2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[AustWriter]

15 minutes ago, ocurlyfries said:

I just checked my portal and it showed an update that said I had been rejected (boo). It might be different though because I'm not international. Either way, best of luck to you!

I appreciate the response, thank you so much. Sorry about the R, and apologies if my message prompted you to check. Better things are heading your way, good luck with the pending 7!

[ocurlyfries]

Just now, AustWriter said:

I appreciate the response, thank you so much. Sorry about the R, and apologies if my message prompted you to check. Better things are heading your way, good luck with the pending 7!

It did haha, but I'm glad that I know now as opposed to dragging it out! And thank you!

[mazzykitty]

any poets heard from iowa or uva on poetry yet? i see two for each school on draft, but not sure what the general timeline is for calls, then waitlists, then rejection.  i hope everyone is taking care ❤️ 

Edited March 3 by mazzykitty

[BowelMovement]

@ocurlyfries I'm late to the conversation but, like you've said to me before, we are in this together! I'm typing this while looking like pepe the frog because of how puffy my eyes have gotten from constantly crying because of this cruel cruel process. We need to be brave and keep going. As Alysa Liu says, what is there to lose? Every moment you're here you gain something!

Edited March 3 by BowelMovement

[hermione granger]

7 minutes ago, BowelMovement said:

@ocurlyfries I'm late to the conversation but, like you've said to me before, we are in this together! I'm typing this while looking like pepe the frog because of how puffy my eyes have gotten from constantly crying because of this cruel cruel process. We need to be brave and keeping going. As Alysa Liu says, what is there to lose? Every moment you're here you gain something!

nooo user BowelMovement don’t cry stay strong. wise words from alysa!

[meanwhile]

Had the worst day at work ever and then saw someone report a U of Arizona poetry waitlist on this site with a note saying over 100 apps for two spots. 
Questioning why I even thought I stood a chance 🥲

[madsmadsmads]

UVA waitlists on draft…my portal still says awaiting decision…should I assume the worst?

[ketchupoverload]

What are the odds that NYU releases acceptances tn??

[numbskull]

Any word or movement yet on UW (seattle) fiction? Only in draft in spirit

[lisichka]

5 minutes ago, numbskull said:

Any word or movement yet on UW (seattle) fiction? Only in draft in spirit

based on previous data, uw-seattle fiction acceptances will likely be sent between 3/8 and 3/11

[numbskull]

ty lisichka very helpful!

[chapelperilous]

I just got waitlisted at UVA which is exciting but also somehow more anxiety-inducing than the regular waiting bc now I have hope 🫠 on the bright side I discovered this site during my panic-googling so now I can panic with all of you instead of by myself

[bioluminescent sloth]

13 minutes ago, chapelperilous said:

I just got waitlisted at UVA which is exciting but also somehow more anxiety-inducing than the regular waiting bc now I have hope 🫠 on the bright side I discovered this site during my panic-googling so now I can panic with all of you instead of by myself

Congrats! I hope it works out for you! I'm currently waitlisted at one of my top top choices, and it's nice having the hope but also so nerve-wracking. Welcome to the panic haha 

[Idktbh]

Did anyone else interview at Rutgers Newark for fiction today? The vibes were…off. One professor was super standoffish, seemed tired and like she didn’t want to be there. Not warm at all, pretty cold. I’m really put off icl. I think all the interviews were crammed into a 5 hour time slot, 15 minutes each which I get can be exhausting but then don’t make the interview schedule that intense if the energy is going to be so foul? 😩

[Jitterbug98]

6 minutes ago, Idktbh said:

Did anyone else interview at Rutgers Newark for fiction today? The vibes were…off. One professor was super standoffish, seemed tired and like she didn’t want to be there. Not warm at all, pretty cold. I’m really put off icl. I think all the interviews were crammed into a 5 hour time slot, 15 minutes each which I get can be exhausting but then don’t make the interview schedule that intense if the energy is going to be so foul? 😩

YES I also interviewed today and thought that I did poorly because the vibe was off and awkward…good to know you had the same experience maybe they were just tired lol 

[SocialKonstruct]

7 hours ago, PLSSSSSSSSSSSSS said:

let's all give it up for all of us making weird trans art though!!!!! politics too...so much at play....i mean look at the way academia is treating Pro Palestine sentiment. It's just a weird time and space for this degree for some of us. Inside institutions nonetheless. That is also always at play. Fully funded offers favor privilege obvi... there are so many low-res or non-funded options that are SO FIERCE i wish i wasn't poor LOL. same to you thooooooo yeesssss transsss arrttttt NOWWWWWWWWWW. it only takes one! 

This being the key reason why I didn't look at applying to Columbia due to the ICE raids on their campus and anti-Palestinian sentiment. As a radically leftist Sufist Buddhist writer, definitely not the environs I would feel safe at atm.

[impatientjoy]

Curious for those considering options, how much weight are you giving your initial interactions? I’m having wildly different experiences with professors after being accepted or waitlisted, and I feel a little like some schools aren’t actually that invested. 

Edited March 4 by impatientjoy

[XXY]

Anyone hear back from Chapman? I just received word I was accepted but didn’t get any info about funding, so I’m assuming I wasn’t awarded a fellowship.

[Idktbh]

19 minutes ago, Jitterbug98 said:

YES I also interviewed today and thought that I did poorly because the vibe was off and awkward…good to know you had the same experience maybe they were just tired lol 

I’m so glad I’m not alone 🥹😭 such a shame that’s our first interaction with/impression of the program.  Also 15 minutes really isn’t enough time to get to know someone and gauge their vibe. I wonder if they already have a vague sense of who they want to admit…judging from last year, we should hear back in a few days 👀

[springsaquamarine]

shoutout to all preemptively negatively impacted by UVA waitlists on draft LOL... right there with you! love ya! and also shoutout to all positively impacted! not with you but loving ya just the same

[molemola]

10 minutes ago, impatientjoy said:

Curious for those considering options, how much weight are you giving your initial interactions? I’m having wildly different experiences with professors after being accepted or waitlisted, and I feel a little like some schools aren’t actually that invested. 

It's hard to say - definitely the first impressions and consistency with which people are responding and engaging with me matters. There are other factors (length of program, funding, teaching load) that matter too, though. People I've talked to about this who have gone through the process (mostly alumni from my spouse's program) told me to just go off vibes, though.

In other news, a result from my last school has hit the spreadsheet. Different genre, though.

[Jitterbug98]

8 minutes ago, Idktbh said:

I’m so glad I’m not alone 🥹😭 such a shame that’s our first interaction with/impression of the program.  Also 15 minutes really isn’t enough time to get to know someone and gauge their vibe. I wonder if they already have a vague sense of who they want to admit…judging from last year, we should hear back in a few days 👀

Yeah we should know soon! I’m thinking it might end up being a waitlist for me, I’m not sure if they reject people they interviewed? Unless I really messed up the interview lol. We’ll see. Good luck!! 

[hermione granger]

2 hours ago, chapelperilous said:

I just got waitlisted at UVA which is exciting but also somehow more anxiety-inducing than the regular waiting bc now I have hope 🫠 on the bright side I discovered this site during my panic-googling so now I can panic with all of you instead of by myself

omg congrats though!! did they indicate how many waitlisted/applied in yours

[chapelperilous]

1 minute ago, hermione granger said:

omg congrats though!! did they indicate how many waitlisted/applied in yours

thank you! no they didn't include any numbers in the letter it basically just said that I'm on the waitlist and they'll notify me as soon as further information is available...on their website it says "we do not release ranked waitlists or our waitlist sizes" so it seems like that's all the info we'll get out of them for the time being lol 

[actualair]

I’m not really sure if anyone would have insight on this. But I’m having some regret about my essays/SOPs. I felt my sample was strong, my recs were strong — oh well, everyone thinks this. I’m a public school teacher, I have been for six years. In my supplementals, I wrote about how I want to use my MFA to be a better teacher when I’m done, to hone my writing skills and spend time diving into content, that I can bring back to improve my practice as an educator, specifically special ed. Does anyone think this could have impacted my application negatively? Do committees want to hear that you want to put out books and be a professor? Since I’ve gotten mostly rejections, should I alter my materials next time around to be more aspirational? Who knows! I have one fully funded offer from a state school that’s very excited to have me, but I’m kind of kicking myself wishing I had done some things different.