2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Valle]

Hi everyone. Curious if anyone here is an international applying for or starting a low-res program. I got into one with a neat scholarship and am very excited to go. It's something I've been dreaming of for years and it's finally happening. That was before I had a look at the visa hassle. In short, international students on a low-res program have to get a visa for each and every single residency. It's not that I'm actually going to let this bureaucracy stop me, but I am wondering if it's a topic out there with the international applicants. 

[gradschoolpspspsps]

1 hour ago, girlwiththegreenribbon said:

has anyone heard anything back from SIU (fiction)? i’ve wanted to email to ask for an update but i’m not sure if it’s okay. 

Ooh if you do let me know what they say. I'm still waiting for them and Boise as my only ones marked not soft rejections at this point. 

[decayingballads21]

on this episode of me discovering new layers of pros and cons to my very similar offers rn:

googles “how strict is [name of state program is in] with cannabis” 

yall have I lost it

[Magnolia Electric Co]

15 minutes ago, decayingballads21 said:

on this episode of me discovering new layers of pros and cons to my very similar offers rn:

googles “how strict is [name of state program is in] with cannabis” 

yall have I lost it

Hahaha I feel this. It starts to feel so hypothetical that it feels like comparing two completely unknown futures. And it's easy to forget we might actually have to uproot our lives and move to one of these places, and that once we do, we can't go back and choose a different one (except for transferring)

[glowingbrightly]

2 hours ago, decayingballads21 said:

on this episode of me discovering new layers of pros and cons to my very similar offers rn:

googles “how strict is [name of state program is in] with cannabis” 

yall have I lost it

i also told myself this was dumb until i got into a program in california lol a good weed market is important tbh

Edited April 8, 2025 by glowingbrightly

[Nauna]

11 hours ago, Southron said:

Still waiting here. I emailed the professor I interviewed with towards the end of last week, but haven't heard anything. Part of me wonders if all acceptances went out last week, and only a couple of the people were on draft. I still have hope for fiction though.

I was wondering if with all the uncertainty that they're just taking things slowly, and possibly are going to have a smaller cohort than they anticipated so don't want to make too many offers at once. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[gradschoolpspspsps]

Every day I wake up at 6am ET to go work at a high school and immediately start my day of impatiently checking for updates far far before anyone else, especially in other time zones, is even awake to start making them. If I didn't work so early I would be impatient for so much less time. But every day my brain is like what if someone in Boise is starting their day at 4am. 

 

I have been refreshing for five hours and they probably just got to work. 

[elizabethjeanewrites]

Does anyone know the logic of a school who has a "priority" deadline and a last-call deadline? If I submitted two months after the first deadline, but one month before the last deadline, are my chances shot? I'm referring to Butler, but any info would be helpful on what the rolling admission process looks like.

Now that I've been rejected from so many places, I'm considering sending to schools with rolling admission, but if they all have already established cohorts, what is the point? Am I missing something?

[prufrock_]

16 minutes ago, elizabethjeanewrites said:

Does anyone know the logic of a school who has a "priority" deadline and a last-call deadline? If I submitted two months after the first deadline, but one month before the last deadline, are my chances shot? I'm referring to Butler, but any info would be helpful on what the rolling admission process looks like.

Now that I've been rejected from so many places, I'm considering sending to schools with rolling admission, but if they all have already established cohorts, what is the point? Am I missing something?

i believe it only has to do with scholarships and funding. Those who apply earlier get priority on scholarship offers, but not acceptance. So your chances of going aren't shot, but your chances of funding might be.

[Hcrews22]

in at Arkansas...fully funded....in shock. Anyone else in the ether going to Fayetteville? 

[squid05]

27 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

i believe it only has to do with scholarships and funding. Those who apply earlier get priority on scholarship offers, but not acceptance. So your chances of going aren't shot, but your chances of funding might be.

So if i applied priority to a fully funded program is there any benefit? 

[girlwiththegreenribbon]

i haven't heard back from SIU. should i just email them and ask for an update? i ask because i don't wanna seem impatient or anything.

[Magnolia Electric Co]

This might be an unanswerable question, but how do you know if a program is right for you? Do you take the chance if it seems like a good opportunity, or should there be some kind of sign or spark or connection? I'm afraid of missing out on a great opportunity, but I'm equally afraid of committing to a bad fit. Has anyone thought through this too?

[Eloise2897]

On 4/7/2025 at 1:24 PM, Eloise2897 said:

I asked this question on Draft and received a response I want to share here. An admitted UMN student commented that the program told her that, due to funding issues, UMN will not be dipping into their waitlist if their accepted students decline their offers. Take this with a huge grain of salt as it's only word-of-mouth from someone on Facebook (I'm personally not making any decisions based on any information that does not come directly from a school). But, it did seem worth sharing, especially for other waitlisters on here.

 

This turned out to be true, unfortunately. I got my official notification today that UMN has suspended their waitlists. 

[snottlebie]

21 minutes ago, Eloise2897 said:

This turned out to be true, unfortunately. I got my official notification today that UMN has suspended their waitlists. 

So sorry that this happened to you and the other waitlists at UMN. 

[zaira]

8 hours ago, Magnolia Electric Co said:

This might be an unanswerable question, but how do you know if a program is right for you? Do you take the chance if it seems like a good opportunity, or should there be some kind of sign or spark or connection? I'm afraid of missing out on a great opportunity, but I'm equally afraid of committing to a bad fit. Has anyone thought through this too?

I don't think you need a spark. Not everyone feels a strong emotional pull toward a program, and that's totally fine! In fact it can be healthy maintaining some emotional distance. 

The only time I would worry about program fit from an emotional standpoint is if the culture isn't conducive to your writing process. Are you someone who thrives in a competitive environment? Are you cactus-like, growing tallest in harsh conditions? Or are you orchid-like, needing tender care in a low-pressure space? I know MFA grads who had a terrible time in their programs because the environment wasn't right. Keep an eye out for those red flags, be honest with yourself about what you need, and don't settle for a program that can't meet those needs. Ask yourself, is it a spark that's missing, or is there something specific about the program that isn't feeling right? 

Edited April 9, 2025 by zaira

[ksiezniczka.monisia]

Hi guys! So, I'm sitting on a nice A offer, but still waiting for one school to send its decision. I already emailed them rather kindly saying that it's close to the deadline, but they never responded to that. Do you think I should keep waiting or just, you know, forget about them? I must add that the school that's not responding in theory sounds like a better fit - but, obviously, I'm having doubts now.

[everything bagel lover]

Y'all crazy news: CSU called and offered me a GTA position last night!!!

A whole 10 days after I declined my acceptance because they told me all the GTAships had been claimed. I already accepted at NAU so I just withdrew and accepted my offer at CSU because HOLY FUCKING SHIT are you KIDDING me!!! I know I haven't been active lately, I've just been lurking with nothing new to add but I had to update y'all because y'all listened to me be neurotic about this for months. 

[zaira]

1 minute ago, everything bagel lover said:

Y'all crazy news: CSU called and offered me a GTA position last night!!!

A whole 10 days after I declined my acceptance because they told me all the GTAships had been claimed. I already accepted at NAU so I just withdrew and accepted my offer at CSU because HOLY FUCKING SHIT are you KIDDING me!!! I know I haven't been active lately, I've just been lurking with nothing new to add but I had to update y'all because y'all listened to me be neurotic about this for months. 

Woah, holy fucking shit is right!! CONGRATS! Absolutely thrilled for you 

[everything bagel lover]

10 minutes ago, zaira said:

Woah, holy fucking shit is right!! CONGRATS! Absolutely thrilled for you 

Thank you!!! Also oh my god congratulations on UVA!!!!! ❤️ 

[Chex]

15 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

Y'all crazy news: CSU called and offered me a GTA position last night!!!

A whole 10 days after I declined my acceptance because they told me all the GTAships had been claimed. I already accepted at NAU so I just withdrew and accepted my offer at CSU because HOLY FUCKING SHIT are you KIDDING me!!! I know I haven't been active lately, I've just been lurking with nothing new to add but I had to update y'all because y'all listened to me be neurotic about this for months. 

Congrats, bagel! Love this for you!

[curfew]

34 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

Y'all crazy news: CSU called and offered me a GTA position last night!!!

A whole 10 days after I declined my acceptance because they told me all the GTAships had been claimed. I already accepted at NAU so I just withdrew and accepted my offer at CSU because HOLY FUCKING SHIT are you KIDDING me!!! I know I haven't been active lately, I've just been lurking with nothing new to add but I had to update y'all because y'all listened to me be neurotic about this for months. 

AHHHHHHHH THIS IS AMAZING NEWS!!! Congratulations so much, Bagel!!!! This season has been so strange and zigzaggy for just about everyone, it feels like! Best of luck on your journey:+) HURRAY

[Nauna]

9 hours ago, DJ Lambchop said:

Did anyone get an email from Syracuse about an update to their application today? This is a school I was rejected from and I checked the portal and didn’t see anything of note. 

9 hours ago, momeraths said:

Got the same thing, was also rejected. Expecting it to be an administrative error sort of thing.

Honestly, I had this from multiple schools. It seems that you hear back from the program itself as well as the graduate offices. As if we needed to be told twice that we didn't get in! 😝

[essentialflowers]

It's strange knowing my life can change soon. I'm going about my days finishing my undergraduate thesis & working & organizing events for an internship, but beneath it all, I feel so unsettled. I'm writing some really cool stuff, though. 

[gradschoolpspspsps]

20 hours ago, girlwiththegreenribbon said:

i haven't heard back from SIU. should i just email them and ask for an update? i ask because i don't wanna seem impatient or anything.

Lol I'm gonna do it I'll tell you what I hear. I'm emailing them and Boise.