poeteer

I think Modern Apizza is the best, actually!

also, congrats on your acceptance, whatever genre. I am just seriously losing it, in my own little world. It's hard to accept the first implicit rejection without an acceptance to keep you grounded. My first school and I'm already in Worst Case Scenario mode.

It would be really great if the newest Missouri acceptee from the survey identified the genre in which he or she was accepted.... are you out there?

Dammit I wish I had applied to Denver now. I decided not at the last minute, but I think I might have fit in there. Oh well.

the first CD I picked out for myself at the store was Ace of Base's The Sign.

Yeah, I'd cry over "boots," too. Firstly because I love a good pair of boots like hell. Secondly because it's not really about the boots -- it's about working hard to make the little money you have, then seeing it disappear without guarantee of any return on it. Consider that it's about $160 to take the GRE and about the same to take the Subject Test -- that's two pairs of good boots, or one pair of Frye boots! For me, that's half my rent for a month. And that's only GRE registration -- what about sending the scores to extra schools, paying application fees (some of them $80+), sending transcripts? Rejections after that are tough to handle, especially if you haven't been accepted anywhere first. It makes me nauseous to think how much money I spent on this endeavor. It feels almost as if I gambled it away in Vegas. This is why it drives me crazy that schools require the Lit test. Because it's such a dumb test, they barely seem to consider it, and I could have bought groceries for a month with that money... not cool.

Texas Tech has accepted some people. I'm trying not to freak out because it's in fiction and poetry and fiction faculty obviously meet separately. Plus I only received my "your application is complete" email a little over a week ago. Still, it's hard not to be worried. Mizzou has a great program.

someone was accepted to Mizzou in fiction today...according to the results survey. I'm poetry but I'm getting sad about it already. "

That does make sense, true. I think the publications (and awards and whatnot) do matter, of course, but I also hope they are more forgiving of a lower level of publications if the work submitted 1) reads as publishable in high tier magazines (i.e., if it seems as good or better as work typically published there), or 2) has been honored in other ways. In other words, I hope that they are looking at potential to succeed as well as previously earned success. It wouldn't do them well to reject the next Anne Carson in favor of Joe P. (who writes good work that's been well received by journals but not necessarily genius or likely to last), who happened to have a better publication list at the time of application... I'll also note that I think it's 95% sample up until the finalist round. In the finalist round, I think the little details start to matter more.

It's still mostly the creative sample, I think. I'd say it's 95% that and 5% everything else put together, within reason. That is, if you have an 800 on the GRE and a 2.0 UGPA, and no explanation for it, there might be a problem. If you have like a 1250 GRE and a 3.5 UGPA, I think they're moving on and not thinking much more of it (unless their funding situation requires some candidates to get grad fellowships with higher minimums). Look at how many people on these boards get into top top English programs with good-but-not astronomical stats/resumes/whatever. They get in because their scholarly writing sample and SOP killed it and matched with faculty interests. Same with the MFA -- your ms. gets you in, period, and aesthetic preferences do play a role in how your ms. is received. I really do think it's the same with a creative writing Ph.D -- the sample is the only thing that gets you to the finalist round. Then they might take everything else into account -- probably the SOP comes first, then CV/awards/publications and recommendations, and the critical sample to make sure you're competent enough for the English program of which the crwr program is a part -- and try to decide between waitlists and acceptances. But it's all so subjective and subject to unpredictable factors such as departmental politics and sometimes connections (via recommenders or otherwise).

Well, what do you mean by "badly"? The English MA is also treated badly. I'd say the crwr MFA is treated better than the English MA, in some ways, because it's still relatively terminal. I don't know if I agree with the notion that crwr MFA or PhD should qualify anyone for much else (in academia) than teaching in creative writing programs at either the grad or undergrad level, or as creative writing faculty in an English program that features an MA or concentration in creative writing. The PhD is definitely gain steam, but I still think the MFA can be enough: if you only have an MFA, but yo're winning all sorts of awards and grants and accolades, and your book is with a major press or won some major prize, you're going to get a job over the Ph.D with less presence in the community...

Still, the "Creative Writing PhD" is not wildly respected. I mean, there aren't many programs out there yet, and even fewer in desirable locales -- though the applications are rising fast -- and the degree holds the same value as an MFA in many respects. It only really qualifies you to teach in a creative writing program, since the dissertation for most of these programs is a creative one. U-Madison has a hybrid option: you can concentrate in creative writing, which means you can take workshops and work with creative writing professors, but your dissertation is a scholarly one. I hope it works out this year, desipoet, but if it doesn't, maybe you can apply there (as well as Milwaukee). I thought about applying for that program option, but then I realized that I truly do want to devote at least half of my dissertation period to creative work.

I don't think the GRE Lit matters very much. Several programs that once required it have since dropped the requirement. General GRE may affect funding opportunities, but probably not much else. Though it's best to meet grad school minimums where they exist, so they don't have to petition for you. It's really all about the creative sample, I think! This waiting period is god awful.

congrats TripWillis!

Yes. In the past month or two, I have experienced several disappointments and frustrations, on top of my general worry about my applications. Most days I can handle it, but sometimes I feel nauseous and panicky about my fate and then I realize I am breathing shallowly and have to take some deep breaths to calm myself down. I don't know what a nervous breakdown would look like for me, having never had one... I don't really want to find out. LOL.

No: "I was asking about a fellowship and was told that I was on the 'second list,' but that they wouldn't be able to send out second-list notifications until April. I don't believe they have sent out any notifications yet." This person only found out through an inquiry. But that's how it is likely to happen once they do -- accepted students decline, notified waitlisters decline, "second list" waitlisters get called. If you search for the MD thread from last year called "Maryland Acceptance," you'll see mention of this list, and a post by someone who got a call on 4/18 but had already accepted elsewhere. The director also told a waistlisted candidate to let her know if she'd be declining so she could notify another person behind her that he or she was on the waitlist.

I think MD might have a waiting list for the waitlist. So if the original acceptee in a sub-field declines, and then the officially waitlisted candidates in a sub-field decline, they'll accept the first person in line on the "second list."

Yeah, I think it's fine to ask if they'll cover transportation to VA instead of home, especially if it ends up saving them money. It's also probably good for them (UNC, the school that accepted you already) to know you have other offers, because they want you, and if they think you're seriously considering another school they might even work harder to court you.

Yes, I wondered if I should have sent one anyway, even though they don't require it. But the only legitimate paper I have on file is over 20 pages, so it seemed excessive.

Tanya, you didn't submit a critical sample to FSU either, right? I checked the admissions page like fifty times, and each time came to the conclusion that they do not want one. And that someone would have already contacted me if they did. But it does seem weird that they don't want one.

Whoa, 75th percentile for both sections? 75th in quant is 720 on the old test!!! That's really not fair to the people in humanities and other non-quantitative fields. A 75th in verbal is something like 550. So, basically, the people in quant fields can qualify for the fellowships with an adequate verbal score, but people in non-quant fields have to get quite a few (and difficult) quant questions correct to qualify... edit: or am I reading this incorrectly, and they mean that the average *total* score must be in the 75th? That helps, but it still kind of sucks.

I wonder how much they scrutinize the critical writing sample. Maybe it varies by school. Florida State didn't even ask for one, which I found strange.

What genre, Tabitha? Based on previous years, I don't think we'll hear for awhile, from anywhere. By "awhile" I mean "three weeks," but that feels like an eternity of suffering right now.

Oh, well then nevermind. LOL. I thought they both did invites for some reason.

I think they probably do have to be "unanimously" accepted, in that it's unlikely someone will get in if a member of the committee strongly feels he or she should not be accepted. But I gather that they and the POI all agreed to accept hedgerows before the group campus visit and just decided to let her (him?) know beforehand. Perhaps there are other accepted candidates who do not post here. I suspect the other unaccepted invitees are competing with one or two other candidates in their area of interest, and that their fates will be decided in a post-visit meeting. But this is, of course, just a guess! (also, big congrats, hedgerows! I love your avatar--one of my favorite strips of C&H).