2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Scribe]

3 hours ago, Hjanep said:

I think I’m right there with you. Just got off the NYU waitlist and saving money for another 1.5 years even at the job I hate sounds better than giving them a penny 

yup. 

[Chex]

8 hours ago, Hjanep said:

I think I’m right there with you. Just got off the NYU waitlist and saving money for another 1.5 years even at the job I hate sounds better than giving them a penny 

Sending you hugs and solidarity. It's tough but it feels right. We do this again and we do it better. 

[Hjanep]

6 hours ago, Chex said:

Sending you hugs and solidarity. It's tough but it feels right. We do this again and we do it better. 

Maybe we’ll land in the same fully funded place next year 🤞🏼

[Chex]

59 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

Maybe we’ll land in the same fully funded place next year 🤞🏼

🤞🏾 

[trenchywrench]

for those of you refusing to go into debt, I turned down both the offers i wound up getting.

one was for 50% tuition remission and no living stipend. super expensive area, super expensive tuition, and mandatory summers that i would have to pay for as well. the other was 100% tuition remission with a competitive teaching assistantship in a medium-priced area; however, that one also came with no stipend and i am unwilling to sacrifice the time i would be spending with my stepchildren to work 32-hour weekends and return to my program stressed and unfocused.

i decided to defer my 100% offer in case my circumstances change for next year. but i will also be working this year as i apply for the 2025 cycle and i already have a first-choice school in mind. good luck, everyone! i hope we all make it.

Edited April 25 by trenchywrench

[Scribe]

20 rejections. 
6 acceptances. 
 

and that’s the game baby. 

[picklesaa]

Have any waitlisters heard from NC State? The letter they sent in the beginning of March said "all waitlist positions will be resolved by May 1". I've reached out to them but it's been crickets... does anyone have any insights??

[mr. specific]

Following up with gratitude and final stats.

6 accepts, 3 waitlists, 8 rejects. It's been an thrilling, humiliating, and encouraging process. Would love to help others w their sample or statement stuff in the future. Lotsa love. 

[Chex]

7 hours ago, mr. specific said:

Following up with gratitude and final stats.

6 accepts, 3 waitlists, 8 rejects. It's been an thrilling, humiliating, and encouraging process. Would love to help others w their sample or statement stuff in the future. Lotsa love. 

Congratulations!! I'll probably take you up on this offer later in the year.  

Where did you decide to go? 

[Rixor]

I'll also follow up!

2 accepts, 3 waitlists, 5 rejections. Very excited to be going to one of my initial acceptances! 

It's been a distressing process--lots of worry, lots of waiting, lots of uncertainty, and--of course--lots of money spent on application fees. Writing was my minor in undergrad (my major was biology) and the English director at my school said it 'wasn't really possible' for someone to go to MFA school with a non-English-related major. Very glad he was wrong! 

When I started this process, I was clueless and read the previous year's thread obsessively in trying to figure out what to do. I'm a first-gen student so I didn't have anybody in person to reach out to. So, advice for newcomers who might see this in the future doing the same: join the Facebook Draft group. It'll be called something like, "MFA Draft ‘25" and I really wish I would've joined sooner because it certainly seems to be the 'hub' for info regarding MFA CW applications.

And feel free to message me if you need any help or have any questions. I'm certainly not an expert or anything, but I'll share my SOP and stuff if asked. I probably won't use this site much anymore but I'll probably be on draft, or, my Discord is the same as my username here. 

 

[picklesaa]

I reached out on Draft already and figured I'd reach out here as well just in case --

I recently accepted Emerson's offer and I would love to connect with anyone else who has also committed! I'd be down just to chat and get to know the cohort, or if any female-identifying folks are interested in a roommate situation, I would love to talk more! Feel free to message me

[itsbeensnowing]

Shout-out to Southern Illinois University for taking until today, May 17th, to reject me (I had already taken it as a presumed rejection but like... how?)

[Jane Wyman]

Curious if anyone here has heard about someone dropping out of a program and getting into another one? If you get buyer's remorse re: your program, is it possible to get into a more competitive one later, or have you kind of made your bed?

[Chex]

3 hours ago, Jane Wyman said:

Curious if anyone here has heard about someone dropping out of a program and getting into another one? If you get buyer's remorse re: your program, is it possible to get into a more competitive one later, or have you kind of made your bed?

Yes. A good number of people have mentioned leaving one program for another. Some apply while still at the old program. Some drop out, wait a few years, and then reapply. In both cases, they did not finish the original MFA. I know of people who left their old programs and got into Iowa, Michigan, Syracuse, Arizona U, Vanderbilt, UW-Madison, etc.

What I hear some MFA programs frown at is *completing* your MFA and then seeking a redo in *the same genre* somewhere else. That's usually hard to justify. Different genres are possible at another school, though not common. For instance, someone finished a poetry MFA at Iowa and is currently at Minnesota for fiction. But also, Brown University doesn't like applications from people who already have or started an MFA elsewhere regardless of genre, unless you include a note explaining the special circumstances that led you to reapply.

Edited June 17 by Chex

[Jane Wyman]

2 hours ago, Chex said:

Yes. A good number of people have mentioned leaving one program for another. Some apply while still at the old program. Some drop out, wait a few years, and then reapply. In both cases, they did not finish the original MFA. I know of people who left their old programs and got into Iowa, Michigan, Syracuse, Arizona U, Vanderbilt, UW-Madison, etc.

What I hear some MFA programs frown at is *completing* your MFA and then seeking a redo in *the same genre* somewhere else. That's usually hard to justify. Different genres are possible at another school, though not common. For instance, someone finished a poetry MFA at Iowa and is currently at Minnesota for fiction. But also, Brown University doesn't like applications from people who already have or started an MFA elsewhere regardless of genre, unless you include a note explaining the special circumstances that led you to reapply.

Wow, thank you, that's great to know. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

So, other than Brown, most programs are not that skeptical of people who didn't finish a program elsewhere? Where should I look to find out application strategies related to this?

[Chex]

3 hours ago, Jane Wyman said:

Wow, thank you, that's great to know. I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

So, other than Brown, most programs are not that skeptical of people who didn't finish a program elsewhere? Where should I look to find out application strategies related to this?

Yes, I'd say most programs are fine with it.

Are you in the MFA Draft group on Facebook? Lots of veterans are there and can answer this question (application strategies) from their own personal experience of leaving and getting into another program. You'd probably get more answers on the Draft '24 page since there are over a thousand people there, although it might be more appropriate to ask in the new group, Draft '25, recently created for those who'll be applying this fall. More people will join the new group as the summer and fall progress.

Edited June 17 by Chex

[Jane Wyman]

Thanks so much!