2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[prufrock_]

i was offered my first acceptance -- but without funding, and I thought the program was fully funded. I emailed back 'pretty please', we'll see what happens, but i doubt they just say 'since you asked nicely, here's like $100k', but it'll be a tense weekend while I wait.

[trenchywrench]

53 minutes ago, Scribe said:

I'm not sure about the heaviest movement. I mean, I'm projecting here but i want to pull the trigger as soon as possible. (I'm actually having trouble declining an offer) What affects the speed of waitlist movement the most is the drag of acceptance and rejection. It's a month out from D-day and I'm still waiting on 7 official notifications. Of course there's plenty of overlap too. I'm on 5 waitlists, but I'm only waiting on one really. By the end of next week I alone wil be responsible for a one point movement at two schools at least. That doesn't count my waitlists because if i'm last, i may not move them at all. 
But yes, this will easily continue into May which will make housing an issue for many. then there's the separate waitlists for funding - which is just fucking cruel. that fucks shit up for a lot of people. 

as someone who lives paycheck-to-paycheck, i think the lack of funding’s going to be what shoots me in the foot this year. which is especially ironic because, knowing my circumstances, i only applied to funded schools. but i’m already making a list for next year just in case and i feel so much better informed for having gone through all this. plus, our art is always growing, even if slowly. i hope this cycle’s been okay for you. it sounds like we’re both in limbo.

[ssuunn]

My limbo with Oregon State was actually a late waitlist! Woah! Will be turning it down though. Best of luck to those on it! 

[trenchywrench]

2 hours ago, sunnysequoia said:

There's already been 2 reports (1 nonfiction, 1 fiction) on the Draft spreadsheet of people getting accepted off waitlists! So I think hopefully we'll see more movement very soon!  

hi, there!

you obviously don’t owe anyone who’s not on Draft the updates because i’m the one who refuses to get Facebook, but would you mind sharing which schools this happened with?

thanks so much!

[nothingnothing]

what is the actual accuracy of the spreadsheet? seriously. are we all predicating our thinking based on the belief that folks are telling the truth? ive never had facebook so im unsure how it works. is there something im missing?

[Scribe]

1 hour ago, trenchywrench said:

as someone who lives paycheck-to-paycheck, i think the lack of funding’s going to be what shoots me in the foot this year. which is especially ironic because, knowing my circumstances, i only applied to funded schools. but i’m already making a list for next year just in case and i feel so much better informed for having gone through all this. plus, our art is always growing, even if slowly. i hope this cycle’s been okay for you. it sounds like we’re both in limbo.

Honestly, I’m not really in limbo. I know where I’m going and it’s a good package. I’ll be going BACK to living paycheck to paycheck. No matter what I’m almost certainly going to have to pick up the occasional side gig, unless we hit the lottery or my wife suddenly gets a huge pay bump. But I figure it’s that way for everyone. Well, almost everyone. Very few schools offer livable money. I’ll be okay and so will you. Consider how much time the teaching load takes and gives. Don’t forget about summers. This is doable. 

[sunnysequoia]

46 minutes ago, trenchywrench said:

hi, there!

you obviously don’t owe anyone who’s not on Draft the updates because i’m the one who refuses to get Facebook, but would you mind sharing which schools this happened with?

thanks so much!

Haha no problem I can share! It was UC Davis for fiction and Rutgers Camden for nonfiction.

Also, you're not missing much on FB LOL. I'm basically on there for groups and local events. The platform is pretty dead for people in my age range (I'm 27). 

40 minutes ago, nothingnothing said:

what is the actual accuracy of the spreadsheet? seriously. are we all predicating our thinking based on the belief that folks are telling the truth? ive never had facebook so im unsure how it works. is there something im missing?

The two people who got accepted off waitlists both had previously reported being waitlisted for their respective schools. 

Edited March 16, 2024 by sunnysequoia

[trenchywrench]

1 hour ago, sunnysequoia said:

Haha no problem I can share! It was UC Davis for fiction and Rutgers Camden for nonfiction.

Also, you're not missing much on FB LOL. I'm basically on there for groups and local events. The platform is pretty dead for people in my age range (I'm 27). 

The two people who got accepted off waitlists both had previously reported being waitlisted for their respective schools. 

i feel this; i turned 24 literally just this week and i don’t know what people my age are doing on Facebook at all. i’m generally skeptical of social media. but, then again, i have gotten on here 😂 thanks so much for the update!

Edited March 16, 2024 by trenchywrench

[trenchywrench]

thank you for your words!

congratulations on your success—and i admire your realism. it takes a lot of courage for we who are uncertain to take a leap when we’re worried things may be just barely manageable at times. and your wife is an outstanding one for supporting you in this. i know can’t thank my fiancée enough for holding my hand through the insanity of this cycle. and i know she’s willing to do it for the next one, if that’s what it takes for me. best of luck!

59 minutes ago, Scribe said:

Honestly, I’m not really in limbo. I know where I’m going and it’s a good package. I’ll be going BACK to living paycheck to paycheck. No matter what I’m almost certainly going to have to pick up the occasional side gig, unless we hit the lottery or my wife suddenly gets a huge pay bump. But I figure it’s that way for everyone. Well, almost everyone. Very few schools offer livable money. I’ll be okay and so will you. Consider how much time the teaching load takes and gives. Don’t forget about summers. This is doable. 

 

[sunnysequoia]

1 hour ago, trenchywrench said:

i feel this; i turned 24 literally just this week and i don’t know what people my age are doing on Facebook at all. i’m generally skeptical of social media. but, then again, i have gotten on here 😂 thanks so much for the update!

You're welcome! And happy late birthday, fellow Pisces!  I turned 27 in late February haha

[trenchywrench]

never mind @Fronkophone! i thought i’d update you since i found out. i got my automated UMD rejection at 3am today. standard rejection letter. i applied for fiction across the board.

i’m still technically waiting to hear back from Rutgers (Camden) and LSU, but i would turn down an offer from LSU if i got one as it’s a 24 hour drive from my fiancée and her kids and requires a 3-year residency—so i would rather wait a year and apply to closer 2-year programs as i’d be graduating at the same time anyway. 

i know Rutgers (Camden) is so finished with their acceptances and waitlists that they’ve started accepting candidates from the waitlist, so i’m going to mark this the end of my cycle. 

i got a total of 1 waitlist from NYU. i’m still looking into funding options in the event i get off the list, but the odds of anything being enough are very low given i would get 50% tuition remission and no stipend. i’m already making my list for next year and have put two “safety schools” (one low-residency with the possibility of a merit-based assistantship and one lesser-known program with full funding and a very small stipend) on it just in case things pan out this way again.

for reference, the schools i applied to ranged between 0.5% and 5.7% in their CWMFA acceptance rates. i applied with science fiction, and i did so more underprepared than i’d thought i was despite starting the process early.

i learned a lot from this year’s cycle. of course i have that awful sinking feeling that i might just not be “good” enough, and that’s why this didn’t work out for me this year. but i know i’ll be in a different place next year—i already am in a different place than i was when i applied in December.

for those of you who didn’t get into a program or didn’t get funding this year or are holding onto hope that a waitlist will work out, i feel you and i hope you don’t give up ❤️

[cowboifairy]

Hey all! Hope everyone is wrapping up the season okay. I just wanted to ask if anyone had heard from fiction for University of Houston or University of Nevada, Las Vegas? Trying to figure out how close to over my season is...

[Gradapp2024]

This application cycle has been nuts. Couple of highlights - lowlights. Florida doesn’t let MFA applicants know they aren’t accepting until they post results - then refund money. Arizona finally posts results (less than 1% and NO fiction student admits). No refunds forthcoming but there should be. And there seemed to be a lot of trolls with results as well. Finally, MFA Draft on FB is also lowkey a dumpster fire as well, where “vets” or whatever nickname they gave themselves only allow their voice, not others who have information THEY don’t agree with. It’s a small world after all. So how has YOUR cycle gone? 

[trenchywrench]

4 hours ago, Gradapp2024 said:

This application cycle has been nuts. Couple of highlights - lowlights. Florida doesn’t let MFA applicants know they aren’t accepting until they post results - then refund money. Arizona finally posts results (less than 1% and NO fiction student admits). No refunds forthcoming but there should be. And there seemed to be a lot of trolls with results as well. Finally, MFA Draft on FB is also lowkey a dumpster fire as well, where “vets” or whatever nickname they gave themselves only allow their voice, not others who have information THEY don’t agree with. It’s a small world after all. So how has YOUR cycle gone? 

i don’t have Facebook but my fiancée does and she was also a part of the 2024 cycle. her circumstances are extremely different from mine as she’s entitled money from a legal resolution to attend whatever MFA program she wants, regardless of the cost, so she will be starting at a low-residency of her choice this summer. i told her about Draft and hadn’t realized she joined it until she started showing me some of the comments people replied with on her posts. i was astonished by the arrogance—one individual essentially admitted to thinking they were entitled to admission to one of the top programs in the country just because one of their recommenders worked at that same school and in that same department. fucking wild.

Edited March 17, 2024 by trenchywrench

[nothingnothing]

10 hours ago, jka0124 said:

No, the issue is that people who are applying and new to the group were giving bad advice. The MFA app process is pretty unique (for better or worse). If you (general “you”) haven’t had a successful season or been in draft for 2+ years, you may be unknowingly spreading misinformation, especially since there isn’t a way to designate in the comments who’s a vet. It has nothing to do with opinion and people are free to post and comment.

As for draft, there are always people entitled af. And there are always people who are not ready to apply to programs and do anyway. This particular year has been an anxious, uninformed bunch. I say that with love. But I think we’re seeing some real post-pandemic…I don’t even know if “jitters” is the right word. But we as a nation haven’t really addressed most of us are traumatized so I’m not really surprised to see it manifest in places like these. I see it in my students too. 

post-pandemic? or experiencing the feed of genocide without having an outlet within the academy to speak on said genocide?

[Valle]

On 3/12/2024 at 5:21 PM, 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?

Yeah, I got this too. No idea what that means. 

[ssuunn]

2 hours ago, Valle said:

On 3/12/2024 at 12:21 PM, 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?

Yeah, I got this too. No idea what that means. 

My Iowa rejection had no encouragement/praise whatsoever, so I think it was a tiered rejection. Your apps must've made it far in their deliberations!

[flowermariela]

Hello everyone, popping in to ask if anyone had any insights on a scenario I've been thinking about as we wait for waitlists to move around. 

In the case that April 15th rolls around and I accept an offer (great school, fully funded), but post April 15th a school that waitlisted me reaches out and I am more inclined to accept their offer, would it still be possible? How binding is accepting the first offer? 

Thank you! 

[Valle]

1 hour ago, ssuunn said:

My Iowa rejection had no encouragement/praise whatsoever, so I think it was a tiered rejection. Your apps must've made it far in their deliberations!

Thank you. And congratulations on your acceptances! 

[ssuunn]

19 minutes ago, flowermariela said:

Hello everyone, popping in to ask if anyone had any insights on a scenario I've been thinking about as we wait for waitlists to move around. 

In the case that April 15th rolls around and I accept an offer (great school, fully funded), but post April 15th a school that waitlisted me reaches out and I am more inclined to accept their offer, would it still be possible? How binding is accepting the first offer? 

Thank you! 

Essentially, you pay a deposit to secure your spot when accepting an offer. If you want to reneg on that school after April 15, you'll lose your deposit and probably upset the program a lot! But people have done it and will continue to do it. You gotta do what is best for you, ultimately.

[My Mlemtonia]

Does anyone have information on the timeline of the Steinbeck Fellowship? For reference, I was declined late April last year. 

Curious when the fellows were notified for acceptances, since they seem to go out much earlier than rejections. 

[doomgeneration]

Has anyone here heard back from Bennington, specifically for fiction? I saw a few people got accepted last Tuesday (via Draft). It's the only program I applied to, so I'm feeling pretty anxious. 

Edited March 18, 2024 by doomgeneration

[flowermariela]

Hello again, I was wondering if anyone had some insight on Emerson's program / funding? I recently received and acceptance, however, I know they are not fully funded. Any insight would be appreciated!! 

[Ancestralhand]

Has anyone heard anything from UCR?

[big_al15]

Okay. I think I'm going stir crazy at this point, and just need this season to be OVER.

I have only heard from 2 of my schools (Brown and Washington-Seattle) both rejections. However, I am still waiting to hear from UMich - Ann Arbor, University of Oregon, University of Montana, and Boise State for fiction. I want to just take these all as soft rejections, but I also haven't seen a lot of discussion about Montana or Boise, and am not sure if anyone else has heard otherwise? Are they just late in finishing up decisions? One can hope, I suppose...

Are there perhaps some folks that may have heard something about these schools?