Tuxedocat

I think UVA waitlists usually come 1 day later so that could still happen!

Congrats to you both!!! Such great news!!

Congrats!! I’m out of reactions for today so sending my heart here ❤️

No I have no idea 😭 I too am waiting on poetry decisions from them and 3 other schools. I was really hoping to leave this week with answers but this week has been radio silent for me.

Another day, another Brown (Playwriting) jump scare on draft 😭. I saw Brown, thought WOAH and then scrolled to the right, saw playwriting and went …oh

No no—total. I’m so sorry I tried to word my prior reply in a way that made that clear but failed😭 So it is probably 3-5 per genre

According to Poets&Writers, their total incoming class size is 6-10. But I have no idea how large this year’s cohort is.

Do you have English profs who can write you letters? I think most programs only ask that a few recommenders speak to your writing. One of my recommenders was very familiar with my poetry and could speak to my work. My other two recommenders this round were English literature profs. One is a poet who had read my poems and given feedback (had nothing to do with class). The other hadn’t read my poetry but I took two classes with him. I did really well in their classes and thought highly of my recommenders. Some programs ask that recommenders speak to your ability to teach and succeed in grad school, and I thought they could do that well. General consensus I have heard is that LORs are usually just vibe checks to make sure you are a decent person. You should definitely have at least 1 person who is familiar with your writing. I don’t think you need all 3 to be about your creative writing. However, please consult the website for programs where you might apply: they usually outline what they want to get from the LORs which can help guide who you choose as a recommender.

You could still get a waitlist!!! Please don’t give up hope yet. And who knows, maybe they aren’t done sending acceptances.

I got accepted for poetry with full funding + stipend on the 26th. I saw some people got email acceptances on Feb 28th. But someone just reported an NYU poetry acceptance today. I thought they were done on the 28th so not sure if the acceptance today is an outlier or if they’re not done yet. Wishing you good news!

It was so impersonal that I almost didn’t respond to it at first because I thought it was an automatic portal update instead of an email from a real person! It seems like it was a form response that was copy pasted for all grad programs at NC State.

I’m so sorry to say this but I think NC State has released all acceptances and waitlists 😭 Draft had 2 fiction acceptances on Feb 20 and 21. I got a poetry waitlist for NC State on Friday and it said among other things “the program you have applied to has reached capacity” but stated that I’m on the waitlist and should hear back about waitlist movement by May 1. So I think poets who were accepted just aren’t on grad cafe or draft or haven’t announced their results. Really wish I had better news for you and maybe I’m wrong. But the wording of the waitlist email makes me think all accepted people have been notified.

ACCEPTED TO WASHU FOR POETRY!!

Congrats!!!!!!! I just ran out of reactions for today but this is so exciting!

I am finally getting back to this, my apologies for the delay! And take everything I say with a grain of salt. I am also a poetry applicant, so my advice about the sample is probably not useful. Current status: 6a/3r/0w/8p Schools: I applied to almost double the amount as last year. I went overboard because I became so worried I would not get accepted that I just kept applying. Last year, I applied to 9 fully funded programs that were all highly competitive. This time, I ignored dubious MFA program rankings and applied to schools I felt strongly about for specific program reasons. Because of that, I could write concisely about why I was applying to each school in each SOP. I also applied to a range of fully funded programs and programs with only the possibility of funding to increase my odds of getting accepted. Of the 17 places I applied, I applied to 5 of the same programs as last year. I've only heard back from 2 of the 5: 1 acceptance and 1 rejection. Recommenders: Same ones as last year, but I pared back. I had 5 last year and simplified this year down to 3. I purchased Interfolio which was easier for everyone and enabled me to apply to more schools in Jan/Feb without asking recommenders to upload again. Not all schools accept Interfolio, so do your research. Not sure it made a difference, but fewer recommenders and getting Interfolio made life easier. SOP: Rewrote it. Barely anything carried over. This time, I focussed more on my current writing projects than my past ones. See advice below. SOP Advice #1: Be specific about goals. Since writing my first SOP, I also understood myself and my goals more, so I could be more specific when writing out my goals. Instead of more lofty generic ones like I want to pursue my MFA to become a better writer, I would say something like I want to improve these specific elements or I hope to use XYZ experience I already have + XYZ experience I would get from an MFA to do XYZ. It shows why you need the MFA while establishing your credentials as a candidate and showing you are working towards long-term goals. In writing my SOP, I wanted it to be so specific nobody else could have written it and anyone reading it would understand why I needed an MFA now. SOP Advice #2: Be concise. I love yammering on as you can see. Last year, all my SOPs maxed out the page limit. The blessing of 17 apps is that some required me to cut it to 500 words, and editing the same document on repeat highlighted what mattered and what didn't. It was so neat and concise by the end. Readers will appreciate it. Writing Sample (advice is for poets!!): Sample Advice #1: Short and sweet. Last year, I maxed out the page limits on the sample. This year, I went with the minimum and sent the best of the best. It meant cutting great poems I loved, but every poem was my best. Sample Advice #2: Diversity of material. Last year, all my poems were super similar, following the same project. Similar characters, themes, etc. because most came from this one big project. But it meant that readers, even if they liked my work, might have been unsure if I could write about anything else. This year, I pushed myself to write about more varied topics and write in different ways. Because of that, I was able to include some poems that used craft elements and tackled themes differently than my other pieces. The sample was still very cohesive and I was worried it was still too similar, but it showed I could write about more than one theme. That being said, always submit your best work. Don't throw in a different piece just because it is different. But if you can include some variety at the same level as your other work, that is ideal. Sample Advice #3: If you are reapplying, you must rework everything. Only a few of my poems carried over. If they did, they were rewritten or heavily edited. Only 1 was not massively changed but it still had many rounds of edits. The majority of my work was written after I last applied. -- If anyone reading this has to reapply next year, keep your chin up. Believe in yourself. Prove everyone wrong and show them the writer you know you are. After all, we are all doing MFAs to become better writers. So improve your writing outside of an MFA, and reapply even stronger next year. If I hadn't gotten in anywhere this year, it would have hurt. However, I would still be a better writer than last year. That matters. I hope this has been helpful! -- Also, I am once again out of reactions for now (I am so confused about when they reset each day), so I wanted to take a minute to congratulate @Eloise2897 and @Dingdong99 on the WVU waitlists! Congrats also to @Princess Bubblegum on the Guelph acceptance + UBC waitlist!! I got into UBC this evening but I think I will have to turn them down shortly because not enough funding and the cost of living in Vancouver is so high. I didn't apply to Guelph but I have heard great things!! Feel free to reach out if accepting Guelph means moving and you want some advice on living in TO (because I think it operates out of the city).

This is so amazing!! Congrats!!! I got an acceptance call from New Hampshire yesterday (poetry) but I didn’t mention it because I wasn’t sure if anyone else here applied there! I’ve never been to Durham but the town seems lovely and the director was really nice.

Ok had the NYU call! Full tuition funding + fellowship! Highest level of funding they offer!

oh man I started writing a whole response but I need some more time to make it less long. I will get back to you on this!! I got an email a few hours ago, then just a few mins ago an email about how they tried to call and it wouldn’t go through (I’m international which was probably why), so they want me to call them. So now I’m waiting on them to call after I left a message 😭

Columbia emailed me an acceptance on Monday and scheduled a call for today. When they phoned me today, I asked.

I was accepted to NYU today, but it said funding info will arrive later! Said they received 1k applicants for very limited spots. I also talked with Columbia on the phone so thought I’d just share that it sounds like they’re not done notifying people yet. I didn’t ask specifically but they said offer letters would be sent late this week/early next week after they’re done calling/emailing the admitted students. But I’m a poet applicant, so timeline might be different for fiction. Wishing everyone the best of luck!

Ah ok makes sense! Curious to see what others say about this because I’m having a scheduled acceptance call with Columbia this week. I don’t have any experience with acceptance calls either so not fully sure what to expect.

Seconding what @Hjanep said above! The pdf is called Grad Program Acceptance Questions (search it in the group) Loving all the cat content here😍!! 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

Thank you so much! Out of reactions so I’m replying instead! My cats have no clue what’s going on but they have been so happy for all the extra pets they’ve been getting🥳🐈‍⬛

Out of reactions for today already but congratulations!!! Such fantastic news!!

It’s not over! Last year, someone waitlisted at Vanderbilt got into Brown. And NYU has more spots than Brown or Vanderbilt if I recall correctly. Don’t give up yet!!!