Tuxedocat

Yay!! Thank you ❤️ I am still in disbelief. Iowa has been my dream for years and I can’t believe I actually did it! Went from no acceptances last year to 9 this year! Goes to show what persevering and reapplying can do. Wishing great news for those on waitlists today, and an amazing season next year to those reapplying🍀

I have no idea why there is such a turnover. But it seems to mostly be in fiction, so I am unsure if it has to do with any university policies/cuts. I only know of one poet (aside from me) turning down their spot thus far, although there may have been others. That being said, I am a poet who just turned down my spot at Michigan moments ago. Wishing those on the waitlist good luck tomorrow! I will be accepting Iowa instead ❤️

It was in the afternoon that I got the call!

Accepted to Iowa for poetry!!!!!! Just turned down NYU + fellowship so that money should move to other people soon. Deciding between Iowa and Michigan now...but leaning towards Iowa

Hmm. That’s a pretty big difference. If everything else is the same, I’d recommend the two year one unless you had your heart set on doing 3 year programs. Three years of paying for health insurance adds up. Also, from what I heard, a 2 teaching load instead of a 1 can be hard to fit in as much writing time as you want. People always hype up 3 year programs, but they also hype up lower teaching loads. Also, speaking to students in current MFA programs, I was told not to obsess so much about the teaching experience. Obviously, you will get way more in the 3 year higher teaching load program. However, if you want to teach creative writing, I heard they will take someone with a published or forthcoming book over someone with more teaching experience and no book. So go where you can write your best work, not where you can fill your resume the most. I’d pick the 2 year program, but the right choice might be different for you.

Have you talked to the students at both programs yet? And the faculty? I find those are the most helpful bits of intel. Maybe visit one or both programs if you have the means and time and haven’t already. Take as much time as you need to decide if you are torn. But you do only have 5 days (I, too, am feeling the pressure). I’m assuming based on your other posts you have done detailed comparisons of both programs (average price of rent vs your stipend, etc).

I’m on the Iowa poetry waitlist. I was notified by a faculty member who has been responsive. I assumed the same would have been true for fiction but I suppose not. From what I have heard from people, you will be notified if a spot opens up for you, and I hope they would let you know if everyone has accepted, but I have heard of people being on the waitlist until the summer in case any of the accepted students back out.

I think only 1-2 people usually make it off the waitlist at Michigan at most. So it’s possible, just a slim chance. For poetry, I think at least 2 people have committed so far. I have no idea if anyone has turned down their spot yet. I probably can’t commit to Michigan until closer to April 15 because I’m waiting to hear back from a waitlist. I imagine anyone else who hasn’t committed is either waiting to hear from a waitlist or deciding between schools. So it’s probably going to be down to the wire.

Yeah sure! We can talk more over DMs if you want more in depth info. But basically the faculty are great and very invested in the students. Spent over 2 hrs total talking to them. Their mentorship was everything I dreamed out of an MFA program. The students I spoke to said it’s a great program but due to small cohort sizes, most of their friends are outside the program. Such is the nature of small programs I guess. Sadly, I couldn’t visit WashU. St Louis is far from where I live, so I couldn’t make the travel allowance and my budget stretch to cover tickets. It’s also a really hectic time for me so I wouldn’t have been able to fly out until next week, which felt like I would be cutting everything too close. I did turn down WashU yesterday, but it’s was gut-wrenching to say no to them. It’s a really amazing program. Michigan just fits me more right now.

Congrats!!! What amazing news!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳

I'm in a similar position. I had 8 acceptances and 3 waitlists. I turned down several, and I have 3A 1W left. By early next week, I will turn down 2 more acceptances. I am balancing my need to carefully consider my choices with the reality that waitlisters are waiting on the other side (I say this as a fellow waitlister, eager to hear back soon). Here's my advice. If you never made it off the waitlist, which school would you pick? A waitlist is not a concrete offer. It might never be an offer. So try to only compare the two offers you currently have. You can do all sorts of hypotheticals about which school you would pick if you made it off the waitlist, but you also might feel different if you do make it off the waitlist. Sitting on two offers until April 15 isn't great. It means if you come off the waitlist, you are choosing between three programs instead of two. It also means that one to two schools are going to have tight turn-around times for applicants coming off the waitlist. Waiting until April 15th is not the ideal move. It will likely just stress you out more. So spend a few days deciding between your two schools. Then sit on your decision for 1-2 days if you are still uncertain. When you feel a bit more certain, decline one. I just did that with one of my schools. Talked with faculty for hours. Talked with current students. Last week was all about hearing them out thoroughly. Ultimately, I decided it was a wonderful choice, but another offer elsewhere was a bit better. I told them I would get back to them this week. I gave myself a deadline of Thursday. I wrote my decline email last night. I couldn't send it: I wasn't sure if I was ready to give them up. This morning, I was as ready as I could be. I sent the emails and declined the spot in the portal. Going to do the same process with the two other schools I have to turn down. I wish you the best of luck! 🍀

Can I ask what the poetry specific issues are? Or can I DM you to ask? I’m meeting with their faculty this week as I was admitted to WashU for poetry at the start of March. Seconding this! Also, I’m so happy to hear you committed to Michigan 🥳!!!! I’m 99% sure I’m committing to Michigan but I have to wait it out a bit before I officially commit to see what happens with one of my waitlists. And I’m going to do some more talking with the faculty at WashU and some of the other programs that admitted me just to be certain. It is interesting that I had to leave Ann Arbor after Welcome Week for everything to click for me. There is something really special about the program and the people at UMichigan. Everyone is so kind, generous, and supportive. There is a lot of time and space given to your writing. There are so many opportunities for awards and funding (like travel/conference stipends, research funding, etc.) that further enrich the program. Just a really great program and environment all around.

I’m so sorry for your loss. Sending you a virtual hug ❤️ Your post reminds me a bit of me last year. My contract job ended and had no openings on the team so I was left with nothing. I lived on unemployment for a bit while doing grad school apps until mine ran out (I’m not American so it’s a different system). Applied for countless jobs, sometimes even making it past the interview stage, and never heard back. I had to go back to freelancing and was forced to accept a project just to make ends meet that took over my life and all my time for months and underpaid me. The stress from the project and their late or missing payments was ruining me. In the end, I would have made more money working minimum wage. I felt like I was drowning. And then a friend died. Everything compounded. I saw grad school as my only escape so getting 1 waitlist that eventually became a rejection devastated me. I did have a family and a partner that were able to support me through the worst of times. It made me feel guilty for needing to rely on others, but I was deeply privileged to have their help. You aren’t asking for advice, so I won’t really offer much. But do some hard thinking about what you want your life to be. If you want to go to NAU, and you know the stipend isn’t enough, really think about if you can afford loans. Maybe you need to pick up some minimum wage jobs or serving or something over the summer to just stockpile as much money as possible before classes start. Maybe see if there are any scholarships you can apply for online (but no guarantee that will yield anything). Maybe you can reach out to the program or current students to see if they have advice. I know with FAFSA you might be able to be part of a work study program, but not sure if that conflicts with your program. It’s likely going to be a difficult road ahead for a while either way unfortunately. Again, I’m so sorry for what you’re going through. I lost a dear family member last week. I don’t know what it is about springtime and death. I’m thankful that this time I have some concrete offers, but it doesn’t fully take away the pain. I’m rooting for your success ❤️ Feel free to DM me if you ever want to talk.

Waitlisted at Iowa omfg please let it turn into an acceptance 😭😭 PLEASE

I’m waitlisted there for poetry if that helps. My waitlist email said the program had “reached capacity” so I assume all acceptances and waitlists should be out.