Several have gone out. Seth Abramson is keeping track of acceptances on his blog: http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/2008/01/2008-data-bank-of-application-response.html
Lucy, those are all excellent questions that I wish I knew the answers too!
The waiting is brutal! My husband and I have put our condo on the market, expecting that I'm going to get in somewhere and that we are going to move, but it's just tick, tock, tick, tock, waiting, waiting, waiting!
To make matters worse, I'm supposed to be finishing my thesis for my MA, but I can't concentrate from all the obsessing about a mythical phone call!
Yes, I've received an acceptance from the University of South Florida, for its brand-new MFA program. Just a personal email from the program head -- the official letter is in the mail, they say. It's the only school I applied to, so I'm not sure how it would compare timing wise with other schools.
Damn Alicia! That's one of the three schools I applied to and haven't heard a word. What's your genre? Mine's poetry. Hopefully they didn't send out all acceptances simultaneously.
I'm happy for you, although it is tough to say. I'm jealous. Come on Virginia Tech. Come on Florida International.
I have all the same questions Lucy does...if I read that one of my schools has accepted someone and I haven't heard back, should I just cross them off the list...or hold on to that mangled shred of hope. getting in or not getting in will change how my life goes for the next few years...i'm just waiting on a phone call or an email or a letter or messenger pigeon if they so choose, i need that yes or no.
question: for those of you who have gotten calls, around what time of day did you get the call? i am assuming that it would normally take place in the morning. and that by around 5 oclock i can stop neurotically checking my phone...but i just wanted to make sure.
lucy, i don't know the answers to all of your questions. but from what i have noticed by obsessively stalking these blogs is that the acceptance letters usually come out first. while the rejections seem to go out in mid-late march. but, i am pretty sure that the acceptances are not all issued in one day, and that it is a sort of drawn out process. maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part, because i noted that someone got an acceptance to Emerson already, and i have yet to hear ANYTHING!
i was accepted at by phone at purdue for fiction. i have no idea if other acceptances have gone out. i know someone in poetry got the call a few days before me.
spillingink, i got the call in the afternoon. i'm gmt +1 (western europe). i was still at work and missed it. they sent an email right about the same tim. both came sometime between 8 and 9 in the morning midwest time, i think.
i think evening is probably fine to stop checking your phone. although, i check my mobile obsessively even though i didn't even give that number because it's so expensive. this process makes me crazy.
best of luck. it's early yet. pretty soon the calls and letters will start pouring in.
Since we're all waiting, maybe in the meantime we could list who we are waiting on...? Maybe list in order of preference, just to get a feel for things?
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
1. Arizona 2. Oregon State 3. Eastern Washington 4. Minnesota State 5. Arizona State (but for fiction)
I'm the other Purdue guy. My call came at 7:30 in the evening--that's 9:30 PM Indiana time!! I talked Marianne Boruch's ear off for nearly an hour. So, it appears the calls may come at any time.
I went through all this hullaboo last year, and so can't tell you much more than what I gathered from that experience, but I'll tell you what I sort of know:
For question 1-- as far as I can tell it varies. I was looking at 9 very popular schools, and depending on the size of the program, they either let everyone know in one day, or there would be a couple of days, sometimes slightly spread out, where phone calls and emails would be made. This is what I could assess from looking at the boards and the comments, so if someone has a different understanding, correct me or give your input. For the most part, though, the acceptances were fairly close together. I've read that they do it in a tiered system, depending on how candidates field offers, and how they work in terms of waiting lists, but because there are so many applicants, and the schools are sort of upping the anti on funding, people tend to accept if they get offered a good deal, which minimizes later acceptances.
2) Waitlists. All I can tell you there is that my letter from Michigan told me it wouldn't give me my number, but that people had gotten in at that number in years prior. I, clearly, did not, as I am still here, but they also offer insanely great funding, so I'm not even sure if I was number one I would have gotten in. However, if a school has a waitlist, they will definitely inform you if you are on it, and you will either get an email or a letter informing you of this. I hear that you can ask them how close you are, unless they're like Michigan, and explicitly tell you not to ask.
3. Again, this is going from the boards for last year, but I know right about now I got a rejection letter from Cornell. It was early, and fairly close to the time they accepted their lucky few. It sounds like they make their decisions early and send out the rest of the responses at the same time. They seem to be very prompt and responsive about administrative things. UC Irvine I think I might still be waiting to hear from. It could have gotten lost in the mail, but you know. (I love my birth state, but the sun makes them a little distracted in the paperwork department. Or maybe I've just been in New York too long).
Good luck! (If you ever want comic relief, come visit my blog--I'm using it as a personal venting tool : )
Thanks, Miriam. I think I had heard that; for what it's worth, most of my schools were fairly prompt (as prompt as snail mail and form letters can be, anyway) in notifying me. What with the boards and all, I do have to say I appreciate the schools that send out their letters close to when they make their phone calls. There were only a few that didn't, but it does kind of make a person want to gnaw their own arm off while they wait.
to tag onto lucy's questions above, does anyone know if responses go out in groups by genre? i find that poetry people are hearing from schools i applied to (emerson, stonecoast) but i'm cnf and haven't heard much of that represented yet at those schools. best of luck to all!
I applied to USF for fiction. Like I said, I haven't received my official letter yet, so I wouldn't worry if you haven't heard. The only reason why I think I heard this early from the program head (Rita Ciresi, in this case), is because I'd communicated with her back and forth about the program, and visited her class once. So I was on her radar, so to speak.
Also, I know when I visited that class that there was only one "poetry track" guy in there, and he said he was one of only two or three. So, if you're into poetry, I think you're in the minority of people who are applying there. Hopefully that'll ease your mind somewhat!
I'm in at Eastern Washington (creative nonfiction)... and they called me at 9 on a Sunday morning! I could barely speak, let alone ask coherent questions!
Anecdote: I glanced at the IU number last night and noticed the area code begins with an 8. So naturally, this morning, when I awoke to the buzzing of the cell phone, I jumped, like I imagine most of us would, when I saw 877 as the first numbers of the incoming call...
It was only after I hung up the phone with American Express that I realized I've driven myself crazy with this stuff.
so i take it that syracuse has already sent out acceptances??? i just checked seth's blog and if i'm reading it right, people got calls on Feb. 8th. did anyone hear from them yet???
damn. i'm starting to worry that getting in somewhere is harder than i thought it would be.
if you look at an example of last year's notifications, poetry (from info volunteered, anyway, and that's what you're talking about, right?) for syracuse was made on two days: http://community.livejournal.com/who_got_in/25331.html. So hope's not totally over yet? Personally, I kept the flame alive until I had rejection in my hands! (And remember, persistence is part of being a writer. Don't give up!)
Thank-you so much for the response. It helps to know that I may be in the minority of applicants. Numbers speaking, my percentages may have gone up. Also, I just got word that one of my professors-- who wrote a reference letter for me-- who I TA'd a class for, has just accepted the non-fiction MFA position at South Florida. I'm hoping my that helps to. I hope to see you there!!
I'm officially going crazy. If the last couple posts on my blog aren't evidence enough, I've got a horrible new emotion: resentment towards my recommenders (which believe me, I feel like absolute trash about). No, they didn't get their letters in late/forget to write them/write something bad (I hope). They were perfect. Two of my rec letter writers were also my thesis advisors (the thesis that I used for my application manuscript) so they know me, they know my writing, and they're both professors at the MFA program at my university...and at no point did they say "hmm, caitlin. All top ten schools? well, you're a good writer but you're not, you know, THAT good...so why don't we spread out the application pool a little bit, huh?" NO!!! They said "sure, your thesis is awesome. Grad school? Of course! Rec letters coming right up!!!" So my new emotion is resentment that they made me so darn cocky, mixed with guilt because I'm feeling resentful...and it is AWFUL!!! I named it guiltsentment and I hate it...
I got accepted into University of Kansas, and they're going to pay all expenses for a visit in April. I feel like the prettiest girl at the dance!
Good luck, everyone. Stop worrying. Maybe it's best not to follow the acceptances on the various message boards and blogs. It'll only make you more anxious.
congrats lag! lawrence is a great, almost idyllic little town and i am proud resident. if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. were you accepted for fiction or poetry? and do you have any idea of how many are usually accepted into their program?
Thanks, brig. I was accepted for fiction. I'm not sure how many people are usually accepted. It's a pretty new program--I think it's only been around for a year or two. The website has a current students page with bios of six students, but I don't know if that's everyone or just a cross-section.
Question: What exactly is meant by those who say they are checking the programs' websites for acceptances? Do you mean a) the actual mfa website? b) a blog on the website, perhaps? c) the place where you login to check your application status?
I heard that they were getting a new non-fiction prof. I'd love to ask you questions about him/her, and talk more about the school -- can you email me directly at aliciarthompson@gmail.com ?
i just got accepted into new school, and was told i had until march 15 to make a decision. i know a bunch of schools won't even send out their accetances until late march -- and this is the first school i'm hearing from. am i allowed to request a later response? how do i hande this?
Some schools send you a username and password to access your admissions file on their website. You log on and find out roughly where in the process your application is. Only two of my schools did this. So far they haven't been very useful really. I don't think they update them until after phone calls/e-mails go out. I haven't even been checking them. The blogs are more useful.
Angelle, One other question: When did you complete your application to the New School? From what I understand, they review applicants according to when they received the application and I submitted mine at the last minute.
Anyone know if the number of MFA applicants across the board is much higher this year? I also wonder if a lot of others like myself chose almost entirely from the 50 schools Kealey highlighted in the handbook. If I have to do this again next year, I'm going to apply to a few more that are off the beaten path, for sure...
mcallister - assuming you're obsessed with checking the mfa program thread on the pw website...i found that if you don't click "connect with others" on the blue bar at the top, but rather scroll down to the area in the lower right corner that says the same thing, and click on the blue link called "speakeasy message forum" from there, you'll see the more familiar set up and probably the threads you want.
if you know of a way to get me to stop checking the website altogether, let me know. :)
It was snail mail. I was so sure it was a rejection (the proverbial thin envelope) I was thinking, this is your first rejection, be ready. Then it was like, wait, what? I got in? You're kidding. Anyway, thanks!
I talked to the director of our program today to get the scoop on acceptances and when people are notified of them. While these are probably not universal to all schools, I'm sure many schools have similar factors that make the acceptance game a tricky one.
Our poetry and fiction programs are totally separate in terms of how they choose candidates and when they notify them. In fiction at least, the four candidates were notified over a two week period.
Why the delay? Because our CW department offers full funding to all students through a TAship, the candidates also have to be approved by the director of Rhet/Comp, so sometimes it takes a while for that second approval.
It's also partly because our director talks to each fiction candidate personally and takes the time to answer questions and talk at length about the program.
I guess all that's to say, buck up. If you haven't heard from a school that someone else has heard from, that doesn't mean you've been rejected.
I just want to say to everybody, hold on to those last shreds of hope until 15 April and even the week after. For those of you watching the blog and your phone and the mailbox incessantly, freaking out at every one else's acceptance notices and waitlists and whatnots, hang in there and try to stop obsessing. There is no rhyme or reason for when the acceptances come, or waitlists, or rejections.
I did the MFA application dance 3 years ago now, and here's how the months of Feb—June went for me. (Keep in mind that I did not have the benefit of Tom's fabulous book or even the great advice on the blog. I had no idea what I was doing, so I applied to a ridiculous amount of schools.)
In February, I got one acceptance mid-month and one late in the month. No rejections or waitlists.
In March, I got one acceptance early in the month and one mid-month. I got 3 wait-list notices mid-month, only one of which turned into an acceptance about a week later. From the 10th to the 25th of March, I got eight rejections. On 30 March, I got accepted into a school where I'd NEVER been waitlisted.
In April, in the first week, I got two more acceptances into schools where I'd never been waitlisted. A few more rejections trickled in as well.
It took me until 15 April to make my decision because of those late acceptances. When I called one of the schools that I did not end up choosing, that director (very nice guy) told me that they would give my slot to a fellow on their waitlist who hadn't gotten in to any other schools. (Boy did that feel like good karma.)
On 17 April, I got accepted into one of the waitlist schools.
On 12 June, I got accepted into a school that apparently I had been waitlisted at but never received the notice.
The lessons here: 23 school applications is about wo grand—save a grand to cover the moving expenses instead.
Some people take way too long to make their decision. If you're on a waitlist, there's hope.
Some schools don't actually send out waitlist notices. If you haven't received a rejection, there's hope.
The 10th to 25th of March is going to suck. Stock up on chocolate.
The next nine weeks are going to be a roller coaster. Do anything and everything you can to keep yourself writing!!!! This is only the first many periods in your life when you will be in this weird kind of limbo. Take control by writing.
blarring - yes, i was accepted for fiction, but fear not - i sent my application in mid-december. i did hear that they're admissions process is more rolling, so i don't think you need to worry!
bolivia red - if new school gave mea deadline to get back to them by march 15, but a lot of schools don't even send out letters til mid-march, what am i supposed to do???? can i ask them nicely to extend my deadline to get back to them? will that jeopardize my spot and/or fellowship that they've offerd me?
First, know that more than likely your school of choice is governed by the Council of Graduate Schools under the "Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants" which sets the offical acceptance deadline as 15 April for all schools in all programs. Schools aren't supposed to set earlier deadlines, but of course they want to get their top candidates to sign on early on and get their classes set.
You can look at the resolution and check if your school is on it, but I think almost every school is there, the list is huge.
or here--then click on "15 APR Resolution": http://www.cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=277
You have a few choices. Yes, you can ask them kindly to extend the deadline until 15 April. For one thing, if you're are planning to visit schools, you often can't go until spring break or need a few weeks to plan. Schools will more than likely be glad to extend your deadline for those reasons. Even if you're not going to visit, you can politely tell a program that while it's among your top choice schools, you will need more time to make a fully informed decision. They should send you a letter that extends the acceptance date until 15 April. Two of my early acceptances did this for me. One school was a bit snotty about it, but the other was fine.
If you don't want to ask, or if a school says it really can't extend the deadline (which is not true, but whatev), you can go ahead and accept the offer. You have the right to resign the appointment up until 15 April without penalty (you have to send them a letter). If you wait until after 15 April, you have to get a written release from the program before you're allowed to accept another offer.
I had a school that refused to extend the early deadline. It had been high on my list but that really put me off. I waited up until their early deadline before refusing the offer (got a better one just in time).
Remember, once they extend an offer, they can't take it away from you even if they aren't happy about you asking for an extension or if you don't sign up on the very first day, they can't just decide they don't want you.
Well, the bummer man delivered yesterday, feb. 16.(sigh) I got my first rejection via snail mail--U. of Washington, St. Louis--dated Feb. 12th.
And, yet, while I am disappointed, I am surprisingly relieved that the first letter has finally come. I still have 12 other schools to hear back from, and I just want the whole process to start rolling along.
I've also been told by a few of friends already in MFa programs not to be disheartened if the first bunch of letters are rejections. Aparently, they'd received several rejections before getting an offer. So, I'm trying to think of it in terms of--'oh, well, hopefully each rejection marks one step closer to that first shining admission letter'.
Has anyone ever heard of Florida International sending a letter saying they didn't receive your electronic copy of writing samples? Then going on to say that you need to send a letter to the admissions office asking them to extend your application, as well as telling you that you might want to send "New or Revised" pieces of writings in your writing sample?
It all just sounds very strange to me. I'm pretty sure I emailed them the writing samples. It's not something I'd forget, but, our schools website doesn't keep sent messages, so there's no way to check.
Thanks for any input.
I'm hoping it's a good thing. Like I've made the first cut, and they want to see how I've progressed in the past couple months.
i also received a letter from fiu, but it was simply informing/reassuring me my application was complete. it had a checklist of all the items required for a completed application, those items checked that might be missing--not sure if yours was formatted like this. anyway, i'm sure it's nothing to worry about. probably has little to do with standing.
anyway, my school's e-mail account does save sent messages. here's the e-mail address i directed my writing sample/purpose statement to: crwriting@fiu.edu. you can find it on the website (obviously), but if you're like me at all--prone to bouts of temporary dyslexia--you might have got the address wrong. hope that helps.
i just got an acceptance call from u-mass amherst for poetry. way earlier than i expected to hear, either way, from anywhere, but the personal call was a really nice touch. so excited.
angelle--As far as the question about a early deadline to enroll, I had the same thing happen to me last year. I heard good news from a few schools that I was interested in, but had a really generous offer from one of my top choices. Though one of my professors mentioned to me I could ask them to extend their deadline, I felt a little awkward about writing the program director, "hey, you're really nice, but I'm not sure you're the prettiest girl in the room yet, so I'm gonna wait to see who else asks me to dance." I ended up enrolling there sometime around the first week of March. The last week of March I found out that I got into my top choice, with funding. All that being said, I'm very happy where I ended up, and still exchange emails with professors at that top choice I missed out on. Either way you decide to go, you're going to wonder about if you should have gone to the other place, or if you should have waited to hear, but I would definitely let the decision linger until the last minute. It's nice to enjoy the illusion that we have some say in what happens in our lives. Congratulations nonetheless, good luck!
Just found out I was wait listed at the University of Michigan for fiction. Considering that I just spent seven hours driving 40 mph across a snowed-over highway, followed by four hours at work, I'm having trouble even processing what this means.
thanks guys for the advice. it appears that new school is one of the few NOT on that list, which explains the march deadline. D*MMIT! crossing fingers the other schools start getting back to me soon......
I posted this on Godfrey's blog too. It's quoted from the speakeasy, and it helped put things in perspective. I thought it might do the same for others who have yet to be accepted.
"I've lurked on this forum at the same time every year for a few years now, and thought I would render this bout of insomnia slightly useful.
I started publishing poetry in undergrad, and I've placed work in competitive journals like The Iowa Review, Carolina Quarterly, Georgia Review, etc. The improbability of being plucked from the slush pile at publications like these corresponds quite tightly with the huge amount of work I put into the poems. I've received a few fellowships and awards, too.
I have not been accepted to or wait-listed by a single MFA program I have applied to, in two rounds of applications. I would sometimes receive an acceptance letter for a poem at a journal edited by the people who sent me the rejection letter for the MFA program. These letters arrived on the same day three different times.
While a few lofty publications certainly doesn't preclude the superior work of other students, it isn't very likely that my poems would find their way into those publications but not earn me a spot at an institution ostensibly devoted to teaching writers how to write well enough to have material placed in such places if other things than the writing weren't a factor. I'm unaware of other writers who had encountered similarly frustrating obstacles in academics but enjoyed fair success in a much more competitive arena. If anyone has anecdotes of such trouble, please share.
I admit that not getting in hurt very badly. It took away the held-dearly notion that my hard work generated a product which made that toil worthwhile. It was six months after the first set of rejections before I started writing seriously again. I haven't written anything at all since the second set, and that was two years ago. I still wish I had been able to go to school.
Thanks for this forum, its great support for those who need it."
I'm not sure what I'm supposed to glean from that anecdote. It's tragic that someone with obvious talent would be universally rejected by MFA programs. It's even more tragic that such rejection would end his writing career. What is the point? That schools are unfair in their decisions? That a publication record can hurt your chances of acceptance? That rejection can destroy you as a writer? I have to say that in this case, misery doesn't desire such company.
I posted a response to that post on P&W and I'll re-post it here:
Django,
Just wanted to briefly respond to your message--not to start a conversation (as this isn't the thread for it), but because others read your message (as this is a popular thread) and I worry they (and yes, perhaps you too) are taking the wrong lesson from your post, and I think it's critical to clear up any confusion. The simple fact is that submitting to journals is a crapshoot. And submitting to MFAs is a crapshoot. So it's not at all surprising that you had success with one and less success with another, because the two are unrelated and are both crapshoots. Just three days ago someone posted an acceptance from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a rejection from Purdue, which would make no "sense" if these things made sense. In the same week I received an acceptance of three poems for Poetry, I received a hand-written note from a first reader for a very small state journal advising me that I needed to work on my "vocabulary, voice, and images...[and] build my skills." Poems rejected by the on-line start-up journal a friend and I created in 2006--rejected for the first issue, when we were desperate for submissions--ended up, in several instances, in top-tier national print journals. A close friend and I applied to MFAs at the same time, and applied to all the same schools, and we both had earned a substantial list of publications at the time of our applications: there was no overlap whatsoever to the schools we got into (literally). You cannot "predict" aesthetics, particularly as editors rotate at journals and readers (particularly first-line readers, where they are used) often rotate at MFA programs. Rejection from a journal is not a statement on your writing, it's an indication that journals accept less than 0.5% of submissions and a) mistakes are made, and b) even excellent work must be rejected. Rejection from an MFA is not a statement on your writing, it's an indication that the programs you applied to, Django, almost certainly had a 3% or less acceptance rate--whether you realized it or not--and a) make mistakes in their decisions, and b) have to reject excellent writers all the time, due to space, differing aesthetics (looking at your whole portfolio), the mix of the class, diversity issues (and I include in this age, professional background, and so on, I'm not just referring to the usual categorizations), and much, much more. In 2007 I applied to Johns Hopkins, to be honest at the time a very unpopular school for poets, because the whole program was tilted mightily toward fiction. I was rejected (and rejected by three other schools, too) but accepted to Iowa and Michigan and UMass. Go figure. At the time of my application to (and rejection by) UVA I had 60+ publications in major literary journals, and I know folks with zero publications who were accepted. But I'm totally okay with that. Because I know the qualities programs are looking for can't be charted by publications, and hell, probably can't be charted at all. Who knows what prompts these decisions? It's a crapshoot. And if you have writing in your blood, my friend, you have to just plug away, because that's what being a writer will be about until the day you die. It's a hard, hard road we've chosen, an uncertain road, and no--no--it's not a road paved by logic. But it's worth it.
Django, you should get back on the horse and re-apply to MFA programs. That's what I'm saying. Use my website to help you strategize: a mix of programs with large and small class-sizes, a mix of higher and lower acceptance rates, a mix of schools particularly popular in your genre but less popular overall and schools less popular in your genre but popular overall, and so on. The MFA admissions system failed you twice by failing to see your talent, but don't you fail yourself by believing more in them and in the admissions system than a look inside the sausage factory would ever prompt you to! It's a crapshoot, my friend, a crapshoot. You play until you win, period.
Does anyone else keep getting automatically generated emails from UNCW that say your application is complete and ready for review? What is the deal with that? I heard that someone was accepted to their fiction program by email last week, but I haven't heard a peep from them, accept for these random emails periodically.
Does this mean they have gone into my application and marked me as a no, and it's sending me an email?
Ugh, I hate all of this waiting. And I agree, that blog post only serves as a reminder that these programs are unbelieveably competitive and makes me brace myself for a string of rejections and the emotional fallout.
Seth: Thank you. You have done wonders for my nerves.
Jay: UNCW is apparently having server problems, and emails are being generated willy-nilly... Or so I hear around blog-dom. I wouldn't take it as any indicator of your status, especially since they notify on a rolling-basis.
Chris- I was out of town and didn't check my email until last night, but the email came in the afternoon. It was just a form letter mentioning an "enclosed postcard" so I think snail mail is on the way. Last night I dreamed that Michigan sent back my stories and had edited one of them into this cheesy experimental monstrosity, a bad Samuel Beckett imitation (I write straight up domestic fiction).
Anyone heard anything about the Southampton Stony Brook program? Queens College? I have applied to eight schools, with two more to come, and I'm being realistic about my chances, given the odds of getting into one of the more established programs (for fiction) I've applied to. Queens and Southampton Stony Brook seem to be very much under the radar; there isn't much info about these programs aside from what's on their websites. I wonder if this is a bad sign, but I'm pretty naive about the process, rankings, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ...
I applied for Poetry, and for financial reasons --only applied to three schools-- Florida International, South Florida, and Virginia Tech. (They are all southern-tier because I'm from the snow-belt of the world)
Robert-- I'm trying to stay positive, trying to meditate, trying to pretend like I'm waiting for nothing, but yes, my fingers are starting to cramp up abit.
Good Luck Friend. I wish everyone the best and no matter what, PLEASE KEEP WRITING!
atc: when did you hear from rutgers-newark? i haven't heard a peep from them yet other then the automated email I received after completing the application...
As far as the people commenting on UNC-W go, I can give you a little info on how they went about it last year. I heard via email my acceptance around the first week of march. Though, I don't think they decide on financial packages until a few weeks later. Wendy Brenner seemed incredibly nice and understanding. She offered full availability on the phone, and we exchanged emails for about two weeks. Definitely seems like a great place.
Nope, rejection letter's in the mail. I got an interview offer for a position that requires you to be a graduate student. I figured I'd call and see how the application went. The administrative assistant was really nice about the entire thing. So, alas, no Umass for me. All the decisions have been made and im not sure what the mailing schedule is like. Just remember (as i keep telling myself) 600 people applied for 10 or 15 spots.
First, I'd like to extend my congrats to everyone, regardless of how the news is coming in.
I applied with fiction to 6 schools in the South/Southeast, and have heard back from two at this time, both positives. I got a call from Memphis about 2 weeks ago and was assured "some money...and tuition remission," but have yet to receive an actual offer (he said they should have a better idea within a week, but the date they gave me was over a week ago). I just heard via E-mail from South Carolina yesterday, where I did my undergrad, and was offered a pretty fantastic deal.
That deal, however, was given "conditionally." I understand they can't hold fellowships and other awards indefinitely, but they want me to give them an answer in a week, with some "leeway."
(Sorry for all the quotes.)
So, I'm a bit confused now about what I should do (also, a little angry I should have decide so soon). Should I call Memphis and see if I can get them to hurry up their offer? Should I use this offer from SC to try to get a better one out of Memphis? Use both of these offers to try to get the other four to let me know one way or the other? And how would I even do that?
I know it's not the worst position to be in, but now I'm just getting worried that something bad could happen (mostly not getting good funding from another school, which is pretty much a requirement for me) and then I could end up losing this really good offer.
Ugh.
Thanks for listening. (!) And warm wishes going out to everyone perpetually checking to make sure the phone hasn't died, or that the E-mail hasn't somehow forgotten to reload itself.
I'm floating on air right now, and just wanted to share: just got a call from UMass-Amherst. Accepted for Fiction! This on the heels of an acceptance from UNCW last week.
Congratulations to everyone who's been accepted, and hang in there to everyone who's still waiting. UNCW, for one, indicated that they are still reviewing other applications, so I don't think we can really determine exactly how any of the schools manage their decision processes. As much as waiting sucks, that's really all we can do; at least we have each other!
Congrats to Ashley, Anna, and everyone else. Ashley--I'm not an expert, but it seems weird and unfair that they would pressure you to decide early, or make funding conditional on that. I only applied to schools that offer full funding to everyone, but at least one of them I've heard from so far offered me a fellowship that goes beyond their typical package, but they also went out of their way to assure me I should consider all my options and didn't have to make a final decision until April, which gives me a really good vibe about the program.
I'm in a similar predicament (also a school from the South). They gave me 10 days to decide. This was several days ago at this point. This was before hearing from a couple schools just to know my app was ready for review!
A couple of things. First, it sounds incomprehensible to other programs. I checked in with U Mass Amherst for example (don't think I got in) and the reaction was "do they know that's illegal." Talking to a couple of other programs gave me similar reactions of shock and even anger. This at least made me feel better about my predicament.
Second, read up a bit higher in this thread. Bolivia red had some comments (and a link) on this. Almost all US schools are required to give you until April 15 (especially for offers that include $.) A number of them pressure you, but this is their own requirement.
My plan was to call programs just to get a sense of where my app was. Meanwhile, see what I can get out of the school that made the offer (i.e. more time.) In terms of app status, some schools basically said there's no way they'll be done with apps in time for me to decide. As such, I'm working on my 2nd step. A week is an incredibly short amount of time to decide, and as far as I can tell, the school is actually required to give you until April 15.
You should check out bolivia red's comments. I found them helpful.
By the way: what does the school gain by refusing to give you an extension? Thinking that gave me a bit of fuel.
I was able to track them down and speak with them. They were quite amenable to giving me until the 15th. I had some $ with the offer, and I'm guessing they didn't want that to sit there until then if they could give it to another prospect. We're all good now.
Does anybody know how reliable those program websites are that post your "Application Status?" Most of mine still say "Application Received," including a program that actually accepted me.
I still haven't heard anything--and I applied to 10 schools! I have come to accept that Emerson, Amherst, and Iowa are probably all out, since you guys have been getting your acceptances. I am terrified.
My first post (and written with a beastly hangover)...
I've applied to three schools (UCIrvine, Antioch, Vermont) and had intended to apply to four other programs (all low residency). But I got into Vermont's LR program on Friday (hooray!), so I'm having trouble focusing on finishing my remaining apps.
My application is listed as "incomplete" at a few of the schools I've applied to. I emailed them and they said my file was complete and it was under departmental review. So don't trust the websites -- most schools are very slow to update them.
I applied in fiction to Antioch, Vermont, and 3 programs here in FL so far. Antioch and VT apps just went out within the past couple of weeks, so I won't hear anything for at least another month.
I applied to Vermont in fiction. I think their deadline was 2/1, so I was surprised to hear from them so quickly. But I also applied online so maybe that was a factor?
delicata, I've applied to Antioch, Vermont, and UCIrvine (my only "traditional"). Working on applications to Warren Wilson, Lesley, possibly Pacific and Bennington. Do you have a first choice?
I just got a phone call from Robert Polito, the director of the New School, accepting me for non-fiction!!! And, they are offering me a fellowship!! By the way, I have been a big fan of this blog, even though this is my first posting. Good luck to everyone!
Just got accepted at American for fiction by mail. I'm still waiting to hear from 8 schools. Good luck to everyone! I don't think I've been this stressed in my life.
Noah, I submitted the online portion of the application to the New School on Jan. 14, a day before the deadline, and overnighted the hard copy portion, which I think only consisted of my transcript. I'm thinking I may have been one of the first applicants that they contacted since they offered me a fellowship, but that's just a guess. Good luck with everything!
what should i think if i haven't heard from schools that have sent out acceptances and rejections? should i assume that i've been rejected, or should i hold on to hope? i don't know if no news is leaning more towards possibly bad news or possibly good news.
I just checked the status of my online application and it says nothing more than "verified."
i was admitted for poetry, and from the sound of it, they have a list of admitted students and they do a handful a day. and i only got my phone call sunday and the office told me they accepted 27 students. so i think everyone who applied should still have hope.
xu, No news is still good news. As I said in an earlier comment, some schools don't send waitlist notices at all. You may not hear anything from a school until late March or the first week of April.
This is a slow dragged-out process for every school. Until you have an rejection letter in hand, assume you're still in play at that school.
same with me, but she had mentioned them looking at things this week and funding next week....ah well :)
oh - and i applied in Fiction. It's the only school i havent heard back from, so im hoping for an acceptance, as ive been rejected elsewhere. oh well :)
Just got an e-mail acceptance to Brooklyn College! Was given the green light from Chatham as well. Still waiting to hear from 6 more....this is my third year applying (I got totally, utterly rejected by everyone twice), so everyone should be persistent!
Just got an e-mail acceptance to Brooklyn College! Was given the green light from Chatham as well. Still waiting to hear from 6 more....this is my third year applying (I got totally, utterly rejected by everyone twice), so everyone should be persistent!
I received a written rejection from USF (South Florida) in poetry on Feb 19 and a follow-up email a few days later. I heard they are accepting only 6 people in poetry.
I also applied to FIU but have not heard anything other than the form letter telling me to send in my missing material if any of the boxes were checked --they weren't.
I was accepted by UNH first over their web site (February 9th) and then via mail about a week later. Still haven't heard back from my five other schools, hopefully this week or next.
Let me first say that, having JUST found this Blog, it is an absolute Godsend. I've been wanting to hear from fellow appliers and it's good(?) to see that many are going through the same horrific experience as I. Here's my situation (if you care to hear it): -Rejected very early from Purdue. Big deal. -Recently rejected from UW-Madison, my number one choice. Oh well... -Still waiting on notification from: -Iowa -UM-Ann Arbor -Notre Dame -Southern Illinois -Northern Michigan Has anyone else heard anything positive/negative from these schools? I am, of course, an interested observer. Congrats to all those who have found their place in the MFA world! I hope all of your endeavors are successful.
I was admitted for poetry. My status was updated from "under review..." to "Admitted to Program," so I'd imagine they just haven't gotten around to your application yet. Good luck! Hope this helps.
Congrats on UNH! Have you talked to anyone at the department? When I called them on Friday they said they hadn't made the poetry decisions yet (but that they would by next Wednesday) -- but you said you got in on the 9th? Now I'm beginning to think I'm hallucinating... Any insights? Anyone else hear anything from UNH? Maybe they do rolling admissions? Or is there a UNH besides New Hampshire?
Does anyone know when the University of Baltimore usually starts sending letters? The UB application deadline is February 1st, so I'm starting to get antsy.
J. Robert -- thanks for clarifying! I must've misheard the woman, or else gotten someone on the phone who wasn't fully aware of the process. Congrats again!
So glad I'm not the only one in this boat. I've become absolutely obsessed with the mailbox and missed phone calls. I got accepted to the LR program at Pacific U for poetry. Still waiting to hear from University of Washington, University of Oregon, UC-Davis (although I see on Seth's blog they called poetry acceptances yesterday, so that's not good), St. Mary's and UNC-Greensboro all in poetry. Good luck all!
molly: impressive tally. is there one place your really excited about?
mine so far is Iowa and Miami University @ Ohio
I'm waiting on Texas, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Alabama CSU, and St. Marys though Iowa contacted me first and made the rest of the waiting period much less stressful.
Murphy, do you mind if I ask you when you submitted your application?
(Mine got there by Feb 15 and I haven't heard anything yet, but I know they have rolling admissions and they said I'd probably have an answer within about four weeks.)
All of this info from everyone on which school have sent letters yet is actually great to hear - sometimes I worry that I missed a phone call or lost a letter!
I've applied to twelve fiction programs and have been accepted at U of Wisconsin, U of Minnesota, Wash U, and George Mason.
Still haven't heard a peep from: UMass UNCW UNCG Alabama Arizona Oregon Washington Montana
There's my tally - a contribution towards the group effort of obsessing over phone calls, e-mails, letters...
It's really interesting to see the schools which have accepted and rejected everyone so far. It does really seem to be a crapshoot. The best advice my professors have given me is to not get too caught up in rankings, reputations, or superficial things like that. As a writer, you've got to find a place where you can imagine yourself writing--not necessarily the place with the name you'd like embossed in gold on your diploma.
Anyways, I've heard back from five schools and am waiting on three more. Wisconsin and Michigan rejected me last week, but I was accepted into the fiction program at George Mason on January 25 (e-mail), to Pitt on February 25(regular mail), and to UNH today, March 5 (web site). U Mass-Amherst updated its Web site on my application this week, saying my application was now "pending," so hopefully that's good news, too. Has anyone heard from Rutgers or NYU yet?
Good luck to everyone, and congratulations to everyone who was accepted so far!
I submitted my Vermont College application online on Jan. 29 just before the Feb. 1 deadline. I'm surprised that you were told they had rolling admissions. This comes from their website --
The following are semester application deadlines:
Fall 2008: application deadline, February 29, 2008
Spring 2009: application deadline, September 1, 2008
How weird. I think they have changed the deadline on their website a couple of times. As I recall, it was originally February 1. Then I saw it was posted as February 15. I needed the extra time, so I called the school to confirm. They (well, the assistant program director, who is super nice) said that they had posted a deadline, but that they actually had no set date internally. I got all my materials in between the 15th and the 18th to apply for Fall 08. She said I would hear something within about four weeks. Now I see they've changed the posted deadline to February 29.
Wells--I was also accepted at Ohio State and Washington U and wait listed at Michigan for fiction! I wonder if our writing is eerily similar? Do you have a preference so far? Are you going to the OSU open house? feel free to email me srafert at gmail dot com if you want to share impressions or anything like that. Maybe we'll be classmates...
I too received a letter from Michigan today. Oh well. I really liked their program. I also got a rejection from Iowa, which I knew was coming also, and I live about 4 hours away from Iowa City. I posted this on P&W's "the waiting game...have you heard anything?" regarding Notre Dame:
Called Notre Dame to inquire on my application and after a long, confusing (though very friendly) explanation of the admissions process, was told: "In other words, if you get another offer you'd better go for it."
The woman I spoke with made it sound as if acceptances have gone out and they are waiting to hear from those people, and they have until 4/15. But don't quote me on that because she said it in a real roundabout way. I feel as if she told me I was both rejected and waitlisted. It was a confusing conversation.
I hope this helps shed some light for you, I know how agonizing this waiting process can be and I personally appreciate any information in regards to the places I have applied to.
Still waiting on Northern Michigan and official notification from SIU.
I'm very torn between the four programs. They all have so many great qualities - faculty I'm excited to work with, small workshops (though Mason is a larger than the others), great funding, teaching opportunities, and all encourage (or require) cross-genre work.
I do find myself leaning towards Wisconsin, but I feel I need to talk to students at each program, so that's my big mission this week. Anyone out there heard anything interesting about the mfa programs at Wisoncon, Minnesota, Wash U or George Mason?
Hi Tiffany, Georege Mason is definitely one of my top choices; I really like the work of the faculty there, and if things work out financially, it would be my first choice for a lot of reasons... but we'll see what happens. I have two other great offers, too, and I'm still waiting to hear back from three schools. Hope that helps, though I know it can be frustrating to be wait-listed. KHR
I understand about leaning toward Wisconsin. I think I would be too in the same situation. They have such good funding. Plus, Lorrie Moore is one of my favorite writers. It's a tough choice, though.
I think Wisconsin also has a post-MFA fellowship available, funding for another couple of years or so. Unheard of, as far as I know.
That's a good idea about talking to the students. You might be able to find a few emails at the department sites (I know Syracuse offers this). It would be good to know what the student experiences are actually like.
Wisconsin does have a post-MFA fellowship, available to people from other programs as well. Wash U, as Alyssa must know, also offers a chance for a third-year teaching fellowship, which is nice.
Alyssa-- I can't remember where I saw it, but someone posted somewhere that Marshall Klimasewiski at Wash U is a great teacher. I got in there, too--did he call you? When he talked to me he seemed like a really nice guy, and even just over the phone he was giving me helpful feedback on one of my sample stories.
p.s. My sister is in the MFA program at UW-Madison (in the visual arts)--Madison is a nice town, but also pretty overrun with student hipster types (traffic/driving are crazy), and rents can be a little pricey compared to other places in the Midwest. I should say I might be biased, though, because I didn't get into their fiction program.
I didn't even apply to Wisconsin. And now I am failing to understand how I came to that conclusion when I was deciding. What was I thinking? Not that I would've gotten in.
I do like, however, hearing that Wisconsin's post-MFA stuff is available to other writers. I didn't realize that, and I am now trying to figure out how to calculate it into my vague/bleak future as a "writer."
i haven't heard back from ANYWHERE else after new school, and i'm getting nervous. i also haven't gotten an official letter in the mail yet since i got my email from new school. i haven't contacted new school yet to ask for more time to decide because i wanted the official letter in my hands before i did that. now i wonder if my letter was lost in the mail or if i waited too long to get back to them to ask for more time!!
I wouldn't get nervous now. When I was accepted to Iowa it was over the phone on Feb 25th. I didn't get my paper acceptance until today and for a while I was beginning to think I hallucinated it because it seemed too good to be true (and at least you have New School's email to read and reread). Couldn't you reply to the email and tell them you are still very interested but haven't heard from ANY other schools? I mean, you did spend the money, and they technically aren't allowed to give you a premature deadline. And if they want you, they want you. Why would they be quick to give your spot away to someone lower on the list? Hope that helps
angell-- Contact New School today or tomorrow to ask about the official letter. Because you never received it, that may give you a bit more leverage to ask for more time, especially if they didn't spell out the entire deal with the orginial email. If you're really concerned about losing the offer, accept it. You'll know you're definitely in somewhere. Even if New School isn't part of the other zillion school, 15 April deadline thing, you can still decide not to go there at a later time (unless the contract says something along the lines of you're signing away you're soul and first child to new school since there's no breaking a deal with the devil). That will give you time to see what other schools have to say without the pressure of new school's deadline.
Just got a letter saying I'm on the wait list at Minnesota. That was one of my top choices (I did my undergrad in the Twin Cities and still have a bunch of friends there), and it's coming on the tail of a couple of disappointing rejections, so I'm relatively happy. I really needed a little lift this afternoon, which a wait list notice is.
That whole changing the date thing is weird to me. Oh well, I wish you the best of luck with it. They are spot on about how long you'll have to wait for a response. It was about a month. Hope you get better news than I did.
Thank you to everyone who started talking about the UNH program. I hadn't checked my "application status" since I knew my application was complete. Checking tonight showed me that I'd been changed to "Admitted to Program!"
Wisconsin and Michigan's big batches of rejections have been mailed out and probably received by everyone at this point, so best of luck to those who have not yet heard back from either.
I've yet to hear anything from Notre Dame or Western Michigan.
Rejected by Iowa today via snail mail. The letter said there were 835 applications. Best of luck to those who haven't yet heard.
Anyone else hear from MCW at Texas? I was accepted yesterday for fiction; I got an email.
Samara- I was thinking the same thing! Looks like I will be able to get to Columbus on the 28th, though I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone in the program to make definite plans. It's hard to say which way I'm leaning at this point, but I'm very much looking forward to the open house at OSU.
Congrats to everyone on their acceptances. I am quite impressed with (and jealous of) those of you who have been accepted by several great schools. As for me, I started hearing back from fiction programs this week. Three rejections (Wisconsin-Madison, Iowa, and today FSU), all of the skinny envelope variety, and one acceptance from Northern Iowa's MA program. I'm still waiting on Syracuse, Oregon, West Virginia, Indiana, and Minnesota. Though it sounds like some of those places have already started accepting students, so I might wind up 1-9. Bummer.
Anybody notice a typo in Iowa's rejection letter? I was a bit shocked to see that one of the top writing programs could miss capitalizing the first word of a sentence, especially in such a brief letter.
Best of luck to everyone, and again, congrats on your acceptances.
The Iowa typo did little to alleviate the pain. I received it yesterday. This brings my rejection tally to 4. Naturally, I've begun on a few law school applications.
Marshall Klimasewiski did call me, and I really enjoyed talking with him. I've been corresponding with my undergrad fiction professor since asking him to be a ref for me (I graduated over 5 years ago, so we were out of touch for a while) and he mentioned that he knew Marshall a little (he did his PhD in American lit at Wash U), and said the same thing you did - that people think he's a great teacher, very accessible and generous with his time. I just picked up his latest book of short stories, "Tyrants," which came out this year. I've only just started it, but I'm hooked already on the first story.
Wash U does have some amazing funding opportunities for a 3rd year - it sounds like many students take advantage of that opportunty. I'm a little anxious about the location - I've never been to St Louis, and I hear mixed reviews. I'm going down there next weekend to interview for a fellowship, and I'm looking forward to checking out the city. My undergrad prof gave me a lot of recommendations for places to visit - specifically, his old house, so I can report back on whether the current residents are taking care of it.
Has anybody else out there applied to Alabama? I heard they started responding in late January, but I haven't heard anything.
If it helps at all, I grew up in St. Louis and went to WashU for my undergrad, and I love, love, love the city. The area around the campus is probably the best location in town (close to all the free museums, Forest Park and the Loop and West End) and the new Metrolink stops all across campus make it really easy to get around town. As an undergrad, of course, I definitely heard my share of people from other parts of the country complaining about the city. For some reason, St. Louis is a very easy target for being the butt of metropolitan jokes. However, I can't say enough about it that's positive. And WashU is a great place to spend a few years. Hope you enjoy your visit next weekend!
Alyssa-- I just started his novel "The Cottagers," and I'm impressed so far. I had my doubts about St. Louis, too, but when I read about all the parks they have and the cheap historic housing I started to think my previous prejudices against the place were baseless. I just associated it with grime and beer.
I'm just now chiming in, but so far I've gotten rejections via snail mail from Iowa WW and Michigan for fiction. Accepted into Columbia's nonfiction program Wednesday by phone. Still waiting on ten others:
Syracuse fiction Iowa nonfiction Columbia fiction Johnson Hopkins fiction UVa fiction Texas MCW fiction Texas MA fiction Sarah Lawrence nonfiction Brooklyn College fiction UC Irvine fiction
Robert: I was also admitted for fiction at UNH, perhaps I will see you there!
My other acceptance right now is at Wisconsin-Milwaukee for their English MA with writing concentration. I'm conflicted about the program being a MA not MFA, even though it does have a Ph.D. track.
Speak Coffee and Robert... I'm also in at UNH for fiction. :). Have either of you heard anything from them officially? I'm feeling a little in the dark--I was going to email today, but I thought I'd ask first.
I was accepted by Idaho, got the call last Sunday, and was called by Wyoming last Thursday. If those are the only two, I'm very torn. Brad Watson at Wyoming is a fantastic writer, and I'm partial to him because I met him last year after a reading, and he couldn't have been more friendly and encouraging. But I think I'd rather live in Moscow, and from what I understand it's a bigger program.
Was rejected by Purdue weeks ago.
Still waiting on:
Indiana New Hampshire Old Dominion UMass SIU Ole Miss Oregon UNCW UNCG Eastern Washington Bowling Green Colorado State
Taggie7 -- I received my "official" letter in today's mail. It came in a skinny envelope and was dated March 7, so it should arrive shortly if it doesn't come today. No word in it about funding/TA. Taggie7? Robert? Did you guys not hear the magic word on $ in your letters? Or am I just SOL?
Coffee... my letter came today too (same post mark). No mention of funding... I hope we're not SOL. I emailed Janine to see if decisions had been made. Crossing my fingers for me and you! :)T
But the real cherry on the cake? A second rejection from Univ. of Washington, St. Louis. Guess they forgot they had already mailed me one back in February. Sad thing is, I actually got my hopes up for the second time thinking they might say I'd been bumped from a waitlist position to accepted status...
A record tough day today. Still waiting on a few more schools.
All the best to those of you who have been fortunate enough to have found your place. Don't ever take it for granted.
i also received my official acceptance letter from unh today. it made no mention of funding, but i don't think we're sol just yet--the office said they'd be making decisions today or tomorrow concerning financial aid distribution. so, those decisions couldn't have made it out with the acceptance letters.
i also got a rejection from alabama today, and an acceptance to siu-carbondale with ta'ship and tuition waiver. two out of three ain't bad, right?
247 comments:
1 – 200 of 247 Newer› Newest»Several have gone out. Seth Abramson is keeping track of acceptances on his blog:
http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/2008/01/2008-data-bank-of-application-response.html
No... not yet... but I'm neurotically keeping my phone at my side, chewing through a pack of gum a day, and checking Seth's blog hourly.
So, if anyone could help me out, I have a few questions about the acceptance/rejection process:
1. Do MFA programs usually issue all of their acceptances (for one genre) in a single day, or is it a more drawn out process?
2. Do they let you know if you are on a waiting list and where you are on that waiting list?
3. Do they wait to send rejection letters until all of their slots are filled, or do they send them around the same time as acceptances?
Thanks! And happy waiting to all!
Lucy
Lucy, those are all excellent questions that I wish I knew the answers too!
The waiting is brutal! My husband and I have put our condo on the market, expecting that I'm going to get in somewhere and that we are going to move, but it's just tick, tock, tick, tock, waiting, waiting, waiting!
To make matters worse, I'm supposed to be finishing my thesis for my MA, but I can't concentrate from all the obsessing about a mythical phone call!
Only a couple more weeks of madness, right?
Yes, I've received an acceptance from the University of South Florida, for its brand-new MFA program. Just a personal email from the program head -- the official letter is in the mail, they say. It's the only school I applied to, so I'm not sure how it would compare timing wise with other schools.
Congrats Alicia!
Damn Alicia! That's one of the three schools I applied to and haven't heard a word. What's your genre? Mine's poetry. Hopefully they didn't send out all acceptances simultaneously.
I'm happy for you, although it is tough to say. I'm jealous. Come on Virginia Tech. Come on Florida International.
I have all the same questions Lucy does...if I read that one of my schools has accepted someone and I haven't heard back, should I just cross them off the list...or hold on to that mangled shred of hope.
getting in or not getting in will change how my life goes for the next few years...i'm just waiting on a phone call or an email or a letter or messenger pigeon if they so choose, i need that yes or no.
question: for those of you who have gotten calls, around what time of day did you get the call? i am assuming that it would normally take place in the morning. and that by around 5 oclock i can stop neurotically checking my phone...but i just wanted to make sure.
lucy,
i don't know the answers to all of your questions. but from what i have noticed by obsessively stalking these blogs is that the acceptance letters usually come out first. while the rejections seem to go out in mid-late march. but, i am pretty sure that the acceptances are not all issued in one day, and that it is a sort of drawn out process. maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part, because i noted that someone got an acceptance to Emerson already, and i have yet to hear ANYTHING!
good luck to everyone.
i was accepted at by phone at purdue for fiction. i have no idea if other acceptances have gone out. i know someone in poetry got the call a few days before me.
spillingink, i got the call in the afternoon. i'm gmt +1 (western europe). i was still at work and missed it. they sent an email right about the same tim. both came sometime between 8 and 9 in the morning midwest time, i think.
i think evening is probably fine to stop checking your phone. although, i check my mobile obsessively even though i didn't even give that number because it's so expensive. this process makes me crazy.
best of luck. it's early yet. pretty soon the calls and letters will start pouring in.
Since we're all waiting, maybe in the meantime we could list who we are waiting on...? Maybe list in order of preference, just to get a feel for things?
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
1. Arizona
2. Oregon State
3. Eastern Washington
4. Minnesota State
5. Arizona State (but for fiction)
spillin'ink,
I'm the other Purdue guy. My call came at 7:30 in the evening--that's 9:30 PM Indiana time!! I talked Marianne Boruch's ear off for nearly an hour. So, it appears the calls may come at any time.
Good luck!
M.
For Lucy--
I went through all this hullaboo last year, and so can't tell you much more than what I gathered from that experience, but I'll tell you what I sort of know:
For question 1-- as far as I can tell it varies. I was looking at 9 very popular schools, and depending on the size of the program, they either let everyone know in one day, or there would be a couple of days, sometimes slightly spread out, where phone calls and emails would be made. This is what I could assess from looking at the boards and the comments, so if someone has a different understanding, correct me or give your input. For the most part, though, the acceptances were fairly close together. I've read that they do it in a tiered system, depending on how candidates field offers, and how they work in terms of waiting lists, but because there are so many applicants, and the schools are sort of upping the anti on funding, people tend to accept if they get offered a good deal, which minimizes later acceptances.
2) Waitlists. All I can tell you there is that my letter from Michigan told me it wouldn't give me my number, but that people had gotten in at that number in years prior. I, clearly, did not, as I am still here, but they also offer insanely great funding, so I'm not even sure if I was number one I would have gotten in. However, if a school has a waitlist, they will definitely inform you if you are on it, and you will either get an email or a letter informing you of this. I hear that you can ask them how close you are, unless they're like Michigan, and explicitly tell you not to ask.
3. Again, this is going from the boards for last year, but I know right about now I got a rejection letter from Cornell. It was early, and fairly close to the time they accepted their lucky few. It sounds like they make their decisions early and send out the rest of the responses at the same time. They seem to be very prompt and responsive about administrative things. UC Irvine I think I might still be waiting to hear from. It could have gotten lost in the mail, but you know. (I love my birth state, but the sun makes them a little distracted in the paperwork department. Or maybe I've just been in New York too long).
Good luck! (If you ever want comic relief, come visit my blog--I'm using it as a personal venting tool : )
well I got my phone call late in the day - around 6:00, when I was at work. Accepted at Stonecoast in Poetry!
FYI, Lis, Irvine is notorious for notifying late. In 2005 they had intense funding issues and didn't start notifying until after the 4/15 "deadline."
Thanks, Miriam. I think I had heard that; for what it's worth, most of my schools were fairly prompt (as prompt as snail mail and form letters can be, anyway) in notifying me. What with the boards and all, I do have to say I appreciate the schools that send out their letters close to when they make their phone calls. There were only a few that didn't, but it does kind of make a person want to gnaw their own arm off while they wait.
to tag onto lucy's questions above, does anyone know if responses go out in groups by genre? i find that poetry people are hearing from schools i applied to (emerson, stonecoast) but i'm cnf and haven't heard much of that represented yet at those schools. best of luck to all!
Thanks to everyone for the congrats!
To Brandon P --
I applied to USF for fiction. Like I said, I haven't received my official letter yet, so I wouldn't worry if you haven't heard. The only reason why I think I heard this early from the program head (Rita Ciresi, in this case), is because I'd communicated with her back and forth about the program, and visited her class once. So I was on her radar, so to speak.
Also, I know when I visited that class that there was only one "poetry track" guy in there, and he said he was one of only two or three. So, if you're into poetry, I think you're in the minority of people who are applying there. Hopefully that'll ease your mind somewhat!
I'm in at Eastern Washington (creative nonfiction)... and they called me at 9 on a Sunday morning! I could barely speak, let alone ask coherent questions!
Congrats kennan! EWU looks like a great program.
Bytheway, any news on Indiana, anyone?
Anecdote: I glanced at the IU number last night and noticed the area code begins with an 8. So naturally, this morning, when I awoke to the buzzing of the cell phone, I jumped, like I imagine most of us would, when I saw 877 as the first numbers of the incoming call...
It was only after I hung up the phone with American Express that I realized I've driven myself crazy with this stuff.
Good luck to all
M.
so i take it that syracuse has already sent out acceptances??? i just checked seth's blog and if i'm reading it right, people got calls on Feb. 8th. did anyone hear from them yet???
damn. i'm starting to worry that getting in somewhere is harder than i thought it would be.
natalie--
if you look at an example of last year's notifications, poetry (from info volunteered, anyway, and that's what you're talking about, right?) for syracuse was made on two days: http://community.livejournal.com/who_got_in/25331.html. So hope's not totally over yet? Personally, I kept the flame alive until I had rejection in my hands! (And remember, persistence is part of being a writer. Don't give up!)
Alicia:
Thank-you so much for the response. It helps to know that I may be in the minority of applicants. Numbers speaking, my percentages may have gone up. Also, I just got word that one of my professors-- who wrote a reference letter for me-- who I TA'd a class for, has just accepted the non-fiction MFA position at South Florida. I'm hoping my that helps to. I hope to see you there!!
Again, thanks for a little peace of mind ;)
I'm officially going crazy. If the last couple posts on my blog aren't evidence enough, I've got a horrible new emotion: resentment towards my recommenders (which believe me, I feel like absolute trash about). No, they didn't get their letters in late/forget to write them/write something bad (I hope). They were perfect. Two of my rec letter writers were also my thesis advisors (the thesis that I used for my application manuscript) so they know me, they know my writing, and they're both professors at the MFA program at my university...and at no point did they say "hmm, caitlin. All top ten schools? well, you're a good writer but you're not, you know, THAT good...so why don't we spread out the application pool a little bit, huh?" NO!!! They said "sure, your thesis is awesome. Grad school? Of course! Rec letters coming right up!!!" So my new emotion is resentment that they made me so darn cocky, mixed with guilt because I'm feeling resentful...and it is AWFUL!!! I named it guiltsentment and I hate it...
I got accepted into University of Kansas, and they're going to pay all expenses for a visit in April. I feel like the prettiest girl at the dance!
Good luck, everyone. Stop worrying. Maybe it's best not to follow the acceptances on the various message boards and blogs. It'll only make you more anxious.
congrats lag! lawrence is a great, almost idyllic little town and i am proud resident. if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. were you accepted for fiction or poetry? and do you have any idea of how many are usually accepted into their program?
Thanks, brig. I was accepted for fiction. I'm not sure how many people are usually accepted. It's a pretty new program--I think it's only been around for a year or two. The website has a current students page with bios of six students, but I don't know if that's everyone or just a cross-section.
Question: What exactly is meant by those who say they are checking the programs' websites for acceptances? Do you mean a) the actual mfa website? b) a blog on the website, perhaps? c) the place where you login to check your application status?
Brandon P -
I heard that they were getting a new non-fiction prof. I'd love to ask you questions about him/her, and talk more about the school -- can you email me directly at aliciarthompson@gmail.com ?
Thanks!
Alicia
i just got accepted into new school, and was told i had until march 15 to make a decision. i know a bunch of schools won't even send out their accetances until late march -- and this is the first school i'm hearing from. am i allowed to request a later response? how do i hande this?
Chris,
Some schools send you a username and password to access your admissions file on their website. You log on and find out roughly where in the process your application is. Only two of my schools did this. So far they haven't been very useful really. I don't think they update them until after phone calls/e-mails go out. I haven't even been checking them. The blogs are more useful.
Angelle,
Were you accepted for Fiction?
Angelle,
One other question: When did you complete your application to the New School? From what I understand, they review applicants according to when they received the application and I submitted mine at the last minute.
Oh, and congratulations!
I can't figure out the new P&W. Anyone care to enlighten a techno-illiterate?
Anyone know if the number of MFA applicants across the board is much higher this year? I also wonder if a lot of others like myself chose almost entirely from the 50 schools Kealey highlighted in the handbook. If I have to do this again next year, I'm going to apply to a few more that are off the beaten path, for sure...
mcallister - assuming you're obsessed with checking the mfa program thread on the pw website...i found that if you don't click "connect with others" on the blue bar at the top, but rather scroll down to the area in the lower right corner that says the same thing, and click on the blue link called "speakeasy message forum" from there, you'll see the more familiar set up and probably the threads you want.
if you know of a way to get me to stop checking the website altogether, let me know. :)
Just heard from Washington U in St. Louis--accepted in fiction!
how'd you hear from wash u? and congratulations!
It was snail mail. I was so sure it was a rejection (the proverbial thin envelope) I was thinking, this is your first rejection, be ready. Then it was like, wait, what? I got in? You're kidding. Anyway, thanks!
I talked to the director of our program today to get the scoop on acceptances and when people are notified of them. While these are probably not universal to all schools, I'm sure many schools have similar factors that make the acceptance game a tricky one.
Our poetry and fiction programs are totally separate in terms of how they choose candidates and when they notify them. In fiction at least, the four candidates were notified over a two week period.
Why the delay? Because our CW department offers full funding to all students through a TAship, the candidates also have to be approved by the director of Rhet/Comp, so sometimes it takes a while for that second approval.
It's also partly because our director talks to each fiction candidate personally and takes the time to answer questions and talk at length about the program.
I guess all that's to say, buck up. If you haven't heard from a school that someone else has heard from, that doesn't mean you've been rejected.
I just want to say to everybody, hold on to those last shreds of hope until 15 April and even the week after. For those of you watching the blog and your phone and the mailbox incessantly, freaking out at every one else's acceptance notices and waitlists and whatnots, hang in there and try to stop obsessing. There is no rhyme or reason for when the acceptances come, or waitlists, or rejections.
I did the MFA application dance 3 years ago now, and here's how the months of Feb—June went for me. (Keep in mind that I did not have the benefit of Tom's fabulous book or even the great advice on the blog. I had no idea what I was doing, so I applied to a ridiculous amount of schools.)
In February, I got one acceptance mid-month and one late in the month. No rejections or waitlists.
In March, I got one acceptance early in the month and one mid-month. I got 3 wait-list notices mid-month, only one of which turned into an acceptance about a week later. From the 10th to the 25th of March, I got eight rejections. On 30 March, I got accepted into a school where I'd NEVER been waitlisted.
In April, in the first week, I got two more acceptances into schools where I'd never been waitlisted. A few more rejections trickled in as well.
It took me until 15 April to make my decision because of those late acceptances. When I called one of the schools that I did not end up choosing, that director (very nice guy) told me that they would give my slot to a fellow on their waitlist who hadn't gotten in to any other schools. (Boy did that feel like good karma.)
On 17 April, I got accepted into one of the waitlist schools.
On 12 June, I got accepted into a school that apparently I had been waitlisted at but never received the notice.
The lessons here:
23 school applications is about wo grand—save a grand to cover the moving expenses instead.
Some people take way too long to make their decision. If you're on a waitlist, there's hope.
Some schools don't actually send out waitlist notices. If you haven't received a rejection, there's hope.
The 10th to 25th of March is going to suck. Stock up on chocolate.
The next nine weeks are going to be a roller coaster. Do anything and everything you can to keep yourself writing!!!! This is only the first many periods in your life when you will be in this weird kind of limbo. Take control by writing.
blarring - yes, i was accepted for fiction, but fear not - i sent my application in mid-december. i did hear that they're admissions process is more rolling, so i don't think you need to worry!
bolivia red - if new school gave mea deadline to get back to them by march 15, but a lot of schools don't even send out letters til mid-march, what am i supposed to do???? can i ask them nicely to extend my deadline to get back to them? will that jeopardize my spot and/or fellowship that they've offerd me?
angelle,
First, know that more than likely your school of choice is governed by the Council of Graduate Schools under the "Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants" which sets the offical acceptance deadline as 15 April for all schools in all programs. Schools aren't supposed to set earlier deadlines, but of course they want to get their top candidates to sign on early on and get their classes set.
You can look at the resolution and check if your school is on it, but I think almost every school is there, the list is huge.
Here:
http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/CGSResolutionJune2005.pdf
or here--then click on "15 APR Resolution":
http://www.cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=277
You have a few choices. Yes, you can ask them kindly to extend the deadline until 15 April. For one thing, if you're are planning to visit schools, you often can't go until spring break or need a few weeks to plan. Schools will more than likely be glad to extend your deadline for those reasons. Even if you're not going to visit, you can politely tell a program that while it's among your top choice schools, you will need more time to make a fully informed decision. They should send you a letter that extends the acceptance date until 15 April. Two of my early acceptances did this for me. One school was a bit snotty about it, but the other was fine.
If you don't want to ask, or if a school says it really can't extend the deadline (which is not true, but whatev), you can go ahead and accept the offer. You have the right to resign the appointment up until 15 April without penalty (you have to send them a letter). If you wait until after 15 April, you have to get a written release from the program before you're allowed to accept another offer.
I had a school that refused to extend the early deadline. It had been high on my list but that really put me off. I waited up until their early deadline before refusing the offer (got a better one just in time).
Remember, once they extend an offer, they can't take it away from you even if they aren't happy about you asking for an extension or if you don't sign up on the very first day, they can't just decide they don't want you.
Well, the bummer man delivered yesterday, feb. 16.(sigh) I got my first rejection via snail mail--U. of Washington, St. Louis--dated Feb. 12th.
And, yet, while I am disappointed, I am surprisingly relieved that the first letter has finally come. I still have 12 other schools to hear back from, and I just want the whole process to start rolling along.
I've also been told by a few of friends already in MFa programs not to be disheartened if the first bunch of letters are rejections. Aparently, they'd received several rejections before getting an offer. So, I'm trying to think of it in terms of--'oh, well, hopefully each rejection marks one step closer to that first shining admission letter'.
Has anyone heard from Fiction at UNCW? I saw on Seth's blog that someone had been accepted, and I haven't heard anything from them yet. :(
I just want to eat a large pizza, drink 12 beers, smoke 3,000 cigarettes, and sleep until this is all over. The waiting is torture.
Thought I'd mention that I have not heard from UNCW fiction, either.
Thanks for the comment, bolivia red. I also have a short timeline given to me in an acceptance letter and have been trying to sort it out.
Has anyone ever heard of Florida International sending a letter saying they didn't receive your electronic copy of writing samples? Then going on to say that you need to send a letter to the admissions office asking them to extend your application, as well as telling you that you might want to send "New or Revised" pieces of writings in your writing sample?
It all just sounds very strange to me. I'm pretty sure I emailed them the writing samples. It's not something I'd forget, but, our schools website doesn't keep sent messages, so there's no way to check.
Thanks for any input.
I'm hoping it's a good thing. Like I've made the first cut, and they want to see how I've progressed in the past couple
months.
Peace to all
And Good Luck!
brandon p,
i also received a letter from fiu, but it was simply informing/reassuring me my application was complete. it had a checklist of all the items required for a completed application, those items checked that might be missing--not sure if yours was formatted like this. anyway, i'm sure it's nothing to worry about. probably has little to do with standing.
anyway, my school's e-mail account does save sent messages. here's the e-mail address i directed my writing sample/purpose statement to: crwriting@fiu.edu. you can find it on the website (obviously), but if you're like me at all--prone to bouts of temporary dyslexia--you might have got the address wrong. hope that helps.
good luck.
Thanks Robert. That's exactly how it was set-up. What track did you apply for?
looks like Umass Amherst Fiction and Poetry started calling today. Anyone get in? 600 applications ... jeeze
i just got an acceptance call from u-mass amherst for poetry. way earlier than i expected to hear, either way, from anywhere, but the personal call was a really nice touch. so excited.
-anne
brandon,
i've applied for fiction. pretty sure i'll be experiencing an early onset of arthritis keeping my fingers crossed until late march. what about you?
angelle--As far as the question about a early deadline to enroll, I had the same thing happen to me last year. I heard good news from a few schools that I was interested in, but had a really generous offer from one of my top choices. Though one of my professors mentioned to me I could ask them to extend their deadline, I felt a little awkward about writing the program director, "hey, you're really nice, but I'm not sure you're the prettiest girl in the room yet, so I'm gonna wait to see who else asks me to dance." I ended up enrolling there sometime around the first week of March. The last week of March I found out that I got into my top choice, with funding. All that being said, I'm very happy where I ended up, and still exchange emails with professors at that top choice I missed out on. Either way you decide to go, you're going to wonder about if you should have gone to the other place, or if you should have waited to hear, but I would definitely let the decision linger until the last minute. It's nice to enjoy the illusion that we have some say in what happens in our lives. Congratulations nonetheless, good luck!
Just found out I was wait listed at the University of Michigan for fiction. Considering that I just spent seven hours driving 40 mph across a snowed-over highway, followed by four hours at work, I'm having trouble even processing what this means.
samara,
How did you find out? Did they send an email this late, or did you just check it late?
C
thanks guys for the advice. it appears that new school is one of the few NOT on that list, which explains the march deadline. D*MMIT! crossing fingers the other schools start getting back to me soon......
I posted this on Godfrey's blog too. It's quoted from the speakeasy, and it helped put things in perspective. I thought it might do the same for others who have yet to be accepted.
"I've lurked on this forum at the same time every year for a few years now, and thought I would render this bout of insomnia slightly useful.
I started publishing poetry in undergrad, and I've placed work in competitive journals like The Iowa Review, Carolina Quarterly, Georgia Review, etc. The improbability of being plucked from the slush pile at publications like these corresponds quite tightly with the huge amount of work I put into the poems. I've received a few fellowships and awards, too.
I have not been accepted to or wait-listed by a single MFA program I have applied to, in two rounds of applications. I would sometimes receive an acceptance letter for a poem at a journal edited by the people who sent me the rejection letter for the MFA program. These letters arrived on the same day three different times.
While a few lofty publications certainly doesn't preclude the superior work of other students, it isn't very likely that my poems would find their way into those publications but not earn me a spot at an institution ostensibly devoted to teaching writers how to write well enough to have material placed in such places if other things than the writing weren't a factor. I'm unaware of other writers who had encountered similarly frustrating obstacles in academics but enjoyed fair success in a much more competitive arena. If anyone has anecdotes of such trouble, please share.
I admit that not getting in hurt very badly. It took away the held-dearly notion that my hard work generated a product which made that toil worthwhile. It was six months after the first set of rejections before I started writing seriously again. I haven't written anything at all since the second set, and that was two years ago. I still wish I had been able to go to school.
Thanks for this forum, its great support for those who need it."
I'm not sure what I'm supposed to glean from that anecdote. It's tragic that someone with obvious talent would be universally rejected by MFA programs. It's even more tragic that such rejection would end his writing career. What is the point? That schools are unfair in their decisions? That a publication record can hurt your chances of acceptance? That rejection can destroy you as a writer? I have to say that in this case, misery doesn't desire such company.
I've got to agree, Lucy. There's nothing encouraging about that story at all. I was ready to slit my wrists by the time I was finished reading it.
Hi all,
I posted a response to that post on P&W and I'll re-post it here:
Django,
Just wanted to briefly respond to your message--not to start a conversation (as this isn't the thread for it), but because others read your message (as this is a popular thread) and I worry they (and yes, perhaps you too) are taking the wrong lesson from your post, and I think it's critical to clear up any confusion. The simple fact is that submitting to journals is a crapshoot. And submitting to MFAs is a crapshoot. So it's not at all surprising that you had success with one and less success with another, because the two are unrelated and are both crapshoots. Just three days ago someone posted an acceptance from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a rejection from Purdue, which would make no "sense" if these things made sense. In the same week I received an acceptance of three poems for Poetry, I received a hand-written note from a first reader for a very small state journal advising me that I needed to work on my "vocabulary, voice, and images...[and] build my skills." Poems rejected by the on-line start-up journal a friend and I created in 2006--rejected for the first issue, when we were desperate for submissions--ended up, in several instances, in top-tier national print journals. A close friend and I applied to MFAs at the same time, and applied to all the same schools, and we both had earned a substantial list of publications at the time of our applications: there was no overlap whatsoever to the schools we got into (literally). You cannot "predict" aesthetics, particularly as editors rotate at journals and readers (particularly first-line readers, where they are used) often rotate at MFA programs. Rejection from a journal is not a statement on your writing, it's an indication that journals accept less than 0.5% of submissions and a) mistakes are made, and b) even excellent work must be rejected. Rejection from an MFA is not a statement on your writing, it's an indication that the programs you applied to, Django, almost certainly had a 3% or less acceptance rate--whether you realized it or not--and a) make mistakes in their decisions, and b) have to reject excellent writers all the time, due to space, differing aesthetics (looking at your whole portfolio), the mix of the class, diversity issues (and I include in this age, professional background, and so on, I'm not just referring to the usual categorizations), and much, much more. In 2007 I applied to Johns Hopkins, to be honest at the time a very unpopular school for poets, because the whole program was tilted mightily toward fiction. I was rejected (and rejected by three other schools, too) but accepted to Iowa and Michigan and UMass. Go figure. At the time of my application to (and rejection by) UVA I had 60+ publications in major literary journals, and I know folks with zero publications who were accepted. But I'm totally okay with that. Because I know the qualities programs are looking for can't be charted by publications, and hell, probably can't be charted at all. Who knows what prompts these decisions? It's a crapshoot. And if you have writing in your blood, my friend, you have to just plug away, because that's what being a writer will be about until the day you die. It's a hard, hard road we've chosen, an uncertain road, and no--no--it's not a road paved by logic. But it's worth it.
Django, you should get back on the horse and re-apply to MFA programs. That's what I'm saying. Use my website to help you strategize: a mix of programs with large and small class-sizes, a mix of higher and lower acceptance rates, a mix of schools particularly popular in your genre but less popular overall and schools less popular in your genre but popular overall, and so on. The MFA admissions system failed you twice by failing to see your talent, but don't you fail yourself by believing more in them and in the admissions system than a look inside the sausage factory would ever prompt you to! It's a crapshoot, my friend, a crapshoot. You play until you win, period.
Best,
Seth
***
Does anyone else keep getting automatically generated emails from UNCW that say your application is complete and ready for review? What is the deal with that? I heard that someone was accepted to their fiction program by email last week, but I haven't heard a peep from them, accept for these random emails periodically.
Does this mean they have gone into my application and marked me as a no, and it's sending me an email?
Ugh, I hate all of this waiting. And I agree, that blog post only serves as a reminder that these programs are unbelieveably competitive and makes me brace myself for a string of rejections and the emotional fallout.
Seth: Thank you. You have done wonders for my nerves.
Jay: UNCW is apparently having server problems, and emails are being generated willy-nilly... Or so I hear around blog-dom. I wouldn't take it as any indicator of your status, especially since they notify on a rolling-basis.
Chris-
I was out of town and didn't check my email until last night, but the email came in the afternoon. It was just a form letter mentioning an "enclosed postcard" so I think snail mail is on the way. Last night I dreamed that Michigan sent back my stories and had edited one of them into this cheesy experimental monstrosity, a bad Samuel Beckett imitation (I write straight up domestic fiction).
seth, you really know how to make a girl's day :) i'm printing that one out
Anyone heard anything about the Southampton Stony Brook program? Queens College? I have applied to eight schools, with two more to come, and I'm being realistic about my chances, given the odds of getting into one of the more established programs (for fiction) I've applied to. Queens and Southampton Stony Brook seem to be very much under the radar; there isn't much info about these programs aside from what's on their websites. I wonder if this is a bad sign, but I'm pretty naive about the process, rankings, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ...
didnt get into UMass...congratulations to those who did!
Robert,
I applied for Poetry, and for financial reasons --only applied to three schools-- Florida International, South Florida, and Virginia Tech. (They are all southern-tier because I'm from the snow-belt of the world)
Robert-- I'm trying to stay positive, trying to meditate, trying to pretend like I'm waiting for nothing, but yes, my fingers are starting to cramp up abit.
Good Luck Friend.
I wish everyone the best
and no matter what,
PLEASE KEEP WRITING!
Yesterday, received a letter of acceptance from USF (for poetry). No phone call. No email. Just a letter.
Sean,
Does that mean you got a rejection letter from UMASS? Poetry or Fiction?
atc: when did you hear from rutgers-newark? i haven't heard a peep from them yet other then the automated email I received after completing the application...
As far as the people commenting on UNC-W go, I can give you a little info on how they went about it last year. I heard via email my acceptance around the first week of march. Though, I don't think they decide on financial packages until a few weeks later. Wendy Brenner seemed incredibly nice and understanding. She offered full availability on the phone, and we exchanged emails for about two weeks. Definitely seems like a great place.
atc: was that letter from oregon an acceptance? oh dear.
Amanda -
Nope, rejection letter's in the mail. I got an interview offer for a position that requires you to be a graduate student. I figured I'd call and see how the application went. The administrative assistant was really nice about the entire thing. So, alas, no Umass for me. All the decisions have been made and im not sure what the mailing schedule is like. Just remember (as i keep telling myself) 600 people applied for 10 or 15 spots.
Sean, were you fiction or poetry?
First, I'd like to extend my congrats to everyone, regardless of how the news is coming in.
I applied with fiction to 6 schools in the South/Southeast, and have heard back from two at this time, both positives. I got a call from Memphis about 2 weeks ago and was assured "some money...and tuition remission," but have yet to receive an actual offer (he said they should have a better idea within a week, but the date they gave me was over a week ago). I just heard via E-mail from South Carolina yesterday, where I did my undergrad, and was offered a pretty fantastic deal.
That deal, however, was given "conditionally." I understand they can't hold fellowships and other awards indefinitely, but they want me to give them an answer in a week, with some "leeway."
(Sorry for all the quotes.)
So, I'm a bit confused now about what I should do (also, a little angry I should have decide so soon). Should I call Memphis and see if I can get them to hurry up their offer? Should I use this offer from SC to try to get a better one out of Memphis? Use both of these offers to try to get the other four to let me know one way or the other? And how would I even do that?
I know it's not the worst position to be in, but now I'm just getting worried that something bad could happen (mostly not getting good funding from another school, which is pretty much a requirement for me) and then I could end up losing this really good offer.
Ugh.
Thanks for listening. (!) And warm wishes going out to everyone perpetually checking to make sure the phone hasn't died, or that the E-mail hasn't somehow forgotten to reload itself.
-Ashley
Hi, everyone!
I'm floating on air right now, and just wanted to share: just got a call from UMass-Amherst. Accepted for Fiction! This on the heels of an acceptance from UNCW last week.
Congratulations to everyone who's been accepted, and hang in there to everyone who's still waiting. UNCW, for one, indicated that they are still reviewing other applications, so I don't think we can really determine exactly how any of the schools manage their decision processes. As much as waiting sucks, that's really all we can do; at least we have each other!
Congrats to Ashley, Anna, and everyone else. Ashley--I'm not an expert, but it seems weird and unfair that they would pressure you to decide early, or make funding conditional on that. I only applied to schools that offer full funding to everyone, but at least one of them I've heard from so far offered me a fellowship that goes beyond their typical package, but they also went out of their way to assure me I should consider all my options and didn't have to make a final decision until April, which gives me a really good vibe about the program.
Ashley
I'm in a similar predicament (also a school from the South). They gave me 10 days to decide. This was several days ago at this point. This was before hearing from a couple schools just to know my app was ready for review!
A couple of things. First, it sounds incomprehensible to other programs. I checked in with U Mass Amherst for example (don't think I got in) and the reaction was "do they know that's illegal." Talking to a couple of other programs gave me similar reactions of shock and even anger. This at least made me feel better about my predicament.
Second, read up a bit higher in this thread. Bolivia red had some comments (and a link) on this. Almost all US schools are required to give you until April 15 (especially for offers that include $.) A number of them pressure you, but this is their own requirement.
My plan was to call programs just to get a sense of where my app was. Meanwhile, see what I can get out of the school that made the offer (i.e. more time.) In terms of app status, some schools basically said there's no way they'll be done with apps in time for me to decide. As such, I'm working on my 2nd step. A week is an incredibly short amount of time to decide, and as far as I can tell, the school is actually required to give you until April 15.
You should check out bolivia red's comments. I found them helpful.
By the way: what does the school gain by refusing to give you an extension? Thinking that gave me a bit of fuel.
JWF,
If you don't mind my asking, which school in the south?
Thanks,
B.
It was Central Florda.
I was able to track them down and speak with them. They were quite amenable to giving me until the 15th. I had some $ with the offer, and I'm guessing they didn't want that to sit there until then if they could give it to another prospect. We're all good now.
Does anybody know how reliable those program websites are that post your "Application Status?" Most of mine still say "Application Received," including a program that actually accepted me.
Wildrice, (nice name)
When you say 'USF' is that San Fran or South Florida? and, if it's South Florida, when was your letter post-marked?
I only ask because I really want to go there and I moved recently. So, all my mail is like a week behind. Makes the whole process more difficult.
Congratulations on your acceptance. Think positive thoughts for me, perhaps we can be studying together. (If it's South Florida speak of)
Brandon
BrandonP,
It's U. of South Florida. I don't recall when the letter was post-marked, but I received it on Feb. 19th (Tuesday).
I'll definitely think positive thoughts for you. Since your mail is behind, your letter may be in limbo.
By the way, when I check my application status on USF's website, it still says, "Application Referred."
Best of luck!
B.
I still haven't heard anything--and I applied to 10 schools! I have come to accept that Emerson, Amherst, and Iowa are probably all out, since you guys have been getting your acceptances. I am terrified.
My first post (and written with a beastly hangover)...
I've applied to three schools (UCIrvine, Antioch, Vermont) and had intended to apply to four other programs (all low residency). But I got into Vermont's LR program on Friday (hooray!), so I'm having trouble focusing on finishing my remaining apps.
My application is listed as "incomplete" at a few of the schools I've applied to. I emailed them and they said my file was complete and it was under departmental review. So don't trust the websites -- most schools are very slow to update them.
I just got a call from IWW today! And I was very incoherent and excited!
liliflour, what did you apply in?
I applied in fiction to Antioch, Vermont, and 3 programs here in FL so far. Antioch and VT apps just went out within the past couple of weeks, so I won't hear anything for at least another month.
I'm also applying to three more low-res programs.
hey, delicata
Sounds like you and I are on similar tracks.
I applied to Vermont in fiction. I think their deadline was 2/1, so I was surprised to hear from them so quickly. But I also applied online so maybe that was a factor?
Acceptance #3 this afternoon by a phone call: Vermont College.
So that's Emerson, Goddard, and Vermont.
Anyone else with any of these three?
Molly, congrats. In what genre? When did you submit your application?
lilliflour--yes, I think so too! What other lo-res are you applying to? Me: Warren Wilson, Lesley, Goddard.
Oops, sorry! Poetry. :)
delicata,
I've applied to Antioch, Vermont, and UCIrvine (my only "traditional").
Working on applications to Warren Wilson, Lesley, possibly Pacific and Bennington.
Do you have a first choice?
I just got a phone call from Robert Polito, the director of the New School, accepting me for non-fiction!!! And, they are offering me a fellowship!! By the way, I have been a big fan of this blog, even though this is my first posting. Good luck to everyone!
Another acceptance today: New England College, by phone, poetry.
Just got accepted at American for fiction by mail. I'm still waiting to hear from 8 schools.
Good luck to everyone! I don't think I've been this stressed in my life.
Another Wisconsin applicant bites the dust! My first rejection. I was expecting it, but it still hurts.
Britt, congrats, care to share when you got your application in to The New School?
Noah,
I submitted the online portion of the application to the New School on Jan. 14, a day before the deadline, and overnighted the hard copy portion, which I think only consisted of my transcript. I'm thinking I may have been one of the first applicants that they contacted since they offered me a fellowship, but that's just a guess. Good luck with everything!
what should i think if i haven't heard from schools that have sent out acceptances and rejections? should i assume that i've been rejected, or should i hold on to hope? i don't know if no news is leaning more towards possibly bad news or possibly good news.
Got wait listed to George Mason, my alma mater, for fiction today.
Ally,
Congratulations on IWW! I have a quick question: Has your "admissions status" been updated on the Isis website to reflect your acceptance?
Thanks!
hi. two weeks ago, i heard from my first school, an acceptance for UNC-Wilmington for poetry. i am still waiting on:
U of Oregon
U of Montana
Houston
Iowa
New Hampshire
U of Virginia
fingers crossed!
wildrice:
I just checked the status of my online application and it says nothing more than "verified."
i was admitted for poetry, and from the sound of it, they have a list of admitted students and they do a handful a day. and i only got my phone call sunday and the office told me they accepted 27 students. so i think everyone who applied should still have hope.
Alexis -
UNH is deciding today, next week they're picking people for Teaching Assistantships.
So keep those fingers crossed. im right there with you...
sean -
how do you know unh is deciding today? just wondering, since i applied there. in fiction. are they deciding today on just poetry or all genres?
many thanks.
i called UNH today to check on all my paperwork. (the computer didn't have me in their system).
the woman i spoke to said they would be deciding on friday or at the latest monday. all funding decisions would be made on wednesday. good luck!
xu,
No news is still good news. As I said in an earlier comment, some schools don't send waitlist notices at all. You may not hear anything from a school until late March or the first week of April.
This is a slow dragged-out process for every school. Until you have an rejection letter in hand, assume you're still in play at that school.
same with me, but she had mentioned them looking at things this week and funding next week....ah well :)
oh - and i applied in Fiction. It's the only school i havent heard back from, so im hoping for an acceptance, as ive been rejected elsewhere. oh well :)
- Sean
Following rejection (fiction)to U. of Washington, I've been wait listed for McNeese. Still holding my breath though--eleven more to go...
Just got an e-mail acceptance to Brooklyn College! Was given the green light from Chatham as well. Still waiting to hear from 6 more....this is my third year applying (I got totally, utterly rejected by everyone twice), so everyone should be persistent!
Just got an e-mail acceptance to Brooklyn College! Was given the green light from Chatham as well. Still waiting to hear from 6 more....this is my third year applying (I got totally, utterly rejected by everyone twice), so everyone should be persistent!
hey evelyn - is this for fiction? i applied there as well and have heard nothing :(
rejected from wisconsin fiction by mail, and cornell's rejection was last week
Brandon P.
I received a written rejection from USF (South Florida) in poetry on Feb 19 and a follow-up email a few days later. I heard they are accepting only 6 people in poetry.
I also applied to FIU but have not heard anything other than the form letter telling me to send in my missing material if any of the boxes were checked --they weren't.
Good luck!
Angelle--
It was for fiction. But I just heard mid-day Friday! Good luck!
thelma r. - I also applied to FIU, but haven't heard anything yet.
I was accepted by UNH first over their web site (February 9th) and then via mail about a week later. Still haven't heard back from my five other schools, hopefully this week or next.
J. Robert... did you get into UNH for fiction, poetry, or CNF? I applied to UNH for fiction, my online status still says "under review by department".
Let me first say that, having JUST found this Blog, it is an absolute Godsend. I've been wanting to hear from fellow appliers and it's good(?) to see that many are going through the same horrific experience as I.
Here's my situation (if you care to hear it):
-Rejected very early from Purdue. Big deal.
-Recently rejected from UW-Madison, my number one choice. Oh well...
-Still waiting on notification from:
-Iowa
-UM-Ann Arbor
-Notre Dame
-Southern Illinois
-Northern Michigan
Has anyone else heard anything positive/negative from these schools? I am, of course, an interested observer.
Congrats to all those who have found their place in the MFA world! I hope all of your endeavors are successful.
Hi Richardkae--
I was wait listed at the University of Michigan for fiction--they sent me an email, followed by a letter, about two weeks ago.
Also rejected by Wisconsin, also my top choice--oh well. Six out of 400 was pretty overwhelming odds.
Best of luck with your remaining schools!
Taggie7,
I was admitted for poetry. My status was updated from "under review..." to "Admitted to Program," so I'd imagine they just haven't gotten around to your application yet. Good luck! Hope this helps.
J. Robert Young,
Congrats on UNH! Have you talked to anyone at the department? When I called them on Friday they said they hadn't made the poetry decisions yet (but that they would by next Wednesday) -- but you said you got in on the 9th? Now I'm beginning to think I'm hallucinating... Any insights? Anyone else hear anything from UNH? Maybe they do rolling admissions? Or is there a UNH besides New Hampshire?
Hi there~
Does anyone know when the University of Baltimore usually starts sending letters? The UB application deadline is February 1st, so I'm starting to get antsy.
Thanks!
J. Robert,
Yes, that helps! Thanks.
:)Taggie7
Amanda,
I'm not sure what they could've meant by that. Perhaps they do rolling admissions and they'll be completing their poetry applicants on Friday?
The letter they sent me, though, specifically states "This offer of admission is to the Master of Fine Arts in Writing..."
J. Robert -- thanks for clarifying! I must've misheard the woman, or else gotten someone on the phone who wasn't fully aware of the process. Congrats again!
So glad I'm not the only one in this boat. I've become absolutely obsessed with the mailbox and missed phone calls. I got accepted to the LR program at Pacific U for poetry. Still waiting to hear from University of Washington, University of Oregon, UC-Davis (although I see on Seth's blog they called poetry acceptances yesterday, so that's not good), St. Mary's and UNC-Greensboro all in poetry. Good luck all!
2/29/08 accepted - USC MPW (in fiction) via snail mail; letter was from grad. admin.; letter from the MPW Dept. to arrive this week.
Still waiting on UC Riverside, Cal State Long Beach.
I am ecstatic...
In at Syracuse (fiction) by phone University Fellowship!
My tally:
- Emerson
- Goddard
- Vermont College
- New England College
- Pacific University
- FSU
(for poetry)
molly: impressive tally. is there one place your really excited about?
mine so far is Iowa and Miami University @ Ohio
I'm waiting on Texas, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Alabama CSU, and St. Marys though Iowa contacted me first and made the rest of the waiting period much less stressful.
has anyone heard anything at all from montana?
I received my first rejection today from Vermont College (LR) for fiction via snail mail.
The letter was postmarked Feb. 28.
joeyd--
congrats on usc. what's the mpw program like in terms of funding?
Congrats, Molly! I went to Miami for undergrad. Let me know if you have questions.
Murphy, do you mind if I ask you when you submitted your application?
(Mine got there by Feb 15 and I haven't heard anything yet, but I know they have rolling admissions and they said I'd probably have an answer within about four weeks.)
Hello, friends-
I'm in at Ohio State, Purdue, Washington University (fiction). Waitlisted at Michigan. Rejected: Cornell, UMASS Amherst.
A few more schools to hear from; waiting is my least favorite game.
for anyone interested, i just heard that syracuse fiction responses should be going out by the end of the week.
Accepted into the Poetry track at University of South Florida. Woowoo!!!
Good Luck Everyone!!
Brandon
All of this info from everyone on which school have sent letters yet is actually great to hear - sometimes I worry that I missed a phone call or lost a letter!
I've applied to twelve fiction programs and have been accepted at U of Wisconsin, U of Minnesota, Wash U, and George Mason.
Still haven't heard a peep from:
UMass
UNCW
UNCG
Alabama
Arizona
Oregon
Washington
Montana
There's my tally - a contribution towards the group effort of obsessing over phone calls, e-mails, letters...
It's really interesting to see the schools which have accepted and rejected everyone so far. It does really seem to be a crapshoot. The best advice my professors have given me is to not get too caught up in rankings, reputations, or superficial things like that. As a writer, you've got to find a place where you can imagine yourself writing--not necessarily the place with the name you'd like embossed in gold on your diploma.
Anyways, I've heard back from five schools and am waiting on three more. Wisconsin and Michigan rejected me last week, but I was accepted into the fiction program at George Mason on January 25 (e-mail), to Pitt on February 25(regular mail), and to UNH today, March 5 (web site). U Mass-Amherst updated its Web site on my application this week, saying my application was now "pending," so hopefully that's good news, too. Has anyone heard from Rutgers or NYU yet?
Good luck to everyone, and congratulations to everyone who was accepted so far!
alyssa k and khr,
Are either of you considering saying yes to George Mason? Just curious, since I'm on the wait list...
Delicata,
I submitted my Vermont College application online on Jan. 29 just before the Feb. 1 deadline. I'm surprised that you were told they had rolling admissions. This comes from their website --
The following are semester application deadlines:
Fall 2008: application deadline, February 29, 2008
Spring 2009: application deadline, September 1, 2008
Was your plan to apply for the Fall 08 term?
Murphy,
How weird. I think they have changed the deadline on their website a couple of times. As I recall, it was originally February 1. Then I saw it was posted as February 15. I needed the extra time, so I called the school to confirm. They (well, the assistant program director, who is super nice) said that they had posted a deadline, but that they actually had no set date internally. I got all my materials in between the 15th and the 18th to apply for Fall 08. She said I would hear something within about four weeks. Now I see they've changed the posted deadline to February 29.
Just heard from U. of Michigan. Rejected via snail mail.
Still waiting on:
UNCG
UT
Houston
Notre Dame
Indiana U.
U. CA, Irvine
UMASS
U. Virgina
Brown
Iowa
...and hoping every minute of every day.
Wells--I was also accepted at Ohio State and Washington U and wait listed at Michigan for fiction! I wonder if our writing is eerily similar? Do you have a preference so far? Are you going to the OSU open house? feel free to email me srafert at gmail dot com if you want to share impressions or anything like that. Maybe we'll be classmates...
Hey Bpeyton-
I too received a letter from Michigan today. Oh well. I really liked their program.
I also got a rejection from Iowa, which I knew was coming also, and I live about 4 hours away from Iowa City.
I posted this on P&W's "the waiting game...have you heard anything?" regarding Notre Dame:
Called Notre Dame to inquire on my application and after a long, confusing (though very friendly) explanation of the admissions process, was told: "In other words, if you get another offer you'd better go for it."
The woman I spoke with made it sound as if acceptances have gone out and they are waiting to hear from those people, and they have until 4/15. But don't quote me on that because she said it in a real roundabout way. I feel as if she told me I was both rejected and waitlisted. It was a confusing conversation.
I hope this helps shed some light for you, I know how agonizing this waiting process can be and I personally appreciate any information in regards to the places I have applied to.
Still waiting on Northern Michigan and official notification from SIU.
Hi Colin & Tiffany -
I'm very torn between the four programs. They all have so many great qualities - faculty I'm excited to work with, small workshops (though Mason is a larger than the others), great funding, teaching opportunities, and all encourage (or require) cross-genre work.
I do find myself leaning towards Wisconsin, but I feel I need to talk to students at each program, so that's my big mission this week. Anyone out there heard anything interesting about the mfa programs at Wisoncon, Minnesota, Wash U or George Mason?
Hi Tiffany,
Georege Mason is definitely one of my top choices; I really like the work of the faculty there, and if things work out financially, it would be my first choice for a lot of reasons... but we'll see what happens. I have two other great offers, too, and I'm still waiting to hear back from three schools. Hope that helps, though I know it can be frustrating to be wait-listed.
KHR
Thanks, Alyssa.
I understand about leaning toward Wisconsin. I think I would be too in the same situation. They have such good funding. Plus, Lorrie Moore is one of my favorite writers. It's a tough choice, though.
I think Wisconsin also has a post-MFA fellowship available, funding for another couple of years or so. Unheard of, as far as I know.
That's a good idea about talking to the students. You might be able to find a few emails at the department sites (I know Syracuse offers this). It would be good to know what the student experiences are actually like.
Good luck!
Wisconsin does have a post-MFA fellowship, available to people from other programs as well. Wash U, as Alyssa must know, also offers a chance for a third-year teaching fellowship, which is nice.
Alyssa--
I can't remember where I saw it, but someone posted somewhere that Marshall Klimasewiski at Wash U is a great teacher. I got in there, too--did he call you? When he talked to me he seemed like a really nice guy, and even just over the phone he was giving me helpful feedback on one of my sample stories.
p.s. My sister is in the MFA program at UW-Madison (in the visual arts)--Madison is a nice town, but also pretty overrun with student hipster types (traffic/driving are crazy), and rents can be a little pricey compared to other places in the Midwest. I should say I might be biased, though, because I didn't get into their fiction program.
I didn't even apply to Wisconsin. And now I am failing to understand how I came to that conclusion when I was deciding. What was I thinking? Not that I would've gotten in.
I do like, however, hearing that Wisconsin's post-MFA stuff is available to other writers. I didn't realize that, and I am now trying to figure out how to calculate it into my vague/bleak future as a "writer."
i haven't heard back from ANYWHERE else after new school, and i'm getting nervous. i also haven't gotten an official letter in the mail yet since i got my email from new school. i haven't contacted new school yet to ask for more time to decide because i wanted the official letter in my hands before i did that. now i wonder if my letter was lost in the mail or if i waited too long to get back to them to ask for more time!!
angelle:
I wouldn't get nervous now. When I was accepted to Iowa it was over the phone on Feb 25th. I didn't get my paper acceptance until today and for a while I was beginning to think I hallucinated it because it seemed too good to be true (and at least you have New School's email to read and reread). Couldn't you reply to the email and tell them you are still very interested but haven't heard from ANY other schools? I mean, you did spend the money, and they technically aren't allowed to give you a premature deadline. And if they want you, they want you. Why would they be quick to give your spot away to someone lower on the list? Hope that helps
angell--
Contact New School today or tomorrow to ask about the official letter. Because you never received it, that may give you a bit more leverage to ask for more time, especially if they didn't spell out the entire deal with the orginial email. If you're really concerned about losing the offer, accept it. You'll know you're definitely in somewhere. Even if New School isn't part of the other zillion school, 15 April deadline thing, you can still decide not to go there at a later time (unless the contract says something along the lines of you're signing away you're soul and first child to new school since there's no breaking a deal with the devil). That will give you time to see what other schools have to say without the pressure of new school's deadline.
Just got a letter saying I'm on the wait list at Minnesota. That was one of my top choices (I did my undergrad in the Twin Cities and still have a bunch of friends there), and it's coming on the tail of a couple of disappointing rejections, so I'm relatively happy. I really needed a little lift this afternoon, which a wait list notice is.
Heard from Iowa via post today. It's a "no". 9 more to go.
RichardKae, thanks for the insight on Notre Dame. I suppose I'll just wait until the letter comes in the mail, be it good or bad.
Right now I'm just doing my best to preoccupy every other area of my life right now to keep me sane.
Delicata,
That whole changing the date thing is weird to me. Oh well, I wish you the best of luck with it. They are spot on about how long you'll have to wait for a response. It was about a month. Hope you get better news than I did.
Thank you to everyone who started talking about the UNH program. I hadn't checked my "application status" since I knew my application was complete. Checking tonight showed me that I'd been changed to "Admitted to Program!"
Wisconsin and Michigan's big batches of rejections have been mailed out and probably received by everyone at this point, so best of luck to those who have not yet heard back from either.
I've yet to hear anything from Notre Dame or Western Michigan.
speak coffee,
congratulations. what track did you apply for? i was admitted for fiction. maybe i'll see you there.
Rejected by Iowa today via snail mail. The letter said there were 835 applications. Best of luck to those who haven't yet heard.
Anyone else hear from MCW at Texas? I was accepted yesterday for fiction; I got an email.
Samara-
I was thinking the same thing! Looks like I will be able to get to Columbus on the 28th, though I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone in the program to make definite plans. It's hard to say which way I'm leaning at this point, but I'm very much looking forward to the open house at OSU.
Congrats, wells! Texas! That's amazing. I heard they only accepted like four people for fiction. Very impressive. Congrats, again.
Congrats to everyone on their acceptances. I am quite impressed with (and jealous of) those of you who have been accepted by several great schools. As for me, I started hearing back from fiction programs this week. Three rejections (Wisconsin-Madison, Iowa, and today FSU), all of the skinny envelope variety, and one acceptance from Northern Iowa's MA program. I'm still waiting on Syracuse, Oregon, West Virginia, Indiana, and Minnesota. Though it sounds like some of those places have already started accepting students, so I might wind up 1-9. Bummer.
Anybody notice a typo in Iowa's rejection letter? I was a bit shocked to see that one of the top writing programs could miss capitalizing the first word of a sentence, especially in such a brief letter.
Best of luck to everyone, and again, congrats on your acceptances.
sam e,
The Iowa typo did little to alleviate the pain. I received it yesterday. This brings my rejection tally to 4. Naturally, I've begun on a few law school applications.
Hi Samara -
Marshall Klimasewiski did call me, and I really enjoyed talking with him. I've been corresponding with my undergrad fiction professor since asking him to be a ref for me (I graduated over 5 years ago, so we were out of touch for a while) and he mentioned that he knew Marshall a little (he did his PhD in American lit at Wash U), and said the same thing you did - that people think he's a great teacher, very accessible and generous with his time. I just picked up his latest book of short stories, "Tyrants," which came out this year. I've only just started it, but I'm hooked already on the first story.
Wash U does have some amazing funding opportunities for a 3rd year - it sounds like many students take advantage of that opportunty. I'm a little anxious about the location - I've never been to St Louis, and I hear mixed reviews. I'm going down there next weekend to interview for a fellowship, and I'm looking forward to checking out the city. My undergrad prof gave me a lot of recommendations for places to visit - specifically, his old house, so I can report back on whether the current residents are taking care of it.
Has anybody else out there applied to Alabama? I heard they started responding in late January, but I haven't heard anything.
Alyssa,
If it helps at all, I grew up in St. Louis and went to WashU for my undergrad, and I love, love, love the city. The area around the campus is probably the best location in town (close to all the free museums, Forest Park and the Loop and West End) and the new Metrolink stops all across campus make it really easy to get around town. As an undergrad, of course, I definitely heard my share of people from other parts of the country complaining about the city. For some reason, St. Louis is a very easy target for being the butt of metropolitan jokes. However, I can't say enough about it that's positive. And WashU is a great place to spend a few years. Hope you enjoy your visit next weekend!
Alyssa--
I just started his novel "The Cottagers," and I'm impressed so far. I had my doubts about St. Louis, too, but when I read about all the parks they have and the cheap historic housing I started to think my previous prejudices against the place were baseless. I just associated it with grime and beer.
I'm just now chiming in, but so far I've gotten rejections via snail mail from Iowa WW and Michigan for fiction. Accepted into Columbia's nonfiction program Wednesday by phone. Still waiting on ten others:
Syracuse fiction
Iowa nonfiction
Columbia fiction
Johnson Hopkins fiction
UVa fiction
Texas MCW fiction
Texas MA fiction
Sarah Lawrence nonfiction
Brooklyn College fiction
UC Irvine fiction
Robert: I was also admitted for fiction at UNH, perhaps I will see you there!
My other acceptance right now is at Wisconsin-Milwaukee for their English MA with writing concentration. I'm conflicted about the program being a MA not MFA, even though it does have a Ph.D. track.
Speak Coffee and Robert... I'm also in at UNH for fiction. :). Have either of you heard anything from them officially? I'm feeling a little in the dark--I was going to email today, but I thought I'd ask first.
Congrats!
I was accepted by Idaho, got the call last Sunday, and was called by Wyoming last Thursday. If those are the only two, I'm very torn. Brad Watson at Wyoming is a fantastic writer, and I'm partial to him because I met him last year after a reading, and he couldn't have been more friendly and encouraging. But I think I'd rather live in Moscow, and from what I understand it's a bigger program.
Was rejected by Purdue weeks ago.
Still waiting on:
Indiana
New Hampshire
Old Dominion
UMass
SIU
Ole Miss
Oregon
UNCW
UNCG
Eastern Washington
Bowling Green
Colorado State
joepo,
I think UNH has posted all of their decisions on their website. You can check your application status on Webcat. Good luck!
Taggie7 -- I received my "official" letter in today's mail. It came in a skinny envelope and was dated March 7, so it should arrive shortly if it doesn't come today. No word in it about funding/TA. Taggie7? Robert? Did you guys not hear the magic word on $ in your letters? Or am I just SOL?
Coffee... my letter came today too (same post mark). No mention of funding... I hope we're not SOL. I emailed Janine to see if decisions had been made. Crossing my fingers for me and you! :)T
Today I was accepted to St. Marys and CSU. All of my apps were for poetry.
That leaves my tally at:
Accepted: Iowa, CSU, St. Marys
Rejected: Michigan.
St. Marys only gave $2000 in funding which pretty much puts it out of the question and CSU said I'm in the running for a GTA and I'll hear back soon.
In the mail today...
Rejections from UMASS and Indiana U.
But the real cherry on the cake? A second rejection from Univ. of Washington, St. Louis. Guess they forgot they had already mailed me one back in February. Sad thing is, I actually got my hopes up for the second time thinking they might say I'd been bumped from a waitlist position to accepted status...
A record tough day today. Still waiting on a few more schools.
All the best to those of you who have been fortunate enough to have found your place. Don't ever take it for granted.
BPeyton--
Sorry, that sounds rough. I know that feeling of getting your hopes up.
speak coffee and taggie7,
i also received my official acceptance letter from unh today. it made no mention of funding, but i don't think we're sol just yet--the office said they'd be making decisions today or tomorrow concerning financial aid distribution. so, those decisions couldn't have made it out with the acceptance letters.
i also got a rejection from alabama today, and an acceptance to siu-carbondale with ta'ship and tuition waiver. two out of three ain't bad, right?
good luck.
Accepted tonight to U of Oregon (poetry). A nice phone call.
Otherwise, my tally so far:
Rejected:
Iowa (by mail)
Cornell (by mail)
Waitlisted:
Michigan (by email and mail)
Johns Hopkins (by mail)
Still Waiting:
U of Washington
Indiana
Montana
Brown
UVA
I checked with most of the programs, and many gave 'mid-March' or 'late-March' as when notices would be sent out, so keep up hope!
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