info there yet. If someone hears, let us all know. wait, that's the kiss of death??? I'm f-ed. In some SOP's I actually went into family history. and I'm all about the what if's too. but from what I've heard, including from one MFA professor, the SOP is the least important component. You're a better human than i. if i don't get in anywhere, i'm giving up. Gatekeeping muthafuckers

Questions like what? what’s your name, favorite color, and the flight velocity of a sparrow? also, do they let you know one way or the other?

Makes one of us. You’d think once they got going there’d be a mass approval.

Seriously, what is their problem?

Holy shit. did anyone else get the UF email?? program canceled this year!

i'm glad someone thinks so. mostly it's just anxiety coping. what the hell happened to me? it wasn't so long ago i was all about full on punk rocking a diy publishing house. now i'm sweating the man.