zaira

Welp, most app deadlines are officially over (I haven’t forgotten about you folks with January deadlines though, still sending out the good vibes!). Seeing some anxiousness. Very much felt. I wanted to give a little pep talk while we wait for decisions to roll in. No matter the outcome this year, rest assured your writing is enough and you are enough. These are, without exaggeration, some of the most competitive academic programs in the world. We’re dealing with acceptance rates under 5% here—sometimes well under. Getting a rejection is not a full-throated rejection of your writing. Adcoms have impossible decisions to make. What do you do when there are 50 equally-capable writers and only five spots to fill? It means, inevitably, someone talented is going to get cut. In fact, a lot of talented people are going to get cut. There’s not much to learn from MFA rejections. For all you know, the adcom came *this close* to putting you on a waitlist but simply ran out of space. Adcoms can adore your work and still be forced, by sheer cold numbers, to tell you no. Please give yourself a nice big helping of grace. Pile that shit on. Don’t you dare give in to negative self-talk, even if things start to look bleak come February. Earlier today I was ruminating on the if-onlys: I wish I’d spent more time on my samples, more time polishing my SOPs, submitted that third story, written that Mysterious Fourth Story That Surely Would Have Impressed Everyone, on and on. But here’s the truth: none of that would have guaranteed me a spot. No amount of obsessive polishing will get around the fact that there are tons of amazing writers who deserve to get in, and programs can’t accept us all. I did enough. You did enough. No, really, you, the person reading this, I want that to sink in. You. Did. Enough. I’m rooting for every single one of us to get into a program that’s a perfect fit. And if it doesn’t happen this year, there’s always next year. Unless you’ve decided you’d rather enter a thumbtack-eating contest than go through this process again (understandable). In the meantime, take a well-earned nap, lovelies! Go do something fun.

Okay, I know this is so stressful, but it's moments like this when you just gotta laugh a little. That placeholder is fantastic. You can and should email the program ASAP to see if you can replace that statement with the real one. Shit happens. You're not the first or the last to make this exact mistake. Worst case the admissions department says you can't swap it out and you'll be in the same position you are now. Best case, they give you the opportunity to swap. FWIW, really, truly, the statements are a small part of the application. Don't sweat it. If your samples are amazing this isn't gonna matter, I promise.

Yep, same here. I submitted the same two samples for every program (about 20 pages total) regardless of max page count. Adcoms seem to prefer candidates who lean, well, "lean" than candidates who pad out pages.

Um, THIS SOUNDS SO COOL! I adore Dictee. Brown feels weirdly more intimidating than some of the other programs. They have this reputation for being experimental and cross-disciplinary and I feel like a lot of us aren't sure if we fit into those categories. I really hope you get in mainly because it would be so cool to see what you do with those photography/lit hybrid projects. Brown or bust, let's go!

Your undergrad major doesn't factor in at all, so long as your writing sample's good. All fully-funded programs are competitive, yeah. That said, they're not equally competitive. Some schools get less attention than the top programs, so the applicant pool is a little smaller. For example, Brown gets something between 900 and 1,050 applicants and only admits five. UNCG probably gets fewer applicants and admits 10-12. Is it worth trying for Brown? YES, VERY MUCH SO. Five people will get into Brown. You may very well be one of those five. I saw someone last year who got accepted into Brown and rejected from many of the other top programs. You never know which program is gonna vibe with what you're writing. I wouldn't base your apps on acceptance rates. Go with the ones you feel are the perfect fit for you from an artistic standpoint. You only do your MFA once! It's hard to give more specific advice on program selection since it's such a personal thing. What's right for me may not be right for you, etc. Best of luck!

Submitting three applications within the next 24 hours (right under deadline, yeesh). Fellow procrastinators unite! The rest will go out sometime early next week so I can stop thinking about this process for a while. My TBR shelf is so neglected. Gonna finish Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner, then I'm gonna finally get around to Orbital by Samantha Harvey and Speedboat by Renata Adler. Or I might just eat a lot of burritos and go into hibernation. We'll see.

Welcome to this very fun, not at all stressful process! Okay, so here's what I know based entirely on what I've learned since August: 1. Letters of rec: If you're gonna reach out to professors, do this ASAP. They need time to remember who you are, see a current writing sample (they're probably gonna want this since it's been a while), write the letter, and submit it. This is also a busy time for professors so the faster you ask the better. It's best to get letters from people familiar with your writing. A peer would work. People you worked with as a professional writer would also work in a pinch. You're running a little low on time so just try to get three letters in by the due date. Oh, and definitely don't write the letter yourself! 2. It's not recommended to jump to a new MFA program. They don't like to see it unless you have a really good reason for making the jump. You should only apply to schools you can see yourself loving from start to finish. 3. Look for fully-funded programs. They have a big list of fully-funded ones on a bunch of websites. Lots are located on the East Coast! 4. Not that familiar with screenwriting programs. I chose the creative writing MFA because I want to publish short stories and novels someday, so it seemed like the most obvious option. You might look into some MFA programs that encourage multimedia or cross-genre experimentation. Off the top of my head, Western Washington University is one that offers some cross-genre stuff. Best of luck!

Hi there! Love to hear you're applying to IWW and JH! They both sound like amazing programs. Fingers crossed for us. As for how I know whether my pieces are appealing to an admissions committee, honestly, I don't haha. I know they were well-received during workshops, but whether that translates to an acceptance? Big old shrug. It's entirely possible I get into zero programs this year. I'm going into it knowing full well there are a ton of incredible writers out there who are deserving of these spots, so I won't feel at all bad if I don't get in (okay, I might cry and eat a tub of ice cream). I used to worry about the content of my samples because two of my pieces are similar in theme. But they're similar because they're based on my background and culture. One thing I learned in workshop is that readers seem to gravitate most to stories that feel personal. I can totally see what the IWW writer was saying in that video you mentioned. If readers get the sense this is coming from an authentic place, the piece is probably gonna hit harder. My favorite stories from my workshop peers were the deeply personal ones. Workshopping mostly taught me that people will resonate with things I never expected them to, even the details I was worried would be too strange to include. So for what my very-new-to-this opinion is worth, I say lean into the weird and the personal! Wishing you lots of luck this year!

It's surprisingly hard to find a simple list. I only know of this list which has a category for partially-funded programs. It's from 2019 so not sure how accurate it is. It also lumps all partial funding in together -- everything from 50% tuition remission to full rides for a limited number of applicants. NYU is one of the more prominent ones I can think of that offers this sort of competitive system. Columbia is another one. Personally I'd be so stressed trying to keep my funding every year! I know some programs require you to keep competing in your second and third years. Yeesh. But hey, if you have the spare time and want to try it out for shits and giggles, could definitely be worth it. Why not, y'know?

First off, take a nice, deep breath. This process is incredibly stressful, but you still have time to get your applications together! Since it's already November, I'd strongly consider getting your list down to a manageable number. Personally, I find it overwhelming enough applying for 10 schools with three full months to prepare. Doing 18 in under a month seems like a lot. Plus, programs like Johns Hopkins require some unusual supplemental materials (critique of work) that'll take you extra time to finish. I know you said location doesn't matter, but when you have to be somewhere for 2-3 years, in the pressure cooker that is an MFA workshop, being able to enjoy your surroundings helps. To narrow down my list, I imagined myself actually living in each city. Even pulled up Google maps for a quick tour of campus. I crossed four schools off my list based on location alone. Cost of living is another big consideration. Some programs offer funding that only barely covers COL or falls woefully short. For now, focus on cutting programs you're even slightly iffy about and prioritizing programs with a December 1 deadline. You still have plenty of time to apply for Boston, but Michener? That deadline's coming up fast. Also, keep in mind that Michener and Iowa require a two-step process. You submit your basic application info first, wait a day or two, then the program sends you a special login to complete the application. Start the first application ASAP so you're not left in the lurch 24 hours before deadline. Wishing you the best of luck! Keep plugging away at your SOP and samples. You got this!

On the subject of writing samples, I'm also trying to make a tough decision. Right now I have: Short story (10 pages) Short story (11 pages) First chapter of a novel-in-progress (10 pages) All three feel strong and have gone through the workshop gauntlet. Tbh, I feel most confident about my novel excerpt and the longer of the two short stories. I've heard it's best to send just two writing samples for prose. Thing is, that would only give me 20-21 pages. That's perfect for programs like Virginia that have a strict 20-page max. But for Iowa, is that really enough? They say average samples are at least 30 pages total. Trying to decide whether to err on the short side or send all three to programs that allow it. I'm probably way overthinking this (as usual).

Yeah, I feel you! I saw one tip that's been super helpful. Connect your reason for applying directly to your writing samples or vision. You want the school to see how their program, specifically, will help you grow as a writer. So, for example, if your work has strong ties to cultures in non-English-speaking countries, you might say you're interested in the school's robust language/translation courses (supposing they have them). Or if you're applying to a program that encourages students to experiment, mention a few specific forms you're hoping to experiment with while you're in the program. I've heard a good general SOP structure is something like: Your literary vision, what you write, why you write it, what you hope to improve in your writing Literary influences, authors you feel your work is in conversation with Writing background, where you are in your writing career, which workshops you've taken, ways you're already engaging with the community Program specifics, what you hope you get and bring to the program, tie this part into your writing vision by calling out a few specific things the program offers that would make your work stronger Goals for what you want to happen after graduation. Keep this focused on internal goals instead of external ones (like getting an agent or getting published, since you have no direct control over that) As for personal statements, take a look at Cornell's Admissions page. They have some guidelines on what belongs in an SOP vs. a personal statement. Basically, your SOP should focus on your writing, program specifics, and goals, while the personal statement should give insight into your life experiences outside of writing and how these life experiences will help you foster a healthy workshop environment with your cohort. This ended up being longer than I expected! Hope this was helpful!

Yesss! It's my first time writing one and I am definitely feeling out of my depth. I've received some good tips on how to write one, but there aren't a lot of great examples of SOPs out there for me to use for reference. What are you struggling with specifically? Anything we can help sort out?

I spent a month over the summer working closely with IWW alumni and current students. From what I gather, it depends. IWW cohorts are large compared to other MFA programs, and your cohort changes frequently. Sometimes you'll end up with an amazing cohort of 8-12 people who all click. Other times you'll end up with a couple jerks. I've heard the program used to be much more traumatic than it is now. About half the alumni I spoke with had a rough time, and the other half loved it. The ones who loved it seemed to focus on doing their own thing and weren't too interested in trying to compete. I would say it depends on your personality and luck of the draw each semester. So, I wouldn't count it out! That said, if you're looking for experimentation, Brown is probably a better fit. You can always apply widely and see how it shakes out. (Caveat: I'm by no means an expert in any of this. Actual IWW students would know better than I would!)

It was fantastic! I workshopped just about every day, yeah. Intense, but so worth it. I also got to chat with instructors who are IWW alumni, which was helpful. Michener really does sound like an incredible program. I also have a friend wanting to apply to Vanderbilt (for fiction). UCSD seems fantastic too. You really can't go wrong. My workshop instructors were saying there are tons of amazing MFA programs in the US right now because teaching positions are super competitive. I guess that's bad news for prospective professors, but good news for CW students. I hope you get into your top picks!

My dream program is Iowa. I spent a couple weeks workshopping there over the summer and fell in love with the writing community. I'm aware it's a long shot, but I'm going for it! I mainly want to get an MFA because I miss being a student. I did my undergrad almost ten years ago. I'm at a point in my career where I have some life and writing experience under my belt and would like to take it to the next level. How about you?

I am still so, so green to MFAs, but I hear Syracuse focuses heavily on pedagogy. I know they require applicants to submit a separate Teaching Statement in addition to an SOP, so I assume they're looking for students interested in teaching. Other folks might know more.

Hey, all! It's also my first time applying. Trying to get my head around the process. I'm applying for fiction/prose to: Iowa, Michigan, Syracuse, Virginia, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Boston, and UT Michener. I would have added UW Madison to my list, but I don't think they're accepting fiction applications this year (just poetry). Curious to see how it goes! I'm coming into the process with zero expectations. I do have one question for the group. SOPs are meant to have personality, right? They shouldn't read bone dry? Wishing everyone lots of luck with their applications!