2021 Applicants Forum

[feralgrad]

2 hours ago, Embrittled-by-Wait said:

Also, to any applicants, especially to those accepted somewhere, how polished were your writing samples? Were there things you'd look back on and cut? And, how long was the gestation period for your stories? I know, for me, I decided to apply pretty late, and I didn't have any writing I was proud of on-hand, so my drafting time was slightly truncated.

I had two stories in my portfolio last year: one I had worked on for 4-6 months, and one I started just a couple weeks before the deadline (I would not recommend this, obviously). I was pretty happy with the first one, and I had nothing else in my portfolio that I felt anywhere near as proud of. I decided to take a gamble. I think it helped that I modeled my last-minute story off a particular author (and one who isn't well-known in literary circles).

So to sum up: not terribly polished. My program is pretty "progressive" aesthetically, so I think the adcom looks for unique ideas.

Edited March 3, 2021 by feralgrad

[cosmictones]

Just got waitlisted at Idaho for poetry! and so the waiting continues...

[teasel]

Yesterday around 9pm I had got a call from a "no caller id" number. I let it go to VM, but of course no message was left, and now I can't stop thinking about it AND DEAR GOD I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life!!!!  

As far as portfolios go, I guess my advice (for what it's worth) would be to REVISE REVISE REVISE--give the portfolio to a teacher or mentor you trust, ideally someone who reads contemporary publications and maybe even has an MFA themselves.  Someone who understands what you're trying to accomplish in your writing (not someone who just wants you to write like them).  I think it's really tempting to try and get feedback from friends and family, but unless they read literary magazines it might not be super helpful and just make you second guess your own instinct.

I know the goal is to be "teachable," but you still want the writing to be GOOD. I mean, it seems kind of like a contradiction but there is a level of polish that should be noticeable. In other words, there should be intention in your writing--you thought about this line break, this particular word choice, this particular tense, etc. etc. I think one thing that really helped me this past year was reading widely and habitually. And not just the classics, but things that are CURRENT. 

Anyway, congrats to all those who heard back from places today! Wishing everyone the best ❤️ 

Edited March 3, 2021 by teasel

[mrvisser]

Got a call from a private number. It ended up being a friend, and he has no idea why his number came up as private.

[eternalwhitenights]

13 minutes ago, cosmictones said:

Just got waitlisted at Idaho for poetry! and so the waiting continues...

Congrats!!!! So happy for you!!!! You da bomb dot com.  (Read: it never gets old saying that, like ever.)

7 minutes ago, mrvisser said:

Got a call from a private number. It ended up being a friend, and he has no idea why his number came up as private.

I would have probably crapped my pants. Good job on holding the bowels.

 

11 minutes ago, teasel said:

Yesterday around 9pm I had got a call from a "no caller id" number. I let it go to VM, but of course no message was left, and now I can't stop thinking about it AND DEAR GOD I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life!!!!  

As far as portfolios go, I guess my advice (for what it's worth) would be to REVISE REVISE REVISE--give the portfolio to a teacher or mentor you trust, ideally someone who reads contemporary publications and maybe even has an MFA themselves.  Someone who understands what you're trying to accomplish in your writing (not someone who just wants you to write like them).  I think it's really tempting to try and get feedback from friends and family, but unless they read literary magazines it might not be super helpful and just make you second guess your own instinct.

I know the goal is to be "teachable," but you still want the writing to be GOOD. I mean, it seems kind of like a contradiction but there is a level of polish that should be noticeable. In other words, there should be intention in your writing--you thought about this line break, this particular word choice, this particular tense, etc. etc. I think one thing that really helped me this past year was reading widely and habitually. And not just the classics, but things that are CURRENT. 

Anyway, congrats to all those who heard back from places today! Wishing everyone the best ❤️ 

Awesome advice, and again, I probably would have crapped myself in the interim as well. I hope you find out whether it was an acceptance call pronto!

It's interesting--I haven't been able to afford a phone for the past couple of months, so my poor father has the delight of being the phone number I used on ND's application as a contact. He's been so supportive and I know he will let me know if he hears anything, and it's probably a blessing in disguise so I don't carry around my phone like it's an appendage rather than an accessory, but not having first access to a potential call is also like I CAN'T CONTROL EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS AHHHHHH.

So, yeah, probs good I don't have a phone right now. ✌️? 

[eternalwhitenights]

1 hour ago, mrvisser said:

Fuck my fucking fuck. First UW fiction acceptance is posted in the results. 

Breathe. ❤️ You're going to be okay. Also, hugs, and here's the brown paper bag for dry heaving. #solidarity

Is it a program that automatically has full funding or is it one that just has partial funding? Just making sure it's not the troll or anything so you're not hyperventilating unnecessarily. ?

Edited March 3, 2021 by eternalwhitenights

[susweekly]

Has anyone who’s interviewed for MFA programs share their insights? I know there’s some totally obvious question I’m going to be unprepared for. (For me I always get stuck on, “what questions did you have for us?”)

[Botanica]

13 minutes ago, susweekly said:

Has anyone who’s interviewed for MFA programs share their insights? I know there’s some totally obvious question I’m going to be unprepared for. (For me I always get stuck on, “what questions did you have for us?”)

I would suggest for the age old, "What questions do you have for us?", ask them what areas of opportunities they see within your portfolio/experiences/etc. Also, do some digging into what your program has to offer outside of the coursework and ask them about how to get involved with those things or to expand on what their literary community has to offer (this could be events, activism, teaching opps, publishing, etc).

[mrvisser]

34 minutes ago, eternalwhitenights said:

Breathe. ❤️ You're going to be okay. Also, hugs, and here's the brown paper bag for dry heaving. #solidarity

Is it a program that automatically has full funding or is it one that just has partial funding? Just making sure it's not the troll or anything so you're not hyperventilating unnecessarily. ?

Not everybody gets full funding, and I'm not sure how many people get it. 

[feralgrad]

1 hour ago, teasel said:

give the portfolio to a teacher or mentor you trust, ideally someone who reads contemporary publications and maybe even has an MFA themselves.  Someone who understands what you're trying to accomplish in your writing (not someone who just wants you to write like them).  I think it's really tempting to try and get feedback from friends and family, but unless they read literary magazines it might not be super helpful and just make you second guess your own instinct.

This is great advice, although I think it's more important for poetry. That is, many people can recognize good prose without keeping up with the literary scene. Poetry is much more subject to cultural context/the need to be "fresh." I know you know that, teasel, but I wanted to add this note for fellow prose people who might not have access to a professor or mentor

[feralgrad]

52 minutes ago, susweekly said:

Has anyone who’s interviewed for MFA programs share their insights? I know there’s some totally obvious question I’m going to be unprepared for. (For me I always get stuck on, “what questions did you have for us?”)

Honestly, I took notes. I wrote down answers to likely questions (e.g. what are you reading lately?), as well as a few of my own questions. This is also a strategy I use in job interviews. It may sound strange, but most people seem impressed by the preparation.

[Starbuck420]

3 hours ago, Ydrl said:

Also, hot-take here, I didn’t revise my manuscript after my first submission. I didn’t want to make it worse, as when I go back and edit poems in a hurry/when I’m stressed, they’re somehow worse than the original.

I also think this is a good rule because it could help you better interpret your results. For example: if an unrevised sample gets a waitlist somewhere, and the revised sample gets a straight reject somewhere else, I'm always going to wonder whether the reject was because of the revisions, or in spite of them

[Downtozero]

46 minutes ago, relsidk said:

Soooo say you email an MFA program coordinator (not faculty) once asking about notification timelines, and they don't respond for 2 weeks. You probs shouldn't email again right, and you probs definitely shouldn't email the faculty grad advisor?????

 

Sending good vibes all around this week!

Yeah, don't do this. The answers people have been getting from program admin haven't been reliable anyway, probably because they can't predict exact dates and are overwhelmed with more pressing issues. If it was coming up on the end of March or something maybe, but for now you should just sit tight.

[cecsav]

Is anyone else "attending" AWP this year? I'm so bummed it had to be moved online, since it was supposed to be in KC. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by cecsav

[xyz1231]

Hey hey, longtime lurker here. Accepted to SLC with about 1/3 scholarship. Would really appreciate an honest assessment of the school's reputation, strengths, weaknesses. Is there any world in which it's worth $20,000 per year to attend the program? Is it better to decline and try my luck next cycle?

[mrvisser]

4 minutes ago, xyz1231 said:

Hey hey, longtime lurker here. Accepted to SLC with about 1/3 scholarship. Would really appreciate an honest assessment of the school's reputation, strengths, weaknesses. Is there any world in which it's worth $20,000 per year to attend the program? Is it better to decline and try my luck next cycle?

If you can afford it and really want to go, that's your call, but if I get a partially-funded offer, I'm just trying again next year. There's no universe in which I take on loans for an MFA.

[mrvisser]

Where the Gator people at? There's a University of Florida acceptance on Draft.

Edit: for fiction

Edited March 3, 2021 by mrvisser

[Ydrl]

2 minutes ago, mrvisser said:

Where the Gator people at? There's a University of Florida acceptance on Draft.

Nooooooooooo

[mnlandre]

22 minutes ago, mrvisser said:

Where the Gator people at? There's a University of Florida acceptance on Draft.

Edit: for fiction

I'm gonna vomit for sure, I got a rejection and a waitlist yesterday and this is one of two programs I haven't heard from

[forthetruththeyburnyou]

Greetings, people of Grad Cafe! I, the mysterious forthetruththeyburnyou, am going to let A Cat out of A Bag and let you know that I am in fact The Workshop's Managing Editor. Pleasure making your acquaintance. Please see below for an exciting message!

 

The Workshop will be hosting a *free* I Applied To MFAs: What's Next? panel for MFA applicants (as well as any of you out there who sat out this cycle, but are thinking of applying down the line) on Sunday, March 14th from 4-5:30PM Eastern.

Our panelists are graduates in poetry, fiction, CNF, and hybrid-genre writing from the University of Alabama, Brown, Cornell, Indiana University, Northern Michigan University, UNC-Wilmington, and Warren Wilson. Members of The Workshop team with MFAs from OSU and CU Boulder will also be in the chat helping answer questions, and the event will be spearheaded by moderator Eshani Surya (U of Arizona). We'll be answering questions on how to proceed once you've heard back from your programs, no matter your results.

 

Full details as well as links to our registration and Q&A forms are up on The Workshop's site at readtheworkshop.com/events/. 

 

We're also on Facebook @readtheworkshop, Twitter @The__Workshop, and Instagram @readtheworkshop. And we can't wait to have you at our I Applied To MFAs: What's Next? panel!

(with special thanks to @feralgrad for suggesting I post on this thread)

Edited March 3, 2021 by forthetruththeyburnyou

[scenetwomenu]

1 hour ago, mrvisser said:

Where the Gator people at? There's a University of Florida acceptance on Draft.

Edit: for fiction

Did they say if it was via phone or email?

[susweekly]

Just interviewed with Joshua Henkin at Brooklyn College. I would be interested to know if he was running the interviews for all the other finalists as well or if y’all interviewed with someone else. 

[Botanica]

Just got accepted (via email) at Georgia College & State with full funding and the Arts & Letters Journal Editing Fellowship! I truly thought this round was going to be a wash - I'm so emotional ?

[mrvisser]

Just now, scenetwomenu said:

Did they say if it was via phone or email?

Looks like he got a phone call from Uwem Akpan

[feralgrad]

34 minutes ago, forthetruththeyburnyou said:

I, the mysterious forthetruththeyburnyou, am going to let A Cat out of A Bag and let you know that I am in fact The Workshop's Managing Editor.

Glad to see the MFA Years is being reborn! I relied on that website a lot as I was applying. Obviously this particular event isn't relevant to me, but I signed up for y'all's email list and will definitely be keeping an eye on the new site!