2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Hjanep]

16 minutes ago, jadedoptimist said:

Hjanep (not sure about their genre!) asked last week and someone got back saying it was "in faculty hands" meaning they have eliminated the vast majority of apps and decisions could be coming soon.

Fiction!

[Hjanep]

2 hours ago, 3feetofsnow said:

Oh for sure, even regular weekends are usually dry spells.

But also don’t these faculty members need to meet and call outside of regular class hours? I’m feeling weirdly hopeful for some calls over the next few days with Feb breaks. 

[3feetofsnow]

4 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

But also don’t these faculty members need to meet and call outside of regular class hours? I’m feeling weirdly hopeful for some calls over the next few days with Feb breaks. 

I’m not sure tbh! And outside of regular hours doesn’t necessarily mean weekends, I’d imagine if that was common most faculty would decline to take on the responsibility. But I know that it’s happened before, it’s just rare

Edited February 18 by 3feetofsnow

[Scribe]

4 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

But also don’t these faculty members need to meet and call outside of regular class hours? I’m feeling weirdly hopeful for some calls over the next few days with Feb breaks. 

That's fine, but remember there are breaks and we don't know what we don't know. Assume nothing. If you don't get calls, it doesn't meant other people are. 

[3feetofsnow]

Honestly I’d rather wait the extra few days and know that they are looking at all the apps with fresh eyes and able to give them all careful consideration. I wouldn’t want mine to be the application they’re reading through while wishing they were anywhere else, doing anything else

Edited February 18 by 3feetofsnow

[BarryDairy]

On 2/16/2024 at 6:00 PM, messindistress said:

Hi all. Been scrolling through the thread for a couple days now and I just decided to sign up. 😕

I applied to a lot of schools with a speculative fiction writing piece (it's the only genre I'm able to write in) and so far all I've been getting are rejects haha. Can't help but wonder if it was one of the worst life decisions I made.

Anyway, congrats to all who got the good news.

Not a terrible decision! I am also a speculative fiction writer and editor! I got in to a school that wasn't one of the spec fic friendly ones and all my samples are spec fic of varying genres (horror, fantasy, science fiction). Not a mistake whatsoever to submit within the genre you write, especially if it's the genre you write well in. Fingers crossed you get good news soon!

I have noticed an interesting thing with grad candidates who do write speculative fiction in their programs, they tend to not call it spec fic and will often give it a more 'appealing' lofty genre title to avoid being lumped into spec fic. It works well enough in the grad program and not so well when they try to publish outside their program or school mags. 

Edited February 18 by BarryDairy

[3feetofsnow]

@jadedoptimist if it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me if South Carolina acceptances (and/or waitlists) were very spread out in the ‘23 cycle? I’m seeing two acceptances logged in this year’s spreadsheet and am wondering how hopeful I should be

Edited February 18 by 3feetofsnow

[jadedoptimist]

2 minutes ago, 3feetofsnow said:

@jadedoptimist if it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me if South Carolina acceptances were very spread out in the ‘23 cycle? I’m seeing two acceptances logged in this year’s spreadsheet and am wondering how hopeful I should be

Sure! There are four entries for USC: an acceptance from 1/19 (fic), and three waitlists all sent 2/21 (two fic, one poetry). So there could still be waitlists coming.

[3feetofsnow]

4 minutes ago, jadedoptimist said:

Sure! There are four entries for USC: an acceptance from 1/19 (fic), and three waitlists all sent 2/21 (two fic, one poetry). So there could still be waitlists coming.

Thank you!

[DayOld711Pizza]

Hey y'aaall I drank too much coffee lololol

Hope everyone is doing okay this weekend. Been lurking for a while but wanted to join in on the fun :^) It is an annoying stressful feeling to not have heard back from any schools yet, but it is kind of fun too, this suspense, and it will be all the more fun if I end up getting accepted somewhere lolol.

This is my third time applying. Last year I was waitlisted in one school, to no avail, and was given a nice note by my top choice that their readers liked my writing "very much" and hoped I would apply again if I didn't land anywhere. 

I really really hope I am accepted this year. I let myself fantasize about getting that phone call. If I don't get it I will be sad but of course there is no other option for me but to try again. I don't know if I shot myself in the foot or not but I only applied to two schools because those are the only ones that really call to me. Good luck to us all, yaaay.

[BarryDairy]

29 minutes ago, DayOld711Pizza said:

Hey y'aaall I drank too much coffee lololol

Hope everyone is doing okay this weekend. Been lurking for a while but wanted to join in on the fun :^) It is an annoying stressful feeling to not have heard back from any schools yet, but it is kind of fun too, this suspense, and it will be all the more fun if I end up getting accepted somewhere lolol.

This is my third time applying. Last year I was waitlisted in one school, to no avail, and was given a nice note by my top choice that their readers liked my writing "very much" and hoped I would apply again if I didn't land anywhere. 

I really really hope I am accepted this year. I let myself fantasize about getting that phone call. If I don't get it I will be sad but of course there is no other option for me but to try again. I don't know if I shot myself in the foot or not but I only applied to two schools because those are the only ones that really call to me. Good luck to us all, yaaay.

Hey, welcome! I also only applied to 2 schools this year. I didn't want to spend hundreds on application fees and so focused on just the 2 that called to me and I (thought) I had a good chance with getting in. I am a tad envious of the people who were able to apply to 7+ schools. That's so impressive!

Good luck on your application cycle!

Edited February 18 by BarryDairy

[Scribe]

21 minutes ago, BarryDairy said:

Hey, welcome! I also only applied to 2 schools this year. I didn't want to spend hundreds on application fees and so focused on just the 2 that called to me and I (thought) I had a good chance with getting in. I am a tad envious of the people who were able to apply to 7+ schools. That's so impressive!

Good luck on your application cycle!

We're impressed by your huge balls. 

[DayOld711Pizza]

52 minutes ago, BarryDairy said:

Hey, welcome! I also only applied to 2 schools this year. I didn't want to spend hundreds on application fees and so focused on just the 2 that called to me and I (thought) I had a good chance with getting in. I am a tad envious of the people who were able to apply to 7+ schools. That's so impressive!

Good luck on your application cycle!

Thank youu good luck to you too homie

[triciadawn]

Just got my Ole Miss rejection. 🥳 I went to high school in Oxford, so it stings a little. 
 

not to diss the program or take away from anyone who made it to round 2 but what are they looking for exactly? I went to their info sesh and they just look for “quality work.” I workshopped with my prof who told me I would get in for sure. I also read alumni work which was so similar to my own work. Really frustrating when your best still isn’t enough. I’m scared Iowa and Michigan are definite long shots now. 
 

Congrats to all phase 2 contenders! 

Edited February 18 by triciadawn
autocorrect

[3feetofsnow]

15 minutes ago, triciadawn said:

Just got my Ole Miss rejection. 🥳 I went to high school in Oxford, so it stings a little. 
 

not to diss the program or take away from anyone who made it to round 2 but what are they looking for exactly? I went to their info sesh and they just look for “quality work.” I workshopped with my prof who told me I would get in for sure. I also read alumni work which was so similar to my own work. Really frustrating when your best still isn’t enough. I’m scared Iowa and Michigan are definite long shots now. 
 

Congrats to all phase 2 contenders! 

I looked at a lot of advice articles while applying, and from those posts it seems that sometimes having writers who are too similar isn’t desirable. Having diversity in styles can make peer review better because someone who writes more similarly to you might have a harder time critiquing your work. Basically they said it’s a crapshoot because you never know what other people are bringing to the table. A lot of it is down to the particular tastes of the readers and the particular pool of applicants, which are of course impossible to predict. Hopefully the As will start rolling in soon!

[prufrock_]

6 minutes ago, triciadawn said:

Just got my Ole Miss rejection. 🥳 I went to high school in Oxford, so it stings a little. 
 

not to diss the program or take away from anyone who made it to round 2 but what are they looking for exactly? I went to their info sesh and they just look for “quality work.” I workshopped with my prof who told me I would get in for sure. I also read alumni work which was so similar to my own work. Really frustrating when your best still isn’t enough. I’m scared Iowa and Michigan are definite long shots now. 
 

Congrats to all phase 2 contenders! 

I'm sorry you didn't make it to round two. All you need is one acceptance, Iowa or Michigan are still just as likely as before! Each program is a subjective process. No one is going to make it into every program they apply for, but each rejection still hurts.

I made it to round two. If it helps any, for context, I submitted two 10ish page short stories -- one is kind of a straight new sincerity piece and the other is comedic satire - the last being a gamble that's earned me a few rejections so far. 3feetofsnow summed up my thoughts on the entire process, re: diversity of style, and 'luck'.

[Scribe]

1 minute ago, triciadawn said:

Just got my Ole Miss rejection. 🥳 I went to high school in Oxford, so it stings a little. 
 

not to diss the program or take away from anyone who made it to round 2 but what are they looking for exactly? I went to their info sesh and they just look for “quality work.” I workshopped with my prof who told me I would get in for sure. I also read alumni work which was so similar to my own work. Really frustrating when your best still isn’t enough. I’m scared Iowa and Michigan are definite long shots now. 
 

Congrats to all phase 2 contenders! 

The problem is, no one is looking for anything exactly. I'm a bit surprised at your professor; nothing is for sure. Iowa and Michigan were always long shots - for everyone. this whole game is a long shot. 

what that means is that you can't believe your best isn't "enough". it just doesn't work that way. 

You can skip to about 18:45 if you want if you want context, look her up. 

it's not about how "good" you are. 

[Scribe]

22 minutes ago, 3feetofsnow said:

I looked at a lot of advice articles while applying, and from those posts it seems that sometimes having writers who are too similar isn’t desirable. Having diversity in styles can make peer review better because someone who writes more similarly to you might have a harder time critiquing your work. Basically they said it’s a crapshoot because you never know what other people are bringing to the table. A lot of it is down to the particular tastes of the readers and the particular pool of applicants, which are of course impossible to predict. Hopefully the As will start rolling in soon!

This has been posted about on Draft as well. There is sometimes an architecture to a cohort. For example, one reason a waitlist might not be ranked is because the faculty is waiting to see who drops out. depending on that acceptie's attributes, a decision is made about which alternate to contact. 

10 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

I'm sorry you didn't make it to round two. All you need is one acceptance, Iowa or Michigan are still just as likely as before! Each program is a subjective process. No one is going to make it into every program they apply for, but each rejection still hurts.

I made it to round two. If it helps any, for context, I submitted two 10ish page short stories -- one is kind of a straight new sincerity piece and the other is comedic satire - the last being a gamble that's earned me a few rejections so far. 3feetofsnow summed up my thoughts on the entire process, re: diversity of style, and 'luck'.

Prufrock is absolutely correct. your odds don't change based on other results. He's wrong about his gamble causing the rejections. the fact is we can't know why. 

this is NOT a reflection on talent or skill or anything else. and when you think about it, that's too bad. 

[3feetofsnow]

2 minutes ago, Scribe said:

This has been posted about on Draft as well. There is sometimes an architecture to a cohort. For example, one reason a waitlist might not be ranked is because the faculty is waiting to see who drops out. depending on that acceptie's attributes, a decision is made about which alternate to contact. 

Prufrock is absolutely correct. your odds don't change based on other results. He's wrong about his gamble causing the rejections. the fact is we can't know why. 

this is NOT a reflection on talent or skill or anything else. and when you think about it, that's too bad. 

I don’t know, I actually think that’s a good thing. Otherwise you’d get the same people accepted into every program in the same exact order and just go down the list, and talent and skill are so subjective that you can’t really quantify them or decide who’s incontrovertibly “the best.”

[itsbeensnowing]

Does anyone know if getting an MA in creative writing would hurt my chances of being able to get an MFA later on? I have an acceptance at a 1 year MA program, but if attending that would close the door on being able to do an MFA somewhere down the line, I'd probably rather just wait another year and apply next cycle if I don't get into any MFAs this time around.

[3feetofsnow]

2 minutes ago, itsbeensnowing said:

Does anyone know if getting an MA in creative writing would hurt my chances of being able to get an MFA later on? I have an acceptance at a 1 year MA program, but if attending that would close the door on being able to do an MFA somewhere down the line, I'd probably rather just wait another year and apply next cycle if I don't get into any MFAs this time around.

There are definitely some schools that don’t allow you to pursue an MFA with an MA, while some let you progress through the MFA program more quickly if you have one. You’d have to look at or contact the particular MFA programs you’re interested in to see what their policies are.

also, hello fellow snow-themed username!

Edited February 18 by 3feetofsnow

[Scribe]

6 minutes ago, 3feetofsnow said:

I don’t know, I actually think that’s a good thing. Otherwise you’d get the same people accepted into every program in the same exact order and just go down the list, and talent and skill are so subjective that you can’t really quantify them or decide who’s incontrovertibly “the best.”

no and yes. I'm not really thinking about best to worst. you're exactly right about subjectivity and quantification, but/or maybe because of that, even in phd programs for the hard sciences, it doesn't work out that everyone is ranked in the same order. it certainly doesn't mean the top instructors are at the top schools or that you'll do "better" in the "better" school.

but it a process that often runs in yearly heats, it might be nice to cross some programs off your list or - if i'm honest - cross off all the programs and stick with wearing the hardhat. 

[3feetofsnow]

9 minutes ago, Scribe said:

no and yes. I'm not really thinking about best to worst. you're exactly right about subjectivity and quantification, but/or maybe because of that, even in phd programs for the hard sciences, it doesn't work out that everyone is ranked in the same order. it certainly doesn't mean the top instructors are at the top schools or that you'll do "better" in the "better" school.

but it a process that often runs in yearly heats, it might be nice to cross some programs off your list or - if i'm honest - cross off all the programs and stick with wearing the hardhat. 

Right, I think it’s a feature of having the writing sample weighted so strongly over every other aspect of the application, that being the most subjective component. Even people who review writing for a living often can’t agree on the relative quality of different authors’ works (or even multiple works from the same author)! Whereas with science programs, many of the things that matter most to the app reviewers are already quantified for them. I agree it would be nice to have an idea of where you stand, and I do think there’s at least some degree of predictability if you were to go in and do a quantitative analysis of the spreadsheet each year, but not enough to really give any individual applicant an idea of their chances at any particular school. But at least it allows those of us with multiple rejections to hold onto hope!

[Scribe]

11 minutes ago, itsbeensnowing said:

Does anyone know if getting an MA in creative writing would hurt my chances of being able to get an MFA later on? I have an acceptance at a 1 year MA program, but if attending that would close the door on being able to do an MFA somewhere down the line, I'd probably rather just wait another year and apply next cycle if I don't get into any MFAs this time around.

doubtful. i can't say for sure but in the link i posted above were two PhD's who went for MFA's. Some schools do want a ba in a related field, some don't care at all. i would bet dollars to donuts the overwhelming majority of programs, like 99% wouldn't care. 

and if you knew who they were, don't tell them. 

[Scribe]

14 minutes ago, 3feetofsnow said:

Right, I think it’s a feature of having the writing sample weighted so strongly over every other aspect of the application, that being the most subjective component. Even people who review writing for a living often can’t agree on the relative quality of different authors’ works (or even multiple works from the same author)! Whereas with science programs, many of the things that matter most to the app reviewers are already quantified for them. I agree it would be nice to have an idea of where you stand, and I do think there’s at least some degree of predictability if you were to go in and do a quantitative analysis of the spreadsheet each year, but not enough to really give any individual applicant an idea of their chances at any particular school. But at least it allows those of us with multiple rejections to hold onto hope!

bingo. all of this. 

i wonder if that urban legend is true: every now and then some smart ass types up a classic novel, sends it out to publishers and agents, and watches it get roundly rejected. 

let's not forget timing. I'm not the same writer I was last year. 

 

{fun fact while i wait for the delay: last year there were 492 responses on the draft spreadsheet. as of now, we're up to 463}