everything bagel lover

I agree with Prufrock that it’s not silly, I think it’s definitely a good idea to have certainty before pulling out of anything else. I too waited until I had my acceptance of another offer confirmed before rescinding my NAU acceptance. I think it’s totally reasonable given the position you’re in.

Well, that's that I guess? I know not everyone is out of limbo, unfortunately, but I'm finally getting my head around being committed to my top choice program that I've daydreamed about for so long. It's crazy! It's incredible! I could cry just thinking about it! I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful and I'm so happy I got to be neurotic here with you guys. Those of you applying again next year, I wish you the best of luck! Those of you throwing in the towel for MFA apps (even if it's just for now, as I too took a couple years off between my first application cycle and this one), take it easy and keep writing. This shit is exhausting y'all. For those of y'all heading to an MFA, congratulations! To neurotic freaks in the future reading through all of the previous years cycles, hi! ❤️ Take a deep breath! Nothing that's meant for you will pass you by. I'm so grateful I didn't get into anywhere my first cycle, genuinely. I wouldn't have my partner, my dog, or the direction I currently do if I had gotten into my dream program last time. ❤️ Also, the time will pass! You will know eventually! In the meantime, lean on your support systems, irl or on here. Thanks for everything guys ❤️

Congratulations!!! That’s amazing!! I agree with Zaria I think we collectively do actually have magical powers lol that’s so great I’m so happy for you!

Congratulations! That is stressful and if you wanna chat about it, I’m here! Or if you need to process with friends/family/in solitude, definitely take that time! How long did they give you? The decision fatigue and uprooting your whole life planning is exhausting, take care of yourself! And this goes for everyone!!

Not to be a downer or pessimist, but it seems like a decision has been made, but no indication what decision. On the bright side, it means you should get clarity soon!

In my experience, they do tend to do this! You should notified when the cohort is finalized or if you’re accepted off the waitlist. It can take some time after the deadline as well so you’re not out until you’re out!

I’m so sorry, Prufrock, that’s devastating :,( are you still on waitlists or did you pull off? You should be proud of the work you’ve put in and of your writing!! It’s been a delight to hang out in the forum with you!

Congratulations!!!

Like Prufrock said, it's usually frowned upon but not impossible! I just rescinded my commitment to NAU and the faculty were very kind and understanding (I explained the situation in full but concise terms and thanked them for the opportunity) The April 15th resolution says that students don't have to receive a formal release either before or after the April 15th deadline, so you're free to do so! Here's the exact verbiage: "Applicants are not required to obtain a formal release from the program whose offer they accepted, either before or after the April 15 deadline. Once applicants have informed the program that they are withdrawing their acceptance of the offer, they then can accept any other offers." It definitely gets tighter the closer to or further out past the deadline it goes. When CSU offered me the GTA yesterday, they said they'd prefer to know by the end of the week, maybeeee Monday at the latest if I needed. Also, thank you so much @Chex and @curfew❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thank you!!! Also oh my god congratulations on UVA!!!!! ❤️

Y'all crazy news: CSU called and offered me a GTA position last night!!! A whole 10 days after I declined my acceptance because they told me all the GTAships had been claimed. I already accepted at NAU so I just withdrew and accepted my offer at CSU because HOLY FUCKING SHIT are you KIDDING me!!! I know I haven't been active lately, I've just been lurking with nothing new to add but I had to update y'all because y'all listened to me be neurotic about this for months.

Oh my god that’s so exciting!!! Yay I’d love to connect and chat! Congrats on committing!!!

CSU called, GTA was accepted by someone else they offered a fellowship but I couldn’t take that without tuition remission :,( I’m sad that the door to CSU has closed but very very grateful for my position at NAU and will be committing today! It’s bittersweet but I’m relieved to know ❤️ thank you everyone for the positive vibes you sent my way

I saw that too! I’ve got my fingers crossed for you!! ❤️ I imagine it’s not ranked/you don’t know where you’re at on it? That’s a really great attitude to have going into this! I feel like it’s so hard to balance your own peace with excitement/anxiety. Thank you, me too! ❤️ I also think we’ll be seeing a lot of movement as people begin committing and pulling out of queues.

Good morning, my little forum friends. I had several dreams about getting in off of waitlists for programs and then ended off with a dream about a zombie apocalypse so I think this week will be fruitful. Tomorrow is the decision deadline for who whoever has the gta at csu. I’m feeling optimistic because of what the professor said but they could also totally award it to someone else. How are y’all on waitlists feeling going into this week? Also, since it’s two weeks before decision day, I feel like UNLV sent out acceptances and the people are just not on draft or here.

Yes, Wyoming seems that way! Of course I don’t have knowledge of either MFA from the interior, but that’s the vibe I got from Wyoming’s website and blurbs. I appreciate how much information they had and even though I’m not a fan of moving far north, it convinced me to give it a shot anyway!

Hi! I went to UNM for my undergrad and took creative writing classes and some professors are amazing!!!! Daniel Mueller especially is such an incredible professor and mentor, I can’t speak highly enough of him. Some others… 👀 but I overall had a really positive experience in my creative writing undergrad classes. Dan is actually the reason that I’m applying for an MFA in the first place. ABQ has its pros and cons but the food is top notch and the sunsets are beautiful. I’m a little homesick for ABQ right now actually. As prufrock said, we were/are both excited by the program. Idk much else outside of that, but the program seems really warm, close knit, and supportive! Edit to add: It gets windy in NM too, it’s just a part of the desert. Horribly windy. It’s the only thing I don’t miss at all. Feel free to DM me if you wanna chat about UNM or ABQ!

That's 1000% fair honestly, congratulations on committing!! Can I ask where you committed to?

Next week marks April 1st! That's the hard GTA decision deadline for CSU's stuff (they're not an April 15th signatory) and I'm hoping that whoever has it gets into their dream program or at least a program they like way more than CSU and that I'm next up on the waiting list. 🕯️ But that also means that we're in the home stretch with only 2 weeks until the national deadline! I see on the draft that there's already some waitlist movement happening as people are narrowing down their selections. I've already declined my 3rd choice, so I'm down to my final two and I'm hoping to commit to one or the other next week 👾 For those of y'all with multiple acceptances: how are y'all whittling down your choices? Do you have a systematic process of elimination/choosing?

Side note: I Just got my official rejection from Wyoming. It was very sweet and they encouraged me to apply again next year if I was still interested. I'm unsure if this was on everyone's email or not but the email overall is very kind. ❤️

That's a good point and what I'm trying to remind myself. I just already was afraid of getting the rug pulled out from under me before it happened to some people and now I'm on edge and other people freaking out freaks me out which freaks other people out.

I agree, mostly! Ideally, accepted students have until April 15th to decide, and it's not considered good form to accept quickly just to turn it down for something else. However, what recently is throwing a wrench into this is funding being pulled, and that trickling down into offers that haven't been accepted being deferred to Fall 2026. That's what Northwestern just did, according to a current student on Facebook. Accepted offers are typically honored, whereas an outstanding offer may not be if funding is getting chopped. Thus, the current conundrum I came to y'all with. I have one offer that is funded and that I'd be happy to take, but I'm waitlisted for funding at my top choice school and won't know until the person in front of me decides whether or not they want it. I can assume that potentially since they have pushed out deciding for so long that CSU isn't their top choice and they're maybe waiting on a similar situation that I'm waiting on. And then, if schools don't abide by the April 15 resolution, then that's even more crunch onto a system where some schools are requiring decisions even earlier than most, leading to some tough decisions for applicants. Overall, this is unfortunately looking like a complicated season because of funding cuts to graduate programs. Ideally, I think we'd all like to be courteous to each other and take care to not unnecessarily take up spots or commit to places too soon. I really hope that no other programs start deferring outstanding offers. The whole thing gives me anxiety and I really hope that I, and other candidates, have until the April 15th deadline to fully decide.

In my experience with one school, when all positions had been filled they said it is "very unlikely" that anything will change between now (it was late April) and the start of the term. So I didn't like remove myself from the waitlist or anything at that point, and the language left the door a tiniest crack open just in case they needed to reach back out last minute but I understood that this was deeply unlikely.

This is also my concern with confirming a spot when I'm unsure. I've been in the waitlist dance before and am currently biting my nails on a funding waitlist, and I don't want to muddy the waters for others. I really just hope that places deferring acceptances doesn't become something regular (or even happen more than once at this point).

This is all incredibly valuable feedback, thank y'all so much. I also emailed the professor at CSU who's been my contact person and he said "there's a good chance we'll have definite info for you by the end of this week and I will reach out just as soon as I can" which I'm maybe reading too far into but seems really promising? If it's defitinite info for me, and I've expressed twice that I would accept it immediately, then perhaps? And @pananoprodigy I had the same thought about the social guilt and anxiety and how that would really take away the joy of the whole commitment process for either school. I agree, NAU feels fairly solid; it's not the highest stipend in the world and it's GTA based, plus they did sign the resolution and only some are funded so they're hopefully fine. I do just feel in my gut that I should wait but the NU students having the rug pulled really freaked me out. I think, given the information I've received from CSU, I will hold off on committing to NAU out of fear. However, if they award the GTA to another cohort member, I'll probably commit just in case and then, if I must, pivot. I really can't thank y'all enough for your sound reasoning and input ❤️