parttimepoet

Hi all! I've also been... lurking for a while here. It's been great to see this community coming together, and I'm so happy for those who got into programs that fit them! I'm a creative non-fiction writer and work mostly with lyric essays, and am graduating with my BA this May. I'm an international applicant and applied to 7 schools. I got acceptances at SLC and Columbia (woo-hoo!), both partial funding (woo...hoo....). I also am on the waitlist for NYU but I'm pretty skeptical of getting off it. I wanted to ask this group more about SLC and Columbia to get a better sense of things. First off, I know the hard rule is to not go for an MFA without full funding, but ... I don't know. I was supposed to get a BFA for undergrad, was accepted and didn't go; applied to transfer to the same school for a BFA in my sophomore year, was accepted and didn't go again. All in all, I don't necessarily regret those choices because I love my college but I definitely also feel like I gave up something big not just once, but twice (even if those were the right choices for me at the times). All in all, though, this means that my urge to ignore the advice about funding is extra strong :'D I know someone asked about Columbia earlier regarding how competitive it is and whether that still meant it was an equally intensive program (or something along those lines). I think I have a similar concern, especially because I personally know profs and have also heard of profs who are anti-Columbia. Other than exorbitant fees and the general evil things that huge education institutes like them are up to, what specifically is it about their reputation re: writing that turn people off? (And if there are any Columbia stans out here, I'd love to hear that side too! Feeling super conflicted at the moment.) As for SLC, my impression of it is that it's a program that encourages genre experimentation and hybridity, and that's what appealed to me. I'd prefer that over an extremely literary focus, but I was wondering if my sensing is wrong? Just curious! Finally, how have you guys been formatting your replies to acceptances? Especially to negotiate for more funding? I seriously struggle with email communication and would love advice or even a template. Thank you!!!