2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[untemperedoddity]

I also received the "still under consideration" email from Iowa! Can we all talk more about this? Why would they not straight up tell us that we're waitlisted? Is it possible they're still not done making their final choices? 

Edited March 12, 2024 by untemperedoddity

[littlealien]

Hi all! Has anyone heard from Northern Michigan University? I see a poetry acceptance in the draft spreadsheet ( I applied for CNF ) but nothing else. 

[nothingnothing]

14 hours ago, minivercheevy_ said:

I understand how you're feeling. This was my first year applying, and the whole time I couldn't help but feel like I was behind in this game from the get-go. Comparison is poison in these sorts of processes.

I felt my heart sink when I realized just how many people who post acceptances went to extremely prestigious colleges for their undergrad---almost every single known acceptance for Iowa, at least for poetry, went to someone from an Ivy. But it really only takes one school to believe in your work in order for you to be successful. There's no such thing as a "bad" program. If you like what a program has to offer you then it's right for you. 

Plus, tons of writers never even went to get an MFA. Getting into a program just gives that precious time to write. Be yourself and write for yourself. Rooting for you. 

"I realized just how many people who post acceptances went to extremely prestigious colleges for their undergrad---almost every single known acceptance for Iowa, at least for poetry, went to someone from an Ivy."

this alone should be a reason not to even want to attend such a program.

[Chex]

4 minutes ago, untemperedoddity said:

I also recieved the "still under consideration" email from Iowa! Can we all talk more about this? Why would they not straight up tell us that we're waitlisted? Is it possible they're still not done making their final choices? 

When did you receive the email? 

I have a problem with Iowa's general communication style. From having to snail mail your manuscript to their snail mailing rejections to applicants. It's such an obtuse, unnecessary, and inconvenient thing to do in this day and age. They've known for weeks now that they're not admitting some people. No emails, no portal updates, nothing. But we have to wait for their snail mails to travel around the world and get to us in our various little corners. And what if someone's mail gets lost or otherwise impossible to deliver? 

[Hjanep]

Got my Iowa rejection (fiction). Including that my manuscript was well-received by readers and encouragement to apply again. Real talk: is this in every rejection letter?

[ssuunn]

Just now, Hjanep said:

Got my Iowa rejection (fiction). Including that my manuscript was well-received by readers and encouragement to apply again. Real talk: is this in every rejection letter?

No! They definitely don't write that unless it made it to a later (or maybe the final) round of deliberation. 

[untemperedoddity]

10 minutes ago, Chex said:

When did you receive the email? 

I have a problem with Iowa's general communication style. From having to snail mail your manuscript to their snail mailing rejections to applicants. It's such an obtuse, unnecessary, and inconvenient thing to do in this day and age. They've known for weeks now that they're not admitting some people. No emails, no portal updates, nothing. But we have to wait for their snail mails to travel around the world and get to us in our various little corners. And what if someone's mail gets lost or otherwise impossible to deliver? 

Got the email from Elizabeth Willis last night!

[lychees]

27 minutes ago, littlealien said:

Hi all! Has anyone heard from Northern Michigan University? I see a poetry acceptance in the draft spreadsheet ( I applied for CNF ) but nothing else. 

Hi! I received an acceptance from NMU on March 4 (also a CNF applicant) but I don't know anything else about their timeline for sending out the rest of their decisions. Wish I could be of more help

[electricstardust]

on my way to an open house and my parents just told me i got my iowa poetry rejection in the mail:,) no personalized note or anything haha

[Tuxedocat]

1 hour ago, untemperedoddity said:

Got the email from Elizabeth Willis last night!

Wait I’m so confused 😳 I thought people were getting an automated email via some portal update saying their apps were still under consideration. If the email came from Elizabeth Willis herself, why wouldn’t it be personalized and/or explicitly say one was waitlisted?

[Edgar A.]

1 hour ago, littlealien said:

Hi all! Has anyone heard from Northern Michigan University? I see a poetry acceptance in the draft spreadsheet ( I applied for CNF ) but nothing else. 

I didn’t apply there, but I’m an undergraduate English student at NMU and I work on the literary journal with mfa students and faculty. I believe they’re almost done; we just had our spring break so I’d expect in the next week or two! 

[prufrock_]

Maybe a long shot but does anyone have info on Louisiana state university? Anyone else apply and still waiting to hear back? Looks like they're on spring break this week; I was expecting a response before that based on the last few years of data.

edit: their website says mid march, so i'm guessing next week should have results.

Edited March 12, 2024 by prufrock_

[trenchywrench]

6 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

Maybe a long shot but does anyone have info on Louisiana state university? Anyone else apply and still waiting to hear back? Looks like they're on spring break this week; I was expecting a response before that based on the last few years of data.

i applied to LSU as well—if i got in, i’m not sure i’d go even if it were my only option (i’m at 0a/1w/3r/3p) because it’s a 24 hour drive from my loved ones *and* a 3-year program (i have stepkids. i have my fiancée’s permission to go as far away as i want to…but she and i will have to talk about the spread this year when my cycle is over). i’m understanding as i go here that there is a slim chance i may have to make the hard decision to turn down the only offer in pursuit of a 2-year for the 2025 cycle. but that doesn’t change the fact that i applied.

my spreadsheet is up-to-date. according to it—and all the data on it comes from the universities, so no second-hand stuff—LSU should start notifying mid-March at the earliest. so, yes; this week. best of luck!

[jadedoptimist]

19 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

Wait I’m so confused 😳 I thought people were getting an automated email via some portal update saying their apps were still under consideration. If the email came from Elizabeth Willis herself, why wouldn’t it be personalized and/or explicitly say one was waitlisted?

I DOn'T KNoWWWWWWWW

[darr1]

Bernie is once again asking for Arizona to do its thing

[OctopusCactus]

14 hours ago, goldentulip said:

can empathize so much with this as a fellow first-gen student!! i’ve had the privilege of being guided by and studying under poets who have had wonderful things happen to them in their careers (guggenheim and macarthur fellowships, an inaugural poet) and i was given a lot of really great guidance and reality checks with my expectations. but one of the biggest things they emphasized was that whether i got in or not, i was still a poet, a writer, and someone still worthy of these labels even if no school within the application cycle saw it. they shared countless stories of friends, students, and fellow writers who it didn’t work out for at the beginning, but despite initial rejections, made it out the other end better than they could’ve imagined. i like to doom-spiral in my head a lot, and my past year’s applying just validated those thoughts. but, i’ve come to a place where even if my single waitlist doesn’t pan out (i’ll definitely be a little devastated) but i’ll know that if anything, i had the privilege to even apply and dream about one day be writing for a living. 

Proud of you! Not just the privilege to apply and dream: you were also brave enough to dream something that might have felt pretty unattainable and you're doing the work to get there. 

[OctopusCactus]

16 hours ago, minivercheevy_ said:

I understand how you're feeling. This was my first year applying, and the whole time I couldn't help but feel like I was behind in this game from the get-go. Comparison is poison in these sorts of processes.

I felt my heart sink when I realized just how many people who post acceptances went to extremely prestigious colleges for their undergrad---almost every single known acceptance for Iowa, at least for poetry, went to someone from an Ivy. But it really only takes one school to believe in your work in order for you to be successful. There's no such thing as a "bad" program. If you like what a program has to offer you then it's right for you. 

Plus, tons of writers never even went to get an MFA. Getting into a program just gives that precious time to write. Be yourself and write for yourself. Rooting for you. 

Very much had that "behind from the get-go" feeling myself. But hey, we made it this far and we'll go farther still. Rooting for you too.

[untemperedoddity]

49 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

Wait I’m so confused 😳 I thought people were getting an automated email via some portal update saying their apps were still under consideration. If the email came from Elizabeth Willis herself, why wouldn’t it be personalized and/or explicitly say one was waitlisted?

My only other guess is that there's a problem with my application... but I think like three of us on this forum got the email. It's personal as far as my name and Elizabeth writing on "behalf of the poetry faculty."

29 minutes ago, jadedoptimist said:

I DOn'T KNoWWWWWWWW

We have to take this as a waitlist though, right? With rejections coming in today? And if it were a downright acceptance, we would've of course gotten the call?

[airlinefood_enjoyer]

To the person who posted on the acceptances page asking about Arizona-- I'm waiting for fiction from there too, I haven't heard anything in the way of acceptances, waitlists, or rejections, so I definitely wouldn't assume soft rejection yet. I think word on here has been that we can expect Arizona decisions this week. But I'm just repeating thirdhand information, lol. 

[pananoprodigy]

Making a playlist of Arizona-related songs to summon them instead of doing my job rn ❤️

[airlinefood_enjoyer]

7 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

Making a playlist of Arizona-related songs to summon them instead of doing my job rn ❤️

SO REAL.... what are your recs? I've just been listening to Linda Ronstadt (since she's from Tucson)

[flowermariela]

On 2/21/2024 at 12:28 PM, jadedoptimist said:

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

omg! me too, hoping for good news for us both! 

[pananoprodigy]

6 minutes ago, airlinefood_enjoyer said:

SO REAL.... what are your recs? I've just been listening to Linda Ronstadt (since she's from Tucson)

This is so dumb but when I was deciding where to apply I had to choose between ASU and U of A and the fact that Linda is from Tucson tipped the scale for me lol I love her so much. And if you want some good old fashioned cowboy in the desert music, Marty Robbins is the best and is also from AZ!

[airlinefood_enjoyer]

5 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

This is so dumb but when I was deciding where to apply I had to choose between ASU and U of A and the fact that Linda is from Tucson tipped the scale for me lol I love her so much. And if you want some good old fashioned cowboy in the desert music, Marty Robbins is the best and is also from AZ!

haha thanks-- I do like cowboy in the desert music.

and honestly, not dumb imo. I have some family history in Tucson and the location/history/culture of the city was a huge draw for me as well. It's the furthest school from me geographically that I applied to (by quite a bit actually)

[prufrock_]

I recently moved away from Tempe because i couldn't handle the heat. I hope y'all that got into AZ are prepared!!!