2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[glowingbrightly]

if anyone is waiting on boulder, i just got an email today indicating that they are still making decisions. not sure if ill even reply to the email since im already committed to irvine but they are asking me to clarify something about my application, which indicates either a waitlist or acceptance. 

[zaira]

9 hours ago, gradschoolpspspsps said:

Lol me and like four of my coworkers just spent three professional development lectures making sure we thought it sounded okay. Also, prefacing, I am new to all of this! It was really simple: 

Hi ___,

 

I just wanted to reach out and reiterate my continued interest in your program. I was wondering if there are any updates on the waitlist. I also want to affirm that if I get off the waitlist, I will most likely accept. If you would like any new information from me, please let me know. 

 

Thanks again, 

This is so helpful, thank you! We love an approval-by-professional-committee! 

[saara_is.me]

Those of you that applied to University of Reading: they’re getting rid of the program, so that’s no longer an option.

[glowingbrightly]

11 minutes ago, saara_is.me said:

Those of you that applied to University of Reading: they’re getting rid of the program, so that’s no longer an option.

lol how poetic—reading is getting rid of creative writing

[paper copy]

Anybody heard from Boise State? I saw there's one acceptance reported in Draft from March 28, but nothing else...I know an applicant who applied to Boise last year and was waitlisted on April 1, so that was my unofficial expectation for this year...at this point, I'm expecting a rejection, but I wanted to see if there was any other news or rumors to report!

[Lady Gladys]

5 minutes ago, paper copy said:

Anybody heard from Boise State? I saw there's one acceptance reported in Draft from March 28, but nothing else...I know an applicant who applied to Boise last year and was waitlisted on April 1, so that was my unofficial expectation for this year...at this point, I'm expecting a rejection, but I wanted to see if there was any other news or rumors to report!

The person I know who applied has heard nothing either (fiction).

[pananoprodigy]

31 minutes ago, paper copy said:

Anybody heard from Boise State? I saw there's one acceptance reported in Draft from March 28, but nothing else...I know an applicant who applied to Boise last year and was waitlisted on April 1, so that was my unofficial expectation for this year...at this point, I'm expecting a rejection, but I wanted to see if there was any other news or rumors to report!

I applied for fiction and haven’t heard anything 

[gradschoolpspspsps]

Yeah I also applied for Boise and heard nothing.

[decayingballads21]

for folks with funded offers currently that are still on waitlists for programs they likely won’t hear from until April 14th/15th… how are you going about your decision?

I have two offers currently that I’m weighing, but I don’t want to wait UNTIL the 15th to decide… but might need to. However, the school I’m waiting for an update on is a really cool program that id likely accept. feeling pressure to decide soon and want the decision to be done with but I feel like I can’t confidently choose between these two offers right now without knowing the outcome of my third school (the waitlist). 
 

[Hjanep]

@zaira Was that you that got into UVA off the waitlist??

[izzie2]

Hey all!

I found out about this forum way too late. Hoping someone can shine some insight on Northern Michigan? I’ve been accepted but I’m waiting on a couple waitlists before I decide…I’m a little hesitant because of the area. I’ve been to the Upper Peninsula before in the summer but I’m trying to imagine three years of winters there and imagine it might be lonely. Any insight or experience of the program/area would be super helpful!  

[Eloise2897]

1 hour ago, izzie2 said:

Hey all!

I found out about this forum way too late. Hoping someone can shine some insight on Northern Michigan? I’ve been accepted but I’m waiting on a couple waitlists before I decide…I’m a little hesitant because of the area. I’ve been to the Upper Peninsula before in the summer but I’m trying to imagine three years of winters there and imagine it might be lonely. Any insight or experience of the program/area would be super helpful!  

Hi Izzie! I live in Marquette. I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have about it, but I can start with some general info about the winters.

I won't sugarcoat it, the winters here are tough. It is not at all uncommon to get snow through April, and I would say July-September are the only months where we consistently get hot days. May and June are usually nice, but can have some chillier snaps.

At the same time, the winters are beautiful in their own way. Because they're so long, people are basically forced to make them as fun and social as possible, or we'd all go stir-crazy. There are plenty of winter events in and around town that keep people connected through the season--off the top of my head, we have a dog sled race, an outdoor ball drop for NYE, a ski jumping exhibition/contest, a winter sports festival, and more. If you ski or ice skate, you'll have access of plenty of hills, trails, and rinks (if you don't, used skates and skis are pretty easy to come by around here and are cheaper than you think!) The town itself is pretty lively during the season. Stores and restaurants stay open and events go on unless the weather is really bad, and the threshold for 'really bad' up here is quite high--12+ inches of snow, whiteout blizzard conditions, things like that. Our snowplow crews are second to none and manage to keep the roads passable through storms that would shut down other towns for days.

You will 100% need heavy duty winter gear up here, including a good, long, insulated coat, hats, scarves, mittens, snow boots, heavy duty ice scrapers (my boyfriend also has a broom--yes, a legit broom--for sweeping snow off the car and it works great, highly recommend). You'll also need snow tires for your car, no getting around it. 

In short, I'd say winter here is not for the faint of heart, but we do our best to make it manageable. Just be prepared, be safe, and if you try to make the best of it, you can have a lot of fun. I hope this is helpful!

[Tuxedocat]

53 minutes ago, decayingballads21 said:

for folks with funded offers currently that are still on waitlists for programs they likely won’t hear from until April 14th/15th… how are you going about your decision?

I have two offers currently that I’m weighing, but I don’t want to wait UNTIL the 15th to decide… but might need to. However, the school I’m waiting for an update on is a really cool program that id likely accept. feeling pressure to decide soon and want the decision to be done with but I feel like I can’t confidently choose between these two offers right now without knowing the outcome of my third school (the waitlist). 
 

I'm in a similar position. I had 8 acceptances and 3 waitlists. I turned down several, and I have 3A 1W left. By early next week, I will turn down 2 more acceptances. I am balancing my need to carefully consider my choices with the reality that waitlisters are waiting on the other side (I say this as a fellow waitlister, eager to hear back soon). 

Here's my advice. If you never made it off the waitlist, which school would you pick? A waitlist is not a concrete offer. It might never be an offer. So try to only compare the two offers you currently have. You can do all sorts of hypotheticals about which school you would pick if you made it off the waitlist, but you also might feel different if you do make it off the waitlist. Sitting on two offers until April 15 isn't great. It means if you come off the waitlist, you are choosing between three programs instead of two. It also means that one to two schools are going to have tight turn-around times for applicants coming off the waitlist.

Waiting until April 15th is not the ideal move. It will likely just stress you out more. So spend a few days deciding between your two schools. Then sit on your decision for 1-2 days if you are still uncertain. When you feel a bit more certain, decline one. I just did that with one of my schools. Talked with faculty for hours. Talked with current students. Last week was all about hearing them out thoroughly. Ultimately, I decided it was a wonderful choice, but another offer elsewhere was a bit better. I told them I would get back to them this week. I gave myself a deadline of Thursday. I wrote my decline email last night. I couldn't send it: I wasn't sure if I was ready to give them up. This morning, I was as ready as I could be. I sent the emails and declined the spot in the portal. Going to do the same process with the two other schools I have to turn down.

I wish you the best of luck! 🍀

[zaira]

3 hours ago, Hjanep said:

@zaira Was that you that got into UVA off the waitlist??

It is!!! I'm actually pinching myself, I'm so incredibly grateful and happy. It's a dream program. I love every little detail about it and couldn't imagine myself in a better place this fall. 

@P i e r r o t You might actually be magic because your prayers worked!!! 🕯️

What a rollercoaster of an application season. I want to thank everyone here for being the supportive, lovely people you are. You made this stressful process feel downright enjoyable and I've loved getting to know you these past few months. 

I’ll still be on the forum for the next couple weeks. I want to see how the season goes for those of you on waitlists. I’m rooting so hard for you! Remember, anything can happen between now and the end of April. 

[snottlebie]

16 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

I'm in a similar position. I had 8 acceptances and 3 waitlists. I turned down several, and I have 3A 1W left. By early next week, I will turn down 2 more acceptances. I am balancing my need to carefully consider my choices with the reality that waitlisters are waiting on the other side (I say this as a fellow waitlister, eager to hear back soon). 

Here's my advice. If you never made it off the waitlist, which school would you pick? A waitlist is not a concrete offer. It might never be an offer. So try to only compare the two offers you currently have. You can do all sorts of hypotheticals about which school you would pick if you made it off the waitlist, but you also might feel different if you do make it off the waitlist. Sitting on two offers until April 15 isn't great. It means if you come off the waitlist, you are choosing between three programs instead of two. It also means that one to two schools are going to have tight turn-around times for applicants coming off the waitlist.

Waiting until April 15th is not the ideal move. It will likely just stress you out more. So spend a few days deciding between your two schools. Then sit on your decision for 1-2 days if you are still uncertain. When you feel a bit more certain, decline one. I just did that with one of my schools. Talked with faculty for hours. Talked with current students. Last week was all about hearing them out thoroughly. Ultimately, I decided it was a wonderful choice, but another offer elsewhere was a bit better. I told them I would get back to them this week. I gave myself a deadline of Thursday. I wrote my decline email last night. I couldn't send it: I wasn't sure if I was ready to give them up. This morning, I was as ready as I could be. I sent the emails and declined the spot in the portal. Going to do the same process with the two other schools I have to turn down.

I wish you the best of luck! 🍀

That’s great advice! Definitely whittle your way down to a #1 (which also gives schools more time to reach out to their waitlists), while you wait to hear back.  Be as prepared as you can be!

[Hjanep]

3 minutes ago, zaira said:

It is!!! I'm actually pinching myself, I'm so incredibly grateful and happy. It's a dream program. I love every little detail about it and couldn't imagine myself in a better place this fall. 

@P i e r r o t You might actually be magic because your prayers worked!!! 🕯️

What a rollercoaster of an application season. I want to thank everyone here for being the supportive, lovely people you are. You made this stressful process feel downright enjoyable and I've loved getting to know you these past few months. 

I’ll still be on the forum for the next couple weeks. I want to see how the season goes for those of you on waitlists. I’m rooting so hard for you! Remember, anything can happen between now and the end of April. 

OMG CONGRAAAAAAATS

[Tuxedocat]

12 minutes ago, zaira said:

It is!!! I'm actually pinching myself, I'm so incredibly grateful and happy. It's a dream program. I love every little detail about it and couldn't imagine myself in a better place this fall. 

@P i e r r o t You might actually be magic because your prayers worked!!! 🕯️

What a rollercoaster of an application season. I want to thank everyone here for being the supportive, lovely people you are. You made this stressful process feel downright enjoyable and I've loved getting to know you these past few months. 

I’ll still be on the forum for the next couple weeks. I want to see how the season goes for those of you on waitlists. I’m rooting so hard for you! Remember, anything can happen between now and the end of April. 

Congrats!!! What amazing news!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳

[honeytreasures]

Does anyone have any info where UMD-College Park’s fiction stands rn (how many people accepted, etc?) I have a program pushing me to make a decision before April 15th and ik UMD just sent out an email for an info session on April 9…

[P i e r r o t]

3 hours ago, zaira said:

It is!!! I'm actually pinching myself, I'm so incredibly grateful and happy. It's a dream program. I love every little detail about it and couldn't imagine myself in a better place this fall. 

@P i e r r o t You might actually be magic because your prayers worked!!! 🕯️

LET'S GOOOOOO THIS SOME WITCHY SHIT Y'ALL! So stoked for you. Please poke your head back in a few more times before you leave us for good!

Do me a solid and send them elite vibes back my way: waiting on Davis ahhhhhhh.

[cheer bear]

15 hours ago, paper copy said:

Anybody heard from Boise State? I saw there's one acceptance reported in Draft from March 28, but nothing else...I know an applicant who applied to Boise last year and was waitlisted on April 1, so that was my unofficial expectation for this year...at this point, I'm expecting a rejection, but I wanted to see if there was any other news or rumors to report!

yes! i was also waitlisted apr 1st (this season, for better clarity). the coordinator said acceptances have went out (and presumably all waitlists, too, but im not sure). they said we'll have more news next week if there's any movement probably cuz the 15th is coming up.

Edited April 3 by cheer bear

[zaira]

13 hours ago, P i e r r o t said:

LET'S GOOOOOO THIS SOME WITCHY SHIT Y'ALL! So stoked for you. Please poke your head back in a few more times before you leave us for good!

Do me a solid and send them elite vibes back my way: waiting on Davis ahhhhhhh.

I am sending every little bit of my own witchy energy your way!!! I got u 🕯️🕯️🕯️

[goodluckbabe]

what are the types of tiered rejections from iowa? i know there's "we want you to know that your manuscript was well-received by our readers, some of whom liked it very much" but what's the... levels

[P i e r r o t]

34 minutes ago, goodluckbabe said:

what are the types of tiered rejections from iowa? i know there's "we want you to know that your manuscript was well-received by our readers, some of whom liked it very much" but what's the... levels

The last "tier" includes a hand-written message from Sam Chang beneath the letter you quoted. Mine this year said "Thanks for a strong application". The generic letter is short and without any particular encouragement, I believe.

[Hjanep]

36 minutes ago, goodluckbabe said:

what are the types of tiered rejections from iowa? i know there's "we want you to know that your manuscript was well-received by our readers, some of whom liked it very much" but what's the... levels

There’s a shorter form note that’s below that. Above that is a handwritten note from the director. I think that’s it. 

[Tinky C. Clown]

51 minutes ago, P i e r r o t said:

The last "tier" includes a hand-written message from Sam Chang beneath the letter you quoted. Mine this year said "Thanks for a strong application". The generic letter is short and without any particular encouragement, I believe.

yeah my handwritten note said i’m sorry we weren’t able to offer you a spot this year