Prosaic Ioniser

Thanks everyone for your replies! I guess always prioritising writing is the name of the game... Super interesting input from your coworker. Weirdly enough this limbo has made me more determined, and I actually sit down to write almost every day as opposed to once every few days before. However, I fear, and almost know, that full out rejections will freeze my writing for a few months. Wow that can really be a good source of crazy stories at least haha! I hope and believe that you will soon find something that allows more time to write and do what you really want!! And I can really relate re: feeling unhopeful for the future... Ah, love the reference, makes me wanna re-read the book! Having described your life like that, it makes sense that you would want to go spend time in a monastery sounds like a fascinating life path tbh. Hope to read some of your stories one day! Good luck to you.

Well just woke up to a UBC rejection... One of the many fun things about being an international. I'm starting to prepare for the worst for this year - in that spirit - anyone feel like sharing their day job which they feel gives them enough time/ mental clarity to write before or after work? If the MFA doesn't materialise, my instinct will be to wander around aimlessly, collecting adventures if nothing else - but of course, I need to finance my life, and I have already had a few jobs that killed my creativity, so just curious what you lovely writers are doing?

Is it possible this is due to their open "religious affiliation"? This ended up being the reason I didn't apply after reading about the student cohort there on reddit, it was also my first reason to post here because I was so taken aback by that in the application process 😅 It's looking really bleak with some of the schools... I've been holding my breath for WashU, it's a program that really speaks to me, so the fact that it might be cut... then again as an international I'm starting to think my status might also be extremely precarious in the US if I was to get in anywhere? Not that anyone has the answers to this but it's starting to make me super anxious. This has been my dream for so long.

Oh God, it is really scary where things are headed... Seeing everything from outside the US and then how it trickles down to other places too 😕But thanks for the heads up and acknowledging that things are particularly hard right now.

About to ask what i feel like is a pretty stupid question but: Is there any expectation to reply to semi-nice rejection emails when they are from the Director of the MFA program and address you by name (I understand this can be automated)? Especially if you plan on reapplying in the future. Asking mainly because I’ve already noticed quite a few cultural differences in the app. Process from this thread (US vs Europe). For example the letter of continued interest + especially the whole debate about waiving the right to see rec. letters after reading what @PsychPoet said. Here, it’s pretty common to be involved/ at least heavily consulted in the writing of your letter by your recommender (I even know of people who’ve had to fully write their own then it goes through review from their recommender because they don’t have time to write them one). The thought of a student threatening to sue because of one is wild to me lol! Edit: also anyone apply to UBC or Guelph in Canada?

Seriously, I feel like all emails should be banned - except for and until I hear back from all my applications !!

I'm sorry, it sucks to wake up to bad news !! But I see you still have a lot of applications to hear back from, so there's still hope

Thank you. Genuinely just reading this made me relax my shoulders a little bit and felt like it gave me "permission" to just feel what I feel. It's very reasonable advice, I guess it just goes against my instincts - but I will try! That is a lovely tip!

This is fully a rant so feel free to ignore but damn, having basically received two soft rejections but still no official response makes me feel terrible... And unrelated to MFAs but putting me into a deep state of despair in combination with that fact is that I'm also in between jobs and just received a rejection from a job that would have lasted until summer so, in theory, perfect timing (and also thought the interview had gone well). On top of that I'm slightly sleep deprived because of my neighbours which is the worst reason to not be able to sleep. Anyone have any great coping strategies for these terrible waiting periods? I try to keep busy and distract myself but it's getting harder... Seeing other people receive responses does make me feel better, and I guess there's always a second chance but tbh I'm unsure whether I'll be willing/able to spend that much money on applications any time soon. Last thing as an international; why can there not be any fully funded MFAs outside of the US 🫠

You are right. Thanks! Good luck to you too

I feel as though my life has been on pause ever since I hit submit on my last application in December. I'm starting to go insane, I can't really focus on anything else (like my current freelance work or job applications - I'm going through the motions but I don't care about them)!! I really hope this month will send some answers, I'm going crazy, especially when I know how small the chance of getting in even is... A big congrats to everyone who's already received their first acceptances though!

I'm also in the same boat with job apps. and this is why I love this forum - even though I know no amount of lurking/posting will change the acceptance outcome it still feels good to hear from other people in a similar position! No one in my close proximity can really understand this right now... Trying to transition to a full time job because freelance has sucked the soul out of me and also still hoping I will get to fulfil this writing dream (side note; the general state of the world is making it so hard to stay positive rn...) So yeah, good luck with the nerves everyone!

I was just thinking well that's weird I didn't apply there because it's a poetry year!

And here I was confidently putting them everywhere - now I have the fear opposite of yours 😅

Thoughts about Notre Dame? Hello, I'm an international student applying to MFAs (mostly in the US and some in Canada) for the first time this year! I cannot decide if I should even apply to Notre Dame because once I started the application process I was asked whether their religious affiliation was part of my reason for applying and that made me go WAIT WHAT?? Perhaps the name should have tipped me off, but honestly in Europe (where I'm from) many universities still have 'catholic' in their name for historic reasons and it doesn't really mean anything. After some research, I understand that Notre Dame offers worship in its premises etc. but can any one actually tell me how religious it is in practice? And what the impacts may be for a creative writing course? I just really don't know what to expect as someone who's a bit wary of the fanaticism the US can be prone to when it comes to religion (personally I'm an atheist and obviously don't really care about what other people believe in but I just don't want to feel like anything is imposed on me or my writing.) This may be a bit of a weird question but any insight into this would be much appreciated! Here is my list of applications (focused on fully funded + insurance in the US): Washington University, University of Guelph, Johns Hopkins, Oregon State, Virginia, U of. Washington, Wyoming, TCD Good luck to everyone currently applying and thanks for all the previous posts