2021 Applicants Forum

[tippybug]

I wish I could find writing samples online that got people into the MFA programs I applied to... I'm so nosey!!!!!

[Boomer not Ok]

Nice list. I've been "looking" backwards, just finished A Separate Peace and The Talented Mr. Ripley, as they explore young "friendships", something I'm hoping to work on for my thesis. Both hold up quite well. Then, I took a deep dive into Paradise Lost, which I'd never read, but now I'm on my second run. Once you get past the 17th century "thees" and "thous," every other sentence could be a book title. (My favorite: "Which way the nearest coast of darkness lies...")

[aa2427]

  On 2/17/2021 at 9:54 PM, tippybug said:

I wish I could find writing samples online that got people into the MFA programs I applied to... I'm so nosey!!!!!

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I feel the same way, I'm both nosy and love reading other people's work. If anyone knows where to find any, hook it up

[Downtozero]

  On 2/17/2021 at 10:11 PM, aa2427 said:

I feel the same way, I'm both nosy and love reading other people's work. If anyone knows where to find any, hook it up

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Idk if you're in Draft 21 but there was an early post that was a call for stories from "draft veterans" and some of the ones posted were successful MFA writing samples from years past. You could find it probably by searching "veterans".

Outside of Draft, I dunno, other than looking at publishing CVs/websites of current students (at the programs that list such things) and extrapolating from the timeline.

This story got someone into multiple programs including Michener, if I recall correctly from their post on the MFA Years blog.

Edited February 17, 2021 by Downtozero
ETA story link

[aa2427]

  On 2/17/2021 at 11:31 PM, Downtozero said:

Idk if you're in Draft 21 but there was an early post that was a call for stories from "draft veterans" and some of the ones posted were successful MFA writing samples from years past. You could find it probably by searching "veterans".

Outside of Draft, I dunno, other than looking at publishing CVs/websites of current students (at the programs that list such things) and extrapolating from the timeline.

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I am in Draft, looking now. Thank you so much!

[anamcara]

I've been lurking for months, but the pressure of waiting and the lovely conversation about books has drawn me in! I'm reading Elizabeth Kolbert's new book Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future. It's fantastic so far -- slightly less anxiety inducing than The Sixth Extinction, but only slightly. Next up is Mrs. Dalloway.

I haven't yet heard back from anywhere I applied to, and I went for all big boys (Michener, Iowa, Syracuse, and Boston). Can't do it without full funding; hopefully that doesn't mean I can't do it at all. Solidarity to everyone who's waiting!

[mrvisser]

  On 2/18/2021 at 12:31 AM, anamcara said:

I've been lurking for months, but the pressure of waiting and the lovely conversation about books has drawn me in! I'm reading Elizabeth Kolbert's new book Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future. It's fantastic so far -- slightly less anxiety inducing than The Sixth Extinction, but only slightly. Next up is Mrs. Dalloway.

I haven't yet heard back from anywhere I applied to, and I went for all big boys (Michener, Iowa, Syracuse, and Boston). Can't do it without full funding; hopefully that doesn't mean I can't do it at all. Solidarity to everyone who's waiting!

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Welcome! Good list of schools you've got there. I haven't read Mrs. Dalloway, but To the Lighthouse is one of my favorite novels. Woolf is easily one of best writers I've read.

[anamcara]

  On 2/18/2021 at 12:36 AM, mrvisser said:

Welcome! Good list of schools you've got there. I haven't read Mrs. Dalloway, but To the Lighthouse is one of my favorite novels. Woolf is easily one of best writers I've read.

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Thank you, and yes to Woolf! I'd never read her before this year (terrible). Recently someone shared an earlier short story Woolf wrote about Mrs. Dalloway bustling around London before a bomb goes off (maybe?!) with me, and it was one of those stories that was like a completely new window onto what writing can be. Shook me up! Excited to spend more time with her -- will check out To the Lighthouse!

[shanbanan]

  On 2/17/2021 at 10:10 PM, Boomer not Ok said:

Nice list. I've been "looking" backwards, just finished A Separate Peace and The Talented Mr. Ripley, as they explore young "friendships", something I'm hoping to work on for my thesis. Both hold up quite well. Then, I took a deep dive into Paradise Lost, which I'd never read, but now I'm on my second run. Once you get past the 17th century "thees" and "thous," every other sentence could be a book title. (My favorite: "Which way the nearest coast of darkness lies...")

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  On 2/18/2021 at 12:36 AM, mrvisser said:

Welcome! Good list of schools you've got there. I haven't read Mrs. Dalloway, but To the Lighthouse is one of my favorite novels. Woolf is easily one of best writers I've read.

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Posts like these (and all the rest, I just can't quote them all!) make me feel so seen. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the greatest silver lining of this anxious-nail-biting-waiting-to-find-out phase has been, hands down, *virtually* meeting all you lovely people, hearing about what you're reading, and writing. Wow. This was the loveliest things I've read on the internet in ages. 

Yes. YES. To all of the above. Dalloway. Woolf. Paradise Lost. I'm just giggling to myself over here thinking about all the potential book titles. 

As for what I'm reading. For fiction, I'm in the last stretch of Crudo by Olivia Laing and trying to make it last as long as possible. It took me a while to get into the rhythm of it. Once I did, it blew my mind. For poetry, The War Makes Everyone Lonely by Graham Barnhart and Vantage by Taneum Bambrick. For nonfiction, the new Sylvia Plath biography by Heather Clark, Red Comet. OH My GOSH. It is so good. Alright, that's all for me for now. Can't wait to continue learning about what you're all reading, etc.

[Sorensen]

Long lurker first time poster! I’ve been running off nervous energy for weeks now. I’m also a first time applicant and I went for six schools, NAU, University of Washington, Syracuse, UCSD, University of Oregon, and Vanderbilt. (Two Rejections already and another I just know is gonna be rejected. One professor didn’t send their letter to Vanderbilt :Shrug:).

To throw in my own opinion about some authors I included in my SOP were Iain Banks and Erin Morgenstern, I went a bit more modern with little classical influence so we’ll see how that works for me.

I love the super supportive community here with everyone! What’s really brought me out of lurking though was a confusion I have on an email that I got from NAU, I’m confused if I’m getting to stage two or something with them? They say they’re recommending me to the Graduate College, but not that I’ve been officially offered admission yet.

[mrvisser]

  On 2/18/2021 at 4:18 AM, Sorensen said:

Long lurker first time poster! I’ve been running off nervous energy for weeks now. I’m also a first time applicant and I went for six schools, NAU, University of Washington, Syracuse, UCSD, University of Oregon, and Vanderbilt. (Two Rejections already and another I just know is gonna be rejected. One professor didn’t send their letter to Vanderbilt :Shrug:).

To throw in my own opinion about some authors I included in my SOP were Iain Banks and Erin Morgenstern, I went a bit more modern with little classical influence so we’ll see how that works for me.

I love the super supportive community here with everyone! What’s really brought me out of lurking though was a confusion I have on an email that I got from NAU, I’m confused if I’m getting to stage two or something with them? They say they’re recommending me to the Graduate College, but not that I’ve been officially offered admission yet.

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I believe the way it works at almost all schools is that the department chooses who they want, and then they just send it to the graduate department for approval, which is basically just a formality. So you should be good! Congrats! Flagstaff is great.

You're one of the few people I've seen applying to Washington besides myself. I hope they send out acceptances soon.

[babypoet2k]

  On 2/17/2021 at 9:14 PM, aa2427 said:

I got my rejection from Northwestern this morning as well, and I feel you. I left the diversity question blank (it felt wrong and unfair to people with actual diverse backgrounds to try to dig anything up as a white girl in my 20s) and my SOP just felt...wrong for some reason. Hurts, but I can see why it happened. First rejection does make me very nervous though, eep. Did anyone else get thrown off by the form email that felt personal but then realized it was sent to a lot of us?

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the diversity question felt valid to me (as a brown, non binary lesbian) BUT same about the sop. i knew before i sent it in that this one AINT it. i was also VERY thrown off by the email. at first i thought that a personal email would mean that i actually have a shot elsewhere, but seeing that it's a form email, my hopes took a hit. either way, on we go waiting for other decisions!

[Ydrl]

SJCNY is reviewing applications right now according to the graduate admissions director.

[Sorensen]

  On 2/18/2021 at 5:15 AM, mrvisser said:

I believe the way it works at almost all schools is that the department chooses who they want, and then they just send it to the graduate department for approval, which is basically just a formality. So you should be good! Congrats! Flagstaff is great.

You're one of the few people I've seen applying to Washington besides myself. I hope they send out acceptances soon.

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Thanks for the reassurance there! I’m really hoping the funding on NAU pulls through.

And yeah lurking through the thread I couldn’t see many Washington applications and I’m hoping for an update soon too!

[tippybug]

Anyone wanna tell me what the chances are of ANY of these schools getting results out this month? I applied to UVA, Cornell, Brown, NYU, Columbia, Boston University, and IWW... I was thinking mid-Feb would be more exciting but I'm beginning to realize that I don't think anywhere I applied will get back any sooner than mid-March.

EDIT: I'm losing my mind now that IWW is saying mid-March BTW

Edited February 18, 2021 by tippybug

[spacedumpster]

For my fellow fiction applicants, I present a slightly baseless theory that might give you some hope if you have not heard back from programs which have already accepted folks in poetry/CNF.

Fiction programs generally have much larger applicant pools, and this cycle was almost certainly exceptionally large. Perhaps acceptance decisions for fiction are just taking longer due to an influx of applicants? 

[rcsteel]

  On 2/18/2021 at 4:11 PM, tippybug said:

Anyone wanna tell me what the chances are of ANY of these schools getting results out this month? I applied to UVA, Cornell, Brown, NYU, Columbia, Boston University, and IWW... I was thinking mid-Feb would be more exciting but I'm beginning to realize that I don't think anywhere I applied will get back any sooner than mid-March.

EDIT: I'm losing my mind now that IWW is saying mid-March BTW

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UVA’s website only says they will announce by April 1st. Not many details besides that.

[tippybug]

  On 2/18/2021 at 4:44 PM, rcsteel said:

UVA’s website only says they will announce by April 1st. Not many details besides that.

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Certainly I will die if I have to wait that long!!

[hot_toddy]

Just made an account to say if you applied to University of Tennessee Knoxville, I just got an e-mail about being waitlisted. I assume they already sent out the acceptances. 

[anamcara]

  On 2/18/2021 at 4:11 PM, tippybug said:

EDIT: I'm losing my mind now that IWW is saying mid-March BTW

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Same!! I'm betting Boston will be on the later side, too, given its later deadline... I don't know how many times I've tried to scry the response dates from 2018 and 2019 and 2020 to try and predict when I'll hear, but it's too many.

[chrisclements]

I was waitlisted at Tennessee! I can't fucking believe it. Didn't think i was going to get anything this year, so this feels like a big win 

[feralgrad]

  On 2/17/2021 at 9:14 PM, aa2427 said:

I left the diversity question blank (it felt wrong and unfair to people with actual diverse backgrounds to try to dig anything up as a white girl in my 20s)

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While I totally respect this, I don't think adcoms will see it this way. If the question is mandatory, leaving it blank will make it look like either a) you don't follow instructions or b) you thought the question was stupid. In my experience, they expect everyone to answer, even cishet white dudes.

I think it's great to acknowledge you privilege in diversity statements! Additionally, I've heard people recommend discussing why you think a diverse program is important. And although it may not ring true to you, your experience as a woman is still relevant to the adcom.

Personally, I think diversity statements do very little to promote diversity or make marginalized students feel welcome. With that in mind, you deserve to give yourself the best shot possible on your application.

[aa2427]

  On 2/18/2021 at 6:00 PM, feralgrad said:

While I totally respect this, I don't think adcoms will see it this way. If the question is mandatory, leaving it blank will make it look like either a) you don't follow instructions or b) you thought the question was stupid. In my experience, they expect everyone to answer, even cishet white dudes.

 

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I totally see your point, in retrospect haha. It was optional and truthfully I didn't notice it until I was ready to submit the rest of my materials and then I had a moment where I had panic visions of Lena Dunham and thought "I can't be her...I can't submit some tone deaf statement completely disregarding my privilege." Thankfully I put more care into other applications, but I really appreciate this advice. If it comes to a second round of applications for me (which is very possible...I went in very unprepared) I am 100% going to at least try to say something. You live and you learn!

Edited February 18, 2021 by aa2427
typos

[panglosian]

  On 2/18/2021 at 6:11 PM, aa2427 said:

I totally see your point, in retrospect haha. It was optional and truthfully I didn't notice it until I was ready to submit the rest of my materials and then I had a moment where I had panic visions of Lena Dunham and thought "I can't be her...I can't submit some tone deaf statement completely disregarding my privilege." Thankfully I put more care into other applications, but I really appreciate this advice. If it comes to a second round of applications for me (which is very possible...I went in very unprepared) I am 100% going to at least try to say something. You live and you learn!

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I did kind of the same thing with the privacy waiver for the recommendations, luckily I only made the mistake on my application for UVA but it probably looked so shady when I didn't waive my right. One of my recommenders corrected me, she said it won't make or break but it would certainly always look better if you're forthcoming. I feel like such an idiot lol 

[aa2427]

  On 2/18/2021 at 6:26 PM, panglosian said:

I did kind of the same thing with the privacy waiver for the recommendations, luckily I only made the mistake on my application for UVA but it probably looked so shady when I didn't waive my right. One of my recommenders corrected me, she said it won't make or break but it would certainly always look better if you're forthcoming. I feel like such an idiot lol 

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I feel like so many of us applying for the first time are realizing little mistakes while we're waiting. If we get in, thank god they took mercy on us. If not, that's something we learned for next time I suppose. Also I am originally from New Jersey too!