Fall 2015 English MFA/MA

[Kaitipoola]

Hi, all! I'm posting this thread because I have not found anything for Fall 2015 English applicants thus far (though Communications and Anthropology people already have their respective threads - we need to step up our game!) I'm hoping that this will be a thread where we all get to share advice, updates, uncontrollable anxiety, etc. regarding the application process.

As for my own grad school situation, I'm an English (Creative Writing Emphasis) BA graduate who plans on applying to around 11 or 12 programs. All of them are fully funded or have a strong chance at full funding, as I won't be able to attend a graduate program if I have to pay tuition. I plan on applying to the following MFA programs: Brown, Cornell, Vanderbilt, U Washington in St. Louis, Syracuse, U.T Austin (Michener), U Florida, U Wyoming, U Michigan, U Virginia. The MA English programs (which offer an emphasis in Creative Writing) that I'm considering are U Maine and U Missouri.

I have a very strong academic record but realize that the MFA programs base their choice almost entirely on the writing sample. Since most of the creative writing I did for my BA was in the short-forms genre (and the novel excerpt I was planning on submitting is unacceptable because it falls into the "magical realism" category), I'm currently in the process of writing a story for my sample. Writing with so much at stake is stressful, to say the least, and my procrastination is all the more problematic because I leave the country to teach English abroad at the end of August. Yes, that's right - I'm going to be applying to English graduate programs while out of the country. Specifically in a country that doesn't speak much English. Or have dependable WiFi access. Am I insane? Yeah.

Anyway, I don't know if anyone has questions/curiosity about other to-be-applicant's experiences so far, but I know that I do. I'm eager to hear where everyone else is in the process - do you have your letters of recommendation assembled, writing sample written, program choices solidified?

Good luck to everyone!

-Poola

[hj2012]

 

Though this thread is geared mostly toward people applying to Literature PhD programs.

 

Good luck!

[ExponentialDecay]

(and the novel excerpt I was planning on submitting is unacceptable because it falls into the "magical realism" category),

 

Holy shit. So you have to have a realist sample to get accepted? What is this, Stalinism?

Edited June 23, 2014 by ExponentialDecay