2021 Applicants Forum

[largeheartedboy]

1 hour ago, TroyMcClure said:

Thanks! I'm applying to Hunter, Brooklyn, Columbia, Boston U, Emerson, U of Maryland, U of Florida, and NC State.

Applying to Hunter and Columbia as well (Hunter is a short walk from my apartment).

[TroyMcClure]

50 minutes ago, pattycat said:

Nice. I'm fiction as well. Looks like we only have 1 crossover--U of Florida.

Awesome! Yours looks like a good list of schools. Best of luck.

15 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

I was wondering when you were going to say hi! Welcome to the thread!

How’s application season going so far?

Thanks! It's a little slow going. These personal statements are a drag. But I expect to have a few applications in this week. I hope it's going well for you.

[Ydrl]

14 minutes ago, TroyMcClure said:

Thanks! It's a little slow going. These personal statements are a drag. But I expect to have a few applications in this week. I hope it's going well for you.

I’m hoping to get two more apps out this month, but I’m really tired of SOPs. As I said before, I hate when they get very specific. I still haven’t finished one for V Tech, I’ve made an outline so I remember everything, but have been stalling for days.

[Graceful Entropy]

Agh, really wish you had the ability to change out your SOPs or other documents all the way up until the deadline, even after you hit submit, since most schools don't start on them until then.

Rread my original SOP draft the other day, and there was a part of it I felt pretty damn important, but somewhere along the revisions it got left on the cutting floor. 

WHY WON'T THEY JUST LET ME TINKER FOREVER LIKE I DO WITH ALL MY OTHER WRITING??!?!?!?:ladkfja;lbrbss

[mrvisser]

This is probably just a question to contact schools about, but figured I'd put it out here first:

Does anyone know whether you can change your address with the schools before they send out decisions? Just found out my landlord is selling the house I'm living in, so I'll be living elsewhere by the time they make decisions. I can obviously just forward my mail, but I wouldn't want something to get lost. I guess most acceptances are by phone or email?

[Ydrl]

25 minutes ago, Graceful Entropy said:

Agh, really wish you had the ability to change out your SOPs or other documents all the way up until the deadline, even after you hit submit, since most schools don't start on them until then.

Rread my original SOP draft the other day, and there was a part of it I felt pretty damn important, but somewhere along the revisions it got left on the cutting floor. 

WHY WON'T THEY JUST LET ME TINKER FOREVER LIKE I DO WITH ALL MY OTHER WRITING??!?!?!?:ladkfja;lbrbss

Despite how much I complained about Maryland’s SOP process, I really think my SOP was better than the ones I sent to Minnesota and Texas...uh oh.

Also, I wish Minnesota would let me upload a double spaced version of my diversity essay. But if I worry constantly about things that won’t change, my fibromyalgia will kick in and make my everyday pain worse.

[Ydrl]

Shout out to my former poetry professor, Rick, who went above and beyond to make sure his recommendation letter got in my file at Minnesota.

He made phone calls, and emails for days until he got ahold of the program coordinator who finally got the file uploaded.

Tell your recommenders how much their support means to you.

[TroyMcClure]

On 12/10/2020 at 3:00 PM, largeheartedboy said:

Applying to Hunter and Columbia as well (Hunter is a short walk from my apartment).

Nice! That's a great area. I've spent a lot of time there (and I'm hoping to spend the next few years there). Best of luck on your apps.

[Ydrl]

Y’ALL, if you happen to apply to U New Orleans before January 2nd, they’ll waive your application fee. I saw that, and was so motivated that I finished the application in under an hour.

Amazing, I’m so happy I looked at their website today. I cut Rutgers from my list because I can’t afford everything I need next month, plus a 70 dollar app fee on top of that.

[Brother Panda]

Just thought of this forum after being on it a lot last year. Good luck to everyone here! I'm in a fully-funded MFA right now and it's been a really positive experience. I had applied in 2017 and was rejected (only applied to 3 top tier programs) and applied to 13 in 2020 and was accepted. The most important thing is to keep writing, and also to take care of yourself. It is a very stressful time, and the less time you can worry about things that are out of your control, the better. Make sure your writing sample is tight (think Raymond Carver: edit until you take out a comma and on your next edit you re-insert it; that means you're done). Submit your applications and then forget about them as often as you can. Do things that bring you joy. Stay well everyone--I'm rooting for you!

[spacedumpster]

On 12/8/2020 at 6:55 PM, FairleyAlfy said:

Haha Where to begin? I have a pretty lengthy list. Since I served as an AmeriCorps member, many of the universities I'm interested in waived the application fee for me so I thought I would apply to as many as I could afford. 

So far, I have completed applications for the following:

1. Cornell 

2. U Virginia

3. Purdue

4. Notre Dame

5. OSU

6.  U Mississippi (Ole Miss)

7. Vanderbilt

The rest of the universities that I have on my list are:

1. BU

2. NC State

3. Florida State University

4. U Florida

5. U Maryland

6. Hollins

7. Bowling Green U

I've got a mix of colleges. I mainly look at faculty I would like to work with, funding, and teaching load. If anyone has any information about these universities, good or bad, please let me know. I applied from reading the work of the faculty, and what they put on the website. 

Hiya! I went to Bowling Green for my undergrad. I was not a creative writing major, but I did take a fiction course taught by one of their grads at the time, and he was very happy with the program. He was also one of my recommenders for applications this year, and is an all-around awesome dude and a fantastic writer. 

That said, having spent the majority of my 31 years in NW Ohio, I am sad to inform you that Bowling Green is a just god-awful place to live. A good friend once described it as "nothing but a windy-ass corn field", which is absolutely accurate. I did get to meet Anis Mojgani during his time as a visiting writer and hear him read, though. That was neat.

Best of luck on your applications!

[mrvisser]

3 hours ago, spacedumpster said:

 

That said, having spent the majority of my 31 years in NW Ohio, I am sad to inform you that Bowling Green is a just god-awful place to live. A good friend once described it as "nothing but a windy-ass corn field", which is absolutely accurate. 

Haha this is great to know. I was considering adding it to my list of schools for next year in case I don't get in this year, but that's enough testimony to keep me away. 

[teasel]

On 12/9/2020 at 1:21 PM, mrvisser said:

From the Portland area originally; moved to Seattle six years ago to attend the University of Washington. I've been lucky to grow up in what is in my opinion the most beautiful part of the contiguous 48, and it has been a heavy influence on my writing. Seems like we have a lot of poetry folks in this forum, but I'm going for fiction.

Just wanted to say hello to a fellow Washingtonian! I lived in Seattle for almost ten years and miss it terribly (though not the crazy living expenses which required me to juggle three jobs haha). I was wondering if you have any insight on the UW grad program. Did you take any classes from creative writing faculty while there? Would be curious to hear about your reasons for not applying as a grad student, only if you're willing to share of course. 

 

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well.  Been kind of MIA as I finish my apps, but now that I'm essentially done, I guess there's nothing to do but wait...  Am curious to hear about what you guys plan on doing while you wait these next couple months. I write almost every day in some form or another, but I think I might give myself a break from serious reading and language studies and just let myself exist for awhile... maybe play some video games, propagate some house plants, pick up knitting for the millionth time... 

 

Also, I'm loving these poetry recs! Keep 'em coming. I would like to add "Deaf Republic" by Ilya Kaminsky. Check out his poem "We lived happily during the war" 

 

 

 

 

 

[KZK]

Hi all! Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Reading through the 2020 and 2021 forums was really helpful during the application process and I look forward to the camaraderie as we enter the waiting period. 

By way of introduction from recent questions: I'm 30 and based in the Washington, DC area (originally from upstate New York) and I've just completed applications for nine programs in creative nonfiction. I applied to Iowa, UMass Amherst, Northwestern, University of Montana, University of New Mexico, University of New Orleans, Hollins, George Mason, and Rutgers-Camden. This is my first round of applications and, based on decisions come spring, I may put in another round of applications in the future, to low-res and other programs. 

4 minutes ago, teasel said:

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well.  Been kind of MIA as I finish my apps, but now that I'm essentially done, I guess there's nothing to do but wait...  Am curious to hear about what you guys plan on doing while you wait these next couple months. I write almost every day in some form or another, but I think I might give myself a break from serious reading and language studies and just let myself exist for awhile... maybe play some video games, propagate some house plants, pick up knitting for the millionth time... 

I have a few writing projects I'm planning on digging into this winter, and I'll be teaching some workshops and leading some virtual events which will be a good way to creatively distract myself. Also planning on some long hikes and book/show/podcast binges!  

Best wishes to those completing their applications and fingers crossed! 

Edited December 14, 2020 by KZK

[mrvisser]

3 minutes ago, teasel said:

Just wanted to say hello to a fellow Washingtonian! I lived in Seattle for almost ten years and miss it terribly (though not the crazy living expenses which required me to juggle three jobs haha). I was wondering if you have any insight on the UW grad program. Did you take any classes from creative writing faculty while there? Would be curious to hear about your reasons for not applying as a grad student, only if you're willing to share of course. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello! Likewise glad to see a fellow Washingtonian on here. 

I don't have a lot of insight on the UW grad program, but I actually did apply to it. I majored in journalism, so my world was pretty separate, but I have talked to some CW undergrad friends and have met one of the department's professors, Shawn Wong. From everything I've heard it's a really strong program, and I really like Shawn. He was willing to answer a lot of questions for me on MFA programs via email. One of my friends had some odd editing interactions with one of the main MFA faculty members, but it wasn't anything too severe, just critiques that they didn't necessarily agree with from a creative standpoint. That's all subjective, of course. I'm actually surprised I don't see more people applying to UW. I loved my time there in undergrad, and while I think it's important to move around and experience new things, I wouldn't hesitate to go back to UW if it was my best offer.

[mrvisser]

11 minutes ago, teasel said:

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well.  Been kind of MIA as I finish my apps, but now that I'm essentially done, I guess there's nothing to do but wait...  Am curious to hear about what you guys plan on doing while you wait these next couple months. I write almost every day in some form or another, but I think I might give myself a break from serious reading and language studies and just let myself exist for awhile... maybe play some video games, propagate some house plants, pick up knitting for the millionth time... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up until just before submitting my applications, I was grinding pretty hard at writing. In November I finished a collection of linked short stories, which I had been working on anyway, but ended up working perfectly for writing-sample submissions. Since submitting my apps I've been taking a little easier in terms of writing. I keep bouncing between two different novels I'm working on, trying to decide which would be my MFA project if I get in. I feel guilty whenever I miss a day of writing, but at least I still read a few hours each day to keep my mind on literature.

[pattycat]

48 minutes ago, teasel said:

 Am curious to hear about what you guys plan on doing while you wait these next couple months. I write almost every day in some form or another, but I think I might give myself a break from serious reading and language studies and just let myself exist for awhile... maybe play some video games, propagate some house plants, pick up knitting for the millionth time... 

I'm not quite done yet, but I will be in the next few days. I've pretty much been working exclusively on my writing sample for the past few months, so I'm really looking forward to just writing something completely new and unplanned. Other than that, I'm going to distract myself with lots of movies, hiking, video games with my son, and playing a ton of board games (which I collect). But come February, I know I'm going to be a total wreck.

[Ydrl]

I’ll probably be one of the last ones to finish applications. My vision these past few days has gotten noticeably worse, and staying offline isn’t helping. I’m not asking for prayers or pity, I just want this little community we got to come together, stay safe, and keep being awesome. I’m planning on seeing an optometrist soon, because typing this has taken me around 30-ish minutes.

[pattycat]

5 hours ago, Ydrl said:

I’ll probably be one of the last ones to finish applications. My vision these past few days has gotten noticeably worse, and staying offline isn’t helping. I’m not asking for prayers or pity, I just want this little community we got to come together, stay safe, and keep being awesome. I’m planning on seeing an optometrist soon, because typing this has taken me around 30-ish minutes.

I'm so sorry--that sounds awful! Definitely go to an optometrist asap.

[FairleyAlfy]

On 12/9/2020 at 1:21 PM, mrvisser said:

From the Portland area originally; moved to Seattle six years ago to attend the University of Washington. I've been lucky to grow up in what is in my opinion the most beautiful part of the contiguous 48, and it has been a heavy influence on my writing. Seems like we have a lot of poetry folks in this forum, but I'm going for fiction.

I love living on the West Coast. It's so beautiful. I imagine that it does influence your writing. I've been influenced by the landscape, and I've only lived here for two years. 

Good luck with your fiction applications! 

[FairleyAlfy]

On 12/13/2020 at 7:43 PM, spacedumpster said:

Hiya! I went to Bowling Green for my undergrad. I was not a creative writing major, but I did take a fiction course taught by one of their grads at the time, and he was very happy with the program. He was also one of my recommenders for applications this year, and is an all-around awesome dude and a fantastic writer. 

That said, having spent the majority of my 31 years in NW Ohio, I am sad to inform you that Bowling Green is a just god-awful place to live. A good friend once described it as "nothing but a windy-ass corn field", which is absolutely accurate. I did get to meet Anis Mojgani during his time as a visiting writer and hear him read, though. That was neat.

Best of luck on your applications!

Thank you for the information! Super helpful! I don't mind a cornfield. haha I'm from Mississippi so I'm use to a farming landscape. 

[FairleyAlfy]

On 12/10/2020 at 1:30 PM, TroyMcClure said:

Slightly late to the party, but I'm 28 and in CA. Applying for fiction.

Welcome to the group! I'm in CA as well. 

[FairleyAlfy]

Finally finished my last application on Sunday so that makes 13 total!! I was going to apply to 15, but I just don't have the money or the energy to apply. Plus I overloaded my professors with reference requests. They are being super nice about it though. I'm going to have to send them all gift baskets for being so great. I thought once I submitted my last application that I would be relieved, but a whole new wave of anxiety just hit me. haha If I get 13 rejections from all 13 applications, someone is going to have to pull me out of the depths of despair... Good luck to everyone!! Stay safe and healthy!

[mrvisser]

1 hour ago, FairleyAlfy said:

Finally finished my last application on Sunday so that makes 13 total!! I was going to apply to 15, but I just don't have the money or the energy to apply. Plus I overloaded my professors with reference requests. They are being super nice about it though. I'm going to have to send them all gift baskets for being so great. I thought once I submitted my last application that I would be relieved, but a whole new wave of anxiety just hit me. haha If I get 13 rejections from all 13 applications, someone is going to have to pull me out of the depths of despair... Good luck to everyone!! Stay safe and healthy!

My list is only six for this year, but my list for next year if I don't get in is up to 20-some "maybes" and 14 "definitelys". I really want to add at least one more for this year, but I don't want to ask my professors for one more letter.

[mrvisser]

3 minutes ago, archiapelo said:

The schools email the professor with a link to cut and paste the same rec everywhere. It takes a minute. Some teachers wait for all your emails, and send them all at once.

Yeah, it's just that one of my professors has an infant to take care of and seemed to indicate that they wanted to know exactly which schools I was applying to and how many letters to write, so I don't want to surprise her with another letter so last minute.