2023 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[mosss]

waitlisted at georgia college and state university (fiction)

!!! excited but also nervous bc I didn't get into the one place I was waitlisted at last year (but this year I have TWO waitlists, so that means I'm getting better...right??? HATE how arbitrary this system is lol)

now just waiting on WVU...

[flameazalea]

18 minutes ago, snarkdarklark said:

Just got an email acceptance to UNCW for fiction!

i loved UNCW's campus when i toured for my undergrad. Congratulations!

Looks like a few folks heard from WVU in Draft; any updates here?

[SillyGoofyGirl]

Anyone heard from Syracuse for Poetry? Someone posted an acceptance in draft for fiction.

[jjooeeyy]

Just now, SillyGoofyGirl said:

Anyone heard from Syracuse for Poetry? Someone posted an acceptance in draft for fiction.

someone in draft said they were waitlisted at syracuse all the way back in january... my heart skipped a beat lol

[SillyGoofyGirl]

24 minutes ago, jjooeeyy said:

someone in draft said they were waitlisted at syracuse all the way back in january... my heart skipped a beat lol

Holy shit... just found that. I guess it is over for Syracuse then.

[dagreenkat]

I've been checking gradcafe. Seems like Michigan is over but idk why they would wait so long to send out rejections if that's all they have left. And haven't heard a peep from Virginia and Brown other than that they've typically notified somewhere around March 6-16 in previous years.

Any extra insight on Brown, Virginia, or Michigan notifying fiction?

[michelleee]

sorry it's taken me awhile to make an official post about my progress--ive been waitlisted three places (south carolina, new mexico, oregon state) and rejected from wisconsin--still waiting on like 5 others (michigan which is being weird but prob a rejection, colo state and iowa which are apparently notifying, and also idaho and iowa state). so many waitlists has me really freaked out but thank you to everyone who has been posting and keeping all us lurkers diligently updated (especially those who share what they see in draft since im not a part of it and cant bring myself to request) it has both saved my life and stopped my heart multiple times. none of these schools have given any numbers or sense of placement on the waitlist to me and it's been hellish but i also understand that they're in a weird position since it seems like everyone either gets a ton of acceptances, a ton of waitlists, or a ton of rejections lol, very rarely even numbers of each. ugh idk just venting at this point. i know my work is good but my personal statement was really iffy to be honest and one of my recs might have been weird so i can see what's holding me back pretty clearly and i hope they can overlook it. this is my first time around and im 21 so im grateful to be seriously considered! also btw i study poetry lol. thank you again to everyone!!

[clil09]

1 hour ago, mosss said:

waitlisted at georgia college and state university (fiction)

!!! excited but also nervous bc I didn't get into the one place I was waitlisted at last year (but this year I have TWO waitlists, so that means I'm getting better...right??? HATE how arbitrary this system is lol)

now just waiting on WVU...

Congrats! I think WVU sent some out today in all genres…here’s to hoping. As a fellow waitlister at UTK, I hope Flannery O’Connor and milledgeville come knocking. Lol. 

[belizaparker]

2 hours ago, mosss said:

waitlisted at georgia college and state university (fiction)

!!! excited but also nervous bc I didn't get into the one place I was waitlisted at last year (but this year I have TWO waitlists, so that means I'm getting better...right??? HATE how arbitrary this system is lol)

now just waiting on WVU...

same!! i was rejected from there last year, and this is the first good news i've gotten, so i'm so relieved and excited!! maybe if fate allows we'll both end up in the same cohort!! 

also, i asked if the waitlist is ranked and i was told it is and that they usually let in a few people from the waitlist every year, so i think our chances could be pretty good!! 

[plumptastic]

Has anyone accepted to SAIC been able to activate their Artic account? I keep getting a “username not found” error message and it’s so annoying. I emailed the help desk but I’m sure they’re busy right now…

really just need to see my financial aid package to determine if I can afford this expensive ass program

[CBeuley]

Mostly I lurk on this feed and have been sad and depressed racking up rejections - 6 in total now - but just got my first acceptance in fiction at UNCW - i'm so happy! It is def in my top programs - would love to connect with anyone else that got in! And the lesson I think is be patient - what's meant to be will be I was starting to worry I'd accidentally written a swear word in my personal statement or something haha 

[burgerking]

has anybody heard from UVA? Wondering if they're still conducting interviews. 

[TitiMePregunto]

Has anyone heard back for Fiction at:

• Syracuse
• Iowa
• Michener
• Michigan
• UC Irvine
• UC Riverside

[TitiMePregunto]

3 hours ago, michelleee said:

sorry it's taken me awhile to make an official post about my progress--ive been waitlisted three places (south carolina, new mexico, oregon state) and rejected from wisconsin--still waiting on like 5 others (michigan which is being weird but prob a rejection, colo state and iowa which are apparently notifying, and also idaho and iowa state). so many waitlists has me really freaked out but thank you to everyone who has been posting and keeping all us lurkers diligently updated (especially those who share what they see in draft since im not a part of it and cant bring myself to request) it has both saved my life and stopped my heart multiple times. none of these schools have given any numbers or sense of placement on the waitlist to me and it's been hellish but i also understand that they're in a weird position since it seems like everyone either gets a ton of acceptances, a ton of waitlists, or a ton of rejections lol, very rarely even numbers of each. ugh idk just venting at this point. i know my work is good but my personal statement was really iffy to be honest and one of my recs might have been weird so i can see what's holding me back pretty clearly and i hope they can overlook it. this is my first time around and im 21 so im grateful to be seriously considered! also btw i study poetry lol. thank you again to everyone!!

What does “in draft” mean???

[alligator mississippiensis]

5 minutes ago, TitiMePregunto said:

What does “in draft” mean???

Draft is a facebook group of other people like us who are waiting to hear back from MFA programs. That group is bigger and news tends to come in on draft before it hits this forum. 

 

I am also waiting on all the schools you asked about for fiction. Any news? 

Edited March 1, 2023 by alligator mississippiensis

[snarkdarklark]

14 minutes ago, TitiMePregunto said:

Has anyone heard back for Fiction at:

• Syracuse
• Iowa
• Michener
• Michigan
• UC Irvine
• UC Riverside

Syracuse sent out a couple of acceptances (via phone call) earlier today according to Draft. Haven’t seen waitlist ppl or any info on if all accepted were notified. Iowa started giving acceptance calls a couple of weeks ago but they stagger it a lot so acceptances are still feasibly going out. Michener sent acceptances and someone posted abt a waitlist in Draft today. Michigan notified acceptances and waitlists last week. Haven’t heard abt ppl getting rejections from any of those places though. Personally, I just want my rejections from some of these places already!!

No news on Irvine as far as I’m aware, and I haven’t heard much on Riverside but I remember seeing an acceptance buried in the Draft spreadsheet at some point.
 

Hope that’s helpful (even though none of it is very certain information), and good luck! 

[Coco_melons]

Anyone hear from Rutgers/ have any insight into how they notify? 

[maz]

Has anyone seen BU fiction acceptances on Draft? 

[alligator mississippiensis]

I have not heard anything about BU acceptances, but I did just learn that the BU rejections are sent out by one single person who goes through and rejects each person manually. I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but I thought I'd share! 

[flameazalea]

It looks like a few folks have reported WVU acceptances. They're the only school I have yet to hear back from, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for a call or an email here soon. If I'm rejected, though... Let's just say I'm polishing up my resume as we speak, lol.

Just wanted to float this by some of y'all-- my advisor and I had a meeting earlier today and she suggested I try getting funding for an MA in Literature and then go into an MFA in Writing from there. This might be worthwhile for me, as my background is in Environmental Studies. Has anyone else tried this, given thought to this, or have any opinions on the matter? Assuming I won't get into WVU, haha this decision would lead me to a) apply only for MA programs come Autumn, b) apply for both MA and MFA programs and see what happens, or c) decide it isn't worth the hassle and remaining loyal to the fever dream that is MFA applications. 

Thanks for the help!

[dagreenkat]

1 hour ago, alligator mississippiensis said:

I have not heard anything about BU acceptances, but I did just learn that the BU rejections are sent out by one single person who goes through and rejects each person manually. I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but I thought I'd share! 

Omg and they still had the audacity to call me Applicant

[maz]

2 hours ago, alligator mississippiensis said:

I have not heard anything about BU acceptances, but I did just learn that the BU rejections are sent out by one single person who goes through and rejects each person manually. I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but I thought I'd share! 

Thanks! That is very weird..lol

[mosss]

7 hours ago, flameazalea said:

Just wanted to float this by some of y'all-- my advisor and I had a meeting earlier today and she suggested I try getting funding for an MA in Literature and then go into an MFA in Writing from there. This might be worthwhile for me, as my background is in Environmental Studies. Has anyone else tried this, given thought to this, or have any opinions on the matter? Assuming I won't get into WVU, haha this decision would lead me to a) apply only for MA programs come Autumn, b) apply for both MA and MFA programs and see what happens, or c) decide it isn't worth the hassle and remaining loyal to the fever dream that is MFA applications. 

Thanks for the help!

if an MA is something you want, then yeah! go for it! there's no harm in applying for an MA and an MFA at the same time--sounds like you'd just be widening your net:)

but if an MA is something you DON'T actually want, then that's going to be a rough couple of years sludging through a degree just for the sake of getting a degree

[beldani]

8 hours ago, flameazalea said:

It looks like a few folks have reported WVU acceptances. They're the only school I have yet to hear back from, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for a call or an email here soon. If I'm rejected, though... Let's just say I'm polishing up my resume as we speak, lol.

Just wanted to float this by some of y'all-- my advisor and I had a meeting earlier today and she suggested I try getting funding for an MA in Literature and then go into an MFA in Writing from there. This might be worthwhile for me, as my background is in Environmental Studies. Has anyone else tried this, given thought to this, or have any opinions on the matter? Assuming I won't get into WVU, haha this decision would lead me to a) apply only for MA programs come Autumn, b) apply for both MA and MFA programs and see what happens, or c) decide it isn't worth the hassle and remaining loyal to the fever dream that is MFA applications. 

Thanks for the help!

it's definitetly an option, and i took that route as a backup, but after getting some acceptances, i can tell you that there is significantly less funding for MAs than MFAs. if i accepted any of the MA in literature programs i applied to, i'd be taking on tens of thousands of dollars of more debt. unless you're really passionate about literature or plan to get a phd, i don't know how helpful the degree would be

[crosie]

Took myself off of South Carolina's waitlist and declined an offer to MSU Mankato. Hopefully that helps speed some things along for people!