2022 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[chuey]

I see a BU Fiction rejection on the results page...

[CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI]

Has anyone seen or heard anything about VCU on Draft or elsewhere? 

[CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI]

59 minutes ago, smrgblrg said:

Am I the only one with the crazy conspiracy theory that schools delay rejections in case an applicant they skimmed over blows up/becomes famous so that they can turn around and offer them a spot?

I’ve had similar thoughts but have quickly realized that one’s mind can imagine even the most obscure things in the face of wait or angst or rejection. 

But yes, that’s definitely come to mind before. 

[Mdlama]

I just got waitlisted at Syracuse. And by the way my writing sample definitely wouldn’t have passed “the New Yorker test”. Any tips for getting off the waitlist? Thanks in advance. 

 

[CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI]

3 minutes ago, Mdlama said:

I just got waitlisted at Syracuse. And by the way my writing sample definitely wouldn’t have passed “the New Yorker test”. Any tips for getting off the waitlist? Thanks in advance. 

 

Congrats! 

[nsb92]

56 minutes ago, Mdlama said:

I just got waitlisted at Syracuse. And by the way my writing sample definitely wouldn’t have passed “the New Yorker test”. Any tips for getting off the waitlist? Thanks in advance. 

 

Congratulations!! That's amazing. For fiction or for poetry? 

I wrote to a professor in one program where I'm waitlisted asking if I should write a letter to Admissions, he basically just told me to sit tight? I don't know if that is universal advice . . . 

[mrp]

@Mdlama, congrats on your wait listing.

Now what if you don’t get in? Are you going to submit something next year that again fails the New Yorker test?

[neche]

For a research, I'm looking for books and stories that deal with environmental waste and their impact on communities. Could be realist fiction, science fiction, magical realism, afrofuturism... Any recommendation is welcome. 

[Ydrl]

Good news for anyone on the Florida State waitlist, I'm going to IWW and will be declining my spot at FSU. Hope you enjoy your admission and TA-ship!

[Mdlama]

1 hour ago, nsb92 said:

Congratulations!! That's amazing. For fiction or for poetry? 

I wrote to a professor in one program where I'm waitlisted asking if I should write a letter to Admissions, he basically just told me to sit tight? I don't know if that is universal advice . . . 

Thanks! Fiction. I still think it’s a long shot, but it’s encouraging. I think the waitlists are probably ranked but it can’t hurt to advocate for yourself, emailing/calling/making it known how much you want it. 

[jka0124]

17 hours ago, Ydrl said:

GUYS I GOT INTO IOWA OMFG

 

19 hours ago, oubukibun said:

I don't know if this means what I think it means, but...

At 6:05pm today, I received an email from Audrey Gibson, the Office Manager of Alaska Fairbanks, congratulating me on being recommended to admission for the MFA Creative Writing Program.  The College of Liberal Arts, the Graduate School, and the Office of Admissions will submit final review and approval shortly.

The document is titled "Accepted MFA Applicants w Waitlisted TAShip.docx" so I harbor some hope that this is a formality and that I have indeed been selected to join the program.  Hopefully I join the TAShips as well, since I'll need the money.  No word on funding or anything of the sort, but figured I'd share in case anyone has ever received an email like this and can illuminate.

I will contact the Director of Creative Writing shortly as well.

For what it's worth, this was the first of the schools I chose and applied to, and the one I held the most desire to join.  If I am selected, then I will have manifested my destiny in a way I haven't witnessed since my parents won the lottery to come to this country so I could have a better life.

Wish me just a tad more fortune, y'all!  And here's to an answer to all this uncertainty for all of us, no matter what!

 

Thank you for reading my TEDTalk!

 

20 hours ago, Rm714 said:

Just got an acceptance from Chapman for Fiction! 

 

20 hours ago, poem for her said:

just got waitlisted at michener by email! apparently, 900 people applied this application cycle ? i'm feeling very excited/flattered!!!!!!

 

2 hours ago, Mdlama said:

I just got waitlisted at Syracuse. And by the way my writing sample definitely wouldn’t have passed “the New Yorker test”. Any tips for getting off the waitlist? Thanks in advance. 

 

 Such wonderful news from so many people. I’m sure I’ve missed other good news as well; Congratulations to all! 

[jka0124]

10 minutes ago, Mdlama said:

Thanks! Fiction. I still think it’s a long shot, but it’s encouraging. I think the waitlists are probably ranked but it can’t hurt to advocate for yourself, emailing/calling/making it known how much you want it. 

People have definitely gotten off the waitlist at Syracuse. The administrator there has a reputation for being quite helpful. I would reach out and then check in again as 4/15 approaches. I hope it works out for you! 

[finch66]

5 hours ago, oubukibun said:

Well, I suppose this thread was overdue for some action and positivity, haha.

I emailed the UAF Director of Creative Writing and she essentially confirmed that the document is an acceptance; they just have to be tentative with the language until the official word comes from the uni itself.  I imagine this communication will be in my inbox sooner rather than later.  She did mention no one's ever disagreed with their decision (heh), so I'm feeling much more satisfied with the result.  Waitlisted for funding, yes, however, she reiterates that there's a lot of movement on it, especially during this time, so she recommends I sit tight.  I'll take her word for it and do so, but it is vastly relieving to have a tiny fingerhold while I wait for New Orleans, Rutgers, Hollins (assuming it's a no since it seems acceptances have started going out, no?), and McNeese.

 

Thank you for posting this info! I have yet to get in contact with UAF because yesterday was a lot for me, but I was meaning to ask similar questions about the funding waitlist. Did she mention if it was ranked? I would love to attend Fairbanks and their program, but money

[VillaTheKilla]

rejected by Boston University via email. Congrats to those who get in 

[MDP]

Looks like UT Austin/NWP rejections are going out. Didn't apply but I know some folks here did

[poem for her]

3 hours ago, Mdlama said:

I just got waitlisted at Syracuse. And by the way my writing sample definitely wouldn’t have passed “the New Yorker test”. Any tips for getting off the waitlist? Thanks in advance. 

 

this is in no way a guarantee, but i do know that one of the syracruse fiction admits also got into northwestern (which offers a much bigger stipend), so who knows! with waitlists, all you can really do is wait (and let the school know how thankful you are + how much you love the program).

[sb2798]

2 hours ago, Ydrl said:

Good news for anyone on the Florida State waitlist, I'm going to IWW and will be declining my spot at FSU. Hope you enjoy your admission and TA-ship!

congratulations!!

would you happen to know by any chance if all IWW poetry acceptance calls/emails have been made?

[gagne]

5 hours ago, Mdlama said:

I just got waitlisted at Syracuse. And by the way my writing sample definitely wouldn’t have passed “the New Yorker test”.

What is this « New Yorker test »? I doubt it applies to the whole state as I imagine UB has different goals than URoc or Syracuse or even other SUNY schools vs those in NYC like CUNY, NYU, Columbia, etc.

[chuey]

Do we know if BU staggers rejections? They seem slow coming in / I haven't heard a peep from them. 

[oubukibun]

3 hours ago, finch66 said:

Thank you for posting this info! I have yet to get in contact with UAF because yesterday was a lot for me, but I was meaning to ask similar questions about the funding waitlist. Did she mention if it was ranked? I would love to attend Fairbanks and their program, but money

Hi there.  No mention of ranking, which was wise on her part, haha.

I'd like to just highlight my experience with grad apps for those who are waiting for their first 'yes' or their second or third or...  You get the idea.

I got into the UAF MFA program with poems that never saw a revision, save for the countless micro-revisions done as they were being written.  I'm NOT saying this to gloat, but to illuminate the violently arbitrary nature of the grad app beast.  It does not do to dwell on the countless variations of "Should I revise this for the 25,000th time? UNLESS this is a choice you're making to be more satisfied with the work as the work and NOT as a potential ticket to an MFA program.

 Treating it as a science will net you no more security than going in blind or even just half-blind.  That's the cruelty, and, in its own way, the fairness, of the system.  I applied to Iowa last year and obviously didn't get in.  Some get in on their first try, with something hot off the presses with almost no time to revise.

Same with the SOPs; some are copied and pasted, with just the school names changed (or not, ;)).

I could only do what I needed to do: I needed to feel like I had done my part to present a portfolio that reflected me, and reflected that me as idiosyncratically as possible.  I did not ruminate on the perfect comma or semicolon.  I simply let the words speak for themselves until they told me it was okay to let them go.

I encourage everyone to take a breather and just admire the work you put into your, well, work.  If it challenges you, and thrills you, and does not have to seek your voice but shines it plain as day for all to see...  You've done all you can, haven't you?  We have to let it all go.

4 schools left to hear from, and for all I know they'll all send automated rejections.  But that's it: I don't know anything.

 

Tl;dr: Be more like Jon Snow.

Edited March 3, 2022 by oubukibun

[mrp]

@gagne , the New Yorker test applies to all New York schools that are fully funded. It also applies to Hunter and Brooklyn College because those schools are selective, even though not fully funded.

The premise of the test is what Adcom's regularly say. 80% of applicants to fully funded program are rejected after reading one page because the applicant clearly is unaware of conventions in literary fiction. 

You take the last 6 fiction pieces from the New Yorker Magazine. You mix in 2 of the applicant's stories. You ask anyone (no matter how illiterate) to seek the odd man out. If they identify the applicants 2 stories, then the applicant will be rejected after one page. The test obviously won't work if the writing samples are experimental.

Take for example the links @koechophe posts. If you mix in his stories with New Yorker stories, any reader will instantly flag the two stories as devoting 50% of words to explanations. The New Yorker test will be failed. Because of this test, 80% of applicants don't have to wait for school decisions. An applicant can even endeavor to adjust their writing sample to something that would pass the test for next year.  

People often complain that the test is not 100% reliable. That is true of any test, but these detractors are also the first ones to admit they know of no more reliable test for predicting admission. (Their arguement is like saying GPA does not perfectly predict which undergrad will accept you.) 

[Yellow62]

1 hour ago, gagne said:

What is this « New Yorker test »? I doubt it applies to the whole state as I imagine UB has different goals than URoc or Syracuse or even other SUNY schools vs those in NYC like CUNY, NYU, Columbia, etc.

"The New Yorker Test" isn't real, it's some made up thing that the unwell individual who devotes their free time to trolling and spouting drivel across this board and draft keeps blabbering on about. Don't pay it any mind

[Rm714]

Quick question - what would you guys do in this case? A program contacted me in mid-February via email (unprompted). The director of the program reached out asking if I had any questions about it, and told me they "hoped to have admissions decisions completed by March 2nd." I responded with a different question and had a nice conversation with the director. 
Well, March 2nd came and went - absolutely nothing from them, and they didn't answer their phone when I called the general admissions line, either. Should I reply to the director asking whether I should expect a new date? No one else has posted about this school so I don't believe anyone else has heard anything (in other words, it's not just me they've not gotten back to). Or should I just tough it out and wait a bit longer?

Edited March 3, 2022 by Rm714
word

[chuey]

University of Florida acceptance on Draft... only took 2 poets and 2 fiction writers this year. Down from 3 last year and 6 the year before?

[Pastelsharks]

Has anyone said anything about Boston U on Draft? I'm unsure about the results that have been posted today (though this is my first cycle so I don't know if this is the norm/they're spacing out the rejections ?)

I've gotten 3 rejects so far but they were on the same days as pretty much everyone else got their rejects lol