2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Scribe]

4 minutes ago, jadedoptimist said:

I would love to wait it out, but they've given me a response deadline of Feb. 25, lol. Should I try to get them to extend it or something ?

Sure. Or say yes and then no. Or find some way to outright fuck with them. 
seriously, if you know you can’t go- I mean you know it - then just let the deadline pass. Fuck them anyway. 

[seeleimraum]

7 minutes ago, jadedoptimist said:

I would love to wait it out, but they've given me a response deadline of Feb. 25, lol. Should I try to get them to extend it or something ?

Absolutely - you can email them and say something along the lines of: "I'm grateful for the acceptance to such a wonderful program, but I wonder if we could agree upon a later decision date? The financial component of attending a non-funded program requires some further decision-making on my end, and I'd be better able to do so if this deadline was extended to X (DATE)." etc., etc. This probably goes without saying, but: you never know whom you are speaking with, so it's important to be professional (unlike what Scribe is suggesting)! Plus, who knows...maybe they could end up offering you a scholarship or some other opportunity. Sometimes, masters program funding is tied to another program's funding (example: English PhD program enrollment at my alma mater dictated English MA program funding) so you never know what could shake out. You should always ask for what you need (like a deadline extension) - all they can do is say no! Best of luck to you. I'm sure you will end up exactly where you're meant to be.

[prufrock_]

bama just hit me with the 'no thanks!'

[Scribe]

5 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

bama just hit me with the 'no thanks!'

No reactions left which is better than no fucks. Real sorry but it’s one down. 

[jadedoptimist]

12 minutes ago, seeleimraum said:

Absolutely - you can email them and say something along the lines of: "I'm grateful for the acceptance to such a wonderful program, but I wonder if we could agree upon a later decision date? The financial component of attending a non-funded program requires some further decision-making on my end, and I'd be better able to do so if this deadline was extended to X (DATE)." etc., etc. This probably goes without saying, but: you never know whom you are speaking with, so it's important to be professional (unlike what Scribe is suggesting)! Plus, who knows...maybe they could end up offering you a scholarship or some other opportunity. Sometimes, masters program funding is tied to another program's funding (example: English PhD program enrollment at my alma mater dictated English MA program funding) so you never know what could shake out. You should always ask for what you need (like a deadline extension) - all they can do is say no! Best of luck to you. I'm sure you will end up exactly where you're meant to be.

I had no idea who to email, because the decision literally came from the portal (lol. I'm getting a bad feeling about this program) but I emailed the main admissions coordinator lady asking her for info on fellowships and grants. thanks for the support, guys. here's hoping I don't need any of this becausse I'm getting into iowa. hahahaha

[prufrock_]

I was expecting the Alabama rejection since we saw acceptances/waitlists go out a while ago. But I also thought the rejections would come out in a large wave -- I seem to be the only one rejected so far! Not sure if that's a good or bad sign, hahah.

 

edit: wave is happening!

Edited February 20 by prufrock_

[Mrs. Fahrenheit]

Rejections coming through from the University of Alabama! 0a/2w/1r/11p

[3feetofsnow]

I’m still wondering what’s going on with U of Arizona, the spreadsheet says they’re adding an interview step to their selection process but it still looks like only one nonfiction applicant has been contacted and there’s been silence since. They also said acceptances and waitlists are supposed to go out by the end of the month, so you’d think they’d have set up more interviews

[pananoprodigy]

3 minutes ago, 3feetofsnow said:

I’m still wondering what’s going on with U of Arizona, the spreadsheet says they’re adding an interview step to their selection process but it still looks like only one nonfiction applicant has been contacted and there’s been silence since. They also said acceptances and waitlists are supposed to go out by the end of the month, so you’d think they’d have set up more interviews

Wondering this too, I'm not on draft so i didn't see that about the interviews 😩 But I know last year they had already sent some if not all acceptances by the 20th of feb

[Scribe]

any word on their fiction program?

[3feetofsnow]

5 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

Wondering this too, I'm not on draft so i didn't see that about the interviews 😩 But I know last year they had already sent some if not all acceptances by the 20th of feb

copy-pasted from the spreadsheet: 

"This year we’re trying out a new stage of our admissions process, in which we invite some of the strongest candidates (this is you) to an optional brief zoom conversation about the program and what you’re hoping to get out of an/our MFA this week."

Acceptances/waitlists expected to go out by the end of the month

@Scribe I’m also in for fiction I just mean in general that’s all we’ve heard from them in any capacity

Edited February 20 by 3feetofsnow

[CorneliusBreadicus]

20 minutes ago, jadedoptimist said:

I had no idea who to email, because the decision literally came from the portal (lol. I'm getting a bad feeling about this program) but I emailed the main admissions coordinator lady asking her for info on fellowships and grants. thanks for the support, guys. here's hoping I don't need any of this becausse I'm getting into iowa. hahahaha

Is this the MFA in Prose and Poetry? Don't go. I was reading about it when reading about Litowitz (Northwestern's fully funded program) and the total estimated cost is something like $55k. Plus, that doesn't even include the cost of living in Evanston or Chicago. If a program is not willing to invest in you as a writer, it's not worth your time. You're talented enough to get waitlisted at Vandy!! Maybe it doesn't turn into an acceptance. But I'd say the cost of waiting one more year and another round of app fees is little in comparison to a debt of almost $60,000. 

[jadedoptimist]

@CorneliusBreadicus Don't worry, I'm not paying $60,000. Either they like me enough they're creating a whole new grant for me, or I'm peacing out. Also, congrats on Syracuse! I don't think I said it directly back when. 

[messindistress]

Aaaaaaaand here's the rejection from Oregon State. Always hurts.

Edited February 21 by messindistress

[epr]

Looks like UCR notified poetry waitlists just now according to Draft. Anyone heard anything for fiction?

[Scribe]

1 hour ago, 3feetofsnow said:

copy-pasted from the spreadsheet: 

"This year we’re trying out a new stage of our admissions process, in which we invite some of the strongest candidates (this is you) to an optional brief zoom conversation about the program and what you’re hoping to get out of an/our MFA this week."

Acceptances/waitlists expected to go out by the end of the month

@Scribe I’m also in for fiction I just mean in general that’s all we’ve heard from them in any capacity

Okay. Another r for me. 

[3feetofsnow]

7 minutes ago, Scribe said:

Okay. Another r for me. 

I’m not ready to call it an R just yet bc we haven’t heard anything about either poetry or fiction but it’s not looking promising, no

[Scribe]

Just now, 3feetofsnow said:

I’m not ready to call it an R just yet bc we haven’t heard anything about either poetry or fiction but it’s not looking promising, no

Ohhhhhh… I thought you, a fiction applicant, had received that email. 
honestly, I can see them not interviewing the artists. 
[*giggles. Bites heel of hand*]

[3feetofsnow]

12 minutes ago, Scribe said:

Ohhhhhh… I thought you, a fiction applicant, had received that email. 
honestly, I can see them not interviewing the artists. 
[*giggles. Bites heel of hand*]

Sorry for the confusion! I hope I DO receive that email tho…

[AngusWanderer]

6 hours ago, mr. specific said:

Got into Michigan! Crazy. Just an email notification. Not complaining, but I thought they'd call. l

Huge congratulations! I'm waitlisted but I don't think I'll stay on the list. 

 

4 hours ago, jadedoptimist said:

Thank you mr specific! You were ultra specific in saying that I am good enough for fully funded, and I needed to hear that:) you're right. I'm declining my spot at NW and holding out for a JHU or Vandy spot, or a fully funded acceptance (crosses self). thanks for the support @mr. specific @pomelo@pananoprodigy. you guys have been invaluable and you would all make great grad school classmates!!

You are definitely good enough for any program and you should stay hopeful, even if it turns out that you might need to wait for another year. Last year I was waitlisted by JHU, NYU and Iowa but nothing worked out and I had to reapply. I didn't even change much of my SoP and at least half of the manuscript was recycled from last year's application. 

 

 

Edited February 21 by AngusWanderer
typo

[Scribe]

17 minutes ago, 3feetofsnow said:

Sorry for the confusion! I hope I DO receive that email tho…

i hope you receive a straight acceptance. Munoz is a god. 

[foundress of nothing]

hi! has anyone else heard from Iowa? not only did the one person who recorded on the draft spreadsheet spell "Chang" as "Cheng" but they also spelled "Samantha" as "Samatha" which makes me suspicious to say the least...

[3feetofsnow]

8 minutes ago, foundress of nothing said:

hi! has anyone else heard from Iowa? not only did the one person who recorded on the draft spreadsheet spell "Chang" as "Cheng" but they also spelled "Samantha" as "Samatha" which makes me suspicious to say the least...

They could have just been rushing or be on mobile or whatever but that is the only entry from that person so idk…

[jka0124]

On 2/18/2024 at 12:23 PM, jadedoptimist said:

Yes, this is my first time applying! However, I am in the 23 Draft (but you can only scroll so far back before FB glitches and dies.) Also, I just looked at the 23 spreadsheet and I may have been wrong about acceptances going out until late March. It might be more like early March. Last year someone on Draft got an acceptance for poetry on 3/6, and the year before someone on here got an acceptance for poetry on 3/2. Basically I've just cobbled together a sense of when they notify based on posts from past years. Most of this information has only entered my brain over the past few weeks, because I only found gradcafé recently. 

 

I'm late on this, but I want to point out AWP was a month earlier than it usually was, so a lot of programs may have gotten through their piles of reading before the conference threw their schedules out of whack. I believe, on the whole, acceptances will skew earlier this year. 

[newyearnewtea]

First time poster here: have been in and out of the hospital for over a month now, so of course I got rejections from both Cornell and JHU while I was languishing in the ICU (lol), but JUST GOT MY FIRST ACCEPTANCE TO MICHIGAN!!!

Cannot overstate how much I know these decisions--or even beyond the decisions, the constant, anxiety-inducing waiting--can mess with your head, but so proud to be in community with all of you at every stage of this process. You never know when a day will become your day.