2021 Applicants Forum

[fishfish24]

2 hours ago, NLake said:

As we get further along here, I’m wondering if anyone knows how often folx get in off waitlists. Surely a lot of it’s dependent upon school and luck - how many other offers the people ahead of you got, how many people have your school as their top school, that kind of thing. But I’m wondering if it’s a common occurrence. 
 

Anyone have any real life firsthand or secondhand intel on this? 

I think it largely depends on the program. For instance, more sought-after, fully funded programs are (I think) more likely to get who they want, and I think there's generally not much movement on their waitlists. But the big exception there is that if the programs are of roughly equal standing and are looking for similar qualities in applicants, they're often vying for one another's applicants (for example, I know Iowa and Michener often have overlap).

In terms of personal experience, I was waitlisted for half the programs I applied to last year (Minnesota, Madison-Wisconsin, and Michener). It's hard to know what it means when you're told you're on a waitlist because schools differ greatly in how long their waitlists are (some only have five students while others seem to have upward of 15), and they don't usually tell you exactly what number you are. For example, Madison-Wisconsin said I was "near the top" of their waitlist; in the end they took three people who they'd made original offers to and three from the waitlist, so I could have been #4 or even lower and it's just impossible to know. Minnesota told me upfront I was #7 on their waitlist, and I moved closer to the top as it drew nearer to the 14th. Ultimately, it was looking likely that I'd get in, but at the very last moment I got an email saying the program had been "asked to admit fewer students for next year" due to covid and therefore wouldn't be taking students from the waitlist. And I don't know where I was on Michener's waitlist. But from what I've seen on gradcafe, I *think* it's rare for them to have more than one person move on from their waitlist. Don't quote me on this, lol.

Anyway, all of this is to say, it's really really hard to know what your chances are of making it off a waitlist. However, you might be able to advocate for yourself and/or for more information by letting a program whose waitlist you're on know that you've been accepted at another competitive program. 

(Hope there was something helpful there! Good luck!)

[Ash...]

I got into Temple for fiction!

[goodcynara]

16 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

Received a full tuition scholarship

OMG YES YES YES!!!

[goodcynara]

9 minutes ago, fishfish24 said:

I think it largely depends on the program. For instance, more sought-after, fully funded programs are (I think) more likely to get who they want, and I think there's generally not much movement on their waitlists. But the big exception there is that if the programs are of roughly equal standing and are looking for similar qualities in applicants, they're often vying for one another's applicants (for example, I know Iowa and Michener often have overlap).

In terms of personal experience, I was waitlisted for half the programs I applied to last year (Minnesota, Madison-Wisconsin, and Michener). It's hard to know what it means when you're told you're on a waitlist because schools differ greatly in how long their waitlists are (some only have five students while others seem to have upward of 15), and they don't usually tell you exactly what number you are. For example, Madison-Wisconsin said I was "near the top" of their waitlist; in the end they took three people who they'd made original offers to and three from the waitlist, so I could have been #4 or even lower and it's just impossible to know. Minnesota told me upfront I was #7 on their waitlist, and I moved closer to the top as it drew nearer to the 14th. Ultimately, it was looking likely that I'd get in, but at the very last moment I got an email saying the program had been "asked to admit fewer students for next year" due to covid and therefore wouldn't be taking students from the waitlist. And I don't know where I was on Michener's waitlist. But from what I've seen on gradcafe, I *think* it's rare for them to have more than one person move on from their waitlist. Don't quote me on this, lol.

Anyway, all of this is to say, it's really really hard to know what your chances are of making it off a waitlist. However, you might be able to advocate for yourself and/or for more information by letting a program whose waitlist you're on know that you've been accepted at another competitive program. 

(Hope there was something helpful there! Good luck!)

Just here to say you are a badass - waitlisted at all of those excellent programs! 

[goodcynara]

6 minutes ago, Ash... said:

I got into Temple for fiction!

Ohhhhhh yesssssss!

[NLake]

12 minutes ago, fishfish24 said:

I think it largely depends on the program. For instance, more sought-after, fully funded programs are (I think) more likely to get who they want, and I think there's generally not much movement on their waitlists. But the big exception there is that if the programs are of roughly equal standing and are looking for similar qualities in applicants, they're often vying for one another's applicants (for example, I know Iowa and Michener often have overlap).

In terms of personal experience, I was waitlisted for half the programs I applied to last year (Minnesota, Madison-Wisconsin, and Michener). It's hard to know what it means when you're told you're on a waitlist because schools differ greatly in how long their waitlists are (some only have five students while others seem to have upward of 15), and they don't usually tell you exactly what number you are. For example, Madison-Wisconsin said I was "near the top" of their waitlist; in the end they took three people who they'd made original offers to and three from the waitlist, so I could have been #4 or even lower and it's just impossible to know. Minnesota told me upfront I was #7 on their waitlist, and I moved closer to the top as it drew nearer to the 14th. Ultimately, it was looking likely that I'd get in, but at the very last moment I got an email saying the program had been "asked to admit fewer students for next year" due to covid and therefore wouldn't be taking students from the waitlist. And I don't know where I was on Michener's waitlist. But from what I've seen on gradcafe, I *think* it's rare for them to have more than one person move on from their waitlist. Don't quote me on this, lol.

Anyway, all of this is to say, it's really really hard to know what your chances are of making it off a waitlist. However, you might be able to advocate for yourself and/or for more information by letting a program whose waitlist you're on know that you've been accepted at another competitive program. 

(Hope there was something helpful there! Good luck!)

Definitely helpful! Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear about Minnesota - sounds like you were really close. 
 

I’m really excited about the waitlist I’m on, but I’ve had trouble gauging the popularity of the program, so I’m not sure how likely it is that folx will turn their offers down. I may let them know about my other offer if we get real close to the deadline. It’s going to feel awful accepting an offer with some possibility for my preferred school still lingering out there. I feel like I’ve just got some investigating to do! 
 

Good luck to you this cycle. Am I correct in remembering that you have an offer or two at this point? I’m real bad with these usernames. 

[goodcynara]

21 minutes ago, NLake said:

Definitely helpful! Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear about Minnesota - sounds like you were really close. 
 

I’m really excited about the waitlist I’m on, but I’ve had trouble gauging the popularity of the program, so I’m not sure how likely it is that folx will turn their offers down. I may let them know about my other offer if we get real close to the deadline. It’s going to feel awful accepting an offer with some possibility for my preferred school still lingering out there. I feel like I’ve just got some investigating to do! 
 

Good luck to you this cycle. Am I correct in remembering that you have an offer or two at this point? I’m real bad with these usernames. 

Remember that per the Council of Graduate Schools resolution, you have until April 15 to accept an offer of funding. Re-posting this helpful info from the U-W website in case anyone needs it:

 

Wisconsin Protocol

Like most institutions with a graduate program in creative writing, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools and as such is bound to the following resolution: "Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution." You can see the full resolution as well as a list of council members by clicking here.

We at Wisconsin advise any applicant who is feeling pressured to accept another MFA program's offer before the April 15th deadline to simply send the program a friendly email that states, "I see that your institution is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools. As such, I believe that I have the right to consider your offer up until the April 15th deadline as established by the council. Thanks so much!" Most universities are big places where one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing. Showing them you know your rights will help ensure that your rights are respected. At Wisconsin, our promise is simple:

• We will make our decisions by March 15th.
• Should you be placed on our waitlist, we will tell you up front. We won't put off giving you an answer about your status simply so we won't have to tell you you've been waitlisted.
• While we will tell you if you are on our waitlist, we will not discuss the nature of the waitlist, e.g. how many students are on it, where a particular student’s place is.
• We will respect the April 15th deadline as established by the Council of Graduate Schools.
• Out of respect to you, (not lack of interest!) we will not call you repeatedly just to "check in with you" to see if you've made a decision.
• All our students are fully funded, which means we won't at any time threaten to yank or alter funding to pressure you to say yes before April 15th.

Finally, we urge all MFA applicants to know their rights and to ask the schools they're applying to in advance if they are members of the Council of Graduate Schools. If they're not familiar with the CGS's resolution, send them a link to this page. We hope that by spreading the word regarding applicants' rights, all students can begin their graduate studies on the right path.

 

https://creativewriting.wisc.edu/gradapply.html

[feralgrad]

1 hour ago, Ydrl said:

Received a full tuition scholarship

That's so awesome! I was gonna ask but didn't want to pry. I'm really happy to see your hard work paying off

[fishfish24]

56 minutes ago, goodcynara said:

Just here to say you are a badass - waitlisted at all of those excellent programs! 

Haha, thank you so much. Actually super grateful for the vote of confidence. I've gotten straight rejections so far this year. And I know my application was stronger this cycle. Just goes to show how hard it is to make predictions about this process!

[fishfish24]

50 minutes ago, NLake said:

Definitely helpful! Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear about Minnesota - sounds like you were really close. 
 

I’m really excited about the waitlist I’m on, but I’ve had trouble gauging the popularity of the program, so I’m not sure how likely it is that folx will turn their offers down. I may let them know about my other offer if we get real close to the deadline. It’s going to feel awful accepting an offer with some possibility for my preferred school still lingering out there. I feel like I’ve just got some investigating to do! 
 

Good luck to you this cycle. Am I correct in remembering that you have an offer or two at this point? I’m real bad with these usernames. 

Glad it's helpful! Yeah, Minnesota was a little brutal, haha. I actually don't have any offers so far this cycle, but I still have five programs to hear back from, so I'm just going to hope...

[Ydrl]

Update, I realized that I forgot to submit the second half of my TA application for UNH. They graciously let me send it to them today, so I’ll see if I can get off the TA waiting list.

[Ydrl]

1 hour ago, King Frock the Second said:

I have made it through February without getting in anywhere, and with nearly all my schools ruled out. Hooray. I suspect I'm about to also make it through March.  

Hey, how are you?

[mrvisser]

1 hour ago, Ydrl said:

Received a full tuition scholarship

Congrats! So glad to hear. New Hampshire seems like an awesome place to go to school. They're on my "maybe" list for next year.

[goodcynara]

22 minutes ago, fishfish24 said:

Haha, thank you so much. Actually super grateful for the vote of confidence. I've gotten straight rejections so far this year. And I know my application was stronger this cycle. Just goes to show how hard it is to make predictions about this process!

Wow, so true! Keep the faith!

 

6 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

Update, I realized that I forgot to submit the second half of my TA application for UNH. They graciously let me send it to them today, so I’ll see if I can get off the TA waiting list.

Nice! They are clearly on your team! Congrats!

[M-Lin]

 

14 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

Hey, how are you?

Haven't been directly involved with the shadow figure but I'm starting to believe in reincarnations... lol 

[Yellow62]

Someone on draft got accepted to UW Seattle for poetry yesterday. That makes 2 that have been reported so far. Getting nervous. 

[Blackhole]

my application status is "submitted" and I don't know what the hell it means...

[eternalwhitenights]

3 hours ago, Ydrl said:

Excuse me wtf? I got into U New Hampshire????? WHAT

Yay!!!! I'm so happy for you!!!! Are you leaning towards one or the other? Also, YOU. ARE. KILLING. IT!!! Woot woot!!

1 hour ago, Ash... said:

I got into Temple for fiction!

Congrats, Ash!!!! Here is how I feel for you:

 

Happy for y'all, and lehgo March.

[NLake]

57 minutes ago, fishfish24 said:

Glad it's helpful! Yeah, Minnesota was a little brutal, haha. I actually don't have any offers so far this cycle, but I still have five programs to hear back from, so I'm just going to hope...

Yes, definitely keep hoping. 5 is a lot! Lots of possibilities and you’ve clearly got a strong application. 

[Ydrl]

6 minutes ago, eternalwhitenights said:

Yay!!!! I'm so happy for you!!!! Are you leaning towards one or the other? Also, YOU. ARE. KILLING. IT!!! Woot woot!!

Leaning towards New Hampshire, but I really need a TAship to go. Good thing I’m on the waitlist for one.

[KZK]

Wow - so much good news this weekend! Congrats y'all! 

I am officially in purgatory with four of my final five having sent out responses to others in the last few weeks but nothing to me yet (looking at you, Rutgers-Camden, University of Montana, University of New Mexico, and Hollins)! Ugh, the waiting is so brutal! Just put me out of my misery! 

[mrvisser]

55 minutes ago, Yellow62 said:

Someone on draft got accepted to UW Seattle for poetry yesterday. That makes 2 that have been reported so far. Getting nervous. 

I guess the optimistic angle would be that the first acceptance was like Thursday and then someone got an email yesterday, so maybe they're staggered. I'm sweating waiting for the fiction acceptances to start.

[cecsav]

Received my first rejection today. Stings, even after a couple of acceptances. Sad face. 

[panglosian]

Hey has anyones UVA application status changed? Mine still says "Submitted" and some other people say that theirs says they're under review or something. I've only heard heresay about this so it may not be true, but I didn't know if it was like UMD's "Under Graduate Review" situation where it basically means I've already been nixed. Any info is welcome!

[nottheamazonalexa]

39 minutes ago, panglosian said:

Hey has anyones UVA application status changed? Mine still says "Submitted" and some other people say that theirs says they're under review or something. I've only heard heresay about this so it may not be true, but I didn't know if it was like UMD's "Under Graduate Review" situation where it basically means I've already been nixed. Any info is welcome!

Mine just says “submitted” as well so not sure 

Edited March 1, 2021 by nottheamazonalexa