2023 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[jennnna]

1 hour ago, appleenjoyer said:

Thank you for everyone's answers! It's so hard to wait 😭😭 I see someone got a rejection from Davis & I haven't gotten one, so I'm hoping 🥹😭😭😭

Keeping my fingers crossed for you ❤️ I’m the only rejection I’ve seen thus far for Davis on these forums (I commented about it on someone’s draft post, but haven’t seen anyone else post about it). They sent me an email last night to check my portal, where I found a generic form rejection.

[lenagator1997]

On 2/5/2023 at 11:55 AM, Leeannitha said:

If you don’t mind me asking, why did you decide to do both an MFA and a PHD? Just wondering how the programs differ. 

I didn't know if I wanted to do the PhD when I first got to my MFA program. After I knew I loved graduate school and wanted to continue learning about CNF and literature, that's when I decided to apply. Also, if you are looking for a job in academia, even at a community college, they want a PhD of some sort.

[TitiMePregunto]

On 3/8/2023 at 4:55 PM, alligator mississippiensis said:

Yo I am still waiting on Hunter College, NYU, Columbia, and UC Irvine. Does anyone have any information about when they've sent out rejections in the past? Thank you ❤️ 

Rejections from Irvine in the past have come out the last day of March.

 

[KRUI]

Has anyone heard anything from Rutgers about their fiction results? Saw people talk about the Camden location, but not Newark. 

[writinggrad]

Someone posted they were accepted to “color,” I wonder if that’s Brown?

[dagreenkat]

6 minutes ago, writinggrad said:

Someone posted they were accepted to “color,” I wonder if that’s Brown?

I wish they would have said if it was for fiction or poetry. Need to know when to give up!

[maz]

1 hour ago, writinggrad said:

Someone posted they were accepted to “color,” I wonder if that’s Brown?

My guess is it's Colorado and they hit enter too soon haha

[ACPF]

1 hour ago, dagreenkat said:

I wish they would have said if it was for fiction or poetry. Need to know when to give up!

Brown poetry is making calls, but haven't heard about fiction.

[Catpaw]

Got my Iowa fiction rejection letter. Dated March 3. (I'm based in New York, for those tracking postage time.) No handwritten note on mine.

(For those who need context, the program director handwrites personal notes on some form rejection letters. If you receive one, it's an indication that your application came close to making the cut that year.)

[newtothecrew]

Wondering: Does Iowa waitlist Fiction applicants? 

[crosie]

16 minutes ago, Catpaw said:

Got my Iowa fiction rejection letter. Dated March 3. (I'm based in New York, for those tracking postage time.) No handwritten note on mine.

(For those who need context, the program director handwrites personal notes on some form rejection letters. If you receive one, it's an indication that your application came close to making the cut that year.)

Did yours also have the “some readers really liked this” paragraph on it? Wondering if they just say that to all the girls :’) 

[shhhh]

4 minutes ago, crosie said:

Did yours also have the “some readers really liked this” paragraph on it? Wondering if they just say that to all the girls :’) 

Mine has that paragraph, and also a personal note from Lan Samantha Chang saying I was a finalist--ugh! Not sure how to take that lol. Because I got fully-funded elsewhere, it feels stupid to turn it down to apply again to Iowa. And yet...

[crosie]

4 minutes ago, shhhh said:

Mine has that paragraph, and also a personal note from Lan Samantha Chang saying I was a finalist--ugh! Not sure how to take that lol. Because I got fully-funded elsewhere, it feels stupid to turn it down to apply again to Iowa. And yet...

If you got into a fully funded and it seems like a good fit, I’d say go for it. Iowa is Iowa and has its prestige and its problems. At least that’s what I’m telling myself lol

[eternalwhitenights]

On 3/8/2023 at 11:23 AM, jackiejo said:

Waitlist &admit notifications for ND have been updated on portal 

Rock on! Did you get admitted/waitlisted? Regardless, congrats on making it to the interview stage! That's such an amazing accomplishment!

[Catpaw]

1 hour ago, crosie said:

Did yours also have the “some readers really liked this” paragraph on it? Wondering if they just say that to all the girls :’) 

Nope, mine did not have the "some readers liked this" paragraph! No readers like my application, lol. If you got that paragraph in your letter, take it as the genuine compliment that it is!

59 minutes ago, shhhh said:

Mine has that paragraph, and also a personal note from Lan Samantha Chang saying I was a finalist--ugh! Not sure how to take that lol. Because I got fully-funded elsewhere, it feels stupid to turn it down to apply again to Iowa. And yet...

Also seconding crosie here in saying that if you got a fully-funded offer and it seems a good fit, take it! That's a gift! (Plus, a lot of people in this thread have shared experiences of getting waitlisted at a school one year, only to get rejected their second year — it's really just unpredictable. I'd only consider turning down the offer and re-applying if you really are having serious, unrelated doubts about the current funded offer and whether it's right for you.)

[lanadelreystan]

7 hours ago, shhhh said:

Mine has that paragraph, and also a personal note from Lan Samantha Chang saying I was a finalist--ugh! Not sure how to take that lol. Because I got fully-funded elsewhere, it feels stupid to turn it down to apply again to Iowa. And yet...

Can't you accept the current offer, attend the program for the fall and spring, and reapply in the fall to Iowa? If you get accepted, you can renege from the initial program

[Nightmaric]

7 hours ago, lanadelreystan said:

Can't you accept the current offer, attend the program for the fall and spring, and reapply in the fall to Iowa? If you get accepted, you can renege from the initial program

Do people really do this? And does it affect their reputation in the MFA/writing community?

[EE_Hardy]

Brooklyn College called me with an acceptance. For anyone who doesn't get the answer they wanted for this cycle—I hope you'll keep trying. I've been inching toward taking a risk like this for years, continuing to work and save money so that someday I would feel secure enough to devote myself to writing. 

After applying to 10 schools in 2020, my only acceptance was Columbia. With a heavy heart I rejected their offer because of the program's cost. I feared what that level of debt would do to my ability to focus on writing after graduation, and a few months later this article was published and I felt all the more secure in that decision: ‘Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off"*

Between now and then, I've been rejected from dozens of writing seminars and retreats, but thanks to the generosity of friends reading my work and giving feedback, I have gotten better. I've also significantly upped my rate in my day job (which pays the bills), saved as much money as I could, and seen parts of the world that inspired me to write all the more. 

This is a difficult process, but I've felt lucky to have been in this supportive corner of the web with all of you. I'd like to think that somewhere in the recesses of our minds, a distant connection will be made between our anonymous words here, and those published with our names, and I look forward to reading more from everyone. 

 

*If you open that WSJ article in an incognito tab, you can get past the paywall. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by EE_Hardy

[LHPB]

anyone in at houston for poetry?

[1badgloop]

4 hours ago, Nightmaric said:

Do people really do this? And does it affect their reputation in the MFA/writing community?

People definitely do this! There's multiple people both on Draft and on this forum who've transferred programs after a year. I don't see any reason why it would negatively affect someone's reputation, unless they go out of their way to badmouth the school they're leaving or otherwise burn bridges. Sometimes you go someplace and it just isn't the right fit.

[shhhh]

This is a really interesting idea...The other program I got accepted to NYU, and I got a full ride + stipend. I'm very excited about it and grateful, but I already live in NYC and kind of dreamt of using this opportunity to get away from the city, focus on writing, have a washer/dryer at my apartment lol, etc. But, it seems insane to turn down NYU for the chance of maybe getting into Iowa next year. It's not like the note is a promise! Honestly--kind of crazy they do that? Can you imagine if any other school did?

 

Curious cuz I'm not in Draft, the people who switched programs--did they transfer and just do one year at the second place? Or did they start their MFA over?

[mosss]

how are y'all holding up? i thought i was doing well, but these last couple of days have been roughhhhhh

literally all i've been able to think about is if i'm getting off these waitlists (0a/2w/~5r) or not--and i know movement doesn't really start until late march/april, but i just want to know alreadyyyyyy like should i be apartment hunting??? can i make plans for the summer or??? ugughghghhgh

i can't seem to do anything to get my mind off this (usually i'll do something creative--make little dudes with clay, write, or build a castle in animal crossing or smth but my brain feels like hot soup slipping through my fingers rn and i cannot. stay focused.). i just want to hibernate until april 15 lol

hope things are going better for y'all than they are for me (and if anyone has any good hibernation tips lmk)

[maz]

51 minutes ago, shhhh said:

This is a really interesting idea...The other program I got accepted to NYU, and I got a full ride + stipend. I'm very excited about it and grateful, but I already live in NYC and kind of dreamt of using this opportunity to get away from the city, focus on writing, have a washer/dryer at my apartment lol, etc. But, it seems insane to turn down NYU for the chance of maybe getting into Iowa next year. It's not like the note is a promise! Honestly--kind of crazy they do that? Can you imagine if any other school did?

 

Curious cuz I'm not in Draft, the people who switched programs--did they transfer and just do one year at the second place? Or did they start their MFA over?

It's not that unusual for programs to tell people when they are finalists. Happened to me last year with a different school. Yes I'm still hoping I get in this year haha, but I think of it more like a positive rejection from a lit mag—it's general encouragement about your work rather than an indication of how the admissions process will go next round. If I were you I would definitely take the NYU offer, as it's incredible to get a full ride and a stipend. Congrats!

[poetryplus]

Has anyone else besides the one poster here heard back from Rutgers Newark for poetry?? Idk if the strike stuff going on is blocking things but this is my last school to hear back from…

[1badgloop]

1 hour ago, mosss said:

how are y'all holding up? i thought i was doing well, but these last couple of days have been roughhhhhh

literally all i've been able to think about is if i'm getting off these waitlists (0a/2w/~5r) or not--and i know movement doesn't really start until late march/april, but i just want to know alreadyyyyyy like should i be apartment hunting??? can i make plans for the summer or??? ugughghghhgh

i can't seem to do anything to get my mind off this (usually i'll do something creative--make little dudes with clay, write, or build a castle in animal crossing or smth but my brain feels like hot soup slipping through my fingers rn and i cannot. stay focused.). i just want to hibernate until april 15 lol

hope things are going better for y'all than they are for me (and if anyone has any good hibernation tips lmk)

I'm in a similar situation - on 2 waitlists with no acceptances yet and probably none coming. It's way tougher than I expected. I went into the application process with what I thought was a healthy mindset, and I've tried my best to keep hold of that throughout, but I've still been really rattled.

Something that's sort of helping is just to remember that setbacks are an inevitable part of the writing process, and that literally all of the writers I admire had to hear "no" many, many times before they ever found success. What I'm experiencing now isn't a temporary detour from the path to literary achievement - it is the path itself. There are no shortcuts or hacks to make it any easier. There's no way to avoid it. If I wasn't getting rejected during this particular application cycle, I'd certainly be getting rejected from something else at some point in the future. The only way to deal with it is just to keep writing. Easier said than done, of course, but it is a bit of comfort to me.

Edited March 11, 2023 by 1badgloop