2026 Creative Writing MFA Applicants Forum

[gafoo]

Welp. Ohio State waitlist just closed. Barring any last-minute freak scenario where people rescind acceptances at VCU or Ohio... I've got a choice to make between Idaho and Montana!

[SocialKonstruct]

1 hour ago, Walter Hartwell White said:

What was your cycle like? A/W/R? 

Holy shit this was the worst grad school application cycle in my life. In any case 2/0/5. Got into two backups but failed to get into UCI or U of U or USC. I have to apply again in 1 to 2 years for a PhD in creative writing. Apparently those folx want people who have a MFA in creative writing... so back to school for another 6 to 8 years.

Will provide more details after this weekend.

 

 

See you all in LA this fall.

Edited April 9 by SocialKonstruct

[sufferer]

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 🥲

[Solin]

I know the cohort is full, but do we know if there was any movement this year on the JHU poetry cohort? or did all accepted take their spot. Congrats to those who got in!

[j1nju]

On 4/8/2026 at 12:26 PM, taliaj said:

I know this is stupid, but there's a Missouri State acceptance in the Draft spreadsheet and now I'm panicking. It's from 20 minutes ago if that shows you how crazy I am, lol

Not sure if you saw, but someone made a post in the Facebook group today (I'm assuming it's the same person as in the spreadsheet) expanding on the circumstances surrounding their acceptance. I'm not going to copy the whole thing here but sounds like there is some disorganization within the program and also between the program and the school itself. So it is unclear if that acceptance is even valid or not. It sounds like they are still making decisions but the whole thing is murky.

Edited April 9 by j1nju

[taliaj]

14 minutes ago, j1nju said:

Not sure if you saw, but someone made a post in the Facebook group today (I'm assuming it's the same person as in the spreadsheet) expanding on the circumstances surrounding their acceptance. I'm not going to copy the whole thing here but sounds like there is some disorganization within the program and also between the program and the school itself. So it is unclear if that acceptance is even valid or not. It sounds like they are still making decisions but the whole thing is murky.

I did see that. The whole situation is wack, and it’s putting me off a bit.

[westwide2]

1 hour ago, 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 🥲

poetry or fiction? on poetry, I emailed Terri last week and got a brief update. 

[sufferer]

20 minutes ago, westwide2 said:

poetry or fiction? on poetry, I emailed Terri last week and got a brief update. 

fiction - sorry, should have specified! 

[madsmadsmads]

2 hours ago, Solin said:

I know the cohort is full, but do we know if there was any movement this year on the JHU poetry cohort? or did all accepted take their spot. Congrats to those who got in!

I was told that the "last prospective student had just accepted their offer", so I think that all accepted students took their spots. That was my impression from being in contact with them as a waitlister!

Edited April 9 by madsmadsmads

[lusitania_unsunk]

1 hour ago, westwide2 said:

poetry or fiction? on poetry, I emailed Terri last week and got a brief update. 

What did you hear in regards to poetry? If you don't mind sharing

[Solin]

hi hi! Does anyone know if the U Mass Amherst cohort (poetry) is full, or if we can expect anymore waitlist movement? Ty in advance ❤️

Edited April 10 by Solin

[OctopusCactus]

On 4/7/2026 at 11:26 AM, impatientjoy said:

Folks have mentioned that being at a program with fully funded students while not being funded can create weird spaces. Does anyone have more information on this? Starting to consider my top school without funding while keeping my full time freelance job that is really reliable and quite easy. It’s a much more livable wage than teaching. I also have taught before and am not eager to return to it. I already work in a writing field I love, and I’ve been balancing creative writing and working for a long time now. I have other funded offers, but I feel such a pull towards this program. My biggest hesitancy right now is the worry that I won’t be integrated or that the program will treat those with funding differently. 

I did an MFA program where there were very significant funding imbalances.  I don't feel it created a weird dynamic within the cohort.  No one knew how much funding everyone else was getting, it wasn't something people talked about openly and in detail.

[impatientjoy]

Quick question! I have a school requesting an answer by end of day today for their GTAship position. I’m still waiting to hear back from one of my top schools re the waitlist. Last we spoke, they seemed confident they would have a spot for me. 
 

Is it possible to say yes to the school asking for a quick answer and changing my mind before/on the 15th? I hate to do that but it’s feeling really difficult to make a decision without all of the information yet

[MamaCats]

7 minutes ago, impatientjoy said:

Quick question! I have a school requesting an answer by end of day today for their GTAship position. I’m still waiting to hear back from one of my top schools re the waitlist. Last we spoke, they seemed confident they would have a spot for me. 
 

Is it possible to say yes to the school asking for a quick answer and changing my mind before/on the 15th? I hate to do that but it’s feeling really difficult to make a decision without all of the information yet

Happens all the time. You are accepting based upon the current facts you have today. If that changes, your decision might be different. If it happens, you can politely decline letting them know your circumstances have changed. If you have to pay a deposit before you know, that's when it gets tricky, as you would likely lose your deposit. But search through the previous forums - there are many instances of just this. 

Do what is right for you. 😄 

[cantoras]

On 4/9/2026 at 2:28 PM, sufferer said:

fiction - sorry, should have specified! 

did you get any info?

[sufferer]

6 hours ago, cantoras said:

did you get any info?

nope not yet. biting my nails

[meanwhile]

On 4/8/2026 at 12:36 PM, taliaj said:

Yeah, a prof I emailed a few weeks back said they would try to start letting people know around April 15th, but I feel like if they're starting to let people know now it may not bode well for me. But I also am an overthinker!

@taliaj I ended up emailing bc I had an application question and was told for priority consideration, to apply before April 15th because all admitted students will begin to be notified after that date. 

They mentioned they are still working out the timeframe for notifications, but that admitted students should be notified by the last week of April, so don’t give up hope yet! 
 

fingers crossed for us

[SocialKonstruct]

Today I am officially going to be attending CalArts this fall folks! See you all soon and I just dropped my 4 benjys for my deposit. See ya soon!

[bioluminescent sloth]

10 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Today I am officially going to be attending CalArts this fall folks! See you all soon and I just dropped my 4 benjys for my deposit. See ya soon!

Congratulations! Wishing you all the good things. 

[arghgradapps]

if the director of a program hasn't responded to me emails about WL movement by tuesday or wednesday morning, should i reach out to the assistant director? or is that doing too much?

[westwide2]

On 4/9/2026 at 3:20 PM, lusitania_unsunk said:

What did you hear in regards to poetry? If you don't mind sharing

of course. on 4/7, Terri confirmed only 1 of 6 original offers have confirmed their acceptance. 

[SocialKonstruct]

17 hours ago, SocialKonstruct said:

Today I am officially going to be attending CalArts this fall folks! See you all soon and I just dropped my 4 benjys for my deposit. See ya soon!

I meant this fall I will be attending. I am official as of yesterday.

[guntherpingu]

Anyone else going feral waiting for April 15th??

I just want to know if I'm getting off this waitlist so I can move on already 😭

[madsmadsmads]

Anyone else on the waitlist at UMich get an email about remaining on the waitlist?

[MamaCats]

Looks like waitlists are starting to have some movement! Good luck to all those who are waiting for answers!!!