2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[pananoprodigy]

12 minutes ago, Scribe said:

I haven't been as active these last few days and I'm sorry since I told everyone I was hanging in here til the end. I still am and I know I haven't been up on my congrats, welcomes, and encouragements. 

But I am still here and I am still behind you all. 

For those in softrvlille and waitlistburg I hear you. I'm kinda there too and looking at the next stage of my life with sober anxiety. 
 

There's a lot happening with respect to budgets. Both cohorts and stipends are being cut while some schools are expanding their programs in the hopes of gaining funding themselves. some are also increasing stipends in response to dramatic cost of living changes. It seems to me this year is one where you can really give yourself a break if you didn't get an A. I know there are some who are apprehensive (bullshit, it's just your pride) about approaching your recommenders again next year. Don't be. If you need an excuse, tell them about the budget cuts. Hell, lie and say you got in to a few places but it didn't work out. But do not give up. I am as dumb as dirt. I was rejected from TEN programs SO FAR. That does not include six (maybe seven - UW Seattle?) soft rejections. And there are more after that. In fact, it is quite possible the only reason i got in anywhere is because I cast such a wide net. Two programs rejected me TWICE! WTF is that about?

I can be lighthearted about it all now, but you will be too. Keep writing. keep reading. Keep learning. 

I am so grateful to you all.

Appreciate u, Scribe ❤️

[ssuunn]

Hey y'all, on mobile as I'm literally on the Amtrak train down to Eugene to visit UO. In for poetry at University of Houston!

[cowboifairy]

6 minutes ago, ssuunn said:

Hey y'all, on mobile as I'm literally on the Amtrak train down to Eugene to visit UO. In for poetry at University of Houston!

Ahhhh! so exciting! Congrats on the good news

 

[prufrock_]

14 minutes ago, ssuunn said:

Hey y'all, on mobile as I'm literally on the Amtrak train down to Eugene to visit UO. In for poetry at University of Houston!

Grats! ask them to send out their rejections, as they still have not!

[newyearnewtea]

2 hours ago, ssuunn said:

Hey y'all, on mobile as I'm literally on the Amtrak train down to Eugene to visit UO. In for poetry at University of Houston!

Amtrak, my beloved... congrats!!!

Hijacking this to ask if there's anyone else here going to U Michigan's Welcome Week or Columbia's prospective student events in the coming weeks. Haven't made my decision yet and trying to collect potential besties like infinity stones.

[squarkshark]

All y'all in waitlist and funding purgatory I SEE YOU! I HEAR YOU! I FEEL YOU!

Today I got my Tin House summer workshop and Iowa rejections (yay!) and found out GMU is funding 14 students instead of 20-24. It was a dose of Squid Game reality to put 30 admitted students in a Zoom and say "Nice to meet you, congrats! Half of you will make it!" Genuinely thankful to be in this position, and thrilled for everyone with acceptances and funding, but it also gives me so much anxiety I wanna throw up 

Edited March 14 by squarkshark

[big_al15]

17 hours ago, potentialyeti said:

Hey all. Just discovered this forum, y'all are out here doing the Lord's work.

Question: Have there been updates on Michener & the University of Oregon? I'm at 10/12 rejections right now and those are my two still in review. It seems late for Michener -- I've been applying for several years now and have always gotten declined in late Feb. Should I hope???

I saw someone already responded to you about University of Oregon, and I'm not sure if they've already sent out all their acceptances. However, I did give admissions a gentle nudge last week and sent an email asking when we should be hearing. I was told probably this week we should be hearing from them. Not sure if this helps, but at least we'll [hopefully] get some sort of response!!  

[trenchywrench]

if my application to a program goes from saying “under program review” to “under grad school review,” what might that mean? anyone know why that would happen?

also, anyone know where Rutgers (Camden) is with their applicants? the general consensus i’ve heard is “soft rejection; don’t get your hopes up.”

[rachy1997]

Good morning all! This is my first cycle applying, and I could only do 2 schools. I have a question about etiquette and how these things go:

I've seen that people will sometimes reach out to the program they haven't heard back from. Is this advisable, or is it better to remain patient? What are the pros and cons of emailing and asking about the status of your application? On the one hand, I could see where admissions would want the person who is banging their door down. On the other hand, I could see them getting annoyed. I could also see where it wouldn't matter either way. What do you think?

0a/0w/1r/1p (1st cycle)

[electricstardust]

do we think uwashington poetry is a soft rejection/waitlist if we haven’t heard by now? it’s the last school i’m waiting on!

[pomelo]

19 hours ago, potentialyeti said:

Question: Have there been updates on Michener & the University of Oregon? I'm at 10/12 rejections right now and those are my two still in review. It seems late for Michener -- I've been applying for several years now and have always gotten declined in late Feb. Should I hope???

I would reach out to Michener directly. It seems strange that they haven’t contacted you yet. My rejection (fiction) came in 2 weeks ago. 
 

I’m seeing people finally hear from UMass Amherst and Iowa (fiction). I still haven’t. Put me out of my misery already!!

[big_al15]

1 hour ago, electricstardust said:

do we think uwashington poetry is a soft rejection/waitlist if we haven’t heard by now? it’s the last school i’m waiting on!

I did see last week in this form that, apparently, UWash Seattle is taking a bit longer than they normally do. I think they got a much larger, competitive pool of applicants than they normally receive. Someone said we could hear as early as this week, but the latest we could hear by is April 1st. For ALL of our sanities, I hope that does not become the case, but hope this helps!

[taliaj]

2 hours ago, rachy1997 said:

Good morning all! This is my first cycle applying, and I could only do 2 schools. I have a question about etiquette and how these things go:

I've seen that people will sometimes reach out to the program they haven't heard back from. Is this advisable, or is it better to remain patient? What are the pros and cons of emailing and asking about the status of your application? On the one hand, I could see where admissions would want the person who is banging their door down. On the other hand, I could see them getting annoyed. I could also see where it wouldn't matter either way. What do you think?

0a/0w/1r/1p (1st cycle)

Hey! I totally feel you, I could only do 1 school and the waiting is killing me! What schools are you waiting to hear from? I was in a similar boat with BSU and so I finally bit the bullet and reached out. I think both sides of your point are valid, and I think it just all depends on the school. But I don't think asking will hurt your chances in any way (at least, for my sake, I hope not!) Good luck!

[girlgenius]

the irony of applying to 13 schools and being accepted into the only one that doesn't require an app fee $$$ honestly shout out to U of SC for that though (and something to consider if you're applying next year)! we love accessibility, but damn if only I'd known haha

[rachy1997]

37 minutes ago, taliaj said:

Hey! I totally feel you, I could only do 1 school and the waiting is killing me! What schools are you waiting to hear from? I was in a similar boat with BSU and so I finally bit the bullet and reached out. I think both sides of your point are valid, and I think it just all depends on the school. But I don't think asking will hurt your chances in any way (at least, for my sake, I hope not!) Good luck!

Hollins. I live in Roanoke and Hollins is my top and only school. I know they already have acceptances, but waitlists haven't gone out yet. I really just want to know :,)

[decayingballads21]

I just found out I was accepted to Northern Michigan University; for nonfiction. On a waitlist for funding though— which sounds scary. I thought it was fully funded for all students, why would I be on a waitlist 😭😭

 

all these budget cuts and program changes have been stressing me out, I feel like it’s made the odds even harder this year! So I’m trying to be optimistic about this acceptance, but it’s kinda hard to when I’m assuming I can’t go. 

 

Edited March 14 by decayingballads21

[rlion]

48 minutes ago, rachy1997 said:

Hollins. I live in Roanoke and Hollins is my top and only school. I know they already have acceptances, but waitlists haven't gone out yet. I really just want to know :,)

I gave in and sent an email asking about it. Hopefully we get some information soon 🩵 fingers still crossed for us! 

[rachy1997]

2 minutes ago, rlion said:

I gave in and sent an email asking about it. Hopefully we get some information soon 🩵 fingers still crossed for us! 

when did you send your email? 

[aurqcyei]

3 hours ago, rachy1997 said:

Good morning all! This is my first cycle applying, and I could only do 2 schools. I have a question about etiquette and how these things go:

I've seen that people will sometimes reach out to the program they haven't heard back from. Is this advisable, or is it better to remain patient? What are the pros and cons of emailing and asking about the status of your application? On the one hand, I could see where admissions would want the person who is banging their door down. On the other hand, I could see them getting annoyed. I could also see where it wouldn't matter either way. What do you think?

0a/0w/1r/1p (1st cycle)

IMO, I don't think it matters either way. I figured at this point, all my Ps are soft Rs anyway, but I just wanted closure. I framed it as I'm trying to make a decision on my offers and, as I love the program, I'm willing to wait on them, but I'd rather know so I can make a decision for my situation. 

[rlion]

7 minutes ago, rachy1997 said:

when did you send your email? 

Like 5 minutes ago lol. But the graduate admissions person said she doesn’t have an exact answer. First round acceptances went out and the rest should be out very soon sooooo maybe before the weekend?? Maybe there’s still hope????

[rachy1997]

2 minutes ago, rlion said:

Like 5 minutes ago lol. But the graduate admissions person said she doesn’t have an exact answer. First round acceptances went out and the rest should be out very soon sooooo maybe before the weekend?? Maybe there’s still hope????

I'm losin it :,) actually crossing my fingers we both get in and we can celebrate LOL

[darr1]

Anyone know anything about Nevada Las Vegas? The waiting hurts

[picklesaa]

I know from Draft that UW Seattle acceptances have already been sent --- when do we think waitlists and rejections will go out???

Edited March 14 by picklesaa

[Rixor]

17 minutes ago, darr1 said:

Anyone know anything about Nevada Las Vegas? The waiting hurts

I've heard they only notify SUPER late. Like, April, May, June. No clue how true that is but it sucks if it is.

[decayingballads21]

On 3/13/2024 at 9:39 AM, parttimepoet said:

Hi all! I've also been... lurking for a while here. It's been great to see this community coming together, and I'm so happy for those who got into programs that fit them!

I'm a creative non-fiction writer and work mostly with lyric essays, and am graduating with my BA this May. I'm an international applicant and applied to 7 schools. I got acceptances at SLC and Columbia (woo-hoo!), both partial funding (woo...hoo....). I also am on the waitlist for NYU but I'm pretty skeptical of getting off it. 

I wanted to ask this group more about SLC and Columbia to get a better sense of things. First off, I know the hard rule is to not go for an MFA without full funding, but ... I don't know. I was supposed to get a BFA for undergrad, was accepted and didn't go; applied to transfer to the same school for a BFA in my sophomore year, was accepted and didn't go again. All in all, I don't necessarily regret those choices because I love my college but I definitely also feel like I gave up something big not just once, but twice (even if those were the right choices for me at the times). All in all, though, this means that my urge to ignore the advice about funding is extra strong :'D 

I know someone asked about Columbia earlier regarding how competitive it is and whether that still meant it was an equally intensive program (or something along those lines). I think I have a similar concern, especially because I personally know profs and have also heard of profs who are anti-Columbia. Other than exorbitant fees and the general evil things that huge education institutes like them are up to, what specifically is it about their reputation re: writing that turn people off? (And if there are any Columbia stans out here, I'd love to hear that side too! Feeling super conflicted at the moment.)

As for SLC, my impression of it is that it's a program that encourages genre experimentation and hybridity, and that's what appealed to me. I'd prefer that over an extremely literary focus, but I was wondering if my sensing is wrong? Just curious!

Finally, how have you guys been formatting your replies to acceptances? Especially to negotiate for more funding? I seriously struggle with email communication and would love advice or even a template.

Thank you!!!

@parttimepoet popping in here to say, I also write lyric essays and I would love to connect with u and chat about all things essay/lyric/ hybrid writing!!! (Pls!)

congrats to you for these acceptances! They’re both great programs but I agree with your skepticism towards Columbia. Go with your gut!! I think SLC seems more up your alley with hybrid forms and cross genre experimentation, but you should definitely feel them both out! I’m rooting for u either way!
🫶🏻