2023 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[SillyGoofyGirl]

1 hour ago, dustygarnet said:

Just got accepted into NYU (poetry) with tuition covered, but unfortunately I didn't get a stipend so realistically it would be impossible for moi :l

2a/1w/2r/2p

Congrats!!!!

So I am assuming NYU is finished notifying accepted applicants?

[c_eddy]

Just got the waitlist email from WVU for poetry

[loveujungkook]

For you guys that also got rejections, how are you doing? I have two rejections now and I didn't expect it to sting this much... I've been feeling kind of raw and down all week, it's just a lot harder than I expected I guess

[michelleee]

56 minutes ago, loveujungkook said:

For you guys that also got rejections, how are you doing? I have two rejections now and I didn't expect it to sting this much... I've been feeling kind of raw and down all week, it's just a lot harder than I expected I guess

Im sorry its got you down :// If it makes you feel better my first couple decisions were rejections, then a couple waitlists, and the last two have been acceptances (into better programs??) so this whole admissions process is just unpredictable and I wouldn't let a couple rejections get you down if you still have more news coming. 

[alligator mississippiensis]

I am waiting on 6 more schools, and I don't know if I'm being pessimistic or realistic but if there was good news and I'd been accepted somewhere, wouldn't I have heard by now? Basically, my question is this: if I'm still waiting on schools at this point, should I just assume they're rejections? 

So sorry if I'm bumming others out, to answer @loveujungkook's question I'm feeling sad and demoralized. I hope others are doing better ❤️ 

[mosss]

1 hour ago, loveujungkook said:

For you guys that also got rejections, how are you doing? I have two rejections now and I didn't expect it to sting this much... I've been feeling kind of raw and down all week, it's just a lot harder than I expected I guess

I have 20+ rejections piled up over three rounds of applying to MFAs--my first year I was rejected everywhere (no waitlists, no personal emails saying I was close, zilch), and last year I had one waitlist-turned-rejection. It stung, but it also opened my eyes to how much work I was going to have to put in if I wanted to get in somewhere. Even if I don't get off either of my waitlists this year, I know that I'm a better writer for going through the application process. I mainly write flash, but this last year I wrote ~60,000 words towards this story I came up with specifically with MFA apps in mind. My longest project prior to that was ~11,000 words--everything else I've written being more in the 500-2,000 range.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: it's going to hurt. No matter how you try to rationalize it or what anyone says to you, it's going to hurt. Because you want it.

What I've done is use that hurt to write better stories, to push myself. (Not sure if this will work for you, since everyone is different, but I sincerely hope you keep writing). Try not to wallow in your hurt--morph it into something you can use

[jjooeeyy]

2 hours ago, loveujungkook said:

For you guys that also got rejections, how are you doing? I have two rejections now and I didn't expect it to sting this much... I've been feeling kind of raw and down all week, it's just a lot harder than I expected I guess

This is my first year applying and I tried to go into it thinking it was a test run with no pressure, (well that didn't work out.)

I'm honestly not even that upset at the rejections themselves; I'm more upset about the dreadful year I will have recovering from surgery and returning to the most mind-numbing shit at my job. What I find demoralizing about this entire process is that we have more work cut out for us than most other master's degrees, at least in the humanities. I honestly have little doubt I could've applied for an MA in English and gotten in somewhere decent, provided I had a specific research project in mind. Anyone applying for an MFA has to already be extremely good at what they do in order for their work to be competitive. We basically have to teach ourselves what these programs want to read and to mold ourselves into their image. I suppose I'm realizing that the MFA probably isn't to teach people how to write, it's mostly to reward those who write well enough into the club (and to use our cheap labor to prop it up.) This degree isn't seen as academically rigorous for a reason.

I have one waitlist and I have no idea if it will turn into an acceptance, though I'm not very hopeful at this stage.

[Cons]

Just checked umass amherst website for no reason. The application status turned from under review to update pending. Let's see what's going on next few days(didn't get interview like others, I already take it as a rejection already though).

[flameazalea]

I'm seeing waitlists for WVU's Poetry program! Congrats to everyone that has heard anything!

I haven't heard anything, so this could change, but for now I am left to assume that I've officially been rejected by everyone. I'm not at all surprised, as I was only able to afford four applications, the odds are stacked against us, and this is my first round of applications coming straight from an undergrad program I completed two years early (actually had some programs refuse my application because I was 19, haha). 

I'll report the final result from WVU but for the most part I guess I'll just go back to lurking until the next forum opens. Good luck everyone and I'll hopefully see y'all next season!

Final stats: 0a // 0wl // 3r (1 expected) // 1p (expected rejection)

[dagreenkat]

4 minutes ago, jjooeeyy said:

This is my first year applying and I tried to go into it thinking it was a test run with no pressure, (well that didn't work out.)

I'm honestly not even that upset at the rejections themselves; I'm more upset about the dreadful year I will have recovering from surgery and returning to the most mind-numbing shit at my job. What I find demoralizing about this entire process is that we have more work cut out for us than most other master's degrees, at least in the humanities. I honestly have little doubt I could've applied for an MA in English and gotten in somewhere decent, provided I had a specific research project in mind. Anyone applying for an MFA has to already be extremely good at what they do in order for their work to be competitive. We basically have to teach ourselves what these programs want to read and to mold ourselves into their image. I suppose I'm realizing that the MFA probably isn't to teach people how to write, it's mostly to reward those who write well enough into the club (and to use our cheap labor to prop it up.) This degree isn't seen as academically rigorous for a reason.

I have one waitlist and I have no idea if it will turn into an acceptance, though I'm not very hopeful at this stage.

It's all we can do. I'm fighting like hell (read: continually emailing with questions and expression of interest) to get off the South Carolina waitlist in fiction because I'm not confident in my remaining schools (Brown & UVA). Maybe it'll work out well for us both and we'll meet there!

[dagreenkat]

Asking again, can anyone with access to draft look at the South Carolina news there? I'm trying to figure out how likely the accepted fiction students are to give up their spots (aka how hopeful I should be for my chances on the waitlist). 

[flameazalea]

6 minutes ago, dagreenkat said:

Asking again, can anyone with access to draft look at the South Carolina news there? I'm trying to figure out how likely the accepted fiction students are to give up their spots (aka how hopeful I should be for my chances on the waitlist). 

I can only find three fiction acceptances that date back to early February. one candidate turned down their offer and another one looks to be weighing their options. No news of other programs that I can see.

[rell]

4 hours ago, alligator mississippiensis said:

Basically, my question is this: if I'm still waiting on schools at this point, should I just assume they're rejections?

If a school has already accepted any other person, it is near certain you were rejected. The only exception is Iowa which strings out its acceptances. There is probably about one seat left for Iowa to give out, so you have 1/50 (2%) of the chance you started with. 

The schools that have not given one acceptance yet like Brown and UVA are still possibilities. 

3 hours ago, flameazalea said:

some programs refuse my application because I was 19,

I don't know what your hurry is. There is no advantage to getting an MFA real young. 

Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein at 19, but most people get rejected when they apply before 25. There is only so much you could have read so far. 

3 hours ago, jjooeeyy said:

I suppose I'm realizing that the MFA probably isn't to teach people how to write, it's mostly to reward those who write well enough into the club (and to use our cheap labor to prop it up.) This degree isn't seen as academically rigorous for a reason.

This is not how the schools see it. They say they are losing money on each fully funded student. They think they are teaching writing and have no interest in rewarding anyone. 

[lanadelreystan]

19 minutes ago, rell said:

If a school has already accepted any other person, it is near certain you were rejected. The only exception is Iowa which strings out its acceptances. There is probably about one seat left for Iowa to give out, so you have 1/50 (2%) of the chance you started with. 

The schools that have not given one acceptance yet like Brown and UVA are still possibilities. 

I don't know what your hurry is. There is no advantage to getting an MFA real young. 

Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein at 19, but most people get rejected when they apply before 25. There is only so much you could have read so far. 

This is not how the schools see it. They say they are losing money on each fully funded student. They think they are teaching writing and have no interest in rewarding anyone. 

This is so interesting because I have the opposite view of MFAs in regards to age! I've noticed that MFA admits, especially for poetry, tend to be younger and closer to their undergrad years than "real life" years lol. The program that accepted me wrote in their admit letter that we'll have a chance to work alongside "young" writers, as if that was some kind of draw! So I do think MFA programs, at least poetry ones, prefer younger writers, which is kind of disheartening since I do agree that there's not a good advantage of getting an MFA young in terms of knowing what you want to do with it. I applied straight from undergrad because school was all I had known and I didn't know what else to do. Now, I have a clearer vision for my writing and what I want to do with an MFA

[rell]

39 minutes ago, lanadelreystan said:

This is so interesting because I have the opposite view of MFAs in regards to age! I've noticed that MFA admits, especially for poetry, tend to be younger and closer to their undergrad years than "real life" years lol. The program that accepted me wrote in their admit letter that we'll have a chance to work alongside "young" writers, as if that was some kind of draw! So I do think MFA programs, at least poetry ones, prefer younger writers, which is kind of disheartening since I do agree that there's not a good advantage of getting an MFA young in terms of knowing what you want to do with it. I applied straight from undergrad because school was all I had known and I didn't know what else to do. Now, I have a clearer vision for my writing and what I want to do with an MFA

It is illegal to discriminate against applicants for being old. But two years ago, in Hunter's open house, the professor didn't know this, and he said they favor minds young enough to mold. Also, Iowa got sued a few years ago by an old guy who was rejected. The lawsuit revealed that the admission rate for people 40+ was lower than for younger people. So some people believe that MFAs are discriminating against old people, but at least in Fiction the general consensus is the discrimination is with people 37+.

Poets tend to go to MFA school shortly after ugrad. It is not clear if this is because schools are discriminating or because that is just poets tend to apply younger than fiction people. 

[lanadelreystan]

13 minutes ago, rell said:

It is illegal to discriminate against applicants for being old. But two years ago, in Hunter's open house, the professor didn't know this, and he said they favor minds young enough to mold. Also, Iowa got sued a few years ago by an old guy who was rejected. The lawsuit revealed that the admission rate for people 40+ was lower than for younger people. So some people believe that MFAs are discriminating against old people, but at least in Fiction the general consensus is the discrimination is with people 37+.

Poets tend to go to MFA school shortly after ugrad. It is not clear if this is because schools are discriminating or because that is just poets tend to apply younger than fiction people. 

YIKES to the Hunter prof saying the quiet part out loud and for even thinking the quiet part... It's giving 33-year-old bum living at his parents' house with no admirable qualities who says women over the age of 21 hit the wall and that young girls are easier to mold lol. Not surprised by some of the assault scandals at these programs if this is how their faculty members think!

[Nicolas M.]

official letter of acceptance from Iowa came in yesterday!

[rell]

22 minutes ago, lanadelreystan said:

women over the age of 21 hit the wall

It was funny. Because of that age discrimination lawsuit Iowa wanted to do some PR, so it made a video and paraded this 60 year old student. The director was expecting him to say how everyone at Iowa loves old people, but he says something like "It is like Vegas. What happens there stays, so they were friendly when I was student, but I never spoke to any classmate after graduation." You could see the shock in the director's face. I'm surprised she still put the video on the website. 

[Cons]

6 minutes ago, Nicolas M. said:

official letter of acceptance from Iowa came in yesterday!

Wanna know are they still notifying applicants? 

Still congrats!! Cheers mate!

[Nicolas M.]

Just now, Cons said:

Wanna know are they still notifying applicants? 

Still congrats!! Cheers mate!

thanks! I honestly don't know. But they don't notify their waitlisted students as far as i'm aware

[Cons]

Just now, Nicolas M. said:

thanks! I honestly don't know. But they don't notify their waitlisted students as far as i'm aware

Oh nevermind. Thanks for sharing. Good luck:D

[flameazalea]

7 hours ago, rell said:

I don't know what your hurry is.

This comment ruffled my feathers a bit, I have to say. I'm not in a hurry at all: if I have the same credentials as other applicants, and I know this is my next step, why should I be discouraged to apply? As other folks have pointed out, too, my age is actually much more suited to the Poetry programs I applied to. I am much happier having applied to places and receiving decisions than I ever would have if I didn't apply at all when I was able to, because I'd be left wondering what those decisions could have been. All in all, if I know this is the path I want to take and I have the opportunity to take it I'm going to take it. At no point do I consider it worthwhile to discourage an applicant from at least trying for something they know they want to achieve.

 

5 hours ago, lanadelreystan said:

It's giving 33-year-old bum living at his parents' house with no admirable qualities who says women over the age of 21 hit the wall and that young girls are easier to mold lol.

This is an entire read and I'm here for it lol

[jjooeeyy]

56 minutes ago, flameazalea said:

This comment ruffled my feathers a bit, I have to say. I'm not in a hurry at all: if I have the same credentials as other applicants, and I know this is my next step, why should I be discouraged to apply? As other folks have pointed out, too, my age is actually much more suited to the Poetry programs I applied to. I am much happier having applied to places and receiving decisions than I ever would have if I didn't apply at all when I was able to, because I'd be left wondering what those decisions could have been. All in all, if I know this is the path I want to take and I have the opportunity to take it I'm going to take it. At no point do I consider it worthwhile to discourage an applicant from at least trying for something they know they want to achieve.

Your response is completely valid, and I think that person put it too bluntly, however there might be a bit of truth to it. I'm not wanting to discourage you, nor am I trying to talk out my ass since I don't know you, but I joined the workforce immediately after ugrad and it taught me many things I wouldn't have if I immediately went into grad school. I inquired with my professors during ugrad about continuing to grad school and they all told me to take some time to work and gain some distance from academia. It's possible they said that because my writing was really terrible, but they were probably relaying advice from their own lived experience. It's good to have this goal and know what you want, and I'm sure it will happen for you in due time, but there are other things to experience that will also shape you into a more thoughtful writer.

But then again, I'm 30 now and I didn't get accepted, so who knows—really—I might be too old hahaha

[Catpaw]

I would take what rell says with a grain of salt. It's pretty obviously the same user who kept getting banned from the forum earlier this season for trolling, and who kept remaking accounts each time it happened.

They also visibly seem to enjoy poking people hard in their insecurities and trying to drag them down, while pretending at good faith. Just keep that in mind. Don't let them get to you.

[feralgrad]

9 hours ago, lanadelreystan said:

I've noticed that MFA admits, especially for poetry, tend to be younger and closer to their undergrad years than "real life" years lol.

In my opinion there's a sweet spot between ~25 and 35, regardless of genre. At my program, the people fresh out of undergrad tend to be less certain of their creative goals, and sometimes they spin their wheels for a year+ trying to figure that out.

My first time applying I was a year out of undergrad, and I'm glad I didn't get in. My writing transformed between my first and second app cycles. If I had gotten in in 2019, I would've completely wasted a year of funding on improvements I could have easily made outside the MFA. Hell, I might have even been a little better off if I'd waited an additional year to explore my craft independently. (I started at 24, for reference.) But no regrets because I'm glad I didn't have to spend Peak Covid working a desk job from home lmao.

Tl;dr: No matter how talented you are, there's no replacement for time and life experience in determining your creative trajectory. If you're fresh out of undergrad and getting rejections, know that it's normal and probably better for you in the long run.