2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[oomphies]

14 minutes ago, bucket said:

irvine fiction acceptance on draft…… i think they historically notify all acceptances on the same day. very sad about this one, lads. it is truly Rough out here

massive L

[XXY]

Yeah, I'm really sad about Irvine as well. Sigh.

[SocialKonstruct]

9 minutes ago, XXY said:

Yeah, I'm really sad about Irvine as well. Sigh.

Is this confirmed that all notices went out for UCI? A tad early I suspect since they usually got out in March?

[XXY]

7 minutes ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Is this confirmed that all notices went out for UCI? A tad early I suspect since they usually got out in March?

I believe rejections go out in March. It looks like last year there were two rounds of rejections, one in February and one in March.

Edited February 26 by XXY

[Ogwick]

I’ve just been told I’ve received the rare “Superstar” badge on my Grad Cafe MFA 2026 Applicants Forum profile page. 

Does this help my grad school admission chances? How do I let the committee know about the reference?

Also - is there a cash prize as well?

 

(I better make it clear this is sarcasm…)

Edited February 26 by Ogwick

[oomphies]

3 minutes ago, Ogwick said:

I’ve just been told I’ve received the rare “Superstar” badge on my Grad Cafe MFA 2026 Applicants Forum profile page. 

Does this help my grad school admission chances? How do I let the committee know about the reference?

Also - is there a cash prize as well?

 

(I better make it clear this is sarcasm…)

sam chang specifically is VERY interested in ur badge 👀

[Ogwick]

9 minutes ago, oomphies said:

sam chang specifically is VERY interested in ur badge 👀

(In Jim Carrey Voice)

So you’re telling me there’s a chance….

 

Edited February 26 by Ogwick

[Leni]

So today, 26th of February is historically the most likely day that NYU Tisch sends out invites for interviews (I am thinking of the Performance Studies PhD / yesterday they sent out an interview invite to a student of Cinema Studies PhD, although the application deadline is Dec 1th, compared to Jan 15th in regard of Performance) 

I can't wait anymore.... 

[frootkoops36]

10 hours ago, XXY said:

I believe rejections go out in March. It looks like last year there were two rounds of rejections, one in February and one in March.

Is this for poetry as well ? Did all notices go out already ?

[SocialKonstruct]

1 hour ago, frootkoops36 said:

Is this for poetry as well ? Did all notices go out already ?

Nope... they are doing this in stages so expect something soon for UCI.

[BowelMovement]

First NYU acceptance logged on draft sheet! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[greenleaf]

1 hour ago, BowelMovement said:

First NYU acceptance logged on draft sheet! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i'm gonna be on edge about this all day😭

[strawberrymatcha]

do we think iowa is done? it looks like last year they dropped waitlists on thursday🕯️

[Musicsurfer]

1 hour ago, BowelMovement said:

First NYU acceptance logged on draft sheet! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Wait so I'm confused about how NYU (fiction) does things. Do they stagger their admission to the program? It looks like from last year at the very least the waitlists came out later and the acceptances came out over a couple days? With some outliers? ahhhhhhhhhhhh

[BowelMovement]

16 minutes ago, Musicsurfer said:

Wait so I'm confused about how NYU (fiction) does things. Do they stagger their admission to the program? It looks like from last year at the very least the waitlists came out later and the acceptances came out over a couple days? With some outliers? ahhhhhhhhhhhh

I think it's because everyone in the program gets different funding packages. The biggest funding package (Goldwater fellowship, I think) comes out first, and then the others trickle in.

[oomphies]

23 minutes ago, BowelMovement said:

I think it's because everyone in the program gets different funding packages. The biggest funding package (Goldwater fellowship, I think) comes out first, and then the others trickle in.

Bowelmovement r u IBS in the spreadsheet

[BowelMovement]

2 minutes ago, oomphies said:

Bowelmovement r u IBS in the spreadsheet

Nope that's my cousin I am just "BowelMovement"

[LouPatt]

1 hour ago, strawberrymatcha said:

do we think iowa is done? it looks like last year they dropped waitlists on thursday🕯️

Maybe for fiction, but Poetry looks like acceptances come out later than fiction.

[illumikitten]

22 hours ago, womaninthevoid said:

i had an interview today. it was very informal—the director asked me a few questions specifically about my writing sample, asked about my journey as a writer etc (not traditional, i’ve never had any experience in literature or english), and then talked about the program itself. i think its pretty consistent from what i’ve heard from other programs—its less of an interview (they already know they like you as a writer), and more of a “make sure they’d want to spend 2+ years with you” lol. i was pretty nervous before it because i didn’t know what to expect, but afterwards i felt dumb for being so nervous haha. good luck!!

Had my interview today and I feel like it went well! Thank you so much for your experience, it really helped put my head on straight for it and calm down a little haha.

[BowelMovement]

15 minutes ago, LouPatt said:

Maybe for fiction, but Poetry looks like acceptances come out later than fiction.

This is slightly unrelated, but I have been checking my mailbox every single day for an Iowa letter even though I'm a poetry applicant and even though I know they won't be here until March. My heart rate gets super high just by being in close proximity to the mailbox and I guess that's my daily cardio exercise. Anyway I find a new way to torture myself every day:) 

[MamaCats]

NWP Poetry Acceptance on Draft... 

(and it's not me...) 

Edited February 26 by MamaCats
Clarity

[BowelMovement]

3 minutes ago, MamaCats said:

NWP Poetry Acceptance on Draft... 

(and it's not me...) 

Do they drop all A's at once? God this is like Michener all over again for me

[greenleaf]

correct me if i'm wrong: my understanding is NYU admits 20ish per genre per year, more than other programs because full funding is not guaranteed. all the poetry acceptance so far have been phone calls, so it's possible it'll be staggered over a few days for deborah laundau to make all the calls. which means we might be anxious messes through next week...

[lisichka]

16 minutes ago, BowelMovement said:

Do they drop all A's at once? God this is like Michener all over again for me

I don't know if they send them all at the same time, but it should be all acceptances today and waitlists tomorrow, based on previous data

[A E]

On 2/23/2026 at 7:39 PM, bucket said:

i’m so stressed i thought we had a couple of weeks before we’d hear😭😭 i feel like they probably sent them all out?? as there is also a waitlist on draft. going to try not to give up yet but crying and throwing up are imminent 

Still no word and it's been over two days now. Has anyone else heard anything? I'm praying that this departure from the norm (rejections not coming out the day after acceptances) means there's still hope, though the fact that there's already a waitlist throws a wrench in this hope...