2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[jadedoptimist]

Oh wow. I wonder why Michener portals are updating one by one like this? A few more just popped up in the spreadsheet for poetry. @Scribewow. your portal really just updated to say that? Why wouldn't they email people?

Edited February 21 by jadedoptimist

[Scribe]

1 minute ago, jadedoptimist said:

Oh wow. I wonder why Michener portals are updating one by one like this? A few more just popped up in the spreadsheet for poetry. @Scribewow. your portal really just updated to say that? Why wouldn't they email people?

I don't know, but I know how I feel about them now. 

[writercl]

they 100% call for michener acceptances, right?

[darr1]

Has everyone's portal changed for Michener?? Mine still says "in review" but I see reported waitlists and rejections have come via a portal change. Do they normally come out over multiple days?

[writercl]

Just now, darr1 said:

Has everyone's portal changed for Michener?? Mine still says "in review" but I see reported waitlists and rejections have come via a portal change. Do they normally come out over multiple days?

mine says the same at the moment as well. how many waitlists/rejections/acceptances have there been so far?

[jadedoptimist]

1 minute ago, darr1 said:

Has everyone's portal changed for Michener?? Mine still says "in review" but I see reported waitlists and rejections have come via a portal change. Do they normally come out over multiple days?

Mine also says "in review." I've been refreshing it like a banshee. I checked their site and it does say quite plainly, "admitted/waitlisted applicants contacted by email/phone, otherwise portal."

There's only 3 portal rejections in the spreadsheet from today. One fiction, two poetry. 

[darr1]

ah well, the nightmare continues

[justasmidge]

I don't know if this will help people but I live and die by my planner so while I'm in NYC school limbo, I just decided to write down some inspirational quotes in my weekly section from now until April. They include:

You will make it through this week, no matter what - hahahaha by me

If you're going through hell, keep going - Winston Churchill (this is when I started consulting past Reddit threads about inspirational quotes)

If the highest aim of a captain was to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever - Thomas Aquinas

Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something - a verrryyyy abridged version of what Sam said to Frodo but there's only so much space in the weekly spread

Dude, sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something - Jake the Dog from Adventure Time

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - I'm a hockey fan, so Gretzky did deserve some time in the planner

The credit belongs to the one in the arena, whose face is marred by sweat and blood. If he fails, at least he fails by daring greatly - another very abridged quote by Teddy Roosevelt

The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something - Randy Pausch

[seeleimraum]

Anyone know if Montana (Missoula) is done notifying for poetry applicants? Saw a couple on draft but not very many.

[newyearnewtea]

Waitlisted for poetry at Syracuse today! Still waiting on a rejection/anything from Vandy...

1a/2r/1w/3p

[AngusWanderer]

3 hours ago, mr. specific said:

OMG GUYS. I just saw a missed call from 212. NYU called w full funding!! This may be the most exciting week of my life.

HUGE CONGRATS! Are you planning to go there? Looks like we might be classmates after all?

7 hours ago, jadedoptimist said:

Oh my god guys. Oh my god. I'm on the Syracuse waitlist!!!!!!!!!

35 minutes ago, newyearnewtea said:

Waitlisted for poetry at Syracuse today! Still waiting on a rejection/anything from Vandy...

1a/2r/1w/3p

Congratulations on the waitlist! To make it better for @jadedoptimist: I'm waitlisted at Syracuse as well and I'm not planning to stay on the list. 

[mr. specific]

2 hours ago, AngusWanderer said:

HUGE CONGRATS! Are you planning to go there? Looks like we might be classmates after all?

I genuinely don't know. It's NYC. And the faculty is incredible. I might do more work elsewhere though. I'm sure you would be an amazing classmate. Where else are you accepted/considering?

(now at 3A/1/W/3/R/10P)

[3feetofsnow]

18 minutes ago, mr. specific said:

I genuinely don't know. It's NYC. And the faculty is incredible. I might do more work elsewhere though. I'm sure you would be an amazing classmate. Where else are you accepted/considering?

(now at 3A/1/W/3/R/10P)

Damn congrats on that 3A! Is this your first rodeo? If not, any advice on maximizing your chances from one cycle to the next, or is it just putting in good old fashioned hard work to improve your writing?

[mr. specific]

7 minutes ago, 3feetofsnow said:

Damn congrats on that 3A! Is this your first rodeo? If not, any advice on maximizing your chances from one cycle to the next, or is it just putting in good old fashioned hard work to improve your writing?

Not my first time around—my third. got rejected and waitlisted at a bunch of places and turned down my one partially-funded acceptance. Was not going to try again and then with the incredible support of my mentors and friends decided to throw everything at one last go around.

My writing is way better than it was last time around and I also took the other parts of the application more seriously, like actually did more than one draft of SOP and had people read my sample. I'm also very, very lucky with my references. Not sure how much that other stuff matters in relation to the sample. A lot is luck and who's reading from year to year from what I can tell. When they take 3 or 4 or 5, they probably have 20 that are more or less equally good. So yeah, keep at it.

[sunnysequoia]

@decayingballads21 I got more info on the Oregon State waitlist! It is unranked and contains 12 people, which is a lot higher than I expected tbh. Elena said, "As practitioners of holistic admissions, we prefer to tailor-make a diverse and wide-reaching cohort in accordance with the acceptances we receive. In my twelve years reading applications, we have made offers to folks beyond the original 4 offers each and every year. And every year, we're moving through the finalist list and still making offers in early April. Your application suggests that you'd be a fine addition to lots of different permutations of cohorts, so I hope you'll still consider sitting tight."

The way I read this is, depending on who accepts and turns down the initial 4 offers, they will select the next person to whom to send an offer accordingly. They likely want to assemble a diverse cohort of people who will get along, and they might also not want people whose writing subjects or styles are too similar, in my opinion.

She was super nice, saying, "Congrats again on your fine application and very strong writing sample." She even commented specifically on what she loved about my writing sample, which was so nice to hear!

[decayingballads21]

8 hours ago, sunnysequoia said:

Hi!! My email was also really vague, just said, "If any of [our 4 initial offers] are declined, you’re among the group who will receive an offer." I emailed back to ask if the waitlist is ranked. I've gotten the sense that most waitlisted students eventually get off the list at most programs, like the probability that every single one of a program's initial admits chooses to accept is pretty low imo. I do hope you get off their waitlist! I think you need it more than I do haha. There is still time so I hope you hear back from more schools soon!!

My personal rankings have been shifting on a day-to-day basis, but I think my top choice currently is a tie between Ohio State and University of Arizona. Unless the program requirements are not a good fit for me, I would prefer any 3-year program over a 2-year program.

Ugh omg sunny thank u so much for sharing this info! You’re the best! I replied to her email today with a short and simple thank you and letting them know that Oregon is my top choice. How did you word your email to them with your question/concern? I’d love to have gotten some specific feedback on my sample (LOL) honestly it would make me feel better. But I don’t want to email them again. Haha

 

thanks for sharing and fingers crossed for us ! Ughhh I really really hope there’s some movement but this makes me feel that I have even less of a chance to get in if there’s more people on the waitlist that are equally good

[sunnysequoia]

3 minutes ago, decayingballads21 said:

Ugh omg sunny thank u so much for sharing this info! You’re the best! I replied to her email today with a short and simple thank you and letting them know that Oregon is my top choice. How did you word your email to them with your question/concern? I’d love to have gotten some specific feedback on my sample (LOL) honestly it would make me feel better. But I don’t want to email them again. Haha

 

thanks for sharing and fingers crossed for us ! Ughhh I really really hope there’s some movement but this makes me feel that I have even less of a chance to get in if there’s more people on the waitlist that are equally good

You're welcome!! Glad I can be of some help hahaha. I just asked, how many people are on the waitlist and is it ranked LOL. And I expressed that I was thrilled to be on the waitlist and was thankful to the admissions team for considering my application and that I looked forward to an update in the near future. I don't think there's any harm in asking if she could share specific feedback, even just a thought or two, on your writing sample!

And yeah I know it's rough being in limbo stage (x4 for me LOL) but don't lose hope yet!! I think it's good that you expressed that Oregon is your top choice, I don't feel I can confidently say that about any of my waitlists LOL. Anyway you got this and if you're waitlisted at one school then I'm confident you'll receive more good news soon  

[AngusWanderer]

9 hours ago, mr. specific said:

I genuinely don't know. It's NYC. And the faculty is incredible. I might do more work elsewhere though. I'm sure you would be an amazing classmate. Where else are you accepted/considering?

(now at 3A/1/W/3/R/10P)

I lived in NYC for three months and just felt that the city's filled with creative energy. I agree with you though and it seems easier to focus on work elsewhere. Also, NYU has a very large cohort each year and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I might go and audit one of their classes and see what it's like. 

Apart from NYU I have a safety offer (only partially funded so...) and a place at VT. The thing is, I'm waitlisted at Michigan and Syracuse, and I've decided to wait for a bit longer and see what happens (again, congratulations on getting into these programs; that shows how brilliant you are).  I'm still waiting on a few programs, but I guess only Brown and Iowa are the real options (I've crossed out the Austin programs). 

[InfernalDesireMachines]

Congrats to everyone who's gotten in anywhere or been waitlisted!

Out of curiosity, does anyone know how waitlists at Iowa work? Because I know they call acceptances but mail out rejections. Do they mail out waitlists as well?

[mudpuddle1]

Is it inappropriate to reach out and ask when I'll hear back about my application? I'm in a bit of a pickle because my apartment complex requires a 60-day notice to renew (which for me is February 29th). So, yeah, I'm stressed and am eagerly waiting to hear back from my top choice!!!

[jadedoptimist]

10 minutes ago, InfernalDesireMachines said:

Congrats to everyone who's gotten in anywhere or been waitlisted!

Out of curiosity, does anyone know how waitlists at Iowa work? Because I know they call acceptances but mail out rejections. Do they mail out waitlists as well?

It seems that, in the past, they have had a "silent waitlist" where you don't find out you're WL, you just get an acceptance call in April once someone lets go of their spot. Then, in Draft, you find people discussing getting explicitly waitlisted – seemingly by email or snail mail, never call.

 

[AngusWanderer]

11 minutes ago, InfernalDesireMachines said:

Congrats to everyone who's gotten in anywhere or been waitlisted!

Out of curiosity, does anyone know how waitlists at Iowa work? Because I know they call acceptances but mail out rejections. Do they mail out waitlists as well?

I'm international. Last year I received my waitlist via email. Hope this helps. 

[Scribe]

I’ll just leave this here.

[InfernalDesireMachines]

Thanks--both of y'all. I appreciate it!

[Rixor]

10 minutes ago, mudpuddle1 said:

Is it inappropriate to reach out and ask when I'll hear back about my application? I'm in a bit of a pickle because my apartment complex requires a 60-day notice to renew (which for me is February 29th). So, yeah, I'm stressed and am eagerly waiting to hear back from my top choice!!!

I don't think it's inappropriate--especially if you explained your predicament--but unfortunately there's a good chance they won't have any information to give you. 

I'm sorry you're dealing with this. A lot of people on Draft are in the same boat. It sounds very stressful. Would it be possible to ask your complex for an extension instead? 

I hope you hear good news soon (and hopefully, before Feb. 29th)!