2021 Applicants Forum

[Starbuck420]

11 hours ago, fishfish24 said:

Honestly, I had the hardest time finding info on Brown, so I could be in the wrong....

because no one gets in lol

[babypoet2k]

33 minutes ago, Starbuck420 said:

because no one gets in lol

oof this HURT

[Graceful Entropy]

Following another lit mag form rejection letter, I'm thinking that I'm gonna take a version of @JPReinhold's advice and stock up on a bunch of sparkling Welches, except for my rejections. 

Because even tho it will suck, at least I'll have clarification and can get fancy juice drunk. Small victories!

[dreamx]

Anybody else hear back from University of Oregon? I saw that someone got in yesterday but I thought they weren't supposed to notify until March lol. My application still says pending...

 

(Also congrats to whoever was accepted!!)

Edited February 1, 2021 by dreamx

[mrvisser]

Someone on Draft got accepted to UC Davis.

[pattycat]

Someone in Draft also just got into Western Michigan for fiction.

[JPReinhold]

1 hour ago, Graceful Entropy said:

Following another lit mag form rejection letter, I'm thinking that I'm gonna take a version of @JPReinhold's advice and stock up on a bunch of sparkling Welches, except for my rejections. 

Because even tho it will suck, at least I'll have clarification and can get fancy juice drunk. Small victories!

YAAS. Celebrate. Elevate the experience - drink it from a champagne flute. 

[tippybug]

I don't know why I keep refreshing this page... Knowing that someone else heard back from a program I've applied to isn't going to do anything but make me nervous and yet I can't stop.

I don't think anyone has heard back from anywhere I've applied yet, though. I want to know ASAP but also I am NOT ready for rejections ? I'm wishing I applied to at least one "safety" school to see if I get in it, but no (though I know no program is truly "safe")... I applied to IWW, UVA, Cornell, Brown, Boston, Vanderbilt, NYU, and Columbia only... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Edited February 1, 2021 by tippybug

[M-Lin]

1 hour ago, tippybug said:

I applied to IWW, UVA, Cornell, Brown, Boston, Vanderbilt, NYU, and Columbia only... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I'm doing the same thing! Fellow NYU and Columbia applicant (in fiction) here. I can't move away from New York so applied to all New York schools. Unfortunately almost none of them has good funding. And kind of regretting applying to Columbia at all since it doesn't seem like it's affordable even if I get funding, according to how stingy they've been.

Anyway, just waiting it out in the snow storm. Hey, at least it's finally February! 

[Ydrl]

2 minutes ago, M-Lin said:

Anyway, just waiting it out in the snow storm. Hey, at least it's finally February! 

The snow in my area is ridiculous, I have over two feet already and it’s not stopping yet. But I’m glad it’s February too.

[tippybug]

Just now, Ydrl said:

The snow in my area is ridiculous, I have over two feet already and it’s not stopping yet. But I’m glad it’s February too.

Really snowy here too!! Absolutely beautiful, but I'm about to have to walk to work in it ?

February could wait for me... I'm trying to think of fun plans to make for if/when rejections start rolling in, ahahaha. Otherwise, the disappointment will be too much to take. Thinking about maybe taking a trip to a legal state and visiting a dispensary on my first rejection since I've never been to one. Anyone have any plans for what they're gonna do to ease disappointment?

[mrvisser]

February is usually my least favorite month, as it's the last gasp of cold before spring and lacks anything to really look forward to. This year—assuming some decisions are handed out—it will be much better than usual or further affirm its place as the worst.

[feralgrad]

February is tough (whether you're applying to schools or not, honestly). I say: don't underestimate the power of distraction! I played a lot of Stardew Valley this time last year.

[maddykrob]

found this thread when looking through stuff for PhD apps - I'm currently an MFA student at Miami U in Ohio - here for questions! from what I know from faculty, the majority of acceptances have gone out, but waitlists grow until mid-March, so don't lose hope if you haven't heard back! 

[largeheartedboy]

3 hours ago, M-Lin said:

I'm doing the same thing! Fellow NYU and Columbia applicant (in fiction) here. I can't move away from New York so applied to all New York schools. Unfortunately almost none of them has good funding. And kind of regretting applying to Columbia at all since it doesn't seem like it's affordable even if I get funding, according to how stingy they've been.

I'm also an applicant to NYU & Columbia (and other NYC schools The New School, Hunter, CCNY, and The Writers' Foundry at St. Joseph's University). Good luck!

[NLake]

2 hours ago, maddykrob said:

found this thread when looking through stuff for PhD apps - I'm currently an MFA student at Miami U in Ohio - here for questions! from what I know from faculty, the majority of acceptances have gone out, but waitlists grow until mid-March, so don't lose hope if you haven't heard back! 

Hey! I just got an acceptance from Miami and I’m interested in hearing more perspectives on the program from current students. I have a friend who did the low-res and really loved/cherished her cohort and overall experience. Can you speak to the spirit of the program (residential), and any positives/negatives? 
 

Thanks for posting, and good luck with your apps!

Edited February 2, 2021 by NLake

[maddykrob]

1 minute ago, NLake said:

Hey! I just got an acceptance from Miami and I’m interested in hearing more perspectives on the program from current students. I have a friend who did the low-res and really loved/cherished her cohort and overall experience. Can you speak to the spirit of the program (residential), and any positives/negatives? 
 

Thanks for posting, and luck with your apps!

congrats! the funding here is livable (avg. rent is 600 for a 1bd, 1.5k stipend a month) -  the res program is very close knit, especially considering we all live in the oxford area. i would call it supportive, engaging, and innovative - we have workshop groups outside of the classroom, and everyone is very conscious of the work each of us are doing. i started in the program pre-pandemic, and it was very communal, but even now, we make time for Zoom meetings and try to keep the same kind of cohort, even digitally. positives: incredibly supportive, cool space if you like being in a rural environment, and very small cohorts. love the friends and colleagues i've made here. i have a faculty member who is really aligned with my interests, so i feel well equipped for my thesis. negatives: very small, not diverse town. faculty is very much aligned with their own work, so not a lot of room to deviate from their interests. (lots of experimental & abstract poetics) - one semester teaching 2 courses, which was stressful. very scarce course list, mostly tailored towards rhet/comp students. overall, i am very happy with my time here considering the circumstances. 

I was accepted to 7 out of 8 MFA programs I applied to, and I ended up going here. it was mostly for cohort and faculty as opposed to the structure of the program. i also grew up in ohio, so the environment was something i am used to. i felt well-equipped for teaching, albeit the stress of balancing your own work with the courses you're instructing. this is a lot to say i am happy with my experience, i only wish the circumstances were different! 

[NLake]

34 minutes ago, maddykrob said:

congrats! the funding here is livable (avg. rent is 600 for a 1bd, 1.5k stipend a month) -  the res program is very close knit, especially considering we all live in the oxford area. i would call it supportive, engaging, and innovative - we have workshop groups outside of the classroom, and everyone is very conscious of the work each of us are doing. i started in the program pre-pandemic, and it was very communal, but even now, we make time for Zoom meetings and try to keep the same kind of cohort, even digitally. positives: incredibly supportive, cool space if you like being in a rural environment, and very small cohorts. love the friends and colleagues i've made here. i have a faculty member who is really aligned with my interests, so i feel well equipped for my thesis. negatives: very small, not diverse town. faculty is very much aligned with their own work, so not a lot of room to deviate from their interests. (lots of experimental & abstract poetics) - one semester teaching 2 courses, which was stressful. very scarce course list, mostly tailored towards rhet/comp students. overall, i am very happy with my time here considering the circumstances. 

I was accepted to 7 out of 8 MFA programs I applied to, and I ended up going here. it was mostly for cohort and faculty as opposed to the structure of the program. i also grew up in ohio, so the environment was something i am used to. i felt well-equipped for teaching, albeit the stress of balancing your own work with the courses you're instructing. this is a lot to say i am happy with my experience, i only wish the circumstances were different! 

Thanks for the details! It sounds like a great experience aside from the pandemic-related drawbacks. As someone with a lot of interest in comp and rhet, it seems like a solid choice for me. 
 

edit: also, 7/8 - that’s amazing!

Edited February 2, 2021 by NLake

[mrvisser]

@maddykrobI didn't apply to Miami, but thanks for sharing your experience! Just makes me all the more excited at the prospect of attending an MFA anywhere.

[M-Lin]

3 hours ago, largeheartedboy said:

I'm also an applicant to NYU & Columbia (and other NYC schools The New School, Hunter, CCNY, and The Writers' Foundry at St. Joseph's University). Good luck!

Thank you!!! You too! Maybe we'll meet each other at school

Other than NYU & Columbia, I applied to Hunter, The New School, Brooklyn College and Sarah Lawrence. I branched out to Boston U as well since I really dig the program there and they said their previous students have lived outside of Boston, as far as NYC and Maine, and commuted. It's the only o fully-funded program I applied to besides Hunter, so it'll be a dream if I get in. Though of course it is so small and competitive. Actually as I'm writing about it, I feel like all my chances are pretty low. But it's okay, first time! 

Hope we hear news soon! 

[jujubee]

If anyone's waiting on UNLV, Doug Unger said results will be out mid-March. For FSU, Mark Winegardner said end of Feb.

Good luck to us all! 

[aheather]

3 hours ago, jujubee said:

If anyone's waiting on UNLV, Doug Unger said results will be out mid-March. For FSU, Mark Winegardner said end of Feb.

Good luck to us all! 

Could you say some more about UNLV? Where are you getting this information, and is it for poetry, fiction, or both? 

Sincerely,

A Very Nervous UNLV Applicant (Who Doesn't Want to Wait Until March)

[jujubee]

47 minutes ago, aheather said:

Could you say some more about UNLV? Where are you getting this information, and is it for poetry, fiction, or both? 

Sincerely,

A Very Nervous UNLV Applicant (Who Doesn't Want to Wait Until March)

Hi! I had to contact the the department to clarify something about my transcript and part of the director's reply was that they will let us know of the results "around mid-March."

For FSU, I got the info from one of their Q&A sessions.

Hope that helps!

Edited to say I applied to the extremely competitive PhD program in UNLV where they only get two students lol. But I think the timeline for their MFA is the same.

Edited February 2, 2021 by jujubee

[aheather]

Just now, jujubee said:

Hi! I had to contact the the department to clarify something about my transcript and part of the director's reply was that they will let us know of the results "around mid-March."

For FSU, I got the info from one of their Q&A sessions.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the quick reply, and damn, that's right from the horse's mouth. I guess mid-March is the answer!

logically, I know mid-March isn't actually all that far away, but in my heart, it feels like it won't be here for a million years.

[Graceful Entropy]

Well friends, I did not get the Welches ready quick enough. But in the back of my fridge there has been a single beer, leftover from a six pack given to me four years ago, on the day I quit my good job in insurance with not much more of a plan other than to focus on my life and writing. So upon receiving a FULLY-FUNDED OFFER last night I cracked that bish open and drained the final vestige of that life I once knew.
And it was very, very good.