2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[squid05]

Haven't done any work today, can't stop refreshing my email / Draft 

[zaira]

4 minutes ago, squid05 said:

Haven't done any work today, can't stop refreshing my email / Draft 

Ugh, likewise. I only have two more programs to hear from and I'm feeling like those decisions will show up today or tomorrow. Call it a hunch. Once I hear from those programs I can rest easy. I still have that waitlist to contend with but that feels different? I think it's because the sheet doesn't tell me anything about my waitlist status haha. 

[rapunzel]

On 3/14/2025 at 9:25 PM, rapunzel said:

out of curiosity, people who've done workshops with other mfa applicants, did you see any correlation between the people who've been accepted to one or more programs and their age (years of life experience since undergrad)? 

(asking for fiction but open to discussion about any genre!)

sorry, just wanted to chime in and ask this again!

good luck to everyone for this week!

Edited March 17 by rapunzel

[Mystic_Sunshine]

20 minutes ago, squid05 said:

Haven't done any work today, can't stop refreshing my email / Draft 

Same! Even though I don't think I'm going to get news until later in the week/early next week. 

But I'm sooooo antsy. 

[backtooskewl]

6 hours ago, poet-hopeful said:

Blue Stoop is based in Philly! https://www.bluestoop.org/

re: rec letters - I agree that you shouldn't go with a professor who's intermittently responding. Do you have the financial resources to take a workshop or two this year? A lot of workshops offer scholarships, too! 

A previous instructor of mine told me candidly that rec letters are mostly just vibe checks, though I've heard from folks in Draft that they can make a marked difference, too.

One of my recs was from an instructor who I workshopped with last year, via Zoom (they teach independently & their rec was from a gmail url, which is generally not recommended, but it turned out okay). You can also ask a former manager to be your rec - anyone who can speak to your ability to collaborate and play well with others (ie. skills that translate to being a kind, considerate person in workshop). One of my friends even asked a coworker to write his, and it worked out for him.

 

 

 

I was just looking at Bluestoop the other day after thinking about workshops. Are they good?

I've actually already applied to one creative residency for this summer, so it's possible I'll have a good recc letter or two lined up. I had the hardest time figuring out whether to work on a grad school relevant material or not when submitting the app tomorrow, but I decided I might be sick of my grad sample by the summer, and treating it as a creative vacation to work on something new.

[glowingbrightly]

46 minutes ago, rapunzel said:

sorry, just wanted to chime in and ask this again!

good luck to everyone for this week!

I think lived experience is a big factor but some have more lived experience by the time they graduate high school than some do 10 years post-undergad… So imo it’s not really something that can be tracked by age or years since undergrad

[KennyK]

Seems like another quiet day. Hoping things are loud before the day is done!

[writercl]

are all of the university of oregon’s acceptances out yet? how many are they accepting this year?

[honeytreasures]

3 hours ago, szymborskasy said:

got a waitlist email from BU! would assume that most accepts are out

Congrats! And thanks for sharing—was waiting for this one!

[honeytreasures]

3 hours ago, szymborskasy said:

got a waitlist email from BU! would assume that most accepts are out

When do y’all think Boston U will send out their rejections for fiction? I saw there were acceptances, rejections, and waitlists on draft so far. Just anxiously waiting & wanting to get this over with as this was my top school haha!

[everything bagel lover]

Hello my silly little forum friends! ❤️ I’ve been just lurking lately as I have nothing of note to add. I’m taking Wyoming as a soft rejection as I think they send snail mail rejections. 

For CSU funding, still no news or movement and it could be as late as April 1st. I’ve taken to making little infographics for my three top choices (still considering UNLV a possibility and I turned down my Naropa offer)

[exvat]

3 hours ago, szymborskasy said:

got a waitlist email from BU! would assume that most accepts are out

Missed this earlier, congrats and good luck!! 🎉 

[saintjdog]

27 minutes ago, honeytreasures said:

When do y’all think Boston U will send out their rejections for fiction? I saw there were acceptances, rejections, and waitlists on draft so far. Just anxiously waiting & wanting to get this over with as this was my top school haha!

I applied to BU as a fiction applicant and got my rejection on 2/21/2025

[Mystic_Sunshine]

41 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

Hello my silly little forum friends! ❤️ I’ve been just lurking lately as I have nothing of note to add. I’m taking Wyoming as a soft rejection as I think they send snail mail rejections. 

For CSU funding, still no news or movement and it could be as late as April 1st. I’ve taken to making little infographics for my three top choices (still considering UNLV a possibility and I turned down my Naropa offer)

best of luck with the funding and with the choosing  

Keep us updated for where you end up  I'm invested in where all my silly little forum friends end up. 

[bucket]

i keep thinking "today's going to be the day brown sends out decisions" and it keeps not being that day, but somehow i still keep having the same expectation every week day lol

[glowingbrightly]

5 minutes ago, bucket said:

i keep thinking "today's going to be the day brown sends out decisions" and it keeps not being that day, but somehow i still keep having the same expectation every week day lol

Next week spring break, usually calls midweek—I truly think it will be tues-thurs this week… 

[Mystic_Sunshine]

39 minutes ago, glowingbrightly said:

Next week spring break, usually calls midweek—I truly think it will be tues-thurs this week… 

(Not based on any evidence whatsoever) but I'm assuming a lot of schools will want decisions out before AWP. 

[Roni]

Just got into SDSU's waitlist for Poetry this morning! Has anyone else heard back from them?

[OctopusCactus]

On 3/16/2025 at 7:17 PM, backtooskewl said:

Actually I was considering starting my own writing workshop group this year. Would it be kosher to do so and then get a ref from a regular attendee who's familiar with my work?

What I was told when I was applying is to avoid "peer" recommendations (or recommendations from people who would be below you in an org chart, like students you've taught). 

[OctopusCactus]

17 hours ago, Slothy711 said:

Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone had gotten into UChicago’s MA program and knew how funding worked. I got accepted but have no idea how I can afford the cost of attendance. 

Congrats on your acceptance!  UChicago's MAPH program is somewhat notorious for not having great funding.  You may want to check out Anne Helen Petersen's "The Masters Trap" which talks about this program and funding.  She reports most students do not receive funding and that those who do get a max of 50% tuition discount.  I'm sure there are other, more positive perspectives on MAPH out there that are worth considering as well.

[momeraths]

Just got home from work and saw that I got a letter from UC Irvine--still rejected, but it had a very lovely handwritten note on it from Michelle Latiolais. Sort of mood-bolstering in its own way.

[zaira]

3 hours ago, honeytreasures said:

When do y’all think Boston U will send out their rejections for fiction? I saw there were acceptances, rejections, and waitlists on draft so far. Just anxiously waiting & wanting to get this over with as this was my top school haha!

Fwiw I'm in the same boat! No acceptance, no waitlist email, but my application is still pending. They might be rolling waitlists out over multiple days. Orrrr, a rejection is incoming. Either way I expect we'll hear from them soon (I hope). 

[thelovelyunkown]

May tomorrow be the day Brown puts us out of our misery. 

🕯️

[decayingballads21]

just turned down an offer that I really wanted to make work, in literally my dream location and with a lot of really great program components… but ultimately I didn’t think that the faculty there were the right fit for me and my work and I believe I’ll get more/better support and mentorship at a different program. on paper this program was perfect but I just can’t for some reason look past these weird vibes with the faculty. 
 

it’s bittersweet, especially not knowing where I’ll be ending up but I hope I made the right call because it’s so hard to feel good about any of this or know what’s “right” 

sigh. 😔😫

[seah0rse]

34 minutes ago, thelovelyunkown said:

May tomorrow be the day Brown puts us out of our misery. 

🕯️

I asked a magic 8 ball if Brown would release decisions tomorrow and the answer was some variation of yes. I also asked about Wednesday and it said yes in a different way. I did not ask about Thursday or Friday because it seemed to be as unreliable as checking my portal ten times an hour.