2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Cosmicinkwell]

4 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

I think UVA waitlists usually come 1 day later so that could still happen! 

Part of me just wants this to be over honestly, so I'm taking the closure for now with the understanding there's a slim chance it gets upended.

People going to CSU--( still keeping fingers crossed @everything bagel lover gets that funding) --I am moving to Fort Collins most likely if any of you ever want to talk writing outside your cohort!

[everything bagel lover]

2 minutes ago, Cosmicinkwell said:

Part of me just wants this to be over honestly, so I'm taking the closure for now with the understanding there's a slim chance it gets upended.

People going to CSU--( still keeping fingers crossed @everything bagel lover gets that funding) --I am moving to Fort Collins most likely if any of you ever want to talk writing outside your cohort!

That’s very sweet of you, I’ll know by this coming week so fingers and everything else crossed! 

I hope you can find some peace and closure and don’t stop writing!! It took a lot of us multiple rounds and personally, I took a couple of years between applications. Whatever you do, it’ll be great! 

[exvat]

29 minutes ago, Cosmicinkwell said:

Part of me just wants this to be over honestly, so I'm taking the closure for now with the understanding there's a slim chance it gets upended.

People going to CSU--( still keeping fingers crossed @everything bagel lover gets that funding) --I am moving to Fort Collins most likely if any of you ever want to talk writing outside your cohort!

Fingers crossed for you, it ain't over til it's over 🤞

Fwiw, my first cycle was straight rejections. I decided to focus on my writing independently, get a job, get booed up again, etc. That became 7 years somehow, and in the midst of it all I got some wonderful experiences at workshops, conferences, and even in the slog of submitting and publishing. The next time I felt "ready" to apply again was this cycle, and I (still pinching myself) got into a program I'm excited about, and plan to attend.

So even if this cycle is a bust (🕯️🕯️), time is a lie, life is real, and there truly is nothing more important than the very next breath you take in.

Edited yesterday at 07:40 PM by exvat

[writercl]

On 3/7/2025 at 10:10 AM, zgirl said:

I got a call from the University of Houston yesterday (with full funding). I also found out they are taking 4 MFA in poetry and 3 PhD Students—the same numbers for fiction. I'm waiting for the SLC and U of H funding package, but the University of Houston is my top choice. Thank you for all the advice and encouragement, and good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back.

CONGRATS!! did you also receive the housing email?

[zgirl]

8 hours ago, writercl said:

CONGRATS!! did you also receive the housing email?

I didn't get the housing email; that was all the fiction students. TBH I haven't received any official correspondence from the University of Houston; it's been emails and calls directly from faculty in the MFA program. 

[decayingballads21]

CSU folks…does anyone know how many students they fund/how many are offered GTA positions? I always thought this was a fully funded program!! kinda don’t like that they don’t fund everyone??

also curious bc it slipped my radar this year but what do folks like about this program in particular? I might consider it for next year (I love CO)

[everything bagel lover]

1 minute ago, decayingballads21 said:

CSU folks…does anyone know how many students they fund/how many are offered GTA positions? I always thought this was a fully funded program!! kinda don’t like that they don’t fund everyone??

also curious bc it slipped my radar this year but what do folks like about this program in particular? I might consider it for next year (I love CO)

This year they fund 2 out of 5 incoming cohort and they expressed that they wished they could fund everyone but it seems they don’t have the resources to do so. 
 

it is really unfortunate they don’t fund everyone and it seems like the community within the MFA is strong in spite of the fact that they only fund a few candidates. 

[decayingballads21]

8 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

This year they fund 2 out of 5 incoming cohort and they expressed that they wished they could fund everyone but it seems they don’t have the resources to do so. 
 

it is really unfortunate they don’t fund everyone and it seems like the community within the MFA is strong in spite of the fact that they only fund a few candidates. 

ooooh i see.
 

yeah I’ve only heard good things about this program and it’s community.
 

I just feel like if I know not everyone’s funded equally it might make for a tense or competitive atmosphere, no? what are people’s thoughts on this 

[everything bagel lover]

1 minute ago, decayingballads21 said:

ooooh i see.
 

yeah I’ve only heard good things about this program and it’s community.
 

I just feel like if I know not everyone’s funded equally it might make for a tense or competitive atmosphere, no? what are people’s thoughts on this 

So based on what current students said, there’s no hierarchy within the cohorts based on who gets funding and who doesn’t. For CSU at least, it seems like a really genuinely collaborative community. I was worried about that going into any program with partial funding. I imagine it varies from program to program. 

[decayingballads21]

11 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

This year they fund 2 out of 5 incoming cohort and they expressed that they wished they could fund everyone but it seems they don’t have the resources to do so. 
 

it is really unfortunate they don’t fund everyone and it seems like the community within the MFA is strong in spite of the fact that they only fund a few candidates. 

I’m curious how do they decide who to fund 

Also they only admit 5 students total? Or is it 5 per genre and 2 funded per genre

[everything bagel lover]

2 minutes ago, decayingballads21 said:

I’m curious how do they decide who to fund 

Also they only admit 5 students total? Or is it 5 per genre and 2 funded per genre

I too am curious about that. You have to submit a separate application for the GTA that gets approved by a separate committee. They said that the waitlist for the GTAship isn’t definitively ranked because of the ebb and flow of things. It has me on edge to say the least. 
 

5 per genre and 2 GTA positions per genre so 6 total GTA positions total for creative writing. The GTA positions are split between the three masters programs in the English department. 

[tomat0tomat0]

just saw the first u of miami (florida) result on the spreadsheet — waitlist for nonfiction . wonder if this means fiction will come out soon?? last year the first result was 25 of march tho so idk

[everything bagel lover]

9 hours ago, decayingballads21 said:

CSU folks…does anyone know how many students they fund/how many are offered GTA positions? I always thought this was a fully funded program!! kinda don’t like that they don’t fund everyone??

also curious bc it slipped my radar this year but what do folks like about this program in particular? I might consider it for next year (I love CO)

Sorry to fill the forum with CSU talk but I didn’t see the second part of this and can’t edit my previous posts: 

What I like about CSU, as it is my top choice should I get funding: The faculty seem amazing and I love Ramona Ausubel’s writing particularly, the annotations that you do throughout the three years, the fact that it’s three years, the requirement to take a 300 level course outside of English + a required literature class, each professor has a written statement about their teaching and workshop philosophy, and generally the vibes just seem incredible.
 

The biggest sticking point is the 30-50 annotations you do on media throughout the degree, you write little informal craft papers on books, movies, songs, etc that seems like such a fun way to engage with media as a writer. And I know I can do them on my own but it’d be cool for them to be a part of my degree. 

[tomat0tomat0]

2 hours ago, tomat0tomat0 said:

just saw the first u of miami (florida) result on the spreadsheet — waitlist for nonfiction . wonder if this means fiction will come out soon?? last year the first result was 25 of march tho so idk

also u of florida just now — acceptance for poetry. last year they didnt take anybody at all apparently so glad that isn't the case this time! wonder when we’ll hear for fiction

[everything bagel lover]

Holy fucking shit @Tuxedocat you’re killing it and I’m so happy for you!!! Congratulations!!!!! 

[ksiezniczka.monisia]

So, I think most schools with regular deadlines say they'll send out their decisions by March 15, right? That's next Saturday. So, question is, should we not receive any notification by then, should we email them? What do you guys think?

[Tuxedocat]

Just now, everything bagel lover said:

Holy fucking shit @Tuxedocat you’re killing it and I’m so happy for you!!! Congratulations!!!!! 

AHHH thank you so much!!!! Got the call for Florida today (accepted for poetry) for those not on draft! I’ve been sick for the past few days so this jolted me out of delirium 😭 

8a/2w/4r/3p right now! 

what a change up from last year!!

Also, I really hope you get funding from CSU! Crossing my fingers for you 🤞 sounds like a fantastic program! 

[seah0rse]

3 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

AHHH thank you so much!!!! Got the call for Florida today (accepted for poetry) for those not on draft! I’ve been sick for the past few days so this jolted me out of delirium 😭 

8a/2w/4r/3p right now! 

what a change up from last year!!

Also, I really hope you get funding from CSU! Crossing my fingers for you 🤞 sounds like a fantastic program! 

at this point I wanna know how you're going to decide 😅 is there a particular program standing above the rest for you?

[Tuxedocat]

18 minutes ago, seah0rse said:

at this point I wanna know how you're going to decide 😅 is there a particular program standing above the rest for you?

Oh man. I think Michigan? I’m going to their visiting weekend soon so I’m holding off on making any decisions until then. Their program really aligns with my goals, has a great stipend, and lots of resources. The location is the best of all my acceptances so far because it’s only 4-5 hours drive away from my family and where I live now. It also was one of my top choice schools when applying! But rent is expensive in Ann Arbor and I want to see how the visiting weekend goes.
All the programs that accepted me are really fantastic and I’d be happy to attend any of them. It’s really a toss up between most of them, hence why I’m waiting to turn a bunch of them down until after the Michigan visit. 
I do still have 3 schools left. But it’s okay if today was my last acceptance. I am beyond spoiled for choice, and perhaps my good fortune has come to an end. I am just hoping for closure by the end of this upcoming week!

[DJ Lambchop]

12 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

Oh man. I think Michigan? I’m going to their visiting weekend soon so I’m holding off on making any decisions until then. Their program really aligns with my goals, has a great stipend, and lots of resources. The location is the best of all my acceptances so far because it’s only 4-5 hours drive away from my family and where I live now. It also was one of my top choice schools when applying! But rent is expensive in Ann Arbor and I want to see how the visiting weekend goes.
All the programs that accepted me are really fantastic and I’d be happy to attend any of them. It’s really a toss up between most of them, hence why I’m waiting to turn a bunch of them down until after the Michigan visit. 
I do still have 3 schools left. But it’s okay if today was my last acceptance. I am beyond spoiled for choice, and perhaps my good fortune has come to an end. I am just hoping for closure by the end of this upcoming week!

I'm an Ann Arbor native so if you have questions about the town let me know. You are right that the rent is insane here. 

[Tuxedocat]

1 minute ago, DJ Lambchop said:

I'm an Ann Arbor native so if you have questions about the town let me know. You are right that the rent is insane here. 

I might take you up on that if I decide on Michigan! Yeah I thought it was such a great stipend and then I saw the price of rent and went 😳 

[tomat0tomat0]

53 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

I might take you up on that if I decide on Michigan! Yeah I thought it was such a great stipend and then I saw the price of rent and went 😳 

congrats on all the good news !! if u dont mind me asking what schools were u accepted/waitlisted/rejected from (aside from michigan) ?? i’m literally just nosy lol

[epr]

According to Draft, all UMD acceptances are out. Just waiting on one more school to notify people and then I’m free and clear 😂

[Tuxedocat]

17 minutes ago, tomat0tomat0 said:

congrats on all the good news !! if u dont mind me asking what schools were u accepted/waitlisted/rejected from (aside from michigan) ?? i’m literally just nosy lol

Yeah sure! Accepted to the following schools (in no particular order): Michigan, WashU, NYU, Columbia, University of Florida, Bowling Green, New Hampshire, University of British Columbia (Canadian school)

waitlists: Virginia Tech, NC State (I applied to these two a bit last minute so I see my waitlists here as super impressive)

rejections: Northwestern Litowitz, Wisconsin, Cornell, and U of Toronto (the last one is an MA program in Canada and I think they had issues with my prerequisites because I attended undergrad in the USA)

Edited 2 hours ago by Tuxedocat

[exvat]

20 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

Yeah sure! Accepted to the following schools (in no particular order): Michigan, WashU, NYU, Columbia, University of Florida, Bowling Green, New Hampshire, University of British Columbia (Canadian school)

waitlists: Virginia Tech, NC State (I applied to these two a bit last minute so I see my waitlists here as super impressive)

rejections: Northwestern Litowitz, Wisconsin, Cornell, and U of Toronto (the last one is an MA program in Canada and I think they had issues with my prerequisites because I attended undergrad in the USA)

Absolutely incredible, huge congrats 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 Wherever you end up with is gonna be luuuuckyyyy. If you end up declining NYU, can you somehow forward your funding package to me?? 😂