2021 Applicants Forum

[lunch]

14 hours ago, Boomer not Ok said:

Yeah, I know. Seems the "scam likely" callers are upping their game. My phone is not screening them well these days and I get something in Mandarin or Cantonese. Like how did their AI or algo connect my phone number to some place in China? Totally weird. 

I also get these Chinese language phone calls, and they use number spoofing so that even after I block them, they just call from a different number. A few weeks ago, I got a call from a Syracuse area code, and my heart truly skipped a beat, and then I remembered that I didn't apply to Syracuse.

(The acceptance call I did get was from a different state than the school is in; presumably, it was the cell phone of the professor who called me.)

[omgalexx]

35 minutes ago, Boomer not Ok said:

Saw a nonfiction Columbia acceptance on Results page.  Not sure if they release separately from fiction and poetry. Anyone see anything on Draft for Columbia poetry and fiction?

Also emailed Rutgers Camden and Emerson to find out when they will be releasing their decisions. 

Will advise if they reply.

 

 

I’m also wondering about Emerson!

[Graceful Entropy]

Dude, so many Brown applicants. Like, honestly, why? Yall into Providence that much? Some sort of weird Ivy fetish?

I just don't get it. Enlighten me. 

[forthetruththeyburnyou]

16 minutes ago, Graceful Entropy said:

Dude, so many Brown applicants. Like, honestly, why? Yall into Providence that much? Some sort of weird Ivy fetish?

I just don't get it. Enlighten me. 

Brown has a first year fellowship with no teaching and a $26k stipend, ~$3k summer stipend between the first and second years, for starters. 

[M-Lin]

Bored of waiting... and I was looking around online about programs I applied to. I remember that we were having a conversation about how "competitive" Columbia remains despite a physically large cohort and a financially large price tag. I applied to Columbia just because it's in New York. Though very unlikely to go, I would be happy to know if I got in. So I'm not trying to make any kind of a point here...  

Found this on Peterson's (This data is probably relatively old) - acceptance rate of BU (another school I applied to) : 3%, acceptance rate of Columbia: 41% 

So I guess it's fair to say that Columbia is less competitive, compared with a lot of other prestigious programs. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by M-Lin

[funfettuccine]

22 minutes ago, Graceful Entropy said:

Dude, so many Brown applicants. Like, honestly, why? Yall into Providence that much? Some sort of weird Ivy fetish?

I just don't get it. Enlighten me. 

LOL. I applied because Ottessa Moshfegh went there and I love her. Basically the only reason. 

[funfettuccine]

1 minute ago, M-Lin said:

Bored of waiting... so I was looking around online about programs I applied to. I remember that we were having a conversation about how "competitive" Columbia remains despite the a physically large cohort and a financially large price tag. I applied to Columbia just because it's in New York. Though very unlikely to go, I would be happy to know if I got in. So I'm not trying to make any kind of a point here...  

Found this on Peterson's (This data is probably relatively old) - acceptance rate of BU (another school I applied to) : 3%, acceptance rate of Columbia: 41% 

So I guess it's fair to say that Columbia is less competitive, compared with a lot of other prestigious programs. 

Catch me crying at this BU data! ?

[M-Lin]

1 minute ago, funfettuccine said:

Catch me crying at this BU data! ?

Let's exchange bowls of tears. ?

[oubukibun]

Hahahaha!

And here I thought, "Boston's my only real shot this year, it seems."

Ah, the boulder beckons...

[koechophe]

Finally got a No from FSU. Man, that took ages. 

[feralgrad]

15 hours ago, Boomer not Ok said:

Yeah, I know. Seems the "scam likely" callers are upping their game. My phone is not screening them well these days and I get something in Mandarin or Cantonese. Like how did their AI or algo connect my phone number to some place in China? Totally weird. 

Totally off-topic, but I get those calls too, so I looked into it. Apparently they say that you need to contact the Chinese embassy for something citizenship-related (I think it's a phishing thing). You probably get those calls because you live in an area with a large Chinese population (I do as well).

[M-Lin]

1 minute ago, feralgrad said:

Totally off-topic, but I get those calls too, so I looked into it. Apparently they say that you need to contact the Chinese embassy for something citizenship-related (I think it's a phishing thing). You probably get those calls because you live in an area with a large Chinese population (I do as well).

Yep. I'm a Mandarin speaker. They say "this is your last notice for a very important mail" blah blah blah... ?

[Ydrl]

Every second U Maryland, V Tech, and U Florida drag out my decisions, the faster I die inside. Only reason I'm holding onto Maryland hope is that last year, waitlists went out after rejections. That, and I've been under program review since a week after applying and still haven't gotten rejected. I want to believe, but I did that with VCU and UNLV last year and it made me suffer more.

[CrankyGinger]

1 minute ago, M-Lin said:

Yep. I'm a Mandarin speaker. They say "this is your last notice for a very important mail" blah blah blah... ?

I had to ask my brother to translate it, basically what he told me, too. Also, considering I'm originally from Seattle, makes sense they'd target my 206 number. Well I don't need your very important notices, I'm too busy eating gummy bears and sending all my money to that Nigerian Prince who has a super exclusive business opportunity for me.

[Ydrl]

Emailed Maryland again about time frames because I'm a nervous chihuahua piloting a human skin.

[CrankyGinger]

11 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

 I'm a nervous chihuahua piloting a human skin.

I am laughing so hard at this haha

[forthetruththeyburnyou]

58 minutes ago, funfettuccine said:

LOL. I applied because Ottessa Moshfegh went there and I love her. Basically the only reason. 

Solid reason!

(frame of reference: replier hopes one day Ottessa Moshfegh will love them back)

[Graceful Entropy]

1 hour ago, forthetruththeyburnyou said:

Brown has a first year fellowship with no teaching and a $26k stipend, ~$3k summer stipend between the first and second years, for starters. 

Fair enough! Them fancy schools do pay well. 

Also, there's probably a nice way to express incredulity and then the way I did, so ya know, that's on me

[koechophe]

47 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

Every second U Maryland, V Tech, and U Florida drag out my decisions, the faster I die inside.

I definitely feel this. Still have 5 schools I haven't heard from, but since I don't actually have a "yes" yet, it's pretty awful. I'm choosing to not give up hope yet; I find it easier to deal with rejection if I am honest with myself and say that I still want and hope for an acceptance. 

[Starbuck420]

1 hour ago, forthetruththeyburnyou said:

Brown has a first year fellowship with no teaching and a $26k stipend, ~$3k summer stipend between the first and second years, for starters. 

Yes, definitely. Also, it's just true that people -- editors, agents, other writers, etc -- give greater deference to Brown MFAs than they do to folks with MFAs from other, less selective/prestigious programs. For better or worse, it does improve your chances of success. Might as well just be honest about that

Also, personally, I live in Providence lmao

(I didn't actually apply to Brown this year, but I will apply next round, assuming that I don't get full funding at the one place where I applied)

[oubukibun]

Hey all,

Boston U. sends results out by the end of March or beginning of April?  I don't have Facebook so I can't even join Draft (not entirely true: I created an account just to use there and it was deleted by Facebook within five minutes of its creation, haha, not sure if that's a sign...) and checking the results page seems to indicate maybe one person gets called in late February, and then people are notified they are rejected by the second week of April or so?

This is my only school left (Iowa doesn't count since clearly that's a rejection, so waiting on the letter to arrive), and although I may have believed my chances there to be statistically better than they really are, I'd love to know if anyone has a rough estimate of when they start contacting potential candidates.

Thank you in advance!

[M-Lin]

2 minutes ago, oubukibun said:

Hey all,

Boston U. sends results out by the end of March or beginning of April?  I don't have Facebook so I can't even join Draft (not entirely true: I created an account just to use there and it was deleted by Facebook within five minutes of its creation, haha, not sure if that's a sign...) and checking the results page seems to indicate maybe one person gets called in late February, and then people are notified they are rejected by the second week of April or so?

This is my only school left (Iowa doesn't count since clearly that's a rejection, so waiting on the letter to arrive), and although I may have believed my chances there to be statistically better than they really are, I'd love to know if anyone has a rough estimate of when they start contacting potential candidates.

Thank you in advance!

I believe usually acceptances are out around the last week of March. Hope they are on schedule this year! They'd have to notify one way or another by April 15. 

[JPReinhold]

1 hour ago, Ydrl said:

 I'm a nervous chihuahua piloting a human skin.

And here's a start of a poem...

[Ydrl]

31 minutes ago, JPReinhold said:

And here's a start of a poem...

Honestly, my old professors catch me saying shit like this and ask if I've written it down. I never notice them haha.

[fireflystasis]

10 minutes ago, jka0124 said:

Columbia, NYU, and some of the other NY schools aren’t super competitive to get into (ETA: I mean compared to Michener or Iowa). The real competition is how much money you get. If you get $$$$ then they love you and you’ll be one of the cohort darlings. If you don’t get offered anything, they still want you but you’re definitely in the less competitive pool. It won’t matter much in the day to day academics (same classes, same faculty) but it’ll matter when you’re busting your butt at a second job or taking $100k in loans and your classmate is getting a stipend. 

Good to know, thanks!

Personally, Columbia is my dream program. It's the reason I got so enthusiastic about applying to MFAs in the first place, when a writing prof advised me to try last year. I didn't know anything about them, but then I saw two of the authors whose works I'd been inspired by and trying to emulate for years were actually professors at Columbia. Teaching nonfiction (although I applied for fiction)! The courses also look fantastic.

Realistically though, on the infinitesimal chance I get accepted, I might have to decline on the basis of it being way too expensive. Especially given the number of funded programs elsewhere. I really don't want to go into debt for grad school.