2023 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[flameazalea]

Hey folks! Longtime lurker but new member. Curious to see if anyone has heard back from University of Arizona, Oregon State, Vanderbilt, or West Virginia University. I'm starting to get nervous, haha.

Congrats on everyone's acceptances so far!

[A.B. Yehoshua]

6 minutes ago, flameazalea said:

Hey folks! Longtime lurker but new member. Curious to see if anyone has heard back from University of Arizona, Oregon State, Vanderbilt, or West Virginia University. I'm starting to get nervous, haha.

Congrats on everyone's acceptances so far!

Just heard back from U of A literally ten minutes ago. Waitlisted. I'm CNF.

[flameazalea]

2 minutes ago, A.B. Yehoshua said:

Just heard back from U of A literally ten minutes ago. Waitlisted. I'm CNF.

Ten minutes ago? That's wild! I'm poetry, so I'll keep my fingers crossed ?

[mosss]

8 minutes ago, flameazalea said:

Hey folks! Longtime lurker but new member. Curious to see if anyone has heard back from University of Arizona, Oregon State, Vanderbilt, or West Virginia University. I'm starting to get nervous, haha.

Congrats on everyone's acceptances so far!

Jess from FB draft has said that all offers (acceptances and waitlists) have gone out at Vanderbilt. So if you haven't heard anything (like me) then it's a rejection

I also applied to west Virginia and haven't heard anything yet, so I feel your pain

[dagreenkat]

9 minutes ago, A.B. Yehoshua said:

Just heard back from U of A literally ten minutes ago. Waitlisted. I'm CNF.

How did Arizona notify? I’ve been waiting for more news (fiction on most apps, fiction + poetry where I could do both). Now I’m paranoid ?

[A.B. Yehoshua]

2 minutes ago, dagreenkat said:

How did Arizona notify? I’ve been waiting for more news (fiction on most apps, fiction + poetry where I could do both). Now I’m paranoid ?

Got an email from the director of the MFA program.

 

[crosie]

Currently walking around work in a state of shock—just got an email that I’m in at NC State for fiction!!!

[poefire]

Received an acceptance email from BU this morning for poetry. Insane relief after getting a couple rejections in a row this last week.

[Leeannitha]

Congrats to everyone!!!!!!!

[Mantisss]

Well, I'm assuming a rejection from ND then, as I didn't receive one of those interview emails. Not to vent too much, but I've yet to really receive interview emails from anyone, so that doesn't bode too well ? Although I'm not sure what the % of schools doing that kind thing these days is?

Congratulations to all those that have been accepted, regardless!

Edited February 17, 2023 by Mantisss

[dagreenkat]

Over a week of silence had left me almost calm, but now I’m back to freaking out a little. Anticipating BU and Arizona any time now based on you guys. Thanks for the updates!

[ACPF]

Just got an acceptance from UNM Poetry and a rejection from BU Poetry.

[flameazalea]

it seems as though most if not all of the folks hearing back from U of Arizona are getting waitlisted, so perhaps they're only notifying those they're waitlisting for now? I could be wrong just searching for hope lol 

Edited February 17, 2023 by flameazalea
typo

[treaux]

Congrats to all those who received good news this week! I actually haven't heard back from a single program this week (after hearing from two last week, Litowitz and Montana). Hopefully there's a big rush of news soon because we're into late Feb now! 

[Leeannitha]

Someone in results got a call from UMichigan Ann Arbor for poetry!!!!!!  Yesterday!!!! I’m freaking out!!!!!!!!!!! ?

[dagreenkat]

4 minutes ago, Leeannitha said:

Someone in results got a call from UMichigan Ann Arbor for poetry!!!!!!  Yesterday!!!! I’m freaking out!!!!!!!!!!! ?

Now I am too! I actually forgot I haven’t heard from South Carolina either… so that’s now /four/ of my remaining six applications that seem imminent ??

[flowerpot]

I really have to knock it off with the checking of these "micro-updates" as I'm calling them. At the same time, I don't feel like I'm necessarily jumping the gun by interpreting some of these as rejections at this point. For instance, I've seen people post about being accepted/waitlisted to Hopkins and NC State – I've heard nothing from either, so interpreting those as definite rejections. Someone on Draft reported being contacted by VT about making it to the final round of consideration for Fiction. I didn't get an email like that, so I'm chalking that one up as a rejection. The only official rejection I've gotten is from Pittsburgh, but in my head I already have four rejections. Sucks! I'm excited to hear more from Arkansas about their next round of consideration, however.

Congratulations, though, to everybody who has had some good news thus far! I know that's got to be a massive relief!

[treaux]

WHOA, NWP acceptance up on the results board. Is it typical for schools to notify over the weekend? And a holiday weekend, no less…

[Leeannitha]

53 minutes ago, treaux said:

WHOA, NWP acceptance up on the results board. Is it typical for schools to notify over the weekend? And a holiday weekend, no less…

Really completely totally freaking out in all aspects across all dimensions 

[mosss]

3 hours ago, treaux said:

WHOA, NWP acceptance up on the results board. Is it typical for schools to notify over the weekend? And a holiday weekend, no less…

I'm fairly certain there are no rules as to when schools notify. I've heard about people getting calls on weekends, late at night, holidays, etc...it really just depends on when that particular director for that particular program wants to make a call/send an email. Not trying to freak you out or anything, it's just that this process is incredibly school specific. Maybe one program only notifies during school hours, but that doesn't mean another one isn't going to contact you at 10PM on a Saturday (something that happened to someone on draft a year or two ago)

I've just accepted that my nerves are going to be mush for the next month or two, lol. Hang in there [insert cat meme here]

[sylviaplate]

8 hours ago, flowerpot said:

I really have to knock it off with the checking of these "micro-updates" as I'm calling them. At the same time, I don't feel like I'm necessarily jumping the gun by interpreting some of these as rejections at this point. For instance, I've seen people post about being accepted/waitlisted to Hopkins and NC State – I've heard nothing from either, so interpreting those as definite rejections. Someone on Draft reported being contacted by VT about making it to the final round of consideration for Fiction. I didn't get an email like that, so I'm chalking that one up as a rejection. The only official rejection I've gotten is from Pittsburgh, but in my head I already have four rejections. Sucks! I'm excited to hear more from Arkansas about their next round of consideration, however.

Congratulations, though, to everybody who has had some good news thus far! I know that's got to be a massive relief!

Honestly, this part of the app process is the worst. I strongly recommend leaving Draft - at this point in the cycle, the stress and disappointment it causes far outweighs any helpful resource sharing going on, at least for me. If the good news is coming, it'll come. Not so good news will still come, too - and in both instances, you won't have days/weeks of deep anxiety and dread after seeing someone else's news come before your own.

This is hard and we all gotta take care of ourselves - sending good vibes!

[Mantisss]

2 hours ago, sylviaplate said:

Honestly, this part of the app process is the worst. I strongly recommend leaving Draft - at this point in the cycle, the stress and disappointment it causes far outweighs any helpful resource sharing going on, at least for me. If the good news is coming, it'll come. Not so good news will still come, too - and in both instances, you won't have days/weeks of deep anxiety and dread after seeing someone else's news come before your own.

This is hard and we all gotta take care of ourselves - sending good vibes!

I honestly really needed to hear this. Thank you so much! I will be just focusing my anxiety on my email inbox instead of balancing it here too! Haha.

Best of luck everyone.

[Norwood]

Sorry to add even more neurotic kvetching to the thread, but man, am I having a tough time with all this shit right now. It's starting to feel like I have—quite stupidly!—backed myself into a corner where if I don't get in somewhere this year I have truly no clue what I'm going to do. 

For some context, my girlfriend started an MFA program in studio art this fall and, since the school she got into was far away from where we lived, I decided to move with her so we could stay together. I then spent six months grinding it out at a shitty restaurant job while using every minute of my free time getting my apps together/working on my writing, only to get fired basically as soon as my last app was done (very frustratingly because I asked one time if I could switch my schedule and stop working weekends so I could spend more time with my girlfriend, the only reason I moved to this dogshit city/now the only person I see on a daily basis [only I didn't say that last part]. I was told that they, "only needed people who really wanted to work"). I now find myself in a position where I have no job, no career path, meager savings, no friends, a girlfriend who is, understandably, busy with grad school, and am staring down turning 30 with next to nothing to show for it and little hope of getting my life in order any time soon. It's been the longest month and a half (Jesus, only that long?), waiting for decisions, cold applying to jobs, and feeling too stressed out and beaten down to get any new writing done. 

I know things could easily be worse and that I still have plenty to be grateful for, but nothing has been breaking my way since I moved here and it's getting really tough to step up to the plate. Plus, in the back of my head, I can't help but assume that this trend is going to continue until well past the end of app season. I don't really know why I'm posting this here—other than to vent, I guess—but if anyone else has had any personal Ls they'd like to share, I'd love to commiserate. And if anyone was looking to get even, say, with a former boss or whatnot, I would love to get involved in a Strangers-on-a-Train-type situation. 

[jjooeeyy]

@Norwood I don't have a L, exactly, but I spent 8 hours in the ER yesterday and I have to have surgery in 5 weeks. Also staring down 5 likely rejections thus far. 

[Cons]

I've recevied a letter from University of Arizona on friday morning(thursday night in the States) and been told I was on the waitlist of fiction. Getting my foot in the door i guess? 

By the way, I am wondering what's draft and NWP means, it would be great if someone could explain this to me:D