2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[ssuunn]

2 hours ago, airlinefood_enjoyer said:

UIUC (university of Illinois)! Congrats on Oregon!

Congrats!!! UIUC was my top choice, but I went with my gut on Oregon. Turns out, they only accepted 1 from the waitlist for poetry, so it wouldn't have mattered anyways! 

[sunnysequoia]

10 hours ago, lychees said:

I've officially accepted my offer from the University of Minnesota (and declined my Ohio State offer, so I hope someone on the waitlist receives good news soon)! That finishes this cycle at 6a/1w/4r. Wishing you all the best in the coming days, thank you for all the support ❤️

So happy for you, congratulations!!! I still haven’t heard from any of my waitlists, including Minnesota and Ohio State. Continuing to wait with bated breath over the next 24 hours 😭

[jadedoptimist]

I am so excited for everybody tonite!! Ahhhh!! Big moves. Happy for all committing!

[airlinefood_enjoyer]

15 hours ago, airlinefood_enjoyer said:

Just got my first acceptance! ... From the very first school I heard from back in January 😂 my fellow waitlist warriors, now is our time 😄

And just got my second acceptance! ... From the second school I heard from back in January 😂 (Ohio State)... a very big decision to make in a short time but I suppose there's much worse problems to have 

[Jjt143]

I got an email last night (around 9 pm PT) with an offer to Iowa nonfiction, and a follow up this morning requesting my decision by 4:30 pm Central time today. Essentially 16 hours to decide. Is this standard for admission from waitlist? At this point, I’m leaning towards accepting even with all the outstanding questions I have. Worst case scenario, would there be anything technically preventing me from backing out closer to summer? Other than burning a bridge and knowing I’d never have another chance to attend Iowa. Any thoughts/info would be appreciated given the tight deadline. 

Edited April 15, 2024 by Jjt143

[sunnysequoia]

On 4/14/2024 at 8:10 AM, lychees said:

I've officially accepted my offer from the University of Minnesota (and declined my Ohio State offer, so I hope someone on the waitlist receives good news soon)! That finishes this cycle at 6a/1w/4r. Wishing you all the best in the coming days, thank you for all the support ❤️

 @lychees I guess after you declined, they moved on to me because I JUST GOT AN OFFER FROM OHIO STATE 😭😭😭 OH MY FREAKING GOD I CANT BELIEVE I FINALLY GOT OFF A WAITLIST IM SO EXCITED 😀😭😀😭😀😭 

1 hour ago, Jjt143 said:

I got an email last night (around 9 pm PT) with an offer to Iowa nonfiction, and a follow up this morning requesting my decision by 4:30 pm Central time today. Essentially 16 hours to decide. Is this standard for admission from waitlist? At this point, I’m leaning towards accepting even with all the outstanding questions I have. Worst case scenario, would there be anything technically preventing me from backing out closer to summer? Other than burning a bridge and knowing I’d never have another chance to attend Iowa. Any thoughts/info would be appreciated given the tight deadline. 

Ask them for an extension!!! Ohio State emailed me this morning and I have until Wednesday at 11:59pm to make my decision. Definitely get all your questions answered first.

[trenchywrench]

I just got accepted by a program, but they told me more information about the teaching assistantship is forthcoming (by the end of April) and are allowing me to decide whether or not I want to attend on May 1st. I’m still on the NYU waitlist as well. Looks like I may be going somewhere this year after all!

[Sumire11]

18 minutes ago, trenchywrench said:

I just got accepted by a program, but they told me more information about the teaching assistantship is forthcoming (by the end of April) and are allowing me to decide whether or not I want to attend on May 1st. I’m still on the NYU waitlist as well. Looks like I may be going somewhere this year after all!

Congrats. May I ask where you got accepted?

[trenchywrench]

1 minute ago, Sumire11 said:

Congrats. May I ask where you got accepted?

Southern in Connecticut. They take 6 poets and 6 fiction writers a year and their program is pretty new, having been around since 2009, so they weren’t on my radar at all initially. I’m really considering going this year.

[pananoprodigy]

Congrats to everyone hearing from their waitlists! Has anyone gotten their university of Oregon rejection yet?? 

[lychees]

1 hour ago, sunnysequoia said:

 @lychees I guess after you declined, they moved on to me because I JUST GOT AN OFFER FROM OHIO STATE 😭😭😭 OH MY FREAKING GOD I CANT BELIEVE I FINALLY GOT OFF A WAITLIST IM SO EXCITED 😀😭😀😭😀😭 

Ahhhh!!! I am so thrilled for you! Ohio State is an absolutely fantastic program —  if you end up going, I hope you have a fabulous three years ❤️ 

[decayingballads21]

A school that rejected me reached out today to say that I was a finalist and they MIGHT have a spot for me as they are trying to take on a few more writers, but likely won’t be able to confirm until closer to June. “After the national deadline”
 

has this ever happened before? Is it too good to be true? 
 

What a wild day it’s been

[Hjanep]

7 minutes ago, decayingballads21 said:

A school that rejected me reached out today to say that I was a finalist and they MIGHT have a spot for me as they are trying to take on a few more writers, but likely won’t be able to confirm until closer to June. “After the national deadline”
 

has this ever happened before? Is it too good to be true? 
 

What a wild day it’s been

Omg I fantasize about this all the time. Love to see it could happen!

[Jane Wyman]

A school that I declined just reached out to ask which program I chose and why I declined. Is this a standard question to ask?

I would like to maintain a good relationship with them, but this feels a little intrusive. Not sure of the etiquette and would love advice.

[sunnysequoia]

14 minutes ago, Jane Wyman said:

A school that I declined just reached out to ask which program I chose and why I declined. Is this a standard question to ask?

I would like to maintain a good relationship with them, but this feels a little intrusive. Not sure of the etiquette and would love advice.

I've heard this is pretty standard. It's mostly so they know how they can improve to attract candidates in the future.  Of course, only share if you feel comfortable! 

[Scribe]

11 minutes ago, Jane Wyman said:

A school that I declined just reached out to ask which program I chose and why I declined. Is this a standard question to ask?

I would like to maintain a good relationship with them, but this feels a little intrusive. Not sure of the etiquette and would love advice.

It's not unheard of and unless you get douchey about it (like I did that one time) I doubt it will make any difference in your life going forward. 
As far as it being intrusive, are you not asked about this sort of thing all the time?
How was your experience shopping at home depot today? did you find everything you were looking for?

How likely are you to recommend Peter Pan Peanut Butter to a friend?

Was your customer service representative polite? were they able to answer your question?

Please describe your Amazon delivery experience? Would you lie to thank your driver? (Always say yes.)

This is no different. Programs want to know who and what they're competing with. I've learned a lot this year, one of the biggest things was how little these programs know about each other. When asked, I told them. I was kind and honest. (Except for that one time.) 

I'm actually going to email a couple of governors. 

[Sumire11]

Hi everyone. Really excited to see all the good news everyone is getting. And for those of you still in the waitlist limbo, hang in there

I wanted to ask, does anyone have any intel on Arkansas (fiction)? I'm waitlisted there, and based on my conversations with other waitlisters, Arkansas has been a black hole so far as far as any information goes. Any intel (including whether you have accepted an offer from there or turned them down) would be hugely appreciated.

[katerinamoon]

Got accepted off the waitlist at Ole Miss! (And declined my spot on UTK's waitlist, so hopefully that helps someone else out!)

[prufrock_]

1 hour ago, katerinamoon said:

Got accepted off the waitlist at Ole Miss! (And declined my spot on UTK's waitlist, so hopefully that helps someone else out!)

Congratulations!!

 

If you don't mind answering, is this for fiction? I'm also curious if you had spoken with the department much while on the wait list? (i'm waitlisted there but didn't reach out other than an initial thanks, so i wanna increase my chances next year if I'm in the same position again, hah!)

 

 

[katerinamoon]

11 hours ago, prufrock_ said:

Congratulations!!

 

If you don't mind answering, is this for fiction? I'm also curious if you had spoken with the department much while on the wait list? (i'm waitlisted there but didn't reach out other than an initial thanks, so i wanna increase my chances next year if I'm in the same position again, hah!)

 

 

Yes, it's for fiction. If you mean the Ole Miss department, yes -- they were very communicative. But, I was also informed from the get-go that I was near the top of the list, so that might be why. 

If you mean UTK -- radio silence from them since the waitlist email, and I haven't gotten any reply to my email taking myself off the waitlist.

The Ole Miss dept. seem like decent folks and I appreciated how open they were with me. Feel free to shoot me a message if you wanna talk more in depth

[prufrock_]

university of oregon has finally declined my admissions... for fall 2021

[pananoprodigy]

1 hour ago, prufrock_ said:

university of oregon has finally declined my admissions... for fall 2021

Same LOL - maybe there’s still hope for 2024 😂

[prele]

new to this forum but i also just got off the waitlist for ohio state w/ t/a fellowship! so excited. I'm still waiting on some other waitlists, does anyone have information on Columbia's? Or know when they usually come out?

 

edit: in fiction to specify

Edited April 17, 2024 by prele

[sunnysequoia]

2 hours ago, prele said:

new to this forum but i also just got off the waitlist for ohio state w/ t/a fellowship! so excited. I'm still waiting on some other waitlists, does anyone have information on Columbia's? Or know when they usually come out?

 

edit: in fiction to specify

Congratulations!!! They also offered me a fellowship and I was shocked because it was completely unexpected hahaha. I'm very likely accepting and am so excited too  

[prele]

9 hours ago, sunnysequoia said:

Congratulations!!! They also offered me a fellowship and I was shocked because it was completely unexpected hahaha. I'm very likely accepting and am so excited too  

Congrats to u as well!! Maybe I will see u there