MFA Creative Writing Acceptance/Rejection Letters

[LazyEmergency]

7 hours ago, milil said:

What admissions committee member said this? Can you link me to their tweet? 

Looks like he deleted the tweet, so it's not showing up in my original post. It was an English prof from Iowa, snarking about a cliché phrase in many of the applicants' Statements of Purpose. Just what we needed to perpetuate the tailspin of anxiety involved in this process 

[PoetWitness]

4 hours ago, Sallyj said:

Iowa has said (according to Draft) that they'll be sending out all letters by mail. A few people have gotten phone calls, so it's unclear if those letters will include other acceptances or not. 

Hang in there! 
(PS this is for fiction...poetry applicants were all emailed. Haven't heard anything about non-fiction)

Thanks for the update. I'm not on Draft. But I applied to Iowa for poetry and I did not get an e-mail either way, soooo....I dunno.

[milil]

5 hours ago, Sallyj said:

Iowa has said (according to Draft) that they'll be sending out all letters by mail. A few people have gotten phone calls, so it's unclear if those letters will include other acceptances or not. 

Hang in there! 
(PS this is for fiction...poetry applicants were all emailed. Haven't heard anything about non-fiction)

Thanks for the update --  has there been anyone who received an acceptance via letter only? This is MFA Draft 18, right?

Edited February 28, 2018 by milil

[hyrule]

On 2/27/2018 at 2:14 PM, Vivalabetsy said:

FYI for those applying again next year, if you're feeling adventurous, Canadian schools seem to receive a lot fewer applications and most have really decent funding.  It's probably where I'll end up this fall.

This is great to know, thanks! To be honest from the way things are looking right now I feel like I'll be applying again, and I've always thought Canada looked awesome. Where do you think you'll end up, if you don't mind me asking? 

[milil]

3 hours ago, LazyEmergency said:

Looks like he deleted the tweet, so it's not showing up in my original post. It was an English prof from Iowa, snarking about a cliché phrase in many of the applicants' Statements of Purpose. Just what we needed to perpetuate the tailspin of anxiety involved in this process 

How lovely for all the applicants out there 

[GallifreyGirl]

On 2/28/2018 at 1:15 PM, hyrule said:

This is great to know, thanks! To be honest from the way things are looking right now I feel like I'll be applying again, and I've always thought Canada looked awesome. Where do you think you'll end up, if you don't mind me asking? 

If you have any additional insight (esp as it regards funding), that would be great ...

I did a little recon last night, and there's only 4 schools in Canada with the MFA (5 if you're looking for CNF), and I wasn't able to find much information on their funding. Definitely will be taking a deeper dive to see what I can find out.

[rooguild]

1 hour ago, milil said:

Thanks for the update --  has there been anyone who received an acceptance via letter only? This is MFA Draft 18, right?

last year, there were fiction applicants who received acceptances via letter only. I was waitlisted at iowa last year and also only ever received notifications (my waitlist letter and the letter confirming that I had not gotten in off the waitlist) via post-- no one ever communicated with me through phone or email. 

I don't think this reflects well on the program, to be honest. if they don't have time to call all their accepted students, how could they possibly be able to attend to all 100 people in the program? 

[Vivalabetsy]

3 hours ago, hyrule said:

This is great to know, thanks! To be honest from the way things are looking right now I feel like I'll be applying again, and I've always thought Canada looked awesome. Where do you think you'll end up, if you don't mind me asking? 

I have 7 more schools to hear back from (and another acceptance this afternoon!!!), but unless by some miracle I end up getting accepted to Brown, I'm definitely going with Saskatchewan.  Even then, Saskatchewan is not out of the question.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Vivalabetsy

[Vivalabetsy]

2 hours ago, GallifreyGirl said:

If you have any additional insight (esp as it regards funding), that would be great ...

I did a little recon last night, and there's only 4 schools in Canada with the MFA (5 if you're looking for CNF), and I wasn't able to find much information on their funding. Although their acceptance rates seem to be in the 20-30% (compared to say, Vandy at 1.89% and Iowa at 4.55%) so that's promising. Definitely will be taking a deeper dive to see what I can find out. I mean, if you're willing to live in Iowa, Saskatoon basically the same place only colder. (Actually, Saskatoon was really nice when I was there -- in June lol).

A lot of the Canadian MFAs (if not all) are pretty quiet when it comes to talking about funding.  You almost have to just go for it and see what they offer if you're accepted.  I haven't gotten an official financial offer yet, but it looks like I'll be getting a $16k scholarship and quite possibly an assistantship of some sort.  I didn't get the impression that there was any kind of tuition waiver--I'll update here when I find out--but the yearly tuition for international students is less than $6k.  The worst case scenario is taking out a small loan, which is a risk we take with a lot of programs anyway, but the program is small enough that most, if not all, accepted students should get some kind of financial award.

I also gleaned from the results page that Toronto has at least a few hefty funding packages.  Guelph mentions some scholarships on their website too, although they are pretty low.  The actual award might turn out to be higher.  Again, I'll update you guys if I actually manage to make it in.

I wish I could be more helpful.  I did most of my research in September/October.  If you have any specific questions, let me know, and I'll see what I can dig up.

Also, Saskatchewan has an excellent mentorship program.  You get to work with professors, like any other program, but you also get paired with an established writer to guide you during your thesis.  The program is also relatively new, about 6 or 7 years old, but is already well established and just getting stronger and stronger.  And unlike any other program I've applied to, the staff, and the acting program director in particular, has been phenomenally communicative and kind. He's treated me like a peer rather than someone deemed worthy of their program, if you know what I mean.  I've been exceptionally impressed by the whole experience.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Vivalabetsy

[hyrule]

4 hours ago, Vivalabetsy said:

I have 7 more schools to hear back from (and another acceptance this afternoon!!!), but unless by some miracle I end up getting accepted to Brown, I'm definitely going with Saskatchewan.  Even then, Saskatchewan is not out of the question.

That sounds awesome! I've only ever been to Toronto (clearly not well traveled in Canada), but from what I've seen Saskatchewan's program looks great, especially based on what you said above. I'll definitely have to keep Canadian schools in mind for applications round 2. And congrats on your acceptance today!!! 

I hope you hear back soon, and good luck with all of them!! 

[Vivalabetsy]

3 hours ago, hyrule said:

That sounds awesome! I've only ever been to Toronto (clearly not well traveled in Canada), but from what I've seen Saskatchewan's program looks great, especially based on what you said above. I'll definitely have to keep Canadian schools in mind for applications round 2. And congrats on your acceptance today!!! 

I hope you hear back soon, and good luck with all of them!! 

Thank you so much!  And don't give up!  Things might turn around--it's not over until it's over, you know?  If you do apply again next year, I wish you luck.  Maybe we'll end up in the same program.

[Someonehere]

9 hours ago, Vivalabetsy said:

A lot of the Canadian MFAs (if not all) are pretty quiet when it comes to talking about funding.  You almost have to just go for it and see what they offer if you're accepted.  I haven't gotten an official financial offer yet, but it looks like I'll be getting a $16k scholarship and quite possibly an assistantship of some sort.  I didn't get the impression that there was any kind of tuition waiver--I'll update here when I find out--but the yearly tuition for international students is less than $6k.  The worst case scenario is taking out a small loan, which is a risk we take with a lot of programs anyway, but the program is small enough that most, if not all, accepted students should get some kind of financial award.

I also gleaned from the results page that Toronto has at least a few hefty funding packages.  Guelph mentions some scholarships on their website too, although they are pretty low.  The actual award might turn out to be higher.  Again, I'll update you guys if I actually manage to make it in.

I wish I could be more helpful.  I did most of my research in September/October.  If you have any specific questions, let me know, and I'll see what I can dig up.

Also, Saskatchewan has an excellent mentorship program.  You get to work with professors, like any other program, but you also get paired with an established writer to guide you during your thesis.  The program is also relatively new, about 6 or 7 years old, but is already well established and just getting stronger and stronger.  And unlike any other program I've applied to, the staff, and the acting program director in particular, has been phenomenally communicative and kind. He's treated me like a peer rather than someone deemed worthy of their program, if you know what I mean.  I've been exceptionally impressed by the whole experience.

Great to hear a good news story!

[milil]

Just read this in the results search for Iowa Writer's Workshop  : 

• Someone posted here yesterday that some of the acceptances might be mailed. Just in case you saw that, I thought I would post here that I contacted admissions to confirm this and she simply replied "None of the admissions have been mailed out," pretty much evading my question. It is my personal opinion that no acceptances will be sent through mail without an email or phone call first, (there is zero reason to believe this and I think it's just clinging to false hope) but I do think it's possible that a waitlist notification might come this way.

Edited March 1, 2018 by milil

[milil]

19 hours ago, rooguild said:

last year, there were fiction applicants who received acceptances via letter only. I was waitlisted at iowa last year and also only ever received notifications (my waitlist letter and the letter confirming that I had not gotten in off the waitlist) via post-- no one ever communicated with me through phone or email. 

I don't think this reflects well on the program, to be honest. if they don't have time to call all their accepted students, how could they possibly be able to attend to all 100 people in the program? 

Thanks for this! I'm hearing so many conflicting things. I guess grad school admissions procedure is a wild card with how they decide to tell applicants? 

Edited March 1, 2018 by milil

[GallifreyGirl]

19 hours ago, Vivalabetsy said:

A lot of the Canadian MFAs (if not all) are pretty quiet when it comes to talking about funding.  You almost have to just go for it and see what they offer if you're accepted.  I haven't gotten an official financial offer yet, but it looks like I'll be getting a $16k scholarship and quite possibly an assistantship of some sort.  I didn't get the impression that there was any kind of tuition waiver--I'll update here when I find out--but the yearly tuition for international students is less than $6k.  The worst case scenario is taking out a small loan, which is a risk we take with a lot of programs anyway, but the program is small enough that most, if not all, accepted students should get some kind of financial award.

I also gleaned from the results page that Toronto has at least a few hefty funding packages.  Guelph mentions some scholarships on their website too, although they are pretty low.  The actual award might turn out to be higher.  Again, I'll update you guys if I actually manage to make it in.

I wish I could be more helpful.  I did most of my research in September/October.  If you have any specific questions, let me know, and I'll see what I can dig up.

Also, Saskatchewan has an excellent mentorship program.  You get to work with professors, like any other program, but you also get paired with an established writer to guide you during your thesis.  The program is also relatively new, about 6 or 7 years old, but is already well established and just getting stronger and stronger.  And unlike any other program I've applied to, the staff, and the acting program director in particular, has been phenomenally communicative and kind. He's treated me like a peer rather than someone deemed worthy of their program, if you know what I mean.  I've been exceptionally impressed by the whole experience.

Thanks for all the info!

I have added U of S, Guelph, and U Victoria to my spreadsheet for next year's applications. Clearly in the four weeks between deciding to apply and actually applying, I did not do nearly enough research, so I think it's a bit of a blessing that I didn't get in this year (although I still have 2 pending) as it will give me time to really look into the faculty, the type of writing that different programs tend to favor/inspire, and the curricula & teaching opportunities before  (as opposed to just picking 4 that sounded good -- oops).

Good luck with getting the assistantship, and in the program!

[NowhereGirl]

2 hours ago, milil said:

Just read this in the results search for Iowa Writer's Workshop  : 

• Someone posted here yesterday that some of the acceptances might be mailed. Just in case you saw that, I thought I would post here that I contacted admissions to confirm this and she simply replied "None of the admissions have been mailed out," pretty much evading my question. It is my personal opinion that no acceptances will be sent through mail without an email or phone call first, (there is zero reason to believe this and I think it's just clinging to false hope) but I do think it's possible that a waitlist notification might come this way.

Hey there! I've been a lurker for a while and just joined to let you know that there's been some follow up on that. I was disheartened when I read that post, so I answered with:

To poster below: I'm curious as to why you believe there is zero chance of an acceptance by mail only? There is one posted here in 2016, although none in 2017... Should the rest of us officially lose all hope? Also: for people who have been accepted to the workshop (congrats, by the way!), can you say whether the phone call came from a private number? There was one such missed call on my cell last Tuesday and I've been driving myself crazy ever since.

The original poster responded with some good news:

To below: I rescind what I said about no hope. I followed up asking if it were possible to receive an acceptance even though no other communication had gone out. I almost didn't ask, because I assumed the person was being deliberately evasive. They responded by saying that this was VERY possible. So, that had my mind buzzing again with the possible. Although practically, speaking, a lot of acceptances have been extended at this point, and so our chances are even slimmer. Still: You don't know until you know. Good luck!

So it seems that not all hope is gone! Good luck everyone, it's not over til it's over!

In case you want to read my answer to them, it was:

• To below: thanks so much for responding! I actually had a very similar experience with the admissions person at Iowa. I asked that same question (about the possibility of receiving a letter of acceptance without prior notice by phone or email) and all she wrote back was that no notifications had been posted in the mail yet (as of yesterday). I too thought she was being deliberately evasive and so decided not to press on the matter. Your response did restore a tiny glimmer of hope, although I'm sure you're right about our chances being slim at this point. Time will tell, I guess! Best of luck to you too!

[archangel_]

21 hours ago, rooguild said:

last year, there were fiction applicants who received acceptances via letter only. I was waitlisted at iowa last year and also only ever received notifications (my waitlist letter and the letter confirming that I had not gotten in off the waitlist) via post-- no one ever communicated with me through phone or email. 

I don't think this reflects well on the program, to be honest. if they don't have time to call all their accepted students, how could they possibly be able to attend to all 100 people in the program? 

Yeah, I have to say, I feel really weird about this. Say you get an acceptance via letter and no phone call. Does that mean you're probably going to be lower on the funding-type pole than the ones that got the phone call? It makes you wonder why they could take the time to call some people but not others. Surely printing, sealing envelopes, and sending them in the mail is a time commitment, too, right? My gut feeling is that everyone who's been accepted should be contacted about it in the same way. Otherwise you're going into the program with a shade of at least some hierarchy right off the bat. And offering back the typical "well, don't buy into it, then" that's given to any criticism of Iowa is a bit of a cop-out considering every other program doesn't seem to have this issue.

[NowhereGirl]

My posts seem to have disappeared from the results page, but they were there five minutes ago. (I'm international, so maybe they were considered as spam on account of their country of origin?) Still, the original poster's response is there!

[post_it_online_twice]

Does anyone have information regarding NYU's program reputation? Like, does the program lean more toward realism than experimental?  I'm lucky enough to have been given a fellowship that will pay for tuition, and will most likely attend. 

Edited March 1, 2018 by post_it_online_twice

[Someonehere]

23 minutes ago, post_it_online_twice said:

Does anyone have information regarding NYU's program reputation? I'm lucky enough to have been given a fellowship that will pay for tuition, and will most likely attend. 

No hard info but it’s very competitive to get in with funding, plus you’ll be in NYC! Congrats!

[Someonehere]

3 hours ago, milil said:

Thanks for this! I'm hearing so many conflicting things. I guess grad school admissions procedure is a wild card with how they decide to tell applicants? 

It sure seems that way...

[post_it_online_twice]

38 minutes ago, Someonehere said:

No hard info but it’s very competitive to get in with funding, plus you’ll be in NYC! Congrats!

Thanks! I was rejected by a slew, wait listed at a program that takes only 4 students, and then got a phone call. Definitely shocked and I'm hoping the director didn't mistake my attempt to maintain composure as aloofness, haha. 

[Someonehere]

On 02/03/2018 at 7:47 AM, post_it_online_twice said:

Thanks! I was rejected by a slew, wait listed at a program that takes only 4 students, and then got a phone call. Definitely shocked and I'm hoping the director didn't mistake my attempt to maintain composure as aloofness, haha. 

Heh! That's probably very common response, given the typical character traits of writers.

[Ckoh]

Hi has anyone heard from these schools?

 

NYU

Columbia University 

Columbia College Chicago? 

I heard back from SAIC and was rejected. Now I’m getting really nervous.

[rooguild]

12 hours ago, Ckoh said:

Hi has anyone heard from these schools?

NYU and Columbia are both making calls, but I definitely wouldn't give up on Columbia yet, since they admit so many people-- it probably takes a while to contact everyone.