2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[bibsy]

7 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

Just got what I assume is my rejection from Pittsburgh…but all it says is “Attached is a letter from the Director of Graduate Studies with an update on your application.” 
 

….except there’s no attachment. Lol 

EDIT: Okay this is weird y’all. They followed up with the letter and…

“Thank you for your application to the Department of English at the University of Pittsburgh. We want to assure you that your application remains under active consideration and is of significant interest to our department.

Our admissions process is currently being affected by recent federal guidance that requires careful interpretation. We are working diligently to navigate these regulatory complexities to ensure we can offer you the best possible opportunity for your academic journey.

We anticipate providing admissions decisions as soon as we have clarity on these matters. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, and we will provide you with the most current information available.
We greatly appreciate your patience during this time and remain committed to supporting your scholarly pursuits.”

I’m so confused - I didn’t get an interview request at Pitt so why would I still be under consideration? And “recent federal guidance that requires careful interpretation”??? Huh??

WashU is also pausing admissions rn. “recent federal guidance that requires careful interpretation” is certainly in regards to recent executive orders declaring no funding will be offered to entities engaged in DEI practices. those orders have been shot down by a federal judge, but the matter will def be escalated to the supreme court, meaning the consequences are just... in limbo. there's been a stringent crackdown on scientific funding, too, which is why WashU is held up - i believe their arts and sciences departments fall under one umbrella? not to mention the existential threat to the DoE. fun times abound.

[Hank Moody]

17 minutes ago, Mystic_Sunshine said:

Because there is one VT acceptance in the draft I now cannot think or function  hoping there is still a chance.

Same. No waitlists so far in the sheet at least

[crossingmyfingers1212]

7 minutes ago, Mystic_Sunshine said:

I got this too! I'm confused because they still say application is under consideration but interview invites already went out. Someone put me out of my dang misery. 

same... no interview so I assumed it was a soft rejection... Idk I feel like it might have been something they sent out to everyone who applied but no clue 😕 

[everything bagel lover]

CSU funding update: The GTA offers have been sent to fiction applicants (there's only 2 GTAs available for the incoming class) and one has been accepted. I'm waitlisted and the other fiction applicant has 2 weeks to decline or accept and I'm SWEATING.

[Prosaic Ioniser]

2 hours ago, Allrich90 said:

I work voluntarily for a nationwide student magazine in Germany)

2 hours ago, everything bagel lover said:

Good morning! I not only dreamt that I got two different CSU funding responses (one where I got it, one where I was 3rd in line for funding) but also that I typed my responses into the forum, but everytime I hit post, they were nonsense that I had to keep editing. 

@tiramisu22 It does look like WVU fiction waitlists have been logged on the draft

Edit to respond to @Prosaic Ioniser:

I work as a secondary teacher and the biggest thing I've learned between my first round and now is that I have to learn to prioritize writing. It helps to have a partner who is willing to pick up more of the domestic labor when I'm engrossed in a project. A coworker who got her MFA from Brown told me if she doesn't quit teaching, she'll never write another novel, and then she told me that I needed to learn how to write outside of academia. I've really taken her advice to heart and have been intentional about making time for writing and reading when I can't bring myself to write. It's been really really impactful on my writing, even if I'm not as prolific as I was in my undergrad.

Thanks everyone for your replies! I guess always prioritising writing is the name of the game... Super interesting input from your coworker. Weirdly enough this limbo has made me more determined, and I actually sit down to write almost every day as opposed to once every few days before. However, I fear, and almost know, that full out rejections will freeze my writing for a few months. 

1 hour ago, vilum said:

I work for a big fashion house, and finding time to write is very hard. At least, being immersed in this crazy world has given me inspiration for a novel! But I plan to quit soon to pursue something else, less "glamorous", that gives me the chance to spend more time doing what I love. Currently at 0A/1W/3R/1P, feeling demotivated to write and unhopeful for the future. 

Wow that can really be a good source of crazy stories at least haha! I hope and believe that you will soon find something that allows more time to write and do what you really want!! And I can really relate re: feeling unhopeful for the future...

34 minutes ago, exvat said:

Wandering aimlessly and collecting adventures has pretty much been my life! Metaphorically speaking... Mostly. And will continue very literally once I get these final two rejections confirmed.

Previously this looked like Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund — fucking around, then developing a skill/career, then imploding—which made me Interesting™, and fueled good poems, but left me deflated and confused and exhausted. (Although I did discover that manual labor is great for writing.)

Now, I'm probably about to embark on another round of wandering and collecting, but with direction. Last year I really dove headlong into my Dharma practice, and would like to spend time studying and practicing at a monastery, so I'll do that for a bit. Then probably backpack around. Help my brother renovate his new house. Pick up work and finance my life how I can. Keep writing and reading. But unlike Goldmund, and the wandering me of past, I've got my shit together now, so I'm not worried about how this period will turn out, as long as I keep my wits about me.

Ah, love the reference, makes me wanna re-read the book! Having described your life like that, it makes sense that you would want to go spend time in a monastery  sounds like a fascinating life path tbh. Hope to read some of your stories one day! Good luck to you.

[Nauna]

20 minutes ago, Mystic_Sunshine said:

Because there is one VT acceptance in the draft I now cannot think or function  hoping there is still a chance.

🫣

[pananoprodigy]

11 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

CSU funding update: The GTA offers have been sent to fiction applicants (there's only 2 GTAs available for the incoming class) and one has been accepted. I'm waitlisted and the other fiction applicant has 2 weeks to decline or accept and I'm SWEATING.

Doing some witchcraft and positive spells for you today!!!! You’re SO CLOSE!

[KennyK]

Yall know how NYU gives certain applicants like their biggest funding package. Is Emerson the same way? Like is it possible they’d fully fund some and get a scholarship, but not others? Or are they known to not fund?

[everything bagel lover]

Just now, pananoprodigy said:

Doing some witchcraft and positive spells for you today!!!! You’re SO CLOSE!

Thank you 😭🕯️ I'm trying to cash in all my good luck

[exvat]

24 minutes ago, bibsy said:

WashU is also pausing admissions rn. “recent federal guidance that requires careful interpretation” is certainly in regards to recent executive orders declaring no funding will be offered to entities engaged in DEI practices. those orders have been shot down by a federal judge, but the matter will def be escalated to the supreme court, meaning the consequences are just... in limbo. there's been a stringent crackdown on scientific funding, too, which is why WashU is held up - i believe their arts and sciences departments fall under one umbrella? not to mention the existential threat to the DoE. fun times abound.

As my friend, whose postdoc applications are being steamrolled by this govt chaos, just texted me: "Lookit this one man ruining the lives of millions."

[vilum]

2 minutes ago, KennyK said:

Yall know how NYU gives certain applicants like their biggest funding package. Is Emerson the same way? Like is it possible they’d fully fund some and get a scholarship, but not others? Or are they known to not fund?

on that note, did all acceptances for NYU go out? even those without the biggest funding package?

[Allrich90]

26 minutes ago, bibsy said:

WashU is also pausing admissions rn. “recent federal guidance that requires careful interpretation” is certainly in regards to recent executive orders declaring no funding will be offered to entities engaged in DEI practices. those orders have been shot down by a federal judge, but the matter will def be escalated to the supreme court, meaning the consequences are just... in limbo. there's been a stringent crackdown on scientific funding, too, which is why WashU is held up - i believe their arts and sciences departments fall under one umbrella? not to mention the existential threat to the DoE. fun times abound.

Got this too! 

[Eloise2897]

On 3 waitlists now. Hoping the chances are pretty decent that at least one of those will move in my favor within the next 6 weeks 🥲. These are 3 of my 4 top choices, I'm very happy but sooooooo stressed. 

Edited Thursday at 04:14 PM by Eloise2897
typo

[Hjanep]

8 minutes ago, vilum said:

on that note, did all acceptances for NYU go out? even those without the biggest funding package?

Probably not. Last year they emailed a ton of people who weren’t getting funding initially to tell them they were in via batch email

[everything bagel lover]

5 minutes ago, Eloise2897 said:

On 3 waitlists now. Hoping the chances are pretty decent that at least one of those will move in my favor within the next 6 weeks 🥲. These are 3 of my 4 top choices, I'm very happy but sooooooo stressed. 

Eek I hope you get good news from your waitlists soon!! The uncertainty is so stressful

[Jane Wyman]

Wait, WashU is emailing people to let them know that the MFA program is definitely on hold for now?

[vilum]

3 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

Probably not. Last year they emailed a ton of people who weren’t getting funding initially to tell them they were in via batch email

thank you! is it so misleading to think there still hope? 

[exvat]

3 minutes ago, vilum said:

thank you! is it so misleading to think there still hope? 

For my own NYU hopes, they're not dead for acceptance, but they're pretty dead for funding/attending

[Tinky C. Clown]

19 minutes ago, KennyK said:

Yall know how NYU gives certain applicants like their biggest funding package. Is Emerson the same way? Like is it possible they’d fully fund some and get a scholarship, but not others? Or are they known to not fund?

yeah. emerson offered me a full scholarship, which they only have a few of to go around. they don’t give anyone a stipend tho. 

[KennyK]

Just now, Tinky C. Clown said:

yeah. emerson offered me a full scholarship, which they only have a few of to go around. they don’t give anyone a stipend tho. 

Did the scholarship cover the entire tuition or just partial? 

[suitcase 1234]

3 minutes ago, exvat said:

For my own NYU hopes, they're not dead for acceptance, but they're pretty dead for funding/attending

yeah feeling this way as well! but, are we sure all funding calls have gone out? I mean I dont know why they'd stagger them lol but only seeing a few reported so far on the draft sheet

[Tinky C. Clown]

8 minutes ago, KennyK said:

Did the scholarship cover the entire tuition or just partial? 

entire. but the grad school has a weird stipulation that once they offer a full scholarship to one candidate and they turn it down, they can’t re-offer it to another student. emerson also has a lot of red flags and they seem hella desperate so i wouldn’t advise anyone to go there lowkey even if it’s your only option 

[theyearshallrunlikerabbits]

58 minutes ago, bibsy said:

WashU is also pausing admissions rn. “recent federal guidance that requires careful interpretation” is certainly in regards to recent executive orders declaring no funding will be offered to entities engaged in DEI practices. those orders have been shot down by a federal judge, but the matter will def be escalated to the supreme court, meaning the consequences are just... in limbo. there's been a stringent crackdown on scientific funding, too, which is why WashU is held up - i believe their arts and sciences departments fall under one umbrella? not to mention the existential threat to the DoE. fun times abound.

hmmm but a current WashU student on FB said this was an unfounded rumor...

[exvat]

1 hour ago, suitcase 1234 said:

yeah feeling this way as well! but, are we sure all funding calls have gone out? I mean I dont know why they'd stagger them lol but only seeing a few reported so far on the draft sheet

Don't know for sure, simply assuming for mental health convenience 😂 

[Hjanep]

3 minutes ago, vilum said:

thank you! is it so misleading to think there still hope? 

Because of how expensive NYC is, I feel like if you get an acceptance not off the waitlist, there’s still a chance of moving up the funding ladder. If you get in off the waitlist (which happens! My only acceptance last year!) no chance for funding