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I'm not sure if this is helpful, but I've been thinking through a similar scenario, and I have been convinced that money and teaching load are huge factors in overall MFA enjoyment. At first I thought 1/1 and 1/2 teaching sounded pretty similar, but when I think about the actual time difference, 1/1 is significantly lighter. And similar for stipend: at first, a difference of a few thousand seemed small, but when I actually work out the cost of living, I realize that having enough to live comfortably is huge. So for me, those factors come before anything else. A wonderful program that overworks me for not a lot of money might start to feel less wonderful very quickly.

Thank you @zaira! That definitely makes me feel better. @OctopusCactus I had thought that deferring was kind of a no-go for MFAs. My sense was that they were so competitive they would rather just give the spot to someone more committed on the waitlist. It's helpful that you know someone who was able to do that, though. I guess if I do reject the offer, asking to defer can't hurt because it shows the strength of my interest.

I am grateful to have an amazing offer, but more and more, I am feeling unready to start an MFA next year (nation circumstances, personal circumstances, etc.). However, I worry that if I turn this offer down, the program will rule out making me an offer in the future, even if they know I am not committing to another program. Has anyone heard of a similar situation?

That's really helpful to know, thank you! It does seem like 2 years must be enough time, if so many people choose to apply to and go to 2-year programs every year. Or maybe at least that it shouldn't be considered a huge negative, if the program has a lot of other positives. Boston is even 1 year and a lot of people are definitely interested in that program!

That's a good point! I guess maybe I find it daunting to think of handing in a completed thesis after 2 years, even if I did get to revise and expand it in a third year. Especially with that possibility being unknown until the end of the second year.

Right - Michener, Vanderbilt, UVA, Syracuse and many others are 3 years. So maybe I shouldn't have spoken in such general terms. I was just thinking about how a good number of top programs are 2 years.

This is more of a general musing than something that is actually helpful. But I noticed that many of the very top-ranked programs are 2 years: Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Brown, Hopkins, Cornell. It's interesting because most people seem to prefer 3 years, but many people also seem to prefer these particular schools. I wonder what the connection is - maybe in order to have such good funding, they can only take people for 2 years. But I guess even though 3 years is largely considered preferable, the programs people covet most are only 2. Intriguing!

This is also something I'm struggling with: 2 years with better funding and less teaching, vs. 3 years with lower funding and more teaching. It almost feels like you get a fixed amount of money and have to decide whether to spread it out over 2 or 3 years (though obviously details vary program to program). Because 3 years seems like the ideal for many reasons, but what if the 2-year program is a way better deal for the time that you're in it?

This might be an unanswerable question, but how do you know if a program is right for you? Do you take the chance if it seems like a good opportunity, or should there be some kind of sign or spark or connection? I'm afraid of missing out on a great opportunity, but I'm equally afraid of committing to a bad fit. Has anyone thought through this too?

Hahaha I feel this. It starts to feel so hypothetical that it feels like comparing two completely unknown futures. And it's easy to forget we might actually have to uproot our lives and move to one of these places, and that once we do, we can't go back and choose a different one (except for transferring)

Sometimes, schools send out acceptances and waitlists a long time before they send out rejections. I know Notre Dame has already sent out acceptances and waitlists, and looking at the spreadsheet in the Facebook group MFA Draft '25, it seems like Butler and Miami of Ohio have also sent out acceptances and waitlists. That doesn't always mean a rejection is certain - as people have pointed out, sometimes circumstances change later - but I do think it means rejection is most likely at this stage. Sometimes people use the term "soft rejection" to mean they haven't gotten an official rejection, but they know that acceptances and waitlists have already gone out. I hope that helps!

Yes, I got the mysterious blank email too! I assume it was an error. And I am also curious about Syracuse's poetry program (though I did not apply there but wish I did). I second the feeling of being on a waitlist and having trouble getting a qualitative feel for a program. I feel like talking to faculty would make things a lot clearer.

@Tuxedocat Did you end up visiting Wash U and/or having conversations with Wash U poets? I would be curious to hear what you thought if you'd be comfortable sharing! I am trying to learn more about Wash U as well

Not sure if there are any other UIUC poets here, but they just let me know the slots are all filled! I'd be curious to know if all original offers were accepted, or if they drew from the waitlist at all, since they didn't mention that in their email.

This is all so helpful - thank you so much!! I am not too concerned about leaving the cities themselves, but would definitely want to live somewhere with walkable access to green space and grocery stores, if possible. I might just be spoiled by living in Providence with grocery stores, several parks, and all of downtown within 2 miles...but as much as I appreciate buses, I would like to at least be able to walk to at least a fair number of things if I can. Maybe I'll try to Google maps some places.