Strawberry14

I follow Michael Czyzniejewski (the Coordinator of the Creative Writing Program at Missouri State) on bluesky and he's posted a few updates about a brand new fully funded MFA program at MO State over the last few days. I gather it's SUPER new, but they're actually looking for applicants for this fall with a 4/30 due date if anyone is interested! There's more info here: https://bsky.app/profile/mczyzniejewski.bsky.social/post/3mhdvsbwcok2k

I would take the job! People come and go from companies all the time--they will recover quickly! I've both left jobs unexpectedly and been at companies when someone leaves after a few months. I absolutely get anxious about "disappointing" or "letting down" folks, but at the end of the day, you should do what's right for you, and know that they'll be fine in the end.

It's so tough out there, I really feel you. It took me four years after graduating to land a full-time position, so this has gotta be your year! I didn't have a lot of advice/direction and floundered a bit for a while, so I'll try to give a couple pointers that I wish I'd had at the time: It sucks, but that first "in" will probably come from networking. My initial freelance gigs and my first two consistent positions all came in some way from a personal connection, but not always in the way I would have expected. I wrote blogs for an art studio because I knew one of the photographers. I did social media for a cafe where I was a barista. I landed my first part-time communications position at a museum through a cafe coworker's wife. Basically, I talked about writing, my interest in writing professionally, and that I could "write anything" to anyone who would listen, and I got a few opportunities that way. Have you expressed any interest in marketing at the library? Most marketing jobs are copywriting heavy for sure, but also look for other buzzwords. Once I managed to get into that entry level communications assistant role, I was really able to learn a lot more about how corporate workspaces function, how to write for all different kinds of assets (print, digital, email, web, scripts, press releases, etc), and the business jargon these industries use. A lot of people major in marketing but aren't great writers, so I always really pushed that writing and language were my areas of expertise. Look for entry level jobs with "copywriter" attached to any of these words: content, marketing, social media, communications, email, product. If most of the role seems copy focused, just apply even if you don't have experience in every part. Sorry for yapping, and I'm not sure how helpful any of this is, but my basic advice is to just keep telling everyone that you interact with that you're interested in professional writing and that you can write anything, and you might be surprised at what opportunities come up. I honestly think working at the library is already a solid in! Libraries and museums are great non-profit orgs where you can often learn a lot about public relations/marketing if you can get involved there.

Not that this is meant to be advice (or even aspirational lol) but I'll share just a bit about my journey if it's at all helpful for anyone wondering about post-grad options! I studied English lit and creative writing in undergrad and I graduated ten years ago (holy shit lol) knowing I wanted to pursue an MFA but not feeling ready to apply. I worked in service and did occasional freelancing (anything writing-adjacent I could get), but it took me a while to get into a writing-related career. Eventually I ended up in marketing/communications and technical writing, and I've been doing that for the last 5-6 years. I thought about applying to programs every year, but I was terrified of getting rejected. Two years ago, I got serious with my creative work and finally started submitting and publishing alongside my day job. Nothing groundbreaking, but the process of submission and rejection really helped me come into this process knowing that I'd be okay regardless of the outcome. Everyone's journey is different, and while I absolutely believe many writers could handle a program right out of undergrad, I definitely needed to cook a little longer. I'm still waiting to hear back from a few programs, but I'm thrilled with my one fully funded acceptance so far. I'm both excited and terrified to go back into full time school after being out for ten years, but it really feels like the right time for me now! All to say, It might sound like a long ways out, but don't panic--you're never out of time!

I'm not on the draft--does anyone know if Syracuse Fiction has ever historically sent notifications on the weekend?

@nonsense Fiction! You? The email said "Please know that we don’t have firm rankings on our waitlist, as we’re aiming for a balanced and diverse cohort, so we re-evaluate as we go."

Yes! If your school is a member of CGS (council of graduate schools), you're not required to make a decision until April 15, and they cannot revoke the offer or anything like that. Schools should not be pressuring you to make decisions sooner. Unrelated, I just got waitlisted at Oregon State!

For sure, I know it's common for schools to recommend not applying to MFA if you attended for undergrad (sometimes they even state that they don't accept alumni on their websites), but I didn't go to UofM for undergrad so it never occurred to me that they wouldn't even take other applicants from the state! I truly have no idea how common this is and don't want to freak anyone out! One thing you could do is try to research the current students at your top school and see if any are from in-state. For example, I just clicked through the current students at Syracuse and found one from NYC, so I'm sure it varies a lot from program to program. ❤️

I've been hearing such good things! I'm actually from Michigan, so don't worry, the cold and I are very familiar hahaha. Somewhat related but might be interesting to others here: one of the profs who did my reference letters told me that UMich "generally" doesn't accept MFA students from Michigan, and he said that he'd gotten that directly from Peter Ho Davies, the MFA director. Not sure how common it is for programs not to accept students from their own state, but just sharing because I thought it was odd. I applied anyway lol, so wasn't too surprised about the rejection!

Ahhh huge congrats on both Madison and UMich! I've heard Madison is very similar in vibes to Ann Arbor, though I've never been. Looking forward to visiting and checking out the city and program in person! Thank you! It's my first time as well and I'm still in disbelief. Wishing you good news from Iowa!

Long time lurker, first time poster! I got an acceptance to UW-Madison on Saturday (thrilled is an understatement) followed by my UMich rejection Monday. Just happened to check my spam folder and saw my Arizona State rejection there from this morning so thought I'd give a heads up to check spam if you're waiting on ASU. I'm not on draft so can't really keep up there. Still have 7 to go but insanely grateful to have one acceptance in the bank. Fingers crossed for y'all ❤️