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Ckoh

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Hey guys!

It seems like things really are fairly slow this year. In keeping with the trend, I also haven't heard anything from the schools I applied to yet and I'm definitely getting anxious.

I've applied to the following for fiction: 

-Brown 
-NYU
-Hollins (Children's Lit) 
-Oxford University 

Most days, I try not to think about it... but when I do, yikes.

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44 minutes ago, StarDustWrites said:

Most days, I try not to think about it... but when I do, yikes.

I hear you on the yikes!

I too am awaiting some kind of decision from NYU (poetry)... at which they seem to be accepting applicants in bursts. Best I can do is hope they'll make another burst and include me :unsure:

But yes, based on some informal data mining of the results survey, this is a delayed year for responses across the board.

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27 minutes ago, exvat said:

I hear you on the yikes!

I too am awaiting some kind of decision from NYU (poetry)... at which they seem to be accepting applicants in bursts. Best I can do is hope they'll make another burst and include me :unsure:

But yes, based on some informal data mining of the results survey, this is a delayed year for responses across the board.

Here, here!

Ah, yes- poetry seems to be the most frequently updated for NYU in the MFA sphere. I hope you hear something really good very soon; my fingers are crossed for you!

It's very interesting- I wonder what's happened this year. Stiffer competition, possibly? Not that anyone who isn't involved can really say for sure...

but man... if the silence doesn't make ya break into a cold sweat.... jeez.  

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On 3/1/2018 at 3:55 PM, Vivalabetsy said:

 Have heard from many that it's been a bit slow this year, although this is my first year applying.

How did your call go?

It went really great. The director was so kind, and I loved the emphasis on community. Just very feel-good, overall. Feels like it will be a great fit. I'm very excited to find out about funding and whatnot.

I got rejected via post by Toronto yesterday. Still waiting on 8 others. I emailed Uni of Victoria today, and was told they are finalizing decisions this week. Eeek! Wanted to email Guelph, but held back, lol.

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2 hours ago, StarDustWrites said:

Hey all- I received an acceptance letter from Hollins (March 5th, last night) and a rejection from Oxford (March 6th, this morning. Their letter was very nice; I'm framing it.) thus far. Only NYU and Brown to go.  

Congratulations! That's awesome!

What about the Oxford rejection made it nice? Personalized? I've kept some lovely rejection letters from magazine editors, so I'm always curious to hear why others keep theirs.

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2 hours ago, StarDustWrites said:

Hey all- I received an acceptance letter from Hollins (March 5th, last night) and a rejection from Oxford (March 6th, this morning. Their letter was very nice; I'm framing it.) thus far. Only NYU and Brown to go.  

Hey,

Congratulations on Hollins! sorry about Oxford. Did you interview with them at all? I interviewed on February 21st and am basically dying of anxiety at this point. SO glad I discovered this forum today.

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2 hours ago, exvat said:

Congratulations! That's awesome!

What about the Oxford rejection made it nice? Personalized? I've kept some lovely rejection letters from magazine editors, so I'm always curious to hear why others keep theirs.

Thank you kindly! 

It wasn't personalized, but I appreciated how pleasant it sounded- despite the fact that it was a rejection. Voila. 

 DXm52hEVoAEfJ8B.jpg.77ef8f7c874df2b4a454a59ef2840b62.jpg

 

2 hours ago, Graffiti281 said:

Hey,

Congratulations on Hollins! sorry about Oxford. Did you interview with them at all? I interviewed on February 21st and am basically dying of anxiety at this point. SO glad I discovered this forum today.

Hi there!

Thanks so much for that! Regrettably, I did not interview with them, but to be fair, I don't think my brand of writing is really their cup of tea anyway, so I wasn't too upset. I've wanted to go to Oxford ever since I was a little girl, so I was like; "I absolutely have to apply- no matter what."
You interviewed with them?! Wow- what was it like? That's amazing! I'm sure you'll be hearing back soon. I hope all goes well for you! Which aspect of the Mst program did you apply for? Poetry? The novel? Etc? 

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4 hours ago, StarDustWrites said:

Hi there!

Thanks so much for that! Regrettably, I did not interview with them, but to be fair, I don't think my brand of writing is really their cup of tea anyway, so I wasn't too upset. I've wanted to go to Oxford ever since I was a little girl, so I was like; "I absolutely have to apply- no matter what."
You interviewed with them?! Wow- what was it like? That's amazing! I'm sure you'll be hearing back soon. I hope all goes well for you! Which aspect of the Mst program did you apply for? Poetry? The novel? Etc? 

The interview was, honestly, the toughest I've ever experienced. Their questions were very thoughtful and detailed and tbh I learnt a lot simply from that interview (for eg - they asked me what was the last book I read from which I learnt something - like a technical/craft thing, that I then used in my own work). I didn't specify a particular aspect of the program though I said I'd like to focus on short fiction in my SOP; I have an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, but I'm transitioning to fiction now, so I want to keep an open mind.

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12 hours ago, Graffiti281 said:

The interview was, honestly, the toughest I've ever experienced. Their questions were very thoughtful and detailed and tbh I learnt a lot simply from that interview (for eg - they asked me what was the last book I read from which I learnt something - like a technical/craft thing, that I then used in my own work). I didn't specify a particular aspect of the program though I said I'd like to focus on short fiction in my SOP; I have an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, but I'm transitioning to fiction now, so I want to keep an open mind.

I'm not too surprised that it was a tough interview but it sounds like you navigated it masterfully! Wow- you are so much more qualified for Oxford than I am woosh. :D Short fiction is such a challenge, so your stuff must be spectacular! You absolutely have the right mindset going into this, and I'm so excited for you! Do keep us in the know! 

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3 hours ago, StarDustWrites said:

I'm not too surprised that it was a tough interview but it sounds like you navigated it masterfully! Wow- you are so much more qualified for Oxford than I am woosh. :D Short fiction is such a challenge, so your stuff must be spectacular! You absolutely have the right mindset going into this, and I'm so excited for you! Do keep us in the know! 

Ahhhhh I don't know I'm so nervous!!! Thank you so much for the pick me up, though - I needed that! :) 

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On 3/4/2018 at 10:15 PM, Ckoh said:

@MisterMambo1990 is that a thing to do? Call the schools to hear where you application is standing? I looked on my application progress online and it’s the same as before. 

 

 

Honestly, I don't totally recommend it unless the program directly tells you "Hey, you're not bothering us with this." Hamline was pretty much that way. So, if the program doesn't mind you calling them OCCASIONALLY, you should be kosher.

 

BTW, Emerson College just accepted me and offered me a scholarship. Hot damn, am I happy.

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1 hour ago, MisterMambo1990 said:

BTW, Emerson College just accepted me and offered me a scholarship. Hot damn, am I happy.

Congratulations! Way to go! Man, what an amazing location... and Ploughshares!

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3 hours ago, exvat said:

Congratulations! Way to go! Man, what an amazing location... and Ploughshares!

Thanks! Ploughshares is gaudy when it comes to the work they select for their journals. Excellent material overall! I have no idea which school to choose now...but I'll decide by the end of March. Very excited for the future!

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I wasn't expecting to hear from anyplace yet, because the one school that told me to expect by a specific date was Irvine, and they said march 25th? but, much to my shock, I got in to Chapman and California College of The Arts (CCA) last week. Which I'm so excited about! -- if only I knew whether or not I could go, re: funding. Chapman mysteriously says "access denied" in the part of the online account where you're supposed to be able to accept or reject your award (I suppose I'm glad there's something to deny me access to? that suggests I got SOMETHING, right? please be the 18,000 fellowship...), and CCA is driving me nuts, because they sent me an email saying I got in, and an email that my financial aid award has been "revised" so should check my account -- but it won't let you access the account until you have an ID number that can be found on your financial award letter, AND it says they don't send letters anymore because of the environment. sooooo I guess I have to wait until business hours start again and try to convince some administrator to give me the ID number...that will let me see the letter with the ID number :huh:. I know it could be worse, but this is torture lol. I'm close enough that I can taste it, but not enough to know if I got enough money to actually go anywhere. I sort of wish they'd waited to tell me anything until they could tell me everything. I'm still waiting on CalArts, Irvine, and Antioch, and I actually also plan to apply to Pacific (because Ellen Bass! the jewish/lesbian/poet/activist mentor of my dreams!) but it's rolling, and I have one last essay to finish. glad I found this site, because I literally do not know a single person going through the grad app process rn (although I have a friend who just graduated from Iowa), and it's a weird isolated bubble to be in. For months I've been telling everybody I know how hard it is to get in anywhere for an MFA as a set-up for when every school rejected me, and I don't even know how to feel about the fact that...they didn't. I'm sort of speechless, and it's probably already clear here that I'm the sort of person who rarely shuts the fuck up :-P 

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52 minutes ago, Graffiti281 said:

Just got accepted into Oxford! Can't feel my fingers and toes...

WOW! CONGRATULATIONS!

I guess that interview went pretty well, after all :)

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On 3/5/2018 at 4:49 PM, Tyedyedturtle91 said:

It went really great. The director was so kind, and I loved the emphasis on community. Just very feel-good, overall. Feels like it will be a great fit. I'm very excited to find out about funding and whatnot.

I got rejected via post by Toronto yesterday. Still waiting on 8 others. I emailed Uni of Victoria today, and was told they are finalizing decisions this week. Eeek! Wanted to email Guelph, but held back, lol.

Any word from Guelph yet?  I haven't heard a peep.

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22 hours ago, Vivalabetsy said:

Any word from Guelph yet?  I haven't heard a peep.

I also applied to Guelph and haven't heard anything yet. The time range they gave me for responses, back in December, was March/April. Fingers crossed!

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On 3/17/2018 at 10:11 PM, Vivalabetsy said:

Any word from Guelph yet?  I haven't heard a peep.

No, radio silence. I emailed on March 6, asking if a status update were possible or if they knew the rough timeline. I was told that they were hoping to finalize and communicate decisions by the end of March. I don't know how to feel about Guelph. Didn't they notify some poetry peeps already? I'm getting very anxious. Want to believe this means we're all still in the running for fiction, but can't help but be a bit negative at this point. Ugh... I really love their program.

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