2021 Applicants Forum

[eternalwhitenights]

1 minute ago, Greithe said:

Thanks! And I love your name - I used to live in Ireland, and darn near studied Theology at one point. ? 

Looking around the Iowa site, it seems they've even assigned us University ID#s and everything - I suppose it's necessary to process us through the admissions system, but still, thousands of people going in and out of their system every year without even enrolling just seems mind-boggling.

I will be very happy on the day I delete the last portal bookmark, and close the door on this life chapter. What a wringer lol.

Random sidenote, I lived in Ireland, too!!! When did you live there, and where? I studied at NUIG for a semester, and dated an Irish guy for 4 1/2 years and lived in Mullingar (where Niall Horan is from) when I went over to visit him on two separate occasions! My MFA thesis is going to be my Irish Potato Famine novel and love story that takes place during it (if I get in, it'll be a thesis--I'm still writing it either way, lol!). I just had to shoutout Ireland here, because I miss Galway so, so much, and Galway Bay is the most beautiful place in the world, and just hi hello how are you to a fellow once-lived-in-Irelander!

[turtlesfordays]

I feel like I’m heading for a year of rejections here, so does anyone have advice for getting over feeling that you should’ve been writing more, should’ve tried harder, should’ve revised better, should’ve...etc? Because I feel like I’ve been lazy and even knowing the odds are not in anyone’s favor I’m having a hard time not placing all the blame on my self-perceived lack of commitment to the craft.

[Greithe]

2 minutes ago, eternalwhitenights said:

Random sidenote, I lived in Ireland, too!!! When did you live there, and where? I studied at NUIG for a semester, and dated an Irish guy for 4 1/2 years and lived in Mullingar -

Oh, do I have family photos on Galway Bay! We lived just a few hours northeast, not quite halfway to Mullingar. Our beloved old service dog was born in Mullingar, so that town will always have a place in my heart. My kids went to school across the street from a famine graveyard that had been turned into a lovely memorial park. Oh, I miss it, I miss it. Let me know when I can read your book! ❤️ 

[eternalwhitenights]

13 minutes ago, Greithe said:

Oh, do I have family photos on Galway Bay! We lived just a few hours northeast, not quite halfway to Mullingar. Our beloved old service dog was born in Mullingar, so that town will always have a place in my heart. My kids went to school across the street from a famine graveyard that had been turned into a lovely memorial park. Oh, I miss it, I miss it. Let me know when I can read your book! ❤️ 

Ah, that's brilliant!!! Can't wait to go back and have the craic someday.  Did you ever visit Neachtains in Galway? It's still my fav pub because of the live music and artistic atmosphere. Also, Carlsberg ftw. ✌️

And oh my gosh, what a breathtaking place to grow up across from. I remember when my ex and I were driving through West Cork, and we came upon some Famine house ruins, I could just feel the sadness. I mean, it just seeped from the land. You could almost wade through it, it was so thick.

Did you veer into Roscommon area, then? And awww, yay to your service dog!!! Although my memories of Mullingar aren't so hot (my ex is my ex for a reason, ha), I used to work at a place called Gallery 29 (they're closed down now) when I was over there on my working holiday visa, and it was me and two old Irish sisters running the entire enterprise, and boy, did that place become my respite. I miss Emily's cakes, and oh. My. Gosh. do I miss 99s. I STILL haven't found comparable ice cream over here in the States. 

Also, that's so cool you have family pics near Galway Bay!!! I found out after I got back from studying abroad and living in Ireland that my mom's side of the family actually came from a small town about 6-8 miles or so outside of Galway, and it was one of those full-circle, palimpcestical moments where it confirmed what I'd always felt in my soul, this pull towards Galway and Ireland. That was a pretty rad moment.

And I will let you know when it's out! I plan on it changing the world, so watch for it.  

What do you write, btw? Did you apply this round to schools? I applied to one program, Notre Dame, because, yo,  their Irish Studies program is the bomb dot com, and I can research and write my little heart out on Thomas Davis and the Young Irelanders and Grainne ni Mhaille to my heart's content in their program. Here's hoping.

Edited February 25, 2021 by eternalwhitenights

[Greithe]

7 minutes ago, eternalwhitenights said:

 

Did you veer into Roscommon area, then? And awww, yay to your service dog!!!

He was my treasure, God rest his sweet soul! And yes, exactly; we haunted Lough Key Forest Park quite a bit.

I write fiction rooted in landscape and folklore, on the edge of magical realism, and like to explore how the old stories keep retelling themselves in every generation. I've been published; I've gotten some compliments for setting and voice etc, but my challenge is digging deeply enough emotionally, daring to be vulnerable enough for the story, and that's where I'm hoping MFA workshops can help me. IFFFF I can get in, and that's looking so iffy right now lol - I'm still waiting to hear from five programs, or 4 once Iowa finishes calling its lucky few. If I don't get in anywhere this round, I'll go job hunting for now and try some low-res options next go, I think.

Or, maybe just live in a van near the beach. That's really getting tempting these days!

[panglosian]

49 minutes ago, fishfish24 said:

Thanks for this. Syracuse and Iowa on the back of Michigan and Minnesota... I'll take a night of hopefulness

Tbh I'm in the boat of "I'm going to pretend I still have a chance at Syracuse and Cornell until literally told otherwise"....... like a hopeful child.....

[eternalwhitenights]

4 minutes ago, Greithe said:

He was my treasure, God rest his sweet soul! And yes, exactly; we haunted Lough Key Forest Park quite a bit.

I write fiction rooted in landscape and folklore, on the edge of magical realism, and like to explore how the old stories keep retelling themselves in every generation. I've been published; I've gotten some compliments for setting and voice etc, but my challenge is digging deeply enough emotionally, daring to be vulnerable enough for the story, and that's where I'm hoping MFA workshops can help me. IFFFF I can get in, and that's looking so iffy right now lol - I'm still waiting to hear from five programs, or 4 once Iowa finishes calling its lucky few. If I don't get in anywhere this round, I'll go job hunting for now and try some low-res options next go, I think.

Or, maybe just live in a van near the beach. That's really getting tempting these days!

Lovely! Yeah, the lakes in the Midlands were some of the best parts of it. Also, the fact that there are 1000 year old castles like every 3 miles, lol.

And ooo, your fiction sounds scintillating! I have an entire book of Lady Gregory's Irish folklore that I bought at Charlie Byrne's in Galway, and I definitely want to incorporate some type of Irish folklore into the thematic schema of my novel, at some point. Just going to try to soak up as much as I can for now so that when that magic moment of creativity and consciousness click in the midst of story writing, I'll be able to pull from a treasure trove.

I hope you hear back from Iowa, and all your programs soon, and, I mean, there are worse things than having the ocean as your front yard, ha!

And to your van on a beach aspirations, I think Matt Foley said it best:

C'est la vie?

[Greithe]

1 minute ago, eternalwhitenights said:

I hope you hear back from Iowa, and all your programs soon, and, I mean, there are worse things than having the ocean as your front yard, ha!

 

Thanks, and you too!

Right now I'm fine with rejections as long as I can get this over with, and just have some direction and a plan. I imagine a lot of us are in the same boat with that. It's the where-will-I-be-next-year feeling that's the worst.... especially when I realize I applied to at least one school that's so far away, I probably wouldn't be able to afford to move there if I did get in pffft (good job! lol)

I have learned, in an already longish life, that whenever disaster strikes (apart from anyone dying), it's clearing the way for wonderful things ahead. Happens EVERY time. So I've learned to be grateful whenever the roof caves in, and keep looking ahead for new good things. They always come, eventually. 

❤️ 

[eternalwhitenights]

10 minutes ago, Greithe said:

Thanks, and you too!

Right now I'm fine with rejections as long as I can get this over with, and just have some direction and a plan. I imagine a lot of us are in the same boat with that. It's the where-will-I-be-next-year feeling that's the worst.... especially when I realize I applied to at least one school that's so far away, I probably wouldn't be able to afford to move there if I did get in pffft (good job! lol)

I have learned, in an already longish life, that whenever disaster strikes (apart from anyone dying), it's clearing the way for wonderful things ahead. Happens EVERY time. So I've learned to be grateful whenever the roof caves in, and keep looking ahead for new good things. They always come, eventually. 

❤️

Amen to that. I imagine we'll be hearing a lot of things by the end of this week and all during next week hopefully!

[Yellow62]

2 hours ago, anamcara said:

:pointedly ignores sage advice from earlier in the thread to not put any stock in the portals:

Anyone else able to see a course catalog on the Courses/Registration section of their UIowa portal? I can, and I can't remember if I could before, and I have a deathgrip on the smallest scraps of hope. There's a note above the catalog search that says I don't yet have an admissions profile and can't register, but I can see and search for everything now ?

Same here and I also can't remember if I had access to this previously...On one hand I feel like being able to actually search the catalogue is possibly a good sign, but the course lists are also public info so...just gonna not think about it and retain a deathgrip on hope scraps as well. .......

[Yellow62]

Someone on draft says they know someone who got an email acceptance from Iowa for poetry. Also first poetry acceptance from U Washington at like 5pm pst tonight. Can't wait to be a nervous wreck tomorrow. 

[mrvisser]

32 minutes ago, Yellow62 said:

Someone on draft says they know someone who got an email acceptance from Iowa for poetry. Also first poetry acceptance from U Washington at like 5pm pst tonight. Can't wait to be a nervous wreck tomorrow. 

Even though it wasn't one of my top choices, the Washington one just hurts. Obviously being an alumni doesn't make a difference as a candidate, but I had such a great experience there as an undergrad and feel a real bond with the school.

[Yellow62]

23 minutes ago, mrvisser said:

Even though it wasn't one of my top choices, the Washington one just hurts. Obviously being an alumni doesn't make a difference as a candidate, but I had such a great experience there as an undergrad and feel a real bond with the school.

Well hey, no one's reported for fiction from what I've seen, and who knows if all the poetry calls even went out tonight. Not over yet!

[panglosian]

2 hours ago, panglosian said:

Tbh I'm in the boat of "I'm going to pretend I still have a chance at Syracuse and Cornell until literally told otherwise"....... like a hopeful child.....

Welp that's it for Syracuse acceptances folks, a second Syracuse student confirmed that the coordinator contacted all admits already. I'm holding out for a waitlist (and some new from Cornell smh)!

[mrvisser]

10 minutes ago, Yellow62 said:

Well hey, no one's reported for fiction from what I've seen, and who knows if all the poetry calls even went out tonight. Not over yet!

True. I'll hold onto hope for one more day!

[Yellow62]

9 minutes ago, Forbon said:

I don't believe anyone does anyone else favors with more posts like “you got this.” Those posts are like form rejection letters that tell you how much they care about you in particular. Here is reality: I estimate, if you haven’t heard from Iowa yet, there is a 99% chance you were rejected. If you don’t get a call tomorrow, my estimate will rise to 99.99%.

LOL you realize Iowa has to contact 50 people not including waitlisters, right? 

[Greithe]

17 minutes ago, Forbon said:

 Here is reality: I estimate, if you haven’t heard from Iowa yet, there is a 99% chance you were rejected. If you don’t get a call tomorrow, my estimate will rise to 99.99%.

To be completely fair, we knew when we applied that we had a 99% chance (well, a 97% or so chance) of rejection. The volume of applications against the size of the cohort makes that the reality.

I honestly love people who hang onto hope in the face of odds like that. That's been part of the fun, and the misery, of this whole adventure, for me anyhow. 

[babypoet2k]

3 hours ago, Yellow62 said:

Same here and I also can't remember if I had access to this previously...On one hand I feel like being able to actually search the catalogue is possibly a good sign, but the course lists are also public info so...just gonna not think about it and retain a deathgrip on hope scraps as well. .......

i'm like 99% sure it's been here all along. this is what it says for me rn. 

[Yellow62]

27 minutes ago, babypoet2k said:

i'm like 99% sure it's been here all along. this is what it says for me rn. 

Yeppp that's what I get. You're probably right about it being there all along

[goodcynara]

Anyone have a favorite journal that publishes critical essays on poetry? Looking for examples of well-executed, relatively short critical essays (not reviews). Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous_PhD_Applicant]

 Regarding UC Merced,EECS PhD Fall 2021 admission decision

After a discussion over email, a professor encouraged me to apply and I've submitted the application by the priority deadline (15th Dec). After application submission, he interviewed me on the 2nd week of January 2021. At the end of the interview, he was positive to accept me in his lab and told me the offer will be sent by February 2nd week. However, still, I didn't receive any decision and the professor not replying my emails. What should I do in this situation? Should I approach another professor? Any suggestion?

 

[mrvisser]

12 minutes ago, Anonymous_PhD_Applicant said:

 Regarding UC Merced,EECS PhD Fall 2021 admission decision

After a discussion over email, a professor encouraged me to apply and I've submitted the application by the priority deadline (15th Dec). After application submission, he interviewed me on the 2nd week of January 2021. At the end of the interview, he was positive to accept me in his lab and told me the offer will be sent by February 2nd week. However, still, I didn't receive any decision and the professor not replying my emails. What should I do in this situation? Should I approach another professor? Any suggestion?

 

•  

Sorry, but I think you've found the wrong forum. This is for creative writing applicants. Best of luck, though!

[Anonymous_PhD_Applicant]

1 minute ago, mrvisser said:

Sorry, but I think you've found the wrong forum. This is for creative writing applicants. Best of luck, though!

Oh, my bad! Sorry and thank you! Is there anyway to delete? Can't see the option.

[Ydrl]

@eternalwhitenights @Greithe

I’m loving this wholesome Ireland conversation. I really want to go live in another country some day, and while I‘ve picked out a few, Ireland is number 2 (1 is New Zealand.)

[woweezowee]

12 hours ago, M-Lin said:

I saw you that you applied to some of the same schools as I did. I guess we're both targeting the new york area! Are the schools that accepted you, by any chance, NYU or Hunter? 

Looking at your school list, every one of them would be an amazing place to go for MFA, so congratulations!

I have been accepted to NYU and Stony Brook Southampton so far. Still waiting to hear from Hunter! 

Thank you for the congratulations, and good luck!