traceykibres

read me 2 filth

I hope I get into one or more of the schools I've yet to hear from. But I think I've realized that I only really really want to go to one of them. Which is too bad, because it is the school on my list that is admitting the fewest people this year. Still, it's kind of a relief. I do feel like I wasted money on the other applications now, and I regret that. I also feel like next application year is going to be way less stressful and way less work. I also feel less attached to getting an MFA in general. Knowing that I would only be like 1000% jazzed at one particular acceptance makes me feel like, well, how bad do I want the degree itself? I'm feeling refocused, like I can start planning my next few years without feeling in flux (for this particular reason, anyway).

Looks like last year, excluding playwriting, there were 7 interviews, 3 acceptances, and 3 waitlists logged. Not everyone who logged an interview logged a final decision/not everyone who logged a final decision logged an interview, though. Of the four pseudonyms who logged both a final decision and an interview, 2 were acceptances, and 2 were waitlists. As far as I can tell, nobody who logged an interview logged a straight rejection. From what I can see, only one acceptance from the Notification sheet logged their pseudonym into the Where Did You End Up? sheet-- they ended up at Hunter. Three pseudonyms total logged that they were going to Hunter on that sheet. Not much data for other years (Edit: and I'm sure plenty of applicants didn't log anything). Still, seems like if you get an interview you have a good chance at not getting rejected. (I hope I get one!)

This is super dramatic, but I’ve started to think I shouldn’t have applied this year haha. I’ve only gotten one rejection so far (no other final results) but the waiting is unpleasant enough + the chances are low that I’ll get an acceptance that I am just wishing I hadn’t wasted my time applying. So pessimistic! I’m definitely still going to try and be hopeful though.

Hey! I'm not in the same boat, really, but I do work in education. I love my job so much but I hate living where I do (very far away from my friends and family). My backup plan is to move back to my home city and find a job in education (long term sub/private school/preschool/before-after school, since I don't have a certification). I'm probably going to apply for masters in education next cycle alongside a second round of MFA applications. I would really like to teach middle or high school ELA or ESL, with or without the MFA!

Probably not but I’m doing it anyway

Going back after a break that long is so intense 😭 my kids are young adolescents so they’re already wild!

Yeah, I feel really lucky to enjoy my job. It makes the whole "will I get into grad school thing" feel way less high stakes. My kids were hilarious today.

What are y’all doing while waiting for decisions? I’ve been throwing myself into my teaching job in an effort to distract myself (I mean also cause I like my job lol). My kids have been really good lately . It’ll be bittersweet to leave this job if I get in anywhere (which is nice, because it means when I don’t get in anywhere I get to keep doing something I love). This is the first job I’ve had that I don’t dread going to and feel good at. Work + my blog are keeping me busy. Still nervous, though😬.

Do you have access to the MFA Draft spreadsheet? If you do, you can filter it to see historical data. Filter for school + decision + genre and then sort by date :).

I got my first official rejection today!

My portal still says "submitted." I don't know what that means (prob nothing), just letting you know. Who knows! Maybe you got waitlisted.

It's premature to ask, but I'm wondering if anyone here who applied multiple years changed their application genre in the second (3rd, whatever) round? I'm asking because I am considering switching from fiction to nonfiction next cycle if I don't get in anywhere (which you know, statistically is likely). I can elaborate on why if needs be. Thanks

I agree with the comment I've quoted. I applied with stuff that falls into the category of genre fiction. It's like, romance-adjacent, and the prose is ~risky~ or whatever (ugh I hate describing what I write, you get the idea I hope, haha). I'm no expert, but as far as I understand it, the quality of your writing and whether it is interesting (in the sense that you have something to Say) matters way more than whether your sample fits into a mold. But like, more to the point, you don't want to go somewhere that writing like yours is merely tolerated (if it even is). If you get an MFA, you should get to go to a program that is behind you-- teachers (and classmates!) who are down to get a little weird, if getting weird is what you do. That's how I've been looking at it anyway, like I want people who actually are interested in reading love stories to read my love stories. (Edit: I know OOP is not writing genre fiction, I'm just writing from my own experience and I think my point stands). I hope I make some sense. It's the middle of the night here. I also want to say (and maybe this is the most important part of this post) that comparison is both poisonous and pointless at this point in the game. Your applications are most likely all already in, you can't change them; and worrying is only going to hurt you. Best of luck to all of us