zaira

This is incredibly rude of that director--downright unprofessional. I can see why you transferred out.

Hell yes! So rewarding to feel seen. A waitlist is a major accomplishment, congrats! ❤️

Yep, I have Iowa, Michigan, and Boston on my list of potentials this week. Iowa and Boston tend to scatter acceptances around so we might see that bleed into the following week. Busy time. I know it's a lot but you'll make your way through!

Echoing this, I've come to realize something. Truthfully I think a lot of us fall under this category. I would bet of the 900-something applications some of these schools receive, at least 100 of them are "good enough," meaning the writing is at an MFA level, the applicant has great letters of rec from splashy writers/professors, and has at least one serious workshop/conference/publication. I used to think this was pretty rare; it's not. Over the past few weeks I've met so, so many talented writers with these qualifications. I was confident going into this process, and now I realize I'm just one of many other people with similar merits. All of the things I thought would make my application stand out are actually pretty commonplace at this highly-competitive level. How do you move from (maybe) the top 100 to the top four? I certainly can't tell you. I'm four rejections deep with at least one more soft rejection heading for my inbox any day now. But I'm at peace. I'm in very good company. I can't feel depressed when I see the incredible work my peers are putting out there. They're all deserving!

Two official rejections here. Two more soft rejections incoming. Only six more chances for me and it's not looking great. All of my schools have something like a sub one-percent acceptance rate. Was it smart for me to only apply to these schools? Probably not, but it's not like I can go back now. There's still hope. A lot can change in the next two weeks. And if it doesn't there's no sense in getting ahead of that right now. Take it a day at a time

Gradcafe should make a separate, unlimited reaction for saying congrats

Massive congrats!!! I didn't realize they were still sending out waitlists. Are you fiction? When I saw this on the sheet I did a little dance for you. So, so happy!

Yep. Most of the schools on my list should report this week. Just looking to rip the bandaid off at this point. Ready to be done!

Absolutely. I keep circling back to this. I'm proud of my samples. I wish I could sit here and say, yeah, they're terrible and that's why I've had one firm rejection and two soft rejections. I can't say that. Are my samples perfect? Absolutely not. Am I happy with them anyway? Yep. I wouldn't have wanted to apply with anything else. If I don't get in this year, it's not necessarily because my samples were trash. I've had tons of amazing feedback on them from people I trust. Sometimes it's just not the right fit for this year's cohort, and that's totally alright!

Fwiw, I just checked mine and it says the same. No clue what it means other than "hang tight and see."

I think I might have mentioned it yesterday, but I recommend not trying to keep busy or distract yourself, at least for a day or two. We're all working through complicated feelings right now. Anticipation, depression, acceptance, hope, despair, anger, guilt. Piling distractions on top of these is like putting a coat of paint over a fly on the wall. Take a day or even this entire weekend to feel what you need to feel, get your hands fully in the muck. I swear it works!

Has BU sent out decisions? I only see a handful of poetry rejections, which is pretty normal for them. They tend to scatter their notifications over the course of a few weeks. Am I missing a notification somewhere?

I'm so, so sorry. This process sucks. I feel for you. Hell, I've felt exactly the same way this week. I'm hardly an expert (on anything really) but in my limited experience it helps to let yourself feel every bit of it, all the way down to the bone. Wallow, cry, scream, punch pillows, whatever feels right. Make it an all-day thing if you have to. By the end of it you might find some relief, however minor. And just to reiterate: one of these schools had 638 applications for four spots. FOUR. Another very likely had a similar number of applicants, if not more, and accepted three. There's nothing to learn from that. It is what it is. It doesn't mean you're a bad writer, or that in another season you wouldn't have been one of those selected. This is a gamble. I do wish programs had more openings. I also wish we had more indication of where we landed if we made it near the top but not high enough to get on a waitlist. I've learned to stop expecting much from this process. It's never a waste of time to believe in yourself and invest in a possible future, even if that future never pans out. I know that sounds corny as shit, but it's the truth.

Personally, I doubt it. Never say never, but I'm assuming acceptances already went out and the people who were accepted aren't on Draft. It happens sometimes. Not everyone has Facebook or knows about the page. Keep you chin up! I'm looking at one hard rejection and two soft rejections right now. It's not the end of the world. There's plenty of season left. Try not to let it get you down. I know that's easier said than done. We're here for you if you want to vent or need extra support! U of O seems to be running later than they did last year. I don't know if anyone knows exactly when those will come out. Fingers crossed you get some good news soon though!

Last year acceptances came first, followed by waitlists about a day or two later.

That's what I'm doing! But everyone has their own systems to get through this hellish process.

To be honest this is probably gonna be my one and only year applying. If I had started applying in the 2024 season I'd be open to another round. But as it stands I have other things in my life I want to get rolling on, and I can't keep putting those on hold in the hopes of getting into a highly competitive MFA program. I'm alright with it. I acknowledge it's unlikely I'll get accepted on my first try, especially considering the schools I have on my list. I also know that MFAs aren't crucial and I'll still be able to pursue publishing without one.

If it's any consolation, it looks like Vandy only accepted three people in the fiction cohort this year, so those are some rough odds.

Boston is totally random. They have a rolling rejection and acceptance system. I heard some people who applied last year even found out roughly where they landed (e.g. top 12% of applicants) when they got their rejection letters. Not sure if they'll do that this year.

This is really, really important to remember. I needed reminding of this myself. It's easy to feel like your work isn't good enough. In reality a lot of us are writing our asses off and producing cool stuff. Don't let an adcom determine your worth!

I'm feeling the opposite RE: samples, and honestly? I can't decide which feeling would be worse. I sent out what I truly feel was my best work. They were samples I loved writing and still enjoy. But here I am, sitting on a big old rejection from Cornell haha. Now I'm thinking, am I delusional? I workshopped these pieces with tons of writers and instructors but what if they were delusional too? The worries never end. At least we have each other to commiserate. Very thankful for this community!

Depends! For me, I don't expect to hear from two of my schools (Brown and UVA) until the first week of March. They sent acceptances around that time last year. But yeah, if I didn't get any acceptances by about the second week of March I'd assume this season was a bust. I'd likely already know that though because most schools send rejections prior to mid-March too.

I hear you, but you'll also see folks on there getting a combo of admissions, waitlists, and rejections. Sure, some people are inevitably gonna get more acceptances than others, no doubt about that. But it's extremely rare for applicants to get acceptances across the board. Almost everyone gets at least one rejection.

Sending lots of hugs to my fellow Cornell rejection gang. Not a great start to the season, but we still have tons of results ahead of us.

Michener accepted and waitlisted poetry and fiction on 2/20 last year. Rejections came on 2/21 I believe, and it seems like people had to check the portal to see the rejection since they didn't get an email.