2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[orangee]

Y'ALL I GOT ACCEPTED TO WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY!!! with full funding!!!

[ee921488]

has anyone heard from indiana bloomington for poetry?

[TPike]

3 minutes ago, orangee said:

Y'ALL I GOT ACCEPTED TO WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY!!! with full funding!!!

Whoop whoop! Congratulations!!

[Scribe]

3 hours ago, prufrock_ said:

There's three outcomes that I've thought of, that I'll likely be pursuing.

1) you get accepted somewhere, anywhere, to one or more programs. Victory! Doesn't mean you're great but it does mean you got lucky and you need to spend the next 2-4 years wisely using the time to make the best work you can + make the best connections. Getting in is just the start.

2) you get wait listed to one or more programs, but no acceptances. Time passes, April comes and goes, and you don't get in from the wait list. This proves you have the chops, but the system is very subjective. Maybe you can write something a bit better, work on your sop some more, and reapply to the wait listed schools + different ones next round, and hope that whoever reads your submissions this time vibes just that 10% more that you needed to get in. If you don't get in on the second round, move on to actions below.

3) denials all across the board. Again, the process is subjective. This doesn't mean you suck but it does probably mean that your writing/sop/academic history isn't suited for what the MFA's are looking for. Time to pivot. Get/maintain a day job that's disposable, join a writing group, finish a novel, find an agent, publish some work, enjoy the process. Writing will likely never even be the day job for those who got into the MFA's, so don't expect it to be yours.

I use second person here, but I'm really talking about myself and how I'm going into this whole process. The acceptance rate of all the schools i applied to are 1-5%. I'm preparing for the most statistically likely outcome: all denials. That doesn't mean my work stinks, it just means I applied to a very unlikely subjective lottery.

yeah, all this. 

i mean i know these things, we all do. but i'm human. humans are dum dums.  so there's that voice in the back of my head that rises up and clouds it all. thanks for this though. it really does help. 

[Scribe]

3 hours ago, Rixor said:

IQ tests are a terrible measure of intelligence. They're an apt measure of how well you can recognize and identify patterns, but certainly not of how smart you are.

Grad school admissions are similarly a terrible measure of your worth as an artist. Someone on Draft made this point, but if you, for example, wrote a stunning piece about, e.g., your experiences living in an impoverished country overseas, you could still get passed on simply because the admissions committee doesn't 'connect' with it the same way they might with a story about middle class life in Small Town USA. People are biased--it's unavoidable. People have different preferences in prose, plot, setting, characters... Even if you did get all rejections, it wouldn't necessarily indicate anything about your skill as a writer. 

Didn't you already receive a waitlist from Bloomington, or am I mistaken? It seems to me that you've already 'proven' yourself by your own metrics. Waitlists are a very, very good thing to receive! 

yeah, that was me who got waitlisted. and i'm happy about it, but then that voice in my head says, "you know the admissions committee is made up of writers, right? you know how much writers drink; they were probably hammered when they read your stuff." 

i did actually say to my wife, "if nothing else, someone out there who makes a living at this stuff, thinks i'm capable." i believe that too. but sometimes there's the other voice. i think we all have it. i just need to say it a little. 

as far as IQ being a terrible measure of intelligence, it isn't. it's an excellent measure of one type of intelligence.  unfortunately no one can nail down exactly what that is. it hangs out as a benchmark because other measures are even harder to quantify. we'll get there.

3 hours ago, saramsarang said:

Heyy! I'm probably not the most qualified to give advice on this but I just want to say that, that is absolutely not true. It's pretty standard in MFA programs to apply for ten programs on average, so that should tell you about how competitive they are. Also, you have to remember that there are a lot of people with diverse backgrounds and various experiences applying, there is no norm in the MFA. Generally speaking, there are a lot of things that go behind the scenes on decisions and acceptances/waitlists/rejections. Unfortunately, the process isn't transparent and personalised/individual feedback is not possible so it may leave you in the dark about where to improve. Writing much like any other art is subjective so it's possible you weren't a good fit in the overall cohort of this year or a particular faculty didn't connect with your story this time around etc. There are so many factors, even just minor ones that play into decisions. If there's one thing that both applicants and veterans in the MFA have said over and over, it's that "the MFA is a crapshoot". So many writers who have succeeded, and are considered to be immensely talented do not hold MFAs, some of them were even rejected. The whole process is so unpredictable. So please please know that the MFA decisions are not a reflection of your writing. While you may look back on your writing sample and find areas you could have written better, know that time always helps in improving your writing. We're always constantly evolving as people and our writing evolves with us. So don't stop writing no matter what. If nothing, please know that we are all proud of you just for submitting to so many schools. It takes a lot of courage to apply and put your work out there. You worked really hard on these applications and you did your best, so now just hang in there. If you get in, cheers; if you don't, it's not the end of the world, the words will find you again and you will find it. 

10 programs? that's cute. 

seriously, though, thanks for this. i really hate the insecure side of myself so all you guys are supercool for not judging. 

still, i think in the modern world an mfa is almost a necessity. there are agents who won't look at you without one and probably a few who look closer because of them. an mfa does a lot of legwork for screeners. 

[sunnysequoia]

30 minutes ago, orangee said:

Y'ALL I GOT ACCEPTED TO WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY!!! with full funding!!!

Congratulations!!! 🎉🎈🎊 

[Scribe]

46 minutes ago, orangee said:

Y'ALL I GOT ACCEPTED TO WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY!!! with full funding!!!

supercongrats. 

[antseverywhereallatonce]

5 hours ago, TPike said:

So, I just got rejected from Northwestern. Turns out I should’ve been hoping for the waitlist 😭

 

5 hours ago, pomelo said:

First rejection of the season! Northwestern CNF. 

0a/0w/9p/1r

 

4 hours ago, brdiget said:

forgot about this forum until I got my Northwestern rejection today LOL

I just checked my personal spreadsheet and being reminded that they only accept 2 people really puts this rejection in perspective. hope we start seeing lots more good news on here soon!!

 

3 hours ago, pomelo said:

MFA programs are wild. You either go into debt for one or you luck into a fully funded program (but will still likely struggle because they will give you just enough to survive). Because most of us don’t want to go into debt, we will apply for the fully funded programs, making them wildly, stupidly competitive. We will apply anywhere from 5 to 25 programs. Considering the odds, most of us won’t get accepted to our top choice(s). It doesn’t mean we didn’t deserve it or that we’re incompetent or that our writing sucks. While it’s natural to dwell and agonize and think the worst of ourselves, it’s impossible to know exactly why we weren’t selected.  
 

I hope this doesn’t come off as negative or cynical. I didn’t get into Northwestern and I’m feeling doubtful about Amherst since I didn’t get an interview. I cried last night because I knew a rejection from Northwestern was coming but, in retrospect, no institution is worthy of our tears. Hang in there, y’all. 

I wanted to say to all of you I am so sorry to hear about the Northwestern rejections, I know rejections are really hard to get, so I hope you all know you can take as much time as you all want to process them, and Northwestern's loss is going to be another place's gain.  So sorry you all.

Also thank you for the advice you shared, Pomelo!  It was really nice to read and very reassuring.

56 minutes ago, orangee said:

Y'ALL I GOT ACCEPTED TO WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY!!! with full funding!!!

Congratulations, Orangee!  Western Washington's lucky to have you if you decide to go, and I'm so glad you got full funding.

 

I just got my first decision last night from UIC so I was accepted into the rejection pile!  I am totally okay with it because I know there are so many qualified people, and I know everybody who got in is going to write some really amazing things.  If anyone on here got in, congratulations to all of you!  However, the rejection letter was honestly really funny.  It was just six words, and I didn't mind it was so short because I'm okay with schools being blunt, but I was surprised!

[Scribe]

17 minutes ago, antseverywhereallatonce said:

 

 

 

I wanted to say to all of you I am so sorry to hear about the Northwestern rejections, I know rejections are really hard to get, so I hope you all know you can take as much time as you all want to process them, and Northwestern's loss is going to be another place's gain.  So sorry you all.

Also thank you for the advice you shared, Pomelo!  It was really nice to read and very reassuring.

Congratulations, Orangee!  Western Washington's lucky to have you if you decide to go, and I'm so glad you got full funding.

 

I just got my first decision last night from UIC so I was accepted into the rejection pile!  I am totally okay with it because I know there are so many qualified people, and I know everybody who got in is going to write some really amazing things.  If anyone on here got in, congratulations to all of you!  However, the rejection letter was honestly really funny.  It was just six words, and I didn't mind it was so short because I'm okay with schools being blunt, but I was surprised!

you can't not tell us. what were the six words?

[antseverywhereallatonce]

1 minute ago, Scribe said:

you can't not tell us. what were the six words?

It was "Unfortunately, your application has been denied!"

[Scribe]

with the "!"?!?!?

wtf??

[Rixor]

10 minutes ago, antseverywhereallatonce said:

It was "Unfortunately, your application has been denied!"

Jeez... You probably dodged a bullet, then. 

[antseverywhereallatonce]

1 minute ago, Scribe said:

with the "!"?!?!?

wtf??

 

Just now, Rixor said:

Jeez... You probably dodged a bullet, then. 

It was without an exclamation point, but I thought it'd be funny if I posted it with that.  I'm not sure how to upload a photo on here, but I would love to if it let me!
 

[sunnysequoia]

14 minutes ago, antseverywhereallatonce said:

It was "Unfortunately, your application has been denied!"

Wow... that is unbelievably cold.

[Scribe]

4 minutes ago, sunnysequoia said:

Wow... that is unbelievably cold.

not really. if i were running an MFA, that would be the whole form letter. ot even a "dear applicant". just a plain trifolded sheet (card stock, of course) and in the center "Denied."

 

[antseverywhereallatonce]

8 minutes ago, sunnysequoia said:

Wow... that is unbelievably cold.

Thanks, but it's okay!  I'm honestly okay with it because I'm totally fine with blunt rejections.  I honestly found it funny that it was really short, and I'm happy for everybody who got in.

[ajcam]

22 minutes ago, antseverywhereallatonce said:

It was "Unfortunately, your application has been denied!"

Jeez. What were they going for, a six word story? Somebody submit that into Narrative’s six word contest. I’m sorry you didn’t get in. 😔

[writernity]

19 minutes ago, antseverywhereallatonce said:

It was "Unfortunately, your application has been denied!"

Wow, talk about brevity! On one hand that sort of cold impersonality sucks, but on the other hand, I guess it does make it feel more like dodging a bullet as @Rixor said.

 

1 hour ago, orangee said:

Y'ALL I GOT ACCEPTED TO WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY!!! with full funding!!!

Congrats!!! That's awesome!

 

2 hours ago, TPike said:

Does anyone know what should be the next couple of programs to release results? 

I compiled a list of expected response times for the schools I applied to based on the past 5-ish years of data here and the past 2 from Draft, so I might as well share that here! I don't know about any other schools, though.

PITTSBURGH: Interviews offered late Jan-early Feb, results by late Feb/early March [interview requests started going out on Jan 30]

CORNELL: Early Feb-Early March, usually mostly late Feb

SYRACUSE: Early Feb-mid March, usually in bulk with some waitlist outliers later

MANHATTANVILLE: Acceptances rolling starting mid-Feb, funding decisions mid-March [Heard directly from program director]

JOHN HOPKINS: Mid Feb-mid March, acceptances/waitlists usually before rejections

NYU: Mid Feb-mid March, has trended later and into early April in recent years

HUNTER: Mid Feb-April, interviews/acceptances usually earlier (not likely to be too early this year)

STONY BROOK: Early March acceptances (rolling). Not much data

BROWN: Early-mid March

BROOKLYN: Early-mid March interviews and acceptances/waitlists, late March rejections

COLUMBIA: Early-late March

 

[TPike]

33 minutes ago, antseverywhereallatonce said:

It was "Unfortunately, your application has been denied!"

crazyyyy. You'll end up wherever you're meant to be!!

[Rixor]

14 minutes ago, Scribe said:

not really. if i were running an MFA, that would be the whole form letter. ot even a "dear applicant". just a plain trifolded sheet (card stock, of course) and in the center "Denied."

 

It's a good thing you're not running any programs, then!

[TPike]

10 minutes ago, writernity said:

Wow, talk about brevity! On one hand that sort of cold impersonality sucks, but on the other hand, I guess it does make it feel more like dodging a bullet as @Rixor said.

 

Congrats!!! That's awesome!

 

I compiled a list of expected response times for the schools I applied to based on the past 5-ish years of data here and the past 2 from Draft, so I might as well share that here! I don't know about any other schools, though.

PITTSBURGH: Interviews offered late Jan-early Feb, results by late Feb/early March [interview requests started going out on Jan 30]

CORNELL: Early Feb-Early March, usually mostly late Feb

SYRACUSE: Early Feb-mid March, usually in bulk with some waitlist outliers later

MANHATTANVILLE: Acceptances rolling starting mid-Feb, funding decisions mid-March [Heard directly from program director]

JOHN HOPKINS: Mid Feb-mid March, acceptances/waitlists usually before rejections

NYU: Mid Feb-mid March, has trended later and into early April in recent years

HUNTER: Mid Feb-April, interviews/acceptances usually earlier (not likely to be too early this year)

STONY BROOK: Early March acceptances (rolling). Not much data

BROWN: Early-mid March

BROOKLYN: Early-mid March interviews and acceptances/waitlists, late March rejections

COLUMBIA: Early-late March

 

I appreciate you literally so much!!

[Scribe]

here's a question: can someone on draft light a fire under the asses of the admins?

[TPike]

I haven't heard anyone talking about the Iowa Writers Workshop in here

[Scribe]

5 minutes ago, TPike said:

I haven't heard anyone talking about the Iowa Writers Workshop in here

oh i'm sure no one's thinking about that place at all.

(i just checked the mail)

[TPike]

6 minutes ago, Scribe said:

oh i'm sure no one's thinking about that place at all.

(i just checked the mail)

Do they mail decisions? That’s kinda cool. Also, I’m STILL not accepted to MFA Draft