2022 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[mrshakeysingstheblues]

5 minutes ago, retrotyping said:

@asf did you try taking the New Yorker test? 

Tee hee hee. 

[eternalwhitenights]

3 hours ago, Nightwitch said:

By the way, has anyone heard from Notre Dame Fiction?

Not yet! I haven't seen any movement either here or on Draft, so I'm waiting with bated breath, too!

[Xxanderr]

In at Standford!  I only applied there so will be attending next fall. Congrats and good luck to everyone. 

Edited March 7, 2022 by Zander

[Rm714]

Just got an acceptance from California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco for Fiction! With a pretty great scholarship too. Quite pleased!

[Yellow62]

42 minutes ago, asf said:

Oh,  @eternalwhitenights , you can’t put yourself through this every year. You can’t limit yourself to one school. People apply to 10 schools and sometimes get into just one. People get into a school and get rejected from much crappier schools. 

There is a randomness and subjectivity to admission. How else to explain how just about everyone but me got in somewhere this year?

It would be ironic, though, if you too got in this year, and I am literally the only one returning to get rejected everywhere.

Well it's pretty clear you're the troll account on Draft (Mel Reltor) talking about interviewing with Brooklyn college and asking how prestigious the program is, so are you saying you already heard back from them and it was a no, or are you just lying about getting interviews now?

[Rm714]

11 minutes ago, Yellow62 said:

Well it's pretty clear you're the troll account on Draft (Mel Reltor) talking about interviewing with Brooklyn college and asking how prestigious the program is, so are you saying you already heard back from them and it was a no, or are you just lying about getting interviews now?

This person is just trying to get a rise out of people in a stressful time. I don't think we can even be certain they applied anywhere at all. I think it's best we all just ignore them and be supportive towards each other.

[panglosian]

Brown acceptance for fiction in draft and a rejection in playwriting. 

[koechophe]

19 minutes ago, Rm714 said:

I think it's best we all just ignore them and be supportive towards each other.

Oh definitely. You can even set them to ignore so their posts don't show up. Just click on your name in the top right corner of the site, click on "Ignored users" and add them in. Every time I see a new account crop up, I do that. 

Though I will say this: after this user has spent literally the entire season hounding me about how bad my writing is, I got in. 

They were wrong about me. They were wrong about @mrvisser and @Ydrl too. Remember that if you're ever tempted to let the troll's discouraging comments get to you. 

[afg]

Enjoy your moment in the sun @koechophe. Enjoy. But know this. Your good friends @mrvisser and @Ydrl , more or less stopped posting as soon as they got into big shot schools. They used to trade posts with you on the hour. But they are gone. They haven’t even hearted your declaration of admission.

You’ll have to revel in your glory without them.

[Sunocation]

8 hours ago, CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI said:

Anyone heard from West Virginia or NC State? 

I was waitlisted at WVU (CNF) on March 3!

[CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI]

6 minutes ago, Sunocation said:

I was waitlisted at WVU (CNF) on March 3!

Sick. Congratulations. Hopefully it turns into an acceptance.

And thanks for the reply! 

[eternalwhitenights]

2 hours ago, koechophe said:

Oh definitely. You can even set them to ignore so their posts don't show up. Just click on your name in the top right corner of the site, click on "Ignored users" and add them in. Every time I see a new account crop up, I do that. 

Though I will say this: after this user has spent literally the entire season hounding me about how bad my writing is, I got in. 

They were wrong about me. They were wrong about @mrvisser and @Ydrl too. Remember that if you're ever tempted to let the troll's discouraging comments get to you. 

Question, because I'm lazy and don't feel like searching back through pages and pages of this year's MFA thread ?: what program did @mrvisserget into? I am so, so happy for him--he was one of the first people who welcomed me on the MFA thread last year (I think it was both of our first seasons?), and he was so hopeful with all the programs he'd applied to, but unfortunately didn't get into last year. He was one of my OGs I was especially rooting for this year to get an acceptance, and to hear that he did, makes me so, incredibly happy to hear that his hard work paid off!! (@mrvisserif you happen to see this post, congratulations a million times over on getting accepted to your program!! I'm so, so proud of you for sticking with it, and congratulations on your success!! You rock! :D)

Also, on a more general note, congrats on all the acceptances posted today! You guys are killing it!!! All the hearts and congrats and hugs from me to y'all!

[koechophe]

36 minutes ago, eternalwhitenights said:

Question, because I'm lazy and don't feel like searching back through pages and pages of this year's MFA thread ?: what program did @mrvisserget into?

As far as I know, he didn't get an official acceptance, but UC Irvine emailed him and said his application was read "with deep interest" and asked for additional writing samples to review. 

If not a direct acceptance, definitely a sign that he's at the top of the pool =). Really hoping it works out. 

[eternalwhitenights]

18 minutes ago, koechophe said:

As far as I know, he didn't get an official acceptance, but UC Irvine emailed him and said his application was read "with deep interest" and asked for additional writing samples to review. 

If not a direct acceptance, definitely a sign that he's at the top of the pool =). Really hoping it works out. 

Awesome, hoping it works out, too!! Thanks for the info!

[Nightwitch]

7 hours ago, Xxanderr said:

In at Standford!  I only applied there so will be attending next fall. Congrats and good luck to everyone. 

Omg Congratulations! Is that the Stegner fellowship? 

[retrotyping]

Any news on UNCG waitlists? I saw a few interviews, acceptances, and rejections come out, but I've received no word. Maybe trickle rejections are in my future.

[nicolette7766]

53 minutes ago, retrotyping said:

Any news on UNCG waitlists? I saw a few interviews, acceptances, and rejections come out, but I've received no word. Maybe trickle rejections are in my future.

I haven’t seen any acceptances on draft or on here. Just rejections and a few interviews on Feb 22nd.

[MDP]

I'm "out of reactions" again (?!) but wanted to say a huge CONGRATS to everyone!!! So awesome to see so many acceptances and waitlists, especially for people who are reapplying for the second or third time. You all give me hope that I may have better luck next cycle.

And @koechophe, that is extra awesome about your story  Honored to have workshopped it, and super proud of you for getting in!!!

[CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI]

Any word/sign on NC State? 

[koechophe]

15 minutes ago, MDP said:

And @koechophe, that is extra awesome about your story  Honored to have workshopped it, and super proud of you for getting in!!!

Thanks so much! I'm really glad I made the decision to keep pushing forward and writing new things to submit to places. Last cycle and the start of this one, I was basically like, "Writing is triggering me, so I'm not going to write much while I wait." 

Which is understandable, but a few months ago, I was like, "Hell no, I'm a writer, and these rejections aren't going to stop me!" I'm glad I got to that point before I got in.

24 minutes ago, MDP said:

I'm "out of reactions" again (?!) but wanted to say a huge CONGRATS to everyone!!! So awesome to see so many acceptances and waitlists, especially for people who are reapplying for the second or third time. You all give me hope that I may have better luck next cycle.

For what it's worth, I really do believe in you and your writing. You've overcome so much to get where you are, and I think you've got really good things to say. I want to see your best work, the work that you can do after you've gone through a program and honed your skills from it.  So I really do hope you make it in soon ? 

[a1a]

The New Yorker test has lately been getting a bad rap around here. It usually happens through a straw man argument. Take what @koechophe just posted: “They were wrong about me. They were wrong about @mrvisserand @Ydrl  too. Remember that if you're ever tempted to let the troll's discouraging comments get to you.”

The New Yorker test doesn’t purport to predict with perfect reliability every admission decision. The test predicts only one thing: are you in the 80% of applicants that are rejected to every fully funded program after one page of your writing sample?

@mrvisser was probably accepted to UC Irvine, but he never posted a writing for the New Yorker test. @ydrl got into Iowa, but she never posted a writing. @koechophe posted a writing, but his program isn’t fully funded. The New Yorker test does not address that school.

The test serves an important purpose. When you apply to college, the guidance counselor can tell you that your B average rules out Harvard. The New Yorker test serves the same function for fully funded programs. If you fail the test, you can either apply to non-fully funded programs, or read more and wait till next year. Disproving the New Yorker test with false evidence profits no one.

Edited March 8, 2022 by a1a

[koechophe]

59 minutes ago, CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI said:

Any word/sign on NC State? 

A user on draft posted the following after talking to the faculty.

"NC State is finishing up notifying for acceptences/waitlist but they still have more to call."
I'd assume that by this point, their acceptances and waitlists have all been sent out, but this isn't the most solid.

There's an acceptance posted for poetry on the 4th too, which sort of backs this up. 

[Thunderroad12]

14 minutes ago, a1a said:

The New Yorker test has lately been getting a bad rap around here. It usually happens through a straw man argument. Take what @koechophe just posted: “They were wrong about me. They were wrong about @mrvisserand @Ydrl  too. Remember that if you're ever tempted to let the troll's discouraging comments get to you.”

The New Yorker test doesn’t purport to predict with perfect reliability every admission decision. The test predicts only one thing: are you in the 80% of applicants that are rejected to every fully funded program after one page of your writing sample?

@mrvisser was probably accepted to UC Irvine, but he never posted a writing for the New Yorker test. @ydrl got into Iowa, but she never posted a writing. @koechophe posted a writing, but his program isn’t fully funded. The New Yorker test does not address that school.

The test serves an important purpose. When you apply to college, the guidance counselor can tell you that your B average rules out Harvard. The New Yorker test serves the same function for fully funded programs. If you fail the test, you can either apply to non-fully funded programs, or read more and wait till next year. Disproving the New Yorker test with false evidence profits no one.

I’m probably going to regret this, but can anyone enlighten me? What is the New Yorker test?

[MDP]

On 2/9/2022 at 10:59 AM, retrotyping said:

This person made up a “test” to verify your likelihood of being admitted to a program. It involves pairing your writing with two current pieces from the New Yorker and asking someone who is unfamiliar with much literature (the mastermind of the “test” refers to this type of person as “illiterate”) to pick out the one that is different. If they pick yours, you’re not getting in. It operates on the assumption that people are published in the New Yorker based on their writing and merit alone as well as the assumption that admissions committees exclusively read the New Yorker despite the majority of them working, editing, and publishing in other journals. The same person who made up this test consistently makes up statistics about admissions rates etc. There’s been much speculation around whether or not this person is actually a writer and applying to programs. I would say they are certainly a humanist, perhaps not a writer, but they’re not in any field that would require them to know what an independent variable is. They feed on this forum being full of people who are putting their work out into the world and the vulnerability that goes along with that. Having an idea of what work is being published and contemporary literature might be constructive to your writing, but only you can decide that, and any advisor to your admissions process worth their weight would tell you to read wider than the New Yorker. Ignore whatever this person says.

@Thunderroad12

[CHRISTOPHER QUANG BUI]

23 minutes ago, koechophe said:

A user on draft posted the following after talking to the faculty.

"NC State is finishing up notifying for acceptences/waitlist but they still have more to call."
I'd assume that by this point, their acceptances and waitlists have all been sent out, but this isn't the most solid.

There's an acceptance posted for poetry on the 4th too, which sort of backs this up. 

Thank you. 

So if I havent heard a peep, it’s probably safe to assume a rejection is on its way? 

lol…