2021 Applicants Forum

[feralgrad]

On 12/31/2020 at 4:39 PM, pattycat said:

Also, anyone else getting those submissions out? I sent out pieces to 14 pubs today! That kept the admissions anxiety at bay for a day.

That's a great strategy! I'm trying to make myself edit something for publication right now. I've been putting it off cos it's loosely based on some difficult stuff from my personal life, which I haven't felt like revisiting lately.

Anyway, good luck with your submissions!!

[feralgrad]

On 12/31/2020 at 2:32 PM, mrvisser said:

Let's do some cliché, sappy reminiscing: What's the book you read in 2020?

I think Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. I find her characters so charming and fascinating! It's not a book for everyone (dog fighting figures heavily into the plot), but if you don't mind the dark themes, it's a great read.

[mrvisser]

3 minutes ago, feralgrad said:

I think Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. I find her characters so charming and fascinating! It's not a book for everyone (dog fighting figures heavily into the plot), but if you don't mind the dark themes, it's a great read.

Nice, I'll check it out!

Also just realized I posted "what's the book you read?" and forgot to include best in that question.

[CanadianKate]

3 hours ago, FairleyAlfy said:

The best book I read in 2020 was The Secret History by Donna Tartt. 

One of my absolute favorites!

[pattycat]

54 minutes ago, feralgrad said:

I think Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. I find her characters so charming and fascinating! It's not a book for everyone (dog fighting figures heavily into the plot), but if you don't mind the dark themes, it's a great read.

I just got this for Christmas! I read the first chapter for a class and it was breathtaking. I kept writing in the margins “rhythm!” The way she purposefully varies sentence lengths to give some things melody and other things punch is just so so good.

[pattycat]

4 hours ago, FairleyAlfy said:

The best book I read in 2020 was The Secret History by Donna Tartt. 

 

14 minutes ago, CanadianKate said:

One of my absolute favorites!

Yes! So good! I became obsessed with Donna Tartt for a little while after reading it. I wish I could pull off her look. 

[pattycat]

1 hour ago, feralgrad said:

That's a great strategy! I'm trying to make myself edit something for publication right now. I've been putting it off cos it's loosely based on some difficult stuff from my personal life, which I haven't felt like revisiting lately.

Anyway, good luck with your submissions!!

I feel you. The novel I’m planning right now to be my thesis project if I get into a program is based on some rough personal stuff. I’m wondering how I’m going to handle going down that hole. Was it cathartic at all to get it down on paper?

[Ydrl]

I hesitate saying this because I’m waiting for an email, but I think I’m done. I finished UNH yesterday, and am pretty sure I finished Rutgers (apparently the deadline for Newark was extended to the 8th of January, but I only found this out through a no-reply email).

[pattycat]

1 minute ago, Ydrl said:

I hesitate saying this because I’m waiting for an email, but I think I’m done. I finished UNH yesterday, and am pretty sure I finished Rutgers (apparently the deadline for Newark was extended to the 8th of January, but I only found this out through a no-reply email).

Congrats!

[mrvisser]

4 hours ago, Ydrl said:

I hesitate saying this because I’m waiting for an email, but I think I’m done. I finished UNH yesterday, and am pretty sure I finished Rutgers (apparently the deadline for Newark was extended to the 8th of January, but I only found this out through a no-reply email).

Congrats! Even though it sucks to be in the waiting period, it also feels so relieving to be done.

[FairleyAlfy]

13 hours ago, pattycat said:

 

Yes! So good! I became obsessed with Donna Tartt for a little while after reading it. I wish I could pull off her look. 

I know! I cut my hair short and dyed it black haha. I cannot pull it off as well as she does, one of my favorite writers for sure. She writes a book every ten years so only two more years until her next one!

[FairleyAlfy]

4 hours ago, Ydrl said:

I hesitate saying this because I’m waiting for an email, but I think I’m done. I finished UNH yesterday, and am pretty sure I finished Rutgers (apparently the deadline for Newark was extended to the 8th of January, but I only found this out through a no-reply email).

Yay!! Congrats!

[mrvisser]

As a quick aside, I'm not usually the guy to report people, but I was getting so annoyed with the troll that I did, because I know myself enough to know that I'm kind of antagonistic with assholes, so I'm not good at taking the high road when there's a guy like that throwing insults in what should be a fun, mature forum. A moderator confirmed he is in fact the same Marshall Goodman, and threw him out, and just said to let them know if he comes back. But if he does, I'll try to be more adult about it and just ignore him. For now, though, we're in the clear.

Edited January 2, 2021 by mrvisser

[spacedumpster]

4 hours ago, mrvisser said:

As a quick aside, I'm not usually the guy to report people, but I was getting so annoyed with the troll that I did, because I know myself enough to know that I'm kind of antagonistic with assholes, so I'm not good at taking the high road when there's a guy like that throwing insults in what should be a fun, mature forum. A moderator confirmed he is in fact the same Marshall Goodman, and threw him out, and just said to let them know if he comes back. But if he does, I'll try to be more adult about it and just ignore him. For now, though, we're in the clear.

Oof, to have nothing better to do than be insufferable on the internet... Right there with you on antagonizing web-based troglodytes, so thank you for removing the temptation to engage.

[Greithe]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum and just finished my applications on Christmas Eve. I'm going for fiction, and applied to Iowa, U. Illinois, WVU, and Georgia College. I'm a single mom and newly-unemployed public school teacher, so couldn't justify the expense of applying to more than a few programs, though narrowing down the list took weeks! This is something I've wanted to do for over a decade, but I had to wait for family reasons. 

Good luck to everyone this winter! Thank you for being here - I'm already calming down a little, after reading your posts. ?

 

[mrvisser]

6 minutes ago, Greithe said:

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum and just finished my applications on Christmas Eve. I'm going for fiction, and applied to Iowa, U. Illinois, WVU, and Georgia College. I'm a single mom and newly-unemployed public school teacher, so couldn't justify the expense of applying to more than a few programs, though narrowing down the list took weeks! This is something I've wanted to do for over a decade, but I had to wait for family reasons. 

Good luck to everyone this winter! Thank you for being here - I'm already calming down a little, after reading your posts. ?

 

Welcome to the anticipation support group! Sorry to hear about your unemployment; I've been unemployed since June, but I'm fortunate that my expenses are very minimal while waiting out the pandemic with family. 

[Michelle Zeller]

Why, hello, everyone. I didn't know a place like this existed. I wish I did during the applications, but better late than never. I've applied to 15 schools and am so anxious and nervous. I can't  figure out what to do. Google searches for everything is actually what led me to find this place. Someone help me. I'm going nuts. 

[mrvisser]

34 minutes ago, Michelle Zeller said:

Why, hello, everyone. I didn't know a place like this existed. I wish I did during the applications, but better late than never. I've applied to 15 schools and am so anxious and nervous. I can't  figure out what to do. Google searches for everything is actually what led me to find this place. Someone help me. I'm going nuts. 

The good news is you're not alone! I found this site for basically the same reason; I finished my applications and felt like I was going through all this waiting alone. Even when I'm distracting myself I just constantly think about MFA. Hell, I'm in the middle of watching a football game and I still check this site every 30 minutes at least.

[spacedumpster]

1 hour ago, Michelle Zeller said:

Why, hello, everyone. I didn't know a place like this existed. I wish I did during the applications, but better late than never. I've applied to 15 schools and am so anxious and nervous. I can't  figure out what to do. Google searches for everything is actually what led me to find this place. Someone help me. I'm going nuts. 

Ditto, what mrvisser said--you have come to the right place! Nerves are certainly high for a lot of us, but you have gotten through the work of applying, and almost certainly grown as a writer in the process.  Regardless of how things wind up, just taking the time to put a work sample together and knock out all those SOPs is a huge accomplishment in its own right.

Mad props on that big ol' pool of applications. Let's talk about 'em! Where have you applied? Where are you most excited about? 

[Michelle Zeller]

Well alright. I can already tell this is such a warm, special place, filled with beautiful people. I applied to Iowa, Brown, Michener, John Hopkins, NYU, Columbia, Hunter,  Michigan, Cornell, Syracuse, Virginia, Boston, Massachusetts, Brooklyn, Irvine. I don't know where I am most excited about. I am only 24 years old. I don't know where I should be excited about. Where do people suggest? Frankly, I don't care where ago, as long as it is full of warm, supportive people like here. 

[mrvisser]

30 minutes ago, Michelle Zeller said:

Well alright. I can already tell this is such a warm, special place, filled with beautiful people. I applied to Iowa, Brown, Michener, John Hopkins, NYU, Columbia, Hunter,  Michigan, Cornell, Syracuse, Virginia, Boston, Massachusetts, Brooklyn, Irvine. I don't know where I am most excited about. I am only 24 years old. I don't know where I should be excited about. Where do people suggest? Frankly, I don't care where ago, as long as it is full of warm, supportive people like here. 

Your list looks great! I would be happy to go to any of those places. Michener and Iowa are my top choices out of those, personally, but same as you, I'll be happy to go to any of the schools I applied to.

Edited January 3, 2021 by mrvisser

[spacedumpster]

13 minutes ago, Michelle Zeller said:

Well alright. I can already tell this is such a warm, special place, filled with beautiful people. I applied to Iowa, Brown, Michener, John Hopkins, NYU, Columbia, Hunter,  Michigan, Cornell, Syracuse, Virginia, Boston, Massachusetts, Brooklyn, Irvine. I don't know where I am most excited about. I am only 24 years old. I don't know where I should be excited about. Where do people suggest? Frankly, I don't care where ago, as long as it is full of warm, supportive people like here. 

I feel about the same as far as what I am looking for in an MFA. Support and a strong community to learn alongside have always served me well in my development, both academically and otherwise.

Michener is the only choice we have in common, but it looks like you definitely did your research on well-regarded programs and aimed high! I was *this* close to applying to Michigan, but ultimately opted to limit my applications to five schools. I don't have any real suggestions, but I can tell you that Ann Arbor is a lovely, though somewhat elitist (go figure) town. I lived there for about a year. 

Anyway, should I get into more than one place, I will be basing my choice primarily around whatever school offers me the best funding/what city gives me the best feeling about living in it for the foreseeable future. 

[mrvisser]

7 minutes ago, spacedumpster said:

Anyway, should I get into more than one place, I will be basing my choice primarily around whatever school offers me the best funding/what city gives me the best feeling about living in it for the foreseeable future. 

Yeah, I'd like to think that MFAs are intensive enough that I'd be so distracted by my work, but I'm such a city person and if I went to Iowa or Mississippi I would be a little concerned about whether I could stay entertained.

[Michelle Zeller]

4 hours ago, mrvisser said:

Your list looks great! I would be happy to go to any of those places. Michener and Iowa are my top choices out of those, personally, but same as you, I'll be happy to go to any of the schools I applied to.

Why are Michener and Iowa your top choices? It is true. I did my research. I was not going to apply, but I was laid off work almost a year ago, and the last couple of weeks before the deadlines, I figured why not? I must have done at least 5 google searches to pick where to apply to and just barely got my applications in. I think I did make good choices, though. Did anyone else here apply to any of my schools? I really don’t know where I will go, though. How long do they give you to decide? Can someone help me pick between the schools? I was not a writing major. This world is all new to me.

[pattycat]

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Edited January 3, 2021 by pattycat
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