Applying as an Undergraduate to Creative Writing MFA

[eluveitie]

I'm completing my final year at uni, graduating in late summer (due to study abroad) with a bachelor's degree in creative writing. Do you think that my age will work against me in the applicant pool? I have some nice publishing credentials, have interned at a literary agency, and have an agent. I've heard that a lot of the major fully-funded programs have older applicants. What are your thoughts on this?

[archangel_]

I know current students in a few different programs and they all say there are recent grads in their workshops. So no, it doesn't seem to count someone out. 

Your post is super interesting, though. Just out of curiosity, what do you want from an MFA? 

You've just received a degree in creative writing, which means you've recently been saturated in the workshop environment. That's more than the usual MFA applicant can say, since most colleges don't offer undergraduate degrees in creative writing, and undergrads are usually limited to a handful of opportunities to take writing workshops along with the rest of their course load and major requirements. I think many people pursue MFAs specifically because they weren't able to dedicate their academic experience to their writing, and the MFA allows them to do that for the first time.

You say you've got publishing credentials, and you've already got an agent. For a lot of people, an agent and connections in the publishing/agency/academic world are the ultimate end goals of the MFA experience, not to mention getting published.

I'm not saying this to discourage you at all. I'm just thinking about the reasons I hear for why most people apply, and the value that the MFA offers you based on your circumstances. Do you need an MFA? There are rare writers among us who don't need one, because they've already got a lot of what people are trying to get out of an MFA, and you seem like the rare bird that has all that already. You might be better served taking the time to be outside academia for a while, working on something you can pass on to your agent. Honestly, those nice publishing credentials and that agent will likely get you further than most MFA grads will go thanks to their degree. Take this with a grain of salt, but you might save some time and money and just use those tools because they are very fine tools indeed.

[eluveitie]

22 hours ago, archangel_ said:

I know current students in a few different programs and they all say there are recent grads in their workshops. So no, it doesn't seem to count someone out.

Your post is super interesting, though. Just out of curiosity, what do you want from an MFA? 

You've just received a degree in creative writing, which means you've recently been saturated in the workshop environment. That's more than the usual MFA applicant can say, since most colleges don't offer undergraduate degrees in creative writing, and undergrads are usually limited to a handful of opportunities to take writing workshops along with the rest of their course load and major requirements. I think many people pursue MFAs specifically because they weren't able to dedicate their academic experience to their writing, and the MFA allows them to do that for the first time.

You say you've got publishing credentials, and you've already got an agent. For a lot of people, an agent and connections in the publishing/agency/academic world are the ultimate end goals of the MFA experience, not to mention getting published.

I'm not saying this to discourage you at all. I'm just thinking about the reasons I hear for why most people apply, and the value that the MFA offers you based on your circumstances. Do you need an MFA? There are rare writers among us who don't need one, because they've already got a lot of what people are trying to get out of an MFA, and you seem like the rare bird that has all that already. You might be better served taking the time to be outside academia for a while, working on something you can pass on to your agent. Honestly, those nice publishing credentials and that agent will likely get you further than most MFA grads will go thanks to their degree. Take this with a grain of salt, but you might save some time and money and just use those tools because they are very fine tools indeed.

That's a relief that there are other recent grads. From what I've heard, most students are older.

My main goal is to improve my writing, but I also want two additional years to hone my skills and the experience that a teaching assistantship brings. I should clarify: it wasn't actually a creative writing degree, but an English degree with a creative writing focus. So, although I've taken several work-shopping classes, I haven't been able to workshop my writing as much as I would have liked. Most of my courseload was devoted to English literature classes, honors courses, and the general requirements. I switched majors from Communications to English in my sophomore year, so that meant I didn't take my first creative writing class until my sophomore year.

Yeah, my goal isn't to find an agent through the MFA. I would still like to find connections though, especially since I'd like to work in the publishing industry.

Hmm. You've given some good points. I just feel like an MFA offers the structure and education that I can't receive on my own, and allows me to further experiment with my writing.

[archangel_]

I think reasons like wanting experience teaching, structure, having room to experiment are all valid reasons for an MFA, that makes sense. Also, I think a lot of folx applying for MFAs have the same academic experience and major you do, so that makes more sense now, too.

Long story short, your age shouldn't be a problem, and if you decide to apply, it won't count against you.

 

[OnBeingKenn]

I applied last year straight from my undergrad program with no publishing under my belt. I applied to 4 programs and was admitted to two of them with 50% funding to both. I wanted to go to Pratt Institute, but it was out of my price range. I deferred, just in case I want to take out 40k in loans. This year I am going the fully funded route and it seems the programs place less weight on publications and more on your ability to teach.

 I just submitted to the University of AZ (fully funded) and they specifically asked you to write about your experience in the classroom. However, they also made sure to note that it was okay if you didn't have any and they were trying to gauge what resources the incoming cohort may need in that department. It really depends on the program, but more than anything the quality of your portfolio is the key. 

 

edit: I should also have mentioned that I graduated a year early from my undergrad program and started applying when I was 20.  

Edited December 15, 2018 by OnBeingKenn