2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Chex]

3 minutes ago, Valle said:

Just got a lovely email from JHU. I'm waitlisted for fiction! This is so surreal as I applied to just two schools (three guesses what the other one is!). Just so nice that someone finally read some of my work and thought it not so bad. 

Wow, congrats!! That's some serious stats. *Now refreshing my email just in case*

Applying to only two schools is brave. Thrilled you're waitlisted at one already. Fingers crossed  you make it in! I'm guessing the other school is Iowa? Cornell? (I'm saving the third guess for now) 

[Valle]

2 minutes ago, Chex said:

Wow, congrats!! That's some serious stats. *Now refreshing my email just in case*

Applying to only two schools is brave. Thrilled you're waitlisted at one already. Fingers crossed  you make it in! I'm guessing the other school is Iowa? Cornell? (I'm saving the third guess for now) 

Thanks very much. I hope you get some news, too! Well, my application was very last minute, made in a rage whilst correcting students' essays generated by Chat GPT. (I work at a business school and our policy is to have our students use AI to read, write, think, breathe. And the funny thing is I'm the only one in the faculty who sees a problem with this! Okay, rant over!). Anyways, I started my application pretty much a week before the deadline (and yes, the other is Iowa!). I still don't think I'll go, even if I get in off the waitlist. Can't justify putting my 10-year-old labrador through a planeride across the Atlantic so I can go be a write. Oh yeah, and kids, husband, and all that. 

[Valle]

Just took myself off the waitlist, so hoping someone else'll get my place now. 🙂

[jadedoptimist]

21 minutes ago, Valle said:

Thanks very much. I hope you get some news, too! Well, my application was very last minute, made in a rage whilst correcting students' essays generated by Chat GPT. (I work at a business school and our policy is to have our students use AI to read, write, think, breathe. And the funny thing is I'm the only one in the faculty who sees a problem with this! Okay, rant over!). Anyways, I started my application pretty much a week before the deadline (and yes, the other is Iowa!). I still don't think I'll go, even if I get in off the waitlist. Can't justify putting my 10-year-old labrador through a planeride across the Atlantic so I can go be a write. Oh yeah, and kids, husband, and all that. 

Dude, I'm student teaching at a high school right now and the amount of chatGPT is insane. The english department decided to only do in class essays to quell the issue but it's still happening. It's hard to confirm but the vet teachers know it when they see it. I'm sorry there's such a weird culture around it where you work. it's a powerful tool that needs careful ethical handling... obviously. But creative writing, I believe, is safe. I can't say the same for copywriting.

 

Edited February 13 by jadedoptimist

[saramsarang]

There are Arkansas round two updates on the draft spreadsheet (Fiction). Apparently the recommenders have been directly contacted for LORs if you've made it to round two and in case of Interfolio, the LORs automatically get sent in. Unfortunately it is the middle of the night where I am from so I have to wait for a few more hours before I can contact my recommenders and ask anything. Absolutely nerve wrecking but I'm going to force myself to go to sleep and shut down my brain for now. Meanwhile though I'm manifesting good news for all of you guys!

Edited February 13 by saramsarang

[Hjanep]

53 minutes ago, Valle said:

 

Edited February 13 by Hjanep
Stale - delete

[Chex]

4 minutes ago, Valle said:

Just took myself off the waitlist, so hoping someone else'll get my place now. 🙂

Woah, okay. I strongly hope other great opportunities that align better with where you are in life do come up for you, and that you receive all the support you need to nurture your writing. A JHU waitlist is a big sign that you're doing something right. Keep at it! 

[justasmidge]

Found out that my dad is taking us to Italy from March 7th through the 18th so that will be good to take my mind off of things since I'll be 6 hours ahead of what's going on in the East Coast. Haha or will it? 

[bluebikeyikes]

21 hours ago, brdiget said:

hey! im canadian and also just got accepted to guelph. congrats on your acceptance!

the new financial requirements suck 😕 but it looks like you dont have to have 20k straight up -- guelph offers every applicant a bit of funding so you can provide the letter they send you detailing funding, you can also have a family member sign a letter saying theyre willing to support you. i dont know if its possible to get it waived completely, but it would have to be through the ircc and not uoguelph. heres more info about the requirements

canisia lubrin is so cool though it would be amazing to study with her!! and i know a lot of prominent canadian writers have come out of guelphs mfa program. i really hope the study permit requirements dont stop you if you do end up choosing guelph!

hey! thank you sooo much for your response! it is super helpful. congrats on your acceptance too!!

yeah, i'm sad to see that canada is imposing more restrictions on intl students. unfortunately, they said 20k "plus tuition and travel cost" so i'm not sure if the funding guelph provides counts towards the financial requirement, and I don't have financial support from family. (i do have people willing to lend me money for grad school, but i want to only follow thru as a last resort haha). either way, thank you for sending the website and information!

canisia lubrin is one of the main reasons I applied to the program! I truly appreciate your support and I would love to talk more if you're committing/considering guelph!

[jadedoptimist]

I need to go into cryosleep. I need to be sedated. I need to be cocooned in glass ice like Snow White. I need Google glasses to supply me with constant updates. I need a bed that sleeps me for a thousand seconds.... I literally need an IV of lemonade and hope. I need to be a frozen caveman under the swamp undiscovered for a thousand years. Wake me when March comes.

Edit: Guys, according to Draft Iowa began notifying Valentine's last year (fiction).

Edited February 13 by jadedoptimist
*Shifty obsessive eyes*

[prufrock_]

I heard through the grapevine that I got into Arkansas phase 2 and I spent most of the day anxiously waiting for the official email. None yet! Looks like a few people on Draft have the same experience. I wonder if they will send out acceptances once it's all sorted, rather than notifying applicants of round two progression.

Edited February 13 by prufrock_

[Scribe]

62 more days. 

The last 15 are highly unlikely except for us waitlisters. 

That leaves 47 days of finding out whether someone swiped left or right on us. 

47 days of ... what would you call it?

[prufrock_]

6 minutes ago, Scribe said:

47 days of ... what would you call it?

Schrödinger's waiting period. We're having to prepare for two drastically outcomes in life, one of which is true and one is not.

[justasmidge]

I think I've decided not to apply to City College. Some of me thinks that a lot of it has to do with application fatigue but also, I just don't know if I can get behind the 30-50 page writing sample while they're admitting over 120 people and unlike Stony Brook, Brooklyn, and Hunter (the publics that I did apply to), I didn't see anything about funding.

Does anyone think I'm making a mistake here or if I'm letting the fatigue get to me? There is a lot of me that just wants to be done and wait.

If I do say this is the end of my cycle, I will have apps pending for NYU, Columbia, The New School, Sarah Lawrence, Stony Brook, Brooklyn, and Hunter. 7 chances.

Thanks so much - you all are the only group I know who gets all of this.

 

[triciadawn]

18 hours ago, Kriskris2024 said:

I really hope not. My fingers are crossed that they’ll keep notifying until Thursday. It’s the closet school to home for me and I really don’t feel like moving again lol. 

Felt. But nothing from them today. 😕 

[pananoprodigy]

Scrolling past threads (again) (I need help) and fun fact, the first Iowa fiction notification got posted on this day last year 😬

[jadedoptimist]

Just now, pananoprodigy said:

Scrolling past threads (again) (I need help) and fun fact, the first Iowa fiction notification got posted on this day last year 😬

EXACTLY... You're not the only one... it's coming... the great wave

[writernity]

8 minutes ago, justasmidge said:

I think I've decided not to apply to City College. Some of me thinks that a lot of it has to do with application fatigue but also, I just don't know if I can get behind the 30-50 page writing sample while they're admitting over 120 people and unlike Stony Brook, Brooklyn, and Hunter (the publics that I did apply to), I didn't see anything about funding.

Does anyone think I'm making a mistake here or if I'm letting the fatigue get to me? There is a lot of me that just wants to be done and wait.

If I do say this is the end of my cycle, I will have apps pending for NYU, Columbia, The New School, Sarah Lawrence, Stony Brook, Brooklyn, and Hunter. 7 chances.

Thanks so much - you all are the only group I know who gets all of this.

 

Yeah, I don't see any sort of program funding for City College, while all the others you applied to have at least some chance of funding. I applied to all the same except Sarah Lawrence, and City College wasn't even on my radar. I'd definitely pass on it personally. Wishing you good luck! 🙏

[Scribe]

9 minutes ago, justasmidge said:

I think I've decided not to apply to City College. Some of me thinks that a lot of it has to do with application fatigue but also, I just don't know if I can get behind the 30-50 page writing sample while they're admitting over 120 people and unlike Stony Brook, Brooklyn, and Hunter (the publics that I did apply to), I didn't see anything about funding.

Does anyone think I'm making a mistake here or if I'm letting the fatigue get to me? There is a lot of me that just wants to be done and wait.

If I do say this is the end of my cycle, I will have apps pending for NYU, Columbia, The New School, Sarah Lawrence, Stony Brook, Brooklyn, and Hunter. 7 chances.

Thanks so much - you all are the only group I know who gets all of this.

 

It’s about the money. What’s the cost/funding possibility? I don’t get why the sample is bothersome. 
I too applied to nyu despite the size of the program but 120 seems bonkers. Is the app fee waived since you’ve already applied to CUNY? I only applied to one. 

[justasmidge]

13 minutes ago, Scribe said:

It’s about the money. What’s the cost/funding possibility? I don’t get why the sample is bothersome. 
I too applied to nyu despite the size of the program but 120 seems bonkers. Is the app fee waived since you’ve already applied to CUNY? I only applied to one. 

My issue with the writing sample is that the size of it would make sense if it was due earlier (December, January) because it doesn't seem like a lot of time for them to read samples of that size when they're admitting so many people. 

Regarding funding, both Hunter and Brooklyn have funding available but nothing I can see from CCNY. Cost is $5,545 a semester for residents. The app fee isn't waived, unfortunately, even if you've applied to another CUNY.

[branch]

I had a heart attack yesterday because I was checking in on one of the alumni I cited as an inspiration in my statement of purpose and realized I had used outdated pronouns for them!!!!!! I wasn’t really sure what to do since it’s been so long since I submitted my application materials and it seems like it would be a GLARING oversight on my part for someone I’m claiming is a career example for me—so I was like, they (the MFA department) must think I’m totally inauthentic… but it would have left an awful taste in my mouth not to address it. 

I emailed the Admissions Coordinator with a corrected personal statement and said that I’d realized I’d referred to the person with the wrong pronouns. I hope that didn’t just make things worse. 😰 Did I do the right thing…?

Edited February 14 by branch

[pananoprodigy]

5 minutes ago, branch said:

I had a heart attack yesterday because I was checking in on one of the alumni I cited as an inspiration in my statement of purpose and realized I had used outdated pronouns for them!!!!!! I wasn’t really sure what to do since it’s been so long since I submitted my application materials and it seems like it would be a GLARING oversight on my part for someone I’m claiming is a career example for me—so I was like, they (the MFA department) must think I’m totally inauthentic… but it would have left an awful taste in my mouth not to address it. 

I emailed the Admissions Coordinator with a corrected personal statement and said that I’d realized I’d referred to the person with the wrong pronouns. I hope that didn’t just make things worse. 😰 Did I do the right thing…?

I definitely wouldn't beat yourself up about this, it happens! I think it's nice that you reached out with an update once you realized. 

[mr. specific]

Does anyone have data on how often people get in off the waitlists at these top-ranked schools, or how long of a waitlist they maintain?  I'm guessing it's pretty rare but have zero info to back that up. 

Edited February 14 by mr. specific

[bluebikeyikes]

On 2/12/2024 at 8:42 PM, brdiget said:

hey! im canadian and also just got accepted to guelph. congrats on your acceptance!

the new financial requirements suck 😕 but it looks like you dont have to have 20k straight up -- guelph offers every applicant a bit of funding so you can provide the letter they send you detailing funding, you can also have a family member sign a letter saying theyre willing to support you. i dont know if its possible to get it waived completely, but it would have to be through the ircc and not uoguelph. heres more info about the requirements

canisia lubrin is so cool though it would be amazing to study with her!! and i know a lot of prominent canadian writers have come out of guelphs mfa program. i really hope the study permit requirements dont stop you if you do end up choosing guelph!

hey! thank you sooo much for your response! it is super helpful. congrats on your acceptance too!!

yeah, i'm sad to see that canada is imposing more restrictions on intl students. unfortunately, they said 20k "plus tuition and travel cost" so i'm not sure if the funding guelph provides counts towards the financial requirement, and I don't have financial support from family. (i do have people willing to lend me money for grad school, but i want to only follow thru as a last resort haha). either way, thank you for sending the website and information!

canisia lubrin is one of the main reasons I applied to the program! I truly appreciate your support and I would love to talk more if you're committing/considering guelph!

[triciadawn]

1 hour ago, branch said:

I had a heart attack yesterday because I was checking in on one of the alumni I cited as an inspiration in my statement of purpose and realized I had used outdated pronouns for them!!!!!! I wasn’t really sure what to do since it’s been so long since I submitted my application materials and it seems like it would be a GLARING oversight on my part for someone I’m claiming is a career example for me—so I was like, they (the MFA department) must think I’m totally inauthentic… but it would have left an awful taste in my mouth not to address it. 

I emailed the Admissions Coordinator with a corrected personal statement and said that I’d realized I’d referred to the person with the wrong pronouns. I hope that didn’t just make things worse. 😰 Did I do the right thing…?

I think you'll be fine!