2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[jbs]

5 hours ago, GoldenTree said:

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone has heard about acceptances from Greensboro? No one's mentioned it and there's been no results posted on the gradcafe. Still though, the silence alongside the date is making me think people probably heard back by now. And I could just be unaware of it. 

A good friends was accepted a couple of weeks ago. No idea about waitlists though!

[Scribe]

6 hours ago, cowboifairy said:

Waitlist movement is real! Just received an updated offer from Boulder with funding, so will likely be rejecting UNM Fiction once I do the math if anyone is on that waitlist and needing some good news!

Yay. Super congratulations. 

[triciadawn]

On 3/20/2024 at 12:05 PM, Sumire11 said:

Hey people

Does anyone have any intel on the waitlist movement at Arkansas for fiction? Also, does anyone have any intel on acceptaces for fiction at Arkansas? Couldn’t find anything regarding this either here or draft. 

Kinda stressed with D-Day approaching lmao. 

 

I haven’t seen any acceptances either. I’m most likely turning down Columbia, so I hope Arkansas pulls through. 

[prufrock_]

Got denied from LSU just now. The denial letter basically just said 'denied' and then mentioned the grad school and the programs GPA requirements, which I found odd considering I met/exceeded them. Anyone else get the same denial letter?

[lemmmein]

Edited because I'm nervous about oversharing, sorry!

Edited March 26, 2024 by lemmmein

[ssuunn]

29 minutes ago, lemmmein said:

Editing your quote out per the above hahah.

I declined my Houston offer (in poetry) yesterday, but from the phone calls I had, it seemed like funding was a bit in flux, as their English department was asked to restructure their writing courses (AKA the ones grad students teach). Initially, I was told they were admitting 3 in poetry MFA, 3 in fiction MFA, 3 in poetry PhD, and 3 in fiction PhD. I wouldn't be surprised if they figured out a way to fund additional students, since that was the low-end of their normal cohort size.

That being said, if you have to reneg on an offer, it is what it is. People do it.

Edited March 26, 2024 by ssuunn

[rachy1997]

On 3/18/2024 at 3:12 PM, rlion said:

For people applying to Hollins, do you know if the second wave of acceptances has gone out? Or any rejections or waitlists or anything… 

hi! I'm sorry i kind of disappeared. I got waitlisted on the 20th. 

[Scribe]

.

Edited March 27, 2024 by Scribe
It was insensitive

[pananoprodigy]

28 minutes ago, Scribe said:

.

@Scribe for the record didn't think it was insensitive at all. These decisions are so tough and this is a safe space to vent!

[itsbeensnowing]

Anyone know wtf is going on with Southern Illinois University? Guessing not a lot of people here applied there but I haven't seen any acceptances on the results page. It's getting quite late for any program to still not even have their first wave of acceptances out. But maybe they do and it just doesn't include anybody on this site. (I'm not on facebook, so if there's been any word there, let me know.)

Also, any intel on waitlist movement for Urbana-Champaign? (Or if they're getting close to finalizing their slots?) Dunno if I should be waiting on them.

Anyways, less than three weeks until the big decision day. Hang in there, everyone!

[ssuunn]

28 minutes ago, itsbeensnowing said:

Anyone know wtf is going on with Southern Illinois University? Guessing not a lot of people here applied there but I haven't seen any acceptances on the results page. It's getting quite late for any program to still not even have their first wave of acceptances out. But maybe they do and it just doesn't include anybody on this site. (I'm not on facebook, so if there's been any word there, let me know.)

Also, any intel on waitlist movement for Urbana-Champaign? (Or if they're getting close to finalizing their slots?) Dunno if I should be waiting on them.

Anyways, less than three weeks until the big decision day. Hang in there, everyone!

I'm still waiting on UIUC fwiw. (poetry)

SIU had some acceptances from what I saw on draft. They might not've posted it on the spreadsheet, but someone was already fairly committed to attending, I think for poetry, but I could be wrong!
edit: the SIU acceptance was from mid-february.

Edited March 27, 2024 by ssuunn

[Scribe]

With respect to waitlists, you have to understand it’s a weird game of chicken. If someone’s waitlisted at their holy grail school, they’re going to wait as long as possible before saying yes somewhere else. So there’s a collective catch 22 because the person they’re waiting on to decline is waiting for a waitlist spot to open for their top choice. I’m sure there’s been occasions where two people are waiting on each other. 

[Sumire11]

13 hours ago, triciadawn said:

I haven’t seen any acceptances either. I’m most likely turning down Columbia, so I hope Arkansas pulls through. 

Rooting for us

[garfieldlives]

My last decision came in last week. What a relief. I was convinced it was a rejection from Portland State, but it ended up being an acceptance!

My final stats: 3a/2r/0w/0p

Acceptances: California College of the Arts (scholarship: $27k each year); University of Montana, Missoula (scholarship: $2,500); Portland State University (no funding)

Rejections: Oregon State University (my alma mater *crying*) & University of Washington

Extra info: Nonfiction; first round of applications.

It seems like I only got into the lower-competition programs, but hey, I got I got in somewhere!! My ability to attend is not contingent on funding. I think it's best I won't be taking a funded spot while still being able to get my MFA. I really thought it wasn't going to happen this year, so I'm still in shock about my acceptances.

What questions are you guys making sure to ask professors and students at your prospective programs?

[taliaj]

Does anyone know anything about Naropa? Is it worth applying, do we think? Their full res is still open for applications according to their website, as is low-res. Just wondering how people feel about it/what we know about it.

[prufrock_]

30 minutes ago, taliaj said:

Does anyone know anything about Naropa? Is it worth applying, do we think? Their full res is still open for applications according to their website, as is low-res. Just wondering how people feel about it/what we know about it.

If I was planning or able to pay for an MFA, Naropa would be one of my top choices (boulder is great, and their program looks amazing). I didn't apply though as they only fund three spots (out of what i imagine is a very large cohort).

[taliaj]

6 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

If I was planning or able to pay for an MFA, Naropa would be one of my top choices (boulder is great, and their program looks amazing). I didn't apply though as they only fund three spots (out of what i imagine is a very large cohort).

Oh okay, that makes sense! I've been looking into it but haven't found much in terms of their funding or anything like that; maybe I'm looking in the wrong spots. Thanks!

[aurqcyei]

19 hours ago, itsbeensnowing said:

Also, any intel on waitlist movement for Urbana-Champaign? (Or if they're getting close to finalizing their slots?) Dunno if I should be waiting on them.

I'll probably be declining my spot in fiction sometime this week. Didn't ask about the confirmed amount of spots, but I saw that someone else is declining (or has declined) their spot on Draft. It's a really fantastic program and I loved speaking with the faculty & current students. 

[viennacoffee]

Is anyone accepted at Rutgers-Newark for poetry thinking about declining? I know it’s a few weeks still till the deadline, but as I’m weighing offers of my own, I’m trying to figure out how much stock to place in the waitlists I’m on!

[sylviaplathtears]

Any news on the UMass Amherst waitlist?

[trenchywrench]

On 3/26/2024 at 12:20 PM, prufrock_ said:

Got denied from LSU just now. The denial letter basically just said 'denied' and then mentioned the grad school and the programs GPA requirements, which I found odd considering I met/exceeded them. Anyone else get the same denial letter?

i got the same letter despite also exceeding LSU’s GPA requirements. was hanging without my fiancée and told her how weird it was—my theory is that undergraduate GPA is probably a very common disqualifier for prospective LSU graduate students and maybe that’s why it’s in the generic letter. because i fully agree that it’s fucking strange to imply your applicant, who put loads of time and effort into maintaining their undergrad GPA and later filling out the comprehensive application to your school (and, thirdly, in many cases, paying an amount of money to submit said application that could instead buy them one month of unlimited phone data) didn’t have acceptable grades to get into your program when the opposite is true. most generic rejections are still polite…this one was just odd.

[decayingballads21]

hi everybody! does anyone have any info on Pitt’s waitlist - size/ if it’s ranked or unranked?

 

I emailed a few weeks ago but I haven’t gotten a response yet.

 

TIA! 

[pomelo]

On 3/22/2024 at 12:24 PM, Jane Wyman said:

Anybody have intel on LSU or UNCG? They're the last two schools I'm waiting to hear from ...

Someone in the MFA Draft FB group said UNCG wouldn’t get back to applicants until April 15 which is kind of ridiculous. At this point if you haven’t heard back from a program(s) it’s worth it to reach out to them. It’s almost April..

[RobbieWrites]

Thoughts on City College of New York vs. The New School for Fiction Creative Writing MFA? I'm a bit torn and haven't toured the campus for either (also won't be able to before decision day).

[garrick-essay]

Wow Wow