glowingbrightly

yayyy congrats!!! i know how long you’ve been waiting, it took me at least a week to calm down and may take you longer. davis sounds really lovely, i talked to someone else about the program—cute, quiet college town close to the bay. im no expert but it is one of the most bikeable cities in the country if you are into that!

i also told myself this was dumb until i got into a program in california lol a good weed market is important tbh

lol how poetic—reading is getting rid of creative writing

if anyone is waiting on boulder, i just got an email today indicating that they are still making decisions. not sure if ill even reply to the email since im already committed to irvine but they are asking me to clarify something about my application, which indicates either a waitlist or acceptance.

@P i e r r o t comment on draft waitlist post saying irvine fiction all accepted

I’m not normally one to advocate avoiding tenuous political climates but someone on draft who teaches in Idaho mentioned some state laws that restrict speech in regard to things like abortion and gender identity. I could exist in a red state, and sometimes I think it’s even better to write from a more divided community, but I’m not sure I could teach with such threats to freedom of speech and the ability to basically care for young queer students.

yeah anyone who thinks life experience can be judged by age or “years out of undergrad” must not have been through much themselves or know many nontraditional students im 32, just finishing undergrad, and im only a decent poet because i also have a trunk full of baggage that anyone could have at any age

admitting to ageism on the phone is crazy but programs don’t usually say you have a good chance unless they mean it… the writing may be coming from a combination of aspiration and uncertainty so make use of this fertile period while you can!

im about to decline my spot. i bet there is a lot of movement. its a good program, but gets a bad rep for being unfunded. still i bet waitlist means you dont get much funding which makes it mighty expensive. its not big on mentorship, and tends to pick favorites and engender competition. but that works for some people. its more focused on in department coursework than most other programs. depends on genre but poetry isn’t as massive as fiction cohorts and has dorothea lasky and timothy donnelly

boulder is the only school still yet to communicate for me… however, don’t consider anything a rejection just yet—someone on draft just got a waitlist call from UCI 6 weeks after mine. you never know when they’ll have to pull from the reserves!

Yeah these are all great questions. I think the biggest thing to keep in mind is that no amount of prestige or agents or publishers can write for you and isn’t it all about the writing end of day? Even if Cornell (or Michigan or Brown or Iowa) could get you a fellowship or agent or teaching appointment, it’s still about your work and your ability to sustain your practice over time. I’ve heard Brown grads say their program is too short and stuffy to get much done, even though it can result in better job opportunities. My primary mentor is a former Brown grad who told me that your first book can open more doors than any name on your degree. Think about who/what will help you best accomplish that.

Yeah this made me regret not applying to UIUC but it also reminded me of how Columbia acted when they really wanted me. These programs are far from desperate but may act this way because they know we have better options and this is what they can provide above and beyond others. If you really trust it then yeah, why go to Cornell? I think the answer is obviously that the perception of prestige influences trust. And this all speaks to my choice to go to Irvine. The vibes are wonderful but I’ve also worried about what could happen in such a small cohort with only 2 faculty. However, I’d rather have 2 mentors whose work I love than a larger department with less mentorship or more poets whose work speaks to me less, which goes back to why I didn’t apply to UIUC in the first place.

ahhh so sorry to hear you are still waiting! hoping your spot opens up soon!

twas me. i thought it was nice that the coordinator sent out early Rs but i did not need a second one to make it official/rub it in 😪

Northwestern, Pitt, Iowa International Writer’s Program, and Hamline make 4. I also know Irvine and Brown took 1 less student per genre this year. As it stands, we are lucky to be relatively unscathed but fields like biomed are having PhD offers rescinded left and right. And making—or not making—decisions based on imagined waitlist movement is silly—if you are on a waitlist with an open offer this late in the game then that’s just the way it is and you shouldn’t blame yourself or others for taking the offers available to you.

I think it’s clearly a pattern and as @beet_root posted above, accepting an offer has no consequences other than personal security and maybe having to send an extra email. Word on the street is Northwestern profs had no idea this was coming and had 3 hours to decide on one student to keep before deferring other offers. Pitt profs are also said to be completely in the dark. I also committed to a school because I was 100% certain but not everyone has the luxury of certainty. I think calling anyone crazy for protecting themselves in this environment is in itself crazy.

Can I ask why you think this? I’m not calling for widespread contagion but with pitt and now northwestern, in addition to various others, I think there is good reason to act cautiously. This isn’t about fear or panic, it’s about being realistic in a terrible climate for pursuing graduate studies. And I see multiple people talking about the tragedy of a small cohort but this is just the reality. Most programs aren’t taking as many students, whether it’s publicized or not, and while that’s sad, it shouldn’t be devastating or a reason not to follow your dreams of being a writer, working with faculty who can push your work forward.

Yeah, the system exists to protect students and allow them to make decisions without pressure. It’s a rough climate we are in because of trump but I think it’s even more important than ever to be grateful for what we have and not put additional pressure on those trying to decide right now.

Yeah, I’d take it if I were you. That’s a good offer so secure it and you won’t have much to lose in case you do need to pivot. I think everyone has to weigh it for themselves but it’s better to be safe than sorry in this climate. Moments like these remind us who the most vulnerable truly are among us and to be grateful for what we have. Wishing all the best for your students and their families ❤️

Northwestern/Litowitz Program student on draft just shared an hour ago that all outstanding acceptances for their program have been deferred until 2026. This was a privately funded top program that I also applied to and I am shocked. I don’t want to cause panic but if you have an attractive outstanding offer, this may be the time to accept instead of waiting for something better. I just hope this is the end of news like this not the beginning.

I’d say all of the pros are going to be highly idiosyncratic—age, family, funding, goals, etc.—or related to prestige—Brown is 2 years, for example

“the pull” should be the number 1 reason to commit to any program. also douglas kearney!

If you actually made it official with paperwork then yes, it’s a contract. If you are unsure and would rather attend a waitlist program, then it’s best to wait until you know for sure or have to decide. While any program of course appreciates enthusiastic acceptances, they will look at you more favorably if you just keep them waiting than if you commit and drop them last minute.

yeah, there was a post claiming someone got the call weeks before other acceptances were reported

OP never followed up so no way to know—entirely possible they made an early call to a priority candidate but it seemed increasingly like a hoax