2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[delraiser]

Just now, junebugboy said:

I see a few fiction acceptances from early March. Sorry

omg don't worry about it !! i was quite sure about this. i appreciate you letting me know anyhow! 

[ojo534]

46 minutes ago, gafoo said:

Fellow waitlisters—how are you handling this period of ambiguity? If you have a school that you think might convert, are you reaching out to students, faculty, researching more about the place/program, considering a visit? Are you also terrified about the scenario where you have to make a rushed decision for an acceptance on/after April 15 for one school's offer while the others haven't finalized yet? 

I have enough waitlists where I'm ""high up"" that I think one of them will convert. But it's also possible I get into none of the programs! 

For my one waitlist, I reached out w/ a letter of continued interest, a new rec letter, and general questions about the waitlist. i received a nice email from the program director saying that movement will happen in april and she hopes to get back to me soon... so on the question of how i am handling this period of ambiguity: with a ton of delusion that i'll get off the waitlist and matriculate in the fall lmfaoooo. i am lucky tho that i am finishing up another masters rn and have an immediate and desirable back up plan for if mfas don't work out this year :))) i am rooting for you on your waitlists! i think it's better to be delusional and positive rather than negative and hoping for the worst

[Walter Hartwell White]

1 hour ago, gafoo said:

Fellow waitlisters—how are you handling this period of ambiguity? If you have a school that you think might convert, are you reaching out to students, faculty, researching more about the place/program, considering a visit? Are you also terrified about the scenario where you have to make a rushed decision for an acceptance on/after April 15 for one school's offer while the others haven't finalized yet? 

I have enough waitlists where I'm ""high up"" that I think one of them will convert. But it's also possible I get into none of the programs! 

I do feel this, especially since I’m supposed to tell the school I got into for the English MS around the same time of April 15th if I’m going or not. But id hate to commit to them, and then get into the MFA program I desire! I have two waitlists currently and decided to apply to Missouri state university’s brand new MFA program that’s fully funded but I don’t think id hear back before 4/15 either on that since they’re just starting it now for this year! I don’t want a rushed decision. I’ve been doing my best to ask questions and I’m going to visit VCU soon since it’s the closer waitlist to me so far and was told I was high on it. I could see that one converting maybe. But I wish I could know sooner rather than later! I hope some tell them no March 30th like they want them to if they can so I can know before 4/15… but that’s hopeful thinking for sure! I’m hoping I don’t have the last day scramble but we’ll see… I wonder what the deadline to decide would become if we do get told 4/15 for our waitlists though. I imagine it’s still much quicker than having to decide for a regular acceptance, but id hope we would be given a week or two at least? Who knows. 

[gafoo]

50 minutes ago, ojo534 said:

For my one waitlist, I reached out w/ a letter of continued interest, a new rec letter, and general questions about the waitlist. i received a nice email from the program director saying that movement will happen in april and she hopes to get back to me soon... so on the question of how i am handling this period of ambiguity: with a ton of delusion that i'll get off the waitlist and matriculate in the fall lmfaoooo. i am lucky tho that i am finishing up another masters rn and have an immediate and desirable back up plan for if mfas don't work out this year :))) i am rooting for you on your waitlists! i think it's better to be delusional and positive rather than negative and hoping for the worst

Thank you! Love this. Delusional and positive sounds more fun

[Solin]

Hi hi! Just curious about how Letters of Continued Interest work? Is it something the program will ask for if you've been waitlisted, or is it a good idea to draft one and send it to any program you've been waitlisted to demonstrate a strong interest in the program? TY sending good luck wishes your way!!

[strawberrymatcha]

week 2 of manifesting UNLV decisions🕯️🕯️🕯️

[ojo534]

11 hours ago, Solin said:

Hi hi! Just curious about how Letters of Continued Interest work? Is it something the program will ask for if you've been waitlisted, or is it a good idea to draft one and send it to any program you've been waitlisted to demonstrate a strong interest in the program? TY sending good luck wishes your way!!

In the waitlist email/notif I received, it encouraged me to send any documents that I would like added to my application. To me, that felt like a green light to send a letter of continued interest, where I re-emphasized my enthusiasm for their program and how I would most likely attend if admitted. I also used my letter to highlight my potential for a graduate TA-ship and featured a new rec letter from someone in my current master's program who could speak to me as a teacher. 
I think that unless the school has said DO NOT SEND US ANYTHING!!! that there is no harm in sending a continued interest letter to any or all of your waitlists. What is the worst thing they can do, say that they can't accept it? 

[commandercowboy]

Poetry waitlists for NC State / WVU / NMU anybody? 

[arghgradapps]

cant wait to get my JHU rejection literally on April 15th I guess??? it's pissing me off how long they're taking. 

[gradschoolpspspsps]

If anyone wants to talk about Ole Miss, waitlisted, accepted, whatever... I'm just very excited to know our new people already.

[musicsurfer17]

Hi! I’m wondering if anyone could give me their honest opinion on what I should do with my given options for an MFA. I applied to a handful of schools and got in to American University and The New School. I was rejected by Syracuse and NYU. I am still waiting to hear back from Hunter but I'm assuming it is a rejection. Both The New School and American gave me partial funding. I got a part-tuition remission award from American and a 60% off tuition award from The New School. So around the same from both schools. They seem like good programs but I'd have to take on some loans to go. 

Honestly, I was really hoping to go to a school that is more well known within the MFA world, or fully-funded, but I also think that on another hand American and The New School both sound like great options for me. I didn’t really have much publications or experience I’m sure compared to other candidates, so I’m assuming it makes sense I may not have been accepted anywhere else. I also didn’t have a great gpa in my undergrad, but my writing I think made up for it.

I’m wondering if I should wait another year and try again for a fully-funded school I might prefer going to or if I should just attend The New School or American? I really would love to go back to school for creative writing so I might become a professor and I am already 30. This was my first time applying. What do you all think? Should I go with The New School or American? Or should I attend more workshops and try again another year? I mean I honestly would have preferred to go to Hunter or NYU but The New School is a good option right? Anyone have any opinions? 

[gafoo]

1 hour ago, musicsurfer17 said:

Hi! I’m wondering if anyone could give me their honest opinion on what I should do with my given options for an MFA. I applied to a handful of schools and got in to American University and The New School. I was rejected by Syracuse and NYU. I am still waiting to hear back from Hunter but I'm assuming it is a rejection. Both The New School and American gave me partial funding. I got a part-tuition remission award from American and a 60% off tuition award from The New School. So around the same from both schools. They seem like good programs but I'd have to take on some loans to go. 

Honestly, I was really hoping to go to a school that is more well known within the MFA world, or fully-funded, but I also think that on another hand American and The New School both sound like great options for me. I didn’t really have much publications or experience I’m sure compared to other candidates, so I’m assuming it makes sense I may not have been accepted anywhere else. I also didn’t have a great gpa in my undergrad, but my writing I think made up for it.

I’m wondering if I should wait another year and try again for a fully-funded school I might prefer going to or if I should just attend The New School or American? I really would love to go back to school for creative writing so I might become a professor and I am already 30. This was my first time applying. What do you all think? Should I go with The New School or American? Or should I attend more workshops and try again another year? I mean I honestly would have preferred to go to Hunter or NYU but The New School is a good option right? Anyone have any opinions? 

My only two thoughts:

1. Don't go into debt for an MFA! 

2. You only MFA once, so if you feel like a year of workshopping/prep/editing could get you into a program you're more excited about, do that! Lots of folks offer "MFA prep" or "MFA Post-mortem" feedback/workshops. 

Lastly... congrats on the acceptances! 

[SocialKonstruct]

On 3/22/2026 at 5:33 PM, oomphies said:

i wish Arizona and Irvine would just end my misery and send their rejections out

 

Update and correction. I got exact word today that everything for UCI will be finalized by 3-25 and they are crazy busy contacting folks up to the very last moment. Apparently they got so many applications this year so things were crazy with them.

[guntherpingu]

3 hours ago, musicsurfer17 said:

I didn’t really have much publications or experience I’m sure compared to other candidates, so I’m assuming it makes sense I may not have been accepted anywhere else. I also didn’t have a great gpa in my undergrad, but my writing I think made up for it.

In general, publications and experience don't matter for MFA applications. Hell, your GPA doesn't really matter (unless it doesn't meet graduate school requirements). Your writing sample is 90% (or more) of the decision.

Don't accept just because you're eager to go! Spending a year writing a banger short story could get you into a fully funded program that excites you. And I would argue that going for only well known programs is a poor choice as well-- I went to a small fully funded program that I got a lot out of! They only get around 100 apps a year compared to the big schools.

I would also like to echo others saying not to go into debt!

[SocialKonstruct]

3 hours ago, musicsurfer17 said:

Hi! I’m wondering if anyone could give me their honest opinion on what I should do with my given options for an MFA. I applied to a handful of schools and got in to American University and The New School. I was rejected by Syracuse and NYU. I am still waiting to hear back from Hunter but I'm assuming it is a rejection. Both The New School and American gave me partial funding. I got a part-tuition remission award from American and a 60% off tuition award from The New School. So around the same from both schools. They seem like good programs but I'd have to take on some loans to go. 

Honestly, I was really hoping to go to a school that is more well known within the MFA world, or fully-funded, but I also think that on another hand American and The New School both sound like great options for me. I didn’t really have much publications or experience I’m sure compared to other candidates, so I’m assuming it makes sense I may not have been accepted anywhere else. I also didn’t have a great gpa in my undergrad, but my writing I think made up for it.

I’m wondering if I should wait another year and try again for a fully-funded school I might prefer going to or if I should just attend The New School or American? I really would love to go back to school for creative writing so I might become a professor and I am already 30. This was my first time applying. What do you all think? Should I go with The New School or American? Or should I attend more workshops and try again another year? I mean I honestly would have preferred to go to Hunter or NYU but The New School is a good option right? Anyone have any opinions? 

Honestly in the end no one really cares about the prestige of your MFA program when it comes to publication or where you end up with your writing. In fact, the MFA is pretty optional for some people. The New School also has a wonderful track record of solid publications from their program. Although not like Columbia which is crazy large percentage of successful authors. Probably the highest percentage of folks who end up getting in trad publications.

[gupppy]

55 minutes ago, guntherpingu said:

In general, publications and experience don't matter for MFA applications. Hell, your GPA doesn't really matter (unless it doesn't meet graduate school requirements). Your writing sample is 90% (or more) of the decision.

Don't accept just because you're eager to go! Spending a year writing a banger short story could get you into a fully funded program that excites you. And I would argue that going for only well known programs is a poor choice as well-- I went to a small fully funded program that I got a lot out of! They only get around 100 apps a year compared to the big schools.

I would also like to echo others saying not to go into debt!

I’d like to add that my undergrad GPA was a 2.6 (lower than many schools’ grad admissions requirements) and I still got 7 acceptances/5 waitlists this cycle! I did have to add a paragraph in my SOP about why my grades were so low and how I’ve gotten my shit together since then, but just wanted to point out how little undergrad GPA matters here 

Edited March 24 by gupppy

[junebugboy]

my ualabama portal was updated!! "awaiting final review." hoping that means we get decisions this week!

[musicsurfer17]

3 hours ago, gafoo said:

My only two thoughts:

1. Don't go into debt for an MFA! 

2. You only MFA once, so if you feel like a year of workshopping/prep/editing could get you into a program you're more excited about, do that! Lots of folks offer "MFA prep" or "MFA Post-mortem" feedback/workshops. 

Lastly... congrats on the acceptances! 

Thank you. Good advice. 

[gradschoolpspspsps]

2 hours ago, guntherpingu said:

In general, publications and experience don't matter for MFA applications. Hell, your GPA doesn't really matter (unless it doesn't meet graduate school requirements). Your writing sample is 90% (or more) of the decision.

Don't accept just because you're eager to go! Spending a year writing a banger short story could get you into a fully funded program that excites you. And I would argue that going for only well known programs is a poor choice as well-- I went to a small fully funded program that I got a lot out of! They only get around 100 apps a year compared to the big schools.

I would also like to echo others saying not to go into debt!

My gpa was a 2.9, and I got into my fully funded program last year. Most schools have an option to explain any circumstances around why your gpa might be lower.

[SocialKonstruct]

4 hours ago, guntherpingu said:

In general, publications and experience don't matter for MFA applications. Hell, your GPA doesn't really matter (unless it doesn't meet graduate school requirements). Your writing sample is 90% (or more) of the decision.

Don't accept just because you're eager to go! Spending a year writing a banger short story could get you into a fully funded program that excites you. And I would argue that going for only well known programs is a poor choice as well-- I went to a small fully funded program that I got a lot out of! They only get around 100 apps a year compared to the big schools.

I would also like to echo others saying not to go into debt!

Publication history and experience actually DO matter if you are applying for the Ph.D. track in creative writing. Unlike the MFA, there is this expectation of professionalism and experience as a writer which is needed for a more rigorous pursuit.

[chickennugget7]

7 hours ago, junebugboy said:

my ualabama portal was updated!! "awaiting final review." hoping that means we get decisions this week!

I believe decisions have already gone out a few months ago. I got accepted a while back and John Estes told me the cohort was finalized last week. 

[junebugboy]

1 hour ago, chickennugget7 said:

I believe decisions have already gone out a few months ago. I got accepted a while back and John Estes told me the cohort was finalized last week. 

Sigh. Thank you for the info! 

[womanonline]

I can't believe March is almost over and I still haven't heard anything from three programs -- UNLV, Colorado State, and UArizona. I've seen on the spreadsheet that all of them have sent out some sort of decisions at some point, but not rejections. I'm really just waiting for the assumed rejection, and it's so frustrating that it hasn't been sent out yet! 

[quetza1e5]

Well, it's a shut out for me this cycle I'm afraid. (Aside from Emerson, they offered a half fellowship, but I'm not going to pay for an MFA). Will be applying for a third time in the Fall, but for now the poetry continues regardless. Congratulations and good luck to everyone on their journeys!

 

[ciguapa]

Hi everyone! Quiet lurker here. Just created an account to share that I've been admitted to U Miami for poetry. I'm so grateful and excited!

Wishing everybody the best!