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2024 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum


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6 minutes ago, 3feetofsnow said:

I’m down to Brown and Michigan (long shots to begin with) along with USC (still hoping…), Rutgers-Newark, Arizona and Georgia College. I’m trying to stay positive but it’s hard!

Newark, Tucson, and Zell also.

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43 minutes ago, saramsarang said:

Ahh same. The only schools I'm left to hear back from are Syracuse, UT Austin (Michener), Brown, Michigan, Iowa and NYU which honestly have the same likelihood as Cornell or JHU or any of the other rejections I've received so far. I've heard people say that if you've gotten one acceptance you're likely to get at least one more since your quality of work is good enough for the standards that these schools run in. So I'm just waiting for the rejections to pile up in my inbox at this point. 

I hope we receive just the one acceptance at least, it's all that I need honestly. So fingers crossed, hopefully it works out for us! Here's to hoping. 

Same plus UVA and a Hail Mary at Stegner that is feeling less likely than ever after my Rs from JHU, UW-Madison, Indiana and the soft R from Vandy 😬🫠

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Yeah, I applied to both Michener and NWP, and getting rejected from those would sting. They've already turned me down twice before, so I don't know why I'm still precious about it?

Also waiting on University of Houston, Brown, UVA, Oxford and Hunter. (Though those last two aren't funded, so I couldn't have afforded them anyway.)

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4 minutes ago, a moor said:

Question, What if you got a call about acceptance, then spoke to someone about the acceptance but have not gotten any formal letter via email or the portal for the school?

Some programs notify by call, some by email, either way the acceptance is valid

Edited by 3feetofsnow
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Wait that person reports getting into Vandy, Michener and Madison.... What kind of magic did they apply with? (I'm also a little skeptical @Scribe but trying not to believe the worst of draft? If you're going to troll, seems wild to pick a school that no one else has reported yet? But who knows.)

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Just now, lemmmein said:

Wait that person reports getting into Vandy, Michener and Madison.... What kind of magic did they apply with? (I'm also a little skeptical @Scribe but trying not to believe the worst of draft? If you're going to troll, seems wild to pick a school that no one else has reported yet? But who knows.)

but isn't that the way? it isn't going to have any effect if others have already reported.

they've reported here too and say they're international. so they're reporting a phone call at 930 EST which means, if they reported immediately, the call went out after 8 pm on a holiday in Texas. 

there's a lot of if's but i need to be skeptical. 

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10 minutes ago, Scribe said:

do we believe the Michener report?

 

4 minutes ago, lemmmein said:

Wait that person reports getting into Vandy, Michener and Madison.... What kind of magic did they apply with? (I'm also a little skeptical @Scribe but trying not to believe the worst of draft? If you're going to troll, seems wild to pick a school that no one else has reported yet? But who knows.)


I’m inclined to believe it, that person was the first to log their acceptances from both Madison and Vandy right before a wave of them hit so looks like they’re just quick on the trigger

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4 minutes ago, lemmmein said:

Wait that person reports getting into Vandy, Michener and Madison.... What kind of magic did they apply with? (I'm also a little skeptical @Scribe but trying not to believe the worst of draft? If you're going to troll, seems wild to pick a school that no one else has reported yet? But who knows.)

I know… it makes me feel real bad about my pattern vs theirs for this year. I feel like there’s not a whole lot of trollery on the draft spreadsheet but we should know over the next couple days as more news either comes out or doesn’t. 
 

I was going to go to this Center for Fiction event in Brooklyn this Weds but can’t bc childcare (not the important part of this story) and Lan Samantha Chang and Jamel Brinkley are going to be there and it’s making me wonder… are Iowa decisions just going to get pushed out indefinitely?

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5 minutes ago, lemmmein said:

Wait that person reports getting into Vandy, Michener and Madison.... What kind of magic did they apply with? (I'm also a little skeptical @Scribe but trying not to believe the worst of draft? If you're going to troll, seems wild to pick a school that no one else has reported yet? But who knows.)

Ahh ripp I feel like I spoke Michener into existence. But anyways, trolls on draft are very unlikely and that person seems have been the linchpin for all the other acceptances as well, so I'm inclined to believe we'll be seeing Michener decisions go out in the upcoming hours and days. Good luck to everyone, guess we'll just have to let it play out!

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Yeah, I'm inclined to believe it too, even though I don't want it to be so. I'd love to work with Elizabeth McCracken so much. Maybe they called early because this person isn't in US timezones? Would make sense that they'd not want to call in the middle of the night. Wow do I want a peek at their stories!

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7 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

I know… it makes me feel real bad about my pattern vs theirs for this year. I feel like there’s not a whole lot of trollery on the draft spreadsheet but we should know over the next couple days as more news either comes out or doesn’t. 
 

I was going to go to this Center for Fiction event in Brooklyn this Weds but can’t bc childcare (not the important part of this story) and Lan Samantha Chang and Jamel Brinkley are going to be there and it’s making me wonder… are Iowa decisions just going to get pushed out indefinitely?

just looked that up. going wouldn't help me at all though. 

Man, I have to go to bed. 

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12 minutes ago, lemmmein said:

Yeah, I'm inclined to believe it too, even though I don't want it to be so. I'd love to work with Elizabeth McCracken so much. Maybe they called early because this person isn't in US timezones? Would make sense that they'd not want to call in the middle of the night. Wow do I want a peek at their stories!

I know, right? I want to know what they did that I didn’t haha

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3 minutes ago, a moor said:

perhaps the elitism of IOWA should make people feel some sort of way other than wanting to go there?

Elitism? I’m not sure I’ve seen a school posted here that wouldn’t be considered elite. Iowa, however one feels about the particulars of the program, has earned its status. Honestly, my only issue with them is I feel they’re stingy. Otherwise I think they are easily in the top five. 

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Yeah I've read lots of books from Iowa grads that were just fantastic. Based on the quality of work I've read, I think the program has earned its competitiveness, but I also don't think it's miles beyond any of the other funded programs. It's just the one people outside the MFA world know about because of Girls/because it's the oldest I think?

Edit: ok on further consideration I'd agree it's in the top few, but the differences are just so slight.

Edited by lemmmein
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1 minute ago, lemmmein said:

Yeah I've read lots of books from Iowa grads that were just fantastic. Based on the quality of work I've read, I think the program has earned its competitiveness, but I also don't think it's miles beyond any of the other funded programs. It's just the one people outside the MFA world know about because of Girls/because it's the oldest I think?

Yeah, it’s the oldest. But people who have wanted an MFA since before Dunham was born are what kept their application numbers up. They’re beaten only by UT and JHU I think. 
and I absolutely agree about it being miles beyond them or even most others. 
malcolm gladwell is right that at some point rankings are stupid. 
but Iowa is past that point. 

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1 hour ago, Scribe said:

do we believe the Michener report?

Yes, I just spoke with someone with inside knowledge and apparently the have made decisions, but not sure if everyone is notified. They are taking a much, much smaller class than usual this year. Basically, I was just told they were impressed with the work, but I'm not getting in.  (Speaking about poetry here. Not sure about other genres.)

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1 hour ago, mr. specific said:

Yes, I just spoke with someone with inside knowledge and apparently the have made decisions, but not sure if everyone is notified. They are taking a much, much smaller class than usual this year. Basically, I was just told they were impressed with the work, but I'm not getting in.  (Speaking about poetry here. Not sure about other genres.)

How much smaller? Per their website, they admit a total of 12 each year: 3 in fiction, 3 poetry, 3 screenwriting, and 3 playwriting. How much smaller can it get? Are they now admitting only 2 per genre? 

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21 minutes ago, Chex said:

How much smaller? Per their website, they admit a total of 12 each year: 3 in fiction, 3 poetry, 3 screenwriting, and 3 playwriting. How much smaller can it get? Are they now admitting only 2 per genre? 

Sorry, I think my professor was mistaken and I passed on bad intel. They told me Michener only took 3 when they usually take 12. I assumed they meant for the whole program, but I guess three is the correct number for each genre. Anyway, I think it's safe to assume if you didn't get the call, count Michener out. Waitlists may still be forthcoming?

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24 minutes ago, Chex said:

How much smaller? Per their website, they admit a total of 12 each year: 3 in fiction, 3 poetry, 3 screenwriting, and 3 playwriting. How much smaller can it get? Are they now admitting only 2 per genre? 

^ my thoughts exactly... Really interested in what that means for the program. Are they cutting genres? Making it more interdisciplinary? The workshops would already only have 9 people per genres across all the cohorts. Would an even smaller workshop be good? Curious to see what comes through during TX business hours tomorrow.

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Just curious if anyone has applied to and is waiting to hear back from NCSU still! I know someone here/in Draft got a call from Belle Boggs last week for fiction, but so far that’s the only report I’ve seen so I’m wondering if maybe it was an early notification? Possibly just completely deluded at this point but wondering if anyone is in the same boat…

I’m still waiting on NCSU, Arizona Tucson, and SF State. :3 Yayyyyyy for all the acceptances!

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