2021 Applicants Forum

[FairleyAlfy]

23 hours ago, FairleyAlfy said:

Good news and bad. I emailed Michael Hofmann about my program status, and William Logan got back with me and said Michael Hofmann just went on sabbatical, and said that he is sorry to say that I have not been admitted to the program, and he encouraged me to apply again next year when they have more funding to accept more applicants. He was super nice, and I think they are sending out all rejections on Thursday. 

Good news is that if Michael Hofmann is on sabbatical, I don't feel too down about not getting accepted since he was the reason I applied. 

Now it's down to BU and my waitlists...no anxiety at all lol

Edit to this: Michael Hofmann is coming back from Sabbatical next fall which is exciting news for newly accepted MFA applicants! I’ve heard that he’s an excellent teacher. 
 

Best of luck to you guys! The weekend is almost here! 

[JennyO]

1 hour ago, oubukibun said:

It's safe to assume Iowa is done with acceptances.  I received my rejection letter last week, and waitlist notices went out as well.  Like the Biebs likes to say, "Never say never," but statistically speaking, the 'in progress' just means they haven't updated the system yet and you'll be receiving your "thanks, but no thanks" or "watch this space" letter soon via ze postman.

Hope this has been informative and enjoyable to read.

Got it. Thank you! keeping my fingers crossed that it's a waitlist letter arriving in the mail ?

[feralgrad]

1 hour ago, Greel said:

Thanks feralgrad, funfettuccine! This is super helpful. I'm choosing between two fully-funded programs that are around the 13,000 mark in funding for 9 months. I know often there are other fellowships/funding avenues available or become available during the course of the MFA. I guess my main concern is going the 'I'd love to come here but can't without more funding" route and they say '"sorry but nope"-- would that put me in a bad position within the program if I were to eventually accept?

Ah, I see where you're coming from. I think you can hedge your statement a bit and say that you want to attend, but you're /concerned/ about finances (i.e. the viability of the stipend). You could also ask about additional funding sources outside the department; I've never tried this, but now that I'm in school I'm continually surprised at how many opportunities there are.

[NLake]

Does anyone here have one of the fully funded offers (poetry) from Montana? Or has anyone seen anyone post about it on Draft? I’m in, but I’m top of the waitlist for funding. I’m dying to know if a spot will open up. Please let me know if you’re out there and comfortable discussing your plan - I am eager to reclaim my sanity. Thank you! 

[Cristie]

Anyone else doing the zoom meeting tomorrow for UMKC?

[Ydrl]

Accepted to University of New Orleans! Funding info to come. I didn't even have the three required references, how the fuck did that happen???

[Ydrl]

Uhhhhhh, my VTech application portal says my status is "Decided"??? Anyone else see what I'm seeing???

[turtlesfordays]

25 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

Uhhhhhh, my VTech application portal says my status is "Decided"??? Anyone else see what I'm seeing???

Just checked, mine says the same. But no way to see what the decision is...emails soon I guess.

[neuroscientistinaa]

On 3/16/2021 at 6:11 PM, Jjayy said:

Anyone else accepted to, and planning on attending, Maryland? Would love to talk and get to know you prior to arriving on campus in the fall  

Yes I did! I'm going to be going into the BISI program and I'm so excited to move to Maryland and I'd love to get to know absolutely anyone who's going to be there at the same time!!

[Ydrl]

12 minutes ago, neuroscientistinaa said:

Yes I did! I'm going to be going into the BISI program and I'm so excited to move to Maryland and I'd love to get to know absolutely anyone who's going to be there at the same time!!

Hello there! You're on the creative writing thread, but it's nice to see someone else enthused about Maryland! I'm on the waitlist, but it's my dream school.

[Ydrl]

29 minutes ago, turtlesfordays said:

Just checked, mine says the same. But no way to see what the decision is...emails soon I guess.

Aaaaaaand the system's down. That's not great.

NVM it's back, still says Decided

Edited March 18, 2021 by Ydrl

[SofiTheCatGuardian]

Denied at Iowa WW today. But via email from Deb West because I emailed like six days ago asking for info. Still no snail mail, but I got my answer. Welp! ?

[iai]

15 minutes ago, SofiTheCatGuardian said:

Denied at Iowa WW today. But via email from Deb West because I emailed like six days ago asking for info. Still no snail mail, but I got my answer. Welp! ?

Did she scan a copy of the letter or just tell you the status? O:

[SofiTheCatGuardian]

Just now, iai said:

Did she scan a copy of the letter or just tell you the status? O:

Scanned a copy of the real letter and I just realized it has a date of March 5th. So, real timely update there. Smh. 

[iai]

5 minutes ago, SofiTheCatGuardian said:

Scanned a copy of the real letter and I just realized it has a date of March 5th. So, real timely update there. Smh. 

I’m thinking it might because previous years there has been handwritten notes that come with the letters that are kind of like “personal rejections” which would be difficult to do if it’s through email by admissions people rather than the faculty (???) But with covid, everything’s so delayed, is it really worth it? ?

[goodcynara]

Does anyone out there have experience with both low-res and full-res programs that you'd care to share? One of the low-res programs I am seriously considering has a strict acceptance cutoff of 5PM EDT tomorrow. I realize that no one can solve this but me. But in the name of due diligence, I'd be grateful to hear about any relevant experience. 

 

[A bit of background, should you care to read:

I'm extremely lucky and grateful to have been accepted to two low-res and two full-res programs, and am doing as much research as I can to determine which program will offer rigorous study that will help me to create the best version of a project I'm passionate about as well as significantly develop my writing in general. 

I have interviewed three people from both low-res programs to which I was accepted (Bennington, VCFA). All absolutely loved their program and said it transformed their writing and trained them to have a daily writing practice that has held even through traumatic life events.

Tomorrow, I will interview two current students and one alum from the two full-res programs to which I was accepted. Additionally, over the next couple of weeks, both of these full-res programs are holding extensive accepted student events, including sample classes. 

I am still waiting on final funding offers for three of the four programs to which I've been accepted, plus pending decisions from three more programs. All good! I wouldn't be sweating this one bit if Bennington's acceptance deadline was April 15. As it stands, the only way to keep my toe in with Bennington AND stay open to the other programs is to pay the deposit for a January start.

I'd welcome your thoughts/feedback.]

 

[Ydrl]

3 hours ago, turtlesfordays said:

Just checked, mine says the same. But no way to see what the decision is...emails soon I guess.

Wanna bet that V Tech is notifying tonight or tomorrow?

[Writelife23]

Hi! anyone get any funding info from UNCW, Brooklyn, or NYU? The wait is brutallll

[turtlesfordays]

10 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

Wanna bet that V Tech is notifying tonight or tomorrow?

I checked the results page and tragically it looks like V Tech sent out some acceptances and waitlists at the beginning of this month, so I'm not super optimistic. But that's how this thing goes! The chances are low, but my hopes, they are always high.

[iai]

Looks like Columbia Fiction is going out. 2 people on Draft received emails from Nicolas Christopher! 

Edited March 18, 2021 by iai

[fireflystasis]

11 minutes ago, iai said:

Looks like Columbia Fiction is going out. 2 people on Draft received emails from Nicolas Christopher! 

Cue me furiously refreshing my inbox for the rest of the day!

[PhD Work]

1 hour ago, goodcynara said:

Does anyone out there have experience with both low-res and full-res programs that you'd care to share? One of the low-res programs I am seriously considering has a strict acceptance cutoff of 5PM EDT tomorrow. I realize that no one can solve this but me. But in the name of due diligence, I'd be grateful to hear about any relevant experience. 

 

[A bit of background, should you care to read:

I'm extremely lucky and grateful to have been accepted to two low-res and two full-res programs, and am doing as much research as I can to determine which program will offer rigorous study that will help me to create the best version of a project I'm passionate about as well as significantly develop my writing in general. 

I have interviewed three people from both low-res programs to which I was accepted (Bennington, VCFA). All absolutely loved their program and said it transformed their writing and trained them to have a daily writing practice that has held even through traumatic life events.

Tomorrow, I will interview two current students and one alum from the two full-res programs to which I was accepted. Additionally, over the next couple of weeks, both of these full-res programs are holding extensive accepted student events, including sample classes. 

I am still waiting on final funding offers for three of the four programs to which I've been accepted, plus pending decisions from three more programs. All good! I wouldn't be sweating this one bit if Bennington's acceptance deadline was April 15. As it stands, the only way to keep my toe in with Bennington AND stay open to the other programs is to pay the deposit for a January start.

I'd welcome your thoughts/feedback.]

 

I graduated from Bennington in, gulp, 1996. I was in the second class. The program is incredibly good, rigorous, and demanding. Liam Rector was the program director at the time, and he brought phenomenal writers in to lecture. The main reason I went to Bennington, though, was for the opportunity to grow as a writer and not for the letters MFA.

[feralgrad]

2 hours ago, goodcynara said:

Does anyone out there have experience with both low-res and full-res programs that you'd care to share? One of the low-res programs I am seriously considering has a strict acceptance cutoff of 5PM EDT tomorrow. I realize that no one can solve this but me. But in the name of due diligence, I'd be grateful to hear about any relevant experience. 

 

[A bit of background, should you care to read:

I'm extremely lucky and grateful to have been accepted to two low-res and two full-res programs, and am doing as much research as I can to determine which program will offer rigorous study that will help me to create the best version of a project I'm passionate about as well as significantly develop my writing in general. 

I have interviewed three people from both low-res programs to which I was accepted (Bennington, VCFA). All absolutely loved their program and said it transformed their writing and trained them to have a daily writing practice that has held even through traumatic life events.

Tomorrow, I will interview two current students and one alum from the two full-res programs to which I was accepted. Additionally, over the next couple of weeks, both of these full-res programs are holding extensive accepted student events, including sample classes. 

I am still waiting on final funding offers for three of the four programs to which I've been accepted, plus pending decisions from three more programs. All good! I wouldn't be sweating this one bit if Bennington's acceptance deadline was April 15. As it stands, the only way to keep my toe in with Bennington AND stay open to the other programs is to pay the deposit for a January start.

I'd welcome your thoughts/feedback.]

 

That's tough. In my mind there are several factors to consider.

Low-res (to my knowledge) doesn't usually offer funding, but it's easier to hold a job outside the university. That can be valuable if you're already on your career path.

Personally, I had no strong career prospects yet. The work I do as a TA is preferable to my other options on the job market. The professionalization of the MFA (via teaching, lit mags, etc) is valuable for me. At this age (24), I can afford to take the pay cut (my stiped is about $18k right outside a major city). Not to mention I wanted a close-knit community, and that seemed (keyword seemed) easier to achieve in full-res. For all these reasons, I went with full-res.

I know that was mostly my experience, but maybe it's helpful to compare your priorities to mine?

Edited March 18, 2021 by feralgrad

[iai]

6 minutes ago, fireflystasis said:

Cue me furiously refreshing my inbox for the rest of the day!

Me too. ?

[Ydrl]

49 minutes ago, turtlesfordays said:

I checked the results page and tragically it looks like V Tech sent out some acceptances and waitlists at the beginning of this month, so I'm not super optimistic. But that's how this thing goes! The chances are low, but my hopes, they are always high.

Thing is I don't see any poetry waitlists. Also this year has been really freaking weird. Maryland's waitlists coming after rejections, New Hampshire's acceptance of me weeks after other acceptances and waitlists, UNO accepting me without all my materials. I don't know what's going to happen.