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? 

[writeordie]

On 10/9/2025 at 8:44 AM, Chex said:

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? 

20K is difficult to live on, even here, but some do. Most students get by with just a small part-time side hustle. I personally worked in publishing for years before doing my MFA, so I kept a few coaching clients that I work with one day a week, and that's been just fine. I also want to note that the prestige of the actual *faculty* is considerable here--e.g., Meg Day just won the Guggenheim, Carter Sickels is rapidly becoming one of the most in-demand queer/trans writers working, and Belle Boggs has been putting out brilliant books of many genres for decades with Graywolf and elsewhere. (She's also the head of the NC chapter of the American Association of University Professors and has been using her tenure to fight for academic freedom all over the state.) Anyway, I love it here! APPLY! I want another fabulous crew of first-years to join our rad cohort next term.  

[commandercowboy]

On 10/2/2025 at 11:29 PM, 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.)

I think you've sold me on NC State... I'm applying for poetry, so I'd love to hear more about what poetry life is like at NCSU, but I love Meg Day's work. One of my most selfish wants in an MFA program is about location... I'm from NC and I miss the nature there like none other after doing undergrad in the midwest. I'm from a more rural part of the state, but I would love to hear about what life is like in Raleigh for a grad student! If you have anything to say about the poetry or the environment of it all, I'm all ears

[OctopusCactus]

On 9/27/2025 at 10:28 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!

Current MFA student here.  There are a significant number of people in my program on student visas, including POC, writing about imperialism and colonialism (and queerness, for that matter).  I have trouble imagining a US-based MFA program that is not supportive of students doing that kind of work.  The day-to-day experience you have as a queer POC in the US will depend hugely on where you live (coastal city vs southern college town for example).  This is probably common sense, but be aware that the people reviewing your visa application may look at your social media posts.  

[SocialKonstruct]

Woot..finally my UCI MFA application is done finally. Got all letters of recommendations done and all I need to do is pay the fee now..whew.

[SocialKonstruct]

On 10/14/2025 at 8:17 AM, writeordie said:

20K is difficult to live on, even here, but some do. Most students get by with just a small part-time side hustle. I personally worked in publishing for years before doing my MFA, so I kept a few coaching clients that I work with one day a week, and that's been just fine. I also want to note that the prestige of the actual *faculty* is considerable here--e.g., Meg Day just won the Guggenheim, Carter Sickels is rapidly becoming one of the most in-demand queer/trans writers working, and Belle Boggs has been putting out brilliant books of many genres for decades with Graywolf and elsewhere. (She's also the head of the NC chapter of the American Association of University Professors and has been using her tenure to fight for academic freedom all over the state.) Anyway, I love it here! APPLY! I want another fabulous crew of first-years to join our rad cohort next term.  

Speaking of Meg Day I just turned in my University of Utah Ph.D. application today and only need to pay the fee now. Day is a graduate of the U of U Creative Writing Ph.D. program btw.

[SocialKonstruct]

Just completed and paid the fee for my Ph.D. application for the Creative Writing/Literature at USC. It's great to rest a little while working on more literary submissions and my day job.