2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[KennyK]

Idk how to delete previous comment

Edited Friday at 02:56 AM by KennyK
Nvm

[pananoprodigy]

Anybody else apply to Rutgers Camden? They're officially killing me with their marketing emails lmao. I keep getting stuff with subject lines like "Join us at Camden!" and it's just for a reading event or something. 

[exvat]

28 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

Anybody else apply to Rutgers Camden? They're officially killing me with their marketing emails lmao. I keep getting stuff with subject lines like "Join us at Camden!" and it's just for a reading event or something. 

Ice cold 💀

[Hjanep]

7 hours ago, Jane Wyman said:

I'm an Iowa waitlist! Just got the email, am losing my shit.

Huge congrats!! Are we allowed to ask which program you’re leaving? Just as people who are on the verge of potentially attending these it would be helpful to have a datapoint. 

[brokenjewelrybox]

I want to go to Syracuse so badly. Being on the waitlist is a good thing, I know it is. But it's torturous. Lol.

[vilum]

Hi friends! Since I am already in the mindset that I will have to apply next year (waiting on Brown and non-fully funded acceptances from NYU, which I could not afford anyways), I wanted to ask some advice.

This year I submitted two heavily workshopped short stories, which were evidently unsuccessful. After I was done with my applications, I started working on a novel (my second), which is set in my current work context - the high fashion industry! I am deeply absorbed in it as of right now, and could not imagine shifting my focus back onto short stories.

From what I've heard, it is best for application purposes to submit short stories instead of novel excerpts. And I understand why. If I were to follow this approach for next season, I would like to start working on my samples now, so that I can have time to let them breathe and workshop them thoroughly. But then again, my head is in my novel.

I'm debating to apply again with the first three chapters of my novel, but since it spans the course of twenty years, and by chapter three one of the main characters isn't even introduced yet, I'm worried the admissions committees cannot fully grasp the thematic line of the plot in its entirety. 

Any advice is welcome! Thank you ❤️

[Hjanep]

1 hour ago, vilum said:

Hi friends! Since I am already in the mindset that I will have to apply next year (waiting on Brown and non-fully funded acceptances from NYU, which I could not afford anyways), I wanted to ask some advice.

This year I submitted two heavily workshopped short stories, which were evidently unsuccessful. After I was done with my applications, I started working on a novel (my second), which is set in my current work context - the high fashion industry! I am deeply absorbed in it as of right now, and could not imagine shifting my focus back onto short stories.

From what I've heard, it is best for application purposes to submit short stories instead of novel excerpts. And I understand why. If I were to follow this approach for next season, I would like to start working on my samples now, so that I can have time to let them breathe and workshop them thoroughly. But then again, my head is in my novel.

I'm debating to apply again with the first three chapters of my novel, but since it spans the course of twenty years, and by chapter three one of the main characters isn't even introduced yet, I'm worried the admissions committees cannot fully grasp the thematic line of the plot in its entirety. 

Any advice is welcome! Thank you ❤️

I took Jess Silfa’s reapplicant class through draft that they do in the fall and it was so helpful for working through things like this. They had a checklist of things you should ideally shoot for in what you’re submitting that ad coms typically like to see, etc and they also will read your samples and help you choose what to include. WILDLY helpful. People do get in using novel excerpts but you might need to pick part of your novel that can truly stand alone especially in a lower page count setting for some of these is my understanding. 
 

Personally, I would keep working on the novel since it’s what you’re excited about. I don’t think you need to know what you’re working on to submit until a few months from now so just keep generating work and getting better and you can decide over the summer if you’re feeling inspired to write something new and short or if you want to polish a chunk of your novel. 

[vilum]

17 minutes ago, Hjanep said:

I took Jess Silfa’s reapplicant class through draft that they do in the fall and it was so helpful for working through things like this. They had a checklist of things you should ideally shoot for in what you’re submitting that ad coms typically like to see, etc and they also will read your samples and help you choose what to include. WILDLY helpful. People do get in using novel excerpts but you might need to pick part of your novel that can truly stand alone especially in a lower page count setting for some of these is my understanding. 
 

Personally, I would keep working on the novel since it’s what you’re excited about. I don’t think you need to know what you’re working on to submit until a few months from now so just keep generating work and getting better and you can decide over the summer if you’re feeling inspired to write something new and short or if you want to polish a chunk of your novel. 

This is super helpful, thank you so much! I will look out for the class this fall

[everything bagel lover]

March is on her way! What schools are y'all waiting on that typically notify in March?

I'm waiting on CU Boulder, Wyoming, and UNLV, all of which tend to notify late Feb to mid March. 

Also, is anyone else else bringing along a partner/pet/dependant with you? How has that impacted your decision making process? My partner's happiness with the location has been integral to where I've applied to. I'm also less stoked about UNLV because it'll be hard to find arrangements for my dog during the study abroad component, even though that's an aspect that really excited me when applying. 

[DJ Lambchop]

5 minutes ago, exvat said:

Yowza. That... gives me pause... and kinda makes me reconsider my fit/tolerance for [certain] MFA cohorts. Especially as a middle aged survivor.

To add to this, I had a somewhat young MFA alum read some of my stories. I had my mom read the same ones. She was able to extrapolate MUCH more of my intended symbolism and nuance from my stories than the MFA alum. 

[Mystic_Sunshine]

5 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

March is on her way! What schools are y'all waiting on that typically notify in March?

I'm waiting on CU Boulder, Wyoming, and UNLV, all of which tend to notify late Feb to mid March. 

Also, is anyone else else bringing along a partner/pet/dependant with you? How has that impacted your decision making process? My partner's happiness with the location has been integral to where I've applied to. I'm also less stoked about UNLV because it'll be hard to find arrangements for my dog during the study abroad component, even though that's an aspect that really excited me when applying. 

Waiting on Cu Boulder, LSU, UNLV, Maryland, UVA, and Ole Miss. 

I'm bringing both pets and a partner. Yeah, so there were a lot of places that I didn't apply to because it would be hard for them or we wouldn't be able to find housing that accommodates pets. Like NYU, Hunter ect were always off the table for me. 

Hilarious (but not actually) the only school I applied to where they didn't like the location is the one I made it to round 2 for. 

 

[DJ Lambchop]

I see grapefruit has been accepted to JH, Cornell, and Syracuse on draft. Congrats, but remind me why people say this process is subjective…

[vilum]

can anyone on draft see how many acceptances for NYU fiction there are? thank you so much...

[pananoprodigy]

4 hours ago, vilum said:

Hi friends! Since I am already in the mindset that I will have to apply next year (waiting on Brown and non-fully funded acceptances from NYU, which I could not afford anyways), I wanted to ask some advice.

This year I submitted two heavily workshopped short stories, which were evidently unsuccessful. After I was done with my applications, I started working on a novel (my second), which is set in my current work context - the high fashion industry! I am deeply absorbed in it as of right now, and could not imagine shifting my focus back onto short stories.

From what I've heard, it is best for application purposes to submit short stories instead of novel excerpts. And I understand why. If I were to follow this approach for next season, I would like to start working on my samples now, so that I can have time to let them breathe and workshop them thoroughly. But then again, my head is in my novel.

I'm debating to apply again with the first three chapters of my novel, but since it spans the course of twenty years, and by chapter three one of the main characters isn't even introduced yet, I'm worried the admissions committees cannot fully grasp the thematic line of the plot in its entirety. 

Any advice is welcome! Thank you ❤️

This is a bit of a specific pitch, but what about writing a few stories set in the world of your novel? For example a story that follows your protagonist years before (or after) the events of the novel; or one set during the events of the novel but from the POV of a minor character; etc etc. It would only help the novel and who knows, you might produce some stories you’re excited about submitting. Just a thought!

[seezeegee]

9 minutes ago, vilum said:

can anyone on draft see how many acceptances for NYU fiction there are? thank you so much...

2 fiction acceptances, 3 poetry acceptances.

[Eloise2897]

24 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

March is on her way! What schools are y'all waiting on that typically notify in March?

I'm waiting on CU Boulder, Wyoming, and UNLV, all of which tend to notify late Feb to mid March. 

Also, is anyone else else bringing along a partner/pet/dependant with you? How has that impacted your decision making process? My partner's happiness with the location has been integral to where I've applied to. I'm also less stoked about UNLV because it'll be hard to find arrangements for my dog during the study abroad component, even though that's an aspect that really excited me when applying. 

I'm waiting on Northern Michigan and UVA. NMU would be cool because I already live here, and my friends, family, and partner are here/close by. Funding-wise, though, I'm on waitlists with significantly better offers, and that obviously plays a big role. I wouldn't be able to bring my partner along, as he still has 1.5-2 years left in his PhD here. But given that we're both pursuing degrees in completely different fields, we both knew that some period of separation would be likely when we started dating, so we're prepared.

Funny enough, getting a pet would be something I could look forward to if I moved elsewhere! That's sort of easing the difficulty of leaving my friends/partner/family for a while. It's *extraordinarily* difficult to find pet-friendly housing in Marquette because we're in the middle of a serious housing crisis here. So regardless of whether or not I get into NMU, I plan to reach out to those who do get accepted to help them navigate the housing market here.

[pananoprodigy]

17 minutes ago, DJ Lambchop said:

I see grapefruit has been accepted to JH, Cornell, and Syracuse on draft. Congrats, but remind me why people say this process is subjective…

I DO think it’s subjective and arbitrary, but I also think it’s true that every now and then you get one or two little freaks who are just super fucking talented in a specific way that appeals to MFAs.

[exvat]

6 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

I DO think it’s subjective and arbitrary, but I also think it’s true that every now and then you get one or two little freaks who are just super fucking talented in a specific way that appeals to MFAs.

📣 "...in a specific way that appeals to MFAs." 📣

Edited Friday at 03:59 PM by exvat
Also those freaks are God's gift to the waitlisted

[Lady Gladys]

22 minutes ago, DJ Lambchop said:

I see grapefruit has been accepted to JH, Cornell, and Syracuse on draft. Congrats, but remind me why people say this process is subjective…

Yeah, but they were waitlisted at UT Austin and rejected by Michigan. I imagine it would be quite something to read grapefruit's work. Fit must come into play. 

[vilum]

14 minutes ago, pananoprodigy said:

This is a bit of a specific pitch, but what about writing a few stories set in the world of your novel? For example a story that follows your protagonist years before (or after) the events of the novel; or one set during the events of the novel but from the POV of a minor character; etc etc. It would only help the novel and who knows, you might produce some stories you’re excited about submitting. Just a thought!

definitely food for thought, thank you for the suggestion! telling a part of the story from the pov of a minor character is actually a really amazing idea I hadn't thought of!

12 minutes ago, seezeegee said:

2 fiction acceptances, 3 poetry acceptances.

not that i could attend without full funding, but it would still be a big achievement to be considered for a spot in my dream school... thanks for the info!

[zaira]

5 minutes ago, exvat said:

📣 "...in a specific way that appeals to MFAs." 📣

^^^^ And once more for the folks in the back of the room: IN A SPECIFIC WAY THAT APPEALS TO MFAs. 

Having done some workshopping around people on adcoms, MFA grads, and current MFA students, I can assure you they follow trends as much as any other person, sometimes without realizing. They're readers. All readers get on certain kicks, especially when we're in groups with other writers sharing the same reading list. This year I'm getting really into soft, naturalist writers, but prior to this I had a major weird fiction obsession--the more surreal the better. If you happen to ride the zeitgeist of whatever MFAs are salivating over right now, you're gonna collect a lot of acceptances. Writing prowess plays a role, absolutely, but I also feel it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

[KennyK]

@everything bagel lover I’m hoping today is the day!

[epr]

Just got a waitlist notification from Virginia Tech! This is my 3rd year applying to programs and my first year getting any acceptances. 
(2a/1w/2 soft rejections/3r/ 4p)

[Chex]

Just now, epr said:

Just got a waitlist notification from Virginia Tech! This is my 3rd year applying to programs and my first year getting any acceptances. 
(2a/1w/2 soft rejections/3r/ 4p)

Congrats! 🎉 

[pananoprodigy]

1 hour ago, everything bagel lover said:

March is on her way! What schools are y'all waiting on that typically notify in March?

I'm waiting on CU Boulder, Wyoming, and UNLV, all of which tend to notify late Feb to mid March. 

Also, is anyone else else bringing along a partner/pet/dependant with you? How has that impacted your decision making process? My partner's happiness with the location has been integral to where I've applied to. I'm also less stoked about UNLV because it'll be hard to find arrangements for my dog during the study abroad component, even though that's an aspect that really excited me when applying. 

WYOMING COME THRU!!! (today please!?)

I'll be bringing my cat! He's 19 and gets a specific monthly shot for arthritis so that's been a pretty big consideration especially with the more rural schools I applied for. 

Edited Friday at 04:34 PM by pananoprodigy