2021 Applicants Forum

[panglosian]

17 minutes ago, aa2427 said:

I feel like so many of us applying for the first time are realizing little mistakes while we're waiting. If we get in, thank god they took mercy on us. If not, that's something we learned for next time I suppose. Also I am originally from New Jersey too!

Yoooooo where are you from???? I'm a Camden County native (waiting on that Rutgers response lol)

[TshirtDome]

3 hours ago, spacedumpster said:

For my fellow fiction applicants, I present a slightly baseless theory that might give you some hope if you have not heard back from programs which have already accepted folks in poetry/CNF.

Fiction programs generally have much larger applicant pools, and this cycle was almost certainly exceptionally large. Perhaps acceptance decisions for fiction are just taking longer due to an influx of applicants? 

Just curious why you believe app pools are exceptionally large this year. Do you mean in general—poetry and fiction—or only fiction?

[spacedumpster]

Just now, TshirtDome said:

Just curious why you believe app pools are exceptionally large this year. Do you mean in general—poetry and fiction—or only fiction?

I would think they would be larger across genres, though hearsay and speculation on the impacts of COVID are the main things guiding these presumptions.

[TshirtDome]

3 minutes ago, spacedumpster said:

I would think they would be larger across genres, though hearsay and speculation on the impacts of COVID are the main things guiding these presumptions.

Word, like you think tons of folks applied because fuck it I'm stuck at home, let's do this? I wondered myself about that and then also that maybe the pool is smaller because no one wants to start a program when social distancing bummers are still happening.

[Boomer not Ok]

As a novice here, I hear ya. Benefit of hindsight, I think in my case, being on the older side, the biggest mistake I may have made was with my recs. I had to get them from a study group, respectable people, but not exactly familiar with my writing. I reached out to some schools about this before hand. Most said, "not a problem, 'older apps are ok', and recs are basically 'just to make sure you'll be an asset to the classroom,'" but honestly, IDK. If I do this again, I'm probably going to handle the recs differently. 

On another note: I watched some of the Hunter College Open House, and was surprised to learn that the program director said he thought maybe they had one student in their past who had been over 40. Program seems to have a young vibe or younger selective orientation. Also, since they pair their students with well-known writers, I looked up a couple of them, but couldn't find any published fiction writing by them (talking about current and/or recent attendees), so it's hard to know what Hunter looks for in submissions. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Boomer not Ok

[aa2427]

43 minutes ago, panglosian said:

Yoooooo where are you from???? I'm a Camden County native (waiting on that Rutgers response lol)

I am from Monmouth county! Without disclosing where exactly I will say the most obnoxious town in the county. I could write an entire poetry book about why I left and want as much distance from there as possible...hoping a program accepts me so they can guide me in how to write it haha

[mrvisser]

11 minutes ago, TshirtDome said:

Word, like you think tons of folks applied because fuck it I'm stuck at home, let's do this? I wondered myself about that and then also that maybe the pool is smaller because no one wants to start a program when social distancing bummers are still happening.

Several schools have said in their letters of acceptance or rejection that they received more applicants than usual this year. The only name I can remember for sure is Florida State, but there were other schools that said the same thing.

[fishfish24]

On 2/18/2021 at 2:00 PM, mrvisser said:

Several schools have said in their letters of acceptance or rejection that they received more applicants than usual this year. The only name I can remember for sure is Florida State, but there were other schools that said the same thing.

Several programs have cited having received many more apps (sometimes double) as the reason for their delayed responses to applicants this year

 

 

[cecsav]

53 minutes ago, Boomer not Ok said:

As a novice here, I hear ya. Benefit of hindsight, I think in my case, being on the older side, the biggest mistake I may have made was with my recs. I had to get them from a study group, respectable people, but not exactly familiar with my writing. I reached out to some schools about this before hand. Most said, "not a problem, 'older apps are ok', and recs are basically 'just to make sure you'll be an asset to the classroom,'" but honestly, IDK. If I do this again, I'm probably going to handle the recs differently. 

On another note: I watched some of the Hunter College Open House, and was surprised to learn that the program director said he thought maybe they had one student in their past who had been over 40. Program seems to have a young vibe or younger selective orientation. Also, since they pair their students with well-known writers, I looked up a couple of them, but couldn't find any published fiction writing by them (talking about current and/or recent attendees), so it's hard to know what Hunter looks for in submissions. 

Hey! I'm 40 myself. I'm applying right out of undergrad (took me 20 years to complete a four year degree), but from everything I've seen, being "on the older side" isn't necessarily a negative thing. 

[Ydrl]

I suppose the vast majority of us are so bored/anxious that we keep focusing on admissions and numbers.

I’ll pose a question to distract us: How many of y’all are actively writing like nothing’s happening?

My answer is: I’m not writing like I usually do. It happened last year too. After all my decisions are in, then I’ll go into a writing frenzy with all the ideas I’m collecting currently. I’m considering fleshing out a short story idea I’ve kept for a year.

[Boomer not Ok]

Nice to meet ya. I think being on the older side it cuts both ways. I think for some schools, having "older" students adds to their diversity. Different POV. Also, being older, generally, (not always) means more maturity, stability etc. OTH, I think some programs may be looking to "nurture" future writers/poets and may feel that for folks in their 40's, 50's 60's that time has passed them by (they're out of the writing game so to speak) and/or are better suited to a low-res MFA Program, writing groups, etc. Just my suspicion. 

[aa2427]

I have a stress question that some of you might find ridiculous, so bear with me. I was doing some research on one of my top choice programs, and I just realized that somebody at this program currently is from my tiny small town with pretty much an identical background to me (from location of undergrad, to genre, to application timeline.) Do you think this would be detrimental to my application? I'm worried they might look at my writing and say "eh, we already have someone like this" and dump me out. But also I might be going insane with worry. Thanks guys ?

[cecsav]

15 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

I suppose the vast majority of us are so bored/anxious that we keep focusing on admissions and numbers. 

I've pretty much given up on my application portals. I haven't received a single rejection notification, and every portal except one (FIU - says incomplete, looks like a LOR did not get sent) still says something to the effect of pending/awaiting departmental review/under review etc - including the one acceptance I received via phone. 

However, I did have a dream that I was accepted to the University of Florida. 

[orangeslice]

18 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

I suppose the vast majority of us are so bored/anxious that we keep focusing on admissions and numbers.

I’ll pose a question to distract us: How many of y’all are actively writing like nothing’s happening?

My answer is: I’m not writing like I usually do. It happened last year too. After all my decisions are in, then I’ll go into a writing frenzy with all the ideas I’m collecting currently. I’m considering fleshing out a short story idea I’ve kept for a year.

It’s been up and down for me. I just decided to apply to a couple residencies for the summer, though, and that seems to have gotten me in to gear! I think it’s normal either way  

[Ydrl]

3 minutes ago, aa2427 said:

I have a stress question that some of you might find ridiculous, so bear with me. I was doing some research on one of my top choice programs, and I just realized that somebody at this program currently is from my tiny small town with pretty much an identical background to me (from location of undergrad, to genre, to application timeline.) Do you think this would be detrimental to my application? I'm worried they might look at my writing and say "eh, we already have someone like this" and dump me out. But also I might be going insane with worry. Thanks guys ?

You two may have similar experiences, but you lead two different lives, filled with your own specific traumas and glories and things you hold dear. Don’t worry, I’m sure you two are very different.

[Ydrl]

2 minutes ago, cecsav said:

I've pretty much given up on my application portals. I haven't received a single rejection notification, and every portal except one (FIU - says incomplete, looks like a LOR did not get sent) still says something to the effect of pending/awaiting departmental review/under review etc - including the one acceptance I received via phone. 

However, I did have a dream that I was accepted to the University of Florida. 

LOR. I read this as Lord of the Rings and was confused why you needed a copy of it to be sent to Florida. If it helps, two of my schools (UNO and Rutgers Newark) didn’t get a third LOR from a teacher that went missing on me.

[cecsav]

1 minute ago, Ydrl said:

LOR. I read this as Lord of the Rings and was confused why you needed a copy of it to be sent to Florida. If it helps, two of my schools (UNO and Rutgers Newark) didn’t get a third LOR from a teacher that went missing on me.

It's my writing sample! ?

[TshirtDome]

9 minutes ago, aa2427 said:

I have a stress question that some of you might find ridiculous, so bear with me. I was doing some research on one of my top choice programs, and I just realized that somebody at this program currently is from my tiny small town with pretty much an identical background to me (from location of undergrad, to genre, to application timeline.) Do you think this would be detrimental to my application? I'm worried they might look at my writing and say "eh, we already have someone like this" and dump me out. But also I might be going insane with worry. Thanks guys ?

Everything I have read consistently says that your sample is far and away most important. Unless you both write the same, I doubt it matters. And if demography is a big enough deal that they'll throw a solid app out then meh sounds like dumb place anyway in my opinion.

[Ydrl]

1 minute ago, cecsav said:

It's my writing sample! ?

Welcome back from the dead J.R.R. Tolkien, how was your trip back?

[aa2427]

2 minutes ago, TshirtDome said:

Everything I have read consistently says that your sample is far and away most important. Unless you both write the same, I doubt it matters. And if demography is a big enough deal that they'll throw a solid app out then meh sounds like dumb place anyway in my opinion.

Such a good point, thank you. Plus, I guess if I were to miraculously get accepted there, I would have someone with a common past to befriend and share my thoughts with. Also, I think this is my sign to drop the internet program stalking until at least March

[TshirtDome]

1 minute ago, aa2427 said:

Such a good point, thank you. Plus, I guess if I were to miraculously get accepted there, I would have someone with a common past to befriend and share my thoughts with. Also, I think this is my sign to drop the internet program stalking until at least March

You'll be back, just fiending for all this information that is only speculative, unfulfilling, inconclusive gossip!

[arden]

48 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

I’ll pose a question to distract us: How many of y’all are actively writing like nothing’s happening?

 

Oh, I'm absolutely not writing like normal—and it's killing me! I'm sure like you said once all the decisions are in I'll snap back into it, but right now I feel like my creative block is contributing to some of my anxieties about my ~ future ~ as a writer, if an MFA doesn't work out for me. But, I'm trying to make myself get into a better writing routine so that even if it's not my "normal," it's at least something.

And thanks to everyone who suggested other craft books! I'm definitely trying to make sure I keep up on my reading even if I'm not writing as much as I'd like. It's been tough to adjust to not being in school anymore while also waiting to hear back...

Edited February 18, 2021 by arden

[Ydrl]

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I GOT INTO SJCNY!!!!!!!

I’M GOING TO COLLEGE.

Brb I’m gonna go move my car and maybe cry happy tears a little bit.

[cecsav]

2 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I GOT INTO SJCNY!!!!!!!

I’M GOING TO COLLEGE.

Brb I’m gonna go move my car and maybe cry happy tears a little bit.

Congrats!

[CayceCamus]

7 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I GOT INTO SJCNY!!!!!!!

I’M GOING TO COLLEGE.

Brb I’m gonna go move my car and maybe cry happy tears a little bit.

??? Hell yes you did it!