Wisconsin said 'two weeks,' and today is day 14. Are you a finalist? I tried earlier to get a sense of how big the finalist pool is. My guess is around 30. They take 6 and have wait-listed 12 in past years.
@Neferttiti I agree with Danielle, not just because I'm hopeful for myself lol, but because there's a blog out there set up by IWW students who were incoming 2008 or so wanting to get together and discuss their experiences, etc. Anyway, the point of this is that many of them said that they never received a phone call and found out about their acceptance via mail.
I realized when I woke up this morning that I was thinking about Virginia Tech before I even opened my eyes. I think that's when you know you've reached a critical mass of stress.
Hey guys, (and Adam!) hang in there. February is a pretty miserable month. How did I even survive the blizzards, the cabin fever--I don't know. I watched 'Project Runway' nonstop and imagined a panel of judges at the MFA programs, some Michael Kors and Nina Garcia discussing, dissecting, and tearing apart my application. Next month should be better. March will be the bearer of good news (and spring!)
I haven't heard from Iowa yet either, but I'm not assuming rejection yet b/c a TWF'er I know at Iowa (teaching & writing fellows - in fiction they help read the applications) has told me they're not done notifying yet... Now, this should not be taken as anything more than a high-end rumor I guess, since TWF'ers are not actually involved in calling applicants. I haven't talked to Sam Chang or Jim Galvin or anything. Not that I know them.
Well, in that case I hope you get in! :D I am waiting for Virginia too. They are one of the last to notify. I guess I should assume rejection from Cornell, but I don't wanna.
Has anyone received official rejections from Michigan yet? My understanding is they went into the mail earlier this week, but I haven't heard anything from them and their website isn't helping.
@Amber - So sweet of you! Have a fantastic birthday! And do not stress about MFAs on your birthday.
@Chelsea, missprivate eye
YES - GO MARCH RADNESS - we are prepared to receive your wooing phone calls and letters offering creative opportunity and ample financial security. Do _not_ disappoint us.
I'm a new poster to the blog. I am wondering if there is anybody else here who chose not to apply to Iowa? I didn't apply, not because it is so hard to get into (I applied to plenty of programs that are probably harder to get into, percentage-wise. So far I'm in at Vandy and UNCW), but because it didn't seem like a good fit for me. I work in publishing now, and for my MFA I just don't want to be someplace where agents are scouting out the students. I guess I want a place with a bit less buzz surrounding it, since this seems more conducive to writing to me. Granted, if I hadn't spent the past few years in publishing, I'm sure I'd be eager for the connections to agents/editors that happen more readily at Iowa. But did anybody else simply choose not to apply there? Looking at the lists on the blog, I am wondering if maybe I am the only one...
I'm watching the Price is Right and something is wrong with this picture. They just showed the following showcase: A wine wall, a wine-tasting tour of Napa Valley, and.. a CAR, presumedly to drive drunk in! ?
and let me clarify: obviously Iowa is an amazing program in many ways. and i almost applied, the logic being: why not just see? but i knew it wasn't what i was really looking for. and i worried that, if by some chance i did get in, it would be tough to turn down iowa. so i didn't apply.
Looking at peoples lists, I haven't seen too many UC Irvine applicants this year. I applied for fiction. Anyone else notice a fall off in Irvine applications?
Oh my god, I love staying home and watching the Price is Right.
One time, I went to a taping with a group of about 20 people when I was living in the dorms many years ago. Fun Fact: if you bring 10 or more people, they guarantee someone from your group gets to COME ON DOWN! My buddy won himself a new car and a carousel pony. He was too poor to pay the tax and title on his car so he ended up with just a sweet pony. ;-)
The sets are really tiny in person and they dub all the mess-ups at the end. Dreams are shattered in Burbank, people!
I applied to UCI in poetry. But yeah, haven't heard too much about them around here. Someone on the PW speakeasy recently reported that they will begin to notify fiction in "early or mid March."
Courtney, My great grandma was on Price is Right WAY back in the day and won a trip to Rome. It was in the 60s when the show was live. So wait, your friend couldn't pay the tax but couldn't he sell the car? Did he seriously turn it DOWN? :o This is depressing/dream shattering.
@Violet_Mai -- Congrats on Vandy and UNCW! RE. Iowa, I don't know how one knows for sure whether a school is a "good" fit or not. So many variables are in place -- location, faculty, classroom, curriculum, cohorts, your apartment, the weather, etc. And even these, you won't know for sure until you're actually there. You might like a certain faculty member at the program, but what if, come September, you've discovered that you don't exactly "click" with that faculty member? What if you end up liking everything about a school EXCEPT for workshop? What if certain cohorts make life miserable for you?
If you have some secret formula for determining whether a place is a good fit for you or not, please share it with me because in all my years in academia and private industry, I couldn't foresee everything that was to come. I thought a certain company was perfect for me, only to discover that it wasn't. I thought a certain professor would be a thorn on my side, only to find in him the champion I so desperately needed. I thought I would hate the Midwest, only to love its bleak charm. I tried to adopt a particular German Shepherd despite reports that indicated that she was hyper, crazy, too energetic, and undisciplined, only to discover everything to be false once I gave her a structured environment. Now, she's like Rin Tin frikkin Tin.
Life is unpredictable in little ways.
If, during undergrad, I picked a random school, a random major, and a random girlfriend, I'm not sure I'd be any less happy. If I threw a dart at a USA map on the wall and decided to live where that dart fell, I may still do okay.
Courtney, I was under the impression that you didn't have to pay the taxes on the prize until you paid your income taxes. I seriously hate the government, okay. Whenever somebody wins cash at the wheel I always think to myself that now they can actually afford it if they win their showcase!
You can't get cash value. ;-( You have to pay everything up front for the cars; for everything else they hit you with a 1099 form in January--you have to pay state and local tax too! The only way to do it is to win cash--they deduct everything before you leave.
miss private eye, That is true in come contests for some prizes, but the price is right pretty much just gets free stuff to give away from sponsors. They couldn't afford to cash all of those out.
Woon, The only thing I've learned about fit thus far is that Southern Illinois wasn't right for me. I really think we can start talking about them now as an experimental school. For my other rejections it might just be because I sucked, but SUIC it might be because I sucked AND I wasn't the right fit.
You're right, there's certainly no secret formula. I've often found myself loving experiences I entered only grudgingly, and vice versa. But with a limited budget to apply to schools with, the best I could do was to think long and hard about what I am really looking for in pursuing this degree, then use whatever information is available to decide which schools have the best shot of meeting that criteria. It's a far from perfect method, but for me, anyway, it left Iowa out of the mix.
One summer before college, I worked for a temp agency. The first job they placed me in was in a warehouse where the fifteen or so workers (most of whom were African-American women in their 30s) placed inserts in newspapers. (These inserts were ads, comics, Parade Magazine, flyers, etc. -- all the junk you'd see in the Sunday morning newspaper.) The job was monotonous and after one hour of it, I thought I'd go postal. What made it worthwhile was talking to my fellow co-workers that I had almost nothing in common wrt race, sex, age, education. And yet, the two weeks I stayed on that job was an enriching experience.
Now, how the heck did I know it would turn out that way from the outset? Life just throws curve balls -- if you'll excuse the metaphor -- at you.
I applied to UC Irvine. The wait on that one is killing me.
I'm also attending the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop this summer, and taking Ron Carlson's class, so I'll get to be in a workshop with him no matter what!
red, Yes, it was in CNF, but Penn State runs a really small class. As in: they might take 4 total. I've always kind of considered myself not even in the running there, so I'm not sure why I applied, other than WANTING to be in the running. UGHH.
The only schools I have left that haven't notified at all are Brown, GCSU, FAU, UNLV, and Texas State. March, I'm read for you! Let's get this over with so that I can either get excited about a program or move on with myself.
Ashley, I didn't realize Penn State had such a small class. If I end up applying again next year (because I'm assuming there's no good news out there for me), I will do everything differently!
Good luck! You've been a vital member of this blog, and I hope March brings good things for you!
red, Thanks! You're so sweet! Maybe I am so vital here that I'm due to return next year. :) I wish you luck as well! We still have an ENTIRE MONTH of potential acceptances, though I think the first two weeks will be the biggest. I know two of my schools (UNLV and FAU) aren't likely to make a peep until the very end of March, so I'll be hanging on for a while yet...
Same with me. Virginia's at the top of my list and they might be the last school to notify... March will be a month of wine and chocolate chip cookies.
dam, Well, I guess I can't say that for sure. Their journal Crab Orchard Review has been called experimental before. This year I read the samples, I think, by two people accepted and by Brandi, who's been waitlisted. I think all of the samples were strong but are by people who seem to be overlooked elsewhere (I think Brandi is also in at Alabama, who I have already heard to be "experimental"). I guess I'm making broad judgements here but I get the feeling SUIC is a little quirkier than some programs. In a totally good way, but in a way that makes me realize maybe I shouldn't have applied, at least not with the sample I had this year. (I can say this now that they told me hell no!) Then again, we come back to this "what the hell does 'experimental' even mean" thing. Anyway, congrats to everybody who has had good news from SUIC and feel free to completely disagree with my crockpot theory and to call me on it.
@Meredith -- Ditto. Also, I hate words with silent letters like Damn. I'd just as spell it "Damm." It's also disturbing when "gh" is pronounced like "ph" as in "cough." It's equally disturbing when "ph" is pronounced like "f."
I feel that. When I was a kid, I thought our founding fathers were idiots for such stupid letter/sound issues. Yes, I thought our founding fathers created the English language. I imagined Washington, Jefferson, and lots of other old men in white wigs sitting around and drawing A, B, C... while Ben Franklin was outside flying kites in rainstorms. I grew up in Tampa, the now-dethroned lightning capital of the world, so the idea of flying kites in a rainstorm seemed positively retarded to me. I probably would have blamed Benny for those ph's and gh's.
okayyyyy I called U of Washington. I have a phone date with the secretary next week to touch base again on where the poetry faculty is. Pretty much got no info.
@ woon: i read your "haphazard" comment and was all wtf? for a moment i worried that i'd been saying "half-hazard" all of my life. i stared at my computer screen for a full minute, saying "half-hazard, happ-hazard," over and over. then i realized i was crazy.
Hey guys. It's fun that you're talking about game shows! That's what I do for a living. Right now I'm working on a kids game show called BrainSurge. So hey, if you know any 8-13 year olds in the LA area... :-)
I don't know about the majority of you guys, but I've completely come to peace with my fate in these programs this year. If we don't get in, we'll only be stronger candidates (and more program savvy) next year. Everything happens for a reason! Except for scabies. Those are random.
yeah, i think i'm on the same level as you, a. astur a. i only have two schools left to notify (one of them being brown), and i've pretty much given up hope for this year. not in a depressing way, though, if that makes sense.
also, what is up with scabies? the only cases i've heard of have been contracted in college, including one of my friends back in the day.
(also, do NOT google scabies and look at the pictures on the wikipedia page. just don't do it, people.)
@beedeecee - I know exactly what you mean. I'm feeling much calmer now than a few weeks ago. For a while there I was feeling kind of "all or nothing" with these programs, which lead me to some disastrous thinking. I have 2 schools left as well (and one of them Brown as well) so I'm not totally abandoning the idea that I'll get in, but I'm not desperately banking on it either.
A. Astur A., I love game shows! They are actually mentioned in 2 of my 3 sample pieces. Uh oh. I am semi-jealous of your job! I majored in Digital Media (at my school this was essentially broadcasting) and if I weren't so passionate about writing I would be looking for television jobs. Alas, I've decided to be even more impractical.
Re: Scabies I've spent three summers/falls of my life working at an amusement parks and living in craptastic dorms. I know of several people who have had scabies. I have been lucky enough not to have those, but... I did obtain a SERIOUS case of bed bugs in those dorms, got over 150 bites, lost so much blood I had to go to the ER and get put on three kinds of medicine. I ended up so drugged that I wasn't allowed to operate the roller coaster and spent an entire week sitting by the entrance measuring children/telling people to put stuff in lockers or try the test seat.
scabies are not random. when i lived in paris, my friends made a friend on the train from nice. they let him sleep on their couch. the next day---SCABIES.
@Ashley - Well not to be cruel, but we're actually hiring ;-) Also, your amazing bed bug story story was so powerful that I'm now getting "Bed Bugs Instant Relief" ads in gmail.
Did anyone else listen to that episode of This American Life about bed bugs? Still give me the shivers.
@mj - You say your friends met some random guy on a train in Nice? ahem.
Wow, thanks for the birthday wishes guys. I've managed to not think about MFA stuff for a couple of hours today, which has to be a new record for me. :P
I applied to Irvine, but I agree that it seems to have dropped from a lot of people's lists. Possibly the fall-out of Geoffrey Wolff leaving? I love so many of the writers that have come out of there, though, that I just couldn't resist. Here's hoping they're notifying next week...
I'm not sure if they're done notifying. From what everybody on this blog has said, UNCW admissions are rolling, which makes me think they might not be done. They didn't really tell me one way or the other. Sorry that's not too helpful...
So, not that I'm obsessing on this or anything, but, besides the anonymous DH posting on Rutgers-Newark fiction, has anyone else hear who applied there heard anything?
A. Astur A., Oh, gosh, way to go breaking my heart! I will be completely honest, though, and said that my school did nothing to actually prepare me to work in television. The only thing I came out of there knowing to do well is DVD authoring... and I'm starting to forget that.
hahah, @ A. Astur. i realize now that that post looks like the old "MY FRIEND" ploy, as in, "MY FRIEND like totally likes you! SHE made you this mixtape, not me." but it really was my friends. my embarrassing paris story was when i went on a date with this super rich guy and thought it was going to be my super glamorous european romance, but then he turned out to be a zionist. really. as in, "we should kick all the palestinians out of israel." ahem, indeed.
@AshleyB - Yeah school isn't really useful for actual work in Hollywood (unless it's a degree in business). Not only is it not valued here (have you seen a movie lately?) but can actually count against you (so you're one of those book smart, irrelevants, eh?).
@mj - Was it not a super glamorous European romance because he wanted to kick them out like, that night, and your dress got dirty?
YARebels: I'm also waiting to hear primarily from NYU/ Columbia. By all historical accounts, we should know next week. If I don't get in, I'm pretty much moving to China and re-applying next year.
I'm surprised nobody posts a bunch of phony acceptances to freak everyone out. IN AT VIRGINIA! IN AT HOUSTON! GREENSBORO CALLED--I'M IN! NEW SCHOOL--ACCEPTED!
I guess that would only be funny for the person who did it. :(
I did PA work for one summer for a cable reality TV show. I have never run around/been yelled at/cried more in my entire working life! Most of the other PAs were recent film grad students waiting for a chance to show someone their reels. Oh, what a painful industry! I ran far far away into the safe arms of clerical work!
I haven't posted. But I've been following the blogs and, recently, primarily overwhelmed. I emailed to let the guys know that I was offered a place at Rutgers-Newark and Arkansas (both yesterday, and both by phone). (So now I'm not anonymous.) I'm not sure where both schools are in their notifying at this point. Both the schools were very gracious. I'm on track to go to Rutgers-Newark. My most sincere, hopeful thoughts both your ways!
Awhile ago someone said Virginia was on track to notify early March, but historically it's been late March/early April. Are they really reading 4 weeks ahead of schedule?
@Violet_Mai - I didn't apply to Iowa either for the same reasons as you. Nothing against Iowa at all, but I just didn't think it would fit my personality from what I'd heard about it (and I had a limited number of schools I could apply to).
On an idiosyncratic note, I just figured out an analogy to describe my waiting-induced emotions. I feel like I've already gotten two painful shots (i.e., rejections) from a medical professional, and have been told that I'll be receiving several more over the course of the next few weeks. Unfortunately, no one has disclosed to me when, so I'll be on edge every second waiting for someone to jump out from behind a car with a large, sharp needle coming at me.
At the same time, I've also been told that I may or may not receive one or two of the most amazing kisses of my life (from someone I want them from!) at any time over the course of the next several weeks. So now I am constantly dreading several imminent and painful shots in the arm, while simultaneously hoping I get those one or two incredible kisses every second of every day.
@mj- I too had my super glamorous European romance when I was studying abroad at age 20. We met in the Swiss Alps and rendezvoused in London. The guy drove a Maserati and had an apartment in South Kensington, and it was all very glamorous and wonderful until the third date, at which point I realized he was divorced and HAD A CHILD.
I'm not sure if it was the dozen framed pictures of a toddler on his wall or the Winnie the Pooh feeding spoons in the kitchen drawer that tipped me off.
(Reposted for greater detail and to correct grammar. Sorry, subscribers.)
Woon, I know, I just reread it and was like "that post sounds kinda ridiculous." Especially after I'd just posted despair about Rutgers. But I was so excited that's just what came out! haha.
@ Laura - I wish I had seen your face when you saw those words on the screen.
@ Peaquah - You're right. And I look at it like, if Iowa can burn through 1300 applications and notify by February 19th, then Virginia could do the same. I just think some schools aren't in any big hurry because they know you have to wait either way. They better not wait until March 30 (which is when they notified last year, right?) because that means 2 weeks to make a decision before the deadline.
Goodreads says I'm currently reading The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West. But I'm not reading it. I'm typing on the MFA Blog.
@Jen, I like that description. For me, though, the waiting is more like the giant balls of the universe being planted firmly on my face. And it's hard to effing breathe under here.
Sorry if that was graphic, but I'm pretty sure it's physiologically and psychologically accurate.
@ Laura - congratulations! Let us know what happens when you get in touch with the program. I wonder why they didn't call? Maybe they were planning to today and you ruined their surprise. :-)
@klairkwilty - Chop, chop Virginia, I say. I don't want to wait until the end of March, either.
@ general---second GNE from same GNE sender...a regular GNE correspondence going on here with promises for more info from others in the program...I AM FREAKING OUT OVER HERE.
@ Peaquah - I mean, seriously! Iowa City is only 4.5 hours from my front door. I'd much rather make that move than to the east coast, which is 452,000 hours from my front door. Nobody even lives in Virginia. I heard it looks like Tatooine except that there are some smart people. However, most of the smart people speak Mandarin, which means I'd have nobody to talk with. Lonely, if you ask me. Virginia is the land of despair.
"They don't even have drinking water there," my friend says, leaning over.
"I heard that too," I said. But I only said that so he wouldn't think he knew something I didn't.
Thank you everyone! I really hope they call soon!! Until they do, I will probably have a tiny sliver of fear that it's some kind of mistake or something. That doesn't happen, does it? Oh god. Would love a call now!
@Laura - That's so awesome. You inspired me to check my online status for one of my schools, but I'm afraid your exciting update may be one of a kind. Congrats though!
@hilary - Wow, I thought I had it bad. Even though I'm generally a fan of the male anatomy, that really is a disgusting image. Must be the relative size difference that I find so appalling. Good luck getting out from under those things.
I could hardly stay away now that March is so near!
I nearly had a heart attack when I randomly logged into my U-Houston online system and there was a new window that said New Student Conferences. I tried to click on it and it said I couldn't log in. That is about the biggest thing that has happened to me.
Still haven't received any rejections or anything else.
Waiting on -for fiction-: Michigan (assumed rejection) Iowa (assumed rejection) Florida Oregon Houston Texas State Boston U
anybody have the inside scoop on umass? i know they notified a few people in each genre last week and my friend received a rejection letter in the mail almost a week ago also, but I haven't heard a word. status says "applied" and I called the graduate office yesterday and the woman said she had no updates on my application. anybody else in this kind of limbo?
@ klairkwilty - I'm pretty sure the concrete jungle of Houston is the land of despair. That humidity with so little plant life would spin me into SAD faster than eight months of winter in Fairbanks.
@ everyone - all things funding being equal for MFAs (but for the sake of argument let's leave out the big cities: NYC, Boston and San Fran) where would you least like to live? Most?
@Whynotbecause Thank you! I was accepted for fiction. About Arkansas... it definitely is a program to consider. :-). The faculty member I talked to was very genuinely enthusiastic about the work they do there.(I was so thrilled they even considered me.) Best wishes to you for getting somewhere you would totally grow as a writer! I really mean it!
Aahhhh mj and k...I think I have one/two of those GNE's from the same school as well...I also had a back-and-forth correspondence (two weeks ago!) with the promise of more correspondence that never came. I've been worrying ever since that they changed their minds and/or emailed me by mistake.
I guess my philosophy has been that it ain't over until the fat lady sends you an official rejection, but I do know that a member of their faculty will be giving a reading somewhere located at a fair distance from Amherst early next week, so I am assuming decisions have been made.
It's hard to talk about something when you're trying not to talk about it on a public message board. All of this can be solved by admissions committees immediately admitting anyone who has received a GNE.
@ Mike, I saw you got into George Mason in poetry as well. I was wondering if you would be interested in exchanging short writing samples, just because I'm curious to see how other potential students writing might relate to my own there.
@ klairkwilty - I'm holding a torch for Irvine, so I'll be excited to see those acceptances roll. It's so hard to judge the process at this point since I have one acceptance and one rejection (Wisconsin) and six very quiet schools. I will say that it would take a force of nature for me to turn down Michigan, and I don't think Virginia has it in her. Could be wrong, though.
@ M.Swann - I am so sorry! When I got the rejection email two weeks ago it was just nice in a way to just have that closure. I feel so bad for you guys who have been in limbo all this time - only to be rejected in the end. That burns.
But you know, you were really, really close - that is amazing.
@ klairkwilty - exactly! Both good and bad timing - makes everything else seem anti-climactic. I'm not ready to throw in the towel on the other schools if only because I worked so hard to apply.
I don't know about Iowa, but Michigan has *amazing* funding - even better than I'd thought. Aside from Michener and Cornell, I'm not sure who beats them...? Michigan also totally has the upper hand from notifying so early. I've been imagining myself there (and loving it) for the last week.
@ Peaquah - Iowa's funding isn't bad, but it isn't fantastic either. Now I'm curious how much "amazing" constitutes. Like, $30,000 amazing? I guess I'll never know.
Since Austin was just mentioned, I'll use that as an awkward segueway to ask: anyone else is still in Limbo? Is it a positive sign? My hopes are slowly rising, and I fear it will just make rejection all the worse.
@ klairkwilty - if you're curious about funding you can drop me an email - I made the link active in my profile. I'd be happy to talk about it off the board. I'm actually curious about Iowa as well. :-)
Wait-listed at wisconsin as of a few minutes ago. It doesn't say "high" or "very high" or anything, so.....:/
Guess it's not a match made in heaven for me and Ms. Moore after all...
@Joanne-- I applied to Arkansas because of Ellen Gilchrist, who is (amazingly) still on the faculty at 75. Not sure if she teaches anymore, who knows? I haven't heard from them yet.
Well, guys, I'm feeling a little down. Too much news of others getting GNE or acceptance calls, it's making me worry quite a bit. I'm generally a super positive person but the lack of good news that I'm getting is just wearing me down. That's it.
JULIAN G-- you still reading? This is rebecca from workshop. Did you get news from wisconsin today too? i think i saw that you were a finalist. Oh, also i am a cyberstalker now.
Dude, Arna, what the hailstorm did you do? Write your sample on the illustrious bread that Sam Chang and all other dept heads enjoy in a way that only oft-prayed-to-MFA-folks can?
I knew the Sunbeam was a bad call on my part...:*(
@Ashley Brooke: No, that makes sense - I just hadn't heard it about SIUC before.
While I'm firmly in the "Experimental isn't even really experimental anymore" camp, I do believe it can still mean something in the MFA application process, which is: Your work can get entirely ignored at most places and highly acknowledged within a concentrated group of programs that are more aesthetically compatible.
@everyone waiting on UMass. If you mean UMass Amherst, everyone who's found out from them (including myself) has done so via online status check. Try that, using the Applicant Identifier they sent you in the email (subject line: University of Massachusetts Amherst Application) that should have come after you submitted your app.
I am really bummed because this is yet another week ending without news in any form (and therefore assumed rejections). Stupid schools. Pick me! Pick me!!
2,502 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 2502 Newer› Newest»Hey Lucas,
Wisconsin said 'two weeks,' and today is day 14. Are you a finalist? I tried earlier to get a sense of how big the finalist pool is. My guess is around 30. They take 6 and have wait-listed 12 in past years.
@Neferttiti I agree with Danielle, not just because I'm hopeful for myself lol, but because there's a blog out there set up by IWW students who were incoming 2008 or so wanting to get together and discuss their experiences, etc. Anyway, the point of this is that many of them said that they never received a phone call and found out about their acceptance via mail.
I realized when I woke up this morning that I was thinking about Virginia Tech before I even opened my eyes. I think that's when you know you've reached a critical mass of stress.
At this point, all I am hoping for is a few wait lists so that I can say "See, I got close!"
That's quite a sea change from my October plans of deciding trying to take a few trips to different schools to decide which one I was going to accept.
Oh, reality. Such a harsh mistress.
It's a bit belated but read this earlier on NPR.org
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124001415
A story all about linguistic pet peeves.
Hope today is a good news day for all!
So, Driftless has a fiction acceptance up for Rutgers-Newark dated Wednesday. No posts here or there attached to it.
Dang.
Dang. Dang. DAng.
Dang.
Hey guys, (and Adam!) hang in there. February is a pretty miserable month. How did I even survive the blizzards, the cabin fever--I don't know. I watched 'Project Runway' nonstop and imagined a panel of judges at the MFA programs, some Michael Kors and Nina Garcia discussing, dissecting, and tearing apart my application. Next month should be better. March will be the bearer of good news (and spring!)
I am preparing for March radness not March sadness.
Has anyone been to Naropa's summer writing program? I am curious to know about your experience - there are some great poets lined up this year.
I haven't heard from Iowa yet either, but I'm not assuming rejection yet b/c a TWF'er I know at Iowa (teaching & writing fellows - in fiction they help read the applications) has told me they're not done notifying yet... Now, this should not be taken as anything more than a high-end rumor I guess, since TWF'ers are not actually involved in calling applicants. I haven't talked to Sam Chang or Jim Galvin or anything. Not that I know them.
And not to make everyone crazy or anything.
@the duchess
March radness...that makes me smile!
I'm definitely incorporating that into my everyday wordage!
Danielle!
Sorry, I am in edits for my book and have a deadline, which is very thankfully keeping me from losing what's left of my mind over mfa programs.
And tbh, I'm losing hope. The only three programs I'm really waiting to hear from still are:
Brown
NYU
Columbia
So...yeah.
No word from anyone yet. A rejection, something, ANYTHING would be nice. I feel non-existent.
It's my birthday today- and I keep having childish fantasies that somebody's going to call and accept me today. Lol. I'm apparently five years old. :P
@M. Swann - Yeah, I'm still in the running, I suppose. Status unchanged as of 10:30 am, EST.
I've seen another Lucas here, but I'm not him. I don't post that much.
For giggles:
Fiction
Wisc. (pending)
UT-A (rejected)
Vandy (assumed rejected)
UNCG (no final word)
That's all I could afford this year.
Original Chrissy: I changed my name so as to lessen the confusion. You were definitely here first. ;)
Also, subscribing, even though doing so will probably give me a heart attack.
@Amber - Happy Birthday! I hope you get some good news today!
And that everyone else does, too!
@frankish
Thanks! Yes- my freaking birthday wish is that I hope everyone on here gets some good news. ;)
According to Driftless, Cornell has already begun to notify poets as of the 20th. Did anyone on here get picked?
Something tells me a lot of programs will be notifying this weekend. Just a feeling. I hope so, because I'm still waiting on 9.
C'mon Houston! C'mon Virginia!
klairkwilty, are you in Poetry?
@klairkwilty
I hope you're right. I need the New School and Florida to get off their butts and start letting people know....
No, fiction.
I also applied to the New School.
@klairkwilty
Well, in that case I hope you get in! :D I am waiting for Virginia too. They are one of the last to notify. I guess I should assume rejection from Cornell, but I don't wanna.
I just got my rejection via snail mail from Southern Illinois. I appreciate that it came so quickly after acceptances went out last week, anyway...
Has anyone received official rejections from Michigan yet? My understanding is they went into the mail earlier this week, but I haven't heard anything from them and their website isn't helping.
do notifications actually happen on weekends??
@Coreyann
They def can. I heard my first response last Saturday.
@duchess
I hope it is March Radness, girl! For all of us!!
to be honest, I'd be happy if it were merely "March fastness"
Come on, schools! Bring. It. On. Good news, bad news. Any news is good, in my book.
Wisconsin said two weeks, eh?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V17duGlHEYY
GET READY FOR A SURPRISE!
@Amber - So sweet of you! Have a fantastic birthday! And do not stress about MFAs on your birthday.
@Chelsea, missprivate eye
YES - GO MARCH RADNESS - we are prepared to receive your wooing phone calls and letters offering creative opportunity and ample financial security. Do _not_ disappoint us.
Amber,
Happy birthday!
@Adam,
what the hell did I just watch? lol
This makes life better. Kinda NSFW.
Been checking this blog obsessively since I stumbled upon it earlier this week, so I figured what the hell.
Here's my list (Fiction)
Wisconsin - Rejected
Wash U - Denied
Michigan - Silencio
Iowa - Sam? Ethan? Hello?
Hunter - Colum? Nathan? Anybody?
Roosevelt - Don't notify til mid-March
waitlisted southern illinois via snailmail
I'm a new poster to the blog. I am wondering if there is anybody else here who chose not to apply to Iowa? I didn't apply, not because it is so hard to get into (I applied to plenty of programs that are probably harder to get into, percentage-wise. So far I'm in at Vandy and UNCW), but because it didn't seem like a good fit for me. I work in publishing now, and for my MFA I just don't want to be someplace where agents are scouting out the students. I guess I want a place with a bit less buzz surrounding it, since this seems more conducive to writing to me. Granted, if I hadn't spent the past few years in publishing, I'm sure I'd be eager for the connections to agents/editors that happen more readily at Iowa. But did anybody else simply choose not to apply there? Looking at the lists on the blog, I am wondering if maybe I am the only one...
@Violet_Mai
you're not the only one. i specifically chose to not apply to Iowa. for multiple reasons, really.
I'm watching the Price is Right and something is wrong with this picture. They just showed the following showcase: A wine wall, a wine-tasting tour of Napa Valley, and.. a CAR, presumedly to drive drunk in! ?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMBERRRRR!!!
Congrats on your waitlist, Brandi!
and let me clarify: obviously Iowa is an amazing program in many ways. and i almost applied, the logic being: why not just see? but i knew it wasn't what i was really looking for. and i worried that, if by some chance i did get in, it would be tough to turn down iowa. so i didn't apply.
Looking at peoples lists, I haven't seen too many UC Irvine applicants this year. I applied for fiction. Anyone else notice a fall off in Irvine applications?
Most of my friends (and myself included) were notified on either a Friday or Sunday via phone.
Oh my god, I love staying home and watching the Price is Right.
One time, I went to a taping with a group of about 20 people when I was living in the dorms many years ago. Fun Fact: if you bring 10 or more people, they guarantee someone from your group gets to COME ON DOWN! My buddy won himself a new car and a carousel pony. He was too poor to pay the tax and title on his car so he ended up with just a sweet pony. ;-)
The sets are really tiny in person and they dub all the mess-ups at the end. Dreams are shattered in Burbank, people!
Ah, why did everyone else get their SIUC letters today but me?
I applied to UCI in poetry. But yeah, haven't heard too much about them around here. Someone on the PW speakeasy recently reported that they will begin to notify fiction in "early or mid March."
Courtney,
My great grandma was on Price is Right WAY back in the day and won a trip to Rome. It was in the 60s when the show was live.
So wait, your friend couldn't pay the tax but couldn't he sell the car? Did he seriously turn it DOWN? :o This is depressing/dream shattering.
Happy birthday, Amber!
And congratulations, Brandi!
I'm so excited for March radness, people. Bring it.
weighswithwords: I've noticed a drop on blog people's lists too! I don't know why--I would love to workshop with Ron Carlson!
Although, I live nearby and know they get a huge number of local applications from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas.
They notified pretty late last year--here's hoping!
Uhh, there is a Penn State acceptance posted on DH. My schools are really start to drop pretty quickly here.
AB--isn't that sad?!?! He couldn't scrape together he $7000 to get it off the studio lot! A huge number of people don't claim their big prizes.
Also, has anyone gotten an official IWW rejection yet in fiction? My status on their site is still "pending."
@Courtney
I swore I heard you could take the cash value instead of the actual item??
That majorly sucks.
@Violet_Mai -- Congrats on Vandy and UNCW! RE. Iowa, I don't know how one knows for sure whether a school is a "good" fit or not. So many variables are in place -- location, faculty, classroom, curriculum, cohorts, your apartment, the weather, etc. And even these, you won't know for sure until you're actually there. You might like a certain faculty member at the program, but what if, come September, you've discovered that you don't exactly "click" with that faculty member? What if you end up liking everything about a school EXCEPT for workshop? What if certain cohorts make life miserable for you?
If you have some secret formula for determining whether a place is a good fit for you or not, please share it with me because in all my years in academia and private industry, I couldn't foresee everything that was to come. I thought a certain company was perfect for me, only to discover that it wasn't. I thought a certain professor would be a thorn on my side, only to find in him the champion I so desperately needed. I thought I would hate the Midwest, only to love its bleak charm. I tried to adopt a particular German Shepherd despite reports that indicated that she was hyper, crazy, too energetic, and undisciplined, only to discover everything to be false once I gave her a structured environment. Now, she's like Rin Tin frikkin Tin.
Life is unpredictable in little ways.
If, during undergrad, I picked a random school, a random major, and a random girlfriend, I'm not sure I'd be any less happy. If I threw a dart at a USA map on the wall and decided to live where that dart fell, I may still do okay.
Courtney,
I was under the impression that you didn't have to pay the taxes on the prize until you paid your income taxes. I seriously hate the government, okay.
Whenever somebody wins cash at the wheel I always think to myself that now they can actually afford it if they win their showcase!
You can't get cash value. ;-( You have to pay everything up front for the cars; for everything else they hit you with a 1099 form in January--you have to pay state and local tax too!
The only way to do it is to win cash--they deduct everything before you leave.
miss private eye,
That is true in come contests for some prizes, but the price is right pretty much just gets free stuff to give away from sponsors. They couldn't afford to cash all of those out.
Woon,
The only thing I've learned about fit thus far is that Southern Illinois wasn't right for me. I really think we can start talking about them now as an experimental school.
For my other rejections it might just be because I sucked, but SUIC it might be because I sucked AND I wasn't the right fit.
@woon
You're right, there's certainly no secret formula. I've often found myself loving experiences I entered only grudgingly, and vice versa. But with a limited budget to apply to schools with, the best I could do was to think long and hard about what I am really looking for in pursuing this degree, then use whatever information is available to decide which schools have the best shot of meeting that criteria. It's a far from perfect method, but for me, anyway, it left Iowa out of the mix.
@ Ashley Brooke
Isn't the Penn State acceptance for CNF? I told myself not to freak out yet! I'm fiction.
One summer before college, I worked for a temp agency. The first job they placed me in was in a warehouse where the fifteen or so workers (most of whom were African-American women in their 30s) placed inserts in newspapers. (These inserts were ads, comics, Parade Magazine, flyers, etc. -- all the junk you'd see in the Sunday morning newspaper.) The job was monotonous and after one hour of it, I thought I'd go postal. What made it worthwhile was talking to my fellow co-workers that I had almost nothing in common wrt race, sex, age, education. And yet, the two weeks I stayed on that job was an enriching experience.
Now, how the heck did I know it would turn out that way from the outset? Life just throws curve balls -- if you'll excuse the metaphor -- at you.
I applied to UC Irvine. The wait on that one is killing me.
I'm also attending the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop this summer, and taking Ron Carlson's class, so I'll get to be in a workshop with him no matter what!
subscribing
red,
Yes, it was in CNF, but Penn State runs a really small class. As in: they might take 4 total. I've always kind of considered myself not even in the running there, so I'm not sure why I applied, other than WANTING to be in the running. UGHH.
The only schools I have left that haven't notified at all are Brown, GCSU, FAU, UNLV, and Texas State. March, I'm read for you! Let's get this over with so that I can either get excited about a program or move on with myself.
Ashley, I didn't realize Penn State had such a small class. If I end up applying again next year (because I'm assuming there's no good news out there for me), I will do everything differently!
Good luck! You've been a vital member of this blog, and I hope March brings good things for you!
(Sorry for all the exclamation marks. I promise I don't use them with such frequency in my writing.)
@Ashley Brooke: Really? SIUC experimental? What have you heard?
That actually gives me a little hope for my poetry application there.
red,
Thanks! You're so sweet! Maybe I am so vital here that I'm due to return next year. :)
I wish you luck as well! We still have an ENTIRE MONTH of potential acceptances, though I think the first two weeks will be the biggest. I know two of my schools (UNLV and FAU) aren't likely to make a peep until the very end of March, so I'll be hanging on for a while yet...
@ Violet Mai
Congrats on the acceptances, are you fiction or poetry? I'm in at UNCW for fiction!
Ashley,
Same with me. Virginia's at the top of my list and they might be the last school to notify... March will be a month of wine and chocolate chip cookies.
yeah... I might call U of Washington today... light a fire under them to finish up this process...
I'm getting DAMN tired of this waiting game. Let me say that again... DAMN.
dam,
Well, I guess I can't say that for sure. Their journal Crab Orchard Review has been called experimental before. This year I read the samples, I think, by two people accepted and by Brandi, who's been waitlisted. I think all of the samples were strong but are by people who seem to be overlooked elsewhere (I think Brandi is also in at Alabama, who I have already heard to be "experimental"). I guess I'm making broad judgements here but I get the feeling SUIC is a little quirkier than some programs. In a totally good way, but in a way that makes me realize maybe I shouldn't have applied, at least not with the sample I had this year. (I can say this now that they told me hell no!)
Then again, we come back to this "what the hell does 'experimental' even mean" thing. Anyway, congrats to everybody who has had good news from SUIC and feel free to completely disagree with my crockpot theory and to call me on it.
I meant Adam, not dam!!O*QW(TRY*!YH!!!!
@Meredith -- Ditto. Also, I hate words with silent letters like Damn. I'd just as spell it "Damm." It's also disturbing when "gh" is pronounced like "ph" as in "cough." It's equally disturbing when "ph" is pronounced like "f."
(cont.)
I'd rather "ph" be pronounced like "haphazard" where both the "p" and "h" are treated as separate entities.
Woon,
I feel that. When I was a kid, I thought our founding fathers were idiots for such stupid letter/sound issues. Yes, I thought our founding fathers created the English language. I imagined Washington, Jefferson, and lots of other old men in white wigs sitting around and drawing A, B, C... while Ben Franklin was outside flying kites in rainstorms. I grew up in Tampa, the now-dethroned lightning capital of the world, so the idea of flying kites in a rainstorm seemed positively retarded to me. I probably would have blamed Benny for those ph's and gh's.
okayyyyy I called U of Washington. I have a phone date with the secretary next week to touch base again on where the poetry faculty is. Pretty much got no info.
Congrats to those of you with acceptances! I've been staying away from the intarweb lately. It makes me crazy!
I still don't have any concrete news. :(
@threes
I'm in for creative nonfiction at UNCW.
@ woon: i read your "haphazard" comment and was all wtf? for a moment i worried that i'd been saying "half-hazard" all of my life. i stared at my computer screen for a full minute, saying "half-hazard, happ-hazard," over and over. then i realized i was crazy.
congrats to all the acceptances and waitlist notifications!
Hey guys. It's fun that you're talking about game shows! That's what I do for a living. Right now I'm working on a kids game show called BrainSurge. So hey, if you know any 8-13 year olds in the LA area... :-)
I don't know about the majority of you guys, but I've completely come to peace with my fate in these programs this year. If we don't get in, we'll only be stronger candidates (and more program savvy) next year. Everything happens for a reason! Except for scabies. Those are random.
yeah, i think i'm on the same level as you, a. astur a. i only have two schools left to notify (one of them being brown), and i've pretty much given up hope for this year. not in a depressing way, though, if that makes sense.
also, what is up with scabies? the only cases i've heard of have been contracted in college, including one of my friends back in the day.
(also, do NOT google scabies and look at the pictures on the wikipedia page. just don't do it, people.)
@beedeecee - I know exactly what you mean. I'm feeling much calmer now than a few weeks ago. For a while there I was feeling kind of "all or nothing" with these programs, which lead me to some disastrous thinking. I have 2 schools left as well (and one of them Brown as well) so I'm not totally abandoning the idea that I'll get in, but I'm not desperately banking on it either.
Re: scabies - I told you, they're random!
I tried as hard as I could not to google-image scabies. I really did.
A. Astur A.,
I love game shows! They are actually mentioned in 2 of my 3 sample pieces. Uh oh. I am semi-jealous of your job! I majored in Digital Media (at my school this was essentially broadcasting) and if I weren't so passionate about writing I would be looking for television jobs. Alas, I've decided to be even more impractical.
Re: Scabies
I've spent three summers/falls of my life working at an amusement parks and living in craptastic dorms. I know of several people who have had scabies. I have been lucky enough not to have those, but... I did obtain a SERIOUS case of bed bugs in those dorms, got over 150 bites, lost so much blood I had to go to the ER and get put on three kinds of medicine. I ended up so drugged that I wasn't allowed to operate the roller coaster and spent an entire week sitting by the entrance measuring children/telling people to put stuff in lockers or try the test seat.
scabies are not random. when i lived in paris, my friends made a friend on the train from nice. they let him sleep on their couch. the next day---SCABIES.
@Ashley - Well not to be cruel, but we're actually hiring ;-) Also, your amazing bed bug story story was so powerful that I'm now getting "Bed Bugs Instant Relief" ads in gmail.
Did anyone else listen to that episode of This American Life about bed bugs? Still give me the shivers.
@mj - You say your friends met some random guy on a train in Nice? ahem.
All I know about is scabies is that there was an outbreak in the freshmen dorm @ my college every fall, like freggin clockwork.
Kids were getting transported by ambulance every weekend for alcohol posioning and waiting in line on mondays @ the clinic for scabies treatment.
Yikes.
@Violet
Do you know if UNCW is done with acceptances for CNF? I applied there and assume their silence is a rejection...but I'm just wondering.
In other news I have only heard from ONE MFA program...this waiting game is the worst.
Wow, thanks for the birthday wishes guys. I've managed to not think about MFA stuff for a couple of hours today, which has to be a new record for me. :P
I applied to Irvine, but I agree that it seems to have dropped from a lot of people's lists. Possibly the fall-out of Geoffrey Wolff leaving? I love so many of the writers that have come out of there, though, that I just couldn't resist. Here's hoping they're notifying next week...
Oh hey, sorry Amber, I missed that it was your day.
Happy Birthday!!
@amber
oops i'm late on this but HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! and yayyy that you got a lil reprise!
that was supposed to be "respite"** LOL
@courtney
I'm not sure if they're done notifying. From what everybody on this blog has said, UNCW admissions are rolling, which makes me think they might not be done. They didn't really tell me one way or the other. Sorry that's not too helpful...
So, not that I'm obsessing on this or anything, but, besides the anonymous DH posting on Rutgers-Newark fiction, has anyone else hear who applied there heard anything?
Anyone...anyone...buehler?
A. Astur A.,
Oh, gosh, way to go breaking my heart! I will be completely honest, though, and said that my school did nothing to actually prepare me to work in television. The only thing I came out of there knowing to do well is DVD authoring... and I'm starting to forget that.
hahah, @ A. Astur. i realize now that that post looks like the old "MY FRIEND" ploy, as in, "MY FRIEND like totally likes you! SHE made you this mixtape, not me." but it really was my friends. my embarrassing paris story was when i went on a date with this super rich guy and thought it was going to be my super glamorous european romance, but then he turned out to be a zionist. really. as in, "we should kick all the palestinians out of israel." ahem, indeed.
@ Leslie,
I applied to Rutgers-Newark in poetry, and haven't heard anything. I'm hoping the DH posting means they have only started notifying in fiction so far!
@AshleyB - Yeah school isn't really useful for actual work in Hollywood (unless it's a degree in business). Not only is it not valued here (have you seen a movie lately?) but can actually count against you (so you're one of those book smart, irrelevants, eh?).
@mj - Was it not a super glamorous European romance because he wanted to kick them out like, that night, and your dress got dirty?
YARebels: I'm also waiting to hear primarily from NYU/ Columbia. By all historical accounts, we should know next week. If I don't get in, I'm pretty much moving to China and re-applying next year.
Did I miss any acceptances?
Did anyone hate on me while I was gone?
@Hobo Yeah, my hopes are kind of done falling and are lying on the ground at this point.
I'm surprised nobody posts a bunch of phony acceptances to freak everyone out. IN AT VIRGINIA! IN AT HOUSTON! GREENSBORO CALLED--I'M IN! NEW SCHOOL--ACCEPTED!
I guess that would only be funny for the person who did it. :(
@ klairkwilty - what's the big draw for you at Virginia and Houston?
I did PA work for one summer for a cable reality TV show. I have never run around/been yelled at/cried more in my entire working life! Most of the other PAs were recent film grad students waiting for a chance to show someone their reels. Oh, what a painful industry! I ran far far away into the safe arms of clerical work!
@ Peaquah
Virginia: Benjamins
Houston: It's a secret.
@Laura T.
thanks, but, I hate to say this, but there's also a poetry posting up there on DH, too. But no one else seems to have heard anything.
Remind me to apply to more than one school next year. =(
Oh man Courtney, I hear you there. Production jobs are not fun and definitely not my interest.
I'm basically sprinting towards the warm embrace of academia. Let me back in! It's cold out here!
Leslie and Laura,
I haven't posted. But I've been following the blogs and, recently, primarily overwhelmed. I emailed to let the guys know that I was offered a place at Rutgers-Newark and Arkansas (both yesterday, and both by phone). (So now I'm not anonymous.) I'm not sure where both schools are in their notifying at this point. Both the schools were very gracious. I'm on track to go to Rutgers-Newark. My most sincere, hopeful thoughts both your ways!
@ klairkwilty - :-)
Awhile ago someone said Virginia was on track to notify early March, but historically it's been late March/early April. Are they really reading 4 weeks ahead of schedule?
@Violet_Mai - I didn't apply to Iowa either for the same reasons as you. Nothing against Iowa at all, but I just didn't think it would fit my personality from what I'd heard about it (and I had a limited number of schools I could apply to).
On an idiosyncratic note, I just figured out an analogy to describe my waiting-induced emotions. I feel like I've already gotten two painful shots (i.e., rejections) from a medical professional, and have been told that I'll be receiving several more over the course of the next few weeks. Unfortunately, no one has disclosed to me when, so I'll be on edge every second waiting for someone to jump out from behind a car with a large, sharp needle coming at me.
At the same time, I've also been told that I may or may not receive one or two of the most amazing kisses of my life (from someone I want them from!) at any time over the course of the next several weeks. So now I am constantly dreading several imminent and painful shots in the arm, while simultaneously hoping I get those one or two incredible kisses every second of every day.
Good luck staying sane everyone! :)
@ Leslie,
AHHH. Time to go cry now. Rutgers is pretty high on my list, too. That $21,000 stipend for a teaching assistantship! Gah.
@ Joanne,
Thank you for the information! Congratulations on your acceptance!!
@Joanne:
I think you're the first person to report hearing anything from Arkansas - are you CNF?
Also, way to make them lurve you.
Whoa, Laura T!!! That's awesome!
@mj- I too had my super glamorous European romance when I was studying abroad at age 20. We met in the Swiss Alps and rendezvoused in London. The guy drove a Maserati and had an apartment in South Kensington, and it was all very glamorous and wonderful until the third date, at which point I realized he was divorced and HAD A CHILD.
I'm not sure if it was the dozen framed pictures of a toddler on his wall or the Winnie the Pooh feeding spoons in the kitchen drawer that tipped me off.
(Reposted for greater detail and to correct grammar. Sorry, subscribers.)
Laura T: Congrats! You're definitely the first person (that I've heard of) with this kind of success story.
LAURA T!!! That is so wonderful!!
@Laura T - Congratulations! But your post almost sounded like a joke.
Thank you everyone!!! AHH.
Woon, I know, I just reread it and was like "that post sounds kinda ridiculous." Especially after I'd just posted despair about Rutgers. But I was so excited that's just what came out! haha.
@ Laura - I wish I had seen your face when you saw those words on the screen.
@ Peaquah - You're right. And I look at it like, if Iowa can burn through 1300 applications and notify by February 19th, then Virginia could do the same. I just think some schools aren't in any big hurry because they know you have to wait either way. They better not wait until March 30 (which is when they notified last year, right?) because that means 2 weeks to make a decision before the deadline.
Goodreads says I'm currently reading The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West. But I'm not reading it. I'm typing on the MFA Blog.
YAAAAAY LAURA T!
That's amazing, lady.
@Jen, I like that description. For me, though, the waiting is more like the giant balls of the universe being planted firmly on my face. And it's hard to effing breathe under here.
Sorry if that was graphic, but I'm pretty sure it's physiologically and psychologically accurate.
LAURA, that may be my favorite acceptance post ever. amazing. congratulations!
@ Laura - congratulations! Let us know what happens when you get in touch with the program. I wonder why they didn't call? Maybe they were planning to today and you ruined their surprise. :-)
@klairkwilty - Chop, chop Virginia, I say. I don't want to wait until the end of March, either.
@ Laura T---YES YES YES
@ A Astur A---EXCUUUUSE ME, but I am a LADY.
@ general---second GNE from same GNE sender...a regular GNE correspondence going on here with promises for more info from others in the program...I AM FREAKING OUT OVER HERE.
@ Peaquah - I mean, seriously! Iowa City is only 4.5 hours from my front door. I'd much rather make that move than to the east coast, which is 452,000 hours from my front door. Nobody even lives in Virginia. I heard it looks like Tatooine except that there are some smart people. However, most of the smart people speak Mandarin, which means I'd have nobody to talk with. Lonely, if you ask me. Virginia is the land of despair.
"They don't even have drinking water there," my friend says, leaning over.
"I heard that too," I said. But I only said that so he wouldn't think he knew something I didn't.
They don't even have air in Virginia.
Or happiness.
YAYYY Laura T! My fellow I-haven't-heard-anything-and-I-applied-to-a-ton-of-places-friend
Oh wait, I still haven't heard anything. But I'm so happy for you!!! yaaaaaaay!!!!
Thank you everyone! I really hope they call soon!! Until they do, I will probably have a tiny sliver of fear that it's some kind of mistake or something. That doesn't happen, does it? Oh god. Would love a call now!
@Laura T
CONGRATS!
Online status dreams do come true!!
CONGRATS LAURA T! How thrilling!!!
Omigosh, Laura T!!!! Big congrats!!!
Thank you again!!! I have to go work retail now, blah. But it's okay because I'll be grinning like a crazy person the whole time.
@Laura - That's so awesome. You inspired me to check my online status for one of my schools, but I'm afraid your exciting update may be one of a kind. Congrats though!
@hilary - Wow, I thought I had it bad. Even though I'm generally a fan of the male anatomy, that really is a disgusting image. Must be the relative size difference that I find so appalling. Good luck getting out from under those things.
Alas, mine still says "no decision"
Congrats Laura T! All of yesterday's worrying has become moot. Word!
Congrats, Laura!
Laura T! I'm so excited for you! Someone else have an awesome success story right away; that was fun!!
I could hardly stay away now that March is so near!
I nearly had a heart attack when I randomly logged into my U-Houston online system and there was a new window that said New Student Conferences. I tried to click on it and it said I couldn't log in. That is about the biggest thing that has happened to me.
Still haven't received any rejections or anything else.
Waiting on -for fiction-:
Michigan (assumed rejection)
Iowa (assumed rejection)
Florida
Oregon
Houston
Texas State
Boston U
anybody have the inside scoop on umass? i know they notified a few people in each genre last week and my friend received a rejection letter in the mail almost a week ago also, but I haven't heard a word. status says "applied" and I called the graduate office yesterday and the woman said she had no updates on my application. anybody else in this kind of limbo?
Just got an acceptance to George Mason in poetry!
@ klairkwilty - I'm pretty sure the concrete jungle of Houston is the land of despair. That humidity with so little plant life would spin me into SAD faster than eight months of winter in Fairbanks.
@ everyone - all things funding being equal for MFAs (but for the sake of argument let's leave out the big cities: NYC, Boston and San Fran) where would you least like to live? Most?
Right on, Peter! Congrats!
@theOldBoy
I haven't heard from Umass either. Presuming rejection-- you don't think it's time for that yet?
HERE'S WHAT I REALLY WANT TO KNOW:
wisconsin still-penders-- anyone had an update today?
congrats to the good newsees today!
DG: Congrats! That school has the best location ever. Used to drive past in the summers... was always jealous of the students.
@Laura T ... big congrats!
@Laura T
Thanks! Happy congrats to you as well!
@Whynotbecause
Thank you! I was accepted for fiction. About Arkansas... it definitely is a program to consider. :-). The faculty member I talked to was very genuinely enthusiastic about the work they do there.(I was so thrilled they even considered me.) Best wishes to you for getting somewhere you would totally grow as a writer! I really mean it!
Aahhhh mj and k...I think I have one/two of those GNE's from the same school as well...I also had a back-and-forth correspondence (two weeks ago!) with the promise of more correspondence that never came. I've been worrying ever since that they changed their minds and/or emailed me by mistake.
"and k"? I'm really not sure which "k" I was referring to. Apologies for my addled brain.
@wee meathead
I guess my philosophy has been that it ain't over until the fat lady sends you an official rejection, but I do know that a member of their faculty will be giving a reading somewhere located at a fair distance from Amherst early next week, so I am assuming decisions have been made.
I applied in poetry by the way.
@ koru - pretty sure klairkwilty was joking. Either that or he's already saving for a super fancy water purifier should he get in.
Congrats on GMU Peter
@Laura
I deleted my comment. You're not going crazy.
It's hard to talk about something when you're trying not to talk about it on a public message board. All of this can be solved by admissions committees immediately admitting anyone who has received a GNE.
@MJ, Laura, K etc.
Received a GNE from (I'm guessing) the same school. Promise of additional dialogue(s). None yet.
Cue losing my mind.
One more thing to tear my hair out over!
I was definitely joking. It's sort of weird that I'd have to clarify that.
Congrats, Laura T!
And @klairkwilty, shush your Virginia hate-itude. I was born there! Granted, I didn't stay for long. But I do have a certain fondness for the state.
Also, I have finally been rejected from UT Austin. Sigh. I knew it was coming, but that doesn't make it any easier. That brings my total list to:
Syracuse: Accepted
Michigan: Waitlist (with encouraging email)
Ohio State: Waitlist
Texas: Rejected (or denied, rather)
Wisconson: Rejected
Wash U: Rejected
UMass Amherst: Nothing
Iowa: Nothing
Minnesota: Nothing
UNC Greensboro: Big ol' nothing
@ Peaquah - Who are you still waiting on?
@ Mike, I saw you got into George Mason in poetry as well. I was wondering if you would be interested in exchanging short writing samples, just because I'm curious to see how other potential students writing might relate to my own there.
Just got a rejection email from Wisconsin. It stings!
@ klairkwilty - I'm holding a torch for Irvine, so I'll be excited to see those acceptances roll. It's so hard to judge the process at this point since I have one acceptance and one rejection (Wisconsin) and six very quiet schools. I will say that it would take a force of nature for me to turn down Michigan, and I don't think Virginia has it in her. Could be wrong, though.
Hey guys,
Just got a very, very nice call from Brooklyn and I'm accepted for Fiction.
I'm wishing everybody good luck today and with the ongoing week. It's still early--nobody get too down. Spring will bring good things.
-Arna
Arna! You are ridiculously amazing. Congrats!!!
@ M.Swann - I am so sorry! When I got the rejection email two weeks ago it was just nice in a way to just have that closure. I feel so bad for you guys who have been in limbo all this time - only to be rejected in the end. That burns.
But you know, you were really, really close - that is amazing.
@ Arna - I applied there last year. Guess that $120 application fee paid off!
@ Peaquah - You're in the same boat I am. You got your best acceptance early on and so it becomes a waiting game of "Who's gonna bring the money?"
Arna! That's rad!
oh hey
@ositacolleen and @LauraT
Congratulations! That's wonderful news. I hope you guys are celebrating.
@ klairkwilty - exactly! Both good and bad timing - makes everything else seem anti-climactic. I'm not ready to throw in the towel on the other schools if only because I worked so hard to apply.
I don't know about Iowa, but Michigan has *amazing* funding - even better than I'd thought. Aside from Michener and Cornell, I'm not sure who beats them...? Michigan also totally has the upper hand from notifying so early. I've been imagining myself there (and loving it) for the last week.
Officially accepted to GMU by email. Whoot!
I'm dropping the K. to make life simpler. Peaquah from here on out.
Congrats on GMU Laura!
@ Peaquah - Iowa's funding isn't bad, but it isn't fantastic either. Now I'm curious how much "amazing" constitutes. Like, $30,000 amazing? I guess I'll never know.
@arna-- congrats. jealous!!
And now is when the pressure builds.... brooklyn's high on my list. phone eerily quiet. siiiigh.
Since Austin was just mentioned, I'll use that as an awkward segueway to ask: anyone else is still in Limbo? Is it a positive sign? My hopes are slowly rising, and I fear it will just make rejection all the worse.
@ klairkwilty - if you're curious about funding you can drop me an email - I made the link active in my profile. I'd be happy to talk about it off the board. I'm actually curious about Iowa as well. :-)
Coreyann: I may be outing my blog-stalker tendencies--but your blog is HILARIOUS! I love it!
@Courtney: awww thank you!! I'm always psyched when someone digs it that I don't actually know! Makes the humiliation totally worthwhile. =)
Thanks! you lifted my spirits in the midst of MFA horror. =)
Wait-listed at wisconsin as of a few minutes ago. It doesn't say "high" or "very high" or anything, so.....:/
Guess it's not a match made in heaven for me and Ms. Moore after all...
@Joanne-- I applied to Arkansas because of Ellen Gilchrist, who is (amazingly) still on the faculty at 75. Not sure if she teaches anymore, who knows? I haven't heard from them yet.
Coreyann,
I definitely just laughed out loud at your blog, while at work. "I think I looked at least 12." Pure comedy, I love it.
@Arna, congrats!.... AGAIN. sheesh.
@everyone else
Well, guys, I'm feeling a little down. Too much news of others getting GNE or acceptance calls, it's making me worry quite a bit. I'm generally a super positive person but the lack of good news that I'm getting is just wearing me down. That's it.
Totally with you, JasonJ...
Haha, well, I just got wait-listed at Wisconsin.
See what I mean? Keep your heads up, everybody. One school's rejection/acceptance doesn't mean anything about any others'.
@Morgan: thats one of my favorite lines too. Thanks! Again, at this point positive reinforcement of any kind is much appreciated. thanks for reading!!
JULIAN G-- you still reading? This is rebecca from workshop. Did you get news from wisconsin today too? i think i saw that you were a finalist. Oh, also i am a cyberstalker now.
Wait-listed at Wisconsin.
Dude, Arna, what the hailstorm did you do? Write your sample on the illustrious bread that Sam Chang and all other dept heads enjoy in a way that only oft-prayed-to-MFA-folks can?
I knew the Sunbeam was a bad call on my part...:*(
@Ashley Brooke: No, that makes sense - I just hadn't heard it about SIUC before.
While I'm firmly in the "Experimental isn't even really experimental anymore" camp, I do believe it can still mean something in the MFA application process, which is: Your work can get entirely ignored at most places and highly acknowledged within a concentrated group of programs that are more aesthetically compatible.
Or at least that's what I hope! :)
@ Peter (or anyone else I guess)
Sure. mk DOT wlsh at gmail (no spaces).
@Laura T! I just saw you got in to Rutgers! CONGRATS!!! That's soooo awesome!
Still catching up on today, but wanted to say Congrats before I forgot to!
@everyone waiting on UMass. If you mean UMass Amherst, everyone who's found out from them (including myself) has done so via online status check. Try that, using the Applicant Identifier they sent you in the email (subject line: University of Massachusetts Amherst Application) that should have come after you submitted your app.
Congrats to everyone with good news!
I am really bummed because this is yet another week ending without news in any form (and therefore assumed rejections). Stupid schools. Pick me! Pick me!!
Wisconsin!!! Congratulations, waitlisters! Awesome!!!
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