2022 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

Rm714 · February 7, 2022

Just now, CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI said:

Thanks so much for the response.

So was it for fiction or poetry?

It was a fiction acceptance.

CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI · February 7, 2022

Just now, Rm714 said:

It was a fiction acceptance.

Thanks again and last question:

So are acceptances and waitlists sent out all at once?

Rm714 · February 7, 2022

Just now, CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI said:

Thanks again and last question:

So are acceptances and waitlists sent out all at once?

I'm sorry, I don't know! I did not apply there and have no affiliation with the school.

CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI · February 7, 2022

3 minutes ago, Rm714 said:

I'm sorry, I don't know! I did not apply there and have no affiliation with the school.

That’s fine. Thanks again.

I just meant in general, though. Are they generally sent together?

howbizarre · February 7, 2022

Any word about Syracuse fiction? I see some poetry rejections (?)) but nothing about fiction yet. Hoping I don't wait all day to get the standard sadness. Feeling like jello rn

Yellow62 · February 7, 2022

29 minutes ago, CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI said:

That’s fine. Thanks again.

I just meant in general, though. Are they generally sent together?

It varies depending on the program, but it sounds like all poetry acceptances/waitlists were sent out for Syracuse together.

koechophe · February 7, 2022

41 minutes ago, CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI said:

I just meant in general, though. Are they generally sent together?

Yes. Sometimes this happens over the course of a day or two as adcoms call everyone, but they generally happen VERY close by. Wait lists might be sent slightly later, but rejections are almost always sent much later. Some schools will reject a bunch of people with their acceptances, and keep a few other people in "not rejected, but not waitlisted" limbo until their things go through, and reject them after that.

Some schools just keep everyone in that limbo until they fill all their seats.

However, this rule doesn't apply across genres. If Poetry is sent through, that doesn't mean that fiction has been notified yet, or even that fiction will be notified any time soon.

But unfortunately, if a school's acceptances have been sent out for more than 24 hours, it's a pretty safe bet you're rejected, or MAYBE waitlisted, but don't hold your breath for that, since most schools do notify people if they're on the waitlist (with few exceptions)

CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI · February 7, 2022

40 minutes ago, koechophe said:

Yes. Sometimes this happens over the course of a day or two as adcoms call everyone, but they generally happen VERY close by. Wait lists might be sent slightly later, but rejections are almost always sent much later. Some schools will reject a bunch of people with their acceptances, and keep a few other people in "not rejected, but not waitlisted" limbo until their things go through, and reject them after that.

Some schools just keep everyone in that limbo until they fill all their seats.

However, this rule doesn't apply across genres. If Poetry is sent through, that doesn't mean that fiction has been notified yet, or even that fiction will be notified any time soon.

But unfortunately, if a school's acceptances have been sent out for more than 24 hours, it's a pretty safe bet you're rejected, or MAYBE waitlisted, but don't hold your breath for that, since most schools do notify people if they're on the waitlist (with few exceptions)

Thanks for the reply!

howbizarre · February 7, 2022

MFA vs. Human Life

I feel the need to say, with all the love in my heart, that this whole thing blows. Perhaps it's because I've never been accepted, so I don't know whether "all this" would be worth it if I were. However, I can say that when it comes to applying to MFA programs, it really takes its toll. Mentally, I mean. I speak for myself, but I assume the rest of you are also human. Anxiety, depression, self-worth, blah blah blah. There is a difference between the positive things I can tell myself about myself and how I actually feel, as related to my submitting myself and my work to be judged by graduate schools.

The unfortunate thing is that from the moment you decide to apply until Feb-April, your life is pretty much suspended—you shouldn't buy a house or get a new job or move on with your life, because, though chances are slim, you might be accepted into that dream program, and you'd have to uproot yourself, and move.

For example, I am of a childbearing age, but I have decided not to conceive human life until I hear back from these programs, because it would not be feasible to care for a small animal-person whilst also creatively writing for no money, full time. So that's pretty intense, I mean, really! In the decision between MFA v. Human Life, MFA is somehow winning over my priorities, even though I objectively value human life more. I have suspended procreation in service of this process, for which the odds are very much not in my favor. Sad. Curious!

And so I reflect: is it worth it? I think probably not, because, again, the odds are not in my favor. And yet I do it anyway.

I do feel pretty sure that for those writers accepted to learn under the wings of acclaimed authors, that will be a win. As for the rest of us. I mean, I read someone here binged 17 hours of TV to pacify her nerves? That just sucks. I'm so sorry to hear you're that nervous, and I am too. This is my third year of applying. To be fair, I have only applied to fully funded programs where I genuinely admire the faculty, so that's not a ton of schools, and maybe that makes the selection process particularly selective, but either way, this is some tough shit.

To be honest, I never thought I would post on here, though I've lurked. I can't imagine anyone applies to these programs and doesn't lurk. The last 3 years have been a slow grueling process of grinding the exceptionalist asshole out of me. Maybe that makes me a better candidate, but probably not.

As for how to survive the next few weeks, I'd suggest investing in your community. Do some service for someone in need, spend extra time with your friends, let them know you love them, and really live where you are. If you own property (grad school applicants, not likely!) do some gardening. Make your living space beautiful. That way, when you're rejected, you won't want to be anywhere else anyway. And if you're somehow accepted, you'll be sad to leave, which isn't the worst thing. That's what I think anyway.

Genuine love to all of you, who I am confident are much better than this nonsensical 1-2% acceptance rate. I hope you get in where you want to, but I believe you will go where you need to. That doesn't make ME feel better, but I am right there with you.

tweepop · February 7, 2022

2 hours ago, howbizarre said:

Any word about Syracuse fiction? I see some poetry rejections (?)) but nothing about fiction yet. Hoping I don't wait all day to get the standard sadness. Feeling like jello rn

someone on draft said that in the poetry acceptance it said that they had not finalized the fiction cohort yet

CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI · February 7, 2022

2 hours ago, howbizarre said:

MFA vs. Human Life

I feel the need to say, with all the love in my heart, that this whole thing blows. Perhaps it's because I've never been accepted, so I don't know whether "all this" would be worth it if I were. However, I can say that when it comes to applying to MFA programs, it really takes its toll. Mentally, I mean. I speak for myself, but I assume the rest of you are also human. Anxiety, depression, self-worth, blah blah blah. There is a difference between the positive things I can tell myself about myself and how I actually feel, as related to my submitting myself and my work to be judged by graduate schools.

The unfortunate thing is that from the moment you decide to apply until Feb-April, your life is pretty much suspended—you shouldn't buy a house or get a new job or move on with your life, because, though chances are slim, you might be accepted into that dream program, and you'd have to uproot yourself, and move.

For example, I am of a childbearing age, but I have decided not to conceive human life until I hear back from these programs, because it would not be feasible to care for a small animal-person whilst also creatively writing for no money, full time. So that's pretty intense, I mean, really! In the decision between MFA v. Human Life, MFA is somehow winning over my priorities, even though I objectively value human life more. I have suspended procreation in service of this process, for which the odds are very much not in my favor. Sad. Curious!

And so I reflect: is it worth it? I think probably not, because, again, the odds are not in my favor. And yet I do it anyway.

I do feel pretty sure that for those writers accepted to learn under the wings of acclaimed authors, that will be a win. As for the rest of us. I mean, I read someone here binged 17 hours of TV to pacify her nerves? That just sucks. I'm so sorry to hear you're that nervous, and I am too. This is my third year of applying. To be fair, I have only applied to fully funded programs where I genuinely admire the faculty, so that's not a ton of schools, and maybe that makes the selection process particularly selective, but either way, this is some tough shit.

To be honest, I never thought I would post on here, though I've lurked. I can't imagine anyone applies to these programs and doesn't lurk. The last 3 years have been a slow grueling process of grinding the exceptionalist asshole out of me. Maybe that makes me a better candidate, but probably not.

As for how to survive the next few weeks, I'd suggest investing in your community. Do some service for someone in need, spend extra time with your friends, let them know you love them, and really live where you are. If you own property (grad school applicants, not likely!) do some gardening. Make your living space beautiful. That way, when you're rejected, you won't want to be anywhere else anyway. And if you're somehow accepted, you'll be sad to leave, which isn't the worst thing. That's what I think anyway.

Genuine love to all of you, who I am confident are much better than this nonsensical 1-2% acceptance rate. I hope you get in where you want to, but I believe you will go where you need to. That doesn't make ME feel better, but I am right there with you.

Thank you for your kind, honest, and life-affirming words. I was glad to have had the chance to read your post.

fireflystasis · February 8, 2022

I'm so antsy for notifications, even though most of mine won't come till late February at least. Not checking my email, but checking Draft and GradCafe compulsively. How are you all coping? I just want one acceptance! ? One!

MissMosquito · February 8, 2022

38 minutes ago, fireflystasis said:

I just want one acceptance! ? One!

I said this verbatim to my boyfriend two days ago.

itsbeenandy · February 8, 2022

@ArtelI'm not sure @howbizarrewas denying that reality. Almost everything you're saying (which strikes me as true) merits some consolation.

As for the idea that society cries out to divert arts funding to food stamps, perhaps you're not being cynical enough

Edited February 8, 2022 by itsbeenandy

Ydrl · February 8, 2022

@Artel I don't think you've ever reached 100 down votes in your illustrious 2 year career of trolling the literary forum. What's it like being in a purgatory where you keep having to work your way back to the 100 you won't reach?

MDP · February 8, 2022

4 hours ago, fireflystasis said:

I'm so antsy for notifications, even though most of mine won't come till late February at least. Not checking my email, but checking Draft and GradCafe compulsively. How are you all coping? I just want one acceptance! ? One!

I'm in more or less the same headspace. Trying to keep in mind that almost all of these programs have a high volume of applicants who apply on a whim -- people who get bored, think "Oh, I know, I'll be a writer!" and send off a few unrevised stories that they wrote in high school. Not knocking these folks, but it's true that these schools receive and reject thousands of such applications each season. These apps alone ensure that acceptance rates stay crazy low.

Sounds shitty, but it reassures me that after accounting for the MASSIVE slush pile, many of us likely have a better shot than these 0.000001% acceptance rates indicate. But also, you just never know! At this point in the game (and it is a game, ha) I don't have any expectations.

None of my schools are slated to notify until late Feb., but for some reason I feel like I might receive some news this week? Had a dream a few nights ago where a man walked up to my car at a red light, took out a rubber stamp, and stamped the date 2/12/22 all over my windshield. Didn't seem like a particularly positive or negative message, just a message. (He was very serious, very calm, very well-dressed.) In the dream I thought "Man, I've gotta remember that date." Could be nothing, but would be cool if I hear something (good or bad) this Saturday. (I am a superstitious person if you couldn't already tell, lol.)

Edited February 8, 2022 by MDP
typo/wording

MissMosquito · February 8, 2022

19 hours ago, howbizarre said:

MFA vs. Human Life

I feel the need to say, with all the love in my heart, that this whole thing blows. Perhaps it's because I've never been accepted, so I don't know whether "all this" would be worth it if I were. However, I can say that when it comes to applying to MFA programs, it really takes its toll. Mentally, I mean. I speak for myself, but I assume the rest of you are also human. Anxiety, depression, self-worth, blah blah blah. There is a difference between the positive things I can tell myself about myself and how I actually feel, as related to my submitting myself and my work to be judged by graduate schools.

The unfortunate thing is that from the moment you decide to apply until Feb-April, your life is pretty much suspended—you shouldn't buy a house or get a new job or move on with your life, because, though chances are slim, you might be accepted into that dream program, and you'd have to uproot yourself, and move.

For example, I am of a childbearing age, but I have decided not to conceive human life until I hear back from these programs, because it would not be feasible to care for a small animal-person whilst also creatively writing for no money, full time. So that's pretty intense, I mean, really! In the decision between MFA v. Human Life, MFA is somehow winning over my priorities, even though I objectively value human life more. I have suspended procreation in service of this process, for which the odds are very much not in my favor. Sad. Curious!

And so I reflect: is it worth it? I think probably not, because, again, the odds are not in my favor. And yet I do it anyway.

I do feel pretty sure that for those writers accepted to learn under the wings of acclaimed authors, that will be a win. As for the rest of us. I mean, I read someone here binged 17 hours of TV to pacify her nerves? That just sucks. I'm so sorry to hear you're that nervous, and I am too. This is my third year of applying. To be fair, I have only applied to fully funded programs where I genuinely admire the faculty, so that's not a ton of schools, and maybe that makes the selection process particularly selective, but either way, this is some tough shit.

To be honest, I never thought I would post on here, though I've lurked. I can't imagine anyone applies to these programs and doesn't lurk. The last 3 years have been a slow grueling process of grinding the exceptionalist asshole out of me. Maybe that makes me a better candidate, but probably not.

As for how to survive the next few weeks, I'd suggest investing in your community. Do some service for someone in need, spend extra time with your friends, let them know you love them, and really live where you are. If you own property (grad school applicants, not likely!) do some gardening. Make your living space beautiful. That way, when you're rejected, you won't want to be anywhere else anyway. And if you're somehow accepted, you'll be sad to leave, which isn't the worst thing. That's what I think anyway.

Genuine love to all of you, who I am confident are much better than this nonsensical 1-2% acceptance rate. I hope you get in where you want to, but I believe you will go where you need to. That doesn't make ME feel better, but I am right there with you.

Hi howbizarre,

Thank you for your candid reflection on this panic-inducing limbo we applicants find ourselves in from the decision to apply to the prospective MFA programs' final decisions--however long that may be for an applicant. I'm the one who binged 17 straight hours of Netflix to "pacify my nerves." Embarrassing yes, but to my defense it was Ozark, which can suck you in like light to a black hole. I think my anxiety as an applicant is distilled by the same themes you addressed that seem to grapple with one another--Human Life versus MFA. Oftentimes artists feel they must forego raising a family because of limitations on time and resources. In the midst of mastery, no time can be sacrificed. I definitely had this mentality as an actress.

Slowly my priorities changed. By the time I hit my thirties, I knew I wanted more than a life solely devoted to artistic pursuit. I wanted a family someday. I wanted to help humanity in a more direct and tangible way. This transformation rippled through the decisions I made for my life. I took a complete 180 degree turn in my career, when I gave up acting to become a nurse. This was a huge sacrifice for me. For so long, acting was what I built my identity around. Once foregone, I felt like I'd lost the love of my life. Writing took acting's place as a creative outlet, because it could be done alone during stolen minutes between exams and clinical hours. Then when I became a nurse, that stolen time was found between grueling 12 hours shifts.

As a result, my progression as a poet has been a slow and intermittent trajectory as I juggled my evolution as a nurse and my search for a partner with whom the dream of a family would be possible. It took about as long to find a partner as it did for me to reach a point in my writing when I felt ready to apply to MFA programs. Now, at the age of almost 38 (I turn 38 on Friday), I'm nearing the end of my child-bearing years. I know my boyfriend will be my husband in the next year or two--depending on when he finally pops that question. I know we want to try for children as soon as yesterday, because I'm running out of childbearing time.

The decision to apply to MFA programs was huge for me, but it's also compounded my anxieties and questions about whether I can have it all--whether I can do it all. All my goals are racing toward the same door, sorely late for the party. This seems to be my lot in life. Late bloomer to the end. I hope this means I die a centenarian! My dad was upset when I finally told him I applied to MFA creative writing programs, because he fears I wouldn't be able to juggle a newborn with graduate school. Then again, I come from a family of catastrophizing worry-warts. My boyfriend has been a hugely positive influence on my confidence. He seems to think I could do both, and he's ready and willing to support me financially to help make that happen. Despite his hopeful outlook, sometimes I wonder if I would be better off rejected from all my prospective programs to focus all my attention on starting a family now before it's too late.

Whether or not other forum posters and forum stalkers are faced with the same crossroad as I am, I believe this limbo blows as you so aptly put it, because the arm wrestle between human life and artistic creation is a close call for some. If one is lucky enough to be born with the God-given aptitude for artistic expression, when inspiration hits, it can feel as precious as human life, because it comes from the same beauty and pain that makes a human's life worth living.

Edited February 8, 2022 by MissMosquito

MissMosquito · February 8, 2022

37 minutes ago, MDP said:

None of my schools are slated to notify until late Feb., but for some reason I feel like I might receive some news this week? Had a dream a few nights ago where a man walked up to my car at a red light, took out a rubber stamp, and stamped the date 2/12/22 all over my windshield. Didn't seem like a particularly positive or negative message, just a message. (He was very serious, very calm, very well-dressed.) In the dream I thought "Man, I've gotta remember that date." Could be nothing, but would be cool if I hear something (good or bad) this Saturday. (I am a superstitious person if you couldn't already tell, lol.)

Can you please write a poem about this dream? All the Ozark I've been watching found its way into my dream last night. Not grad school related, but I thought I'd share nonetheless. I dreamt that Omar Navarro, the head of the Mexican drug cartel, was admitted to the psychiatric hospital where I'm a nurse, and it was my job to tell him he couldn't have his belt while on the unit, or cell phone, or the pile of cash and guns he brought with him.

Ydrl · February 8, 2022

Not gonna lie, I'm a bit worried about who's teaching me at whatever college(s) I get into. My teacher has assigned a boat load of reading on week one (I'm in week 3). We had to read ~110 pages of the Iliad, plus 13 other pages of translations, plus 5-6 poems inspired by the Iliad because one was optional. That was the first week of that class- this was for one week of one class. Last week's class was only 50 pages total reading, but that first week was Spartan. If you can, and I realize this is hard, maybe see if you can sit in/zoom into a class wherever you get accepted.

Ydrl · February 8, 2022

@Artel do you need book recommendations? You seem bored

SteveHolt · February 8, 2022

1 hour ago, Artel said:

@itsbeenandy:

Money is fungible and zero sum.

My god, all of your opinions are cringe. Do you even apply for these MFAs? Surely a writer would be able to come up with an opinion that isn't as absurdly reductionist as "why expect to get money when some people are starving?"

MissMosquito · February 8, 2022

1 hour ago, Artel said:

@MissMosquito: If you are 38, you should have the baby now, and get the MFA after the baby is 3 years old. Most women have a misconception about fertility. They think they can start trying to have a baby at 42. 38 is already really pushing your luck. It might already be too late. I'm just giving the science. If you could afford $50K for IVF, you can wait a bit longer. If you are an MFA applicant, you can't afford IVF. If your spouse has one of the rare insurances that cover IVF, that would help. Even using IVF, 38 is late in the game. One day, you might even want to have more than one kid. If you google more about fertility, you will understand not to wait longer. The fertility data that exists really is not great. Google will be a frustrating process.

I don't know if I should even merit this comment with a response. I never said I plan on trying to have a kid at 42. I don't need any advice on fertility. As a nurse, my health literacy needs no assistance. And who is to say I can't hack pregnancy and childbirth while earning my graduate degree? It would be challenging I'm sure, but I know plenty of doctors who were pregnant while still in their residency, and residencies can be incredibly taxing with 60 hour work weeks. Three years could pass from now, and I still may not be pregnant, but could have earned an MFA by then. The fact of the matter stands, I was ready to apply, so I did. Despite my reservations, if I get into a program this year, there's no way I would miss the opportunity. Life happens now. I'm not going to put one goal on hold for the possibility of another. And if I start a family during that time, it takes a village to raise a child. I'll have plenty of support from two pairs of grandparents.

MDP · February 8, 2022

1 hour ago, Ydrl said:

do you need book recommendations?

I do! I'm reading the collected journals of Sylvia Plath right now. Brilliant but so bleak. And it kills me that Ted Hughes destroyed her final journal (with entries dating to within three days of her death!) Terrible loss. He was a bastard.

MissMosquito · February 8, 2022

2 hours ago, Ydrl said:

If you can, and I realize this is hard, maybe see if you can sit in/zoom into a class wherever you get accepted.

Thanks for this advice. It's not something I would have thought to ask.

MissMosquito · February 8, 2022

Just got my form letter rejection from WUSTL. : ( : ( : (

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