2021 Applicants Forum

[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 

[aa2427]

10 minutes ago, JPReinhold said:

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

One of my letter writers got his poetry MFA at Brown in I think the 90s? And he was very encouraging but something about it just seems impossible. Never say never though, I guess! Thankful my letter writers believed in me at least

[spacedumpster]

Just now, teasel said:

 

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 

This. Is. The. Vibe. 

[NLake]

I’m glad to see folx getting some love today! Congratulations to all of you, and good luck to those still waiting on answers. 
 

I’m wondering if anyone else in this community applied to UAF. If so, anyone know anything about their timeline? I got an email at the beginning of February that my (perhaps all) application had been sent to the department for review, but nothing since. Not surprised by that, but I feel like I see less info rolling around about this program than any of the others I applied to. Again, not surprised, as I don’t imagine many folx are keen on living Yukon adjacent. ?

[aheather]

50 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 ;_;

Oh absolutely. My UMass Amherst rejection was crushing because I just had this (unfounded) feeling that I was meant to be there. My other big one is UNLV. There are other programs I adore, programs that may be objectively better fits for me once I start looking at logistics more, but my heart has been with UMass and UNLV since the start.

[babypoet2k]

3 minutes ago, teasel said:

 

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 

this is THE. VIBE. INDEED!!! i'm young and have NOTHING to lose. not a penny to my name and i owe nobody. trying to make some foolish choices before the inevitable, dreaded "settling" into a career.

[pattycat]

7 minutes ago, M-Lin said:

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

2 CNF and 1 Fiction on gradcafe and same in Draft.

[M-Lin]

Just now, pattycat said:

2 CNF and 1 Fiction on gradcafe and same in Draft.

Yep. I saw them too. Thanks!! Guess I'll be staring at my phone all afternoon.