emburst Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 emburst--I'm planning to visit my acceptance schools within driving distance Nice. Do you have a game plan when you do (like what you want to find out, questions to ask, etc.)? I'm going to be visiting a place real soon and I feel like I should maximum my visit with more than just "playing it by ear." Wondering if anyone had any input.
bobkat Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Hello! I can't handle the craziness of the MFA draft, but I like keeping up with all of you here. I applied to 9 programs in 2 genres this year. Nonfiction: -U of Arizona -Wyoming -West Virginia -U of New Orleans -Oregon State Fiction: -U of Florida -Lousiana State -McNeese -North Carolina State So far I've only heard back from Wyoming and it was a rejection. It was disappointing but not too shocking given how small the program is. Always shitty to hear bad news first rather than to have some security. I'm finishing an MA in nonfiction at Ohio U so I think I have better chances in nonfiction, but sometimes you just never know. I am starting to wonder if I was crazy for applying in 2 genres. Anyway, good luck to everyone.
HeyIowa Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 @emburst I contacted the folks at my program —that way they can schedule you into a workshop and maybe give you some pointers on where to stay / best time to visit. @bobkat Welcome! I applied in 2 genres as well —fiction and creative nonfiction. I think it's fine and won't put you in a disadvantage at all.
ovalwriter Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Bobcat, Since sending your writing sample to McNeese, have you received any sort of email at all (like a confirmation that it was received)?
samson36 Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 I'd love to know how many of the Iowa acceptances posted here are true. I heard today (from someone in the industry who has no reason to lie) that Iowa generally doesn't start calling their accepted applicants until March (consistently). I was also warned that every year people (trollers) get on forums and claim to have received acceptances from the most popular programs. Of course, this doesn't mean Iowa, for example, didn't start a couple of weeks early this year, but my point is that we really just have to wait and see (especially when it comes to the super popular programs). Should we start demanding an uploaded photo of the acceptance email? LOL I'm kidding. Iowa has started contacting accepted people in February since at least 2012 and rejections went out last year in early March. They started notifications a little later in 2012 so some of them might have went out in March then.
bobkat Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 Bobcat, Since sending your writing sample to McNeese, have you received any sort of email at all (like a confirmation that it was received)? No, which bothered me.
ovalwriter Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 I just looked back at last years Results page and noticed that very few people posted about their Brown results. Interesting. I wonder if they asked they're accepted applicants not to post on forums. I know, it's irrelevant; I just noticed.
shoopster Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 I just looked back at last years Results page and noticed that very few people posted about their Brown results. Interesting. I wonder if they asked they're accepted applicants not to post on forums. I know, it's irrelevant; I just noticed. The same for a lot of schools. That's why I'm not holding out particular hope for either Iowa or NYU, which both made calls last week/this week. Only a couple people posted acceptances, but honestly, I doubt GradCafe gets a huge amount of traffic. Not sure if you want to take this risk, but I was already in the rabbit hole -- if you go to Twitter and do some searches of keywords, chances are that you'll find more people. I found 4 additional Iowa WW acceptances that way.
shoopster Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 Sorry for the multiple posts this morning, but thought folks might be interested in this... I just called the IWW to ask about their decisions timeline. I was told that acceptances are being mailed today (Feb. 26), poetry rejections will be mailed tomorrow (she did not know when fiction rejections would be mailed). She said that online portal (unfortunately called ISIS) will be updated 2 weeks after decisions are mailed out. She also said that they do not always call accepted students.
Octoberstormxx Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 Sorry for the multiple posts this morning, but thought folks might be interested in this... I just called the IWW to ask about their decisions timeline. I was told that acceptances are being mailed today (Feb. 26), poetry rejections will be mailed tomorrow (she did not know when fiction rejections would be mailed). She said that online portal (unfortunately called ISIS) will be updated 2 weeks after decisions are mailed out. She also said that they do not always call accepted students. Mail as in actual snail mail?
sandy bubbles Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 Thank you for the info, shoopster! I hope they send out the rejections today, too. Would rather just get any/all bad news over with, and at least know. SarahWakes 1
emburst Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 Thanks, shoopster! Hopefully, it is not snail mail...
HeyIowa Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 It is snail mail —they send out final decisions by snail mail
ovalwriter Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 @Shoopster: May the Literary god ever be favorable to you for sharing this nerve-soothing information about IWW's notification timeline. As grateful as I am about the one acceptance I have so far, I still have hope that IWW will accept me. I know that they get a ton of apps each year, though.
nightsociety Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 So with Syracuse fiction—there's a posted acceptance from earlier in the week. But someone today posted that George Saunders told them they weren't going to be finished reading until early March. Any insight into this Upstate NY mystery?
quentinc Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 The plot thickens! To the Iowa insiders, can I assume that no news yet means a rejection is in the mail (i.e. no email or call of acceptance at this point)? I never expected to get in, but would like some closure nonetheless. On a separate note, I'm leaning strongly toward Vanderbilt (fiction) right now and was wondering if anyone out there has insight on the program and Nashville in general. I am thrilled just by the thought of Lorrie Moore, whom I adore. Thanks for all your help
HeyIowa Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 @quentinc No news certain does not mean a rejection is in the mail! 1. They don't call everybody. 2. I was told that my letter would come in mid-March, so they may be sending things out in batches.
sandy bubbles Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 Wow quentinc, nice on Vanderbilt. Do you know if they're done notifying? Assuming so, just waiting for the rejection. ovalwriter, care to share where you got in?
ovalwriter Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 I wonder if there's a specific reason that some people are called and some are emailed/snail mailed.
quentinc Posted February 26, 2015 Posted February 26, 2015 sandy bubbles, yes I do believe they are done notifying acceptances as well as wait-listers. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.... Don't give up hope, though; I never dreamed I'd get into Vandy.
sandy bubbles Posted February 27, 2015 Posted February 27, 2015 Yea that's pretty awesome, quentinc. At least we know that people who get into Vandy do exist!
howtobe3 Posted February 27, 2015 Posted February 27, 2015 Wait, I'm confused... I don't understand why a lot of people were called for their Iowa acceptances if, according to that post above, they also plan on mailing some of them? I've looked at results from the past years and they all cite phone calls for acceptances. Isn't it fair to assume if we haven't gotten the call we haven't made it in?
ovalwriter Posted February 27, 2015 Posted February 27, 2015 Howtobe3 makes a good point, but I think we have to remember that ways of doing things get tweaked from time to time, for reasons we may never know. Maybe the task of reaching out to accepted people is divided. Some may be the type to call, and others not so much. I've decided to stop looking at what was done last year and the previous years. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic. haha.
Bug128 Posted February 27, 2015 Posted February 27, 2015 I am no expert but I am pretty sure it's safe to assume that
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