2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[bluebikeyikes]

I didn't get an email from OSU, but I checked the portal and I have been rejected. Oh well! Moving on to the next programs. I hope those who have gotten on the waitlist will get acceptances soon!

0A/0W/1R/10P

[ajcam]

Excited to be here. Waiting on 12 fully funded programs 😬

[ajcam]

21 hours ago, decayingballads21 said:

It’s in the comment section under the post where Jess made the form 

Hi! I’m new here. Applying to 12 fully funded programs and was wondering how long it usually takes before being accepted into Draft? It’s been three agonizing days so far. 😅 I’m sure the administers have jobs and lives…unlike me….but was just wondering. Good luck to all!

[decayingballads21]

1 hour ago, bluebikeyikes said:

I didn't get an email from OSU, but I checked the portal and I have been rejected. Oh well! Moving on to the next programs. I hope those who have gotten on the waitlist will get acceptances soon!

0A/0W/1R/10P

Oh no! I haven’t gotten any portal update for a rejection or any email from OSU. What time did your portal reflect a rejection?   Maybe I have a possibility of an acceptance still?

[bluebikeyikes]

14 minutes ago, decayingballads21 said:

Oh no! I haven’t gotten any portal update for a rejection or any email from OSU. What time did your portal reflect a rejection?   Maybe I have a possibility of an acceptance still?

I'm not sure about the exact timestamp; I checked this morning and my status has changed from "pending" to "decision" and when I clicked on it, it shows a standard rejection message.

[catsaregood.pdf]

if I didn’t receive an email from UMass Amherst for an interview does that mean it’s safe to say that I’ve been rejected from UMass? (sorry if this is a dumb question! i’m unfamiliar w the mfa admission process and didn’t really do adequate research before applying)

also congrats to those who got acceptances!! (hehe currently checking this forum while on a BR break at work)

[nataliezimm]

42 minutes ago, catsaregood.pdf said:

if I didn’t receive an email from UMass Amherst for an interview does that mean it’s safe to say that I’ve been rejected from UMass? (sorry if this is a dumb question! i’m unfamiliar w the mfa admission process and didn’t really do adequate research before applying)

also congrats to those who got acceptances!! (hehe currently checking this forum while on a BR break at work)

I’ve been wondering the same thing - haven’t heard anything from umass and am wondering whether they do multiple rounds of emails for interviews, or if that was it. 

[triciadawn]

3 hours ago, ajcam said:

Hi! I’m new here. Applying to 12 fully funded programs and was wondering how long it usually takes before being accepted into Draft? It’s been three agonizing days so far. 😅 I’m sure the administers have jobs and lives…unlike me….but was just wondering. Good luck to all!

Also applying to 12 😬 It took about a week, almost 2, for me to get approved. 

Good luck to you too! 

[ketilsstead]

1 hour ago, nataliezimm said:

I’ve been wondering the same thing - haven’t heard anything from umass and am wondering whether they do multiple rounds of emails for interviews, or if that was it. 

Also wondering this - did not receive an email. I feel like it probably means we did not get in, but they were one of the schools where the graduate school and the MFA program seem to do things differently. So maybe it's for a certain kind of TAship or something. And I doubt anyone who will get waitlisted would have been asked to interview yet. 

So, it's not a good sign that we didn't get an interview request, but I don't think it's definitive. Just my two cents. 

[sunnysequoia]

15 hours ago, decayingballads21 said:

 

Congrats you guys! I really am happy to hear of others successes, but I am still here wondering if I’m going to hear any kind of news from OSU. Do you think they are done sending out acceptances and waitlists, or might there be more to come? I applied CNF, and it’s been silent on my end. I was kind of hoping they are staggering their notifications throughout the week but I’m starting to think otherwise. I just want to cry. Ugh. Does anyone have any insight into the notif system this year- are they all out at once, staggered, or something else? 🤞🏻 

The only relevant information I have is from my letter which mentioned that their waitlist is "very short and very selective." 

8 hours ago, decayingballads21 said:

Oh no! I haven’t gotten any portal update for a rejection or any email from OSU. What time did your portal reflect a rejection?   Maybe I have a possibility of an acceptance still?

Given that some folks already have an update and we're in the weekend now, if your portal hasn't been updated to a rejection by now, I would take that as a positive; it likely means that your application was strong enough that you are still under consideration, and that alone is a positive reflection on your writing regardless of the result. Hang in there!

Edited January 20 by sunnysequoia

[ajcam]

On 1/18/2024 at 11:03 AM, Rixor said:

Is everyone else finding it as difficult to focus as I am? I've made barely any progress on my writing projects and at work, all I can think about is edits I should've made to my SOPs. 

Is everyone else neurotically refreshing Facebook, Gradcafe, and Gmail? Or just me? 😅

Right there with you. Right. There. With. You. 😅

[GoldenTree]

Hi everyone, 

I've been monitoring the thread since it was created, read through the past years threads for research, but finally decided to be a part of it. I'm not sure it'll help my anxiety with the application process but at least I'll be able to contribute. I'm coming right out of undergrad and applied to 15 fully funded programs (11 poetry, 2 dual-genre, 2 fiction). I just got a Poetry rejection from OSU on the 19th. I'm not sure if anyone else has applied in more than one genre but as a dual-genre writer who has been published in both it made sense to me. 

Anyway, I wanted to share something I found on the Grad Cafe with you all. So if you go to this page. https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/?per_page=20&q=creative+writing&institution=&program=&degree= 

You can input the term "creative writing" alongside whatever university you applied to and get an idea of when the decision will come out based off of prior years results. I found it helpful to know when I'd likely be getting responses back so I wanted to share. 

[Chex]

43 minutes ago, GoldenTree said:

Hi everyone, 

I've been monitoring the thread since it was created, read through the past years threads for research, but finally decided to be a part of it. I'm not sure it'll help my anxiety with the application process but at least I'll be able to contribute. I'm coming right out of undergrad and applied to 15 fully funded programs (11 poetry, 2 dual-genre, 2 fiction). I just got a Poetry rejection from OSU on the 19th. I'm not sure if anyone else has applied in more than one genre but as a dual-genre writer who has been published in both it made sense to me. 

Anyway, I wanted to share something I found on the Grad Cafe with you all. So if you go to this page. https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/?per_page=20&q=creative+writing&institution=&program=&degree= 

You can input the term "creative writing" alongside whatever university you applied to and get an idea of when the decision will come out based off of prior years results. I found it helpful to know when I'd likely be getting responses back so I wanted to share. 

Welcome, GoldenTree. 15 sounds like a healthy number of programs to apply to, and it's even better that they're all fully-funded. Fingers crossed you get in somewhere!

Sorry about OSU. As for mixed genre applications, that's interesting and honestly makes sense if  you're open to doing an MFA in any genre that works out. A few people have mentioned doing the same. What seems to be more common is applying to programs where cross-genre/multi-genre work is encouraged. For instance, Michener allows you to have a primary and secondary genre; Iowa State (ISU) welcomes work across multiple genres, and I believe I've heard people say similar things about U of Arkansas, U of Alabama, and UC Riverside.

That said, I hope you get beautiful opportunities to do what calls to you! Where and where did you apply to, if you don't mind sharing?

[GoldenTree]

42 minutes ago, Chex said:

Welcome, GoldenTree. 15 sounds like a healthy number of programs to apply to, and it's even better that they're all fully-funded. Fingers crossed you get in somewhere!

Sorry about OSU. As for mixed genre applications, that's interesting and honestly makes sense if  you're open to doing an MFA in any genre that works out. A few people have mentioned doing the same. What seems to be more common is applying to programs where cross-genre/multi-genre work is encouraged. For instance, Michener allows you to have a primary and secondary genre; Iowa State (ISU) welcomes work across multiple genres, and I believe I've heard people say similar things about U of Arkansas, U of Alabama, and UC Riverside.

That said, I hope you get beautiful opportunities to do what calls to you! Where and where did you apply to, if you don't mind sharing?

Thanks for the welcome and well wishes! Fingers crossed you get in too! And I definitely wish there would be a list somewhere of the programs where cross-genre/multi genre is encouraged. I tried to apply to some places where I heard about more cross-genre work like Pittsburgh and Ohio State but I don't think I did enough research in all honesty. I didn't know about Iowa State or UC-Riverside but I appreciate you sharing! 

In Poetry I applied to OSU, ARK, Ole Miss, Michigan, Vandy, Greensboro, UVA, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame. I'm a dual genre applicant to Alabama and VCU. And I applied in fiction to the University of Kansas and NC-State. I tried to somewhat look at faculty. I do write literary speculative fiction/magical realism (which I know isn't well liked in MFA programs, thus me applying more in poetry) and I only applied in fiction or dual-genre to places that had speculative writers on MFA staff that seemed like a good fit. I guess I'll see how everything goes. 

Edited January 22 by GoldenTree

[Chex]

28 minutes ago, GoldenTree said:

Thanks for the welcome and well wishes! Fingers crossed you get in too! And I definitely wish there would be a list somewhere of the programs where cross-genre/multi genre is encouraged. I tried to apply to some places where I heard about more cross-genre work like Pittsburgh and Ohio State but I don't think I did enough research in all honesty. I didn't know about Iowa State or UC-Riverside but I appreciate you sharing! 

In Poetry I applied to OSU, ARK, Ole Miss, Michigan, Vandy, Greensboro, UVA, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame. I'm a dual genre applicant to Alabama and VCU. And I applied in fiction to the University of Kansas and NC-State. I tried to somewhat look at faculty. I do write literary speculative fiction/magical realism (which I know isn't well liked in MFA programs, thus me applying more in poetry) and I only applied in fiction or dual-genre to places that had speculative writers on MFA staff that seemed like a good fit. I guess I'll see how everything goes. 

Are you in the MFA Draft group on FB? There's plenty of info there from alums, current students, and applicants. It's a good place to do some research, and you could request to join previous years' Draft groups, too.

I've heard good things about Iowa State from current students, though I did not apply there. I only joined Draft at the time I was submitting my applications. Apparently, Iowa State supports speculative fiction and magical realism. For most programs, I don't think it's totally about what you write; it's how you write it. Some stories can't just be put into one genre. And if I remember right, Carmen Maria Machado writes magical realism and went to Iowa (the Workshop). I also know someone who writes horror and speculative fiction, and she's recently graduated from Michigan's fiction program. So there.

Your school choices look good. We share Vandy, Michigan, UVA, and Ole Miss in common.

Edited January 22 by Chex

[catsaregood.pdf]

Just received an email rejection letter from BU 😕 (a bit early but glad it came early I guess) congrats to those who got in! 

[Rixor]

Noticing a ton of early decisions... And Texas State University extended their deadline.

Does that mean this this year had a smaller-than-average applicant pool (and therefore, that we all have better chances)? Or am I reading way too into it? 😅

[GoldenTree]

1 minute ago, Rixor said:

Noticing a ton of early decisions... And Texas State University extended their deadline.

Does that mean this this year had a smaller-than-average applicant pool (and therefore, that we all have better chances)? Or am I reading way too into it? 😅

Let's hope that's the case. 🤞 

[GoldenTree]

40 minutes ago, Chex said:

Are you in the MFA Draft group on FB? There's plenty of info there from alums, current students, and applicants. It's a good place to do some research, and you could request to join previous years' Draft groups, too.

I've heard good things about Iowa State from current students, though I did not apply there. I only joined Draft at the time I was submitting my applications. Apparently, Iowa State supports speculative fiction and magical realism. For most programs, I don't think it's totally about what you write; it's how you write it. Some stories can't just be put into one genre. And if I remember right, Carmen Maria Machado writes magical realism and went to Iowa (the Workshop). I also know someone who writes horror and speculative fiction, and she's recently graduated from Michigan's fiction program. So there.

Your school choices look good. We share Vandy, Michigan, UVA, and Ole Miss in common.

I'm not on the Draft sadly. I don't really have a FB I use regularly and I didn't think they'd accept my request. My FB is basically a blank account I only use to chat my Aunt every few months. I kinda wish I would've tried to get in though. I had no idea about Michigan. Now I'm wishing I would've applied in fiction too there even though their acceptance is so low. Iowa State sounds really nice, it does. And I appreciate your perspective about it not being totally what you write but how you write. I think I should've been thinking that more during this whole process.

It's nice we share some school choices in common!

[Rixor]

2 minutes ago, GoldenTree said:

I'm not on the Draft sadly. I don't really have a FB I use regularly and I didn't think they'd accept my request. My FB is basically a blank account I only use to chat my Aunt every few months. I kinda wish I would've tried to get in though. I had no idea about Michigan. Now I'm wishing I would've applied in fiction too there even though their acceptance is so low. Iowa State sounds really nice, it does. And I appreciate your perspective about it not being totally what you write but how you write. I think I should've been thinking that more during this whole process.

It's nice we share some school choices in common!

Just in case you're sitll interested--I have a blank Facebook account that I never use (and that has a fake name) and they still let me in:) It's been helpful to be a member of the group. I just wish I'd joined before I sent all my apps! 

Good luck on all your applications!

[GoldenTree]

6 minutes ago, Rixor said:

Just in case you're sitll interested--I have a blank Facebook account that I never use (and that has a fake name) and they still let me in:) It's been helpful to be a member of the group. I just wish I'd joined before I sent all my apps! 

Good luck on all your applications!

Thank you! Mine also has a fake name, literally dubbed "sparkle queen" back from when i was 13/14. 😂 I'm starting to wish I would've joined early as well. I'll get on FB soon and send a request. 

Good luck to you too! 

[Chex]

17 minutes ago, GoldenTree said:

I'm not on the Draft sadly. I don't really have a FB I use regularly and I didn't think they'd accept my request. My FB is basically a blank account I only use to chat my Aunt every few months. I kinda wish I would've tried to get in though. I had no idea about Michigan. Now I'm wishing I would've applied in fiction too there even though their acceptance is so low. Iowa State sounds really nice, it does. And I appreciate your perspective about it not being totally what you write but how you write. I think I should've been thinking that more during this whole process.

It's nice we share some school choices in common!

Take heart. You're not alone in the not-having-enough-information-beforehand situation. We learn in the process of doing. First time applications are usually like this. Knowing what I know now, there are definitely some things I would change about how I applied, but I did my best at the time and hope it all pays off.

[prufrock_]

34 minutes ago, Rixor said:

Noticing a ton of early decisions

Are you seeing these on the facebook draft group, or the results page here? (I'm not on facebook, so i'm just following the results here).

[Rixor]

Just now, prufrock_ said:

Are you seeing these on the facebook draft group, or the results page here? (I'm not on facebook, so i'm just following the results here).

The Facebook group has an excel sheet with last year's and this year's notification dates. Would post it here, but I don't think we're allowed to. I've been comparing those with the Gradcafe dates (by looking through the CW results from last year). So, a bit of both! 

[Chex]

57 minutes ago, catsaregood.pdf said:

Just received an email rejection letter from BU 😕 (a bit early but glad it came early I guess) congrats to those who got in! 

BU as in Boston University? Wow! That's super early