2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Mystic_Sunshine]

On 12/12/2024 at 11:01 PM, Zoef said:

Very likely someone else has asked this question, so sorry if this is a repeat!

Has anyone else been unsure of being under page count? Most programs I’m applying to have a max for the writing sample, but some give a range of 30-40. If I feel best about my 20 pages, should I risk being under the page count? Or do I add another story that I don’t believe in as much?

I went under for every single one except for the programs that specified at least two short stories.  

[zaira]

31 minutes ago, Mystic_Sunshine said:

I went under for every single one except for the programs that specified at least two short stories.  

Yep, same here. I submitted the same two samples for every program (about 20 pages total) regardless of max page count. Adcoms seem to prefer candidates who lean, well, "lean" than candidates who pad out pages. 

[Mystic_Sunshine]

Just wanted to say im crying because I've been so nervous about making a mistake on my applications. 

I made it today! Ahhh. It's just one school but I accidently uploaded the draft version of my biographical statement.

that said "At the heart of my pursuits is to do something"...WELP guess I can expect that rejection. 

[zaira]

1 hour ago, Mystic_Sunshine said:

Just wanted to say im crying because I've been so nervous about making a mistake on my applications. 

I made it today! Ahhh. It's just one school but I accidently uploaded the draft version of my biographical statement.

that said "At the heart of my pursuits is to do something"...WELP guess I can expect that rejection. 

Okay, I know this is so stressful, but it's moments like this when you just gotta laugh a little. That placeholder is fantastic. 

You can and should email the program ASAP to see if you can replace that statement with the real one. Shit happens. You're not the first or the last to make this exact mistake. Worst case the admissions department says you can't swap it out and you'll be in the same position you are now. Best case, they give you the opportunity to swap. 

FWIW, really, truly, the statements are a small part of the application. Don't sweat it. If your samples are amazing this isn't gonna matter, I promise. 

[Mystic_Sunshine]

1 minute ago, zaira said:

Okay, I know this is so stressful, but it's moments like this when you just gotta laugh a little. That placeholder is fantastic. 

You can and should email the program ASAP to see if you can replace that statement with the real one. Shit happens. You're not the first or the last to make this exact mistake. Worst case the admissions department says you can't swap it out and you'll be in the same position you are now. Best case, they give you the opportunity to swap. 

FWIW, really, truly, the statements are a small part of the application. Don't sweat it. If your samples are amazing this isn't gonna matter, I promise. 

Thank you for the words of encouragement because I feel like a dumb donut right now lol. 

Hopefully in a few months I can laugh about it!

[Madam_Mina]

New to the thread here. This is my first time applying and I've so far applied to Alabama, Brown, JHU, Iowa, ASU, and UMich. I'm also planning to apply to IU Bloomington, Boise State, and UNLV, too. The patiently (or not so patiently) waiting anxiety begins.

Is there any thread or tab with all of the decision dates from previous years? From those who have applied before, do the days change drastically between years?

To those trying to pull it together for all of those December 15th deadlines today, good luck!

[prufrock_]

40 minutes ago, Madam_Mina said:

New to the thread here. This is my first time applying and I've so far applied to Alabama, Brown, JHU, Iowa, ASU, and UMich. I'm also planning to apply to IU Bloomington, Boise State, and UNLV, too. The patiently (or not so patiently) waiting anxiety begins.

Is there any thread or tab with all of the decision dates from previous years? From those who have applied before, do the days change drastically between years?

To those trying to pull it together for all of those December 15th deadlines today, good luck!

I use this https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/?q=&sort=newest&institution=&program=&degree=MFA&season= - just searching for mfa, so some incorrect results are included. you can play around with serch terms to find what works best for you.

 

Also there's a facebook group called 'draft mfa '25' and there's 'draft mfa 24' etc, going backward, and they maintain a crowd sourced spreadsheet of responses that has quite a bit more data.

 

Based off last year, the programs did stay mostly aligned with their previous time frames.

Edited Sunday at 09:21 PM by prufrock_
fixed link

[cosmo_vitelli_M1]

Anyone know if Interfolio is compatible with UNC Greensboro's app? They cancelled my letter deliveries there, but they also cancelled one of my three UT deliveries for no reason, so I am not sure what's up.

[AyvaM]

Hello all!

I've been lurking on previous threads the past few weeks in an effort to get my application questions answered by those of you who have been here before, but I figured it was time to finally make an account and say hi. This is my first time applying to MFAs and I'm applying to 9 programs (!!) for Fall. This feels like a big number to me - and has been a terrible amount of essay writing, but the math on how many acceptances versus applications (~1-5%???) made it seem like I should aim wide just in case. I'm a poet and have a few publications but nothing particularly big or marketable to MFAs, if those are things they care about. In case anyone would like this info, my hopefuls are: Vanderbilt, Michener (UT Austin), Wash U in St. Louis, Randolph College, UC Irvine, Iowa WW, John Hopkins, UMich (Helen Zell), and Pittsburgh. 

Anyway, I keep vacillating between these two extreme spirals, one being that I get into NONE of the programs I applied to (or maybe worse in a way, get into solely the single non-funded one I applied to and then can't go because of money), and the other extreme of thinking that my writing sample is so stellar that surely EVERY school will want me, even Iowa despite the fact that I earnestly doubt I'm "marketable" enough for them. Just swinging between constant self-doubt and extreme unearned self-confidence lol. 🥲 I am possibly losing my mind. Is this relatable? Whatever. All my applications are in so now it's in the devil's hands.

[Chex]

2 hours ago, AyvaM said:

Hello all!

I've been lurking on previous threads the past few weeks in an effort to get my application questions answered by those of you who have been here before, but I figured it was time to finally make an account and say hi. This is my first time applying to MFAs and I'm applying to 9 programs (!!) for Fall. This feels like a big number to me - and has been a terrible amount of essay writing, but the math on how many acceptances versus applications (~1-5%???) made it seem like I should aim wide just in case. I'm a poet and have a few publications but nothing particularly big or marketable to MFAs, if those are things they care about. In case anyone would like this info, my hopefuls are: Vanderbilt, Michener (UT Austin), Wash U in St. Louis, Randolph College, UC Irvine, Iowa WW, John Hopkins, UMich (Helen Zell), and Pittsburgh. 

Anyway, I keep vacillating between these two extreme spirals, one being that I get into NONE of the programs I applied to (or maybe worse in a way, get into solely the single non-funded one I applied to and then can't go because of money), and the other extreme of thinking that my writing sample is so stellar that surely EVERY school will want me, even Iowa despite the fact that I earnestly doubt I'm "marketable" enough for them. Just swinging between constant self-doubt and extreme unearned self-confidence lol. 🥲 I am possibly losing my mind. Is this relatable? Whatever. All my applications are in so now it's in the devil's hands.

In the devil's hand indeed! 😅😃

Welcome, Ayva. It's good to have you here. And congrats on submitting all of your applications. We have Vandy, Hopkins, WashU, and Pittsburgh in common. 

These anxieties and emotional ups and downs are normal. Yes, the chances are notoriously low, but you never know, you might be part of the anointed few, so go wild and shoot hard! I don't think marketability is all that important to these programs. Many applicants report getting in without having ever been published before, so don't let that bother you much. As for your fears and extreme spirals, well, that happened to me last year. I applied to 12 programs and got rejected from all but one of them. And can you believe that the only school I got into (NYU) was the one not-automatically-fully-funded program on my list? They offered me a half-tuition waiver but I wasn't going to bite. Cried my eyes out and everything, but I'm here again now. 

You've done your best and that's a lot to be proud of. Time now for others to decide. Fingers crossed it all works out beautifully. Holding your hands in solidarity (and anxiety). 

[curfew]

4 hours ago, AyvaM said:

Just swinging between constant self-doubt and extreme unearned self-confidence lol. 🥲 I am possibly losing my mind. Is this relatable?

Welcome, @AyvaM!! Happy to have you here:)

I feel this a little too much 😭The waiting game is so vacuous that you kinda can’t help but just envision all the outcomes in the mean time, and the worst case / best case scenarios are way juicier to think about than, like, going 3/9 [which, goes w/out saying, is a stellar season]. 
 

At least we can all vacillate in the same boat together; good luck this year! 

1 hour ago, Chex said:

You've done your best and that's a lot to be proud of. Time now for others to decide. Fingers crossed it all works out beautifully. Holding your hands in solidarity (and anxiety). 

@Chex as usual saying it best—

[Madam_Mina]

Just received confirmation that Iowa WW has all of my materials including my mailed-in manuscript, so it's all in for them now 😬

 

Let the waiting commence. Props to everyone who got through their December 15th deadlines! 

[janetdamnit]

So say someone were to have submitted a beautiful SOP to Ole Miss and then later (after proofreading for the 192834th time and submitting round 1 app) realized they had still managed to accidentally mention a different school they're applying to in the LAST PARAGRAPH......they would be cooked, right? Like, I should go ahead and write that one off? I am an idiot. 

[prufrock_]

32 minutes ago, janetdamnit said:

So say someone were to have submitted a beautiful SOP to Ole Miss and then later (after proofreading for the 192834th time and submitting round 1 app) realized they had still managed to accidentally mention a different school they're applying to in the LAST PARAGRAPH......they would be cooked, right? Like, I should go ahead and write that one off? I am an idiot. 

i've read cases of this happening and people still getting in! The writing sample is what matters most; a program isn't going to deny you for an arts degree because of a clerical error.

[carrruly]

Just finished my last application! Any guess on when we'll start to hear back? I've seen some schools give an April deadline, but wondering if we might get answers sooner...

Fwiw I applied to:

Iowa

Brown

OSU

NC State

UNCG

+ thanks to everyone on this forum for guiding me thru the app process 

[analog_e]

9 minutes ago, carrruly said:

Just finished my last application! Any guess on when we'll start to hear back? I've seen some schools give an April deadline, but wondering if we might get answers sooner...

Fwiw I applied to:

Iowa

Brown

OSU

NC State

UNCG

+ thanks to everyone on this forum for guiding me thru the app process 

Not sure on the others, but Brown generally sends acceptance letters in the first half of March. Seems most programs have given their responses by then, with some making calls in February.

[Madam_Mina]

20 hours ago, prufrock_ said:

I use this https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/?q=&sort=newest&institution=&program=&degree=MFA&season= - just searching for mfa, so some incorrect results are included. you can play around with serch terms to find what works best for you.

 

Also there's a facebook group called 'draft mfa '25' and there's 'draft mfa 24' etc, going backward, and they maintain a crowd sourced spreadsheet of responses that has quite a bit more data.

 

Based off last year, the programs did stay mostly aligned with their previous time frames.

This is amazing, prufrock_! Thank you so incredibly much!

[decayingballads21]

hey all! I'm CNF, back for another round. last year, I applied to 11 programs and ended up with two acceptances that just weren't the right fit. I was also waitlisted at my top choice and then later rejected.

this year, I applied to 6 schools, and three are ones I applied to last year. I've updated my sample since last year and grown a lot as a writer/artist but for my sample, I primarily have kept one essay in that I significantly revised from last year, and I'm nervous about this specifically for the school that waitlisted me last year.  also keep having nagging thoughts about if I don't get in this year, then I'm going to regret not just accepting one of the two offers I got last year. ugh. 

wanted to hop on to express solidarity and support to those still finishing up apps/beginning the waiting game. we've got this, y'all, the hardest part is *mostly* over, and I'm rooting for all of you. 

[Allrich90]

Hi all,
It's my first round and I'm really enjoying this forum!
I just applied to Brown's MFA program for poetry and nonfiction and am working my way through my list.
For NYU, it seems that you can only choose one program per applicant. Is that right? Or have I misunderstood something?
Best regards and good luck to you all

[pananoprodigy]

Feels weird to say this so early in the cycle but -- just got my first acceptance! In for fiction at University College Cork in Ireland. It's one of only three non-funded programs I applied to, kinda on a whim, and to be honest there's pretty much no chance of me financially actually being able to go. But still, feels like a nice way to kick things off. 

[Madam_Mina]

27 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

Feels weird to say this so early in the cycle but -- just got my first acceptance! In for fiction at University College Cork in Ireland. It's one of only three non-funded programs I applied to, kinda on a whim, and to be honest there's pretty much no chance of me financially actually being able to go. But still, feels like a nice way to kick things off. 

Congrats! Even if you anticipate not being able to accept the offer, it's a win to have an acceptance!

[curfew]

1 hour ago, pananoprodigy said:

Feels weird to say this so early in the cycle but -- just got my first acceptance! In for fiction at University College Cork in Ireland.

LET'S GOOOO!!! CONGRATS @pananoprodigy!! a win is a win!!

[zaira]

Welp, most app deadlines are officially over (I haven’t forgotten about you folks with January deadlines though, still sending out the good vibes!). 

Seeing some anxiousness. Very much felt. I wanted to give a little pep talk while we wait for decisions to roll in. 

No matter the outcome this year, rest assured your writing is enough and you are enough. These are, without exaggeration, some of the most competitive academic programs in the world. We’re dealing with acceptance rates under 5% here—sometimes well under. 

Getting a rejection is not a full-throated rejection of your writing. Adcoms have impossible decisions to make. What do you do when there are 50 equally-capable writers and only five spots to fill? It means, inevitably, someone talented is going to get cut. In fact, a lot of talented people are going to get cut. 

There’s not much to learn from MFA rejections. For all you know, the adcom came *this close* to putting you on a waitlist but simply ran out of space. Adcoms can adore your work and still be forced, by sheer cold numbers, to tell you no. 

Please give yourself a nice big helping of grace. Pile that shit on. Don’t you dare give in to negative self-talk, even if things start to look bleak come February. 

Earlier today I was ruminating on the if-onlys: I wish I’d spent more time on my samples, more time polishing my SOPs, submitted that third story, written that Mysterious Fourth Story That Surely Would Have Impressed Everyone, on and on. But here’s the truth: none of that would have guaranteed me a spot. No amount of obsessive polishing will get around the fact that there are tons of amazing writers who deserve to get in, and programs can’t accept us all. 

I did enough. You did enough. No, really, you, the person reading this, I want that to sink in. 

You. 

Did. 

Enough. 

I’m rooting for every single one of us to get into a program that’s a perfect fit. And if it doesn’t happen this year, there’s always next year. Unless you’ve decided you’d rather enter a thumbtack-eating contest than go through this process again (understandable).

In the meantime, take a well-earned nap, lovelies! Go do something fun. 

[crossingmyfingers1212]

Hello! Has anyone heard from UT Knoxville for their round one decisions??  My anxiety is kicking in! 

Edited 11 hours ago by crossingmyfingers1212

[pananoprodigy]

Haven't heard anything either! I'm pretty sure last year UTK's round 1 notifs dropped on 12/16 so we're not too far off schedule.