I run regularly, unless and until I get sidetracked by injury (this seems to happen. What can I say -- I'm not young any more).
I have long thought there's a connection in my brain between running and writing. Both seem to go well at once -- or, alternatively, things go the other way and I find I'm neither running nor writing well. Or at all.
Well, it's not an acceptance to an MFA school, but it's still pretty cool. In the middle of waiting waiting waiting, I found out that a short story I submitted to a lit journal will be published in the spring issue. As it was one of the stories in my writing sample, I am taking this as a much needed boost of confidence. :)
As for runners who write, I've found the discipline of training for events has made me a more disciplined writer. And I definitely work through plots and ideas, especially on long runs. Plus running makes sitting at the computer for long stretches way easier to handle. :)
so..... this mysterious GNE from UNCG, which apparently a lot of people got (and that's just on this blog! Can you imagine how many people who DON'T post on the blog got it? WHAT KIND OF GNE IS THIS?!? WAS IT CREATED JUST FOR UNCG TO TELL ME HOW UNDESIRABLE I AM AS AN APPLICANT??!! It's like they're saying, "yo Mere, we'd take ANYONE ELSE over you. and we knew it from the very beginning of the application reading season! ta-ta!")
... moreover, what's with the UNC's sending out these unnerving GNE's!?!? These things are really beating me down into "I have no reason to go on" sort of way. Seriously, my sample must have been incredibly shitty to not have received ANYTHING by now, especially when a handful of my schools are so GNE-happy (UNCW, UNCG, CSU? Woon got a CSU one, right?)
Sorry guys. I'm just having a really low weekend. I've started aggressively researching plan B's, pretty much convinced that I'm not getting in anywhere. Given, I still technically have 10 schools that I don't have to COMPLETELY assume rejection from YET (and I AM assuming a rejection from Iowa), but several of them have sent out GNE's and I didn't get one. Therefore those are kind of assumed rejections now, too. I'm pretty much assuming plan B is inevitable at this point. I'm happy that good stuff has happened to a lot of you, but any more plan B suggestions/discussions would be very much so appreciated. Merrrh.
Oh! and @ Dan, posting while buzzed is nothing to be ashamed of. Of course, that's coming from the blog's resident wino. anyway, I originally read your post as you "meant" it, I think, but I did think "uh-oh, there's room for misinterpretation, dandelion...!!!" Anyhoo. No worries, don't skulk back into hiding!!
I honestly think that some of my best poems have come during long distance runs. The contrast between the corporeal and the theoretical is something that really interests me. And, in my injuries (many stress fractures, fun times), i find the manifestation of the physical coming through in my writing.
Everybody always thinks it's such a contradiction that I'm a "jock" and a pretty obsessed runner, and that I also spend so much time reading and writing. I think the two activities have parallels that make them make sense in my life.
I LOVE how Murikami puts it in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Definitely a book worth looking into if you like running and writing.
Bleh. Official rejection from SIUC in the mail today, fiction. Burns like a mfer. Not even waitlisted.
Still have six to officially hear from (of an original eight). Fully embracing the fact that I'll very likely be getting a BA in English in a few months and promptly moving back in with the parents. I spent hundreds of dollars on these silly little rejection letters. ::shudder::
@Chrissy H -- That's great on the pub! I'm so used to sending work out and getting rejection letters that it's become a routine for me. If I don't get a rejection letter/email from a lit mag, I'll know it's a Sunday.
so Iowa: what's the deal? A week ago Friday one or two posters assured this blog that notification took time. They were quiet all week--and then a posting about Sam Chang being out of town and ill possibly hindering further notifications. Other posters have stated with certainty that offers are over and the fat lady singing will arrive via snail mail in the near future.
Another day with no news; guess I'll have to wait til Monday for my SIUC rejection.
Anyone else have the feeling that they are being ignored? I find myself fretting about not hearing from anyone, then having to call programs in April to hear "Oh right, forgot about you. Yeah, you were rejected ages ago."
runner here as well...i dig it, but i guess i don't love it the way many of you do...i am only 5'5 but i used to be insanely into powerlifting, to the point i weighed around 240 at one point...one day, in the middle of training, i decided i didn't want to do it anymore and started running and now i weigh about 150...it took me a bit to warm up to running and now i just feel guilty if i don't do it! but it is definitely good for brainpower, i would have to agree...but i smoke and drink a shitload too, so i guess i kind of cancel out the needed assistance!!
Well, I thought I would throw in my two cents. I applied for Fiction and not heard back from ANY of the schools I applied to. I practially have no nails lefts from biting them off!
Alabama Vanderbilt Florida Florida State Louisiana State Notre Dame Montana Michigan Penn State
Just wanted to drop in and say thanks for all the message board support! And by support I mean in theory, since I'm mostly a lurker. Still, this has been a very educational board. I didn't get into any of my schools this year which is not too much of a surprise in retrospect. I was unsure of whether I really wanted to go right into a masters from undergrad and kind of phoned it in. Although seeing some of the talent around here I wonder if I would have gotten in on full tilt! Still, I'll be teaching high school next year, which I think is absolutely the right choice at this point. Get some life experience, re-evaluate. In the meantime, the message boards have given me info on some schools I never thought to apply to! So, good luck to everyone, I'm sure I'll be lurking again in a few years!
Hey, so what's this GNE from UNCG that I'm reading about here? I got an email from them, not sure if it's the GNE that you speak of. Just curious. What does this mysterious GNE consist of?
for seth's data: Ficition--
Hunter (GNE email/phone conversations... complicated) Montana (accepted) Alabama (assumed rejection) UT Austin (rejected and dejected) Sarah Lawrence Florida Virginia UNCG Irvine Iowa
Maybe no one knows for sure, but my bet is the fat lady singing will arrive via snail mail the first few weeks of March. I called and was led to believe that all acceptances have been notified. I didn't ask about waitlists though. Hope this helps.
I've been getting a lot of queries lately about how to donate to The Suburban Ecstasies. I had to take down last year's PayPal button on the blog because it was attracting not only criticism but stalkers, some of whom were threatening -- they claimed the button was proof that I was only in this for the money (a laughable charge on so many levels, they don't even know) and since having my name dragged through the mud literally was starting to make me physically ill (I take my honor and integrity very, very seriously), I pulled the button.
Anyone who'd like to donate to TSE can still do so via a back-up method that works just as well--the "Make a Payment" button at the following link (from the ALC website). This will take you to an intermediate page that offers a disclaimer re: ALC services, and then from there (if you click "Make a Payment" again) you go to a secure PayPal site where a donation of whatever amount can be made.
I'm being told that a lot of people want to donate and don't know where to go. I'm also being told--by my wallet, my bank account statement, um, by my many creditors--that I have basically no money. So yes, there's absolutely no pressure, but if anyone wants to give it'd be appreciated more than you know. And as I no longer have administrative privileges on this board (by choice) to start a thread myself, and don't want to subject myself to stalkers again by putting a button directly anywhere on TSE, I hope you guys will spread the word to others who are interested in donating.
I must've missed your original post--a call from where?
@Sud,
Maybe Wednesday, I think. I'll look up my original post. I hope you're right. It is possible that I spoke with someone in the office who wasn't sure, but she seemed reluctant to let me down, which somehow gave credibility to the notion that they were finished notifying. She didn't look up my application or anything, just the stock answer, "all info. will go out in the first two weeks of March." When I asked if she meant acceptances, too, she said no and sorry. So...?
@ Daffy and Sud, this back and forth is exactly what led to my question. A couple of people (Arna being one, who's obviously on the inside track) suggested (as does history) that their notifications take some time. Daffy, I know you called last week and had that awkward conversation that suggested they were finished.
If someone could pull the bandaid off for sure or let it sit soggy on my skin through another quiet week . . . one way or the other would be a relief.
Okay cats. I need some help here. I have applied to the U of Florida. I JUST now was able to get onto the status check page and noticed that hey...my transcripts were not received. Are you kiddin me? And to top my night off, I cannot get through to the email that's listed for their coordinator to ask about the transcripts. Anyone have a number/link/email to someone I can connect with at Fla? (I can't believe I'm just now realizing this. I should probably just throw in the towel at Fla, but dammit, I don't want to.)
@Abby Here is the phone number for the department (P: (352) 392-6650) and the emails of the two co-directors: David Leavitt Padgett Powell Hope the helps! Because I know I wouldnt want that to happen to me!!
@M Cat. Thanks! And how funny that your name is actually Cat, after I addressed 'cats'. Again, thanks for your help. I appreciate it. I'm pretty much just giving up on it now, but damn. Would have loved to know that a couple months ago.
i think a few people on here who were accepted to iowa also got into schools like cornell, michigan, maybe wisconsin. there could be a few iowa acceptees who choose a smaller program. sometimes at iowa people can get lost in the shuffle.
so if there is in fact a wait list, don't think the dream is completely out of reach.
The rejection I got for Rutgers-Newark was a letter. It was sent to a Brooklyn address so it might have gotten there quicker than others. Not sure. But they've definitely sent out some rejections. Best of luck to you.
Another Rutgers Newark notification question. When you received your letter did you happen to check your RUID account to see if the status had changed to correspond with the paper notification? Thanks again.
yeeeah, for you that are coming to cuse, i hope you're basketball fans, and if you're not, you will be by the time you graduate....the snow & grayness become much easier when you're the best team in the country!
For those of you waiting for news from U of Oregon, don't expect to hear from us before our winter term finals week, which is the week of March 15. We're heading into the last two weeks of the term, and, at least on the fiction side, we've got 568 applications for 6 spots. We know you're anxious and we're reading as fast as we can.
I haven't posted before, but I've been a long time lurker and appreciate all the information everyone has shared on this board. And thanks to Seth for putting together such amazing data and information!
Here's my list (for fiction):
Converse (low-res): Accepted
No word on the following:
Stonecoast (low-res) Carlow (low-res) Warren Wilson (low-res) Fairleigh Dickinson (low-res) Pine Manor (low-res)
I only applied to low-residency programs since it isn't practical for me to move out of state at this point (great/flexible job, family, etc.) and I really like the way the low-res programs are set up.
I also want to say congratulations to all who have received good news!! And to those still waiting, hang in there--I'm cheering for each and every one of you!
I personally didn't apply to U of O but I can confidently speak for all of us and offer a hearty THANK YOU! As I'm sure you know, we all spend a ridiculous amount of time worrying, theorizing, fantasizing, etc about what these next couple weeks are going to bring. Hearing from the source a concrete update is like manna.
P.S. If we end up in the same MFA program (from our pretty much almost exactly the same application list), you're officially my running coach. I decided. Just thought I'd share that info with you. :)
Consider it done! I'll have you clickin off some 6 minute miles in no time.
The idea of actually attending the same program as one of the many people on this blog is really intriguing. If we went in with friends, it would seem less like a complete shock (or 'first day of school').
Speaking of that, does anybody have any knowledge of the first 'few weeks' of a program? I'm imagining some sort of mailing list gets set up or the teachers organize an orientation.
Whatever happens with wherever I go, I hope I can be the guy who gets everyone together in a social setting. I love playing host.
damnit. see, that is why i didn't want to say anything about hunter. you both seriously deserve the best (i've decided this from your awesome and earnest mfa blog postings) and i was actually thinking of the two of you when i posted, hoping that you'd be hearing good news soon. honestly, i really hope you both find a program that loves you unconditionally, whether it's hunter or somewhere else.
ps. my friend says this blog is the devil, based on what it does to me, and i would agree with her except that all the people here are so wonderful and supportive. big ups, ya'll
I've been wondering/thinking over the same things. It's almost like we've begun forming communities without even knowing details of anything yet.
@Jenna
Aww thank you! I'm holding out hope too! Nonetheless, I am super happy for you. A friend of mine went to a reading by McCann last week and, during the Q and A, he spoke on how much his students inspire him and motivate him.
Also, my friends (and family and coworkers and etc) think this site is insanity as well but I've convinced them that without this blog and it's support, I'd be whining and spouting out terrified mental meanderings all day long to them instead!
I have been a reader of the blog for a while but don't have a chance to post much lately. I've been trying to keep up with the comments -- acceptances, rejections, commiseration, running conversations included -- but my two jobs + 15 credits this semester are making that quite difficult.
Here's my attempt to catch up:
1) My list (for Nonfiction). Ohio State - accepted Minnesota - rejected Minnesota State @ Mankato - still waiting
2) Congratulations to everyone who has gotten in, especially the big ones like Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. the past few weeks. That's awesome!
3) Congratulations to Chrissy on the publication -- can you tell us which magazine (at least when it comes out) so we can read it?
4) On the running note, I don't know if this site has been posted, but I've been trying to get into running shape using this training program: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
Mad congrats to so many of you!!! Seems like there's been a lot of good news since I last checked in here.
Still silence all around for me, but as "mid-March" gets closer I get more nervous....
I wish all schools could notify rejections by email. I know that I will have a good amount of rejections coming in at some point (just hopefully not ALL rejections...), and I'm totally OK with that. I love every program I applied to, so I only need to get into one. However, I know the people I live with will see the inevitable small envelope(s) and be devastated for me - much more so that I will be for myself, since I was never as convinced as they are that I would be accepted anywhere, let alone everywhere (they are of the "Oh, of course you'll get in!" category of friends). I'm almost dreading their shocked, pitying faces more than I'm dreading the actual rejections.
I just woke up & haven't had coffee yet so forgive me if I'm not making any sense at all.
I just checked my Rutgers status online and it still says no decision. But I'm inclined to believe the rejection letter. But perhaps they send the first rejections to New Yorkers who spent far too much time in their childhood making fun of New Jersey.
oh boy, i wish the facts about oregon weren't posted. makes it worse knowing the number of applicants (but i'm sure the reasoning had something to do with a bombardment of phone calls).
Whoa! Wait a minute! Are you saying that Michigan DEFINITELY didn't consider your application/writing-sample because you supposedly forgot something??????? Or are you just speculating about that?
so I've been able to keep myself from complete mfa-induced insanity because I've been in a play. the last performance is this afternoon. I don't know what I'll do when this is over. I guess I could just take my laptop and my cell phone and sit in front of my po box for the next month or so...
I know I asked this before, but I'm still dying to know: what's with the GNEs from UNCG? What do they say? I got an email from them, not sure if it's the GNE mentioned on here. If anyone could fill me in I'd appreciate it so much.
Another question: how does one report acceptances to Driftless House? Post in the comment box?
I'm not 100% sure (someone correct me if I'm wrong - it's so hard to keep up with these comments!) but I think the GNE for UNCG is, at this point, speculation. Dreux reported receiving a GNE a while ago but didn't say from where, and Nick speculated that it was from UNCG, but I don't remember reading a confirmation of receiving a GNE from UNCG by Dreux or anyone.
Several people got FOEs from UNCG recently, stating that their submission was now under review. I don't think there was a mass sending-out of GNEs, just FOEs.
I got the same specific impression that k got. Even if Dreux's GNE isn't from UNCG, which I would guess it is, sometime within the past few hundred comments (I'm too lazy to go back and look, sorry dudes) someone was like wooooo look at us we all got the UNCG GNE! wooo (maybe I jumped to conclusions? I don't care anymore)
I think there were 4 people or so? there seems to be a shit-ton of confusion over this, and frankly I wish people would just say "I got the letter that says _____" (take the most telling sentence! I'm not asking you to post the whole thing, kiddos) so that all of us UNCG applicants would know 1) how many people got this, 2) how legit a GNE is it, or if it's this ambiguously happy email that Emma seems to have gotten, 3) if we didn't get it should we go ahead and X out UNCG on our lists.
I feel like I'm making this into a much bigger deal than I mean for it to be. I'm just a bit annoyed with some folks' semi-teasing-semi-bragging and in despair/defeatist mode at this point...
ie: Oregon sends everyone a housing application; uncg sends everyone an invite to their spring campus tours, etc. when you see it in your inbox the heart starts pounding then within a few seconds you realize nope, it's not the acceptance I thought it could be
Sorry if I was ambiguous about my UNCG email. It just said that my sample was currently under review, something along those lines. I didn't mean to give any impression that I had some juicy informtaion... I don't. I assume they send that email to everyone, and was just curious if some people were, perhaps, over-excited and calling it a GNE. That's all!
meredith, hi: i just wanted to say that i've received a good news email from greensboro; it said that my writing sample was well-received and asked if i had any questions about the program. it was definitely NOT an FOE. i took it as a good sign and also a sign that they were vetting me as to my interest in unc-g. for example, if i responded back and said, that's awesome, but i'm in at iowa, then they could make a more informed opinion about who to accept. i assume at this point that they've sent out more GNEs than they have spots in the program. but again, nothing is known and nothing is official. also, i don't think people have been bragging about this, and i think that since this is a forum in which people have felt safe enough to post their application successes and failures to a likewise informed audience, it's not really fair to accuse people of bragging, simply because they got some good news. i think that what you are construing as teasing is simply people not willing to spell everything out on a forum that might be checked by admins at schools. that being said, i wish you all the best and hope so much that you will find the right fit this application season! xoxo.
@mj: Meredith pretty much nailed it. How's this for another example?
On the same day Michigan was sending out wait list notifications via e-mail, I got an email buzz on my phone with the heading "Graduate Studies Coordinator." HOLY CRAP. Open it up: rejection from Syracuse. Worst FOE evarrrrr.
To whoever logged onto UF's website and saw that they were missing transcripts, I totally saw the same thing when I logged on, lol. BUT, I was missing transcripts from the first school I attended before transferring to another school and the school I graduated from has grades from both institutions reported on their transcripts. I could have sworn that I read on their website that I only needed to send in one transcript. Oh well. I had emailed Carla Blount (or whatever her name was) two weeks ago and she said that I have all materials in, which I'm taking to mean I didn't make the final cut, considering my UFL status says otherwise. Unless of course they decided they didn't need the second transcript, which is still a possibility.
Anyone know how many applications UF received?? Judging from the amount of people here that have applied, I would venture to say they received 600-800 this year, which means I HAVE NO CHANCE!!
@Kaybay - I sent in two transcripts, and my online status says that I'm missing transcripts as well. I was assuming that it only said that because the transcripts were sent to the Creative Writing program rather than to the grad school. (The online status seems to only show the grad school materials, not the program materials.) I sent Carla Blount an email yesterday to double-check this. I guess I'm saying that you shouldn't write it off!
kaybay! whatever happened to MARCH RADNESS RAAAAAAH.
there's a lot of defeatist attitude swirling around here right now, and i'm sad to see it. right now i have five official rejections and i'm assuming rejections from iowa, michigan, indiana, ohio state, and illinois, AND virginia, AND arizona state, AND (BOO) CSU. that really leaves me with like two schools. it's pretty lame, but i'm trying to tell myself that my attitude has no bearing on what happens, so i may as well try to enjoy things. like, today, i was out running errands, and when i got back into the car it was WARM from the SUN. anyone else living in the bleakness of winter right now can understand how much i totally FREAKED from happiness. i hope that i'm not being too irritating. i'm not the sunny, bright-side-of-life type, but i'm scraping the bottom of the emotional barrel right now, so it's worth a shot.
That'd be a crazy tough decision, but I guess I could see it. Iowa v. California. I'd prefer the tumult of Iowan seasons any day and some big, open space to write, but that's just me. Anyhow, what a dilemma to have, no? People have all sorts of reasons, I suppose.
oh, sorry to add, but OREGON, omg. i really need to call them because on the website, it says that none of my materials have been received. anyone else struggle with this?
@ Daffron, Hobo. Dudes. Southern California. Southern. California. We can all spout holier-than-thou about the midwest and the good-home-town vibes of cornfields galore, but really? it's on the freaking ocean and you can eat really good mexican food and sushi any time you want.
I think that my defeatist attitude is the result of seeing the number of applications at some of these schools. I expected a rise, but I had no idea that almost every school would see DOUBLE the amount of applications from last year, especially since last year was another high-number year. I just can't help but feel a little overwhelmed by it. It's also the recent uncertainty about my job.
I don't mean to keep coming here with my wallowing, I just can't help expressing my frustration. I just can't find any legitimate reason to be optimistic right now :( I hear ya though, MJ, it's better to be positive, I just can't seem to muster it!!
i hear you, kaybay. someone on driftless house said that they heard that michener got 3000 apps this year. three. effing. thousand. so the silver lining is that i feel like less of an idiot for not getting into places. since apparently everyone in america may not have voted last election, but they DID apply for an mfa in creative writing.
I applied to Iowa, but it is really only my third or fourth choice. Mitchner and Indiana were above it for me, and UC-Irvine was at least tied and that decision would have come down to funding and determining if the Irvine funding would have been enough to live on. My overall preference was for a three-year program rather than a two-year, in general.
Not that I'm exactly in a position to turn down ANYONE this year, but if I had been accepted everywhere, I would not have gone to Iowa.
Meridith and Emma. Hi. I received exactly the same email as Anonymous from UNCG. It said my writing sample was receiving high marks from the admissions committee and asked if I had any questions about the program. After a brief exchange, they said they would connect me with some current students, but I haven't heard anything back.
It's possible they sent this email out to more students then they actually have places for, but I sure hope not.
@mj, yeah, I saw that comment too but just don't believe it. On the selectivity page, Seth has the number of total apps for Michener as 1,005 for 2010 so I think the 3,000 might be a bit exaggerated. I mean that would be double what Iowa got.
re: Iowa, I can definitely see people choosing other programs over it. It's a big program, it's two years, it's in Iowa, it has a reputation for being overly competitive... of course I would LOVE to go there, but just pointing out it does have some down sides.
SETH COME TO RESCUE, I HAVE A QUESTIONS FOR YOU!!!
Are a lot of those numbers on the selectivity page old, but not marked as old?? For example, did Florida get 390 this year?? Did Notre Dame get 192 this year??
How many did McNeese get this year??
thank you so much, you are wonderful, I'm just curious. I'm trying to get my optimism back ;)
Re. UC Irvine. I didn't apply to UC Irvine (or any school in California) because of the budget crisis and how severely the economy has hit this state. $$$ are being cut back in all universities, community colleges, high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools. I imagine it's like that everywhere but since I live in California and know about our situation, I didn't feel comfortable applying here.
Re. UC Irvine. I forgot to add that there are consequences to the budget crisis. Forced furloughs on Fridays, less courses offered, staff layoffs, restrictions on expenses (and hence, moody professors), possibility of professors leaving for greener grass, reductions in available MFA seats, reduction (or elimination) of funding opportunities, fewer TA spots, rise of gang violence, mayhem, and anarchy, etc.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNCG ANSWER! That's the info I was looking for -- although I do wish (for you and me both) that we knew how many folks actually received it.
By no means do I begrudge other people's successes, and I'm happy for anyone who does well or gets any amount of happy news through this process!! Someone gets into Iowa, Michigan, UNCG? Hey, high-five, that's effin' awesome, yo. It's especially great when someone who you've sort of "gotten to know" via this blog gets something he/she really wants.
BUT. as someone who's been strung out on sadness and stress for the past month, it's a little bit too much for me to handle when someone's like "hey dudes, I got this awesome email but I'm not saying from where" and others chime in to say they've gotten it as well. Then there's confusion and miscommunication galore and here I am over here poking myself in the eye with sharp things while banging my head against a wall. I don't think I'm alone in being really sensitive and relentlessly analytical when one of my schools is a subject of conversion.
I'm sorry to go on the defensive, as I said in my previous post as well. February has been a long month (ha irony ha), a rollercoaster of emotions, almost all of which have been, as far as my own app season is concerned, aimed downward. BUTTTT despite my petulance, despite my whining, despite my general Eeyore-ness (my boss has been calling me Eeyore these past few days, it's awesome), this blog has put a human voice to the jillions of applicants that I know are out there. Anonymous, I hope the uncg gne pans out -- I've been fairly vocal about the fact that I think gne's are pretty evil (if I got one and then didn't get in? oh God, I'd be CRUSHED), but whatever the case, high-five to you, good luck, may march radness bring radness to us all.
No more posting for me, at least for the near-future! ta ta, everyone. T-minus 10 hours (EST) until March Radness begins.
@ mj -- I've got warmth here and it's making me happy. also, I totally agree with your "my attitude doesn't change anything, so might as well try to be in a good state of mind". Sometimes I can do it, and I have these crazy highs/moments of acceptance over whatever my fate may be! I wish I could harness that state for alllllll the time.
okay, NOW I'm done posting for the next ambiguous "while." Eeyore's retreating into forced solitude, ya'll. ta ta redux!
And congrats to those who have gotten in. I'm bad about remembering to say that...I don't really imagine my negligence in chiming in on that is detracting much from anyone's glee, though. Ha. Later.
FRANNY!!!! i am SO excited for you! congrats, congrats, congrats! i hope you have been celebrating like crazy and continue to do so for a while. big smiles over here. :)
BDC: Thank you!! I am celebrating tonight. It's a giant weight off my shoulders. I really appreciate the MFA blog cheerleaders. It's meant a lot to me!
Everything's marked correctly. You have to look at the acceptance rate page to find data-years. Florida is marked "2009" and is a 2009 figure. Notre Dame is not marked which traditionally means a 2008 figure. "Recent" means last five years. Any figure from 2010 is marked "2010."
Lucas, don't worry! This process is so difficult. It's fair to feel low. I've been feeling that way for a long time. Good luck to you in your applications!
franny's acceptance (congrats, lady, btw) has taught us that acceptances can be all over the place. colorado phoned their first poetry acceptance like ten days ago, according to DH, and then they mail franny's? A GLIMMER OF HOPE.
you're welcome. sorry i got all defensive. the GNE is the only news i've received from anyone that has rung to the tune of "DENIED/REJECTED/UNSUCCESSFUL/NOT ADMITTED," and i'm hanging on for dear life here. i'm totally with you that GNEs are the devil. i hope for both of our sakes that, gne or no gne, we get where we need to be this year. see mr. hemlock's response as well. his post on the unc gne is closer to the wording that i got, as well, which means we're dealing with a bcc everyone or a cut-and-paste situation. a big old bronx cheer to that one, unc.
Congrats for all the recent acceptances!! Yaay!! AND...tomorrow is the first say of March. I know you haven't forgotten. You couldn't have. I'm glad this will soon be over. Then peace.
My GNE was the same one from UNCG that anonymous and Mr. Hemlock mentioned. I originally wasn't going to post about it at all because it definitely wasn't an acceptance, but also because I didn't want to freak anyone out or appear to be bragging--so I'm really sorry if I accomplished either of those things. I was just majorly freaked out myself because I had the same experience as Mr. Hemlock (the promise of further communication, which never happened).
Anyway, at this point, I don't think that these emails mean that certain people are going to be accepted and that other people aren't. Because they've been spaced out, it's probably related to when they read your sample.
Good luck! I really do hope that everyone on this blog gets into programs that they love. And that we ALL get into UNCG ;)
Re: New York schools...I wouldn't be surprised if they are a little slow this year. There has been so much snow that places like NYU have had closures (for example, they were closed on Friday), so they might be behind.
I know that Hunter has called a few people for interviews in fiction...does anyone know if they've done any calls for poetry?
OK, so I haven't been able to focus on anything today and have given up trying to work on my website. Decided to follow up on our total girl geek-out the other day and googled Jonathan Brandis and Seaquest and found... they have all the episodes online-viewable on netflix! So if any of you are looking for a distraction and have an account, get to it. Now, back to my schoolgirl crush...
My online status said "incomplete" and showed what I was missing. I called and they said it was too late to send another, though this was before they notified acceptances...
For the rest of us the Ides of March have begun...nope nope I need help to stay hopeful...I wish everyone best of luck and I pray more and more acceptances happen to all you people:)))))
GNE = Good News Email; Email from MFA program indicating favorable status but without any offer of admission.
GNP = Good News Phone call, see above, but rarely happens unless they're cruel.
FOE = Fake-out Email; Email from MFA program or your university which seems to indicate good news, but it turns out to be nothing. Example: Email from "Graduate Admissions" with title line "Congratulations" but the email itself relayed news that they've forwarded your application materials to the Department.
Hey, I meant to respond to the situation at your school -- I wanted to say, I'm sorry, that sucks, and I hope it turns out nothing bad comes of it. That is NOT the sort of stress you need right now! And I am crossing my fingers extra-hard for you regarding an MFA acceptance :)
It's okay to be upset. This process is SO hard. And you are totally right -- I have been angry a bunch of times about how 'unfair' it is that I am coincidentally applying during this record-breaking year of applications. It sucks. It does make this year seem so much more bleak.
Hey -- I forgot to tell you -- the UCF MFA program director told me they also got a record number of applications this year. So it's not just the "top" programs -- it's everywhere.
@Franny -- I feel really good about CSU. Though I don't have the official Acceptance Letter, they assured me it was coming in the mail. I only have a few more schools I'm waiting on, but even if I got more acceptances, it would be a tough call. I'm liking Fort Collins a lot even though I've never been there. LOL!
If I decide on CSU, I want to find a nice quiet place within walking distance to campus. Any suggestions? I looked at University apartments and the International House seems okay. You have to at least 23 years old, so I'm assuming the residents are a bit more mature. However, it is located where all the other undergrads are -- in the west side of campus -- so, I'm not too sure. The Aggie apts on the southside seem okay, too. It would be nice to be near Old Town, but there's only so much I can do without actually being there.
But nothing has been decided on CSU. I need to get that letter first and then hear back from my remaining schools.
Rutgers at Camden is now on the board as #50 in selectivity and #45 in funding. This is based on data received today from the program. Full data available on TSE.
I had to fish around for it a bit, too. Pressed the 'Older Posts' button on one of Seth's ranking pages (2011 MFA Rankings: 5-Year Overall Rankings maybe?) and I found it. Glad to be of service!
Woon, understood. Housing is a tough call. Do you like to walk, ride a bike? Are you bringing a car? Would you prefer to be in the mix or in a quiet place?
I would also suggest looking on Craigslist. There are plenty of cheap rooms in houses with other grad students. I lived with two grad students for $350/month in a nice house, for example. It was quiet and pleasant because everyone was on the same page. Fort Collins is not a huge place (and has some decent public transit for students), so there are plenty of options within walking/biking distance.
Good luck! Feel free to email me if you want more Colorado info. sara r marshall at gmail dot com.
I don't know their specific class years (though I think they're both from the last 15 years, if not the last 10), but I seriously love Chris Adrian's (IWW MFA) recent collection "A Better Angel". Also awesome is Wells Tower's (Columbia MFA) collection, "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned."
Hey everybody. Have to share my glee. Got a phone call today with an acceptance to U of Idaho for fiction! I'm #2 on the waitlist for a TAship, without which I can't attend the program, but still. There's a month and a half left for people to make decisions. Yay!
Congrats to all others who received good news this weekend. Also, I wish I could be a runner.
I too love the short story form. In fact, I prefer it over the novel. I think it's so ironic that busy short-attention span people lean toward novels. I just don't get it. Well, they lean toward TV first, then People Magazine, then diet books, then money books by Suze dingbat Orman, then some new age mystical self-help book by the leader of some cult, and finally, trashy novels by Dan Brown.
I just had a hilarious phone conversation with the director at UIdaho. His words: "Hi, is this Rose? Oh it is! Well, we like you writing. We want you to come here. By the way, this is University of Idaho."
Rose, this is hilarious. We must have had the same conversation. I kept saying things like, "Wait, just so I know because I'm really excited and I have a cold and feel disoriented, I'm accepted?" And he said, "Yes. We want you to come here." Ha. It was awesome.
Corresponding will commence after I'm done freaking out! Bah!
Has anyone heard anything from North Texas or Denver? I know that Nick found out early for poetry, but I am wondering about anyone else. I checked the comments until about mid-January and didn't find anything, so I am assuming no... but just in case! ;)
Does anyone happen to know whether programs (or the institutions) will front you money for moving expenses? Or, do schools have options where you could pay back the moving expense loan with Stafford funds?
He actually got this published during his 2nd year at OSU. An agent read a story of his that he liked in a lit mag and contacted him. Don had just finished putting together the first draft of his thesis project. Bidding war between Penguin and Doubleday ensued. We could all be so lucky.
I'm not an authority on this at all, but I know with the MA program I just finished, all of us, even those of us who got funding, had to wait until classes were right about to start before we got anything, and mostly that was through loans. In fact, I didn't start getting paid through my TAship until almost 6 weeks after classes started.
Not a very encouraging answer I know, but I think it's generally expected that students be able to get themselves where they're going, even if that means taking out a loan to pay back as soon as classes start.
I totally second the Alarcon recommendation/listing. Lost City Radio is one of those novels that would make critics of contemporary literature think twice about saying writers don't pay enough attention to theory or socio-political context. It's an enjoyable read that also lends itself to a lot of analysis.
Also, on the dystopian/totalitarian front, I'd like to recommend Metropole by Ferenc Karinthy (he didn't receive an MFA and is actually a deceased Hungarian writer, but I was really impressed with the layers of this book and needed to give a shout out.)
My UTexas (Poetry) status has finally changed to the following in the last couple of hours:
"We have received all credentials required to process your application. Your file has been forwarded to the Graduate Committee for review".
I see that this has ended in the infamous "DENIED" message for several writers here. I'm expecting the same, having, for several days, sat thinking I had dodged my file being reviewed at all (the site seems to make me feel it's preferable). Let's hope the poetry goes down fighting, but I'm figuring it's never a good idea to start off your sample with an unfinished poem that just stops. Nevertheless, at least I removed the dedication:
Congrats to Umlrenic on Brooklyn and to everyone else who's heard good news recently.
I don't have much to offer by way of conversations recently - but again, if anyone has questions about Oregon State, Oregon, Portland State, or general life in the Pacific Northwest, I'll do my best to answer any of them.
And to throw in a nibble about Oregon State, if anybody's still waiting to hear back on non-fiction, I had a beer with Ted Leeson on friday afternoon and he said only one non-fiction call has been made so far - so there's still good news to be heard.
I've seen people on here post acceptances for Idaho and Alaska so far, but are there any other Minnesota acceptances floating around? Please contact me if you're out there! I'm feeling in the dark on that one. Thank you!
hansenma at onid dot orst dot edu
Also, can't remember exactly who it was a few days back, but how did my Red Velvet Cake recipe turn out for you? Let me know!
List... Uni Texas Austin - denied Syracuse - rejected Alabama - rejected Uni Massachusetts-Amherst - rejected
Still waiting on.. Iowa (snort, yeah right) Virginia Hollins Cornell Brown Florida Oregon Bowling Green L.S.U McNeese (but judging by the waitlist news here, probably denied)
At a loss for a Plan B... I really don't want to teach in Korea anymore though. I think I'm losing my Engrish.
Congratulations to everyone who received good news though! I'm going to keep on muttering "March Radness, March Radness" repeatedly here in my corner. ;)
It's probably meant more as an invisible dedication anyway - the unfinished poem in particular is one of those ability-shifters where you are move forward through misplacing anger, and it remains in my personal draft as a spur with the diminishing returns of something that will end when the poem is complete, with everything converted.
Anyway, it's bed for me (at 03.45 in Ireland) to read some of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", which, for some reason, I've never read before. The last book for children I read was "Winter Story" by Jill Barklem about a rather exciting party involving mice - following it with McCarthy's very-much-adult "The Road" was not the best idea...
Congratulations to everybody who has been accepted over the last few days. Thank goodness for March, as February had such an unresolved stench to it.
I don't want to post my schools here yet because I'm a little superstitious (though I feel I won't be a contender this year), but I send my congrats and well-wishes to everyone here!
I'm starting the March Radness mantra right....now.
@WreckingLight, understood about the dedication - I have a terrible habit of leaving placeholders in my poems that never go away until suddenly I'm in workshop and am horribly embarrassed. So good on you for actually taking it out. (Although you've probably gone to bed.)
Also, my childhood was shaped in no small part by the Brambly Hedge stories. I used to want to illustrate books because of Jill Barklem.
2,504 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 601 – 800 of 2504 Newer› Newest»Hi everyone,
Add me to the list of running writers :)
I run regularly, unless and until I get sidetracked by injury (this seems to happen. What can I say -- I'm not young any more).
I have long thought there's a connection in my brain between running and writing. Both seem to go well at once -- or, alternatively, things go the other way and I find I'm neither running nor writing well. Or at all.
Anyway, go MFA blog runners :)
Well, it's not an acceptance to an MFA school, but it's still pretty cool. In the middle of waiting waiting waiting, I found out that a short story I submitted to a lit journal will be published in the spring issue. As it was one of the stories in my writing sample, I am taking this as a much needed boost of confidence. :)
As for runners who write, I've found the discipline of training for events has made me a more disciplined writer. And I definitely work through plots and ideas, especially on long runs. Plus running makes sitting at the computer for long stretches way easier to handle. :)
so..... this mysterious GNE from UNCG, which apparently a lot of people got (and that's just on this blog! Can you imagine how many people who DON'T post on the blog got it? WHAT KIND OF GNE IS THIS?!? WAS IT CREATED JUST FOR UNCG TO TELL ME HOW UNDESIRABLE I AM AS AN APPLICANT??!! It's like they're saying, "yo Mere, we'd take ANYONE ELSE over you. and we knew it from the very beginning of the application reading season! ta-ta!")
... moreover, what's with the UNC's sending out these unnerving GNE's!?!? These things are really beating me down into "I have no reason to go on" sort of way. Seriously, my sample must have been incredibly shitty to not have received ANYTHING by now, especially when a handful of my schools are so GNE-happy (UNCW, UNCG, CSU? Woon got a CSU one, right?)
Sorry guys. I'm just having a really low weekend. I've started aggressively researching plan B's, pretty much convinced that I'm not getting in anywhere. Given, I still technically have 10 schools that I don't have to COMPLETELY assume rejection from YET (and I AM assuming a rejection from Iowa), but several of them have sent out GNE's and I didn't get one. Therefore those are kind of assumed rejections now, too. I'm pretty much assuming plan B is inevitable at this point. I'm happy that good stuff has happened to a lot of you, but any more plan B suggestions/discussions would be very much so appreciated. Merrrh.
Oh!
and @ Dan, posting while buzzed is nothing to be ashamed of. Of course, that's coming from the blog's resident wino. anyway, I originally read your post as you "meant" it, I think, but I did think "uh-oh, there's room for misinterpretation, dandelion...!!!" Anyhoo. No worries, don't skulk back into hiding!!
Chrissy H. -- CONGRATS! That's so so exciting! Yay to being published!
On running and writing;
I honestly think that some of my best poems have come during long distance runs. The contrast between the corporeal and the theoretical is something that really interests me. And, in my injuries (many stress fractures, fun times), i find the manifestation of the physical coming through in my writing.
Everybody always thinks it's such a contradiction that I'm a "jock" and a pretty obsessed runner, and that I also spend so much time reading and writing. I think the two activities have parallels that make them make sense in my life.
I LOVE how Murikami puts it in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Definitely a book worth looking into if you like running and writing.
My list in Fiction:
Heard from:
Syracuse - Waitlisted
SIUC - Accepted
Rutgers Newark - Rejected
Wash U St Louis - Rejected
No news from:
Minnesota
Indiana
Purdue
Alabama
Vanderbilt
Notre Dame
Arkansas
Illinois
I saw some people post rejections from Minnesota. Does anybody know if they sent out anything yet, or did those people reach out to the school?
Best of luck to everyone!
Rejected by Vermont today, snail mail:(
For data gathering purposes, my list for poetry:
Michener (rejected)
UMass (rejected)
Iowa
Univ. of Washington
Michigan
Houston
UVA
NYU
New School
Hunter
Good luck on Monday, everyone!
Bleh. Official rejection from SIUC in the mail today, fiction. Burns like a mfer. Not even waitlisted.
Still have six to officially hear from (of an original eight). Fully embracing the fact that I'll very likely be getting a BA in English in a few months and promptly moving back in with the parents. I spent hundreds of dollars on these silly little rejection letters. ::shudder::
@Chrissy H -- That's great on the pub! I'm so used to sending work out and getting rejection letters that it's become a routine for me. If I don't get a rejection letter/email from a lit mag, I'll know it's a Sunday.
@ anyone who actually knows . . .
so Iowa: what's the deal? A week ago Friday one or two posters assured this blog that notification took time. They were quiet all week--and then a posting about Sam Chang being out of town and ill possibly hindering further notifications. Other posters have stated with certainty that offers are over and the fat lady singing will arrive via snail mail in the near future.
Does anyone know for sure?
Another day with no news; guess I'll have to wait til Monday for my SIUC rejection.
Anyone else have the feeling that they are being ignored? I find myself fretting about not hearing from anyone, then having to call programs in April to hear "Oh right, forgot about you. Yeah, you were rejected ages ago."
@Farrah- according to an undergraduate friend, Iowa is not done notifying...they do it in segments. So, second round this coming week or next.
@ Sud, thank you. :)
runner here as well...i dig it, but i guess i don't love it the way many of you do...i am only 5'5 but i used to be insanely into powerlifting, to the point i weighed around 240 at one point...one day, in the middle of training, i decided i didn't want to do it anymore and started running and now i weigh about 150...it took me a bit to warm up to running and now i just feel guilty if i don't do it! but it is definitely good for brainpower, i would have to agree...but i smoke and drink a shitload too, so i guess i kind of cancel out the needed assistance!!
Well, I thought I would throw in my two cents. I applied for Fiction and not heard back from ANY of the schools I applied to. I practially have no nails lefts from biting them off!
Alabama
Vanderbilt
Florida
Florida State
Louisiana State
Notre Dame
Montana
Michigan
Penn State
Hi all,
Just wanted to drop in and say thanks for all the message board support! And by support I mean in theory, since I'm mostly a lurker. Still, this has been a very educational board. I didn't get into any of my schools this year which is not too much of a surprise in retrospect. I was unsure of whether I really wanted to go right into a masters from undergrad and kind of phoned it in. Although seeing some of the talent around here I wonder if I would have gotten in on full tilt! Still, I'll be teaching high school next year, which I think is absolutely the right choice at this point. Get some life experience, re-evaluate. In the meantime, the message boards have given me info on some schools I never thought to apply to! So, good luck to everyone, I'm sure I'll be lurking again in a few years!
thnx Meredith
My list for fiction:
Miami
Bowling Green
Pitt
Florida
Oregon
Virginia
Brown
Johns Hopkins
Ohio State
Michigan
Iowa
Syracuse
Cornell
UMass Amherst
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Hey, so what's this GNE from UNCG that I'm reading about here? I got an email from them, not sure if it's the GNE that you speak of. Just curious. What does this mysterious GNE consist of?
for seth's data: Ficition--
Hunter (GNE email/phone conversations... complicated)
Montana (accepted)
Alabama (assumed rejection)
UT Austin (rejected and dejected)
Sarah Lawrence
Florida
Virginia
UNCG
Irvine
Iowa
any word from Brown?
Guys,
It's still early. Everyone is acting like it's the end of March. Notifications have just begun. Just relax a little!
--Le Tigre
Farrah,
RE:Iowa
Maybe no one knows for sure, but my bet is the fat lady singing will arrive via snail mail the first few weeks of March. I called and was led to believe that all acceptances have been notified. I didn't ask about waitlists though. Hope this helps.
Best of luck,
Daffy
@Daniel
I saw that you posted a rejection from Rutgers Newark for fiction. How and when were you notified? Not an assumed rejection?
Daniel,
re: SIUC
I'm also in for fiction. Drop me a line if you'd like - sequoia@alumni.grinnell.edu
Hi all,
I've been getting a lot of queries lately about how to donate to The Suburban Ecstasies. I had to take down last year's PayPal button on the blog because it was attracting not only criticism but stalkers, some of whom were threatening -- they claimed the button was proof that I was only in this for the money (a laughable charge on so many levels, they don't even know) and since having my name dragged through the mud literally was starting to make me physically ill (I take my honor and integrity very, very seriously), I pulled the button.
Anyone who'd like to donate to TSE can still do so via a back-up method that works just as well--the "Make a Payment" button at the following link (from the ALC website). This will take you to an intermediate page that offers a disclaimer re: ALC services, and then from there (if you click "Make a Payment" again) you go to a secure PayPal site where a donation of whatever amount can be made.
I'm being told that a lot of people want to donate and don't know where to go. I'm also being told--by my wallet, my bank account statement, um, by my many creditors--that I have basically no money. So yes, there's absolutely no pressure, but if anyone wants to give it'd be appreciated more than you know. And as I no longer have administrative privileges on this board (by choice) to start a thread myself, and don't want to subject myself to stalkers again by putting a button directly anywhere on TSE, I hope you guys will spread the word to others who are interested in donating.
Best of luck to everyone, and best wishes,
Be well,
Seth
Thanks for this, Seth. Happy to help out. (it was really easy, too)
@daffron--how long ago did you talk to Iowa? I was under the impression that they still had another round of notifications to go.
I'm in at Eastern WA! Just got the call. I'm in a state of shock. I was feeling very pessimistic. OMG. 0_0
Congrats Rosie! That's awesome!!
@Rosie,
I must've missed your original post--a call from where?
@Sud,
Maybe Wednesday, I think. I'll look up my original post. I hope you're right. It is possible that I spoke with someone in the office who wasn't sure, but she seemed reluctant to let me down, which somehow gave credibility to the notion that they were finished notifying. She didn't look up my application or anything, just the stock answer, "all info. will go out in the first two weeks of March." When I asked if she meant acceptances, too, she said no and sorry. So...?
Daffy
I'm pretty sure that Iowa does waitlists by mail, at least.
ROSIE!!!!! I'm so happy for you! Congratulations!! :D
Congrats to Rosie and anybody else I missed that got good news!
A waitlist at Iowa would be, I think, almost worse than a rejection. So close to living the dream. But who gives up a spot at Iowa?
@ Daffy and Sud, this back and forth is exactly what led to my question. A couple of people (Arna being one, who's obviously on the inside track) suggested (as does history) that their notifications take some time. Daffy, I know you called last week and had that awkward conversation that suggested they were finished.
If someone could pull the bandaid off for sure or let it sit soggy on my skin through another quiet week . . . one way or the other would be a relief.
Okay cats. I need some help here. I have applied to the U of Florida. I JUST now was able to get onto the status check page and noticed that hey...my transcripts were not received. Are you kiddin me? And to top my night off, I cannot get through to the email that's listed for their coordinator to ask about the transcripts. Anyone have a number/link/email to someone I can connect with at Fla? (I can't believe I'm just now realizing this. I should probably just throw in the towel at Fla, but dammit, I don't want to.)
@Abby Here is the phone number for the department (P: (352) 392-6650) and the emails of the two co-directors: David Leavitt
Padgett Powell
Hope the helps! Because I know I wouldnt want that to happen to me!!
@M Cat. Thanks!
And how funny that your name is actually Cat, after I addressed 'cats'. Again, thanks for your help. I appreciate it. I'm pretty much just giving up on it now, but damn. Would have loved to know that a couple months ago.
@Rising Yellow Rose (the artist formerly known as "Michelle")
I applied to BU if by BU you mean Boston University. Where in the application site are you able to see a status anywhere??
If you tell me where you see that, I can tell you what mine says; either i'm not looking at the right site or... yea, I don't even know.
Thanks Laura, Morgan, and Ashley! And Daffron, I got the call from Eastern Washington University, AKA EWU. :)
i think a few people on here who were accepted to iowa also got into schools like cornell, michigan, maybe wisconsin. there could be a few iowa acceptees who choose a smaller program. sometimes at iowa people can get lost in the shuffle.
so if there is in fact a wait list, don't think the dream is completely out of reach.
Ditto miss private eye - I don't have a link or anything for to check my status, and I submitted my online application back in late November...
Ok. I emailed them...here's hoping.
@ Spencer
The rejection I got for Rutgers-Newark was a letter. It was sent to a Brooklyn address so it might have gotten there quicker than others. Not sure. But they've definitely sent out some rejections. Best of luck to you.
@Jojee
I really enjoyed 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running,' too, though I'm more of a walker than a runner. :]
@M. Swan
My GNE from Montana was an official acceptance, w/TAship.
@Rosie,
Duh, me.
:)
Oh yeah, and HUGE congratulations!!!
@Rising Yellow Rose
I too have a link on the right side under "Applicant Link" that says "Financial Assistance Status".
Thazit.
Sigh.
BIG CONGRATS to everyone who received good news today!! yayyy.
@Rose, thanks for the link! I had no idea that was there. Mine also just has a link to check on my financial assistance status, nothing else.
Hey Daniel--I'm in at SIUC too if you want to chat about it! fixittuesday at yahoo.com
M. Swann - I'm also still waiting for a Syracuse notification.
@Abbie
Same thing happened to me with Michigan. I have two transcripts and I sent both, in the same envelope, but somehow they only received one?
I didn't get considered because of that. Total bullshit.
@Daniel
Another Rutgers Newark notification question. When you received your letter did you happen to check your RUID account to see if the status had changed to correspond with the paper notification? Thanks again.
yeeeah, for you that are coming to cuse, i hope you're basketball fans, and if you're not, you will be by the time you graduate....the snow & grayness become much easier when you're the best team in the country!
For those of you waiting for news from U of Oregon, don't expect to hear from us before our winter term finals week, which is the week of March 15. We're heading into the last two weeks of the term, and, at least on the fiction side, we've got 568 applications for 6 spots. We know you're anxious and we're reading as fast as we can.
I haven't posted before, but I've been a long time lurker and appreciate all the information everyone has shared on this board. And thanks to Seth for putting together such amazing data and information!
Here's my list (for fiction):
Converse (low-res): Accepted
No word on the following:
Stonecoast (low-res)
Carlow (low-res)
Warren Wilson (low-res)
Fairleigh Dickinson (low-res)
Pine Manor (low-res)
I only applied to low-residency programs since it isn't practical for me to move out of state at this point (great/flexible job, family, etc.) and I really like the way the low-res programs are set up.
I also want to say congratulations to all who have received good news!! And to those still waiting, hang in there--I'm cheering for each and every one of you!
@Laurie Lynn
Whoah.
@ Laurie Lynn
I personally didn't apply to U of O but I can confidently speak for all of us and offer a hearty THANK YOU! As I'm sure you know, we all spend a ridiculous amount of time worrying, theorizing, fantasizing, etc about what these next couple weeks are going to bring. Hearing from the source a concrete update is like manna.
@Miss Private Eye
You mean our lists of shared applications doesn't include Oregon? Amazing.
@JasonJ
According to me, it does not. Lol.
P.S. If we end up in the same MFA program (from our pretty much almost exactly the same application list), you're officially my running coach. I decided. Just thought I'd share that info with you. :)
@Miss Private Eye
Consider it done! I'll have you clickin off some 6 minute miles in no time.
The idea of actually attending the same program as one of the many people on this blog is really intriguing. If we went in with friends, it would seem less like a complete shock (or 'first day of school').
Speaking of that, does anybody have any knowledge of the first 'few weeks' of a program? I'm imagining some sort of mailing list gets set up or the teachers organize an orientation.
Whatever happens with wherever I go, I hope I can be the guy who gets everyone together in a social setting. I love playing host.
@Jason J and miss private eye,
damnit. see, that is why i didn't want to say anything about hunter. you both seriously deserve the best (i've decided this from your awesome and earnest mfa blog postings) and i was actually thinking of the two of you when i posted, hoping that you'd be hearing good news soon. honestly, i really hope you both find a program that loves you unconditionally, whether it's hunter or somewhere else.
ps. my friend says this blog is the devil, based on what it does to me, and i would agree with her except that all the people here are so wonderful and supportive. big ups, ya'll
@jenna
Thanks. Still holding out hope for Hunter too. There's gotta be good news coming soon.
@ Laurie Lynn:
bless your soul, woman! It's nice to have news from the mouth of the river.
@JasonJ
I've been wondering/thinking over the same things. It's almost like we've begun forming communities without even knowing details of anything yet.
@Jenna
Aww thank you! I'm holding out hope too! Nonetheless, I am super happy for you. A friend of mine went to a reading by McCann last week and, during the Q and A, he spoke on how much his students inspire him and motivate him.
Also, my friends (and family and coworkers and etc) think this site is insanity as well but I've convinced them that without this blog and it's support, I'd be whining and spouting out terrified mental meanderings all day long to them instead!
@Miss Private Eye
Too bad none of us are that PC/MAC guy. What's his name? Where he invents his own college. The movie was called ACCEPTED.
All of us could just band together to form our own MFA Program. Find a half drunk retired writer like Lewis Black to teach us 'stuff'.
Dear Hunter and specifically Colum McCann,
I don't mind receiving phone calls early sunday morning, or even late sunday night.
-
Swann's Way awaits.
I have been a reader of the blog for a while but don't have a chance to post much lately. I've been trying to keep up with the comments -- acceptances, rejections, commiseration, running conversations included -- but my two jobs + 15 credits this semester are making that quite difficult.
Here's my attempt to catch up:
1) My list (for Nonfiction).
Ohio State - accepted
Minnesota - rejected
Minnesota State @ Mankato - still waiting
2) Congratulations to everyone who has gotten in, especially the big ones like Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. the past few weeks. That's awesome!
3) Congratulations to Chrissy on the publication -- can you tell us which magazine (at least when it comes out) so we can read it?
4) On the running note, I don't know if this site has been posted, but I've been trying to get into running shape using this training program: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
5) Everyone else, hang in there. <3
Mad congrats to so many of you!!! Seems like there's been a lot of good news since I last checked in here.
Still silence all around for me, but as "mid-March" gets closer I get more nervous....
I wish all schools could notify rejections by email. I know that I will have a good amount of rejections coming in at some point (just hopefully not ALL rejections...), and I'm totally OK with that. I love every program I applied to, so I only need to get into one. However, I know the people I live with will see the inevitable small envelope(s) and be devastated for me - much more so that I will be for myself, since I was never as convinced as they are that I would be accepted anywhere, let alone everywhere (they are of the "Oh, of course you'll get in!" category of friends). I'm almost dreading their shocked, pitying faces more than I'm dreading the actual rejections.
I just woke up & haven't had coffee yet so forgive me if I'm not making any sense at all.
Here's to March!
@spencer
I just checked my Rutgers status online and it still says no decision. But I'm inclined to believe the rejection letter. But perhaps they send the first rejections to New Yorkers who spent far too much time in their childhood making fun of New Jersey.
Good luck
@Daniel
Thanks for the info, man. Best of luck with the rest of the process.
Daniel--I much appreciate you giving us that information, and big congrats for your SIUC acceptance!
I've been away over the weekend, and now can be ready for that envelope to be in the mailbox when i get home later. I appreicate the warning!
I actually live in Jersey, close to Newark. Jersey love hasn't bought me an acceptance, so your lack-of probably didn't get you a rejection. :)
Again, congrats, and thanks for the heads-up!
oh boy, i wish the facts about oregon weren't posted. makes it worse knowing the number of applicants (but i'm sure the reasoning had something to do with a bombardment of phone calls).
@Madeline Stevens
How did you find out from Michigan? Did you call or did something online tell you? I might be in the same fix.
@Madeline Stevens
Whoa! Wait a minute! Are you saying that Michigan DEFINITELY didn't consider your application/writing-sample because you supposedly forgot something??????? Or are you just speculating about that?
so I've been able to keep myself from complete mfa-induced insanity because I've been in a play. the last performance is this afternoon. I don't know what I'll do when this is over. I guess I could just take my laptop and my cell phone and sit in front of my po box for the next month or so...
still haven't heard anything from...
calarts
oregon
arizona
iowa
pitt
notre dame
maryland
uva
vtech
vcu
fsu
uncg
all in poetry
@Daffron
Either last year or the year before, someone on The Speakeasy gave up Iowa for Irvine. It does happen!
I know I asked this before, but I'm still dying to know: what's with the GNEs from UNCG? What do they say? I got an email from them, not sure if it's the GNE mentioned on here. If anyone could fill me in I'd appreciate it so much.
Another question: how does one report acceptances to Driftless House? Post in the comment box?
@ Emma
I'm not 100% sure (someone correct me if I'm wrong - it's so hard to keep up with these comments!) but I think the GNE for UNCG is, at this point, speculation. Dreux reported receiving a GNE a while ago but didn't say from where, and Nick speculated that it was from UNCG, but I don't remember reading a confirmation of receiving a GNE from UNCG by Dreux or anyone.
Several people got FOEs from UNCG recently, stating that their submission was now under review. I don't think there was a mass sending-out of GNEs, just FOEs.
Re: above
Not to speculate too much, but it seems a couple people got more specific e-mails, re: hey, we like you, etc.
@ UNCG GNE's
I got the same specific impression that k got. Even if Dreux's GNE isn't from UNCG, which I would guess it is, sometime within the past few hundred comments (I'm too lazy to go back and look, sorry dudes) someone was like wooooo look at us we all got the UNCG GNE! wooo (maybe I jumped to conclusions? I don't care anymore)
I think there were 4 people or so? there seems to be a shit-ton of confusion over this, and frankly I wish people would just say "I got the letter that says _____" (take the most telling sentence! I'm not asking you to post the whole thing, kiddos) so that all of us UNCG applicants would know 1) how many people got this, 2) how legit a GNE is it, or if it's this ambiguously happy email that Emma seems to have gotten, 3) if we didn't get it should we go ahead and X out UNCG on our lists.
I feel like I'm making this into a much bigger deal than I mean for it to be. I'm just a bit annoyed with some folks' semi-teasing-semi-bragging and in despair/defeatist mode at this point...
what is an FOE???
@ mj
FOE = fake-out email
ie: Oregon sends everyone a housing application; uncg sends everyone an invite to their spring campus tours, etc.
when you see it in your inbox the heart starts pounding then within a few seconds you realize nope, it's not the acceptance I thought it could be
Sorry if I was ambiguous about my UNCG email. It just said that my sample was currently under review, something along those lines. I didn't mean to give any impression that I had some juicy informtaion... I don't. I assume they send that email to everyone, and was just curious if some people were, perhaps, over-excited and calling it a GNE. That's all!
meredith, hi: i just wanted to say that i've received a good news email from greensboro; it said that my writing sample was well-received and asked if i had any questions about the program. it was definitely NOT an FOE. i took it as a good sign and also a sign that they were vetting me as to my interest in unc-g. for example, if i responded back and said, that's awesome, but i'm in at iowa, then they could make a more informed opinion about who to accept. i assume at this point that they've sent out more GNEs than they have spots in the program. but again, nothing is known and nothing is official. also, i don't think people have been bragging about this, and i think that since this is a forum in which people have felt safe enough to post their application successes and failures to a likewise informed audience, it's not really fair to accuse people of bragging, simply because they got some good news. i think that what you are construing as teasing is simply people not willing to spell everything out on a forum that might be checked by admins at schools. that being said, i wish you all the best and hope so much that you will find the right fit this application season! xoxo.
@mj: Meredith pretty much nailed it. How's this for another example?
On the same day Michigan was sending out wait list notifications via e-mail, I got an email buzz on my phone with the heading "Graduate Studies Coordinator." HOLY CRAP. Open it up: rejection from Syracuse. Worst FOE evarrrrr.
To whoever logged onto UF's website and saw that they were missing transcripts, I totally saw the same thing when I logged on, lol. BUT, I was missing transcripts from the first school I attended before transferring to another school and the school I graduated from has grades from both institutions reported on their transcripts. I could have sworn that I read on their website that I only needed to send in one transcript. Oh well. I had emailed Carla Blount (or whatever her name was) two weeks ago and she said that I have all materials in, which I'm taking to mean I didn't make the final cut, considering my UFL status says otherwise. Unless of course they decided they didn't need the second transcript, which is still a possibility.
Anyone know how many applications UF received?? Judging from the amount of people here that have applied, I would venture to say they received 600-800 this year, which means I HAVE NO CHANCE!!
Well, I guess I can cross out UNCG too... FSU and Notre Dame???????? Please??????
Oh, FML.
@Kaybay - I sent in two transcripts, and my online status says that I'm missing transcripts as well. I was assuming that it only said that because the transcripts were sent to the Creative Writing program rather than to the grad school. (The online status seems to only show the grad school materials, not the program materials.) I sent Carla Blount an email yesterday to double-check this. I guess I'm saying that you shouldn't write it off!
To clarify- I only sent the email to Carla Blount yesterday, so I don't know yet if my assumption about the online status check is correct.
kaybay! whatever happened to MARCH RADNESS RAAAAAAH.
there's a lot of defeatist attitude swirling around here right now, and i'm sad to see it. right now i have five official rejections and i'm assuming rejections from iowa, michigan, indiana, ohio state, and illinois, AND virginia, AND arizona state, AND (BOO) CSU. that really leaves me with like two schools. it's pretty lame, but i'm trying to tell myself that my attitude has no bearing on what happens, so i may as well try to enjoy things. like, today, i was out running errands, and when i got back into the car it was WARM from the SUN. anyone else living in the bleakness of winter right now can understand how much i totally FREAKED from happiness. i hope that i'm not being too irritating. i'm not the sunny, bright-side-of-life type, but i'm scraping the bottom of the emotional barrel right now, so it's worth a shot.
@ The Hobo,
That'd be a crazy tough decision, but I guess I could see it. Iowa v. California. I'd prefer the tumult of Iowan seasons any day and some big, open space to write, but that's just me. Anyhow, what a dilemma to have, no? People have all sorts of reasons, I suppose.
Daffy
oh, sorry to add, but OREGON, omg. i really need to call them because on the website, it says that none of my materials have been received. anyone else struggle with this?
@ Daffron, Hobo. Dudes. Southern California. Southern. California. We can all spout holier-than-thou about the midwest and the good-home-town vibes of cornfields galore, but really? it's on the freaking ocean and you can eat really good mexican food and sushi any time you want.
I think that my defeatist attitude is the result of seeing the number of applications at some of these schools. I expected a rise, but I had no idea that almost every school would see DOUBLE the amount of applications from last year, especially since last year was another high-number year. I just can't help but feel a little overwhelmed by it. It's also the recent uncertainty about my job.
I don't mean to keep coming here with my wallowing, I just can't help expressing my frustration. I just can't find any legitimate reason to be optimistic right now :( I hear ya though, MJ, it's better to be positive, I just can't seem to muster it!!
i hear you, kaybay. someone on driftless house said that they heard that michener got 3000 apps this year. three. effing. thousand. so the silver lining is that i feel like less of an idiot for not getting into places. since apparently everyone in america may not have voted last election, but they DID apply for an mfa in creative writing.
haha MJ!
I applied to Iowa, but it is really only my third or fourth choice. Mitchner and Indiana were above it for me, and UC-Irvine was at least tied and that decision would have come down to funding and determining if the Irvine funding would have been enough to live on. My overall preference was for a three-year program rather than a two-year, in general.
Not that I'm exactly in a position to turn down ANYONE this year, but if I had been accepted everywhere, I would not have gone to Iowa.
I've been off the blog for a few days, but I wanted to say...
I'M IN! I was accepted to University of Colorado in poetry by mail.
Good luck to everyone this week. I need to catch up on the happenings here to see what I've missed.
Franny
Good for you! Congratulations.
Meridith and Emma. Hi. I received exactly the same email as Anonymous from UNCG. It said my writing sample was receiving high marks from the admissions committee and asked if I had any questions about the program. After a brief exchange, they said they would connect me with some current students, but I haven't heard anything back.
It's possible they sent this email out to more students then they actually have places for, but I sure hope not.
@Daffron and @mj,
I might have chosen Irvine myself if faced with such an improbable decision.
There's this great organic place in Cow Hollow...
Congrats Franny!
@Franny
CONGRATULATIONS! I've been pulling for you.
I doubt that UT got 3000 applications. Seth has the number at some 1005, which seems more likely to me.
Texas did not get 3,000 apps. :-)
There are only slightly more than that number of unique full-residency MFA applicants annually.
S.
@mj, yeah, I saw that comment too but just don't believe it. On the selectivity page, Seth has the number of total apps for Michener as 1,005 for 2010 so I think the 3,000 might be a bit exaggerated. I mean that would be double what Iowa got.
re: Iowa, I can definitely see people choosing other programs over it. It's a big program, it's two years, it's in Iowa, it has a reputation for being overly competitive... of course I would LOVE to go there, but just pointing out it does have some down sides.
I heard it was closer to 5,000;). Jk guys. It was still an amazing number. Everywhere has been this year it seems. Here's to lots of luck in March!!
And congrats Franny!!
FRANNY@@!!!!!!$*^&@!(!!
CONGRATULATIONS! I am so glad for you. Let me count the ways:
1) You are awesome and totally deserve this.
2) You get to stay near your honey! 3) See number 1.
SETH COME TO RESCUE, I HAVE A QUESTIONS FOR YOU!!!
Are a lot of those numbers on the selectivity page old, but not marked as old?? For example, did Florida get 390 this year?? Did Notre Dame get 192 this year??
How many did McNeese get this year??
thank you so much, you are wonderful, I'm just curious. I'm trying to get my optimism back ;)
@Franny -- Congrats! If I decide to take the Colorado State offer, we'll be within driving distance of each other. Woo Hoo!
Ahem, that should say Seth, come to my rescue, I have a question for you. No, I am not "challenged" :D
Re. UC Irvine. I didn't apply to UC Irvine (or any school in California) because of the budget crisis and how severely the economy has hit this state. $$$ are being cut back in all universities, community colleges, high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools. I imagine it's like that everywhere but since I live in California and know about our situation, I didn't feel comfortable applying here.
Re. UC Irvine. I forgot to add that there are consequences to the budget crisis. Forced furloughs on Fridays, less courses offered, staff layoffs, restrictions on expenses (and hence, moody professors), possibility of professors leaving for greener grass, reductions in available MFA seats, reduction (or elimination) of funding opportunities, fewer TA spots, rise of gang violence, mayhem, and anarchy, etc.
@ anonymous
THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNCG ANSWER! That's the info I was looking for -- although I do wish (for you and me both) that we knew how many folks actually received it.
By no means do I begrudge other people's successes, and I'm happy for anyone who does well or gets any amount of happy news through this process!! Someone gets into Iowa, Michigan, UNCG? Hey, high-five, that's effin' awesome, yo. It's especially great when someone who you've sort of "gotten to know" via this blog gets something he/she really wants.
BUT. as someone who's been strung out on sadness and stress for the past month, it's a little bit too much for me to handle when someone's like "hey dudes, I got this awesome email but I'm not saying from where" and others chime in to say they've gotten it as well. Then there's confusion and miscommunication galore and here I am over here poking myself in the eye with sharp things while banging my head against a wall. I don't think I'm alone in being really sensitive and relentlessly analytical when one of my schools is a subject of conversion.
I'm sorry to go on the defensive, as I said in my previous post as well. February has been a long month (ha irony ha), a rollercoaster of emotions, almost all of which have been, as far as my own app season is concerned, aimed downward. BUTTTT despite my petulance, despite my whining, despite my general Eeyore-ness (my boss has been calling me Eeyore these past few days, it's awesome), this blog has put a human voice to the jillions of applicants that I know are out there. Anonymous, I hope the uncg gne pans out -- I've been fairly vocal about the fact that I think gne's are pretty evil (if I got one and then didn't get in? oh God, I'd be CRUSHED), but whatever the case, high-five to you, good luck, may march radness bring radness to us all.
No more posting for me, at least for the near-future! ta ta, everyone. T-minus 10 hours (EST) until March Radness begins.
@ Franny -- YAAAAY!!! Congrats!
@ mj -- I've got warmth here and it's making me happy. also, I totally agree with your "my attitude doesn't change anything, so might as well try to be in a good state of mind". Sometimes I can do it, and I have these crazy highs/moments of acceptance over whatever my fate may be! I wish I could harness that state for alllllll the time.
okay, NOW I'm done posting for the next ambiguous "while." Eeyore's retreating into forced solitude, ya'll. ta ta redux!
@ Lucas
My Eeyore to your Charlie Brown --> *hug*
And congrats to those who have gotten in. I'm bad about remembering to say that...I don't really imagine my negligence in chiming in on that is detracting much from anyone's glee, though. Ha. Later.
Thanks Meredith. My wife is named Meredith, actually.
@Amanda: Thank you so much, friend!! I'm overwhelmed. I expect even more good news for you soon :).
Thanks, everyone else. Good things can happen yet. Xoxo.
FRANNY!!!! i am SO excited for you! congrats, congrats, congrats! i hope you have been celebrating like crazy and continue to do so for a while. big smiles over here. :)
Great Job Franny!! Congrats!!
BDC: Thank you!! I am celebrating tonight. It's a giant weight off my shoulders. I really appreciate the MFA blog cheerleaders. It's meant a lot to me!
@kaybay
Everything's marked correctly. You have to look at the acceptance rate page to find data-years. Florida is marked "2009" and is a 2009 figure. Notre Dame is not marked which traditionally means a 2008 figure. "Recent" means last five years. Any figure from 2010 is marked "2010."
Best of luck,
S.
Damn it! I'm screwed :(
Thanks though, Seth!
Haha. Franny, I'm removing my bitching from the middle of your celebration. Doesn't feel right.
Lucas, don't worry! This process is so difficult. It's fair to feel low. I've been feeling that way for a long time. Good luck to you in your applications!
franny's acceptance (congrats, lady, btw) has taught us that acceptances can be all over the place. colorado phoned their first poetry acceptance like ten days ago, according to DH, and then they mail franny's? A GLIMMER OF HOPE.
Hey guys,
I'm kind of new to the MFA waiting game thing. When can I expect to hear back from schools? I only applied to three (money issues):
Hunter College
New York University
Georgia State University (where I am completing my undergrad right now)
Also, I read that Hunter already called some people for interviews? Is this true?
@ Meredith:
you're welcome. sorry i got all defensive. the GNE is the only news i've received from anyone that has rung to the tune of "DENIED/REJECTED/UNSUCCESSFUL/NOT ADMITTED," and i'm hanging on for dear life here. i'm totally with you that GNEs are the devil. i hope for both of our sakes that, gne or no gne, we get where we need to be this year. see mr. hemlock's response as well. his post on the unc gne is closer to the wording that i got, as well, which means we're dealing with a bcc everyone or a cut-and-paste situation. a big old bronx cheer to that one, unc.
Congrats for all the recent acceptances!! Yaay!! AND...tomorrow is the first say of March. I know you haven't forgotten. You couldn't have. I'm glad this will soon be over. Then peace.
Carly,
My source at NYU says they will be notifying "soon," and apologizes for being so vague. Last year they notified in the first 2 weeks of March.
Meredith,
My GNE was the same one from UNCG that anonymous and Mr. Hemlock mentioned. I originally wasn't going to post about it at all because it definitely wasn't an acceptance, but also because I didn't want to freak anyone out or appear to be bragging--so I'm really sorry if I accomplished either of those things. I was just majorly freaked out myself because I had the same experience as Mr. Hemlock (the promise of further communication, which never happened).
Anyway, at this point, I don't think that these emails mean that certain people are going to be accepted and that other people aren't. Because they've been spaced out, it's probably related to when they read your sample.
Good luck! I really do hope that everyone on this blog gets into programs that they love. And that we ALL get into UNCG ;)
Re: New York schools...I wouldn't be surprised if they are a little slow this year. There has been so much snow that places like NYU have had closures (for example, they were closed on Friday), so they might be behind.
I know that Hunter has called a few people for interviews in fiction...does anyone know if they've done any calls for poetry?
Posted on wrong mailbag!
OK, so I haven't been able to focus on anything today and have given up trying to work on my website. Decided to follow up on our total girl geek-out the other day and googled Jonathan Brandis and Seaquest and found... they have all the episodes online-viewable on netflix! So if any of you are looking for a distraction and have an account, get to it. Now, back to my schoolgirl crush...
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/SeaQuest_DSV_Season_1/70042825
@katie booms
My online status said "incomplete" and showed what I was missing. I called and they said it was too late to send another, though this was before they notified acceptances...
What's a GNE?
@Franny congrats I am really happy for you.
For the rest of us the Ides of March have begun...nope nope I need help to stay hopeful...I wish everyone best of luck and I pray more and more acceptances happen to all you people:)))))
It's 4 am my time - need some sleep bye guys..best of luck once more..
GNE = Good News Email; Email from MFA program indicating favorable status but without any offer of admission.
GNP = Good News Phone call, see above, but rarely happens unless they're cruel.
FOE = Fake-out Email; Email from MFA program or your university which seems to indicate good news, but it turns out to be nothing. Example: Email from "Graduate Admissions" with title line "Congratulations" but the email itself relayed news that they've forwarded your application materials to the Department.
FOL = Fake-out Letter; see FOE; Example: Oregon's notorious housing brochure.
@Woon
thanks :)
@Kaybay,
Hey, I meant to respond to the situation at your school -- I wanted to say, I'm sorry, that sucks, and I hope it turns out nothing bad comes of it. That is NOT the sort of stress you need right now! And I am crossing my fingers extra-hard for you regarding an MFA acceptance :)
It's okay to be upset. This process is SO hard. And you are totally right -- I have been angry a bunch of times about how 'unfair' it is that I am coincidentally applying during this record-breaking year of applications. It sucks. It does make this year seem so much more bleak.
Hey -- I forgot to tell you -- the UCF MFA program director told me they also got a record number of applications this year. So it's not just the "top" programs -- it's everywhere.
Hang in there, Kaybay. And everyone else :)
@Woon: How do you feel about CSU at this point? It's a nice program and, yes, we'd be an hour apart!
I'm feeling some serious alma mater love right now.
Question: Where is this "selectivity" page people refer to? And how do people know how many applied to which programs?
@Franny -- I feel really good about CSU. Though I don't have the official Acceptance Letter, they assured me it was coming in the mail. I only have a few more schools I'm waiting on, but even if I got more acceptances, it would be a tough call. I'm liking Fort Collins a lot even though I've never been there. LOL!
If I decide on CSU, I want to find a nice quiet place within walking distance to campus. Any suggestions? I looked at University apartments and the International House seems okay. You have to at least 23 years old, so I'm assuming the residents are a bit more mature. However, it is located where all the other undergrads are -- in the west side of campus -- so, I'm not too sure. The Aggie apts on the southside seem okay, too. It would be nice to be near Old Town, but there's only so much I can do without actually being there.
But nothing has been decided on CSU. I need to get that letter first and then hear back from my remaining schools.
Rutgers @ Camden Update.
Rutgers at Camden is now on the board as #50 in selectivity and #45 in funding. This is based on data received today from the program. Full data available on TSE.
S.
@honeybadger
http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-mfa-rankings-selectivity_26.html
I had to fish around for it a bit, too. Pressed the 'Older Posts' button on one of Seth's ranking pages (2011 MFA Rankings: 5-Year Overall Rankings maybe?) and I found it. Glad to be of service!
Woon, understood. Housing is a tough call. Do you like to walk, ride a bike? Are you bringing a car? Would you prefer to be in the mix or in a quiet place?
I would also suggest looking on Craigslist. There are plenty of cheap rooms in houses with other grad students. I lived with two grad students for $350/month in a nice house, for example. It was quiet and pleasant because everyone was on the same page. Fort Collins is not a huge place (and has some decent public transit for students), so there are plenty of options within walking/biking distance.
Good luck! Feel free to email me if you want more Colorado info. sara r marshall at gmail dot com.
@Nefrettiti
Actually, the Ides is the 15th (and surprisingly not a plural noun!)
Still, if history is any guide, everyone should be prepared for a flood of rejections then.
Hey, guys.
Can anyone help me search for books to read? I'm looking for ss collections written by authors who have received their MFA's in the past ten years.
Nam Le's The Boat would be a good example.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks Lauren :) I just want this whole thing to be over with and me with an acceptance somewhere and a big smile on my face :D
@Sam N
I don't know their specific class years (though I think they're both from the last 15 years, if not the last 10), but I seriously love Chris Adrian's (IWW MFA) recent collection "A Better Angel". Also awesome is Wells Tower's (Columbia MFA) collection, "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned."
Sam,
How about this one?
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?EAN=9780061732270&bnit=H&cds2Pid=21573
Or this one:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Reasons-for-and-Advantages-of-Breathing/Lydia-Peelle/e/9780061724732/?itm=31
Both are recent MFA'ers I think. (Can you tell I love short story collections? And also I work at a bookstore.)
@Sam N.
"For the Relief of Unbearable Urges" by Nathan Englander (Iowa MFA)
"Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It" by Maile Meloy (Irvine MFA)
"The God of Animals" (novel) and "Boys and Girls Like You And Me" (stories) by Aryn Kyle (Montana MFA)
"You Are Not A Stranger Here" by Adam Haslett (Iowa MFA) *Pulitzer finalist
"War By Candlelight" and "Lost City Radio" by Daniel Alarcon (Iowa MFA)
And
"A Thousand Years of Good Prayers" by Yiyun Li (Iowa MFA)
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
OH, and "St. Lucy's Home For Girls Raised By Wolves" by Karen Russell (Columbia MFA)
Hey everybody. Have to share my glee. Got a phone call today with an acceptance to U of Idaho for fiction! I'm #2 on the waitlist for a TAship, without which I can't attend the program, but still. There's a month and a half left for people to make decisions. Yay!
Congrats to all others who received good news this weekend. Also, I wish I could be a runner.
I too love the short story form. In fact, I prefer it over the novel. I think it's so ironic that busy short-attention span people lean toward novels. I just don't get it. Well, they lean toward TV first, then People Magazine, then diet books, then money books by Suze dingbat Orman, then some new age mystical self-help book by the leader of some cult, and finally, trashy novels by Dan Brown.
Congratulations DigAPony!
I just had a hilarious phone conversation with the director at UIdaho. His words: "Hi, is this Rose? Oh it is! Well, we like you writing. We want you to come here. By the way, this is University of Idaho."
Woot woot!
I'm fiction, btw.
Still shaking.
wow congrats to all the Idahoans! March Radness begins, y/y?
you = your; my brain is clearly coming loose.
Congrats DigAPony! We must correspond: hansenma at onid dot orst dot edu
CONGRATS IDAHO-IANS!!! DIG A PONY, I'M SOOOO HAPPY FOR YOUR GOOD NEWS!! Your first good news of the year, right?? Awesome!!
@DigAPony -- that's great news about UIdaho! I'm so happy for you!
Thanks for the congrats, guys!
Rose, this is hilarious. We must have had the same conversation. I kept saying things like, "Wait, just so I know because I'm really excited and I have a cold and feel disoriented, I'm accepted?" And he said, "Yes. We want you to come here." Ha. It was awesome.
Corresponding will commence after I'm done freaking out! Bah!
Also congrats to you too!
Has anyone heard anything from North Texas or Denver? I know that Nick found out early for poetry, but I am wondering about anyone else. I checked the comments until about mid-January and didn't find anything, so I am assuming no... but just in case! ;)
Good luck everyone,
Sarah
Does anyone happen to know whether programs (or the institutions) will front you money for moving expenses? Or, do schools have options where you could pay back the moving expense loan with Stafford funds?
Just curious.
@sam n
Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock (OSU)
He actually got this published during his 2nd year at OSU. An agent read a story of his that he liked in a lit mag and contacted him. Don had just finished putting together the first draft of his thesis project. Bidding war between Penguin and Doubleday ensued. We could all be so lucky.
@ klairkwilty:
I'm not an authority on this at all, but I know with the MA program I just finished, all of us, even those of us who got funding, had to wait until classes were right about to start before we got anything, and mostly that was through loans. In fact, I didn't start getting paid through my TAship until almost 6 weeks after classes started.
Not a very encouraging answer I know, but I think it's generally expected that students be able to get themselves where they're going, even if that means taking out a loan to pay back as soon as classes start.
My list, for Seth's data:
UMass
Syracuse
Virginia
Brown
Iowa
NYU
Minnesota
Hollins
@Sam
re: Books by recent MFAs (obviously some of these writers have been writing and publishing for years prior to entering MFA programs)
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (Michigan)
Wolfboy by Evan Kuhlman (Notre Dame)
Refresh, Refresh by Ben Percy (Southern Illinois)
Farewell Navigator by Leni Zumas (U. Mass - Amherst)
Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Johns Hopkins)
What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us by Laura Van Den Berg (Emerson)
congrats, digapony and rose!
@Arna
I totally second the Alarcon recommendation/listing. Lost City Radio is one of those novels that would make critics of contemporary literature think twice about saying writers don't pay enough attention to theory or socio-political context. It's an enjoyable read that also lends itself to a lot of analysis.
Also, on the dystopian/totalitarian front, I'd like to recommend Metropole by Ferenc Karinthy (he didn't receive an MFA and is actually a deceased Hungarian writer, but I was really impressed with the layers of this book and needed to give a shout out.)
In at Brooklyn for poetry. Call and email today.
!!!
My UTexas (Poetry) status has finally changed to the following in the last couple of hours:
"We have received all credentials required to process your application. Your file has been forwarded to the Graduate Committee for review".
I see that this has ended in the infamous "DENIED" message for several writers here. I'm expecting the same, having, for several days, sat thinking I had dodged my file being reviewed at all (the site seems to make me feel it's preferable). Let's hope the poetry goes down fighting, but I'm figuring it's never a good idea to start off your sample with an unfinished poem that just stops. Nevertheless, at least I removed the dedication:
"For you, J.D., you fuck".
:)
Congratulations to DigAPony and Rose!
And, WreckingLight, I would have enjoyed seeing the dedication - but that's just me.
@Sam
"How To Breathe Underwater" by Julie Orringer (Iowa MFA)
"Drinking Coffee Elsewhere" by ZZ Packer (Iowa MFA)
"Things That Fall from the Sky" by Kevin Brockmeier (Iowa MFA)
"The Laws of Evening" by Mary Yukari Waters "(UC Irvine MFA)
"You Are Not A Stranger Here" by Adam Haslett (Iowa MFA)
"A Thousand Years of
Good Prayers" by Yiyun Li (Iowa MFA)
"Hoe It Was for Me" by Andrew Sean Greer (Montana MFA)
"For the Relief of Unbearable Urges" by Nathan Englander (Iowa MFA)
"Ms. Hempel Chronicles" by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum (Iowa MFA)
"Magic for Beginners" by Kelly Link (UNC Greensboro MFA)
There are lots more, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
Thanks guys!
Congrats to Umlrenic on Brooklyn and to everyone else who's heard good news recently.
I don't have much to offer by way of conversations recently - but again, if anyone has questions about Oregon State, Oregon, Portland State, or general life in the Pacific Northwest, I'll do my best to answer any of them.
And to throw in a nibble about Oregon State, if anybody's still waiting to hear back on non-fiction, I had a beer with Ted Leeson on friday afternoon and he said only one non-fiction call has been made so far - so there's still good news to be heard.
I've seen people on here post acceptances for Idaho and Alaska so far, but are there any other Minnesota acceptances floating around? Please contact me if you're out there! I'm feeling in the dark on that one. Thank you!
hansenma at onid dot orst dot edu
Also, can't remember exactly who it was a few days back, but how did my Red Velvet Cake recipe turn out for you? Let me know!
Yaaaay DigAPony!!!!!!!! Yaaaay Rose!!! Good news for two good people weeee what a nice way to end February
I think I speak for many of us when I say
ADIOS, FEBRUARY!!! BUH BYE.
Just got a rejection letter from Alabama.
List...
Uni Texas Austin - denied
Syracuse - rejected
Alabama - rejected
Uni Massachusetts-Amherst - rejected
Still waiting on..
Iowa (snort, yeah right)
Virginia
Hollins
Cornell
Brown
Florida
Oregon
Bowling Green
L.S.U
McNeese (but judging by the waitlist news here, probably denied)
At a loss for a Plan B... I really don't want to teach in Korea anymore though. I think I'm losing my Engrish.
Congratulations to everyone who received good news though! I'm going to keep on muttering "March Radness, March Radness" repeatedly here in my corner. ;)
Oh, and my genre is Poetry.
@Hilary.
It's probably meant more as an invisible dedication anyway - the unfinished poem in particular is one of those ability-shifters where you are move forward through misplacing anger, and it remains in my personal draft as a spur with the diminishing returns of something that will end when the poem is complete, with everything converted.
Anyway, it's bed for me (at 03.45 in Ireland) to read some of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", which, for some reason, I've never read before. The last book for children I read was "Winter Story" by Jill Barklem about a rather exciting party involving mice - following it with McCarthy's very-much-adult "The Road" was not the best idea...
Congratulations to everybody who has been accepted over the last few days. Thank goodness for March, as February had such an unresolved stench to it.
First-time poster, long-time lurker here.
I don't want to post my schools here yet because I'm a little superstitious (though I feel I won't be a contender this year), but I send my congrats and well-wishes to everyone here!
I'm starting the March Radness mantra right....now.
@WreckingLight, understood about the dedication - I have a terrible habit of leaving placeholders in my poems that never go away until suddenly I'm in workshop and am horribly embarrassed. So good on you for actually taking it out. (Although you've probably gone to bed.)
Also, my childhood was shaped in no small part by the Brambly Hedge stories. I used to want to illustrate books because of Jill Barklem.
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