2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[InfernalDesireMachines]

51 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

Congrats! Which genre?

Fiction!

[TPike]

2 minutes ago, triciadawn said:

Yes!!! The other four schools I’m waiting on are NYC schools. I might have to do low-res next cycle because I can’t commit to certain areas. 

Im waiting for Iowa, Brown, UMD, NYU, and VCU. I am currently going to college REALLY close to my hometown so I need to create some distance. 

[Kriskris2024]

8 minutes ago, triciadawn said:

Yes!!! The other four schools I’m waiting on are NYC schools. I might have to do low-res next cycle because I can’t commit to certain areas. 

Also a black woman. Also didn’t want to apply to certain schools because of the area. I wasn’t butt hurt by Ole Miss because I didn’t want to live there anyway. Also probably won’t be hurt if Iowa says no because I also don’t want to live there as well. 

its such a tough spot to be in 😫. I’m waiting on Rutgers to say yes or no currently. I wouldn’t mind living in Philly or Newark. 
 

Also a lot of low res places are still open for applications so I’ve been doing a little research on those as well!

[triciadawn]

8 minutes ago, Kriskris2024 said:

Also a lot of low res places are still open for applications so I’ve been doing a little research on those as well!

This may be the move for me. Either that, or somehow make one of the NYC schools work if accepted. I hope you hear good news from Rutgers soon! 

[TPike]

10 minutes ago, Kriskris2024 said:

Also a black woman. Also didn’t want to apply to certain schools because of the area. I wasn’t butt hurt by Ole Miss because I didn’t want to live there anyway. Also probably won’t be hurt if Iowa says no because I also don’t want to live there as well. 

its such a tough spot to be in 😫. I’m waiting on Rutgers to say yes or no currently. I wouldn’t mind living in Philly or Newark. 
 

Also a lot of low res places are still open for applications so I’ve been doing a little research on those as well!

Oh my gosh, heyyyy

[Kriskris2024]

7 minutes ago, triciadawn said:

This may be the move for me. Either that, or somehow make one of the NYC schools work if accepted. I hope you hear good news from Rutgers soon! 

Fingers crossed for you as well 🫶🏽

[Hjanep]

34 minutes ago, InfernalDesireMachines said:

Fiction!

Eeeeeep, let us know how the call goes and if she says anything about how far she is through her list….

[Kriskris2024]

13 minutes ago, TPike said:

Oh my gosh, heyyyy

Heyyyyyyy 😊

[triciadawn]

31 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

Eeeeeep, let us know how the call goes and if she says anything about how far she is through her list….

Seconded! 

@InfernalDesireMachines And congratulations!!!! Best of luck with the call.  

 

[Scribe]

5 hours ago, jadedoptimist said:

Lol, anyone else made their 2025 list in case this season doesn't work out ? 😂
 

I almost certainly will not be applying again. BUT if I do, just in case, I'm working on a list of rules. 

1. 2 year programs only. I was willing to do three, so if i go again I'm going to only do two and not lose time. 

2. I will do more research and look at more than just fully funded programs. I now realize there are many programs that are very likely fully funded. 

3. I will consider access to home more. I did this year but still went for schools that reduced my ability to be home every weekend. 

4. I'll sell myself a little less and my writing goals a little more. 

I'm totally open to - nay, I'm shamelessly soliciting - any advice or criticism from the peanut gallery. 

[Scribe]

5 hours ago, ssuunn said:

Idk if you need to be that organized for the MFA applications, but it is imperative to get a spreadsheet going for your submissions to publications if you haven't already! I made a decent one that automatically calculates the acceptance percentage.

Now that it looks like I'm going at this without an MFA, tell me more. 

and thank you. 

[Scribe]

3 hours ago, triciadawn said:

I’m waiting on four more fully funded programs: Iowa, Boston, UNCG, and Arkansas. I think Iowa is a wash and the other 3 aren’t my top choices. 

After my call with Minnesota State Mankato, I don’t think it’ll be a good fit. I’m really grateful for the opportunity, but I don’t want to take a spot away from someone else who really wants to go there. As a black woman I don’t want to live in a lot of these areas for an MFA unless it’s Iowa or similar. 

i don’t really know what I’m asking, but it’s not looking good. 

So, I don't exactly know what your fears are but my experience with black women tells me it's safety. There are a few things you should know. one is that these are college towns and that makes a huge difference. If it's emotional safety, you may be unpleasantly surprised anywhere, but you may not. In a small town upstate a few years ago a friend of mine would not walk into a diner before i did. I hadn't noticed her fear, possibly because my hackles were up already. every other vehicle was a pickup, there was feed store nearby, architecture that had once been stark in line and pretty in color, and a fellow at the counter in a John Deere hat. 

Driving through the town on the way home we say a banner three quarters of a block long, "Black Lives Matter". I was a little ashamed of myself. Don't let fear hold you back.

3 hours ago, TPike said:

Omg, I’m a Black woman too! I totally get not wanting to be in certain areas, which is why I applied to schools mostly on the East Coast. That’s not going so hot atm. I’m still waiting on schools too. If there’s a next cycle for me, I might have to expand my scope.

I first read this as though you were surprised at the sudden realization you were a black woman.  

I'm on the East Coast. There are dickheads everywhere. 

And there's a lot of love too.

[triciadawn]

6 minutes ago, Scribe said:

So, I don't exactly know what your fears are but my experience with black women tells me it's safety. There are a few things you should know. one is that these are college towns and that makes a huge difference. If it's emotional safety, you may be unpleasantly surprised anywhere, but you may not. In a small town upstate a few years ago a friend of mine would not walk into a diner before i did. I hadn't noticed her fear, possibly because my hackles were up already. every other vehicle was a pickup, there was feed store nearby, architecture that had once been stark in line and pretty in color, and a fellow at the counter in a John Deere hat. 

Driving through the town on the way home we say a banner three quarters of a block long, "Black Lives Matter". I was a little ashamed of myself. Don't let fear hold you back.

If it ends up being my only acceptance, I’ll take a visit up there. Even if only to confirm my suspicions, but who knows, I may end up pleasantly surprised! 

[ssuunn]

1 hour ago, Scribe said:

Now that it looks like I'm going at this without an MFA, tell me more. 

and thank you. 

In case anyone else also needs spreadsheet advice for literary publication submissions...

Most lit mags/journals allow you to simultaneously submit places, so keeping track of where you've submitted is very important, especially if you need to withdraw your piece from the other places! Since these pubs can sometimes take 6+ months to accept/reject your piece, it would take forever to get published anywhere if you waited to hear back for each one. Currently my spreadsheet header row looks like this (and I just use a Google sheet, but an offline excel spreadsheet would also work):

Column A - Publication Name
Column B - Piece(s) Submitted
Column C - Date Submitted
Column D - (Decision, see below)
Column E - Decision Date
Column F - Feedback/Notes

For my decision column (column D) I'm using three terms: "Accepted", "Declined", "Withdrawn". In lieu of having a header called "Decision", I'm using a formula to calculate the acceptance percentage, which looks like this: =SUM(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Accepted"))/(SUM(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Declined"))+(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Accepted")))

Essentially, this formula will calculate number of cells that say "Accepted", divided by the number of cells that say "Accepted" or "Rejected", while ignoring the cells that say "Withdrawn" or are blank. You might have to format that cell to read as a percentage rather than the actual numerical value. And it will probably give you a DIV/0 error until you have an acceptance, but will work perfectly after that.

Here's a photo of what it all looks like: imgur.com/a/geOwWm2

[jadedoptimist]

@ssuunn you're a hero for our times

[Scribe]

15 minutes ago, ssuunn said:

In case anyone else also needs spreadsheet advice for literary publication submissions...

Most lit mags/journals allow you to simultaneously submit places, so keeping track of where you've submitted is very important, especially if you need to withdraw your piece from the other places! Since these pubs can sometimes take 6+ months to accept/reject your piece, it would take forever to get published anywhere if you waited to hear back for each one. Currently my spreadsheet header row looks like this (and I just use a Google sheet, but an offline excel spreadsheet would also work):

Column A - Publication Name
Column B - Piece(s) Submitted
Column C - Date Submitted
Column D - (Decision, see below)
Column E - Decision Date
Column F - Feedback/Notes

For my decision column (column D) I'm using three terms: "Accepted", "Declined", "Withdrawn". In lieu of having a header called "Decision", I'm using a formula to calculate the acceptance percentage, which looks like this: =SUM(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Accepted"))/(SUM(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Declined"))+(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Accepted")))

Essentially, this formula will calculate number of cells that say "Accepted", divided by the number of cells that say "Accepted" or "Rejected", while ignoring the cells that say "Withdrawn" or are blank. You might have to format that cell to read as a percentage rather than the actual numerical value. And it will probably give you a DIV/0 error until you have an acceptance, but will work perfectly after that.

Here's a photo of what it all looks like: imgur.com/a/geOwWm2

 

7 minutes ago, jadedoptimist said:

@ssuunn you're a hero for our times

This.

thank you so much. 

 

 

[writernity]

On 2/23/2024 at 5:10 PM, jadedoptimist said:

The weekend is an endless gulf between me and more news. Which I seek, like an anteater seeks ants, or, like, a vacuum. I'm not a good writer right now. Let's have a weekend thread! Distraction!

What is everyone doing this weekend? 

- I'll probably go for a walk in the woods to try to disconnect for at least 30 minutes. (Don't laugh).

I could use a walk in the woods myself, I've been a shut-in aside from work 😅 otherwise, my aunt is visiting, and I plan to get some characters made for some tabletop games my friends are running and do some reading!

A fun story yall might enjoy: I'm in a book club with some friends, and when I went to B&N last weekend, I hadn't checked what book was up next, I had no idea what was even on the roster. But there were some "blind date" mystery books wrapped up, and I got one that seemed interesting... and it turned out to be The City & The City, which is, coincidentally, the next book for book club. The universe smiled on me and I am sure I'll enjoy this read!

[writernity]

38 minutes ago, ssuunn said:

In case anyone else also needs spreadsheet advice for literary publication submissions...

Most lit mags/journals allow you to simultaneously submit places, so keeping track of where you've submitted is very important, especially if you need to withdraw your piece from the other places! Since these pubs can sometimes take 6+ months to accept/reject your piece, it would take forever to get published anywhere if you waited to hear back for each one. Currently my spreadsheet header row looks like this (and I just use a Google sheet, but an offline excel spreadsheet would also work):

Column A - Publication Name
Column B - Piece(s) Submitted
Column C - Date Submitted
Column D - (Decision, see below)
Column E - Decision Date
Column F - Feedback/Notes

For my decision column (column D) I'm using three terms: "Accepted", "Declined", "Withdrawn". In lieu of having a header called "Decision", I'm using a formula to calculate the acceptance percentage, which looks like this: =SUM(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Accepted"))/(SUM(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Declined"))+(COUNTIF(D2:D299,"Accepted")))

Essentially, this formula will calculate number of cells that say "Accepted", divided by the number of cells that say "Accepted" or "Rejected", while ignoring the cells that say "Withdrawn" or are blank. You might have to format that cell to read as a percentage rather than the actual numerical value. And it will probably give you a DIV/0 error until you have an acceptance, but will work perfectly after that.

Here's a photo of what it all looks like: imgur.com/a/geOwWm2

Oooo this is handy!! I do have a fairly detailed spreadsheet myself for publications and grad schools, but not one that does the math for me lol. I recommend checking out the Submissions Grinder, Chill Subs, and Duotrope (if you want to pay for it) for user-submitted stats on acceptance rates and response times if y'all love having more Data like I do!

[Renrenrenren]

YALL! I know this isn’t an acceptance, but I was just waitlisted at one of my top choices- Oregon State!!! I’m beyond excited, I’ve had two rejections thus far and haven’t heard back anywhere else, so I am thrilled with this news! Does anyone have any idea how much the waitlist at Oregon State moves? They said that they don’t have a ranked waitlist, and want a balanced cohort. There are 4 spots this year and about 100 applicants. 

[decayingballads21]

H

Edited February 25 by decayingballads21

[Renrenrenren]

25 minutes ago, decayingballads21 said:

Congratulations!! What genre?? I am on the waitlist for nonfiction. I’ve heard there’s usually movement off the waitlist here. Fingers crossed for both of us!

Poetry! I hope there is!!!!

[Scribe]

Jesus Vandy. Take your time. 

[InfernalDesireMachines]

7 hours ago, Hjanep said:

Eeeeeep, let us know how the call goes and if she says anything about how far she is through her list….

Will do! My intuition is that it's still early days, but I may be wrong. Not many people have posted Iowa acceptances on the spreadsheet on Draft and only one person's written a post.

6 hours ago, triciadawn said:

Seconded! 

@InfernalDesireMachines And congratulations!!!! Best of luck with the call.  

 

Thanks! It's all I can think about right now.

[3feetofsnow]

Went on that walk in the woods with the dogs, then went out for lunch and marathoned a show with my friend, and I managed not to think about my applications once! Very proud of myself, lol. I hope everyone else had a restful Saturday as well and managed to take your minds off this grueling process at least a little!

[electricstardust]

1 hour ago, InfernalDesireMachines said:

Will do! My intuition is that it's still early days, but I may be wrong. Not many people have posted Iowa acceptances on the spreadsheet on Draft and only one person's written a post.

Thanks! It's all I can think about right now.

so unbelievably jealous yet so unbelievably happy for you!!!! i hope you’re celebrating all your hard work while you wait for the call:)<3