2022 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[gagne]

11 minutes ago, MDP said:

Still waiting to hear from:

• Iowa (assuming rejection though, since it seems they've already notified for fiction)
• Cornell 
• Hollins 
• UNM
• UVA
• NYU

Also rejected from UMich

!!! I got into Hollins for undergrad and always thought I'd apply to them for MFA but ended up not doing so (funding was unclear to me and by the time I remembered, I had finished five applications with thorough research (a summer of reading 20+ books of poetry))  good luck and here's to hoping for good funding ((:

[chuey]

I'm waiting to hear from:

• UMass Amherst (interviewed)
• UFlorida
• UNLV
• BU
• Iowa (likely rejection, though I don't think all acceptances have been notified yet, could be wrong)

I got good news from South Carolina, though the stipend isn't the greatest.

[xhou]

SOS is it too early to give up hope on Iowa or not? Accepting mainly through phone calls and rejecting only through posts?  What kind of outdated/cruel/quirky elitism is that? 

(My friend: don't complain about Iowa under your real name? what if they read the post

Me: would they care? if they do, go learn that modern technology bless us human beings with one great invention---email!  and at least, i am a woman with great humor and you know what, humor is important to writers. what else, oh, apparently, i can also talk a lot, and this is also a valuable quality for writers. thank you! 

[koechophe]

16 minutes ago, MDP said:

Rooting for you too! Gotta say, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic right now about the whole process...it's hard not to be 

I'm in the same boat too, at some point I more or less gave up on getting any acceptances this year, but I think I've made peace with that. Anyway, my list is:

Rejected:
University of Michigan
Arizona State
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Likely rejected:
John Hopkins
University of Idaho
(Maybe Boise State University? I didn't get an interview request, and someone else posted one for Poetry, so I "think" this is a rejection, but idk)

Pending:
University of Maryland
Brown University
Virginia Tech
University of Florida
Old Dominion University
McNeese State University

But you know what? Let's say I round up my 12 rejections this year for a total of 20 rejections over the course of the last two years. That won't stop me. I'll work my tail off, read more craft books, write more fiction, and keep fighting. 

My head is far harder than this brick wall that I'm banging it up against. The wall of admissions will crumble eventually. 

[CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI]

37 minutes ago, gagne said:

also, curious what schools folks are still waiting to hear from:

I'm waiting on:

University of Pittsburgh, Poetry MFA
Naropa University, Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, cross-genre MFA
Brown University, Literary Arts Poetry MFA
Columbia University, Poetry MFA

Didn't realize Columbia wasn't well-funded until I found these forums so we'll see what happens. One of my recommenders went to the MFA program at Naropa so hoping that is in my favor atop me having a degree in K-12 education and language for any teaching fellowships.

Good luck in the programs you havent heard from. 

I’m waiting on Hollins, UVA, VCU, UNCG, NC State, and West Virginia. They’re all for fiction. 

I havent heard from any programs yet. 

[xhou]

As someone with attachment issues, and who always overshares, I just realize that by posting on grad cafe, I gain a subtle sense of pleasure. I might start to write dairy about my traumatic love life+ failed academic life+ chaotic family life+ anxious social life on grad cafe. 

I hope grad cafe doesn't block me.  People are very weird when we are on the emotional rollercoaster ride called---MFA application. 

 

[CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI]

28 minutes ago, MDP said:

Still waiting to hear from:

• Iowa (assuming rejection though, since it seems they've already notified for fiction)
• Cornell 
• Hollins 
• UNM
• UVA
• NYU

Applied for Fiction MFAs only. Rejected from University of Michigan.

Thank you @Rm714  Rooting for you too! Gotta say, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic right now about the whole process...it's hard not to be 

I applied to Hollins as well @MDP.

Best of luck to us both. 

[gagne]

Rooting for everyone who applied to Hollins and if you get in, tell Tinker Mountain hello for me (,:

I got snowed in when I visited for undergraduate admissions and Hollins holds a special place in my heart. I ended up going to Wesleyan University instead.

[MDP]

21 minutes ago, Rm714 said:

Thanks so much for your kindness! Honestly I'm feeling a bit down as well. Just feeling like the competition is so harsh. My first choice should notify this week, so I'm trying to prepare myself for disappointment. 

It really is harsh. I've seen so many talented writers turned away from good programs already this season alone! It really is just a game of chance at this point. What's your first choice, if you don't mind? Hollins and UVA are my top two.

18 minutes ago, gagne said:

!!! I got into Hollins for undergrad and always thought I'd apply to them for MFA but ended up not doing so (funding was unclear to me and by the time I remembered, I had finished five applications with thorough research (a summer of reading 20+ books of poetry))  good luck and here's to hoping for good funding ((:

Oh wow, cool! Thanks for the well-wishes  Hoping for good news for you too. I didn't even know what Hollins was until I applied this year, haha. I just had a feeling that I should apply, so I did. Looks like a great program. I think their acceptance rate is about 10%, which is still slim but better than some of these >1% places.

17 minutes ago, chuey said:

I got good news from South Carolina, though the stipend isn't the greatest.

Congrats on the good news, @chuey! Sorry about the funding -- funding is make or break for me too.

10 minutes ago, xhou said:

SOS is it too early to give up hope on Iowa or not? Accepting mainly through phone calls and rejecting only through posts?  What kind of outdated/cruel/quirky elitism is that? 

 

Not too late! I just am a pessimist and tend to assume the worst. They have been known to notify fellowship accepted students as late as mid-March. There's really just no telling.

[xhou]

Just now, MDP said:

It really is harsh. I've seen so many talented writers turned away from good programs already this season alone! It really is just a game of chance at this point. What's your first choice, if you don't mind? Hollins and UVA are my top two.

Oh wow, cool! Thanks for the well-wishes  Hoping for good news for you too. I didn't even know what Hollins was until I applied this year, haha. I just had a feeling that I should apply, so I did. Looks like a great program. I think their acceptance rate is about 10%, which is still slim but better than some of these >1% places.

Congrats on the good news, @chuey! Sorry about the funding -- funding is make or break for me too.

Not too late! I just am a pessimist and tend to assume the worst. They have been known to notify fellowship accepted students as late as mid-March. There's really just no telling.

thank you. as you can see, I am an egoist, which means I remain optimistic then.

[Rm714]

7 minutes ago, MDP said:

It really is harsh. I've seen so many talented writers turned away from good programs already this season alone! It really is just a game of chance at this point. What's your first choice, if you don't mind? Hollins and UVA are my top two.

I'd rather keep it to myself for now. I think you've got a great shot at those schools!

Edited February 21, 2022 by Rm714

[xhou]

3 hours ago, Thunderroad12 said:

Apparently not, as I just got a rejection from University of Wisconsin-Madison. They do work holidays!

Wisconsin u evil shit

[neche]

54 minutes ago, chuey said:

I'm waiting to hear from:

• UMass Amherst (interviewed)
• UFlorida
• UNLV
• BU
• Iowa (likely rejection, though I don't think all acceptances have been notified yet, could be wrong)

I got good news from South Carolina, though the stipend isn't the greatest.

I'm also waiting to hear from Florida. I only applied to two schools, Florida and Alabama and I already got on the waitlist for the latter. Actually feels good to see another Florida applicant here, even tho we might be competing against each other. Good luck to us.

[gagne]

I feel the same @neche even if we’re competing for spots, I enjoy seeing others apply to the same schools as me

[chuey]

@neche good luck to us both!! 

I would love to go to Florida, but I'm certain they got my weakest app out of the bunch. No SOP and the smallest word/page count requirement in terms of writing sample. 

[nosferatatouille]

Quick question: Is it considered rude or imprudent to email programs and ask about the expected timeline for decisions?

[koechophe]

32 minutes ago, nosferatatouille said:

Quick question: Is it considered rude or imprudent to email programs and ask about the expected timeline for decisions?

I'd say it's not "rude," but it likely isn't going to do much. 

If you have an actual reason for emailing and asking (like, you have an offer that might expire soon,) or if other people have gotten notifications (acceptance, waitlist, AND rejections so you have reason to think yours might've gone missing) I think it's definitely fine. Other than that, you can do it, but it has a small chance of making them slightly annoyed at you and a large chance of not actually producing any useful information.

I'd say hold off unless you've got one of the reasons listed above. 

[xhou]

1 hour ago, Cindee said:

 @Rm714  , don’t tell people you have a feeling they will get in. There is no way for you to know. There is no advantage to giving false confidence. The only thing one can actually know is when someone has no chance. You know when their writing does not pass the New Yorker test. It means they will be one of the 80% of applications that get rejected after a page.

It is good that you intend to persevere, @koechophe , but be strategic. That will save you time.  You’re still young. Take one year off from applying. Spend that time reading 50 more novels / craft books. Your writing currently doesn’t conform to the norms of literary fiction. Currently, about 50% of your words go toward explaining. That number should be no higher than 2%. If you do one day come to understand the conventions of literary fiction, you'll look back to what you wrote this year and realize you didn't yet know what the Adcoms look for.

what about me cindee! why no mean words for me??? am I too funny for you to judge? 

[finch66]

39 minutes ago, nosferatatouille said:

Quick question: Is it considered rude or imprudent to email programs and ask about the expected timeline for decisions?

lol I emailed UVic asking this about a month ago (because UVic seems to have a weird and mostly undocumented decision timeline) and they never responded; I think this is worst case scenario. No harm but also probably won't get much out of them.

[xhou]

17 minutes ago, Cindee said:

@xhou, I don't know whether you can write, but you are to wit what @koechophe is to literary fiction. You both think you got it down. I recommend you read The Picture of Dorian Gray. 

You are to human decency what Dorian Gray is to good moral. 

No one can really define what good literary fiction should be like! We are applying to the CREATIVE writing program! At least I laugh out when reading @koechophe's line "My head is far harder than this brick wall that I'm banging it up against. The wall of admissions will crumble eventually. "! At least I entertain people more in grad cafe; At least I give more unexpected, fun, and warm response to people than you do. This is what a good writer does. Shine at any place and produce words that engage people at any time.  

and you are just a maker of anxiety, negativity, and misinformations.  

 

 

[xhou]

12 minutes ago, Cindee said:

@xhou, though you say you do what a good writer does, I don't think misinformations is a word.

but people know what it means. we are not at a grammar quiz or anything. 

[xhou]

    let's peace out. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by xhou

[gagne]

a pivot away from the above negativity

 

What genre(s) are you applying for MFAs in and what drew you to apply to MFAs this season? Doesn't have to be super philosophical or deep.

I applied only in Poetry as most nonfiction departments were heavily journalistic and I'd be more CNF than the NF they were looking for. I applied this year because I've found K-12 isn't the perfect fit for me with its structure and discord atop feeling isolated from intellectual communities which I cherish and hope to pursue a PhD in the future. Honestly realize I should've applied directly to PhDs likely but I have a heavily creative writing background and wasn't sure I'd have a strong enough PhD profile and somewhat glad I didn't as it's taken a lot of time to come around to what I would research and pursue within a PhD program (and having at least one MFA with both creative and critical components I applied to).

[maryak99]

5 hours ago, gagne said:

a pivot away from the above negativity

 

What genre(s) are you applying for MFAs in and what drew you to apply to MFAs this season? Doesn't have to be super philosophical or deep.

I applied only in Poetry as most nonfiction departments were heavily journalistic and I'd be more CNF than the NF they were looking for. I applied this year because I've found K-12 isn't the perfect fit for me with its structure and discord atop feeling isolated from intellectual communities which I cherish and hope to pursue a PhD in the future. Honestly realize I should've applied directly to PhDs likely but I have a heavily creative writing background and wasn't sure I'd have a strong enough PhD profile and somewhat glad I didn't as it's taken a lot of time to come around to what I would research and pursue within a PhD program (and having at least one MFA with both creative and critical components I applied to).

i've only applied in fiction writing since i think that's the only thing i know how to do, however, in retrospect it doesn't seem like a good choice to me. actually, the entire decision of applying to an MFA doesn't. the only reason i applied was because my professor encouraged me to go for it, but i feel like i should've thought about it more before actually doing it. not because i've suddenly realised i want to do something else and applying to an MFA was just a fleeting choice, but i feel like i'm way too inexperienced for it.

i've had one rejection so far, and it doesn't seem like jhu is going to get back with a positive response (since i think they've already sent out acceptances?). to be very honest, if i sound like i'm very young and inexperienced, it's probably because i am. it's my first application round and i'm barely out of undergrad yet. however, i do feel like for international people, the entire process is definitely a bit harder (i mean i had to sit for an english test before applying that cost me like, 200 dollars, which is a lot to pay to prove i can speak english).

whew, this turned into a rant. 

Edited February 22, 2022 by maryak99

[koechophe]

6 hours ago, gagne said:

 

What genre(s) are you applying for MFAs in and what drew you to apply to MFAs this season? Doesn't have to be super philosophical or deep.

Getting anything other than a Bachelor's wasn't on my purview until I was a sophmore in college (to be fair, I started with transfer credits from high school, so that was semester two.)

I had one professor who talked about his graduate school experience. He talked about how if you do it well, you can get fully funded, and about the culture of excellence being much higher. I don't recall much of what he said, but I do remember him saying this: "If you're not sure you want to go to grad school, spend your whole undergrad acting like you're convinced you do so that you get good grades and a good resume."

I thought that made good sense, and I was less likely to actually focus on keeping my grades up without a motivation, so I put it in my head that I wanted grad school to be an option. And that idea built momentum over time when I realized that as much as I have to be grateful to my undergraduate for, it wasn't a particularly "elite" experience. I spent most of it as a tutor/helper to other students. At about my junior year, the I didn't feel as challenged by my course work. 

So more and more, the idea of going to graduate school and being in a more challenging and rigorous atmosphere really appealed to me. I mean, I know I want to be a professor one day, and masters (probably even PHD) is a step on that path. But honestly, I really crave an environment where I have to struggle to keep up. 

So that's how it happened for me. That one professor said things which caused me to consider it, and the more I considered it, the more I wanted it. 

Oh, and it's fiction all the way for me. I've written a decent bit of poetry (I actually do a lot of slam, it's like free therapy lol) but fiction is where my heart is.