P i e r r o t

Yes, you'll need to choose one when you start the online application. This is true for all schools. I suppose you could submit two fees / two separate applications for one program, but the writing sample and SoP will need to be very very different for each. That said, you're likely not doing yourself any favors by spreading yourself thin. Focus all your creative energy on one medium. You'll have a better shot. Good luck!

So sorry about all of this. Please know we're all rooting for you! I will just add, too, that this process is brutal enough on its own terms; personal complications, like yours, make it nearly unbearable. I know how you feel. I also have a serious mix of personal/financial/domestic complexities to my present situation, which have made basic art-making an exhausting and Herculean feat and have really heightened the stakes of these MFA decisions for me, this year and last. My first-round rejections were devastating on more than just a writerly level: everything was implicated. The thought of applying again was unthinkable, and I didn't write much for a few months. If you had told me then that, with time, I would somehow find the motivation to undergo all of this a second time, I genuinely would have called bullshit. Time does change you, though it's no fun to hear it—and believe it—from a place of anxiety or grief. The only option is finding the means to sustain a little longer. Easier said than done, I know. Really sorry you're dealing with so much. In any case, you're not out of the running yet! Fingers crossed for SIU.

For real! I mean, should we all go in on a Witchery/Manifesting Service™?? imma need a serious side hustle to afford Davis rents on a graduate stipend, seems like.

Good god, yes. So much so that, despite trying to will myself into some sort of feeling about this **excellent news** (relief, gratitude, excitement, pride, etc.), for now I'm registering nothing but exhaustion. I'll sleep it off, I'm sure, and the feels will shortly follow, but still......this process was brutal. Fingers crossed for you all!

Well..............I got the call: I'm in at UC Davis! (@zaira **fist bump**) Jesus Christ, this nearly killed me. Second cycle, dozens of rejections, waitlists fell through, seemed like maybe another bust—until now. To anyone in the dumps: wallow as much as you need, for fuck's sake, and by all means take a break from writing if it hurts (I did), but please don't give up. It's practically a cliché in this forum, at this point, but—it only takes one acceptance! I have a few Davis-specific details, for anyone lurking who just wants some fucking clarity already. - The cohort of 8 (2 poets / 6 prose) is now full; I believe I was the first and only waitlist movement for prose (fiction/non-fiction). This year's cohort is prose-heavy because last year's was poetry-heavy. - They may still admit a third poet this year (so 9 total), at the discretion of the department chair. Not sure if they just have extra money or what? It was mentioned in passing. Will be decided shortly, I believe. - The Davis waitlist is unranked, officially, but apparently ranked internally—which makes sense, but is still hella annoying! If you're first on the waitlist (as I just learned that I was), sure would be nice to know! That said, funding is such that an out-of-state acceptance (I'm in PA) costs the school more than an in-stater, so this detail is also a factor in admissions decisions; whomever turned down their acceptance was also an out-of-stater, in other words. (Also, I don't know shit about the area, so hit me up if you're a Davis, CA expert!)

Still waiting on Davis, keep your candles lit! They should be in touch, yes, and write them if they aren't. Also, this post-April 15th process can take more than few days, so don't count yourself out too soon.

No special insight here, just hopping in to say: you are not alone in this boat. Anxiety at code red. People really do get pulled off the waitlist on or after the 15th, though. Don't do anything crazy just yet!

You are most definitely overthinking it! Understandable, though. Email the specific admissions specialist they mentioned and CC the admin and director. Keep it brief and no one will be bothered, I promise.

The last "tier" includes a hand-written message from Sam Chang beneath the letter you quoted. Mine this year said "Thanks for a strong application". The generic letter is short and without any particular encouragement, I believe.

LET'S GOOOOOO THIS SOME WITCHY SHIT Y'ALL! So stoked for you. Please poke your head back in a few more times before you leave us for good! Do me a solid and send them elite vibes back my way: waiting on Davis ahhhhhhh.

Oh, good to know, thanks! Glad I mentioned it.

Congrats to them—and also wish they would cut Davis loose already, god damn!

Yeahhhhh. Cruel business, waitlists. Major bridesmaid-never-bride vibes. Getting the personal treatment, too, was so appreciated but does make it real bitch in the end.

It was from a comment on the big "waitlist movement" thread.

I saw that post on Draft and also immediately thought of you! Rooting for you from the sidelines, saying little witchy prayers, etc. Keep us posted!

Minor detail, but just for the record: Irvine first went from six to five fiction acceptances last cycle, not this cycle (though yes, they are only taking five again this year—annoyingly, because I happen to be first on their waitlist ahhhhhhhh). Point being whatever their funding issue is, it seems to be unrelated to the current chaos.

This isn't unlikely at all! It's exactly this people are worried about and cautioning against, it seems—and I agree. I'm firmly in the "all info is good info" camp, but that Draft post got people a bit unnecessarily freaked, I think. Just my two cents.

**walks slowly back from ledge** Yes yes yes yes yes, patience is a virtue or whatever. Congrats on the acceptance! Thrilled for you!

Re: Irvine... Oh man, if you have the inside scoop, prey tell: I happen to know I'm first in line and quietly going crazy over here. The waitlist game is the more brutal, IMO. I did let Michelle know today I would likely accept an offer quickly. This is my second cycle; definitely not doing this a third time. Thanks for keeping us informed!

This! Real life blows Also, turns out a Harvard PhD isn't that useful if you march right off that stage, diploma in hand, and then immediately quit your field lol

I see the Irvine rejections are going out, so this may be too-little-too-late to be of any help, but a few details about the situation for anyone lurking who needs to know. I talked to the program director on the phone today: extremely generous conversation, really grateful to hear from her, not least because most places don't reach out so intimately to waitlisters. 230ish applications, 5 fiction acceptances. 3 have accepted the offer, 2 have not yet and both have other offers. Not sure how long the waitlist is, but it is ranked. They used to accept 6 in fiction (website still says as much) but funding cuts mean 5 these days: she seemed genuinely upset about this. My impression is that they rarely pull from the waitlist, though obviously not impossible. Unfortunately it does seem nearly impossible, however, that multiples on the fiction waitlist will get off it this year, given the particulars. Would love to be wrong, of course. Good vibes all around—will make the (inevitable?) letdown all the worse. Brutal!

I feel you. I had the same confused feeling about reapplying last year at this time. My advice (others' may differ) would be to focus only on your writing for a while and don't think for a second about the MFAs until at least September. There's no need: you'll be able to assemble everything much faster the second time, in my experience, assuming you've got polished writing in the desk drawer. Also—and this is the more important point—you can do this at any time. I am 37 and have a Harvard PhD in another field and lived an entire life, it seemed, before ever applying to MFAs. You'll find this story actually isn't that uncommon. All you can do is what's right for you now. The future will work itself out—because you will do then what is right for you then.

Ditto—congrats on Davis! We're in that boat together. They have me more or less in the dark re: status/movement/process/waitlist size. Let us know if you hear any new deets. Fingers crossed they make lots of room!

It me! May as well introduce myself, since I've been lurking for ages and following all of your individual trajectories from the sidelines. I feel I know you all! Hard to overstate how much of an anxious comfort this site has been, especially as this is my second cycle applying and has been **rends garments** a little stressful. Re: UC Irvine, going to chat with the program director soon, hopefully Friday, and will report back with any relevant intel. Seems all but impossible that anyone would turn down UCI (??), so the waitlist is definitely feeling like a mixed blessing. Serious fist bump to @Scribe for keeping us informed.