PLEASE HELP! UMass (Amherst), UW-Madison, UVA

[Mina82]

My dear friends, I'm in desperate need of your help. I have been accepted to UMass, Amherst, UW-Madison, and UVA. It is crunch time and I have to make a decision and would like your input and insight. All three programs were my top choices and regardless of how I toss and turn it, I can't seem to make up my mind. 

Funding

• UMass $19,175 for three years
• UW-Madison $22,000 for two years
• UVA $20,000 for two years with a possibility of third-year funding $10,000

Teaching

• UMass 3 courses per year in composition with a possibility of teaching creative writing
• UW-Madison 2 courses per year (first year creative writing and second year compositon)
• UVA 2 courses per year (no teaching in the first year)

 

I know that UVA and UW-Madison are well known and regarded schools but I couldn't find much about UMass' MFA reputation. If one believes the P&W rankings from 2012, UMass Amherst has been ranked number 13. I first heard about UMass' program through Tom Kealey's book "The Creative Writing MFA Handbook" (he did his MFA there) and thought after researching the program, location, and faculty that it would be a good fit for me.

What I like about UMass is that they give you 3 years. What I don't like so much is teaching 3 courses per year, which strikes me as a little too much. UVA gives its students time to concentrate on their writing in their first year and in their second year students only teach creative writing. I love UVA's program and faculty but, for me, it is not enough teaching (I'm playing with the idea of getting my PhD in creative writing after my MFA).

UW-Madison seems like the golden medium: teaching creative writing in the first year and composition in the second.

 

Now you might say, "go with the golden medium" but UMass' three year program sounds very luring (minus the teaching load).

Does any of you know how good or well known UMass' program is in the MFA world? I'm getting super antsy and time is running out. 

I appreciate ANY input/insight.

 

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Edited March 28, 2018 by Mina82

[Sallyj]

Hi! Well, first off, congratulations! You've got AMAZING options there. All three actually sound incredible, so I would go with what your gut said. That said, have you spoken to current students? Professors? 

Amherst + Charlottesville are both IDYLLIC places to spend 2 or 3 years (always helps with the writing!). I have a friend who just graduated from UMass and LOVED it--couldn't speak highly enough about the program, faculty, location, etc. I don't know much about the program itself, but their alumni list is quite impressive, and from what I've heard, they're extremely highly regarded, so I wouldn't put too much weight on prestige or P&W rankings. Also, people seem happy there, which is important. 

However, like you said, three classes is a lot, and is worth looking further into. Do you know how many students per course? This matters. Are you designing your own syllabus? 

Anyway, $20,000 for THREE years is a really, really unique and beautiful opportunity/gift. All a writer could ever hope for is more (funded!) time. So, I see why you're in a bind. But, like I said, can't go wrong. Did you visit all three? Which school "felt" right? 

[Mina82]

Sallyj thank you so much for your input. Yes, I have spoken to current students and they seem to be very happy with the program and location. What worries me also about UMass is the student to faculty ration. UMass accepts 10 poets and 10 fiction writers (I'm a fiction writer) and at any given time in the semester, there are 30 fiction and 30 poets. I like the idea of a small program like at UVA or UW-Madison. Although the teaching load seems a lot there are only 15 students in a class (I guess that's good in a semester where I would only teach one class). What seems good is that I wouldn't have to create my own syllabus. The Writing Program gives out fixed syllabi and the duty of the TA is pretty much guiding the students through the class and grading papers. I've seen UVA and let me tell you, it is gorgeous! I can see myself writing on late summer nights under the shade of a tree, taking in the humid air of southern summers...sorry, I'm like all of us writers, a daydreamer. I wasn't able to see Madison, WI but heard lots of good things about the city and university. I will be visiting Amherst hopefully in April but that's still in the air. Just by going off my gut, I would say all 3 of them: I want to clone myself and attend all 3!!! That's the problem I'm running into: I feel good about all three. 

I have this feeling that regardless of which one I end up choosing, I'm going to tell myself, "Ah, stupid girl, you should have chosen X or Y."

[Sallyj]

Ah, well just to throw in another thing to consider re: UVA-- while I know you want to teach, 2 courses is actually enough to give you a sense of whether or not teaching is the right path for you. Additionally, having a UVA teaching credit on your resume is quite impressive, and it might be nice to have that first year open to just focus on your writing. 

I know Wisconsin is 6 students, UMass is 10 students..where does UVA fall? 4 students? 

[Mina82]

You have a great point there. Having taught at UVA would open up some doors I would assume. UVA admits 5 fiction writers and 5 poets. I really do like that the program is so small and that I could concentrate on my writing the first year. Gosh, this is sooo difficult. But you did help me a great deal, since I didn't consider that teaching at UVA could have some benefits in the future. Thank you so much!

[rooguild]

Madison is amazing, as is Charlottesville!

Editing to say: Amherst/Northampton is amazing also-- a great, inspiring, artistic place to live. But just to warn you, it's also surprisingly expensive to live in Massachusetts. The MFA program is very well-regarded, I think its reputation is gaining traction with every year. But I also think it has a slightly better reputation for its poetry program (Ocean Vuong teaches there now, Wendy Xu went there) than fiction. Just my two cents!

Edited March 29, 2018 by rooguild

[manandcamel]

@Mina82 congrats!! It's such a lovely feeling to be accepted and recognized for your talent at multiple programs. You have such a good problem! Here's my two cents as someone who's teaching now for the first time.... I'm a first year at a 2-year MFA program that teaches 1/1 rhet. comp, then 1 rhet. comp / 1 creative writing.

Teaching rhet. comp or introductory, 100 level required writing is pretty exhausting, especially in your first year. Last semester, I taught and took a pedagogy course at the same time, so I learned as I went. Rhet. comp. isn't really my thing, so I had a curriculum to learn and stuff to brush up on, and preselected readings to read and then teach. This semester has gone by much more quickly, because I have a better handle on things, and I've done all the prep work. But I would have killed for a free first year to devote to figuring out my own writing. Here's why:

It is easy to get sucked into teaching, and so many grad students have somewhat forgotten why they came. It's easy to pour a lot of time into teaching (even at a 1/1) because it's immediate gratification. You see your students improve and recognize the worth of the stuff you're teaching. You get to care about them (a lot) and if you're not careful, most of your time is spent grading and lesson planning and not focusing on your OWN writing. 

If I were you, I would choose the program that gives you the freedom of time. IMO that means UVA, ESPECIALLY because you teach creative writing alone. If you're like me and rhet. comp. isn't your passion, you'll have to consider the time and energy you'll be putting into lesson planning and teaching basic genres of writing (for me, that's the research essay, a cultural analysis, argumentation, etc.). At UVA you'll have a full free year to nail down why you're getting an MFA, how ambitious you want to be, and what your voice is and what you want it to do. Then you get to teach creative writing, which is your strength. I'm assuming you already know readings you'd love to incorporate and what makes fiction writing successful, so you've already got that background knowledge. (Another thing to consider is the passion of your students. Everybody at my program loves their one semester of teaching their genre, because their students want to be there. All of the intro-level rhet. comp. sections are full of students looking to glide past required credits, so their energy levels and their efforts are completely different beasts.)

I also agree with @Sallyj that 2 courses is enough of a foundation for teaching. I'm only 1.5 semesters into teaching and would kind of dread teaching all the rhet. comp. that UMass wrings out of you. 

TL;DR go with UVA because they are giving you the gift of time. Good luck making your decision!

Edited March 30, 2018 by manandcamel

[Perszona]

UVA. Best school overall of the three, best location as well. And you have no teaching the first year, and you maybe can get a third year paid. No brainer, as I see it :). But of course, it is always so easy to be smart from the distance. 

[Hmmmmmmmmm]

Wisconsin is by far the most prestigious and has the best faculty. 

No one warns you that Amherst is ridiculously expensive and the program is large and competitive with uninspiring fiction faculty. Also a notoriously hard program on POC if that's a concern.

UVA, meh. Maybe the school has a good reputation but I don't know how far that extends to the program.

 

[rooguild]

On 4/5/2018 at 5:05 PM, Hmmmmmmmmm said:

Wisconsin is by far the most prestigious and has the best faculty. 

No one warns you that Amherst is ridiculously expensive and the program is large and competitive with uninspiring fiction faculty. Also a notoriously hard program on POC if that's a concern.

UVA, meh. Maybe the school has a good reputation but I don't know how far that extends to the program.

 

I have to agree-- UVA sounds like a great program, but Wisconsin is certainly the best by reputation. (It was my top choice and I didn't get in this year, so I'm envious that you have the option! :))

I also saw some posts on Draft recently about John Casey. That seems like something worth looking into. Have you made your decision yet, OP?