2025 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[Tinky C. Clown]

4 minutes ago, Mystic_Sunshine said:

I also applied to boulder. 

I'm thinking Mississippi will probably take another week since March 1st was the deadline to submit the application. 

my ole miss transcript says "not met" on my portal even though i sent my official transcript twice. does yours say the same? i emailed an unofficial backup just in case

[Mystic_Sunshine]

10 minutes ago, Tinky C. Clown said:

my ole miss transcript says "not met" on my portal even though i sent my official transcript twice. does yours say the same? i emailed an unofficial backup just in case

Mine does say met but I sent it directly via parchment. 

I'm sure your fine with the backup though!

[Nauna]

7 hours ago, Tuxedocat said:

I’m so sorry to say this but I think NC State has released all acceptances and waitlists 😭

Draft had 2 fiction acceptances on Feb 20 and 21. I got a poetry waitlist for NC State on Friday and it said among other things “the program you have applied to has reached capacity” but stated that I’m on the waitlist and should hear back about waitlist movement by May 1. So I think poets who were accepted just aren’t on grad cafe or draft or haven’t announced their results. Really wish I had better news for you and maybe I’m wrong. But the wording of the waitlist email makes me think all accepted people have been notified.

Maybe I'm just hypersensitive lately, but I felt like the waitlist email I received from NC State was a touch on the impersonal/cold side. 

[Tinky C. Clown]

22 minutes ago, Mystic_Sunshine said:

Mine does say met but I sent it directly via parchment. 

I'm sure your fine with the backup though!

i sent directly through parchment too! and parchment did say it had been downloaded by the recipient but a couple days ago i realized i had a different email connected to my parchment so i made a new account w correct email and sent it again 

[Nauna]

44 minutes ago, Tinky C. Clown said:

my ole miss transcript says "not met" on my portal even though i sent my official transcript twice. does yours say the same? i emailed an unofficial backup just in case

Mine says that too, even though the service that I used to send it confirmed that my transcript was received and opened. Just to be on the safe side, I emailed my unofficial version directly to the MFA email address that they included in the Phase II notification email. 

[Tinky C. Clown]

3 minutes ago, Nauna said:

Mine says that too, even though the service that I used to send it confirmed that my transcript was received and opened. Just to be on the safe side, I emailed my unofficial version directly to the MFA email address that they included in the Phase II notification email. 

okay, cool. I'm glad that others had the same issue and did the same thing

[steins rose]

10 hours ago, sgrad said:

what do you think the chances are that a program sends out waitlist notifications before acceptances? 😅 I see the waitlist notifications for NC State have gone out on draft, but so far no poetry acceptances listed 

long time lurker (i think i posted here once this season haha) but i received my psu waitlist before acceptances went out! really depends on the school. wishing you sm luck hehe🫶🏻

[Tuxedocat]

20 minutes ago, Nauna said:

Maybe I'm just hypersensitive lately, but I felt like the waitlist email I received from NC State was a touch on the impersonal/cold side. 

It was so impersonal that I almost didn’t respond to it at first because I thought it was an automatic portal update instead of an email from a real person! It seems like it was a form response that was copy pasted for all grad programs at NC State. 

[tiramisu22]

Has anyone heard anything from University of Tennessee, Knoxville?

[DJ Lambchop]

Saw an article on the Facebook group about brown indefinitely pausing their mfa admissions. 

[Hank Moody]

 

25 minutes ago, DJ Lambchop said:

Saw an article on the Facebook group about brown indefinitely pausing their mfa admissions. 

Not the literary arts one. I read that article. It's about the theater MFA that run in collaboration with a theater company and they had temporarily paused it after Covid. They're just doubling down on that decision now. Likey doesn't have anything to do with the current administration and not relevant to the literary arts department.

[everything bagel lover]

Alrighty y'all, we're officially in free game territory I think! These next 2-3 weeks should be a landslide. I know I keep saying that every few weeks but it's gotta be true at some point lol

I'm a little confused on Boulder's funding deal, as I've read on the Draft that they are technically fully funded through a mishmash of grants, scholarships, fellowships, and GTA positions, but I'm unsure how this actually shakes out for the program. Those of y'all that are also applying to Boulder, what do you think/how are you feeling about that?

[Hjanep]

Here’s hoping for good news today 

[Jane Wyman]

17 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

Alrighty y'all, we're officially in free game territory I think! These next 2-3 weeks should be a landslide. I know I keep saying that every few weeks but it's gotta be true at some point lol

I'm a little confused on Boulder's funding deal, as I've read on the Draft that they are technically fully funded through a mishmash of grants, scholarships, fellowships, and GTA positions, but I'm unsure how this actually shakes out for the program. Those of y'all that are also applying to Boulder, what do you think/how are you feeling about that?

What's coming soon? Seems like WashU and Hunter are nigh, maybe NWP and U of O? 

Either way, manifesting GOOD NEWS FOR ALL.

[Hjanep]

I think UVA/UCI this week hopefully

[Nauna]

8 hours ago, Tuxedocat said:

It was so impersonal that I almost didn’t respond to it at first because I thought it was an automatic portal update instead of an email from a real person! It seems like it was a form response that was copy pasted for all grad programs at NC State. 

SAME! It read like a rejection portal update. Maybe they're testing our reading comprehension, haha.

[VOID DARLING]

do we think we'll hear from brown these coming few days? :"D
wishful thinking perhaps but it's the last decision i'm waiting on! (FINGERS CROSSED)

[HalBear]

I got my first Waitlist from GCSU! I really needed some good news cause I was starting to feel sad haha!!

[strawberrymatcha]

21 minutes ago, VOID DARLING said:

do we think we'll hear from brown these coming few days? :"D
wishful thinking perhaps but it's the last decision i'm waiting on! (FINGERS CROSSED)

I think last year they notified around 3/4-6 so I wouldn’t be surprised if we did🥲 I’m not ready

[HalBear]

6 hours ago, tiramisu22 said:

Has anyone heard anything from University of Tennessee, Knoxville?

I don't believe they have sent notifications! I am surprised, as they started notifying as early as 2/19 last year! My portal still says"Awaiting Decision." Hopefully we hear soon! Good luck!

[Mystic_Sunshine]

I'm wondering what happened to Nevada lol. 

More applications? Behind for some other reason?

[misssalem]

46 minutes ago, VOID DARLING said:

do we think we'll hear from brown these coming few days? :"D
wishful thinking perhaps but it's the last decision i'm waiting on! (FINGERS CROSSED)

This is so me, I've been nervously anticipating 

[prufrock_]

1 hour ago, everything bagel lover said:

Alrighty y'all, we're officially in free game territory I think! These next 2-3 weeks should be a landslide. I know I keep saying that every few weeks but it's gotta be true at some point lol

I'm a little confused on Boulder's funding deal, as I've read on the Draft that they are technically fully funded through a mishmash of grants, scholarships, fellowships, and GTA positions, but I'm unsure how this actually shakes out for the program. Those of y'all that are also applying to Boulder, what do you think/how are you feeling about that?

I didn't apply to boulder last year because yeah from their website i did the math and it seemed like even if you got 100% everything you still walked away with 20 grand in debt by the end. I applied this year just because of that draft post saying it's secretly funded (and last year someone on the draft reported everyone was funded as well).

Boulder is such a dream program for me (location and faculty), but i'm scared i'll get in and only be offered tiny funding -- or even worse, funding that's so mishmash it's a gamble year by year. I'd hate to get to year 3 and them be like 'okay pay us 60 grand for the last year, buckaroo'

[everything bagel lover]

17 minutes ago, prufrock_ said:

I didn't apply to boulder last year because yeah from their website i did the math and it seemed like even if you got 100% everything you still walked away with 20 grand in debt by the end. I applied this year just because of that draft post saying it's secretly funded (and last year someone on the draft reported everyone was funded as well).

Boulder is such a dream program for me (location and faculty), but i'm scared i'll get in and only be offered tiny funding -- or even worse, funding that's so mishmash it's a gamble year by year. I'd hate to get to year 3 and them be like 'okay pay us 60 grand for the last year, buckaroo'

That's my fear with it too! I'm an optimist but not enough to take on student debt for a creative writing degree. I too love CU Boulder, from the faculty to the location, and I've heard that Stephen Graham Jones is a great workshop leader and teacher! But omg what a nightmare to be halfway through and suddenly have the funding rug pulled from under you. 

Applying to mostly programs that only fund some students has made me gamble and I'll be hurt if I have to turn down a dream program because I didn't get funding but it's all about stacking those odds, ya know? I'm crossing my fingers for good news for both of us! 

[Mystic_Sunshine]

17 minutes ago, everything bagel lover said:

That's my fear with it too! I'm an optimist but not enough to take on student debt for a creative writing degree. I too love CU Boulder, from the faculty to the location, and I've heard that Stephen Graham Jones is a great workshop leader and teacher! But omg what a nightmare to be halfway through and suddenly have the funding rug pulled from under you. 

Applying to mostly programs that only fund some students has made me gamble and I'll be hurt if I have to turn down a dream program because I didn't get funding but it's all about stacking those odds, ya know? I'm crossing my fingers for good news for both of us! 

I applied to CU Boulder as well. 

I'd hope (and anticipate) that the department knows the majority of students need funding to make an MFA work and would be really clear and transparent about funding. That way any choice can be an informed one.