2022 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Ydrl]

23 hours ago, spencerlr said:

I guess there's still hope for Iowa if they've only sent out for nonfiction.

They've sent out poetry as well, of which I accepted my offer. I did find out that 30 fiction and 20 poetry applicants will be admitted.

[pasteur77]

24 minutes ago, Ydrl said:

They've sent out poetry as well, of which I accepted my offer. I did find out that 30 fiction and 20 poetry applicants will be admitted.

Wait, so then do we think they are still releasing fiction acceptances? I had kinda assumed they were done. 

[alligator mississippiensis]

2 hours ago, pasteur77 said:

Wait, so then do we think they are still releasing fiction acceptances? I had kinda assumed they were done. 

 

3 hours ago, Ydrl said:

They've sent out poetry as well, of which I accepted my offer. I did find out that 30 fiction and 20 poetry applicants will be admitted.

Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster. I am waitlisted for Iowa fiction, and literally ANY news about the admissions decisions/fiction cohort/class size/waitlist process would be greatly appreciated. I was rejected from every other program I applied to and going to Iowa would be dream come true!! Thanks! <3 

[noelle17]

31 minutes ago, alligator mississippiensis said:

 

Hello! Long time lurker, first time poster. I am waitlisted for Iowa fiction, and literally ANY news about the admissions decisions/fiction cohort/class size/waitlist process would be greatly appreciated. I was rejected from every other program I applied to and going to Iowa would be dream come true!! Thanks! <3 

Hello! Congratulations for waitlisting at Iowa, omg! I’m crossing my fingers for you. Did you get the notification via snail mail?

[alligator mississippiensis]

1 minute ago, noelle17 said:

Hello! Congratulations for waitlisting at Iowa, omg! I’m crossing my fingers for you. Did you get the notification via snail mail?

Hi! Thank you so much! I got an email with a letter attached, but they said they would also send the letter via snail mail 

[koechophe]

4 hours ago, Misshellis said:

Have any fiction applicants been waitlisted or rejected by Virginia Tech?   They’re my last school and I just want to officially cross them off. 

I've seen acceptances and waitlists for them on Draft, so it's likely a rejection unfortunately. 

[gagne]

Is anybody else waiting on Columbia and Brown this week and feeling a little on edge?

[Rm714]

On 3/14/2022 at 8:11 PM, gagne said:

Is anybody else waiting on Columbia and Brown this week and feeling a little on edge?

Yes, very much so!

[Ydrl]

For some reason VTech's portal says my status is decided, but there isn't anything that tells me what the decision is???

[nicolette7766]

1 hour ago, Ydrl said:

For some reason VTech's portal says my status is decided, but there isn't anything that tells me what the decision is???

Mine too! 

[Ydrl]

1 hour ago, nicolette7766 said:

Mine too! 

I mean I'm expecting a denial but still, why do that???

[retrotyping]

2 hours ago, Ydrl said:

For some reason VTech's portal says my status is decided, but there isn't anything that tells me what the decision is???

Waitlist notifications for fiction went via email this morning, not sure about poetry though! 

Edited March 15, 2022 by retrotyping

[Sydup]

Waitlisted at Virginia Tech for fiction! Pure elation. Someone didn't hate what I wrote! 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Sydup

[Ydrl]

Vtech rejections are here!

[Ogilvie]

On 3/12/2022 at 4:38 PM, koechophe said:

A lot of the adcoms actually tend to prefer older people with more life experience. 

Do you have a factual basis for this assertion? The only hard data I've seen regarding age and admissions probability is for Iowa. An older applicant filed a discrimination complaint with DOE. The data Iowa was forced to release showed applicants over 40 were much less likely to be accepted than younger applicants. The data spanned multiple admission cycles.

https://amp.press-citizen.com/amp/513514001

Also, just looking at student profiles at fully funded MFA programs, I have rarely come across students over 40.

So if you happen to know specific programs that actually favor older applicants, please share that info!

 

[oubukibun]

I've been sleuthing around for any gobbet I can find on Rutgers or UNO, and it seems Rutgers sends out interview requests?  At least for MA applicants?  Some seem to have even been waitlisted already, and there's one on the "Freak Out" thread for 2022 MFA applicants discussing Rutgers.

Don't know how reliable the information is (seems silly to fabricate or be in the wrong thread knowingly, but stranger things...), but if anyone's heard anything on Draft, I'd like to at least cross it off the list.

Nothing on New Orleans, though.  They must be holed up in an arctic bunker somewhere.  I think they announce incredibly late as well (late March-early April!).

Woof.

 

A lot of woofs.

[chart]

@Ogilvie  ,  @koechophe has no factual basis for his claim that older applicants are favored. It has been interesting watching people’s transformations here. Last year @koechophe used to say he didn’t know anything. This year, as soon as he got into a funded program, he’s been answering every questions like he is an expert. He  pushes what seems like common sense to him as scientific fact. I’ve seen getting into a school change others too. @Ydrl used to be the most frequent poster. After she got into Iowa, she started barely posting at all. The same happened with @mrvisser as soon as Irvine told him he is probably admitted. I myself didn't change any, but then again I got rejected everywhere. 

Anyway, here are the facts we know about age. About 10 people posted last year in Draft that at the Zoom info session one of the three fiction professors at Hunter said they disfavor older people. He said he wants students young enough to mold. The professor obviously did not know it is illegal. But since there are only three professors, it obviously had been hurting you if you were older. Whether he now knows or cares that it illegal is anyone's guess. 

The long time head of Michigan’s MFA wrote a long article. She claimed they don’t consider age as a factor because it is illegal. She said they don’t hold it against you whether you are young or old, but old people do tend to write better. She did not know that it is actually legal to discriminate against someone for being young. The legal protection is with the old.

We know statistically people under 40 are vastly overrepresented in the studentry. Are there others like the Hunter professor who want young and know to keep their mouth shut? We don’t know.

@oubukibun , I know I’ve seen admits and waitlists at Rutgers Camden. I think I remember seeing in Results people getting interviews at Rutger Newark a long time ago. Search for it. If they started interviews weeks ago, it is nearly certain you are rejected.  

Edited March 15, 2022 by chart

[Nightwitch]

Deb West from IWW says that all the decisions for Iowa were mailed out yesterday

[maz]

3 minutes ago, Nightwitch said:

Deb West from IWW says that all the decisions for Iowa were mailed out yesterday

Thanks for sharing this! So then, if we haven't received a call, it's a rejection I'm assuming

[Nightwitch]

1 minute ago, Elwolf said:

Thanks for sharing this! So then, if we haven't received a call, it's a rejection I'm assuming

I guess so - That's what I'm assuming as well

[chart]

@Nightwitch and @Elwolf, Iowa already called the admits and emailed the waitlisters. You were 100% rejected. There is nothing to assume. In other words, there are there sureties: taxes, death, and your 2022 rejection from Iowa. 

[Nightwitch]

2 minutes ago, chart said:

@Nightwitch and @Elwolf, Iowa already called the admits and emailed the waitlisters. You were 100% rejected. There is nothing to assume. In other words, there are there sureties: taxes, death, and your 2022 rejection from Iowa.

*Three

[Rm714]

Looks like all of the NYU waitlist notifications have gone out. I didn't hear anything, which I will admit stings, but one of my best friends got waitlisted for Poetry, so that eased the pain a little, in a way, since he's received nothing but rejections til now. I've got high hopes for him.

[oubukibun]

Okay, next time I need a school to respond, I will just post here first, haha.

Received an email this afternoon from M.O. Walsh, the director of The Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans, to invite me into the program for the Fall Term!

Woo-hoo! (And good news for all who applied, as the word should be getting out soon enough too, I hope, one way or another)

Sadly, there is no information about funding (the tragic nature of my delightedness in being accepted is that I'm not quite good enough to be offered monies, not yet anyway, lol), but I (as other applicants I'm sure) am being placed forward for consideration with scholarships and Graduate Assistant positions.  I did the only rational thing and emailed back thanking Mr. Walsh and informing him I was ready to do anything necessary to put my name forward for funding as that will be the only thing that will make my final decision for me.

This is why I chose the 8 schools I did: all schools I wanted to go to, all schools I would have fought for.  Fairbanks remains my dream, but UNO was my second choice, so this app year has turned out interestingly for me.  I either made the best possible choices in schools, or I just know where my writing stands well enough to seek out programs that'll nurture/accept it.  Or both.  I have spent a lot of time writing (read: my entire life) and thinking about the damn writing.  Dividends needed to be paid at some point, goddamnit!

Once more into the fray!  I was not expecting this, but, of ALL the schools I applied to, I at least suspected I stood the best shot of getting into UNO with its larger cohort (20 this year, it seems, according to Poets & Writers, though obviously that includes all genres, etc.).

Anyway, sorry for the text dump, but yes, UNO is finally reaching out, they have returned from their arctic bunkers with decisions!

 

Toodles for now, and congrats to everyone who's received welcomed news from their schools this week!

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by oubukibun

[zonepri]

Hi! Looking for some advice - I got into New School with partial funding and was waitlisted at NYU. Do you think I should try to get off the waitlist at NYU (if that's even possible)? Is it a substantially better program? Would love to hear some perspectives. Sending good vibes to every one -  this process is nerve wracking and kind of awful.

Edited March 15, 2022 by zonepri