2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[axolotlish]

My NC State poetry MFA application is still in department review. I'm dying.

[greenleaf]

hi y'all, popping back in. got into queen's college cuny today, a week after accepting a full time job in nyc. only partial funding, but considering my job would be my funding, i'm faced with the choice of whether to do job+mfa at the same time, or to hold off on the mfa until i can apply again to fully-funded programs for next cycle as i'd originally intended. oh decisions! anyone have any thoughts on the work+mfa bind?

also: i'm turning my down my offer at boulder and my waitlist spot at arizona, so hopefully if anyone is waiting for those admissions you'll get some good news soon!

[mouthfullofmercury]

Just received my rejection from Pitts Fiction program. I was ranked 4th out of 400 and they accepted 2 people for the cohort. 😕 I did pretty good.

[taliaj]

41 minutes ago, greenleaf said:

hi y'all, popping back in. got into queen's college cuny today, a week after accepting a full time job in nyc. only partial funding, but considering my job would be my funding, i'm faced with the choice of whether to do job+mfa at the same time, or to hold off on the mfa until i can apply again to fully-funded programs for next cycle as i'd originally intended. oh decisions! anyone have any thoughts on the work+mfa bind?

also: i'm turning my down my offer at boulder and my waitlist spot at arizona, so hopefully if anyone is waiting for those admissions you'll get some good news soon!

I'm planning (if I get in, whether this or next year--manifesting!!!) to do work in addition to the MFA. Whether full- or part-time I'm not sure, but it's definitely something I'll be doing. I feel like as long as it doesn't interfere with classes in the sense of schedule, I could make it work.

[meepmoopmorp]

On 4/9/2026 at 12:13 PM, sufferer said:

anyone have word on waitlist movement potential for Syracuse? I'm accepted in another program and they're really wanting me to respond before the deadline 🥲

They told me they likely wouldn’t know until the April 15th deadline… but maybe you’ve heard from them since! I emailed about two weeks ago. It was a very nice email, albeit vague but I understand the vagueness 

Edited April 15 by meepmoopmorp

[precociousreader]

asked about waitlist clarity and then immediately got my official rejection lol!

Edited April 16 by precociousreader

[taliaj]

Will today be the day????

 

Anyone else feeling like this?

[LB349]

On 4/14/2026 at 11:17 PM, AustWriter said:

Not sure what stream you’re after, but I just (very sadly) declined my fiction offer…so there should be some movement there soon! 

Did you take another offer, or was funding not ideal? Good luck with whatever comes next!

[EMCOGNITION]

On 4/14/2026 at 9:46 PM, cantoras said:

not sure this cycle is going to work for me. I was rejected off one waitlist today and waiting for another one that seems unlikely (it's a fully-funded & 3 fiction-writer cohort).

feeling super demoralized. it was my first time applying, but I grinded so hard and dread the thought of having to do this again in the Fall--specifically asking for more LORs & dropping a shit ton of money on app fees. 

alas, would any of yall offer advice for people considering applying again next cycle? something more specific than “make your sample better” please! I’m interested in how folks approach language that pushes plot, invent characters that feel like you remember them from life on the page, strengthen dialogue, write sentences with rhythm, etc.

congratulations to those that got in! if any of you is willing to share what you feel moved hearts/set fireworks off in your own samples (from a craft lens, not content), I'd really appreciate it. 

Hey,

I was dropped from two waitlists yesterday. Straight up, I feel like shit. I was envisioning a future that got destroyed in two emails. Told myself not to hope, but hope is one half of the waitlist equation. how could i not? I'm gonna spend a few days curled up and hopefully emerge with some sense if I wanna put myself through this again next year. Seriously, I need a support group for what that waitlist period inflicted on my nervous system. I feel like I've been a mouse in a cat's mouth for 2 months. These schools are not predatory by any means, but the feelings are the feelings. We were legit braced for months. No advice, just know I feel you. Go shake it out. Scream into the void. try again. 

[cantoras]

6 minutes ago, EMCOGNITION said:

Hey,

I was dropped from two waitlists yesterday. Straight up, I feel like shit. I was envisioning a future that got destroyed in two emails. Told myself not to hope, but hope is one half of the waitlist equation. how could i not? I'm gonna spend a few days curled up and hopefully emerge with some sense if I wanna put myself through this again next year. Seriously, I need a support group for what that waitlist period inflicted on my nervous system. I feel like I've been a mouse in a cat's mouth for 2 months. These schools are not predatory by any means, but the feelings are the feelings. We were legit braced for months. No advice, just know I feel you. Go shake it out. Scream into the void. try again. 

thank you for these words. you’ve summarized this process perfectly. waitlists feel like holding onto barbed wire fence, peering at an experience that you can almost taste for yourself. so close, yet so far.

wishing you luck and good vibes in your journey. MFAs don’t make writers; translating this human experience into language does. we got this! 

[EMCOGNITION]

17 minutes ago, cantoras said:

thank you for these words. you’ve summarized this process perfectly. waitlists feel like holding onto barbed wire fence, peering at an experience that you can almost taste for yourself. so close, yet so far.

wishing you luck and good vibes in your journey. MFAs don’t make writers; translating this human experience into language does. we got this! 

Yes, so close but so far. We got this! I'll see you on this god.for.saken thread next year. 

[ojo534]

Got my off-the-waitlist email with an acceptance.... burst into tears immediately. i feel so lucky and i am going to try my hardest to make this offer turn into my future and my next three years! sending so much love and luck to you all

[YH94]

On 4/15/2026 at 2:51 PM, greenleaf said:

hi y'all, popping back in. got into queen's college cuny today, a week after accepting a full time job in nyc. only partial funding, but considering my job would be my funding, i'm faced with the choice of whether to do job+mfa at the same time, or to hold off on the mfa until i can apply again to fully-funded programs for next cycle as i'd originally intended. oh decisions! anyone have any thoughts on the work+mfa bind?

also: i'm turning my down my offer at boulder and my waitlist spot at arizona, so hopefully if anyone is waiting for those admissions you'll get some good news soon!

I will say work+mfa was going to be my plan as someone who has roots and a life in NYC! Even with stipends, I find that the usual mfa yearly income cannot be livable in NYC at all without a support system. I believe someone else said if you plan on being here long-term then job-school balance is very likely to happen either way. 

As for Queens College itself, I think it gives you a really unique position to get a taste of many different genres (yes you can take a poetry class, but literary translation is such a selling point to me considering Queens is world's most linguistically diverse urban area~ not to mention their faculty in children's/YA lit and speculative fiction; they also encourage electives like Columbia but for a MASSIVE fraction of the cost). Access to other CUNY system classes, like at the CUNY Grad Center, was also a huge draw considering I work in edtech and would LOVE to write while also taking a digital humanities class. Overall, I applied to Queens because so much of my writing centers Greek-American experiences in the borough, and so I wanted access to their archives (Louis Armstrong museum, Queens Memory Project, Hellenic American Project, etc.). There are a lot of particulars that drew me to Queens, and so if I were you I would consider what exactly you're aiming to have access to while in the MFA. 

Additionally if you've not visited then distance might be a factor. Queens College is located about 2-miles from the subway and more accessible by bus. It's a bit of a hike depending on where in the city you'll be based/coming from for your evening classes. Is your job in Queens as well or one of the other boroughs? 

Finally, I'm not sure if you received the same but the acceptance email was also incredibly warm and personalized  I went to a reading on campus a few weeks back and got the chance to speak to a current poetry student, who then put me in contact with one of his professors who then put me in contact with an author I really enjoyed. The program seems like a welcoming community!

Edited April 16 by YH94
added info

[AustWriter]

6 hours ago, LB349 said:

Did you take another offer, or was funding not ideal? Good luck with whatever comes next!

I declined due to funding. I’m an international student and given the enormous limitations on working rights for international students, coupled with the high cost of living etc in NYC, the offer for half tuition was kind but not going to cut it. If I had the savings, I’d happily sink them…but the half offer meant I’d be sinking my savings AND going into pretty significant debt. 

If you’re off to NYU this year - have a bloody ball, for you and for me! If you’re waiting on a waitlist outcome from them, I can say that I’ve found them genuinely lovely and helpful via email so maybe reach out?

Now, forgive me for getting a tiny bit soapboxy…but to all who are hurting, who feel like they’re not a writer because they got rejected or waitlisted, who are struggling with outcomes and motivation etc:

1) Have a look at Caro Claire Burke’s latest Insta post. She is the author of this year’s ’hottest’ debut (heads up - haven’t read it, don’t know much about her - a friend shared her post with me as motivation!) and has shared screenshots of so many of her rejections over the past decade. She’s now got a multi book deal and a film adaptation of her novel in the works with Anne Hathaway on board. I’m not saying we all want to write her kind of stories or be the kind of novelist she is…I’m saying that…team, we get knocked down, we get right back up again!

2) Think of your ten fave authors. Now look at the programs you’ve applied for, and picture these same authors applying. In most cases, save a few, you have to knock half or a quarter of these authors out of contention. Does that make them bad writers? Nope! These programs are damn competitive. You’ve done better than most just by applying.

3) Many successful authors who have completed MFA’s also did not get in on their first try, or their second  

4) An MFA doesn’t make you a writer. Writing makes you a writer. 

Wishing you all nothing but luck and the very best for all that’s to come. I’m looking forward to reading and spruiking your books and stories and poems - whether you wrote them by way of an MFA, or otherwise!

Edited April 16 by AustWriter

[Sprockett]

First time poster, long time lurker.

After a failed first application cycle in 2022 with a gap period, I finally got offered a spot in Montana’s fiction program!! Excited to go to Missoula and experience all it has to offer.

[gupppy]

I might be shouting into the void here but the cycle is officially over for me and I have nowhere else to put my takeaways from the whole experience. 

I'm a first-time fiction applicant and I'm ending the cycle with: 8a/4w/8r. (The waitlists haven't updated me yet, so those are probably rejections too.) I got into the program I'll be attending off the waitlist, and it was a reach school for sure, one of the Top 5's that I applied to for shits and giggles without really expecting to stand a chance. Here are my thoughts as this insane time comes to a close: 

- I cast a ridiculously wide net, and that was both good and bad. Obviously, I was lucky enough to have many options at the end, which I'm grateful for. But I applied to a lot of "safety" schools toward the end of the deadline period because I was starting to get scared of not getting in anywhere, and some of those schools were places I wouldn't have been thrilled to go to, mainly because they were unfunded. That ended up just taking time away from me (and those schools) unnecessarily. If I had to do it again, every single application would go to a program that I'd be excited to attend. 

- I'm so glad I didn't listen to the voice in my head that told me not to bother applying to any top programs. I wouldn't be headed where I'm headed if I had. 

- Everyone talks about how much of a crapshoot getting into a program is, and I didn't realize the true extent of this until recently. My first notification was a rejection from a school that, while still a strong program, is not considered super prestigious. This made me fully believe that if I hadn't gotten in there, I obviously wasn't going to get into any of my reach schools or maybe anywhere else (and that's when the panic applications started). Now I know that being accepted into a program has as much to do with whether or not your work fits whatever style/subject matter/vibe a school is looking for as it does the actual quality of your sample. Hellllla subjective. 

- Undergrad GPA - maybe it matters? Maybe it doesn't? I graduated undergrad with a 2.6 so I feel like I'm an experiment in whether or not programs actually care about that. Obviously, many of them don't. Maybe some of my rejections or waitlists would've been acceptances if my GPA was stronger, but who knows? Ultimately, I think my cycle proves that a poor GPA shouldn't hold anyone back from applying.  

- I would not have stood a chance in hell with this entire process if I hadn't taken YEARS to become a fully-formed, well-rounded person who had explored both my outer and inner worlds as much as I could after undergrad. And MFAs aside, taking some time to know who you are outside of being a student is good for both your spirit and your craft. 

- Months before applying, I sent my sample to one of my former writing teachers who helped me through several rounds of edits before it was ready. That was key.

Okay, I think that's it. Thank you all for being here over these past months. See you out in the writing world ❤️

[AustWriter]

3 minutes ago, gupppy said:

I might be shouting into the void here but the cycle is officially over for me and I have nowhere else to put my takeaways from the whole experience. 

I'm a first-time fiction applicant and I'm ending the cycle with: 8a/4w/8r. (The waitlists haven't updated me yet, so those are probably rejections too.) I got into the program I'll be attending off the waitlist, and it was a reach school for sure, one of the Top 5's that I applied to for shits and giggles without really expecting to stand a chance. Here are my thoughts as this insane time comes to a close: 

- I cast a ridiculously wide net, and that was both good and bad. Obviously, I was lucky enough to have many options at the end, which I'm grateful for. But I applied to a lot of "safety" schools toward the end of the deadline period because I was starting to get scared of not getting in anywhere, and some of those schools were places I wouldn't have been thrilled to go to, mainly because they were unfunded. That ended up just taking time away from me (and those schools) unnecessarily. If I had to do it again, every single application would go to a program that I'd be excited to attend. 

- I'm so glad I didn't listen to the voice in my head that told me not to bother applying to any top programs. I wouldn't be headed where I'm headed if I had. 

- Everyone talks about how much of a crapshoot getting into a program is, and I didn't realize the true extent of this until recently. My first notification was a rejection from a school that, while still a strong program, is not considered super prestigious. This made me fully believe that if I hadn't gotten in there, I obviously wasn't going to get into any of my reach schools or maybe anywhere else (and that's when the panic applications started). Now I know that being accepted into a program has as much to do with whether or not your work fits whatever style/subject matter/vibe a school is looking for as it does the actual quality of your sample. Hellllla subjective. 

- Undergrad GPA - maybe it matters? Maybe it doesn't? I graduated undergrad with a 2.6 so I feel like I'm an experiment in whether or not programs actually care about that. Obviously, many of them don't. Maybe some of my rejections or waitlists would've been acceptances if my GPA was stronger, but who knows? Ultimately, I think my cycle proves that a poor GPA shouldn't hold anyone back from applying.  

- I would not have stood a chance in hell with this entire process if I hadn't taken YEARS to become a fully-formed, well-rounded person who had explored both my outer and inner worlds as much as I could after undergrad. And MFAs aside, taking some time to know who you are outside of being a student is good for both your spirit and your craft. 

- Months before applying, I sent my sample to one of my former writing teachers who helped me through several rounds of edits before it was ready. That was key.

Okay, I think that's it. Thank you all for being here over these past months. See you out in the writing world ❤️

Not shouting into the void at all! 
 

I’ve had a very different cycle to you but agree with pretty much everything you’ve said - and I think a key takeaway for all to remember is the balance of cohorts! Your (universal your!) writing could be exceptional but just not fit the cohort/vibe. 

Have the best time heading to wherever you’re heading! ♥️

[itsgivingliterary]

14 hours ago, jka0124 said:

Regarding MO State, I decided to email them and do some investigating. I can share more information, but I think they're going to be fine. The faculty is solid, the program is three years with funding, etc., etc. The big issue is that the actual university/grad school doesn't have a lot of details yet. Honestly, I find that to be the case with a lot of programs. MFA applications are unlike any other graduate programs, and most grad admissions offices don't really *get* it.

I'd super appreciate any more info you got on them/the faculty! I applied last minute and am interviewing with them tomorrow, but am super apprehensive about actually going.

[itsgivingliterary]

1 minute ago, jka0124 said:

You’re like a pesky mosquito. I urge you to turn to your lord and savior, type O-negative, and find peace and a sense of humor. 

im crying why do you have a waluigi trolling on gradcafe

[taliaj]

1 hour ago, itsgivingliterary said:

I'd super appreciate any more info you got on them/the faculty! I applied last minute and am interviewing with them tomorrow, but am super apprehensive about actually going.

Did they reach out to you today? I haven't heard anything and I'm nervous that it means bad news.

[cantoras]

2 hours ago, gupppy said:

I might be shouting into the void here but the cycle is officially over for me and I have nowhere else to put my takeaways from the whole experience. 

I'm a first-time fiction applicant and I'm ending the cycle with: 8a/4w/8r. (The waitlists haven't updated me yet, so those are probably rejections too.) I got into the program I'll be attending off the waitlist, and it was a reach school for sure, one of the Top 5's that I applied to for shits and giggles without really expecting to stand a chance. Here are my thoughts as this insane time comes to a close: 

- I cast a ridiculously wide net, and that was both good and bad. Obviously, I was lucky enough to have many options at the end, which I'm grateful for. But I applied to a lot of "safety" schools toward the end of the deadline period because I was starting to get scared of not getting in anywhere, and some of those schools were places I wouldn't have been thrilled to go to, mainly because they were unfunded. That ended up just taking time away from me (and those schools) unnecessarily. If I had to do it again, every single application would go to a program that I'd be excited to attend. 

- I'm so glad I didn't listen to the voice in my head that told me not to bother applying to any top programs. I wouldn't be headed where I'm headed if I had. 

- Everyone talks about how much of a crapshoot getting into a program is, and I didn't realize the true extent of this until recently. My first notification was a rejection from a school that, while still a strong program, is not considered super prestigious. This made me fully believe that if I hadn't gotten in there, I obviously wasn't going to get into any of my reach schools or maybe anywhere else (and that's when the panic applications started). Now I know that being accepted into a program has as much to do with whether or not your work fits whatever style/subject matter/vibe a school is looking for as it does the actual quality of your sample. Hellllla subjective. 

- Undergrad GPA - maybe it matters? Maybe it doesn't? I graduated undergrad with a 2.6 so I feel like I'm an experiment in whether or not programs actually care about that. Obviously, many of them don't. Maybe some of my rejections or waitlists would've been acceptances if my GPA was stronger, but who knows? Ultimately, I think my cycle proves that a poor GPA shouldn't hold anyone back from applying.  

- I would not have stood a chance in hell with this entire process if I hadn't taken YEARS to become a fully-formed, well-rounded person who had explored both my outer and inner worlds as much as I could after undergrad. And MFAs aside, taking some time to know who you are outside of being a student is good for both your spirit and your craft. 

- Months before applying, I sent my sample to one of my former writing teachers who helped me through several rounds of edits before it was ready. That was key.

Okay, I think that's it. Thank you all for being here over these past months. See you out in the writing world ❤️

been rooting for you, guppy! congrats!

[itsgivingliterary]

2 minutes ago, taliaj said:

Did they reach out to you today? I haven't heard anything and I'm nervous that it means bad news.

yep! but i emailed the director when i first applied and my impression was that, as someone who applied in mid/late march, they expected much more apps after me and would be doing a rolling admissions type situation, so if you applied after me they may not have gotten to you yet

and ftr im apprehensive bc small cohort and springfield MO seems like hell on earth in terms of politics/being a religious minority. mike seems nice!

[taliaj]

5 minutes ago, itsgivingliterary said:

yep! but i emailed the director when i first applied and my impression was that, as someone who applied in mid/late march, they expected much more apps after me and would be doing a rolling admissions type situation, so if you applied after me they may not have gotten to you yet

and ftr im apprehensive bc small cohort and springfield MO seems like hell on earth in terms of politics/being a religious minority. mike seems nice!

I applied March 30th haha, so maybe! The anticipation is absolutely killing me and I'm going a bit crazy. Mike does seem really nice! I emailed him a few questions and he was really kind with answering them. I'm curious as to how many apps they got since it wasn't really advertised much besides social media.

And same, with the apprehensiveness! I totally understand your point.

[pengiunsfriend]

Did anyone get the Arizona CNF spot?

[arugalasalad]

 

Can anyone else relate?

 

A program waitlisted me back in early March, then a professor followed up within a week to say that I was high on the waitlist and there was a significant possibility of 1-2 spaces opening in the coming weeks. He said the department was rooting for me and told me to let him know if I was planning to accept anywhere else / if I had any questions. I then follow up with a nice email saying I will accept if offered a place.

 

About two weeks ago (early April), I sent an email with a simple logistical question about the program and … nothing. I hear nothing from then until the 15th, so yesterday (the 16th), I decide to send an email following up about the status of the cohort and expected waitlist movement … nothing. I know it’s barely been a day since my latest email, but is there a reason for this communication lag? Im wondering if this silence is quite a normal thing until they have an official answer for me? 

 

Thanks in advance — I’m going kind of crazy. Thinking maybe next week I should contact the initial department email instead of with the professor directly for a better shot at response?