2020 Applicants Forum

[feralgrad]

  On 1/14/2020 at 9:06 PM, polkadotpoet said:

I'm new to grad cafe (joined today). Where do you guys see these acceptances? Also, just from browsing forums, I've noticed that there are FB groups, too. What ones would you all recommend?

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When you scroll up to the top of the page, you'll see a tab that says "Results" (between "Activity" and "Leaderboards.")

The main group is MFA Draft, but it's notorious for increasing anxiety (and sometimes competitiveness), so I've steered clear of it. It's a great place to gather information about specific programs, though, if you're willing to put up with it.

Edited January 14, 2020 by feralgrad

[Ydrl]

@polkadotpoet Go to the drop down menu (the three horizontal lines on the top right of the page) and go to results (or the results search) you can use the search bar that just above the results to search for “poetry”, or “creative writing” (caution, it’s a lot of results under creative writing) And I’m not on Facebook (plus I hear Draft is a lot to deal with), so I’ll defer that question to anyone else.

[Ydrl]

@feralgrad we’ve basically been here for the past hour and a half answering questions XD. Is it time to stop? Or is there even a point to stopping?

[MFALongshot]

Hey everyone I just found this website. Cool to meet you all. I applied to 5 mfa programs: Ole miss, Syracuse, Iowa Writer's Workshop, University of Maryland and Michener Center. My top program is Syracuse. I am a fiction applicant. Good luck to everyone.

[Ydrl]

  On 1/14/2020 at 9:37 PM, MFALongshot said:

Hey everyone I just found this website. Cool to meet you all. I applied to 5 mfa programs: Ole miss, Syracuse, Iowa Writer's Workshop, University of Maryland and Michener Center. My top program is Syracuse. I am a fiction applicant. Good luck to everyone.

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Nice, another Syracuse applicant. Good luck to you too!

[litty]

To all the folks that applied to Syracuse, why 'Cuse? 

I know George Saunders is a draw, but it sounds like he's leaving. What else is attractive? Inquiring minds would like to know! 

[feralgrad]

  On 1/14/2020 at 9:32 PM, Ydrl said:

@feralgrad we’ve basically been here for the past hour and a half answering questions XD. Is it time to stop? Or is there even a point to stopping?

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This is the other way I manage my application anxiety (mostly when I'm at work)

[Ydrl]

  On 1/15/2020 at 1:42 PM, feralgrad said:

This is the other way I manage my application anxiety (mostly when I'm at work)

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This is how I manage my application anxiety when I’ve run out of things to do. I mostly check gradcafe when I’m bored, and I’m always bored so I’m always here.

[rbr542]

People who applied to Syracuse must have take the GRE, right? I did not apply to any place that required GRE scores. It felt like a ridiculous requirement for a creative writing degree and turned me off any program that needed it. ~This, from someone with a prior degree in engineering.~

[Ydrl]

  On 1/15/2020 at 1:27 PM, litty said:

To all the folks that applied to Syracuse, why 'Cuse? 

I know George Saunders is a draw, but it sounds like he's leaving. What else is attractive? Inquiring minds would like to know! 

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Well I’m a poet, so as cool as Saunders is I’m not going there for him. I’m going for Christopher Kennedy, for the opportunity to visit NYC publishers in my third year on a school sponsored trip, for the three year program, for the opportunity to read literature beyond the workshop. And definitely not for the heckin’ snow. I hate snow, but I like Syracuse’s program enough to deal with it.

[Ydrl]

  On 1/15/2020 at 2:14 PM, rbr542 said:

People who applied to Syracuse must have take the GRE, right? I did not apply to any place that required GRE scores. It felt like a ridiculous requirement for a creative writing degree and turned me off any program that needed it. ~This, from someone with a prior degree in engineering.~

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Nope, this year they didn’t require it, that’s why I applied cause I didn’t want to take the GRE for it to tell me I’m mediocre. I only applied to schools that didn’t require the GRE. So look at my list. As for UNLV, I emailed someone who then told me that they didn’t require it. So if that’s wrong then that’s gonna suck later.

Edited January 15, 2020 by Ydrl

[rbr542]

  On 1/15/2020 at 2:16 PM, Ydrl said:

Nope, this year they didn’t require it, that’s why I applied cause I didn’t want to take the GRE for it to tell me I’m mediocre.

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That's really great. I didn't even bother to check this year lol. Michigan is my dream school and they never needed it, everywhere else, I applied just cause ?

[newapplicant]

Did anyone apply to the Ole Miss poetry program?  Seems like everyone so far has only said fiction.  It's my top pick and pretty much the only one I think I have a shot at that also allows you to work part time, feeling pretty nervous

[anarchisttiger]

  On 1/15/2020 at 2:14 PM, rbr542 said:

People who applied to Syracuse must have take the GRE, right? I did not apply to any place that required GRE scores. It felt like a ridiculous requirement for a creative writing degree and turned me off any program that needed it. ~This, from someone with a prior degree in engineering.~

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I also avoided any program requiring the GRE, which is why I didn’t apply to Michener center. If I was wrong about them requiring the GRE I’m going to be very, very sad. 

[rbr542]

  On 1/15/2020 at 2:54 PM, anarchisttiger said:

I also avoided any program requiring the GRE, which is why I didn’t apply to Michener center. If I was wrong about them requiring the GRE I’m going to be very, very sad. 

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Sorry @anarchisttiger they got rid of the GRE this year. Only the New Writer's project at UT Austin requires it. I only checked because I really like warm weather. 

[anarchisttiger]

  On 1/15/2020 at 2:56 PM, rbr542 said:

Sorry @anarchisttiger they got rid of the GRE this year. Only the New Writer's project at UT Austin requires it. I only checked because I really like warm weather. 

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OH MY GOD

[feralgrad]

  On 1/15/2020 at 2:14 PM, rbr542 said:

It felt like a ridiculous requirement for a creative writing degree and turned me off any program that needed it.

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I agree, and it seems that many programs have nixed their GRE requirement this year alone (I noticed a few that had gotten rid of it this app cycle). Aside from being irrelevant, the test is expensive. In my mind, it delivers the message that "if you can't afford to take this $160 test, potentially more than once, then we don't want you."

[litty]

  On 1/15/2020 at 2:15 PM, Ydrl said:

Well I’m a poet, so as cool as Saunders is I’m not going there for him. I’m going for Christopher Kennedy, for the opportunity to visit NYC publishers in my third year on a school sponsored trip, for the three year program, for the opportunity to read literature beyond the workshop. And definitely not for the heckin’ snow. I hate snow, but I like Syracuse’s program enough to deal with it.

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Thanks for this, great response. I didn't know many of these things about their program. 

Also, appears to be A LOT of confusion about which programs require the GRE. 

I thought Syracuse and Michigan both wanted it. I did hear MIchener dropped that requirement. 

It might be helpful if folks who applied to programs this cycle that required the GRE could post that school name, and any info they may have regarding whether they will be dropping that requirement next cycle. 

[Ydrl]

I feel like the reason I didn’t apply to Michener was partially because of Texas. As nice as it sounds I’m not enthused about the location. I didn’t bother looking anywhere in the south for reasons.

[rbr542]

A new acceptance posted on the results page. UIUC. ?

[Ydrl]

I thought there was a second one of those, you gave me a heart attack. ?

[anarchisttiger]

  On 1/15/2020 at 4:22 PM, Ydrl said:

I feel like the reason I didn’t apply to Michener was partially because of Texas. As nice as it sounds I’m not enthused about the location. I didn’t bother looking anywhere in the south for reasons.

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Why not? Just wondering because I’m a southerner. We get a bad rap but there’s a lot of progressive folks down here and especially in cities and college towns. 

[buckles]

Regarding admissions decisions, it seems hard to tell. As someone that works in HR, I suspect they give good news before bad news and that the time frames given on their websites don't really hold any weight. Near the end of the time frame given schools know that some applicants are going to call or email asking about their status. I'm not the most patient person so I get that waiting sucks. 

[Ydrl]

  On 1/15/2020 at 5:27 PM, anarchisttiger said:

Why not? Just wondering because I’m a southerner. We get a bad rap but there’s a lot of progressive folks down here and especially in cities and college towns. 

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I know that now, but I was worried as a queer POC that I would have a hard time.

[feralgrad]

  On 1/15/2020 at 5:27 PM, anarchisttiger said:

Why not? Just wondering because I’m a southerner. We get a bad rap but there’s a lot of progressive folks down here and especially in cities and college towns. 

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As a (white) visibly queer person who's lived in Austin and a large East Coast city, I think class and lifestyle are more important than location. In my limited experience, safety often comes down to two things: your job, and car ownership. Working in an office (instead of service, manual labor, etc.) and not taking public transport allows you to avoid some of the most common difficult/dangerous scenarios. Taking the subway has exposed me to a lot of BS, despite my city's supposedly progressive status.

Which is to say, I think anyone can live safely in the South, but only if you have a bit of money.

Edited January 15, 2020 by feralgrad