2021 Applicants Forum

[Graceful Entropy]

Because of the myriad things going on, I'm still expecting most stuff to be delayed till mid-march, but we're getting closer!
Almost to that popcorn point--we've heard some pips and pops--and soon enough everything's gonna start cracking. We got this.

[babypoet2k]

here's what i've seen on draft re syracuse: somebody said that until last monday, the admissions committee hadn't yet met to discuss apps and had only been individually reading them. a current student said a couple days ago that as far as she knew, no decisions had been made yet. i personally don't think decisions are going to happen today or like,, THAT soon;. so yeah,

9 minutes ago, Graceful Entropy said:

some pips and pops--and soon enough everything's gonna start cracking. We got this.

what they said ^

[Yellow62]

21 minutes ago, Graceful Entropy said:

Because of the myriad things going on, I'm still expecting most stuff to be delayed till mid-march, but we're getting closer!
Almost to that popcorn point--we've heard some pips and pops--and soon enough everything's gonna start cracking. We got this.

This. I don't believe past notification data from this site is a reliable indicator for this year, and that most programs will be notifying at some point next month. 

[feralgrad]

1 hour ago, chrisclements said:

No, I have no idea. they just mentioned the two spots thing. Kinda weird. 

If you asked, they'd probably tell you. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya!

[TshirtDome]

5 hours ago, Ydrl said:

Nice! If I go I’d at least know somebody (from the internet anyway). I know real estate in NYC in general is wild and goes very fast. Any tips?

I love bushwick in brooklyn best! Cheaper apts, the J/Z/M and L trains are much more reliable, fast, and interesting to ride than other BK lines in my opinion, lots of really funny/quirky bars, cafes, and restaurants, and an interesting mixed demography. BK is where most of the cool indy pubs are located too (UDP, A Public Space, Litmus, and others), although they are mostly clustered around Gowanus/Park Slope, but those neighborhoods are kinda snooty and there are a lot of people pushing strollers. BUT there are more TREES there lol. And Prospect Park. Also great bookstores (greenlight, unnameable) with tons of little presses waiting to be discovered. Also Mcnally Jackson Books in Lower East Side is fuggin cool...

Edited February 19, 2021 by TshirtDome

[rcsteel]

On 2/18/2021 at 10:59 AM, tippybug said:

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

I'm sure they won't wait that long. That's just the very very latest they will send it out.

[JPReinhold]

First of all YESSSS @Ydrl!

Also, at the risk of being that guy, any whisper news in Cornell? I have tried to keep this to myself, but it’s my top pick. I have believed until now that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that I might get in, but I’m starting to think I have a shot. 

Dying to hear from them, Iowa, and Michigan. ?

 

[babypoet2k]

do yall also have schools that you're weirdly attached to and like it would REALLY hurt to get rejected from? im AFRAID for my HEART. i mean, they're all excellent programs but my attraction to some of them is like entirely unfounded and has very little basis in objective information lol it's vibe city and im the mayor but it sure would suck big time to be inevitably rejected from at least one if not all of them. this mercury retrograde is certainly not helping matters ;_;

Edited February 19, 2021 by babypoet2k

[NLake]

9 minutes ago, babypoet2k said:

do yall also have schools that you're weirdly attached to and like it would REALLY hurt to get rejected from? im AFRAID for my HEART. i mean, they're all excellent programs but my attraction to them is like entirely unfounded and has very little basis in objective information lol it's vibe city and im the mayor. this mercury retrograde is certainly not helping matters ;_;

Yes!

Edited February 19, 2021 by NLake
Removed some s’s because I’m out of control

[Ydrl]

9 minutes ago, babypoet2k said:

do yall also have schools that you're weirdly attached to and like it would REALLY hurt to get rejected from? im AFRAID for my HEART. i mean, they're all excellent programs but my attraction to some of them is like entirely unfounded and has very little basis in objective information lol it's vibe city and im the mayor but it sure would suck big time to be inevitably rejected from at least one if not all of them. this mercury retrograde is certainly not helping matters ;_;

Yeah, Maryland, Florida, and V Tech are all I’ll be really really freaking sad to be rejected from.

[aa2427]

13 minutes ago, babypoet2k said:

do yall also have schools that you're weirdly attached to and like it would REALLY hurt to get rejected from? im AFRAID for my HEART. i mean, they're all excellent programs but my attraction to some of them is like entirely unfounded and has very little basis in objective information lol it's vibe city and im the mayor but it sure would suck big time to be inevitably rejected from at least one if not all of them. this mercury retrograde is certainly not helping matters ;_;

I am a little too obsessed with two of my schools - It's gotten to the point where I'll imagine what it feels like to get in, what I would tell my friends and family etc. and then I have to bring myself down to reality because I know that kind of thinking would make a rejection hurt more. Conversely, does anyone have any schools that they for some reason cannot picture themselves getting into at all? For me that's Brown. It just feels....too prestigious. Plus asking for 15 pages vs 10 like the others really threw me

[cecsav]

Just received an email accepting me to UMKC! 

Edited February 19, 2021 by cecsav

[teasel]

9 hours ago, zest said:

So there are private MFA schools that expect you to graduate with $80K debt just to cover the tuition they are charging?

 

Research is a basic skill required of anyone applying to graduate school. If you have questions regarding the specifics of a program, I recommend contacting the program directly.  

[Phoebe R]

4 minutes ago, aa2427 said:

 Conversely, does anyone have any schools that they for some reason cannot picture themselves getting into at all? For me that's Brown. It just feels....too prestigious. Plus asking for 15 pages vs 10 like the others really threw me

I actually had a few places ask for 20 pages of a poetry manuscript! CCA SF wanted around 25 pages. Felt somewhat similarly about Iowa and Northwestern, though! 

[Phoebe R]

2 minutes ago, cecsav said:

Just received an email accepting me to UMKC! 

Let's go!!!!!! Congrats!

[cosmictones]

4 minutes ago, cecsav said:

Just received an email accepting me to UMKC! 

ME TOO! What genre?

NVM just saw poetry too, awesome.

Edited February 19, 2021 by cosmictones

[teasel]

34 minutes ago, JPReinhold said:

First of all YESSSS @Ydrl!

Also, at the risk of being that guy, any whisper news in Cornell? I have tried to keep this to myself, but it’s my top pick. I have believed until now that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that I might get in, but I’m starting to think I have a shot. 

Dying to hear from them, Iowa, and Michigan. ?

 

 I'm waiting on these programs as well! Very eager to hear news, good or bad, so that I can finally move forward with planning my year. I think it's the anticipation that's getting to me--not the potential for rejections, which I've prepared myself for as best I can.  

 

3 hours ago, spacedumpster said:

I used to write poetry quite a lot, and a lot of my prose tends toward the poetic (rhythm, internal rhyme, metaphor, etc.) but it has been a few years since I set out to "write a poem". Lately, I've been doing 30 minute "free writes", just putting down words as they come into (out of? sometimes it's hard to tell which way it's going) my head. That process has given me a lot of raw material that might be better suited for poetry. I dunno!

I definitely like to get around with my writing. A couple months ago I started writing a script for an animated series, which has been really enjoyable! Screen/Teleplay is an awesome format to work in. I'm really aching to get into Michener, as screenwriting would be my secondary focus.

 

I think that all fiction writers could probably benefit in taking a class or two in poetry. Hearing a sense of musicality in words, an understanding of rhythm and the attention to detail required line-by-line... seems like it would really add some sonic texture to something like a short story. I guess what I find challenging about writing fiction, specifically short stories, is that there has to be a sense of urgency and culmination that can be hard to accomplish if you don't have a great understanding of plot/narrative. I am hoping to take classes in both, but I'm really happy I've chosen poetry first and foremost as it's what I love. Of course, there's more money in fiction and screenwriting--at least I assume so? 

 

*edit for typo 

Edited February 19, 2021 by teasel

[cecsav]

Apparently, I've reached my maximum limit of reactions for today, so please know that I like all kinds of posts even though I can't officially "like" them!! ?

[JPReinhold]

20 minutes ago, aa2427 said:

I am a little too obsessed with two of my schools - It's gotten to the point where I'll imagine what it feels like to get in, what I would tell my friends and family etc. and then I have to bring myself down to reality because I know that kind of thinking would make a rejection hurt more. Conversely, does anyone have any schools that they for some reason cannot picture themselves getting into at all? For me that's Brown. It just feels....too prestigious. Plus asking for 15 pages vs 10 like the others really threw me

I also applied to Brown and assume I have no chance whatsoever of getting in. In my mind, it just seems implausible. 

[pattycat]

Congrats @cecsav and @cosmictones!

Also looks like some NYU notifications are going out--at least fiction and CNF. Good luck to all of you who applied there!

Edited February 19, 2021 by pattycat

[spacedumpster]

3 minutes ago, teasel said:

I think that all fiction writers could probably benefit in taking a class or two in poetry. Hearing a sense of musicality in words, an understanding of rhythm and the attention to detail required line-by-line... seems like it would really add some sonic texture something like a short story. I guess what I find challenging about writing fiction, specifically short stories, is that there has to be a sense of urgency and culmination that can be hard to accomplish if you don't have a great understanding of plot/narrative. I am hoping to take classes in both, but I'm really happy I've chosen poetry first and foremost as it's what I love. Of course, there's more money in fiction and screenwriting--at least I assume so? 

Couldn't agree more on the benefits of studying poetry. I tend to think about a lot of things in terms of their musicality, and having that layer of razzle-dazzle makes good fiction truly shine, in my opinion.

Marketability of the skill has definitely informed my interest in screenwriting, but let's be honest, if any one of us is pursuing an MFA with money in mind, that person is deeply misguided on several levels.

[cecsav]

@cosmictones Have you heard anything about funding? My email was suspiciously void of any mention of any kind of funding.

[cosmictones]

yeah, the letter said funding news comes in a separate letter. rude.

 

[M-Lin]

9 minutes ago, pattycat said:

Congrats @cecsav and @cosmictones!

Also looks like some NYU notifications are going out--at least fiction and CNF. Good luck to all of you who applied there!

My heart skipped a beat! Where are you seeing the news? 

[teasel]

3 minutes ago, spacedumpster said:

Marketability of the skill has definitely informed my interest in screenwriting, but let's be honest, if any one of us is pursuing an MFA with money in mind, that person is deeply misguided on several levels.

 

Very true! Even the most "marketable" genres of the MFA are subject to a lot of luck and uncertainty. I'm just living in the moment--kind of seems like the infrastructure o the US is crumbling anyway, I figure I might as well do whatever I want in terms of what time I have. It's easy for me to say that though--I don't have kids or other people that rely on me. Maybe one day I'll get more serious about having a stable career and go into teaching, but for now I'm just trying to embrace a sense of adventure