2021 Applicants Forum

[mrvisser]

3 minutes ago, aheather said:

Thank you!!! 

This was MFA application round 2, grad school application round 4, grad school dreams and trying round 5. It's been a LOT of years of wanting this. I have no idea what to do with myself now. I genuinely am at a loss. I didn't think I'd get in anywhere, let alone have the luxury of choice. I'm especially thrown by the fact that both programs have specializations, deciding between them feels like two entirely different options.

Those are two very different places, indeed. I've never been to Ames, but I've heard it's one of the best small college towns in the country. I've been to Vegas many times, and I can't say it's a place I'd want to live, but the weather is obviously going to be much better than Iowa's. Vegas is just kind of lacking in culture from everything I've seen, but I'm sure the university has a culture of its own, and you'll be with writers and students. Also, you're so close to California and Arizona and even lots of beautiful places in Nevada.

[fishfish24]

55 minutes ago, mrvisser said:

Fuuuuck.

My sentiments exactly 

[orangeslice]

Update re Purdue: they said they'll be making application decisions through April 15th...

[eternalwhitenights]

56 minutes ago, aheather said:

Hello! I got an acceptance for poetry via portal and then phone call for Iowa State University on Friday (portal)/ Saturday night (phone call). I was taking the weekend to be offline and heal from what I thought was just a suite of rejections, so the good news was SHOCKING. I was so overwhelmed, and then got a phone call from UNLV on Sunday night to throw me for a whole second loop. 

 

I couldn't be happier with these two programs, I write exclusively about place and space-- I spent a LOT of my undergrad abroad (I did my classes via email correspondence and lived in France for a year, went to Berlin multiple times for my thesis, and then wrapped up college and moved to Malaysia for a year), and then I literally started a journal of ecopoetics. So! Having one international program and one environmentally focused program is bananas. I feel like these two acceptances, more than any acceptances anywhere else, shows that what I'm trying to do in my work is legible. I am a genuine fit for these places, and the fact that they see that shows that my work is doing what I've been working to make it do. 

 

So much love for this forum, I wish I could make everyone as deliriously happy as I've been this weekend. 

(and now, I have the most terrifying, overwhelming decision of my life)

WOW!!!! I am so proud of you, love!!! What an amazing, gorgeous accomplishment. Your uni experience sounds fascinating, and I so would read about your experiences and thoughts on life!! Congrats on your success, and I will pray for you that you make the best decision. You've got it. ❤️

[aheather]

14 minutes ago, Salaam O said:

This is AMAZING. You should be endlessly proud of yourself! I can imagine how difficult of a position you're in right now, though. I bet talking to current students in both programs can help you figure it out :)?

Thank you! I am, I'm genuinely really, really proud of myself. Also an unfamiliar feeling!

Institutional validation should not mean everything, but whew, it meant a lot to me this weekend.

7 minutes ago, mrvisser said:

Those are two very different places, indeed. I've never been to Ames, but I've heard it's one of the best small college towns in the country. I've been to Vegas many times, and I can't say it's a place I'd want to live, but the weather is obviously going to be much better than Iowa's. Vegas is just kind of lacking in culture from everything I've seen, but I'm sure the university has a culture of its own, and you'll be with writers and students. Also, you're so close to California and Arizona and even lots of beautiful places in Nevada.

It's funny because I think I'd rather live in Vegas than Ames? I'm Jewish and gay, and worry that a small town in a conservative state may not be the best place for me. And I loooove the easy access to every gorgeous national park ever. Ames scares me a bit, I've lived in a more rural place (my small town in Malaysia) and I know I am not more productive when I'm bored, I'm just bored. BUT the possibility of interdisciplinary work from ISU is super exciting!

And, on top of that, the programs themselves (ISU has an environmental bent, UNLV has an international one) are so different that I don't know how to weigh it! Which do I care about more, travel or nature?! AHHHH!

[lunch]

1 minute ago, aheather said:

Thank you! I am, I'm genuinely really, really proud of myself. Also an unfamiliar feeling!

Institutional validation should not mean everything, but whew, it meant a lot to me this weekend.

It's funny because I think I'd rather live in Vegas than Ames? I'm Jewish and gay, and worry that a small town in a conservative state may not be the best place for me. And I loooove the easy access to every gorgeous national park ever. Ames scares me a bit, I've lived in a more rural place (my small town in Malaysia) and I know I am not more productive when I'm bored, I'm just bored. BUT the possibility of interdisciplinary work from ISU is super exciting!

And, on top of that, the programs themselves (ISU has an environmental bent, UNLV has an international one) are so different that I don't know how to weigh it! Which do I care about more, travel or nature?! AHHHH!

I didn't attend UNLV, but I'm a gay man who grew up in Las Vegas and currently lives here, so if you have any questions about the city, I'd be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. 

[aheather]

3 minutes ago, eternalwhitenights said:

WOW!!!! I am so proud of you, love!!! What an amazing, gorgeous accomplishment. Your uni experience sounds fascinating, and I so would read about your experiences and thoughts on life!! Congrats on your success, and I will pray for you that you make the best decision. You've got it. ❤️

Thank you!!!!!

My undergrad was a very, very, very strange place. We didn't have grades, and course requirements were super loose, so I was taking senior-level lit classes as a bright eyed and bushy tailed 17 year old. I tried dropping out after my second year because I wanted to move to Paris and be an au pair (I had spent the winter term living at Shakespeare and Co in Paris, writing about the tradition of American writers going to Paris, and fell so in love with the place and the people that I decided I needed to leave college immediately). The classes via correspondence were the compromise my professors and I created so I could stay enrolled, go to France, and learn in a more organic-to-me way than a traditional study abroad.

ALLLLL my writing derives from those kinds of experiences, getting to live somewhere new or come at the traditional way of doing things a bit sideways. I was so lucky to be able to do these kinds of things in college, and I think I love ISU because I imagine having similar freedoms, but UNLV seems a little stricter on The Process, and I just haven't had that structure since high school.

[Bug128]

4 minutes ago, aheather said:

Thank you! I am, I'm genuinely really, really proud of myself. Also an unfamiliar feeling!

Institutional validation should not mean everything, but whew, it meant a lot to me this weekend.

It's funny because I think I'd rather live in Vegas than Ames? I'm Jewish and gay, and worry that a small town in a conservative state may not be the best place for me. And I loooove the easy access to every gorgeous national park ever. Ames scares me a bit, I've lived in a more rural place (my small town in Malaysia) and I know I am not more productive when I'm bored, I'm just bored. BUT the possibility of interdisciplinary work from ISU is super exciting!

And, on top of that, the programs themselves (ISU has an environmental bent, UNLV has an international one) are so different that I don't know how to weigh it! Which do I care about more, travel or nature?! AHHHH!

Congrats! Just to put my two cents in here: I think you should choose Las Vegas. Of course both are wonderful options. Iowa could be very isolating—where would you go if you wanted to have a weekend away somewhere—whereas being in Nevada will offer great weather, lots of opportunity to travel, etc. Also, I would have a distinct hunch that Las Vegas might have a lot more to offer than meets the eye. 

[mrvisser]

14 minutes ago, aheather said:

Thank you! I am, I'm genuinely really, really proud of myself. Also an unfamiliar feeling!

Institutional validation should not mean everything, but whew, it meant a lot to me this weekend.

It's funny because I think I'd rather live in Vegas than Ames? I'm Jewish and gay, and worry that a small town in a conservative state may not be the best place for me. And I loooove the easy access to every gorgeous national park ever. Ames scares me a bit, I've lived in a more rural place (my small town in Malaysia) and I know I am not more productive when I'm bored, I'm just bored. BUT the possibility of interdisciplinary work from ISU is super exciting!

And, on top of that, the programs themselves (ISU has an environmental bent, UNLV has an international one) are so different that I don't know how to weigh it! Which do I care about more, travel or nature?! AHHHH!

Well, if you go to Vegas, you get to actually live among the best nature has to offer. But as a man of the West, I'm incredibly biased toward my side of the Rockies.

[panglosian]

10 hours ago, stemchimp said:

Haven't heard back from my top choices and happened upon this forum so I guess I can share in some of this anxiety. I only applied to 5 programs and have gotten financial packets from 2 of them (my safety choices).

Accepted: Purdue (Chemistry), Emory (Biochemistry)

Waiting: Berkley (Biophysics),  UCSF (Chemistry), UCLA (BMSB)

I've already gone through interviews for the waiting schools but its been over 5 weeks now since then and I'm pretty sure I didn't bomb them (no awkward silence or tension during the interview). I just really want any news, even rejection or low priority waitlist, just put me out of this self-doubt purgatory 

I really want a change in scenery especially the west coast, so here's to hoping for word from the California programs!

Hi there, I think you're in the wrong forum! This is for Creative Writing MFA applicants. Congratulations on the acceptances though!

[BloodstainedRoses]

42 minutes ago, panglosian said:

Hi there, I think you're in the wrong forum! This is for Creative Writing MFA applicants. Congratulations on the acceptances though!

Hi panglosian,

I saw you applied to UMass in your signature--mind if I ask which campus/when you heard back? I applied to two and they're not answering my inquiries. It's been 11 weeks since UMass Amherst's deadline

[panglosian]

Just now, BloodstainedRoses said:

Hi panglosian,

I saw you applied to UMass in your signature--mind if I ask which campus/when you heard back? I applied to two and they're not answering my inquiries. It's been 11 weeks since UMass Amherst's deadline

Hi BloodstainedRoses!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I applied to UMass Amherst and all acceptance, waitlists, and rejections have already gone out for that particular school. I would give them a call, but prepare yourself for what they may say

Best of luck on the rest of your apps ❤️ 

[kraftyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

Well, after feeling demoralized by my rejections from Cornell and Syracuse, and by radio silence from Iowa, I got a very nice email acceptance, including a graduate teaching assistantship, for poetry at VCU. I'm thrilled. Their funding's not as good as the other places I applied, but their faculty and journal and location made it one of my top choices. I'm wishing you all tremendous luck as the rest of this cycle plays out. 

[orangeslice]

Rejected from Wyoming via email. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

[panglosian]

1 minute ago, kraftyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy said:

Well, after feeling demoralized by my rejections from Cornell and Syracuse, and by radio silence from Iowa, I got a very nice email acceptance, including a graduate teaching assistantship, for poetry at VCU. I'm thrilled. Their funding's not as good as the other places I applied, but their faculty and journal and location made it one of my top choices. I'm wishing you all tremendous luck as the rest of this cycle plays out. 

Congratulations!! I also applied to VCU (fiction) so here's hoping we may see each other on campus someday if it works out for me too

Look at all the rockstars in this forum!! Such talent all around

[BloodstainedRoses]

5 minutes ago, panglosian said:

Hi BloodstainedRoses!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I applied to UMass Amherst and all acceptance, waitlists, and rejections have already gone out for that particular school. I would give them a call, but prepare yourself for what they may say

Best of luck on the rest of your apps ❤️ 

Thanks for the update!! That's actually kinda bizarre--it's been like pulling teeth to get in touch with any school, but I thought they would've updated my account by now (still says under review, joy). But thank you, much appreciated, and the same to you! By the wya, congrats on the Temple acceptance!  

[M-Lin]

2 hours ago, ilikepoetry said:

okay so what do u guys think -- my impressions of poetry mfa programs I applied to as famous movie directors

Brown - Claire Denis
Hunter - Mike Leigh
NYU - Martin Scorsese
Iowa - David Fincher
WashU - Abbas Kiarostami
Michigan - Barry Jenkins
Brooklyn - Abel Ferrara
UCSD - Jacques Rivettte
UCI - Clint Eastwood
UCR - Kathryn Bigelow
UNLV - Terrence Malick

Scorsese spoke at my commencement. You're right on about NYU lol 

[lunch]

8 minutes ago, kraftyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy said:

Well, after feeling demoralized by my rejections from Cornell and Syracuse, and by radio silence from Iowa, I got a very nice email acceptance, including a graduate teaching assistantship, for poetry at VCU. I'm thrilled. Their funding's not as good as the other places I applied, but their faculty and journal and location made it one of my top choices. I'm wishing you all tremendous luck as the rest of this cycle plays out. 

Congrats on the acceptance! It's funny to learn about programs only after I've already applied and am waiting to receive decisions, but I just looked up the program and it sounds fantastic.

I don't know about anyone else, but especially with the possibility that the fall 2021 semester will be virtual/hybrid, three year programs are looking more and more appealing.

[NLake]

11 minutes ago, orangeslice said:

Rejected from Wyoming via email. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Tuesday may be a flop, but there's always Wednesday Thursday Friday! Best wishes for some good news soon, orangslice!

[Ydrl]

Yo, we’re about to hit 100 pages. The virus must be making us talk more.

[Greel]

45 minutes ago, kraftyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy said:

Well, after feeling demoralized by my rejections from Cornell and Syracuse, and by radio silence from Iowa, I got a very nice email acceptance, including a graduate teaching assistantship, for poetry at VCU. I'm thrilled. Their funding's not as good as the other places I applied, but their faculty and journal and location made it one of my top choices. I'm wishing you all tremendous luck as the rest of this cycle plays out. 

Hi! Congratulations! I also just got an offer w/ GTA for cnf at VCU. I'm still considering options/waitlists but I'm so thrilled to hear from them!! An exciting day! Glad you got some good news after a difficult few weeks. 

[goodcynara]

On 2/27/2021 at 7:17 AM, nottheamazonalexa said:

As someone whose request to join draft hasn’t been approved yet just want to extra thank the people on here posting about what they’ve seen!!
 

Also has anyone seen/heard anything on Houston, Brown, NYU, UVA, or Columbia? Poetry specific maybe? It seems like UW and Iowa have started calling for poetry per this thread. Also waiting on Michener and NWP poetry so hoping those haven’t gone out yet!! 

My request to join Draft has also been pending for over a week. If anyone has insights about this, would love to hear. I may message one of the moderators.

[mrhamlet]

1 hour ago, orangeslice said:

Rejected from Wyoming via email. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Same here, feel you. This was my top choice, not a fab Tuesday. But I hope your week only gets better from here!

[Ydrl]

1 minute ago, goodcynara said:

My request to join Draft has also been pending for over a week. If anyone has insights about this, would love to hear. I may message one of the moderators.

From what I’ve heard it might take awhile, there’s a lot of people joining this round of applications.

[goodcynara]

4 hours ago, aheather said:

Hello! I got an acceptance for poetry via portal and then phone call for Iowa State University on Friday (portal)/ Saturday night (phone call). I was taking the weekend to be offline and heal from what I thought was just a suite of rejections, so the good news was SHOCKING. I was so overwhelmed, and then got a phone call from UNLV on Sunday night to throw me for a whole second loop. 

 

I couldn't be happier with these two programs, I write exclusively about place and space-- I spent a LOT of my undergrad abroad (I did my classes via email correspondence and lived in France for a year, went to Berlin multiple times for my thesis, and then wrapped up college and moved to Malaysia for a year), and then I literally started a journal of ecopoetics. So! Having one international program and one environmentally focused program is bananas. I feel like these two acceptances, more than any acceptances anywhere else, shows that what I'm trying to do in my work is legible. I am a genuine fit for these places, and the fact that they see that shows that my work is doing what I've been working to make it do. 

 

So much love for this forum, I wish I could make everyone as deliriously happy as I've been this weekend. 

(and now, I have the most terrifying, overwhelming decision of my life)

Knowing that your work is resonating with those who are part of the conversation you are joining is profound. Thank you for giving me another reason (besides a completely gorgeous day) to celebrate!