2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[bluespruce]

Has anyone arranged a chat with a faculty member at a program after the initial acceptance call? And if so what did you ask them/talk about?

I had a professor say hello via email and I think it would be great to speak with them, but I don't really have any specific questions to ask. I've done enough research to know most of the logistical stuff on the suggested questions list on Draft, and I feel like most of my other questions are more geared towards current students. Just don't want to waste the faculty member's time!

[pomelo]

2 hours ago, sunnysequoia said:

Does anyone know if UMass Amherst, Rutgers Camden, and Iowa are done notifying for prose/nonfiction? I'm assuming rejections but would be nice to receive confirmation LOL

UMass is done notifying I think. I asked the same thing about UMass a few days ago and someone said they’ve already invited all of their admits for a campus visit. As for Iowa, they seem to be done for fiction. Unsure of the other genres! 

[mr. specific]

22 minutes ago, bluespruce said:

Has anyone arranged a chat with a faculty member at a program after the initial acceptance call? And if so what did you ask them/talk about?

I had a professor say hello via email and I think it would be great to speak with them, but I don't really have any specific questions to ask. I've done enough research to know most of the logistical stuff on the suggested questions list on Draft, and I feel like most of my other questions are more geared towards current students. Just don't want to waste the faculty member's time!

I've done this already with a couple faculty members. You may already have the logistical answers you're looking for, but you don't know their particular attitude towards the program and toward their students. I did run through a lot of those basic logistical type questions, but just as a jumping off point for finding common things to talk about.

It's a good gauge of the culture of the program. I think about it as just having a conversation and hopefully building a relationship. You already got in, so you don't have to ask the standard interview-y questions. If they emailed you, they're happy to talk. They're probably as interested in you as you are them. I'd definitely speak with current students too, which will probably be incredibly helpful.

[bluespruce]

@mr. specific That's good advice - thank you!

[bodegajames]

1 hour ago, mr. specific said:

I've done this already with a couple faculty members. You may already have the logistical answers you're looking for, but you don't know their particular attitude towards the program and toward their students. I did run through a lot of those basic logistical type questions, but just as a jumping off point for finding common things to talk about.

It's a good gauge of the culture of the program. I think about it as just having a conversation and hopefully building a relationship. You already got in, so you don't have to ask the standard interview-y questions. If they emailed you, they're happy to talk. They're probably as interested in you as you are them. I'd definitely speak with current students too, which will probably be incredibly helpful.

I second this. I am approaching my second residency in Sewanee; faculty members set up multiple meetings throughout the term, but meeting with them is never a bad idea, even for a quick chat or question. Building the relationship is important, as you will have some faculty advising you on your thesis. Express any questions/concerns you may have. I remember feeling nervous about talking to the program director before I arrived (and even in that first week or so). By the end of my first residency, we would run into each other multiple times throughout the week for coffee or at the library. Build relationships! Foster community! Those things are just as important as your studies. Best of luck to you!

[My Mlemtonia]

This is a paranoid post, but has anyone had their acceptance rescinded after the initial call & acceptance letter? I know that's unlikely, but this head's been going places. 

[saramsarang]

Wow, we're at a 100 pages on the forum! Congrats everyone, I think we'll outdo all the previous years topics! I guess it shows how we've been going through the whole process together and I really don't think I would have gotten through the cycle without you guys! All through the waiting and the anxiety, I've had a lot of fun on here and got to live vicariously through people's acceptances. I hope some of you guys end up meeting each other in the programs and have a laugh about it all. Might not mean much from some random stranger on the internet, but I'm super proud of all of us. To everyone regardless of acceptances, waitlists and rejections, you put yourself out there, took a lot of time, money and effort and I'm so proud of you for it! (Tearing up a little because I'm going to miss you guys once the 2024 mfa season comes to an end, but onwards and upwards!)

[Rixor]

56 minutes ago, Blue1001 said:

This is a paranoid post, but has anyone had their acceptance rescinded after the initial call & acceptance letter? I know that's unlikely, but this head's been going places. 

I know of STEM people who have gotten their offers rescinded, but only for acting rambunctious (drunk) during grad visit events.

And two of us here have gotten into one school that said their program might be cancelled because a professor quit suddenly.

But no, to my knowledge it's not normal. It's safe to get excited:)

[My Mlemtonia]

14 minutes ago, Rixor said:

I know of STEM people who have gotten their offers rescinded, but only for acting rambunctious (drunk) during grad visit events.

And two of us here have gotten into one school that said their program might be cancelled because a professor quit suddenly.

But no, to my knowledge it's not normal. It's safe to get excited:)

Thank you so much for calming my silly brain! Think the search is over then. (Since there were no threads for CW post-docs) 

 

Post-doc cycle (Nth try): 1a / 0w / 0r / 1p

Edited March 8 by Blue1001

[trenchywrench]

1 hour ago, Blue1001 said:

This is a paranoid post, but has anyone had their acceptance rescinded after the initial call & acceptance letter? I know that's unlikely, but this head's been going places. 

while i don't have any experience in a creative writing m.f.a. program, i can--funnily enough--speak on this topic.

my first undergraduate program was an engineering school. to this day, it has about an 8% acceptance rate (i'm speaking as if i weren't admitted in 2018, lol). it's considered elite and prestigious--so much so that many of my classmates were silver-spoon type kids who weren't used to being told they couldn't do things.

while not all privileged people are ignorant about the ways of the world, it doesn't help that the school breakdown is still, like, 80% male. again, not all men are ignorant about the ways of the world. but when you plug variables into a certain formula...

privileged + male + 17-23 years old...

well. a school that fancy likes to maintain its polished image. what i discovered is that this means the school swept a lot of things that happened within its walls under the rug. but, at some point, the school figured out they could prevent this and started rescinding offers for candidate behavior prior to the first day.

however--and i believe this is the piece of news you will be interested in--these offers were ever only rescinded for extremely atrocious behavior. now, you might be asking what qualifies as extremely atrocious behavior in the eyes of an elite school.

so, if you want to get your offer rescinded by a high-caliber school? i will be your guide.

all of these things must be true:

1. you did something illegal, and

2. you were caught for what you did, or there are enough character witnesses arguing that this sort of behavior would be on-brand for you (if this is the case, then at least one witness must be very important)

3. the illegal thing that you did is something the school considers controversial.

and there you have it!

i hope this makes you feel better xD

Edited March 8 by trenchywrench

[trenchywrench]

6 hours ago, Rixor said:

Just wanted to chime in and add UNevada to your list. I've been accepted there and the faculty seem amazing. They're very explicitly open for specfic and not many people know about the program because IIRC it's pretty new. It doesn't show up on any "fully funded" lists because they can't guarantee funding for everyone, but they do offer most(?) students full funding through teaching assistantships. Also, Reno seems super cool!

Good luck and happy to have you here!

this is really helpful; thank you!

it would be exactly what i'm looking for, except my fiancée is in CT. i already live away from her right now, but i'm a 4-hour distance and i'm trying to get closer rather than farther--she's supportive of me pursuing my dream but i want to make it as easy on her as i can. she deserves that much, and whatever else of the world i can give her. i'm waiting a response on LSU...but even if it were the only school i got into, i think i'd wind up turning it down because it's a 3-year program a 24 hour drive from her. i'd end up applying to 2-year ones closer to her and trying to graduate at the same time i would have. that work/life balance, man...sometimes it means sacrifice.

[Sheva7]

@DanielNiver I'm curious to hear what was gleaned from your campus visits 

 

[My Mlemtonia]

29 minutes ago, trenchywrench said:

while i don't have any experience in a creative writing m.f.a. program, i can--funnily enough--speak on this topic.

my first undergraduate program was an engineering school. to this day, it has about an 8% acceptance rate (i'm speaking as if i weren't admitted in 2018, lol). it's considered elite and prestigious--so much so that many of my classmates were silver-spoon type kids who weren't used to being told they couldn't do things.

while not all privileged people are ignorant about the ways of the world, it doesn't help that the school breakdown is still, like, 80% male. again, not all men are ignorant about the ways of the world. but when you plug variables into a certain formula...

privileged + male + 17-23 years old...

well. a school that fancy likes to maintain its polished image. what i discovered is that this means the school swept a lot of things that happened within its walls under the rug. but, at some point, the school figured out they could prevent this and started rescinding offers for candidate behavior prior to the first day.

however--and i believe this is the piece of news you will be interested in--these offers were ever only rescinded for extremely atrocious behavior. now, you might be asking what qualifies as extremely atrocious behavior in the eyes of an elite school.

so, if you want to get your offer rescinded by a high-caliber school? i will be your guide.

all of these things must be true:

1. you did something illegal, and

2. you were caught for what you did, or there are enough character witnesses arguing that this sort of behavior would be on-brand for you (if this is the case, then at least one witness must be very important)

3. the illegal thing that you did is something the school considers controversial.

and there you have it!

i hope this makes you feel better xD

I don't dabble in illegal activities, so phew! My only vice is, I've had an entire sleeve of oreos and nothing hearty today. This must be fueling the paranoia. Thank you for calming me down ❤️ 

Edited March 8 by Blue1001

[rhiannonna]

12 hours ago, Ancestralhand said:

Yeah, the funding they were offering and discussing with me was awesome. Sending u positivity though! 🩷

If you don't mind me asking, what was the funding package?

[rachy1997]

Still waiting on my top choice. . . running out of ways to occupy my mind 🌀

I only applied to 2 schools in the area this year & I'm reading one as a soft rejection. 

I'm hoping we see some decisions today!

[ssuunn]

Someone in Draft who is an Arizona undergrad said to expect UA's decisions by no later than Tuesday. (I guess they've been on spring break this week.) Here's hoping that turns true!

[nothingnothing]

anyone know of any update on Rutgers-Camden poetry?

Also whats the general feel when it comes to Brooklyn College? How does one even go about living there if they got a full ride? They have some of the best poets around, but just wondering.

 

 

Edited March 8 by a moor

[trenchywrench]

okay, now that i'm on the NYU waitlist for fiction.

i've heard getting off it is a mixed bag--i know some schools do rank their waitlist, and i know NYU may or may not do this for their full residency CR M.F.A.. the NYU website makes public that the waitlists can extend well into the summer, which--to my knowledge--is still true, as i'm aware of a candidate from 2019 who said they were admitted from the waitlist on july 8th. other schools will try to compile a diverse waitlist so that they can replace someone who declines their offer of admission with somebody who will complement the class makeup similarly; this is what i think may be going on with NYU.

either way, i've accepted that my odds of shifting into an acceptance are inconclusive and that sitting on the WL is just as much of a crapshoot as applying to a program in the first place.

what i'm worried about is the potential funding package. i'm guessing NYU's system for granting fellowships and funding is priority-based, which probably means their most coveted accepted students will get the packages with the full tuition remission and the stipends. accordingly, the students NYU's committee has deemed the next most promising would get less and less until they chose the bottom of their incoming class, which--according to their website--gets 50% tuition remission and no stipend.

NYU is my top choice and i would really like to go if i get off the waitlist. i would take literally any grant or fellowship they have available if i could get the full remission and the stipend i'd need to actually attend their program this year. does anyone know of anything i may be able to start doing in the meantime to prepare? i'm conducting some more comprehensive research on NYU's funding as well as external opportunities (which are fewer, farther between, and not as lucrative as one might hope) just in case. but i honestly think i will be out of luck until next year even if i happen to get accepted.

[epr]

27 minutes ago, trenchywrench said:

okay, now that i'm on the NYU waitlist for fiction.

i've heard getting off it is a mixed bag--i know some schools do rank their waitlist, and i know NYU may or may not do this for their full residency CR M.F.A.. the NYU website makes public that the waitlists can extend well into the summer, which--to my knowledge--is still true, as i'm aware of a candidate from 2019 who said they were admitted from the waitlist on july 8th. other schools will try to compile a diverse waitlist so that they can replace someone who declines their offer of admission with somebody who will complement the class makeup similarly; this is what i think may be going on with NYU.

either way, i've accepted that my odds of shifting into an acceptance are inconclusive and that sitting on the WL is just as much of a crapshoot as applying to a program in the first place.

what i'm worried about is the potential funding package. i'm guessing NYU's system for granting fellowships and funding is priority-based, which probably means their most coveted accepted students will get the packages with the full tuition remission and the stipends. accordingly, the students NYU's committee has deemed the next most promising would get less and less until they chose the bottom of their incoming class, which--according to their website--gets 50% tuition remission and no stipend.

NYU is my top choice and i would really like to go if i get off the waitlist. i would take literally any grant or fellowship they have available if i could get the full remission and the stipend i'd need to actually attend their program this year. does anyone know of anything i may be able to start doing in the meantime to prepare? i'm conducting some more comprehensive research on NYU's funding as well as external opportunities (which are fewer, farther between, and not as lucrative as one might hope) just in case. but i honestly think i will be out of luck until next year even if i happen to get accepted.

The general understanding from Draft is that any extra funding that comes into play will go first to anyone with an offer asking for more money. You’d probably get a tuition discount, but nothing extra. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

[trenchywrench]

3 minutes ago, epr said:

The general understanding from Draft is that any extra funding that comes into play will go first to anyone with an offer asking for more money. You’d probably get a tuition discount, but nothing extra. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

i figure this is probably how it's going to go! i do have sort of a weird feeling that i'll get off the waitlist, so i'm trying to do whatever i can.

i qualify for some education credits from the Army, and the program i qualify for has been known to give ex-soldiers stipends in some cases. i'm going to reach out to my local VA and see what this'll look like if i'm already pursuing 50% remission and an assistantship, because i'd rather be prepared and not get in than get in and not be prepared. i will do anything.

[writernity]

Happy 100 pages all!! I'm so proud of our generation of applicants and all we've put into this year. Lots of sharing information and advice, supporting and congratulating each other, and many of us getting into incredible programs! Whatever happens this year, I know that every one of you has worked your hardest to follow your dreams, and even if it's not this time around, I hope every dream comes true 💜

[decayingballads21]

anyone on here that has applied 2x or more  have advice about what to do to prepare for another round of applying? what did you focus on changing about your app, did you write all new material or just do more revisions, etc.

 

also looking for recs for workshops or residencies or any courses  for nonfiction I can do. I got into the Yale summer workshop but it’s expensive so idk if I can do that. If anyone has any recs pls!!! 

[ssuunn]

52 minutes ago, decayingballads21 said:

anyone on here that has applied 2x or more  have advice about what to do to prepare for another round of applying? what did you focus on changing about your app, did you write all new material or just do more revisions, etc.

 

also looking for recs for workshops or residencies or any courses  for nonfiction I can do. I got into the Yale summer workshop but it’s expensive so idk if I can do that. If anyone has any recs pls!!! 

This is my second cycle and I just wrote more things and better (in poetry tho). Haha, hard to say what I changed. I just did More and exactly what I wanted to write. The one thing I improved a lot was my statement; you'll want to focus all parts of it toward the work you do and not make it about you personally. 

The IU Writers' Conference offers scholarships to attend, which waives the tuition. Otherwise, the tuition is still more affordable than lots of other summer workshops, and they can even get you a place in a dorm for the stay if a hotel is too expensive. They definitely have a nonfiction workshop and classes. It was a short 4-day conference, but I enjoyed it. (Though, I live here so it was basically nothing after getting a scholarship.)

Edited March 8 by ssuunn

[mr. specific]

14 hours ago, Blue1001 said:

This is a paranoid post, but has anyone had their acceptance rescinded after the initial call & acceptance letter? I know that's unlikely, but this head's been going places. 

Not an MFA, but apparently University of Buffalo has rescinded several offers made this year for the English PhD after "budget cuts."

[airlinefood_enjoyer]

hey does anyone know if bowling green state (bgsu) has released fiction decisions? I'm not on draft and the only thing I was seeing on here is a poetry waitlist from like a month ago. I know their decisions usually go out kind of early so I am honestly assuming soft rejection... but would appreciate insight if anyone has some!

also-- big congrats to all the acceptances and waitlists coming out from new york schools :] i hope you all get 1 billion dollars of funding