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2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum


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3 hours ago, camwithquestions said:

Hello everyone,

 

new to the forum. Have heard back from two programs, one in NY and one in the UK. I’m still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia. Has anyone heard from those programs yet, or have an idea when they should announce acceptance or not-just waiting is always so excruciating! Thank you and good luck to everyone !

i was notified of my full-residency NYU waitlist for fiction on March 7th. like someone else said, i know they had their accepted students’ visit already. fiancée is still waiting to hear back from the Paris low-residency program. i don’t know what their status is with the waitlist but i would infer they’re done with their initial list of accepted candidates.

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6 minutes ago, sylviaplathtears said:

Does most waitlist movement happen on April 15th or is it more like if you haven't heard back by that time, it's most likely a rejection? 

Waitlist movement happens until the cohort is finalized. Which is sort of a crappy answer, but it's true. Last year, I was rejected after not making it off the waitlist on 4/13. Some people have gotten off waitlists after 4/15. It just depends on many factors.

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22 hours ago, mr. specific said:

Has anyone seen any actual money from Columbia? or have info on how many people they fully fund?

Yes. A number of people in Draft have reported scholarships, most in the $20-$40k range. Others say they got no funding.

Edited by OctopusCactus
clarifying
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Everyone!!! I've been off the forums for a couple of weeks (for my own sanity), but my application round has officially come to a close... with an acceptance from San Francisco State University. :) I got the email last night and I'm still kind of in shock?! Trying not to let the imposter syndrome tell me it's not the achievement that it is. 

SFSU was the only program I applied to that isn't fully funded, so all of it will depend on whether or not I get any scholarships (I applied by the priority consideration deadline), and I'll probably want to apply to some other fellowships on their list. But I would be able to stay local, continue working part-time at my current job, and not have to rush my wedding this summer. 

NC State is still lingering out there, with waitlist decisions expected May 1. I'm not as wedded to it as I was before. If SFSU was meant to be, then I will take this as a sign!

It's made me so proud to see all of your accomplishments, and I'm grateful that you all made a space for me here. You are all phenomenal writers with infinite promise, and life is full of chances. If there's one thing I've learned since submitting work professionally in the past couple of years, it's that a rejection is ultimately meaningless. Your acceptance is out there, your moment will come, and in the meantime, cultivate your craft and your love for it, continue to make it yours, and cherish the connection you have with your words, when it's just the two of you in a quiet room, and no one is listening. That will be your anchor, I promise!

Much love!

EDIT: Also, while all of this was going down... I made my first paid sale for a story earlier this month, in a magazine that I LOVE. The story had been rejected 5 times, subbed around for over a year. NEVER GIVE UP!

Edited by branch
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11 minutes ago, branch said:

Everyone!!! I've been off the forums for a couple of weeks (for my own sanity), but my application round has officially come to a close... with an acceptance from San Francisco State University. :) I got the email last night and I'm still kind of in shock?! Trying not to let the imposter syndrome tell me it's not the achievement that it is. 

SFSU was the only program I applied to that isn't fully funded, so all of it will depend on whether or not I get any scholarships (I applied by the priority consideration deadline), and I'll probably want to apply to some other fellowships on their list. But I would be able to stay local, continue working part-time at my current job, and not have to rush my wedding this summer. 

NC State is still lingering out there, with waitlist decisions expected May 1. I'm not as wedded to it as I was before. If SFSU was meant to be, then I will take this as a sign!

It's made me so proud to see all of your accomplishments, and I'm grateful that you all made a space for me here. You are all phenomenal writers with infinite promise, and life is full of chances. If there's one thing I've learned since submitting work professionally in the past couple of years, it's that a rejection is ultimately meaningless. Your acceptance is out there, your moment will come, and in the meantime, cultivate your craft and your love for it, continue to make it yours, and cherish the connection you have with your words, when it's just the two of you in a quiet room, and no one is listening. That will be your anchor, I promise!

Much love!

EDIT: Also, while all of this was going down... I made my first paid sale for a story earlier this month, in a magazine that I LOVE. The story had been rejected 5 times, subbed around for over a year. NEVER GIVE UP!

Ahhh congrats!! I still have my fingers crossed we'll be in the same cohort at NCSU, but I'm glad you have another great option. Also would love to read this story!!

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41 minutes ago, branch said:

Everyone!!! I've been off the forums for a couple of weeks (for my own sanity), but my application round has officially come to a close... with an acceptance from San Francisco State University. :) I got the email last night and I'm still kind of in shock?! Trying not to let the imposter syndrome tell me it's not the achievement that it is. 

SFSU was the only program I applied to that isn't fully funded, so all of it will depend on whether or not I get any scholarships (I applied by the priority consideration deadline), and I'll probably want to apply to some other fellowships on their list. But I would be able to stay local, continue working part-time at my current job, and not have to rush my wedding this summer. 

NC State is still lingering out there, with waitlist decisions expected May 1. I'm not as wedded to it as I was before. If SFSU was meant to be, then I will take this as a sign!

It's made me so proud to see all of your accomplishments, and I'm grateful that you all made a space for me here. You are all phenomenal writers with infinite promise, and life is full of chances. If there's one thing I've learned since submitting work professionally in the past couple of years, it's that a rejection is ultimately meaningless. Your acceptance is out there, your moment will come, and in the meantime, cultivate your craft and your love for it, continue to make it yours, and cherish the connection you have with your words, when it's just the two of you in a quiet room, and no one is listening. That will be your anchor, I promise!

Much love!

EDIT: Also, while all of this was going down... I made my first paid sale for a story earlier this month, in a magazine that I LOVE. The story had been rejected 5 times, subbed around for over a year. NEVER GIVE UP!

Congrats, Branch! I remember when you first came on the thread! Really happy you got in somewhere. I hope it all works out great for you 🎉 

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2 hours ago, OctopusCactus said:

Yes. A number of people in Draft have reported scholarships, most in the $20-$40k range. Others say they got no funding.

Do you know if that mean stipends or tuition assistance? 20-40k toward Columbia tuition still leaves a lot of tuition.

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On 3/18/2024 at 1:25 PM, Ancestralhand said:

Has anyone heard anything from UCR?

Assuming you are asking about UC Riverside—I received a phone call from them with an acceptance for fiction on 2/28. I was told there are about 20 people on their waitlist. I did get the sense that all of their As and Ws are out, but as I've learned, you never know until you get that official notice. 

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1 hour ago, mr. specific said:

Do you know if that mean stipends or tuition assistance? 20-40k toward Columbia tuition still leaves a lot of tuition.

Tuition. A few people reported getting higher scholarships but from what my friend in that program says full tuition scholarships there are rare. No one in Draft has reported getting full tuition plus a stipend, this year at least.

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7 hours ago, camwithquestions said:

Hello everyone,

 

new to the forum. Have heard back from two programs, one in NY and one in the UK. I’m still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia. Has anyone heard from those programs yet, or have an idea when they should announce acceptance or not-just waiting is always so excruciating! Thank you and good luck to everyone !

I got an NYU waitlist a couple weeks ago. I think in previous years they waited until around 3/23 to send out rejections. 

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2 hours ago, branch said:

Everyone!!! I've been off the forums for a couple of weeks (for my own sanity), but my application round has officially come to a close... with an acceptance from San Francisco State University. :) I got the email last night and I'm still kind of in shock?! Trying not to let the imposter syndrome tell me it's not the achievement that it is. 

SFSU was the only program I applied to that isn't fully funded, so all of it will depend on whether or not I get any scholarships (I applied by the priority consideration deadline), and I'll probably want to apply to some other fellowships on their list. But I would be able to stay local, continue working part-time at my current job, and not have to rush my wedding this summer. 

NC State is still lingering out there, with waitlist decisions expected May 1. I'm not as wedded to it as I was before. If SFSU was meant to be, then I will take this as a sign!

It's made me so proud to see all of your accomplishments, and I'm grateful that you all made a space for me here. You are all phenomenal writers with infinite promise, and life is full of chances. If there's one thing I've learned since submitting work professionally in the past couple of years, it's that a rejection is ultimately meaningless. Your acceptance is out there, your moment will come, and in the meantime, cultivate your craft and your love for it, continue to make it yours, and cherish the connection you have with your words, when it's just the two of you in a quiet room, and no one is listening. That will be your anchor, I promise!

Much love!

EDIT: Also, while all of this was going down... I made my first paid sale for a story earlier this month, in a magazine that I LOVE. The story had been rejected 5 times, subbed around for over a year. NEVER GIVE UP!

This is news I love to hear. So happy for you, branch! Congratulations on all the good things coming! And thank you for your wise and encouraging post.

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Officially declined my offer from Colorado State for CNF — very oddly stressful (I felt bad declining, even though it was the right choice), but they sent a wonderful email back and I feel really positive about all the doors still open for me. I hope someone on the waitlist gets good news soon! 

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On 3/18/2024 at 11:50 AM, big_al15 said:

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? 

Hello! I have been MIA from this forum for a bit, but as the Boise Expert (jk, I'm just all up in BSU's grill because it's the one school I applied to) as far as I know of, nobody has heard back from fiction. At least, nobody from this forum, GradCafe in general, or the Draft facebook group, or anywhere else that I can see. Mitch from BSU said they were going to email people in the coming week, but that email was sent March 6th, and I believe he was referring to last week, which is making me think, since nothing came out then, we should expect to hear maybe this week? But maybe I'm just holding out hope. I hope this made sense!

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6 hours ago, branch said:

Everyone!!! I've been off the forums for a couple of weeks (for my own sanity), but my application round has officially come to a close... with an acceptance from San Francisco State University. :) I got the email last night and I'm still kind of in shock?! Trying not to let the imposter syndrome tell me it's not the achievement that it is. 

SFSU was the only program I applied to that isn't fully funded, so all of it will depend on whether or not I get any scholarships (I applied by the priority consideration deadline), and I'll probably want to apply to some other fellowships on their list. But I would be able to stay local, continue working part-time at my current job, and not have to rush my wedding this summer. 

NC State is still lingering out there, with waitlist decisions expected May 1. I'm not as wedded to it as I was before. If SFSU was meant to be, then I will take this as a sign!

It's made me so proud to see all of your accomplishments, and I'm grateful that you all made a space for me here. You are all phenomenal writers with infinite promise, and life is full of chances. If there's one thing I've learned since submitting work professionally in the past couple of years, it's that a rejection is ultimately meaningless. Your acceptance is out there, your moment will come, and in the meantime, cultivate your craft and your love for it, continue to make it yours, and cherish the connection you have with your words, when it's just the two of you in a quiet room, and no one is listening. That will be your anchor, I promise!

Much love!

EDIT: Also, while all of this was going down... I made my first paid sale for a story earlier this month, in a magazine that I LOVE. The story had been rejected 5 times, subbed around for over a year. NEVER GIVE UP!

Congratulations!!! If you stay here continue enjoying the Bay Area weather haha. I didn't apply to any schools in California so will definitely be leaving the Bay to somewhere very cold LOL (it's unfortunate how spoiled I've been by the weather here my whole life 😅)

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Not sure if anyone else is waiting on them, but I reached out to Miami University (in OH) and basically asked for a status update (since I'm not likely to attend either way). They said they'd know more in April when movement starts to happen... So I guess that means everyone who applied is waitlisted until their cohort is finalized? 😬

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on the note of Rutgers (Camden)...i applied for fiction and haven't heard anything, the latter of which seems to apply to a lot of us. is it true that R (C) has notified people of rejections in the past beyond the April 15 "D-day" deadline?

also, a question about Sarah Lawrence College, because this one wasn't on my radar for the 2024 cycle but i want to apply for their speculative track in 2025. what are their tuition remission/stipend packages like? is full funding common? i see info about student jobs on their site but i do sort of seek a balance between particular financial and opportunistic elements when looking at these schools.

especially for those of you whose packages included teaching assistantships, which is what i'm gunning for...what were they like, if you don't mind sharing?

Edited by trenchywrench
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18 hours ago, mr. specific said:

Do you know if that mean stipends or tuition assistance? 20-40k toward Columbia tuition still leaves a lot of tuition.

Columbia fully funds *maybe* one person in their very large cohort and in all my years being in the MFA space, I’ve never heard of anyone getting a stipend for living expenses, just health insurance. 

The MFA program is just so overpriced. Even one of the faculty told me she feels bad making admission phone calls because it feels unethical to ask people to borrow $100k for an arts degree. it’s just so much. And I say this as someone who got in a few years back because I attended for undergrad and really wanted to stay in my apartment. 😅

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