2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Aotearoa]

22 hours ago, Chex said:

The spirit hit and I just started writing a new SOP for the next app season. In the dead quiet of the night, it feels clearer and more sure of itself than the one before. More able to dally and parry.

I went into the 2024 app season with a lot of heart, honesty, and good intentions, but it was not enough. Honesty and raging desire aren't all it takes, I fear. I'm going to try to use the months between now and December to develop and polish new pieces, engage with other writers and the writing world, and find security in my own (he)art. I have my eyes on a few programs and will try to prepare better for them. I also plan to make some changes in my personal life - move to a different place, start a small thing, and save some money. Big, big plans, but wish me luck, y'all. 

Congratulations to everyone going this year. Save some seats for those of us coming later. Anyone who wants to workshop writing or talk general MFA tips and strategy, hit me up.

I thought I’d come on here and finally show my results after a long long wait. For context, I’m fresh from undergrad in New Zealand and this was my first time applying to MFA programs in fiction. After being waitlisted at four programs I have gotten into:

WUSTL

USF

WVU

- still waitlisted at UMiami after an interview with Chantel and Patricia.

I am so grateful to be offered admissions to these programs. I didn’t send them that many emails when I was waitlisted- just one polite one expressing my gratitude and how I would love to be a representative from New Zealand, and patiently waited for almost two months. I got updates last week either telling me I was first on the waitlist and that I’d be offered a position if someone declined, or was offered a position. To those who have been waitlisted, don’t lose heart! There’s still time. Be patient, be polite, and if not this time, being waitlisted in a year where they’ve told me there were massive waves of applications that surpassed other years, is a testament of your promise as a writer. If nothing happens now, it will in the future. 
 

I applied to other schools including:

JHU LSU UoA VU and FSU

I was rejected, but that’s totally fine. What I find interesting is how different the programs I got into are. 

[sciencebasedlifter]

10 hours ago, Aotearoa said:

I thought I’d come on here and finally show my results after a long long wait. For context, I’m fresh from undergrad in New Zealand and this was my first time applying to MFA programs in fiction. After being waitlisted at four programs I have gotten into:

WUSTL

USF

WVU

- still waitlisted at UMiami after an interview with Chantel and Patricia.

I am so grateful to be offered admissions to these programs. I didn’t send them that many emails when I was waitlisted- just one polite one expressing my gratitude and how I would love to be a representative from New Zealand, and patiently waited for almost two months. I got updates last week either telling me I was first on the waitlist and that I’d be offered a position if someone declined, or was offered a position. To those who have been waitlisted, don’t lose heart! There’s still time. Be patient, be polite, and if not this time, being waitlisted in a year where they’ve told me there were massive waves of applications that surpassed other years, is a testament of your promise as a writer. If nothing happens now, it will in the future. 
 

I applied to other schools including:

JHU LSU UoA VU and FSU

I was rejected, but that’s totally fine. What I find interesting is how different the programs I got into are. 

not sure if you've made a decision yet but i went to WUSTL for undergrad and loved it, especially the writing program/faculty. let me know if you want to chat/DM about it!

[Scribe]

ADVICE FOR NEXT YEAR'S APPLICANTS

This is just some of what I learned this year. Every word is true. Please pass this on to whomever may need it and add your own knowledge.  And know this is just what one single (although brilliant) applicant has learned. 

 

Spread yourself around a bit. I got 15 rejections (so far). What if they were the only places I applied?

Go where you WANT. I also believed “I only need one A” and that’s true, but I didn’t apply only to places I thought I might get into. I was rejected from those too and got admitted to a school I thought was a real long shot. 

Research Research Research. Before you commit to an application, find out as much as you can. You have as many options as almost all of these schools have applicants. This is not the time to shoot from the hip. Think that every school to which you apply is one you can’t. choose wisely. Consider funding, cost of living in the school’s location, distance from home, employment and educational prospects you and for family if they’re coming with you, …

There are things to research you might not think about and may not be able to find out but it’s worth knowing. Your sample is your sample and, I believe, should not be geared to where you apply. You don’t want to be in a program that doesn’t have full support of your work. However, it may well be different for SOP’s and other essays. (That’s another place you don’t want to be surprised. ) Some schools will ask for more than an SOP. They may ask for an SOP, Teaching Statement, Personal Statement, Autobiographical Statement, Diversity Statement, or anything else. One school asked for an SOP, Personal and Autobiographical. More importantly, they weighed them more heavily than expected. If you can find these things out about your school, it can go a long way to not crafting something quickly for which you are unprepared. 

Just as important as research is knowing what you do not know. I believed even had I gotten into my longshot, I couldn’t afford to go. Not only was the stipend 50% higher than the last available numbers, the housing situation there had wildly changed. Until you know hard numbers, rule nothing out. In fact, remember how fast things can change year to year. Make no assumptions. 

Start your applications early. You don’t have to finish them… ever, but certainly not the day or week or maybe month you start. But open them all as soon as possible. Finding out what’s required may actually free up time if you realize the school isn’t for you. Another benefit is that some schools offer multiple rounds of assessment, the first of which might be free. These applications can get expensive. Which brings us to another advantage of starting early – you can spread out submissions and spread out fees. 

Wait until the deadlines for final submission. As you craft your statements for each school, you will think of things you left out of other statements, better things to say, or better ways to say them. Maybe some things not to say? You can then go back to those essays and rework them with the process gains. Once you submit them, they’re out there. It’s not typical to allow editing after submission. 

Play to the buzzer. Do not start thinking it’s over because of the first notices you received. I've so far received received 14 rejections, not including waitlists. What if they happened to be the first notices? Ultimately I was accepted at 4 places (so far) and am waitlisted at four more. Notices are not handed out in order of the programs you were most likely to be accepted by. It isn’t over until it’s over. With that in mind, don’t give up on waitlists and especially don’t abandon possible acceptances because you’re on a waitlist. Even when you have real options in which you’re confident, do not decline offers or take yourself off of a waitlist just because you have a good option. If you have multiple offers and waitlists, you can start thinking about the ones you want to drop and give other applicants a shot at having a little less anxiety. 

Learn as much as you can about how a school gets its funding. It may determine the cohort make up. This may be truer for public institutions. In the case of international students, no funding may be available. Check though. Sometimes there are scholarships and fellowships available only to certain groups. The possibility and amount of funding should absolutely be a factor in whether or not you apply. 

I don’t believe, at least as much as others, in a “fit” for a program - I’m speaking about genre. Personality, what you wish to do with your work, these things might matter more than genre. If your magical realism writing is good, I don’t think a professor who specializes in science fiction or graphic novels is going to reject you outright. You should consider where you want to go for yourself more than them. You may be able to use your essays to contextualize your writing (I would NOT suggest your writing sample specifically) in general. A personal statement or SOP can be used to reveal your social or political goals, if they apply. Yeah, you might want to be careful here but my experience says go for it. 

Where I think fit does matter? The culture of the program. Some schools, for example, have graduated and/or contingent funding. Not everybody gets the same broccoli and who gets what can change year to year. this may foster a type of competition within the cohort. Other schools may foster competition by way of attention from a mentor. I would not do well in such an environment. Some people ( I have a brother who comes to mind) absolutely thrive in that situation. Be a little introspective here. And don't think competition is the only variable. My school bans agents on campus, other schools invite them. Some schools focus on art, others on product. Many lean into the business end, others avoid it. Judge them only in terms of what you need, not they way you think "things oughta be".

Finally (until I remember something I've forgotten), do not think of any of this as a litmus for the quality of your work or your worth as a writer. That isn't a cuddly, feel-good sentiment. A look at the schools and their acceptances in both pattern and review reveals just how much of a subjective and even incidental, almost random, process this is. Let's take the 800 lb gorilla as an example. The Writer's Workshop accepts a dozen or so per genre per year. They have a very large applicant pool, most of whom applied to all of the other big gorillas. You can divide the cohort in three not necessarily equal parts. The first is people like me who applied all over the place and hit with some and missed with others. The second are those evil fucks who got into almost if not everywhere they fucking applied. The last group are people who may have applied all over the place and were rejected everywhere EXCEPT the workshop!  All of these people are not at all unusual, how is that possible? Before we guess let me give you another scenario from my own experience. I applied to two programs at the same university. Each program is funded differently and each takes three people. Those six people take the same classes, with the same teachers, at the same time. They workshop together. They all filled out two different applications but paid ONE application fee. They are however selected by different screeners before going on to the juries who decide the final cohort by rounds. Some people are accepted at both programs, some are waitlisted at both, some are accepted at one and waitlisted at the other or accepted at one and told to kick rocks by the other. I was accepted by one and didn't even make it past the first screeners at the other. What gives? Simple. Different people are looking for different things at different times. In at least one of her hand written notes to a rejectee L S C told her "Sorry it didn't happen this year." (Italics mine). 

Do not give up.

Ever. 

Sick of reading about mfa’s? maybe this will help. 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mfa-writers/id1514694295
 

[itsbeensnowing]

Finally, a rejection from UCI 😅

It really seems like a great program but idk how many times I'd be able to go through this whole "wait until the week before the deadline to get an official rejection" thing

[Scribe]

3 minutes ago, itsbeensnowing said:

Finally, a rejection from UCI 😅

It really seems like a great program but idk how many times I'd be able to go through this whole "wait until the week before the deadline to get an official rejection" thing

I know it's frustrating. I'm hoping those who are only finding out there options now have lived with the possibilities long enough to be able to make quick and painless decisions for themselves. 
I'm angry about it myself. There are still three schools who sent out acceptances and waitlists a long time ago - over a month, one i think over two months! - I am yet to hear back from and it feels insulting and dismissive. I won't say more because of been bitching about this for months and i'm sure people are tired of it but it's important for people to know they aren't alone in their rage. 

[OctopusCactus]

On 4/6/2024 at 4:36 AM, poetrygirl said:

That's reassuring to hear -- I've got quite sucked into the whole judgement aspect of it!

No one is going to know whether you got a stipend or not, how much funding you received, or whether you paid for the whole thing yourself, unless you tell them.  

[Rixor]

Still haven't heard back from some schools. Anyone else? April 15th is in just 6 days.

I'm happy to be patient, but in some cases... Man, e.g. University of South Florida completely ghosted my emails asking for clarificiation on the strange message in my admissions portal. I wouldn't want to go there anyways at this point. 

I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going at this point and I am ecstatic about it. I feel very fortunate. '

Just ~6 more days of uncertainty. Been a pleasure going through this process with you all.

[pananoprodigy]

4 hours ago, Rixor said:

Still haven't heard back from some schools. Anyone else? April 15th is in just 6 days.

I'm happy to be patient, but in some cases... Man, e.g. University of South Florida completely ghosted my emails asking for clarificiation on the strange message in my admissions portal. I wouldn't want to go there anyways at this point. 

I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going at this point and I am ecstatic about it. I feel very fortunate. '

Just ~6 more days of uncertainty. Been a pleasure going through this process with you all.

I still haven’t heard anything from Iowa or University of Oregon (fiction). :/

[justasmidge]

Just talked to an author acquaintance who graduated from a school that I didn't get into and just got longlisted for a very prestigious prize so I really feel like I can trust her judgment on this. I'm in between two schools. One that will leave me about 16k in debt and another that would leave me 40k in debt. The open house for the 40k one isn't until Thursday. It's quite a substantial price difference but I also know that if I did choose the 40k one that there are fellowship opportunities in the second year that could take the price down. 

I was concerned that the 16k school doesn't have as much name recognition as the other one, but she assured me that the name of the program doesn't matter - it's whether if you think your writing will benefit from the program's resources and if there's support from faculty. She said that one can draw on faculty connections for letters of recommendation and blurbs.

I definitely believe that the 16k school will give me a tremendous amount of guidance from all of my interactions with them so far. I do think I would be very happy there. We'll see what happens with the 40k school.  

[aurqcyei]

54 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

I still haven’t heard anything from Iowa or University of Oregon (fiction). 😕

U of O hasn't sent out rejections for fiction yet. Someone did get accepted last week, but I think that's the last of the news. I'm guessing the cohort hasn't fully been fleshed out yet and they're still holding out before sending out Rs. 

Did you check your Iowa portal? It should have updated for everyone a few weeks ago. Some people didn't receive rejection letters and I'm 99% sure they don't send out emails unless you're accepted/waitlisted. 

[pananoprodigy]

11 minutes ago, aurqcyei said:

U of O hasn't sent out rejections for fiction yet. Someone did get accepted last week, but I think that's the last of the news. I'm guessing the cohort hasn't fully been fleshed out yet and they're still holding out before sending out Rs. 

Did you check your Iowa portal? It should have updated for everyone a few weeks ago. Some people didn't receive rejection letters and I'm 99% sure they don't send out emails unless you're accepted/waitlisted. 

Thanks! I had been locked out of my Iowa portal but I just got it reset and yeah, they did update it. Kind of a bummer to me to spend so much money/time on these applications and not even get a formal rejection email. I get it, but also 😕 

[aurqcyei]

22 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

Thanks! I had been locked out of my Iowa portal but I just got it reset and yeah, they did update it. Kind of a bummer to me to spend so much money/time on these applications and not even get a formal rejection email. I get it, but also 😕 

I mean, they should send a rejection letter. A rejection notice, even if it's a one-liner, is the absolute bare minimum a school or magazine should give to an applicant. I know Iowa only sends out snail mail rejection letters, so I wonder if your rejection letter just got lost in the ether  

[pananoprodigy]

4 hours ago, aurqcyei said:

I mean, they should send a rejection letter. A rejection notice, even if it's a one-liner, is the absolute bare minimum a school or magazine should give to an applicant. I know Iowa only sends out snail mail rejection letters, so I wonder if your rejection letter just got lost in the ether  

It'll probably show up randomly a few months from now when I'm having a bad day hahaha

[Scribe]

21 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

It'll probably show up randomly a few months from now when I'm having a bad day hahaha

usps has an almost supernatural ability to deliver all mail to the proper destination so it's unlikely it was lost. however, if they sent out say 800 or so letters, about 100 of them will be late. this is pretty late though. you could get it years from now; that happens. 

as for me... 6 days until i start asking for my money back. 

[Chex]

16 hours ago, pananoprodigy said:

Thanks! I had been locked out of my Iowa portal but I just got it reset and yeah, they did update it. Kind of a bummer to me to spend so much money/time on these applications and not even get a formal rejection email. I get it, but also 😕 

I feel you. I haven't got mine, either, and don't know when to expect it. It's a bummer, for a program that asks you to go through such a complicated application process. 

16 hours ago, aurqcyei said:

I mean, they should send a rejection letter. A rejection notice, even if it's a one-liner, is the absolute bare minimum a school or magazine should give to an applicant. 

Absolutely. I wish Iowa at least sent email notifications first, so people didn't keep waiting and worrying. Their fancy snail mail could then come in later, if they like. 

[DanielNiver]

Just wanted to let people know that I declined my offers from Ohio State and Iowa NWP. I truly hope some very good news be headed your way!

Oh and I accepted the offer from Pitt 🥳

It's been a privilege 🫡 and thank you to all those who lent help and advice in my dms. Also, I'd totally pay it forward—if anyone needs an extra set of eyes on your CNF packet next year, or have questions, hit me up! I'll try pay back the good karma.

Edited to add final stats:

8A/4W/3R/0P

Edited April 10, 2024 by DanielNiver

[alligator mississippiensis]

Hi all, 

Tuition question: I’m on the waitlist for NYU Fiction, and I can’t seem to find the exact tuition they charge their MFA students. I know that (should I be accepted) I would probably only receive 1/2 reduction on tuition, but does anyone have the exact price?? Thank you! 

[JanShell]

2 hours ago, DanielNiver said:

Just wanted to let people know that I declined my offers from Ohio State and Iowa NWP. I truly hope some very good news be headed your way!

Oh and I accepted the offer from Pitt 🥳

It's been a privilege 🫡 and thank you to all those who lent help and advice in my dms. Also, I'd totally pay it forward—if anyone needs an extra set of eyes on your CNF packet next year, or have questions, hit me up! I'll try pay back the good karma.

Edited to add final stats:

8A/4W/3R/0P

Wohoo congratulations!! Also, do you mind my asking what pushed you to choose Pitt? I'm waitlisted there for fiction and accepted elsewhere. I really love the other school I'm in at, but suddenly this week I've been running a lot of what ifs in my head about what I'd do if I do suddenly get off the Pitt waitlist! Getting off the waitlist has felt like such a long shot this whole time, so I didn't end up doing a campus/city visit, and I haven't had the same opportunities to chat with the cohort/faculty there as at my other school. Now I'm feeling like if I do get in, I'll have to make a snap decision with a lot of info about one school and not enough about the other, so I'd really appreciate any insights you might have

Edited April 10, 2024 by JanShell

[lychees]

3 hours ago, DanielNiver said:

Just wanted to let people know that I declined my offers from Ohio State and Iowa NWP. I truly hope some very good news be headed your way!

Oh and I accepted the offer from Pitt 🥳

It's been a privilege 🫡 and thank you to all those who lent help and advice in my dms. Also, I'd totally pay it forward—if anyone needs an extra set of eyes on your CNF packet next year, or have questions, hit me up! I'll try pay back the good karma.

Edited to add final stats:

8A/4W/3R/0P

I just checked GradCafe and was about to congratulate you on making a final decision — and then boom, email from Ohio State that I'm off the waitlist. So congratulations and also thanks (even if I suspect you just made my decision ten times harder!). Pitt is lucky to have a writer like you. 

[darr1]

This has probably been asked before but is it safe to say that if I haven't heard yes or no from Iowa so far that it's a rejection?

[DanielNiver]

1 minute ago, JanShell said:

Wohoo congratulations!! Also, do you mind my asking what pushed you to choose Pitt? I'm waitlisted there for fiction and accepted elsewhere. I really love the other school I'm in at, but suddenly this week I've been running a lot of what ifs in my head about what I'd do if I do suddenly get off the Pitt waitlist! Getting off the waitlist has felt like such a long shot this whole time, so I didn't end up doing a campus/city visit, and I haven't had the same opportunities to chat with the cohort/faculty there as at my other school. Now I'm feeling like if I do get in, I'll have to make a snap decision with a lot of info about one school and not enough about the other, so I'd really appreciate any insights you might have

Yeah, I definitely know the feeling. I'll tell you, Pitt obviously had so much of what the other top schools on my list had, but really it came down to how unbelievably accommodating they were. I could only visit the campus with like a two day notice over the weekend and the *cohort* mostly arranged my visit and set up my schedule with me. Not that the faculty weren't involved it was just that it was the weekend when I notified them and the MFA students were all over it. Most of the other visits I did, the 2nd and 3rd year MFA students felt like they were forced to be there lol. Not a big deal, totally get it, but everything at Pitt felt like the cohorts really wanted to help and meet everyone coming in. It was night and day, to be honest.

But, you know, follow your gut and what gave you a good vibe. Zero FOMO that way, ya know. 

[DanielNiver]

1 hour ago, lychees said:

I just checked GradCafe and was about to congratulate you on making a final decision — and then boom, email from Ohio State that I'm off the waitlist. So congratulations and also thanks (even if I suspect you just made my decision ten times harder!). Pitt is lucky to have a writer like you. 

Holy shit! It worked 😂 congratulations!!!! I will tell you, OSU was utterly incredible and it really came down to very small differences. With that said, good luck deciding 😂

[squarkshark]

On 4/9/2024 at 9:12 AM, Rixor said:

Still haven't heard back from some schools. Anyone else? April 15th is in just 6 days.

I'm happy to be patient, but in some cases... Man, e.g. University of South Florida completely ghosted my emails asking for clarificiation on the strange message in my admissions portal. I wouldn't want to go there anyways at this point. 

I'm pretty sure I know where I'm going at this point and I am ecstatic about it. I feel very fortunate. '

Just ~6 more days of uncertainty. Been a pleasure going through this process with you all.

Rixor, I finally heard back from USF after contacting the right person, sellersh@ usf . edu she is the director of creative writing programs and has access to the waitlist. It is tiered. I hope that brings you some clarity, if you haven’t contacted Heather…idk what they’re on😭

Edited April 10, 2024 by squarkshark

[airlinefood_enjoyer]

6 hours ago, DanielNiver said:

Just wanted to let people know that I declined my offers from Ohio State and Iowa NWP. I truly hope some very good news be headed your way!

Oh and I accepted the offer from Pitt 🥳

It's been a privilege 🫡 and thank you to all those who lent help and advice in my dms. Also, I'd totally pay it forward—if anyone needs an extra set of eyes on your CNF packet next year, or have questions, hit me up! I'll try pay back the good karma.

Edited to add final stats:

8A/4W/3R/0P

haha im waitlisted there for fiction and this gave me a heart attack before i realized youre cnf. good luck at Pitt!

[squarkshark]

Anyone who hasn’t heard back from Iowa it doesn’t hurt to call the Dey House phone number and ask about your status! Unless you really plan to ask for a refund…😂💖

P.S. coping with the director of my top program saying I’m runner up for funding… what are the odds 1 out of 7 turn down a spot before the 15th? This is so stressful!