2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[BowelMovement]

Is anyone still waiting on UMich? How the hell did they start releasing in the last few hours of the last work day of the week they said they were going to get the results out on and then as soon as the clock hits five they're like yup that's it for the day wrap it up guys and now I have to wait until Monday JFC and god forbid it's another R...I was curled up in bed until 3pm today because I was so depressed and my roommate even asked me if I was ok🥀

[hermione granger]

16 minutes ago, BowelMovement said:

Is anyone still waiting on UMich? How the hell did they start releasing in the last few hours of the last work day of the week they said they were going to get the results out on and then as soon as the clock hits five they're like yup that's it for the day wrap it up guys and now I have to wait until Monday JFC and god forbid it's another R...I was curled up in bed until 3pm today because I was so depressed and my roommate even asked me if I was ok🥀

do not be sad user BowelMovement they played us all by saying by the week of wednesday 2/11 thusly giving themselves until the following wednesday! 

[eunereun]

20 minutes ago, BowelMovement said:

Is anyone still waiting on UMich? How the hell did they start releasing in the last few hours of the last work day of the week they said they were going to get the results out on and then as soon as the clock hits five they're like yup that's it for the day wrap it up guys and now I have to wait until Monday JFC and god forbid it's another R...I was curled up in bed until 3pm today because I was so depressed and my roommate even asked me if I was ok🥀

im in the same boat. i'm ngl i slept all day today cuz i just had to stop checking my email. i just hope we get something soon. it sucks, i dont know what to tell ya, but ig we in this together.

[Bugg]

28 minutes ago, BowelMovement said:

Is anyone still waiting on UMich? How the hell did they start releasing in the last few hours of the last work day of the week they said they were going to get the results out on and then as soon as the clock hits five they're like yup that's it for the day wrap it up guys and now I have to wait until Monday JFC and god forbid it's another R...I was curled up in bed until 3pm today because I was so depressed and my roommate even asked me if I was ok🥀

Yeah I’m still waiting. tbh I’m just assuming it’s a rejection along with JHU lol. I’ve accepted my fate here. I have one school left after those.

[eunereun]

54 minutes ago, Bugg said:

Yeah I’m still waiting. tbh I’m just assuming it’s a rejection along with JHU lol. I’ve accepted my fate here. I have one school left after those.

also waiting on jhu. ive accepted my fate. but also, kinda holding out on hope for some reason

[SocialKonstruct]

3 hours ago, 2O2AMFA said:

Yup, people cannot understand why a master's program for writing is even more selective than a Harvard MBA. The latter is to make graduates high-paid professionals, generally at their own financial cost, but the former is to grant us the opportunity to become best-selling authors, fully funded. If you explain to people that we are paid to be celebrities in the same league as Hollywood movie stars and Broadway musical talents, they may realize for whom these programs are set. 

It is very common that most of us will be humiliated. We should be proud as we have tried. 

Postscript: A Harvard MBA doesn't need to be exceptionally talented, but any fully funded MFA in Creative Writing is. 

Myriad reasons but mostly universities earn more donations and support with business/MFA programs especially since they are professional degrees so those aren't full funded. Same goes for MD's, JD's, and MPH's (I have the MPH one which wasn't funded at all really when I went to Yale...).

Also I wouldn't be interested in becoming a best-selling author since I'm a firm anti-capitalist... money is definitely not the reason I am pursuing a Ph.D. (or MFA backup). I am trying to create memorable and philosophically challenging literature that lasts beyond my own death and hopefully for future generations, assuming that Earth survives in 10 years.

Plus most authors are hardly comparable to Hollywood or Broadway stars. Most MFA creative writing graduates will be authors on the small scale and considering that those programs are geared to creation of literary outputs, the focus will be on the innovative and experimental side of things (hopefully) and not part of genre fiction typically. Plus authors really don't donate to the universities and I can promise you that university admin could care less about the English dept when sports and business and medical fields are raking in donations to foot their bills/projects etc. etc.

[2O2AMFA]

31 minutes ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Myriad reasons but mostly universities earn more donations and support with business/MFA programs especially since they are professional degrees so those aren't full funded. Same goes for MD's, JD's, and MPH's (I have the MPH one which wasn't funded at all really when I went to Yale...).

Also I wouldn't be interested in becoming a best-selling author since I'm a firm anti-capitalist... money is definitely not the reason I am pursuing a Ph.D. (or MFA backup). I am trying to create memorable and philosophically challenging literature that lasts beyond my own death and hopefully for future generations, assuming that Earth survives in 10 years.

Plus most authors are hardly comparable to Hollywood or Broadway stars. Most MFA creative writing graduates will be authors on the small scale and considering that those programs are geared to creation of literary outputs, the focus will be on the innovative and experimental side of things (hopefully) and not part of genre fiction typically. Plus authors really don't donate to the universities and I can promise you that university admin could care less about the English dept when sports and business and medical fields are raking in donations to foot their bills/projects etc. etc.

It is why I will help MFA in Creative Writing programs beat Ivy League MBAs if I am engaged.

English Departments can make the creative writing programs lucrative when they connect to real world dynamically. 

[marsmentality]

So what do I do now? I’ve been rejected from UIUC and UW-Madison. I’m assuming UMich is a rejection too. All I have left is UO and Iowa, and I think I’ve really lost all hope that either one will grant me acceptance. I don’t know. I thought I was a writer. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really thought I was good at. I don’t have anything else. I can’t wait a whole entire year for the chance to apply and get rejected again. I don’t know what to do with my life at this point. I’m about to be 26 and I have nothing, this was supposed to be my ticket out. I have no way out now. Sorry for the supreme negativity on here. I just really thought I had a shot at this. 

[2O2AMFA]

38 minutes ago, marsmentality said:

So what do I do now? I’ve been rejected from UIUC and UW-Madison. I’m assuming UMich is a rejection too. All I have left is UO and Iowa, and I think I’ve really lost all hope that either one will grant me acceptance. I don’t know. I thought I was a writer. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really thought I was good at. I don’t have anything else. I can’t wait a whole entire year for the chance to apply and get rejected again. I don’t know what to do with my life at this point. I’m about to be 26 and I have nothing, this was supposed to be my ticket out. I have no way out now. Sorry for the supreme negativity on here. I just really thought I had a shot at this. 

If you consider yourself a writer,  you must be confident in your communication skills at a premium level. Being senior levels of humanity professionals, no matter whether it is business, culture, or politics, require your messages conveyed not only concisely but also artistically and diplomatically in writing and talking. AI won't be able to do it for a foreseeable time. I believe you can find opportunities if you blend your writing skills with your unique background and personality. Admitted to a fully funded program is fabulous, but it is excruciatingly competitive as we all experience. While keeping the optimism, you may also take advantage of your strength in writing to explore broader areas than literature itself.

[Jitterbug98]

1 hour ago, marsmentality said:

So what do I do now? I’ve been rejected from UIUC and UW-Madison. I’m assuming UMich is a rejection too. All I have left is UO and Iowa, and I think I’ve really lost all hope that either one will grant me acceptance. I don’t know. I thought I was a writer. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really thought I was good at. I don’t have anything else. I can’t wait a whole entire year for the chance to apply and get rejected again. I don’t know what to do with my life at this point. I’m about to be 26 and I have nothing, this was supposed to be my ticket out. I have no way out now. Sorry for the supreme negativity on here. I just really thought I had a shot at this. 

It’s not over till it’s over, but if you do end up with all rejections it doesn’t mean you’re not a talented writer. The programs you applied to are all highly competitive, like hundreds of applications for a handful of spots competitive. Lots of good people get turned down. 
 

The other thing I’d say is that an MFA for a lot of people unfortunately isn’t a path to a lucrative career anyway, so it may be important to think about what else besides writing you could enjoy or just tolerate doing. For me, I’m considering eventually getting my MSW and being a therapist-writer combo. Some people use their writing skills to become copywriters or work in communications or fundraising. Lots of companies need strong writers, even with AI. Or pursue a career that you think could give you experiences that would fuel your writing. Your career doesn’t have to be your absolute passion, you can do your passion on the side and maybe one day with some perseverance and luck it can become financially lucrative. In the meantime it can be emotionally/ spiritually lucrative. If you really love to write you will keep writing.
 

To me it sounds like you have things going for you: you’re employed, you’re still very young, and you have a passion and the drive to pursue that passion. Not everyone can say that!

[lisichka]

1 hour ago, marsmentality said:

So what do I do now? I’ve been rejected from UIUC and UW-Madison. I’m assuming UMich is a rejection too. All I have left is UO and Iowa, and I think I’ve really lost all hope that either one will grant me acceptance. I don’t know. I thought I was a writer. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really thought I was good at. I don’t have anything else. I can’t wait a whole entire year for the chance to apply and get rejected again. I don’t know what to do with my life at this point. I’m about to be 26 and I have nothing, this was supposed to be my ticket out. I have no way out now. Sorry for the supreme negativity on here. I just really thought I had a shot at this. 

You ARE a writer. Even if you don’t get in anywhere, you will still be a writer, as we all will remain no matter the outcome. It is so important to establish an inner narrative that the best part of you, the writer at your core, cannot be broken that easily if it’s so strong that it defines you. You say you can’t wait another year to go through the same process—okay, if you don’t have the capacity to do it again, you don’t have to. But guess what? The time will pass anyway. I’m also about to be 26 and have not been able to get any sort of career started (thanks to the atrocious job market and my own mental battles), so I understand your anxiety during this uncomfortable transitional phase of our lives. I’m also doubting myself at every turn. I hope we both get in somewhere, but if we don’t, that’ll be the time to re-assess our goals, create a Plan B, and figure out whether it’ll take just as long as Plan A. I’ve heard many stories of people getting acceptances during their second cycle. I hope you continue to believe you’re a good writer and that it leads you down a good path.

[hermione granger]

didn’t quote the original msg but this applies to everyone: an MFA is not what makes you a writer. there is always a way out and an MFA is not the only one!

besides, every rejection leads you 1 step closer to what is meant for you - a better school, a better experience, a way out. be as negative as you want but when you pick yourself back up, keep going. the ones who fail are genuinely the ones who stop trying.

this is building your immunity, trust. the entire writing world is filled with rejection. but it only takes one yes 🙂 

Edited February 15 by hermione granger

[analog_e]

2 hours ago, marsmentality said:

So what do I do now? I’ve been rejected from UIUC and UW-Madison. I’m assuming UMich is a rejection too. All I have left is UO and Iowa, and I think I’ve really lost all hope that either one will grant me acceptance. I don’t know. I thought I was a writer. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really thought I was good at. I don’t have anything else. I can’t wait a whole entire year for the chance to apply and get rejected again. I don’t know what to do with my life at this point. I’m about to be 26 and I have nothing, this was supposed to be my ticket out. I have no way out now. Sorry for the supreme negativity on here. I just really thought I had a shot at this. 

I'll level with you. Hitching yourself to a black box process with often 1% acceptance rates as the sole way out probably wasn't going to pan out regardless of how talented you may be. You cannot allow these programs to be the ultimate arbiters of quality in writing. Some brilliant writers come out of these programs, but so do many who go nowhere or who don't really produce anything particularly worthwhile. It's really kind of a crapshoot what they're going to favor and why, and some of what you read by present students and alumni is puzzling at best. There's a bit of an industry pipeline, but if you tell the average literate person that you're going for an MFA, in my experience, they'll either shrug, ask why you would do that, or explain that the industry complex surrounding these programs has ruined modern literature. My take is that it doesn't really matter whether you have one of these degrees unless it is imperative that you become a professor (long shot anyhow), it would just be nice to get paid for a couple years to focus on writing. I can't say whether you're a good writer, but you're certainly, at least, a writer with all the same potential to be good as anyone in one of these programs. Have some faith in your own work. 

[Purplesunscreen]

Has Vanderbilt sent out rejection letters to everyone? There's no update on my portal. 

[analog_e]

7 minutes ago, Purplesunscreen said:

Has Vanderbilt sent out rejection letters to everyone? There's no update on my portal. 

nope

[kaliadofo]

Hi, I'm a fellow MFA applicant and have been quietly lurking about the chatroom. However, as rejections come in, I want to reassure anyone who is feeling the weight of the rejection that an MFA is NOT the only way to a published book or a steady career as a writer. It is the most straightforward way, but it may not even be the right way for you. I have talked to a bunch of writers during this process, both MFA graduates and MA/PHD graduates alike, and many have told me personally that while MFAs are a great way to get to where you need to go, there are also fellowships, residencies, publications with funding and connections with literary agents, publishers and more, all of which can get you to your overall dream. We will often have to teach or find another way of making money because, unfortunately, living costs are abysmal, and we don't have as many readers anymore, but one of my mentors, who does not have an MFA, is a well-respected, established writer who built his own program for writers through his own connections and lives well. There are so many ways to go about this process, and remember that our journey, unlike others, takes years and oftentimes decades to build. A few rejections will never determine your success as a writer, only your determination, ambition, and motivation to continue writing. Please remember that during this process, you are deserving of a mountain of publications and an incredible career, with an MFA or without! 

 

[Ogwick]

9 hours ago, 2O2AMFA said:

English Departments can make the creative writing programs lucrative when they connect to real world dynamically. 

Here here!  Well said. I have the same thoughts percolating through my own head recently 

[SocialKonstruct]

9 hours ago, 2O2AMFA said:

It is why I will help MFA in Creative Writing programs beat Ivy League MBAs if I am engaged.

English Departments can make the creative writing programs lucrative when they connect to real world dynamically. 

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/tuition-debt-and-graduate-creative-writing-programs

"Creative Writing (MFA/BA): Often viewed as a "cost center" or having lower ROI, with two-year tuition potentially reaching $63,000, while graduates may face low-paying jobs or debt. However, some funded programs provide stipends, indicating they are supported by university, not just student tuition."

[TheeMightyQuinn]

2 hours ago, Purplesunscreen said:

Has Vanderbilt sent out rejection letters to everyone? There's no update on my portal. 

Mine either.

I have a question about Vanderbilt, though... for the interviews, do they let you know ahead of time, or do they just cold call you without sending you an email first? I get a lot of spam calls, and now I'm terrified that I missed a call from them because they didn't alert me beforehand or leave a voicemail.

[guntherpingu]

10 hours ago, marsmentality said:

So what do I do now? I’ve been rejected from UIUC and UW-Madison. I’m assuming UMich is a rejection too. All I have left is UO and Iowa, and I think I’ve really lost all hope that either one will grant me acceptance. I don’t know. I thought I was a writer. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really thought I was good at. I don’t have anything else. I can’t wait a whole entire year for the chance to apply and get rejected again. I don’t know what to do with my life at this point. I’m about to be 26 and I have nothing, this was supposed to be my ticket out. I have no way out now. Sorry for the supreme negativity on here. I just really thought I had a shot at this. 

1. It took me three years of applying to get into my MFA program. Only a few members of my cohort got in on their first try (and not all of them applied straight out of college--the ages of my cohort members range from early 20s to early 40s). It took five years for a good friend of mine to get into an MFA program, and his writing is fantastic! While it's possible to get in on your first try, it's incredibly hard. Like writing, applying to these programs is a process.

2. Twenty-six is so young! You DO NOT need to have your life figured out yet. I firmly believe that a person's 20s are for fucking around (30s too, now that I think about it). Either find a job that lets you write/read in your spare time and keep trying for that MFA, or find a job that's somewhat related to writing that you enjoy doing. If you live near a college, they're almost always hiring academic advisors and those jobs come with health insurance (mostly). Your life is not over, it's only starting.

3. My main goal for joining an MFA program was community and a drive to write (also deadlines that I couldn't keep pushing back). If you don't have a physical writing community around you, maybe try finding an online one? That way you can feel motivated to keep writing through talking with others about writing. I'd be happy to talk craft books with you over discord or something!

4. I felt doomed when I was rejected by everyone my first year applying. I didn't understand the difficulty of what I was doing, and I took those rejections personally. Being a writer was so intertwined with my identity that I didn't know who I was outside of it, which took a toll on my mental health. Recognizing that writing is something that I do, not who I am, helped me separate myself from the sting of those rejections. Volunteering in my community helped me feel valuable while I was figuring things out in-between application cycles, so that might be something to look into.

[2O2AMFA]

1 hour ago, SocialKonstruct said:

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/tuition-debt-and-graduate-creative-writing-programs

"Creative Writing (MFA/BA): Often viewed as a "cost center" or having lower ROI, with two-year tuition potentially reaching $63,000, while graduates may face low-paying jobs or debt. However, some funded programs provide stipends, indicating they are supported by university, not just student tuition."

We all know this information, and I have done research on nationwide MFA programs since 2019. It may have been the truth but a revolution of the programs can change their theme. You cannot deny all admitted students are talented, especially those who are fully funded. Exceptional talents can always transform cost centers into profit ones if they are guided and motivated appropriately. For example, if the program resides in a town with its own special economic interest, the program administrators can connect the students to the municipal governments and organizations to utilize their creativity to convert the interests into harvest while granting their work as part of academic credits. Social media marketing is actually a modern form of writing as every message originates from creative content. Every student can be a highly sophisticated influencer with their literary expertise. 

[guntherpingu]

24 minutes ago, TheeMightyQuinn said:

Mine either.

I have a question about Vanderbilt, though... for the interviews, do they let you know ahead of time, or do they just cold call you without sending you an email first? I get a lot of spam calls, and now I'm terrified that I missed a call from them because they didn't alert me beforehand or leave a voicemail.

If they called you and never received a response, they would revert to text, email, or another form of communication to get in contact with you. A missed call doesn't mean they move on to the next person!

[TheeMightyQuinn]

3 minutes ago, guntherpingu said:

If they called you and never received a response, they would revert to text, email, or another form of communication to get in contact with you. A missed call doesn't mean they move on to the next person!

Ah, thanks... very good to know.   

(If I'm getting rejected, I want it to be based on my application, and not on telemarketer paranoia.)

[impatientjoy]

Do schools ever notify on Sunday or do we think it’s the one day of the week we can safely set down our emails? 

[SocialKonstruct]

1 hour ago, 2O2AMFA said:

We all know this information, and I have done research on nationwide MFA programs since 2019. It may have been the truth but a revolution of the programs can change their theme. You cannot deny all admitted students are talented, especially those who are fully funded. Exceptional talents can always transform cost centers into profit ones if they are guided and motivated appropriately. For example, if the program resides in a town with its own special economic interest, the program administrators can connect the students to the municipal governments and organizations to utilize their creativity to convert the interests into harvest while granting their work as part of academic credits. Social media marketing is actually a modern form of writing as every message originates from creative content. Every student can be a highly sophisticated influencer with their literary expertise. 

Perhaps but this is definitely not the case since the current government seized power in 2025... definitely the emphasis is on business and non-humanities endeavors in the academic field... the US government is pretty much wanting to focus on AI-driven rapacious fields... https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/20/universities-humanities-programs

The opposite has been going quite substantially with the dismantling of anything which doesn't satisfy the agenda of the current dictatorship/mandarin during the past year.

To provide an example, I walked into the ASE office at USC this past week and they had fired all of their staff of around 15, only to rehire 3 people back at a lower position. Even engineering folks were not saved either. So far, the business school has thrived (along with other tech related fields) and grown during the same time frame. So I don't see how literary expertise based on this envisioned schema is going to be satisfying what the administration/landed gentry is going to want over the next few years to fuel their ultimate agenda.

The main reason I want to go back to a PhD/MFA creative writing program is 90% political. For me, protesting what's going on today in the streets is pretty futile and I honestly see that writing novels and poetry is the only way to document the atrocities happening in the US as well as abroad and resisting the clutches of late stage capitalism.