2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[nothingnothing]

7 hours ago, a moor said:

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.

 

[squarkshark]

4 hours 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!!! 

Hi, third year fiction applicant here and FINALLY getting bites (1a/2w/3r/4p) 

I usually write 100% new stories in June-August, and workshop them until December application deadlines. Last year I took Melissa Febos' Queer Week workshop at the FAWC. It was DAMN EXPENSIVE, but I slapped it on a credit card. FAWC and Lambda Literary are awesome. 

The problem with my very first cycle was not my excerpts. They were technically good. However, they were formulaic, and my SOP... SUCKED. It did zero work to sell me as a candidate, connect my stories to my overall craft mission, or say anything about me.

I started going to therapy and realized I was nonbinary. This year's SOP took me 20 drafts using Jess Silfa's Vanderbilt example. I talked about my gender journey, why I write, what scares me, why I write it, and why NOW. We're talking sex, death, boobs growing out of control, and Polly Pockets running ASMR channels. First sentence of the SOP was "This summer I was a Midwestern sea cucumber in an ocean of sexy trans Bostonian dolphins." 

Can't say this formula works for everyone- but fuck it! I hope this helps and/or excites you. The process is brutal, but it's a great chance to generate fresh content that feels authentically YOU

[writercl]

1 hour ago, Srs2024 said:

I applied to Saint Mary's.  It's the last program I'm waiting for as well.  I talked to the admissions director about something unrelated a few week ago and he said decision would go out this week.  On draft, a few fiction applicants have indicated acceptances (3?) but no poetry or CNF. 

Best of luck!!!

[writernity]

3 hours ago, girlgenius said:

do we think it's safe to assume that if one acceptance has gone out over email, they've all gone out? with phone calls there can still be some waiting, but I can't imagine they send each email individually

Acceptance emails can take a long time, for various reasons. It's rare that they go out in bulk for most schools, actually, it seems. The New School sent out what looked like mass acceptance portal updates in one day, and then 2 days after that I got a stray acceptance I was not expecting. So don't give up, it's not over til the rejection comes!

[Hjanep]

It ain’t over til it’s over but it looks like Brown made at least 1 fiction call. 5 spots for 800 applicants 🫠

[rachy1997]

             🕯      🕯   🕯
     🕯                            🕯
  🕯                                    🕯
🕯             ❤️   Hollins        🕯

🕯                poetry               🕯
  🕯                                       🕯
    🕯            summoning  🕯
        🕯            circle     🕯
            🕯     🕯       🕯  

 

^ for good luck! I feel like a middle schooler sending chain emails/texts again. 

[saramsarang]

1 hour ago, Hjanep said:

It ain’t over til it’s over but it looks like Brown made at least 1 fiction call. 5 spots for 800 applicants 🫠

I wish they would have gotten it all done together or just started on Monday instead of putting everyone in a state of anxiety over the weekend 😭 Like realistically I'm not getting into Brown, so I'm just waiting to cross it off the list and say goodbye to this season since that's the last school I have to hear back from...but now I must wait...argh the hardest part of being a writer is the waiting period, not even the writing part at this point!

[GoldenTree]

I got a waitlist for Arkansas! A total surprise as I never reached out to my rec letter writers to see if they submitted letters. (I wasn't ready for them to ask if I had been accepted and for me to have say "no"). 

Only two more schools to find out about. 🥺 Still no acceptances, but at least I know I'll be finishing this app cycle with two waitlists. 

 

[prufrock_]

17 minutes ago, GoldenTree said:

I got a waitlist for Arkansas! A total surprise as I never reached out to my rec letter writers to see if they submitted letters. (I wasn't ready for them to ask if I had been accepted and for me to have say "no"). 

Only two more schools to find out about. 🥺 Still no acceptances, but at least I know I'll be finishing this app cycle with two waitlists. 

 

Grats! What genre did you apply for?

 

i'm in the same boat as you with only waitlists. It's tough, but gives me hope for next round (if none turn into A's).

[GoldenTree]

9 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

Grats! What genre did you apply for?

 

i'm in the same boat as you with only waitlists. It's tough, but gives me hope for next round (if none turn into A's).

Thanks! Congrats on your waitlists as well. I'd like your post but I'm out of reactions. My two waitlists are for poetry, although I also did some fiction/dual-genre applications too which none have turned out thus far. 

I'm trying not to put too much hope into these waitlists. I already feel disappointed about the process and I'd hate to be crushed again, I guess when I finally feel somewhat at peace about everything. So it's a strange liminal space to be in with the waitlists. I definitely understand where you're coming from. It's a good sign tho as you mentioned. 

Edited March 9 by GoldenTree

[Tuxedocat]

Do we think Iowa is done with poetry?? Someone in draft said they called and Iowa said they mailed out all the letters (including poetry) this week. It’s just super weird because this morning they did another poetry acceptance via phone. But maybe they mailed out the last of the letters immediately after. But I’ve seen no waitlists or anything from them; however, I heard they do waitlists differently or something so maybe that is normal.

[Bobby Christ]

Hey everyone! I just stumbled onto this forum while obsessing about my MFA applications. I see that many of the schools I've applied to have already sent out acceptances so I'm assuming soft rejections. Has anyone here applied to Temple? So far I've received acceptances to Temple and Columbia for fiction, but I'm on the fence because of funding. Columbia offered me 20k but as I'm sure you're all aware, it's a drop in the bucket for tuition. 

Still waiting on a handful of other schools, here's to hoping for some answers.

 

2A/0W/4R/9P

[minivercheevy_]

8 hours ago, Tuxedocat said:

Do we think Iowa is done with poetry?? Someone in draft said they called and Iowa said they mailed out all the letters (including poetry) this week. It’s just super weird because this morning they did another poetry acceptance via phone. But maybe they mailed out the last of the letters immediately after. But I’ve seen no waitlists or anything from them; however, I heard they do waitlists differently or something so maybe that is normal.

I was also wondering this. It seems unlikely that they'd have already contacted all twenty poets in less than a week, especially considering that in the past few years people have reported acceptances over the course of two weeks. Last year the first known acceptance was reported on Saturday, February 25 and the last known one on Monday, March 6, according to last year's Draft sheet. Then someone reported a waitlist on Thursday, March 9. So I think there's still some hope.

[trenchywrench]

on the topic of the NYU fiction waitlist again, because my brain likes to spin around and around ceaselessly about things...how difficult is it to make the waitlist? NYU is especially cryptic about their waitlist stats, even for their undergraduate programs. i saw that literally four of us made either poetry or fiction waitlists this week.

is the NYU waitlist very competitive? getting anything other than a rejection with my little lesbian science fiction piece, the back end of which was still mostly slightly-refined draft, is giving me an identity crisis lol

also, has anyone heard back from Maryland?

Edited March 9 by trenchywrench

[trenchywrench]

also, idk how i missed this, but.

@justasmidge @girlgenius boygenius fans?

my fiancée and i love them. she saw them in New Haven last year and called me probably every 20 minutes to tell me how awesome they were and how much she wished i was there.

just after they announced their hiatus this year, they released their limited-edition signature guitar with Gretsch: only 1000 were made. well, she doesn't know this and i'm just kind of dying to tell anyone, but the guitar ships like a month before one of our most important anniversaries. so i scraped together some cash to do a pay-in-4--because i knew i'd never get the chance again--and my final installment comes out in a week. i'm going to try to get a case for it when i get my state tax return--my federal all went to car repairs and the little bit of student debt i had to take out to get my B.A..

and this is already shaping up to be one of those mornings during which i need to sit down and remember that i'm 23 years old 😂 everything feels like it's going on at once right now.

good on you guys for whatever news you've gotten back from schools.

and, if it's applicable: cheers, queers!

Edited March 9 by trenchywrench

[rlion]

13 hours ago, rachy1997 said:

             🕯      🕯   🕯
     🕯                            🕯
  🕯                                    🕯
🕯             ❤️   Hollins        🕯

🕯                poetry               🕯
  🕯                                       🕯
    🕯            summoning  🕯
        🕯            circle     🕯
            🕯     🕯       🕯  

 

^ for good luck! I feel like a middle schooler sending chain emails/texts again. 

I’m also waiting for poetry here!! Goodluck to us 🩵🩵

[justasmidge]

4 hours ago, trenchywrench said:

also, idk how i missed this, but.

@justasmidge @girlgenius boygenius fans?

my fiancée and i love them. she saw them in New Haven last year and called me probably every 20 minutes to tell me how awesome they were and how much she wished i was there.

just after they announced their hiatus this year, they released their limited-edition signature guitar with Gretsch: only 1000 were made. well, she doesn't know this and i'm just kind of dying to tell anyone, but the guitar ships like a month before one of our most important anniversaries. so i scraped together some cash to do a pay-in-4--because i knew i'd never get the chance again--and my final installment comes out in a week. i'm going to try to get a case for it when i get my state tax return--my federal all went to car repairs and the little bit of student debt i had to take out to get my B.A..

and this is already shaping up to be one of those mornings during which i need to sit down and remember that i'm 23 years old 😂 everything feels like it's going on at once right now.

good on you guys for whatever news you've gotten back from schools.

and, if it's applicable: cheers, queers!

Ohhhhh myyyyy gosh, that is soooo fucking cool! I would dieeeee

[cowboifairy]

Hey all! Question for those who have negotiated funding. I got accepted to Boulder(!!), but need more of a stipend for it to be viable. Any advice for how to use another offer I have received as leverage in that conversation? Additionally, should I even try to negotiate if still waiting for other schools I'm more interested in? Thanks sm in advance for your help! Endless appreciation for you all.

[mr. specific]

42 minutes ago, cowboifairy said:

Hey all! Question for those who have negotiated funding. I got accepted to Boulder(!!), but need more of a stipend for it to be viable. Any advice for how to use another offer I have received as leverage in that conversation? Additionally, should I even try to negotiate if still waiting for other schools I'm more interested in? Thanks sm in advance for your help! Endless appreciation for you all.

I am also interested in this question and have been looking for resources. This seems like a pretty legit approach: https://www.profellow.com/tips/how-to-negotiate-your-funding-offer-for-graduate-school-an-email-template/

I haven't tried it yet, and am a little anxious, but might give it a shot.

[Scribe]

1 hour ago, cowboifairy said:

Hey all! Question for those who have negotiated funding. I got accepted to Boulder(!!), but need more of a stipend for it to be viable. Any advice for how to use another offer I have received as leverage in that conversation? Additionally, should I even try to negotiate if still waiting for other schools I'm more interested in? Thanks sm in advance for your help! Endless appreciation for you all.

i'm not an expert, but my understanding is if you're going to negotiate do it asap. This makes sense as there's only so much money available and if it goes somewhere else or to someone else first, you're SOL. I'm not sure at all about waiting on other schools, but as far as I know, the April 15 agreement holds whether or not the offer is renegotiated. As for how to bring it up, again i've never done it - I'd start with saying you want to attend their program. you're entertaining other offers at programs your less excited about because you're afraid of biting off more than you can chew financially and not being able to dedicate enough time to writing and studying because you need to earn more on the side. be prepared for them to ask who is offering what. do NOT misrepresent your other offers. it may not work, but you have nothing to lose. 

following. 

[Rixor]

I asked on Draft a bit ago, but has anyone here gotten a rejection from U of South Florida? I didn't get an acceptance or waitlist email, so I'm assuming I'm rejected, but my portal says I have "no active applications." I haven't received notice of a rejection. I emailed the Graduate Studies office about it, and they haven't responded. 

[itsbeensnowing]

18 hours ago, Bobby Christ said:

Hey everyone! I just stumbled onto this forum while obsessing about my MFA applications. I see that many of the schools I've applied to have already sent out acceptances so I'm assuming soft rejections. Has anyone here applied to Temple? So far I've received acceptances to Temple and Columbia for fiction, but I'm on the fence because of funding. Columbia offered me 20k but as I'm sure you're all aware, it's a drop in the bucket for tuition. 

Still waiting on a handful of other schools, here's to hoping for some answers.

 

2A/0W/4R/9P

I've also been accepted at Temple, waitlisted for funding. They tout themselves as being more affordable than other MFAs, but that's not saying much and I'm not totally sure how feasible it'd be for me to attend without funding. It really seems like a lovely program, so I'm hoping for some movement on that waitlist! Right now it's my only MFA acceptance, though I also have been accepted into a 1 year MA program that costs about as much as Temple's 2 years.

[girlgenius]

9 hours ago, trenchywrench said:

also, idk how i missed this, but.

@justasmidge @girlgenius boygenius fans?

 

yes huge fan!! saw them twice last year in queens & philly, transcended both times. i even have a little tooth tattoo on my wrist. that's so sick you snagged one of those guitars, what a special gift!!

[sylviaplate]

On 3/8/2024 at 1:15 PM, writercl said:

Did anyone apply to Saint Mary's College of California or University of Houston?

Those are my last two programs that I am waiting for.

Not sure if either are well-known or good programs, but the people I've talked to that work at Saint Mary's seem really nice!

 

On 3/8/2024 at 1:16 PM, lemmmein said:

I applied to Houston but I've given up lol

I’m a current MFA at UH and the department just let us know they’re ready to start sending acceptances! This coming week is UH spring break so not sure if they’ll wait to make calls, but news is coming soon

[pomelo]

Someone on Draft said they got an acceptance email from Brown (fiction) today. Assuming I don’t hear from them Monday I’m assuming a rejection. Thus ends the season for me. That puts me at:

2a/0w/8r (3 of which are soft rejections bc I haven’t officially heard back UMass Amherst, Iowa, and Brown). 
 

Woo hoo! Glad to have your company on this rollercoaster