lisichka

I grew up in the LA area and am trying to get the heck out again haha! If you don’t mind me asking, are there any literary communities in particular that you’ve found here? I understand your disappointment over not getting the teaching experience you want—I wish there had been opportunities to learn to teach in my previous programs, and I’m thinking of entering a PhD program too after I hopefully get into an MFA.

I considered it, but there are no teaching duties in the Michener program and I want/need to gain teaching experience in order to fulfill my career goals!

Hello fellow creatives! I just discovered this forum after submitting most of my applications, which I'm nervous about as a first-time MFA (poetry) applicant. I have a BA in Film and Media Studies with a minor in English as well as an MA in Publishing. I finished my MA in September of last year, entered a horrible job market, and realized I want to stay in academia as I am most dedicated to poetry and pedagogy. So far, I've applied to NC State, UT Austin (New Writers Project), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Minnesota, University of Washington-Seattle, Northwestern, and Ohio State, and I'm submitting my University of Pittsburgh application this weekend. On forums like these, I've read of people applying to 10+ schools, but I'm sticking with these 8 for financial reasons and crossing my fingers. I feel positive about my application materials and I'm excited for what the new year will bring—hopefully some offers! (I say as I try to ignore the 2% acceptance rates of most of these programs.) The late-January to mid-March period will be stressful, but I'm glad to have this space where y'all are in the same boat and we can check in on each other.

Hi, I submitted my application for Northwestern about a week ago and I also struggled with the critical writing sample because all my papers on a literary topic from undergrad and postgrad were 3-6 pages! In order to meet the minimum page count, I submitted two papers in one PDF—a 6-page essay, and 9 pages of reading responses (formatted to look like an intentional essay). If you had to do weekly assignments at any point in your former literary courses, I would strongly suggest that you combine them all into one document, with proper headers and citations, like a collection of literary criticism. It might not be a cohesive, 15-page essay, but anything that shows you can write well about a literary topic will do! Good luck 🫶