Funny thing is... I applied for Creative Nonfiction? Or I thought I did. I saw a post on Draft awhile back that alluded to UTK only having fiction and poetry, but I don't think I would've applied if it hadn't allowed me to choose CNF? I've been concerned about that since seeing the post (and still a little concerned since they didn't mention genre in the email).
But this has spiraled me into a longer post. Basically, I had no idea what I was doing the last two years attempting to apply to MFAs. I wasn't apart of these groups and my professors did not fully prepare me for what it would be like or the stakes of applying. I didn't know about stipends or financial packages, didn't consider location/rent or cohorts, didn't realize how few people they accepted. I didn't even know what the best schools were to apply to. I applied to Emerson College last season and got accepted despite not having all of my recommendations (and having objectively not great samples), but I wasn't able to go because I ended up having to do another year of undergrad due to a schedule mix-up. This year I was waitlisted at UTK (with a much better application and full recommendations). Both years, those were the only schools that I applied to.
I found this group (and Draft) a few months ago when trying to find out when I'd hear back from UTK. It has sincerely opened my eyes (and taken over my life a little bit). I've learned so much and been so grateful -- but also, to some degree, still feel left out. I never had the experience of applying to far-away or prestigious universities in undergraduate because of primarily fear and doubt (and lack of knowing what I wanted to study) but also due to financial reasons. I've always wanted to be able to apply to a bunch of great schools and see if I got in just to even have that experience at all, even if they were rejections. I regret that external worries about the future led me to apply late and to only one school (of which I'm still not sure if they would have a focus in my genre).
All of this is just to say that I have regrets. And despite being so grateful and excited for this waitlist, I will be taking myself off of it. I want to try again. I'm not sure that Knoxville is the place for me anyway. I've lived in rural Mississippi my entire life, and I want to see if I could get further away. I just want to see realistically what my options are. I feel more confident to be able to do this after this experience and learning so much from this group.
(Side note: Am I crazy for this?)
Also, for those that are wondering, UTK said they sent out five acceptance offers. I'm not sure if that is fiction or nonfiction at this point, but I really thought I applied for nonfiction. They also did not mention if it was a ranked waitlist or how many people were on it. They didn't even spell my name right in the email lol.
Last thing -- Considering everything I've said, does anyone have recommendations for which (fully funded) universities to apply to next round for CNF?