2022 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[MissMosquito]

15 hours ago, adwalker4394 said:

I wonder if phone scammers notice the uptick in accepted calls during late Feb/early March

If they haven’t, they’re missing an untapped hostage market. Unknown number—must answer! 

[MissMosquito]

9 hours ago, questioningquestions said:

Oop, someone in the Draft posted about New Writers Project having notified them for their poetry acceptance back in the first week of February... Looks like I ain't goin to grad school this year!

It’s looking like I’m in the same boat day by day. I applied to 15 schools, and with the radio silence along with 5 official rejections, at this point, I estimate I’m 0 for 9. I know I have 5 more to hear back from, but I think I might need to stop checking altogether to save my sanity. Sheesh, I am not a fun person to be around right now. 
 

I’ve been thinking about—what next? What about a post grad app workshop? I didn’t major in English, so I don’t have a community of writers where I’m at. If anything, COVID and the advent of Zoom taught us that community knows no geographical boundaries. Any poet on here who is interested in starting a virtual workshop to kick off the dust, after this fall, and motivate each other to get right back up and keep writing, feel free to reach out and DM me. This is just one setback in a long trajectory of our growth as writers!

[nsb92]

Hi! I'm new to this forum and applied to MFAs without realizing that this kind of community existed online--a friend told me about it yesterday. Anyways, with the announcements starting, I decided to seek y'all out . . . I applied to 12 programs for fiction and so far have been accepted to Montana (thrilled), rejected from Cornell, and am waiting on everything else. I know I made Phase II for University of Mississippi. I'm wondering: did any of you also get an acceptance from Montana for fiction? And has anyone been accepted to U of Miss for fiction (I know poetry acceptances went out, so am a bit nervous)? Thanks everyone!

[questioningquestions]

16 hours ago, humbledarrogance said:

is it true that Michener calls/emails the accepted students over the course of a few days? that mom from earlier talking about her daughter is the only Michener acceptance ive seen at all. and ill admit that, out of despair & envy of the moment (which im not proud of), i thought that one acceptance was bs. but i doubt anyone would lie about that. so im wondering if Michener has rolling acceptance calls?

 

I'm less inclined to believe a reported acceptance in the Facebook group is bunk since Facebook is less anonymous than the GradCafe... Although I do find it odd that both UT Austin programs haven't notified waitlists and rejections shortly after acceptances/the day of, since they've tended to do that in the past?

[adwalker4394]

36 minutes ago, questioningquestions said:

I'm less inclined to believe a reported acceptance in the Facebook group is bunk since Facebook is less anonymous than the GradCafe... Although I do find it odd that both UT Austin programs haven't notified waitlists and rejections shortly after acceptances/the day of, since they've tended to do that in the past?

I can only theorize, so this truly holds no water but I think UT waits to release their waitlists rejections until both programs have contacted those they're offering spots to. From the results page, it looks like a bunch of rejections come early March, including one that was "cancelled" because of late transcripts/recs (slowly dying knowing one of my recommenders submitted a full month after the deadline (they received like 12 frantic emails asking them as kindly as possible to submit but they were on their own schedule (hahahahaha))). I also think that because both MCW and NWP have such prestige, they may be contacting a lot of folks outside of the US and want to wait until they know all of their acceptances have replied to their offer.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[questioningquestions]

28 minutes ago, adwalker4394 said:

I can only theorize, so this truly holds no water but I think UT waits to release their waitlists rejections until both programs have contacted those they're offering spots to. From the results page, it looks like a bunch of rejections come early March, including one that was "cancelled" because of late transcripts/recs (slowly dying knowing one of my recommenders submitted a full month after the deadline (they received like 12 frantic emails asking them as kindly as possible to submit but they were on their own schedule (hahahahaha))). I also think that because both MCW and NWP have such prestige, they may be contacting a lot of folks outside of the US and want to wait until they know all of their acceptances have replied to their offer.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Both programs only accept a few people for each cohort, so would it really take this long if it were because of that? Ugh, I'm riddled with nerves about it

[Dog]

Does Pitt notify all their accepted students same-day? I interviewed for CNF and haven't heard back. Not sure if that means I need to expect a rejection, since some schools notify over several days. I know they accept 3 students in CNF for year, and 2 have posted in Draft.

[shakuton]

Guess Iowa poetry is indeed out, someone in Draft posted they got an email (overseas). Going to assume rejection here, waiting on PhD app decisions but it was interesting to apply to MFAs at least! Good luck to everyone else waiting~~ ?

[Dog]

On 2/25/2022 at 5:55 PM, gagne said:

well, at best I am hoping for a waitlist then (there are only 3 spots per genre)

@gagne I see you list Pitt as a rejection in your signature; did you already hear back from them, or is this just a presumed rejection because you didn't get an acceptance call? I'm waiting to hear back after an interview as well

[0-8_ThePerfectSeason]

On 2/25/2022 at 2:55 PM, MissMosquito said:

 

I'd include schools that have an acceptance rate higher than 3%!

Anyone have any suggestions for good MFA programs with higher acceptance rates?

Iowa State struck me as an MFA program that by rights deserves to be more selective than its 20% acceptance rate.  A quarter of the schools I applied to had acceptance rates in the single digits.  The rest were less selective.  Nonetheless it's not a sure thing I will enroll in an MFA.  Even my least selective program accepts just 60% of its applicants.

Edited February 27, 2022 by 0-8_ThePerfectSeason
Clarity

[koechophe]

7 hours ago, MissMosquito said:

I’ve been thinking about—what next? What about a post grad app workshop? I didn’t major in English, so I don’t have a community of writers where I’m at.

I mean, I did major in English, and I graduated like... last year, and I still don't have a community like that either, so you're not alone lol. I loved my workshop when I was in college, but there came an exact point where it was much more about me helping other people than other people helping me. I feel kind of bad for saying this, but almost every workshop I've been a part of has felt the same way--I feel like I give a lot, but don't end up receiving much effort/time from people in return. But that's okay, I do value the things I have gotten from them, and I hope that an MFA will kick my butt a bit more =). 

Not sure if you're part of MDP's email chain, but we've been doing some workshops. I've been slowly working through everyone's pieces, and if you are there, I will get to you eventually =). If not, please feel free to DM me and I can do my best to help out. I'd like to think I can give some sort of useful advice for poetry, but my specialty is definitely fiction and it's not even close.

 

 

 

[gagne]

2 hours ago, Dog said:

@gagne I see you list Pitt as a rejection in your signature; did you already hear back from them, or is this just a presumed rejection because you didn't get an acceptance call? I'm waiting to hear back after an interview as well

assuming rejection as apparently two poetry posted to Draft and there's a poetry post here, so would've likely gotten a call yesterday and they email waitlist and assuming they would've emailed yesterday (I never got an interview anyways)

[koechophe]

1 minute ago, 0-8_ThePerfectSeason said:

Iowa State struck me as an MFA that by rights deserves to be more selective than its 20% acceptance rate.  A quarter of the schools I applied to had acceptance rates in the single digits.  The rest were less selective.  Nonetheless it's not a sure thing I will enroll in an MFA program.  Even the least selective program I applied to accepts just 60% of its applicants.

Question: I've seen all these posts about acceptance rates... where do you guys find them? I couldn't find this info independently, and often felt like I was flying blind on how selective my programs were. I feel like most of them say things like 2-3% after the fact, which... isn't the best lol. 

I'd kill for a 60% acceptance rate, but I have a hard time believing it'd be fully funded. 

[gagne]

2 hours ago, shakuton said:

Guess Iowa poetry is indeed out, someone in Draft posted they got an email (overseas). Going to assume rejection here, waiting on PhD app decisions but it was interesting to apply to MFAs at least! Good luck to everyone else waiting~~ ?

I feel you on the PhD and MFA thoughts. A year ago when this all started in motion for me, I felt I could go either way but was like "yeah MFA seems more familiar and attainable" as I did English with a CW-Poetry focus in undergrad and haven't felt confident about critical work I've done but now am more familiar with what my research would be and think with mentorship if all else fails, could re-apply and apply for PhDs in the near future (next year? who knows, waiting on Naropa funding to settle the score and know they do a critical thesis and creative thesis)

[0-8_ThePerfectSeason]

13 minutes ago, koechophe said:

Question: I've seen all these posts about acceptance rates... where do you guys find them? I couldn't find this info independently, and often felt like I was flying blind on how selective my programs were. I feel like most of them say things like 2-3% after the fact, which... isn't the best lol. 

I'd kill for a 60% acceptance rate, but I have a hard time believing it'd be fully funded. 

Peterson's Graduate Programs in the Humanities, Arts & Social Studies lists many acceptance rates.  I never said the 60% acceptance rate program was fully funded.  It's not.  I have a lower threshold than most.  I'd be content with an in-state tuition waiver from a school where I would qualify to be a state resident.  And if that doesn't work, I look to attend a full-residence program that permits part-time study.  What I can't afford is lo-residency. Those programs are pricey. I'll switch jobs and towns if need be.  

[shakuton]

58 minutes ago, gagne said:

I feel you on the PhD and MFA thoughts. A year ago when this all started in motion for me, I felt I could go either way but was like "yeah MFA seems more familiar and attainable" as I did English with a CW-Poetry focus in undergrad and haven't felt confident about critical work I've done but now am more familiar with what my research would be and think with mentorship if all else fails, could re-apply and apply for PhDs in the near future (next year? who knows, waiting on Naropa funding to settle the score and know they do a critical thesis and creative thesis)

100% understand your thoughts. I actually studied international trade/business in undergrad but knew my heart wasn't into it, and also was thinking MFAs were the route that was familiar. What ended up changing my mind was that every writer/mentor I was talking to literally said "don't do an MFA. Get a fully funded PhD or find a job outside of this." Granted, a lot of these discussions in context included heavy discussions about class privilege in MFA programs and the writing world, as well as MFAs as a form of gatekeeping/literary elitism. I was also very worried about financial security, and nowadays the minimum requirement to teach is a PhD (my college was literally firing art-based professors for not having a PhD in, for example, fashion design when I was graduating), so it seemed like the safer decision even if higher ed is in shambles. Definitely depends on what an individual wants though, some need the time and space to write, while others feel prepared to skip that step. 

Hope you get good funding :)) Maybe one day you'll pursue a doctorate!

 

[sb2798]

11 hours ago, MissMosquito said:

It’s looking like I’m in the same boat day by day. I applied to 15 schools, and with the radio silence along with 5 official rejections, at this point, I estimate I’m 0 for 9. I know I have 5 more to hear back from, but I think I might need to stop checking altogether to save my sanity. Sheesh, I am not a fun person to be around right now. 
 

I’ve been thinking about—what next? What about a post grad app workshop? I didn’t major in English, so I don’t have a community of writers where I’m at. If anything, COVID and the advent of Zoom taught us that community knows no geographical boundaries. Any poet on here who is interested in starting a virtual workshop to kick off the dust, after this fall, and motivate each other to get right back up and keep writing, feel free to reach out and DM me. This is just one setback in a long trajectory of our growth as writers!

hi! some of us from Draft have a poetry workshop going over email. if you're interested, dm me and I'll add you!

[Nightwitch]

9 hours ago, questioningquestions said:

I'm less inclined to believe a reported acceptance in the Facebook group is bunk since Facebook is less anonymous than the GradCafe... Although I do find it odd that both UT Austin programs haven't notified waitlists and rejections shortly after acceptances/the day of, since they've tended to do that in the past?

Maybe it's because of the weekend that there's a delay?

[questioningquestions]

1 hour ago, Nightwitch said:

Maybe it's because of the weekend that there's a delay?

Maybe... Ugh, I'm just sad because I had previously been accepted to one of the programs (with a far weaker writing sample than this time around!) and declined  and reapplied this year, but it looks like I didn't get in again :.(

[Nightwitch]

1 minute ago, questioningquestions said:

Maybe... Ugh, I'm just sad because I had previously been accepted to one of the programs (with a far weaker writing sample than this time around!) and declined  and reapplied this year, but it looks like I didn't get in again :.(

Oh nooo! Sometimes it's hard to predict what's going to happen. I know it must be frustrating rn, but I hope you get accepted into one of your top choices. You know your sample is stronger this time, so there's still hope

[RosA-R]

Hey everyone, sorry if this has already been asked! I've posted once before, but I wanted to ask if you all have any publications you recommend for previously unpublished writers. As the decision days approach for the three programs I applied to, I am wanting to prepare alternatives to work towards next year's applications. Thanks!

[gagne]

11 hours ago, shakuton said:

What ended up changing my mind was that every writer/mentor I was talking to literally said "don't do an MFA. Get a fully funded PhD or find a job outside of this." Granted, a lot of these discussions in context included heavy discussions about class privilege in MFA programs and the writing world, as well as MFAs as a form of gatekeeping/literary elitism. I was also very worried about financial security, and nowadays the minimum requirement to teach is a PhD (my college was literally firing art-based professors for not having a PhD in, for example, fashion design when I was graduating), so it seemed like the safer decision even if higher ed is in shambles. 

Hope you get good funding :)) Maybe one day you'll pursue a doctorate!

 

Thank you! Yes, the two professors who wrote all of my recommendations said to me during our last office hours meeting before I graduated: "I hope you turn around and do a PhD or MFA some day. You'd make an excellent professor."

And I at the time was going into K-12 so mixed bag. But spending time outside of liberal arts academia and seeing how much I didn't gel with K-12 master's program or how K-12 is set up made me realize how much I enjoy higher education and academia (even if it sucks at times). So, I've been thinking and one through-line for me is archives and seeing just how I read and write naturally, archives, memory, poetics of language are very central for me and something I care a lot about. Just reached out to the professor who taught the one archive studies course I had in undergraduate and hope if we pivot to PhD to also have her recommendation and figure out how to write a critical piece from the last two or three years for submission (or do Naropa no matter funding and do a critical thesis that's a kicking off point).

[gagne]

4 hours ago, RosA-R said:

Hey everyone, sorry if this has already been asked! I've posted once before, but I wanted to ask if you all have any publications you recommend for previously unpublished writers. As the decision days approach for the three programs I applied to, I am wanting to prepare alternatives to work towards next year's applications. Thanks!

One thing I did when I first started sending work out was I sent it to publications linked to workshops or programs I've participated in. Then, I got enough of a wind to look into submission calls that fit for what I had already written and was passionate about. Just so happened to publish an essay about vultures in Connecticut and moving away.

[nsb92]

3 hours ago, RosA-R said:

Hey everyone, sorry if this has already been asked! I've posted once before, but I wanted to ask if you all have any publications you recommend for previously unpublished writers. As the decision days approach for the three programs I applied to, I am wanting to prepare alternatives to work towards next year's applications. Thanks!

Hi! There are tons of good online literary magazines and sites that accept work from previously unpublished writers. Honestly there are so many of them that it helps if you have a focus or regionality you want to hone in on (southern, southwestern, fantasy writing, speculative fiction, anything you can imagine). Many sites/magazines have "submission windows," meaning for a specific span of time each year they accept unsolicited submissions--you can set up a calendar reminding you when which places are opening up their submissions inbox. I'll also vouch for a new print lit & criticism magazine that's Brooklyn based called The Drift, pretty sure they have open submissions! They are very cool. Other places you could look (that aren't as specific regarding subject or regionality) include Kenyon Review, Guernica, F(r)iction, Sewanee Review, Georgia Review, Baltimore Review, Tin House, Ploughshares, Paris Review, etc. Some of these are much harder to get into than others, but they definitely all do love to publish work by "unknowns." I hope this is helpful!

[RosA-R]

56 minutes ago, gagne said:

One thing I did when I first started sending work out was I sent it to publications linked to workshops or programs I've participated in. Then, I got enough of a wind to look into submission calls that fit for what I had already written and was passionate about. Just so happened to publish an essay about vultures in Connecticut and moving away.

Hi, thanks for the advice! I have only ever participated in workshops run by other writers or as part of my university, but finding residencies and other programs is definitely also on my to do list!