2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[analog_e]

Applications to Brown, Cornell, Vandy, Notre Dame, Minnesota, and Iowa Writer's Workshop are in, just have to finish up the app for Johns Hopkins, then I am done and can largely stop thinking about this until like February. I met with the three professors writing my letters last week and one has already submitted, the other two have promised to submit. That was an exhausting sprint but I am glad I crammed it all in early and just clicked submit to prevent myself from constantly looking back and doubting elements of them. I realized I really do not need to constantly revise my personal statement until December and can just let it be. Lovely feeling.

[SocialKonstruct]

On 9/27/2025 at 7:28 AM, jinny-r said:

to US-based applicants, may i know how the state is in the US right now? one of my recommenders, although willing to give her letter, is advising me not to proceed because of the political situation. i am a southeast asian bisexual woman and i tackle US imperialism and colonialism explicitly in my writing. 

thank you! 

To be honest, I would probably avoid coming over to the United States as an international applicant considering the horrid political situation as of late. The increasing number of ICE raids and growing marginalization of the queer/bi and trans community by the authoritarian regime makes it a high risk proposition to study here in the States. Also the banning of DEI and defunding of liberal arts makes those topics more difficult to address in any type of writing today.

On my end, I just accepted for publication in a pretty mid-size literary magazine thias past week (got a few publications under my belt so far this year) and right now I am applying to only three programs without a MFA in creative writing. I do have a MFA in studio art which makes my writing style, research, and approach rather heterodox in nature.

Right now my choices are: 1) USC Ph.D. (nonfiction, first choice hands down), 2) UC Irvine MFA (fiction), and very lastly 3) U of Utah PhD. (prose). I prefer to stay here in LA as much as I can and avoid Utah due to the political situation there. I also am applying to two other USC Ph.D. non creative writing programs just in case.

I am pretty nervous being an artist and writer in this day and age. Still I welcome the adventure and cross fingers to get into a program for the fall of next year. I just need to wait my letters of recommendation (one professor finished 2/3 of them so far) from my instructors since I finished up my essay writing completely.

[Chex]

On 10/3/2025 at 4:29 AM, writeordie said:

NC STATE FIRST-YEAR MFA STUDENT, HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.

Greetings and salutations.

Last year at this time, I was going out of my mind with application stress and confusion, so I want to pay it forward on behalf of the folks that gave me advice and helped me along my journey.

I am now at NC State, a first-year MFA student in Fiction, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY PROGRAM. To say it has exceeded my expectations doesn't begin to cover it. From the strength and diversity and noncompetitive camaraderie of my cohort (and their respective genres--GENRE FICTION AND YA ARE WELCOME HERE, BTW); to the endlessly supportive faculty (who I carpool with, who throw us parties at their houses, who will read your entire manuscript in their free time, these are the devoted faculty members of your freaking dreams); to the support for queer, trans, BIPOC, and neurodivergent folks; to the generally activist/SJ-forward vibe; to an academic program that only asks you to teach second year and lets you be the *INSTRUCTOR OF RECORD*---I am telling you, this program deserves hall of fame status, and every single one of you should apply, unless you really hate places that are gorgeous and friendly and spending your days debating Flannery O'Connor in a library that's larger than the NYPL. And oh yeah, NCSU's MFA is a two-year program, fully-funded, including free health insurance, and a $20K/yr stipend, gym membership, and more amenities than I can list, including everything from being able to borrow kayaks and VR equipment over the weekend to the ability to take classes for free at Duke and UNC Chapel Hill. It's epic here. I am learning more than I would have thought possible from workshop and classes; only a couple months in, I already never want it to end.

Ok, that's my playful pitch. Ask me anything about NC State's program in thread!

(*EXCEPTION: Please do NOT ask me about application stuff/how I got in/what they're looking for. They're looking for brilliant writers of all stripes and styles, and no two people here are even remotely similar in their aesthetic, so I promise you, it's a meaningless question. I am here to talk about *this* program/MFA life/what to expect if you come here to join the WolfPack.)

This is great to hear. It's not often that one hears such glowing reviews of MFA programs - even the most elite ones - from students actually attending them. There's something to be said of the experience itself, beyond external indicators like prestige. 

How far does the stipend go in NC? Are you able to live on it?