2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[doublementh]

Does anyone know anything about the Stony Brook fiction MFA? I applied on a whim and got in, but no one seems to be able to tell me anything about the program or its reputation. Any leads?

[thrifty3]

UW poetry acceptance on the draft. comment says only 2 people accepted this year (for poetry i’m guessing?)

[samura]

24 minutes ago, thrifty3 said:

UW poetry acceptance on the draft. comment says only 2 people accepted this year (for poetry i’m guessing?)

crazy 😭 does it say how they were notified? i’m not on draft and my portal hasn’t updated 

[lisichka]

11 minutes ago, thrifty3 said:

UW poetry acceptance on the draft. comment says only 2 people accepted this year (for poetry i’m guessing?)

welp, there goes the last of my schools 😭 based on past data, waitlists/rejections for UW-seattle poetry should be out by thursday at the latest

[thrifty3]

11 minutes ago, samura said:

crazy 😭 does it say how they were notified? i’m not on draft and my portal hasn’t updated 

It looks like it was a call

[plqt0]

any word on NYU, brown, or iowa fiction acceptances...? 🤞 i've been seeing a lot of poetry updates, but not much for fiction 

[micafaye]

can someone drop a link to the decision spreadsheet? i am dying to see 

[Solin]

Hello everyone! I hope y'all are taking care of yourselves during this tough season. I'm currently in the middle of deciding between programs. I have one program (which must remain anonymous 0_0) that reached out two weeks ago for an interview. After I responded and expressed continued interest, they replied back within hours to set up a zoom call. However their available times were all very immediate. In fact, out of the two times they listed, one of them was for the same day and the other was for the following day. Is this normal for the interview process, or should I take such a quick turnaround as a negative sign? I'm not sure why it would be negative (I guess I tend to be a very skeptical person). From what I can say about the program: they provide full tuition for the duration of the degree, though no health insurance or living stipend; they are quite reputable, though no notable alumni (based on a few google searches). Not sure if much judgment can be made given the limited scope of info that I provided, but if anyone has any insight on red flags to consider I would much appreciate it!

Edited March 10 by Solin

[Solin]

2 hours ago, micafaye said:

can someone drop a link to the decision spreadsheet? i am dying to see 

It's a private spreadsheet, so to access you'll need to join the mfa draft group on FB :)!

[Solin]

10 hours ago, plqt0 said:

any word on NYU, brown, or iowa fiction acceptances...? 🤞 i've been seeing a lot of poetry updates, but not much for fiction 

Based on the spreadsheet, it looks like acceptances in fiction have been sent out for NYU and iowa. I dont see Brown fiction on spreadsheet so I can't say for sure if they have/have not been sent out.

[rumi77]

10 minutes ago, Solin said:

Based on the spreadsheet, it looks like acceptances in fiction have been sent out for NYU and iowa. I dont see Brown fiction on spreadsheet so I can't say for sure if they have/have not been sent out.

There is one fiction acceptance for Brown on the spreadsheet, posted Sunday. I can only assume acceptances have gone out. Although, I do find it weird that someone heard back on a Sunday...

[molemola]

5 minutes ago, rumi77 said:

There is one fiction acceptance for Brown on the spreadsheet, posted Sunday. I can only assume acceptances have gone out. Although, I do find it weird that someone heard back on a Sunday...

tbh lots of decisions have gone out on weekends this year! so I'm not terribly surprised.

[32geckos]

1 hour ago, Solin said:

Hello everyone! I hope y'all are taking care of yourselves during this tough season. I'm currently in the middle of deciding between programs. I have one program (which must remain anonymous 0_0) that reached out two weeks ago for an interview. After I responded and expressed continued interest, they replied back within hours to set up a zoom call. However their available times were all very immediate. In fact, out of the two times they listed, one of them was for the same day and the other was for the following day. Is this normal for the interview process, or should I take such a quick turnaround as a negative sign? I'm not sure why it would be negative (I guess I tend to be a very skeptical person). From what I can say about the program: they provide full tuition for the duration of the degree, though no health insurance or living stipend; they are quite reputable, though no notable alumni (based on a few google searches). Not sure if much judgment can be made given the limited scope of info that I provided, but if anyone has any insight on red flags to consider I would much appreciate it!

First of all — congrats on your acceptances!! 
The interview timing is maybe a little strange, but personally I don’t see that as being the biggest red flag. I think the more important question is how you are feeling about the program. If it’s a place you are excited by, and you enjoyed talking to them, don’t let the interview timing hold you back. On the other had, if you are getting weird vibes from them that’s important to listen to too. You’ll be spending lots of time with these people so you want to make sure you like them and they don’t make you feel apprehensive or anything. 
As a side note, if the program doesn’t cover living costs I would put some time into budgeting and seeing if it’s doable for you. You really don’t want to put yourself in lots of debt, and depending on what the cost of living is like in that school’s area, it’s an important factor to consider. 

If you’re still torn, maybe ask the programs if you could talk to their current students to get their perspective? 

What’s your other school like?

Edited March 10 by 32geckos

[violette_us]

22 hours ago, Wittosss said:

Any news from Columbia? I’m starting to tweak I can’t hold it together anymore💀

I got a FAFSA award offer email from them today, but I have no way of viewing the award within their system since I don't have a student ID with them (and even if I do I can't find it!) 

[micafaye]

any u of arizona news? cant see the spreadsheet yet. i haven’t heard anything from them since submitting… any chance the result will be anything other than a rejection at this point? anyone who was accepted get their offer this late in the game? 

[madsmadsmads]

When do we think we will see Iowa waitlists for poetry?  Are waitlists usually notified by email? 

[AustWriter]

Funding package info for NYU is starting to come through, for those waiting! 

Edited March 10 by AustWriter

[doublementh]

also lol I haven't heard a peep from nyu, columbia, brooklyn college, or hunter college

it's so fucking over for me isn't it

[OnTheWhaleRoad]

I made this account to say one thing only:

C'mon, BU. 

[greenleaf]

if nyu accepts 20-30 per genre per their website, and there are only six poetry acceptances in the draft, lets say anywhere from 100-150% of that off draft, then there's still a chance there's a handful of poetry acceptances still to go out...? i feel like i'm in a state of mind between that confused lady with the floating equations meme and that red-faced guy with the conspiracy theory board meme

[quetza1e5]

12 minutes ago, OnTheWhaleRoad said:

I made this account to say one thing only:

C'mon, BU. 

If last year's data is anything to go off of, it seems like they made calls around the 13th and 14th with scattered rejections/waitlists following. Hold fast to hope!  

[rumi77]

Someone be real with me. 1 Brown fiction acceptance on Sunday posted to Draft. Should I give up hope if I haven't heard back yet

Edited March 10 by rumi77
Typo

[ojo534]

14 minutes ago, greenleaf said:

if nyu accepts 20-30 per genre per their website, and there are only six poetry acceptances in the draft, lets say anywhere from 100-150% of that off draft, then there's still a chance there's a handful of poetry acceptances still to go out...? i feel like i'm in a state of mind between that confused lady with the floating equations meme and that red-faced guy with the conspiracy theory board meme

this is sooooo me rn convinced they are just building suspense then they'll send me my cnf acceptance

[thrifty3]

does anyone have insight/experience on why programs wait to deliver rejections until a while after acceptances/waitlists go out? 

understandably, there is a lot of movement with waitlists and acceptances, but (correct me if i am wrong) a rejection seems set in stone. so what is the rationale behind waiting to send them?

[OnTheWhaleRoad]

53 minutes ago, birdfriend67 said:

If last year's data is anything to go off of, it seems like they made calls around the 13th and 14th with scattered rejections/waitlists following. Hold fast to hope!  

I'm in poetry and I think (because yes I made a scatterplot but it's at home) that the poetry notifications skewed earlier. 

Also I have this sick idea that BU just waitlists everyone during their insane staggered response cycle and goes back later to offer acceptances.