2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[DJ Lambchop]

1 hour ago, saintjdog said:

do we think pittsburgh has already sent out all interview invites (fiction specifically)?

I wonder too... it looks like last year they sent out a few interview requests on 2/6 and then another one on 2/12. It's hard to know if they intentionally staggered them or if one of the interviewees was no good so they had to reach out to another.

[roomservice]

When do we think WashU and Cornell will release decisions? Or other Dec 1st applications I guess... I'm trying to scour for last year's information, but am running up short.

[everything bagel lover]

6 minutes ago, roomservice said:

When do we think WashU and Cornell will release decisions? Or other Dec 1st applications I guess... I'm trying to scour for last year's information, but am running up short.

According to the Draft data last year, both schools sent out info early to mid Feb

[curfew]

4 minutes ago, roomservice said:

When do we think WashU and Cornell will release decisions? Or other Dec 1st applications I guess... I'm trying to scour for last year's information, but am running up short.

It looks like poetry acceptances from those schools will either come out next week or the week after that!

That's been the major anvil on my brain all week -- knowing that my schools won't begin to roll out decisions for at least another week, if longer, and I'm still in this limbo that is very short in the long run but more or less eternal in the now:( Hoping Hopkins sends out fiction anythings next week

[Tuxedocat]

2 hours ago, decayingballads21 said:

Has Minnesota actually sent out ALL acceptances? There’s only 4 posts in the draft spreadsheet. Don’t they admit 9 each year? 

 

1 hour ago, prufrock_ said:

i suppose we don't know 100% -- they could still be rolling out.

But the way I see it: not every acceptance is gonna show up on the list. Some people don't know about it or some don't report every movement, so it'll never be a full data set.  Since over half of the available spots are reported as accepted, it's very likely all have gone out.

waitlists for minnesota should go out in a single wave in a week or two, if patterns of the last few years stay true.

Echoing @prufrock_ here. Last year, Minnesota only showed 2 acceptances on draft. In 2023, only 1 acceptance showed up. Lots of people either aren’t on draft or are on draft and don’t report all of their results. 

1 hour ago, decayingballads21 said:

Yeah I don’t think they’re done. Only 4 reported on draft this week. Likely they did 3 calls a day and have 3 left to do.

I’m only seeing 3 acceptances reported on draft. However, as mentioned above, 3 is a decent number. Also, from past years, Minnesota usually emails their acceptances. From what I can see, all the acceptances this year were by email. Last year, someone did get a phone call but they also got an email. Doesn’t make sense for Minnesota to stagger emails by days. However, I’m only seeing acceptances for Fiction and Non-Fiction, so it’s possible poetry isn’t released yet. I think it’s likely that they’re done with fiction and non-fiction acceptances. But anything is possible, so I’m wishing everyone who applied to Minnesota good luck! 🍀

[smallchange]

I'm technologically challenged so I just accidentally made my own thread in Literary oops

Wanted to post to get updates on the programs I've applied to and commiserate!

I applied to seven programs so far (UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Davis, Brown, Michigan, Michener, Iowa) and still have to submit to Hunter College (should probably be working on that lol). 

I'm curious to know if any of these programs interview people. I know Hunter does and Iowa definitely does not. I thought that I saw UCI does interviews, but now I think I just saw the AI summary on google which was probably wrong. Curious also how the person who posted about UCI reading applications knows this, are you a current student?

I'm in a weird spot because I've spent the last few years working part-time/freelancing and have been looking for full-time work for a looong time and finally have a good lead but I am hesitant to start something I would have to quit so soon, though I'm also very prepared to get in nowhere!

Has anyone else applied to Davis this year or in the past? I don't think I've seen any posts on here about it. 

[Tuxedocat]

23 minutes ago, curfew said:

It looks like poetry acceptances from those schools will either come out next week or the week after that!

That's been the major anvil on my brain all week -- knowing that my schools won't begin to roll out decisions for at least another week, if longer, and I'm still in this limbo that is very short in the long run but more or less eternal in the now:( Hoping Hopkins sends out fiction anythings next week

What’s throwing me off about Cornell is that their deadline was 2 weeks earlier this year than last year. Last year it was due Dec 15. So I keep getting paranoid that they’ll drop the results 1-2 weeks earlier than last year…which means any day now? But you’re probably right about it being next week or later. Their website says it’ll be out by mid-Feb.

[smallchange]

3 hours ago, Catpaw said:

If we applied to Irvine and opted to include the self-addressed postcard with our manuscript (aka, the postcard that gets mailed back to you as proof-of-receipt), do you know if we should we have received that postcard by now? Or do those postcards get mailed only as each individual app gets reviewed?

I've been uncertain if I should reach out to the department and confirm whether my application packet actually made it to Irvine, or if I'd be inquiring too soon... Just not sure what the appropriate process is.

I received mine a couple weeks after I sent it in in December and it was postmarked 6 days after I submitted. I think you should probably reach out, my guess is they send them out as they receive them, not when they review them. Either way it's been a month and a half so it seems fair to ask!

[Catpaw]

4 minutes ago, smallchange said:

I received mine a couple weeks after I sent it in in December and it was postmarked 6 days after I submitted. I think you should probably reach out, my guess is they send them out as they receive them, not when they review them. Either way it's been a month and a half so it seems fair to ask!

Thank you!! This has been something I've been really uncertain about for a while since I never got the postcard back, but I didn't want to overstep. Thank you for confirming this... I will reach out!

[curfew]

17 minutes ago, Tuxedocat said:

What’s throwing me off about Cornell is that their deadline was 2 weeks earlier this year than last year. Last year it was due Dec 15. So I keep getting paranoid that they’ll drop the results 1-2 weeks earlier than last year…which means any day now? But you’re probably right about it being next week or later. Their website says it’ll be out by mid-Feb.

Oh man I didn’t even think about that! Good catch. Perhaps the earlier deadline was to give faculty more time and deliberation for their choices? 

[KennyK]

If I applied to Minnesota Twin Cities should I count it as a rejection since acceptances have gone out? I guess I’m wondering if I should take it as a loss now so it doesn’t hurt when I get the email or portal update.

[pananoprodigy]

12 minutes ago, KennyK said:

If I applied to Minnesota Twin Cities should I count it as a rejection since acceptances have gone out? I guess I’m wondering if I should take it as a loss now so it doesn’t hurt when I get the email or portal update.

It's gonna hurt either way in my experience, lol. I don't think we've seen any waitlists for Minnesota though, so no reason to write it off completely yet!

[Allrich90]

Got an IV invitation for SAIC's Low-Residency MFA Program - any experiences?

[inkidacat]

does anyone have information about fiction interviews for umass amherst? ik poetry interviews went out...if we haven't heard back yet, is it probably a rejection? 

[snottlebie]

27 minutes ago, inkidacat said:

does anyone have information about fiction interviews for umass amherst? ik poetry interviews went out...if we haven't heard back yet, is it probably a rejection? 

Just based off the Draft notification sheet and here - no one's posted anything yet. Fiction interviews still a possibility.

[bibsy]

7 hours ago, smallchange said:

I'm in a weird spot because I've spent the last few years working part-time/freelancing and have been looking for full-time work for a looong time and finally have a good lead but I am hesitant to start something I would have to quit so soon, though I'm also very prepared to get in nowhere!

Has anyone else applied to Davis this year or in the past? I don't think I've seen any posts on here about it. 

uc davis is my top choice for fiction! also same re: job apps. i'm applying for work simultaneously. not sure what i'll do if i both land a job offer and get into school, but i don't want to prematurely limit myself. i don't think you should either! if you have to leave a position for grad school, so be it. after being impacted by two layoffs in two years, my attitude is that you should always put yourself first rather than worry about inconveniencing a company. 

[marcelswann]

Hey y'all! Long time lurker here but decided to create an account just now to join in on the fun. I'm currently waiting on 4 creative writing MFAs and 4 Philosophy PhDs... (Strange, I know). Am basically straight out of undergrad so hoping for just 1/8 and looking for jobs on the side rn 

[fayeC]

22 minutes ago, marcelswann said:

Hey y'all! Long time lurker here but decided to create an account just now to join in on the fun. I'm currently waiting on 4 creative writing MFAs and 4 Philosophy PhDs... (Strange, I know). Am basically straight out of undergrad so hoping for just 1/8 and looking for jobs on the side rn 

hi there~ i'm waiting for 4 MFAs + 6 cinema/media studies PhDs... same, looking for jobs, trying to stay positive and read. 💕

[Prosaic Ioniser]

7 hours ago, bibsy said:

uc davis is my top choice for fiction! also same re: job apps. i'm applying for work simultaneously. not sure what i'll do if i both land a job offer and get into school, but i don't want to prematurely limit myself. i don't think you should either! if you have to leave a position for grad school, so be it. after being impacted by two layoffs in two years, my attitude is that you should always put yourself first rather than worry about inconveniencing a company. 

I'm also in the same boat with job apps. and this is why I love this forum - even though I know no amount of lurking/posting will change the acceptance outcome it still feels good to hear from other people in a similar position! No one in my close proximity can really understand this right now... Trying to transition to a full time job because freelance has sucked the soul out of me and also still hoping I will get to fulfil this writing dream (side note; the general state of the world is making it so hard to stay positive rn...) So yeah, good luck with the nerves everyone! 

[DJ Lambchop]

Do we think there will be a lot of notifications dropping this weekend?

[prufrock_]

another quiet week. Next week should be a flood.

 

3 minutes ago, DJ Lambchop said:

Do we think there will be a lot of notifications dropping this weekend?

 weekend notifications are rare but not impossible. I don't think a lot will drop this weekend, but a few might trickle in.

[Sheva7]

Long time lurker here! Any Western Washington applicants? 

[Mr. Scribblo]

guys, wasn't oregon supposed to release acceptances by now?

[Catpaw]

23 hours ago, Catpaw said:

Thank you!! This has been something I've been really uncertain about for a while since I never got the postcard back, but I didn't want to overstep. Thank you for confirming this... I will reach out!

Just a quick update on this, in case anyone ends up in a similar boat: the MFA Program Coordinator for Irvine replied a couple of hours after I reached out, and he confirmed that they got my packet—the postcard must have just gone astray in the mail. I'm glad I reached out for the ease of mind. They were quick to respond and very courteous!

[steins rose]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scribblo said:

guys, wasn't oregon supposed to release acceptances by now?

thats what i thought! truly giving me so much anxiety waiting to hear from them