fiction for me! oh lordy, I wonder how big this waitlist is.... I feel like I'm at the doctor's office, finally out of the waiting room!!!... to wait again. more. in an individual patient room. commence impatient foot-tapping once again.
well this may be a sign of me losing my mind, but after all the New School news today and my hopes slowly fading, I'm sending out an application for Queens University low-res. I feel like I hsould have explored the low-res option more fully in the first place... but luckily they have a late deadline. so... here we go. what a day.
Relax! The notification season isn't over yet! If you really want to send out some low-residency applications just so you have peace of mind, I think Goddard College, Pine Manor College, and Spalding all have late submission dates. Goddard and Spalding don't need your materials until like April or May, if I remember correctly. That's if you want to start the program this summer. If you'd be willing to wait until next January to begin your MFA experience you could even wait until September to apply to a full list of low-res programs.
Has anyone else been getting too hopeful by all the shiny pamphlets and giant book they send to you when you apply? It's killing me. I feel like they're just trying to tempt me and say, "Look how awesome our program is!" only to reject me later this month.
(Hmm, I might be wrong about a couple of those. Possible that dates have changed since I first researched those schools... But you can check out Seth's list of low-res programs and research yourself.)
You went to Webster? Me too! Pearson House FTW! I was a film major, but I still took lots of workshops with Erickson. Plus I had a play produced in Surfacing every year that I was an undergrad. Could we have crossed paths?
Yeah....that humongous book they sent last month is just sitting feet away...taunting me, like "Haha, this program is awesome, only you can't get in because you're not good enough and you don't have enough money! Bwahahaha..."
It's awful.
Ugh, this whole process just has me stressed out...just put me out of my misery already, schools!!
thank you-- yeah, I've been doing some research today. i do know its just the anxiety of this whole process making everything seem "over" even though its still so early. But seeing some other options that I hadn't looked into before helps bring the stress down... a little. =)
Yeah, at least we got something for that fee we paid.
CCNY on the other hand....I don't know WHAT they could give me if I decide to shell out that $125 (oh, and they don't take credit cards--check/money order only).
The University of Maryland should have (snail) mailed out acceptances for the poetry program on Friday 2/26, according to both the director and coordinator of the CW department. I haven't seen anyone on here who applied to Maryland in the first place, but thought it would be helpful to pass along any information I had.
E-mail me if you get in. It's lonely being the only one not talking about Michigan, Iowa, McNeese, UNM, or UNCW.
Congrats to all the New School admits! I have a friend there in CNF. If you have any questions let me know and I'll ask him/pass on your e-mails to him.
I also wanted to jump into the "is the MFA worth it?" conversation.
I was wondering about this the other day and kept wondering if I was wasting my time and one of my professors reminded me that when I finish my MFA, I will only be twenty-six. If I can spend the next three years doing what I love -- reading, writing, teaching, being around people who love to write, living in an amazing place -- why the hell not? If, when I'm done, I can't find a teaching gig, I'll still only be twenty-six and I'll have plenty of time to figure it out.
If I was older and applying for an MFA (I'm still twenty-two until the end of April) I'd probably have a different take on it, but right now I can hardly decide what I'm going to do next weekend, let alone what I'm going to be doing fifteen years from now. Maybe I'll even realize I hate teaching. Maybe I'll realize I should have gone to law school. Who knows? But I'm not going to let the uncertainty about the job market taint my elation about three fully funded years to do what I love.
While they do provide a lot of food for thought, does anyone else feel like Benton yaws on and on without giving any sort of solutions? If academia is a dead-end hope for humanties-geared individuals, then, pray-tell, what are we supposed to do with ourselves?
After moving away from home with my computer-engineer boyfriend (who landed his $80k-a-year job before he graduated) and being surrounded by his similarly successful friends, I began to experience the exact feelings of worthlessness that Benton addresses. Then when I looked around and realized that it wasn't just me, but all my English/PoliSci/LSA-graduate friends who were having difficulties, I started blaming "society." Why are teachers and writers inherently undervalued?
I rankled and fumed until my dad advised me to "quit it;" that marinating in my own bitterness was the best way to go insane, literally. I was also alienating the hell out of my boyfriend. The poor soul.
So I've shifted gears back to hope, which seems to be what Benton is advising against, quite vehemently. So: if I can't have hope, what are folks like me left with? Really? Half-hearted dreams of teaching unappreciative high schoolers? Listening to our rich spouses talk about coding and bug-triaging while we absently scribble fragmented poems on napkins that will be thrown away buy the busboy? Or worst of all, living out our lives wondering, "what if...?"
Benton says barely anyone can enter grad school without taking enormous risks. But, can anyone accomplish anything without taking enormous risks? People do it every day.
Be wary, yes. Do research. I'm planning on applying next year, and I've started my research now-- not so much by reading this blog, but by speaking to admissions offices, professors, current students, and post-grads. And you know what? If I get to the point where I think and MFA isn't the best fit for me, I'll change directions. I'm nearly two years out of college and I've learned that if you're night fighting for the life you want every day, you're losing ground. But I don't want articles like this to make people think they should quit before they start. Or be afraid of a battle and a few tears.
@AnotherJenny: Well said--couldn't have said it better myself. I agree that Benton makes some quite good and poignant points. And they shouldn't be taken lightly. But, you're also right: buyer beware; writer beware. However, the cliche is there for a reason: without risk there is no reward. And this is coming from, ahem, a thirty-four-year-old. Ouch, I outed myself.
Coreyann--as a result of today's discussions, I too am researching low res programs to see if I can find something I can afford and live with timewise(somehow fit it in while keeping my full-time job--which I had really been hoping not to have to do, but oh well. In this economy, I should be glad to have one.)
Anyway, it's giving me a possible Plan B to consider. Makes this whole thing feel more hopeful.
I didn't read the piece for fear of...well adding to all my current fears. But I still read this blog, so I'm only partially masochistic. I guess.
At any rate, I applied to 10 schools this year and part of my reasoning behind pursuing an MFA was this: I'd been following around my goal-oriented boyfriend while he pursued his "useful" education and decided I needed to do something for myself. But what exactly was that? A degree in Health Communications, like Google ads kept suggesting? Hell, no. I needed to pursue something I had genuine interest in, to hell with the risks.
So now I'm waiting around to hear back, separated geographically from my now-gainfully-employed boyfriend and hoping I catch a little bit of a break after a fews years of post-college floundering and dead-end or joyless jobs.
But I do not think I made a mistake. If I get a useless degree I will still believe I made the right choice, regardless of where it leads me. Even if I wind up as a PR flack in huckster hell, at least a gave it a god damn go.
Thank you, by the way, for your eloquent post. You are not alone.
@Meredith: I'm very happy for you, as I've read many of you're encouraging comments here, despite some hard luck and waiting on your end. I, among others, added my two cents--though I veered into the wordy realm, I'm sure--just recently over on DH about how deep the UNCW waitlist may be. In short, though it could be bigger no doubt given this crazy application year, I don't think it's too much more than 7-9 per genre. Of course, this is only a guesstimate.
Cheering for you! (especially since you're in fiction and not CNF. Ha-ha). Dryleaves is definitely right-on in saying it's a relief to get some good news.
@Kati-Jane--I don't know what to think about Hannah's passing. I'm a huge southern gothic fan and I looked as him as the great-grandson of Faulkner. I applied to the Ole Miss program (don't know if I would be lucky to get in), and those were my thoughts...What would the program be without Barry Hannah? I love the Ole' Miss campus and the crazy southern gothic scene and I visited Rowan Oaks and poured some JD on William's grave. I don't know...maybe such a prestigious position would pull somebody else amazing in, but who would replace Hannah (Cormac McCarthy 20 years ago). I got on to websites and started ordering his first signed additions this morning...only one so far, but I'm hoping to snag his most recent novel that I love.
@ everyone--I have been a lurker here and have been posting at Amanda's blog. This blog has caused me to break down in tears a number of times, but in the end looking at it has been more helpful than harmful.
I got into the Tennessee for an MA in Creative writing and Idaho for an MFA (as others on this blog have--for fiction). I got pumped reading their website and who wouldn't want to be a Vandal only a little less weird than being a Hoya during undergrad.
I applied to MFA programs right out of college. This time around, I felt much more confident because I believe all the reading that I have done in the meantime and life experience has allowed me to expand my voice.
So congrats to everyone so far and there are many of you...and don't give up if you have to apply more than once. Read like hell. That's my best advice.
Just to add a different spin on the "is an MFA worth it" thing, there was a study out a day or two ago that showed that the average salary for an undergraduate philosophy major was higher than that of business administration major ten years after graduation. So if anyone asks you "What are you gonna do with an MFA?" stick their noses in that.
Wow, if anyone I know feels like their inbox is lonely I'm gonna recommend they subscribe to one of these threads. It's kind of insane. I had to force quit Mail cause it couldn't keep up.
I am gonna play dumb and say I don't know Barry Hannah though I did apply to Ole Miss, and am hoping for a good response. I haven't gotten anything back yet from my seven.
Vanderbilt and Alabama have supposedly already made their decisions, but I haven't got squat back from them either. I wasn't too excited about Vanderbilt, but Alabama could have been interesting.
Good luck to all who are getting accepted. As for everyone else who knows what the next few days/weeks will bring.
Haha sick! Can you link to that article!? Ever since I graduated with a philosophy degree I've been getting grief for it. "What are going to do with a philosophy degree!," they'd ask. "What won't I do," is my response.
DG - I'm a philosophy major and I read that too and got a little puffed up, like "yeya, take that business majors!" Then I realized that the only job I could get was as a high school teacher and returned to my previous slouching position. Then again, most of my business major friends are unemployed and live with their parents still :D No offense to those living with their parents, I just had to put up with their judgmental faces as I told them my major was philosophy and that I did not want to go to law school. I need something to rub in their faces! SOMETHING ;0)
Just a quickshot about the MFA: At the very least, you have a master's degree. In terms of salary, this can have a direct impact for a number of other fields. Most employers looking at your educational background won't care that you an English degree or a degree in cross-stitching, but they will care that you stuck with something for four years. Or that you went to the trouble of getting an advanced degree. An MFA is never a useless thing. :)
I must burst some of our bubbles here though and say that we have to take into account the philosophy majors that go to law school. Alas, there are many out there who did not major in philosophy for their love of Hegel :(
I'm running out of alternatives for using my degree other than teaching. Seriously, any ideas?? It is funny though, my brother has a business degree from a great school, military experience, and an internship under his belt, and cannot find work to save his life. F you state of Michigan and your 13% unemployment :*{
Official rejections via snail-mail from Oregon State and UC-Boulder for Fiction. I applied to 17 schools and I only have 4 left now. I've pretty much lost hope :(
That's fine and dandy about getting a Master's degree for upward mobility within your company. But tell me: what is this about the Master's in cross-stitching?
I still remember when I told one of my sorority "sisters" (a guy--I was in a co-ed service band sorority) that my major was in English; he, the oh-so-smart engineering major, quipped: "Well, at least you can still get a job at McDonald's."
I know I shouldn't have been pissed, but boy, was I!
The Master of Science in Cross-Stitching is quite a valuable degree offered mostly in communities with a larger geriatric population. Once it was established as a full discipline, many subspecialities formed, organized around the stab-and-sew and railroad-stitch schools. In conjunction with a textiles certification, one can go far in the world of fashion and design.
Regarding the use of the BA or MA:
If you are interested in working as a communicator or writer, there are so many areas that you could specialize in. I was trained for a month in one of my disciplines, and I began working from home. You could learn to write articles, edit, do some of the basic things we're trained to do or you could look into PR, technical companies, and other organizations that would be interested in hiring a creative mind. Most of the time it's marketing departments that'll get your foot in the door, but I have interviewed for positions that involved little more than making a person's gibberish into presentable sentences. There are a lot of different ways you could apply yourself. Hell, Abercrombie and Fitch employs philosophy PhD holders to write some of their slogans. As lame as it would be to work for a place like that, you'll be making money, and you'll be using your degree. Instead of working a crappy retail job, you could be working a crappy corporate job but making more money. Would make it more palatable until other opportunities came around. There are even more things you could do, which is why people write books like What to Do with An English Degree. I'm not saying those books are amazing, but sometimes it just takes a shift in perspective and a bit of resourcefulness to see where you can put your talents to use. Hell, save up some money from your crappy job and dump it into a weekend seminar on grant writing. Then approach some organizations on the side until you can make a full-time go of it. There are plenty of quick skill sets that will prove invaluable in the long term. I'm definitely not saying don't pursue teaching and publication because you can certainly make those happen, but like someone else mentioned, you might have adjunct at a couple different schools before you get the tenure track of your dreams. Just a few thoughts, sorry to ramble.
I feel you on the SIUC rejection letter. Mine wasn't even sealed shut!
@ MB Wells
What a dick. Good for you for never talking to him again.
Upon hearing about my Creative Writing major, someone told me "I don't even know why they teach English anymore! Everyone should just learn computers."
I've also gotten a "What, you mean like children's books?"
Someone asked me why I studied English once, and I ninja'd up a couple copies of the Norton Critical Anthology and proceeded to impress upon him how literature was still relevant. Yay for hardcovers with sharp edges.
p.s. I posted this on DH, but I got a call from Johns Hopkins this morning, I'm waitlisted for poetry! There are five on the waitlist, with no ranking.
I don't think you're the only one having problems with the blog. It's doing some crazy things. It might be a blogger wide issues since I've been encountering problems on other blogs as well.
Kaybay,
You sound like someone that needs a pair of brass knuckles with the letters M.F.A engraved on it.
"I'm getting an MFA in creative writing."
"Oh, so you write stuff like Twilight then?"
"No, not like Twilight."
"Oh, I like Twilight. Jacob is HAWT. You should do something with computers."
"Hey, look! It's some goth kid with a wolf shirt!"
@dylJ -- There's already a forum. It's a Ning group that has forum and chat capabilities. You have to be invited, of course. They let me in, so I'm sure their standard is not too high.
Contact Jasmine or amanda.
I'm there. We should try to grow and develop THAT group, instead of another forum. I don't want to spread myself too thin. Unless your forum really takes off, in which case, I'll follow wherever there's traffic. Hee.
I think having an open forum in this format would allow those who don't necessarily want to participate but just spectate to benefit from community too.
i.e. you don't have to register to access information.
I am rolling over here. Can we please design a pair? Because I've gotten that Twilight response more than once, and I'm sure the look-of-death appeared on my face each time.
Kinda like how the girl's face morphed at the end of Paranormal Activity...
Accepted at Adelphi via phone today. I hope to hear from the all the other programs I applied to within the next 10 days so I have plenty of time to make an informed decision.
On a related note, how is that some applicants are called for acceptances and others "only" recieve letters? I'm thinking of Iowa specifically.
I was actually referring to the technical problems many people have encountered over the past couple of days not the content and/or accessibility of the site.
@ all the people who are currently teaching high school or elementary/middle school:
How did you land your teaching jobs? Do you need a degree in education? Is there a test (like the GRE) that you have to take before or after applying?
I'm in art school, about to finish up, but I've heard of a few people who wound up teaching elementary or high school right after graduating.
So any info. on how any of you landed your teaching gigs would totally be welcomed (and no, I'm not doing this just because I want a job after graduating. I've tutored in the past, and I like talking and helping out younger people with any school-related troubles they may have).
It'd be interesting to teach in the morning and afternoon and take MFA classes in the evening (most of the schools I've applied to offer evening classes, so that's a plus).
To teach in high school you need your teaching certificate which you have to take several tests including the basic skills test, content test and APT test. You also need to have an education degree from an accredited university. My knowledge only extends to teaching English, but I have a friend who went through and art education program and I would assume it is a similar situation. There may very well be ways around the education degree for specific circumstances, but I am currently not aware of them. Hope that helps.
You mentioned you're in Honolulu. Are you from there originally? Going to school there? I'm from Hilo and graduated from Manoa in 08. Congrats on New School. You think you're gonna accept? People always talk about the high cost of living in NYC, but Honolulu people don't exactly have it easy, either. And I assume there are more work opportunities in NYC and the public transport is a million times better than DA BUS. I also applied to New School for fiction, but haven't heard from them.
Ok, I'm going to out myself here as a *collective gasp* THEOLOGY teacher!! I'm not uptight or judgmental, I swear, I just really, really needed a job with benefits and it was the only job tolerant of my stigmatized degree. My degree is in philosophy, but I also took enough religious studies classes so that my degree is sort of a co-degree thing-a-ma-bobber. BUT, I'm not a Jesus freak!! The good thing about my job is that I do not need to be certified, so I applied with a regular bachelor's degree and that's all I really need.
One reason I want my MFA is for the lit classes, because I do not want to teach theology (I'm not okay with forceful evangelism, it makes me want to barf all over the place). If I teach again, it will be in English and probably not at a religious school. Just not my thing. People's faith life is their business and I don't want to be forced to make it mine.
You have to have a degree in early education to teach elementary school. Depending on the public school district, you can usually apply with a bachelor's degree and apply for a temporary teaching certificate. I've heard that you need to have the actual certification by three years (at least it's that way here), and you have to take classes, so it's a little tough. Most private schools require you to be certified in three years as well, but they do hire you without certification and without a degree in education (a complete waste, btw).
I cannot recommend teaching right now because I DESPISE my current job. It's really about fit though, so if you decide to apply for teaching jobs, research the schools in depth and *be picky.* Don't just go anywhere.
After reading Kaybay's post I realized I should mention that I was speaking about public schools only and in the state of Illinois. I do believe these qualifications vary state to state and with private schools.
This is my first year applying to MFA programs. I applied to 11; so far, I have one acceptance, 2 waitlists, and am waiting for results re: the last 8. I honestly don't know how people find the energy to apply year after year. That kind of determination completely astounds me. This is a do-or-die kind of situation for me. If I didn't get into any place, I guess I'd just keep on writing & do the plan b route & maybe apply later, later, waaaayyyy laterrrrrr on. The whole process is so exhausting. I even had a dream the other night where I was removed from a waitlist & was officially accepted...woke up from my dream, checked my email on my phone, FAIL. I can't sleep for more than 4 hours at a time because I've become so neurotic and obsessive about checking my email. BLEHHHH.
Good luck again to all, and keep on truckin! Although it's only March 1st, there WILL be an end to all of this madness, & congrats to those that have been accepted to their dream schools and can now finally sleep.
Yes, I am in Florida and I think the requirements are a little more lenient. I think it was "little poet who could" who said that in his state you have to be certified upon hire??? I'm not sure if that's what he said, but it was something like that. DF's right, it does depend on the state. Good luck :)
@Anti- did you say you were in the Philly area? Or am I just getting confused now.. Anyway I believe PA teaching requirements are some of the strictest around. I have a friend who took online classes for a year and a half, is now student teaching, and THEN will be eligible for her certification. She does it through Drexel, FYI. As some other folks said, I think the requirements for private/charter/religious schools are different. They always post jobs at magnet schools on idealist.org.
One more thought: I know NYC, NJ, and Pa are all tough places to get teaching jobs currently, bc of state and city budget issues. Someone with more knowledge feel free to correct me :)
By the way, for anyone thinking about plan B's, may I recommend looking into a Master's in Library Science? I have no experience in the field, but from what I can tell the job pays well, is relatively low stress, is academic, and is similar to teaching. Something I'm considering :D
Yes, I'm in Honolulu. I've been out of college for about five years and working as a journalist. I applied to grad school to escape the crumbling newspaper industry. I'm waiting to hear back from 10 other schools. So far two acceptance: Otis College in LA and The New School.
I don't mean to be a downer, but the job outlook in library sciences are looking not so great right now. Several years ago, it was believed that since most of the librarians are retiring, that a lot of slots would be available for the MLS graduates, but it hasn't been happening... probably due to budget cuts, the whole switch to digital and people accessing information independently rather than turning to the library. Libraries are now hiring folks with expertise in a certain field (law, medicine, science, etc) and then just training them... instead of hiring fresh graduates. Buttt... it's not all doom and gloom, I think...
@kaybay and others considering the MLS, I totally see where you are coming from! As I was in the midst of applying for mine, a teacher said, "imagine being the person responsible for introducing a kid to Charlotte's Web." of course, that would be a school library or public library, and unfortunately those are both being hit hard by the economy (I work for the Philly library system and we got rid of 111 positions this year...). academic or corporate library positions are probably the safe bet- apparently pharmaceutical companies are big on hiring librarians for info systems ppl :)
I'm in the Philly area. I'm planning on hopefully moving to North Jersey and working either there or in NYC while I begin my MFA.
But yeah, I'm not surprised any of the three states you've mentioned are strict when it comes to the teaching situation. I went to elementary and high school in Jersey, and even then, the atmosphere amongst teachers was highly competitive and critical (and this was before the recession!). I can only imagine how bad it is now.
@kaybay and DFW and anyone else who mentioned something helpful that I may have overlooked due to my incredibly forgetful nature:
Your information is invaluable. Thank you so much for your answers.
kaybay: Theology... though I consider myself spiritual, I still had a hard time taking Religion class seriously (I went to a Catholic high school for a bit over a year). A lot of it felt like a REALLY goofy history class. The fact that you're teaching something you don't necessarily believe in is commendable, to say the least. I hope you eventually find what you're looking for in regards to the teaching situation. It'd be nice to teach Eng. Lit. @ a high school (standards such as 1984 and Invisible Man are still my fav. novels ever).
If push comes to shove, and I REALLY need something to fall back on, I guess I can try subbing(I'd probably have to hold another job just to make ends meet, but no one said it was going to be easy).
And I was actually considering going for the MLS, too. I hear the courses are not incredibly complicated. A former coworker got hers from Drexel (online) and said it was a piece of cake.
I work at a library in my school, so the thought of going that route has more than once seemed tempting...
wow - March radness in effect today - congrats to all acceptees, especially Ms. Laura T for the raddest day of all!
I need a pig here! And an acceptance!
@kaybay - library sciences was totally my plan B plan. But like you say Mila, the job outlook is not that great. I figured out that Indiana has an awesome MFA and MLIS program, but both are 3-year programs. Several schools have low-res MLIS degrees like UW and San Jose State.
I thought it would be cool to be an archivist and work at a museum-type place. But those jobs are likely very hard to come by and the thought of having to do a lot of digital programming at a lower salary than an IT specialist bummed me out.
for anyone considering some of the more affordable low-res programs as a Plan B, here's some (more) info:
Pine Manor, Queens U. of Charlotte, Goucher, and Ashland have relatively low tuition (I mean, for low-res, which means $5,000-$6,000/semester).
Spalding could be an excellent value -- offers $1200 assistantships (you don't have to live in Louisville to get one) and tons of scholarships; if you've written a book you can use that as your thesis and get the degree in three semesters.
Pacific Lutheran is quite affordable if you have an MA in English and can graduate a year early.
Converse College has the cheapest tuition but some of the most acclaimed faculty anywhere (Albert Goldbarth?); I can't imagine the low tuition will last; it's really bizarre in a good way that there's a program out there like this one.
Residents of Kentucky and neighboring states might want to take a look at Murray State for its discounted tuition; residents of Nebraska get a huge tuition reduction for the University of Nebraska low-res MFA.
Warren Wilson and Spalding have scholarships for underrepresented groups.
Hey. I've been a lurker, as they've been called recently, but when I saw that you taught theology, I was curious. I'm a religion major with a few dabblings in philosophy, and I was wondering if this backing informs your writing at all. If so, I would be interested in seeing some of your writings and sharing some of my own as well, although, if this comes across as intrusive, we can disregard the whole enterprise altogether. And since this is a first appearance for me, congrats to those who have gotten in where they desired.
i know this came up waaaaay back in the game, but i'll throw in my nickel's worth...i noticed many people saying that there are not many teaching jobs out there, that there are many phds w/o jobs, which is true, but it's probably because they are full of the snobbery...as i've said before, people really should look into the community college route for teaching...you do similar hours, and often for more pay...i left a university to go to a community college and received a 10 percent raise to do so...i've noticed, and i learned this at grambling, that many doctors refuse to do this or refuse to even consider going to a 'lesser' school to teach, which is total douchebaggery...i am constantly looking at jobs, and there are constantly openings...people are afraid to move, or get out of a comfort zone, and many of them just like to out and out bitch about the lack of opportunity for an expert in the literature of aboriginal art circa 1550...gimme a fucking break! there are jobs out there, maybe not that superdreamjob, but there are jobs out there if you are willing to look and go! p.s. teaching high school will kill you quicker than a blind denzel washington!
I have an MLS and am currently an academic librarian. As far as low stress, it really depends on your library! Unfortunately, the academic library can be just as rife with politics and baggage as any workplace. I'm a fairly young librarian, and the struggle between the "new generation" and the traditional librarians can be pretty tricky to navigate.
In the past, librarians were often hired for special skills - law, science, etc, and they often had two Masters - a specific subject in addition to an MLS. The trend now seems to be moving towards an MLS and a digital/web skill set.
That's my experience, anyway. But considering I'm hoping to trade in my MLS for an MFA, you may want to take it with a grain of salt. :)
Congrats on the two acceptances. I've still yet to be accepted and got rejections from Syracuse and UNCW. Bummer. Still waiting to hear from:
Arizona State Brooklyn College Florida Greensboro Hunter Minnesota New School Notre Dame NYU Rutgers
Some are assumed rejections, as they've already made notifications. A bit disheartened at this point, to be honest. I could have approached this process in a much better, more organized way. Definitely a learning experience.
BTW, what newspaper/magazine do you work for in Honolulu?
Lauren: I've had similar thoughts... who could replace the amazing, dazzling Barry Hannah with his incendiary prose? I have a great feeling for Oxford, itself, however, which mitigates the worries about the fact that the Ole Miss program might have a lot still to go on...
@kaybay et al... UW-Milwaukee offers an MLIS in library science and an MA in creative writing. That is what I have currently. I love my degrees--they have offered me so many AMAZING opportunities!
I don't have the degree, but I do get to work the reference desk at a large public library. I do the same job as the librarians (but since I don't have the degree, they get to pay me less!) I can tell you that there is nothing low-stress about this position, unless you are lucky enough to be in a small quiet rural branch or maybe in an academic library. You aren't in a quiet room surrounded by books discussing fiction with polite readers- you are helping loads of unemployed and stressed-out people use a computer mouse for the first time or create a resume. Or you are printing out tax forms and telling teenagers to turn off the porn. This is 90% of what we do. Most of the librarians I work with say that they never would have chosen this career had they known how the position would evolve- they aren't using their skills as a reference librarian anymore. Libraries are changing.
Just something to think about. If you love helping people it is a great job for you, but don't expect to be spending much time with the books.
@honeybadger:it would have been so fabulous if i could have. But from South Asia for a weekend? Sigh. I wish. Have fun those of who're going. And give me updates!
maaaaan, i miss everything when i actually buckle down at work and do my job. hmmph.
CONGRATS to everyone accepted in the last couple of days!
@laura t: so happy for you, girl! kicking ass and taking names ...
so it looks like i can expect my (rejection) letter from michigan any day now if they mailed them out on friday (?). which, i would really like that confirmation because i keep throwing open my mailbox, preparing myself for the bad news, only to have urban outfitters, j. crew, AND west elm catalogs fall out. yes, all in one day.
re: the MLS degree, i was actually planning to apply for that initially and then ended up completely talking myself out of it and focusing on MFA programs instead. methinks i took the wrong route.
so at this point, realllly wanting to know if george mason is done notifying for fiction? would like some closure on that one.
and brown, well ... i know you won't love me like i love you, but i'll still pretend like we have a shot together. xo.
killer bee's...just implied that, wrongly, from the spoiler post, ya know...wasn't even thinking about that movie...i was literally thinking about a blind denzel sneaking up and lopping off my melon... my bad completely
Hey everyone, to those who were accepted into programs, or actually anyone who applied, what were your GPAs like? If you don't mind me asking, I heard it doesn't really matter but it still worries me. Thanks
I currently work at as a reference assistant at a university. Believe me it is very stressful. And I also get paid half of what others make because I don't have that freaking Masters even though I know more than some of the staff do.
Sometimes people have a misconception of the field. In academic institutions you basically become a faculty member. Some librarians are even tenured. As others have mentioned this field is rapidly changing. Everyday I hear about the imminent demise of librarians. It seems as though anything with a connection to the liberal arts and culture is being targeted these days. What exactly is the value of an army of business managers?
I got into an MLS program but then I got accepted for my poetry MFA. I quickly dropped the MLS for my dreams. No regrets.
I have similar worries about Ole Miss... Oxford mitigates some, but I'm curious as to if the attitude to incoming students will be, well, dejected... "Oh man, if only you were here last year!" or something to that effect. Eh, but maybe that's crazy.
@those with good news today [sometimes multiple times over, lol]-- Congratulations!
@those still waiting-- There will be time; There will be time!
My GPA is 3.86. I really don't think it matters much, though. GPA might matter for TAships sometimes, but really, who knows?? Like everyone says, it's mostly the writing sample! All the other factors, like GPA and GRE scores and everything, seem to make up such a small percentage of any decision. At least from what I've heard. I wouldn't worry too much about your GPA!
You seem to have a great list, a mixture of small/large programs with varying funding options. You are bound to hear from someone soon. It's still early. At least you had the balls to apply to Syracuse! I didn't have the confidence to go for the big fully-funded schools.
I haven't heard from 10 schools, but at least three of them are assumed rejections since they started notifying a couple weeks ago: Portland State Univ Oregon Oregon State (assumed rejection) CCA (assumed rejection) CalArts Mills SFSU Saint Mary's College Univ Arizona Arizona State (assumed rejection)
Chin up, dude!
BTW, I don't want to announce where I work on this blog, in case my employer is watching. But let's say it's a Honolulu daily newspaper. That leaves you with two guesses.
@Emily, my GPA was abysmal as an undergrad. GPA can help determine if you're capable of doing the work/understanding stuff in your classes, except ...
1. GPA varies from school to school. honestly, there's a hell of a lot of grade inflation, though there are also schools and teachers that keep to a real bell curve, so one person's 4.0 might be another's 2.7
2. Sometimes people have bad semesters, when something major happens, like a parent dying, having to take extra job hours to stay in school, etc. A student who works to pay tuiition and has a 3.0 isn't necessarily dumber or less motivated than a 4.0 student living with daddy's credit card.
Committees are made up of faculty who see their students' lives and know that behind the numbers there's a complex person, and that the numbers aren't as quantifiable as they might seem.
@Emily. I have gotten into a couple of programs, and I have a 3.8 GPA. However, I was in college for 8 years. I had a serious illness which sometimes kept me out of school, and I was very worried about how it would effect my chances. I didn't write a whole "overcoming hardship" type of personal statement either, although I did breifly address it. I get the impression that it's really true what they say about your writing sample being by FAR the most important thing. Also, let me say that my GRE scores were ridiculously bad. Worse than anyone I know. My advice is don't sweat the small stuff, and in the eyes of the writers reading your application, I think GPAs and GREs are the small stuff. Just the impression I get.
True Story: I read one of my favorite short stories and felt better. Now if I could only begin writing one of those myself...
Also general question: I quite like one of my writing samples, even though it hasn't gotten me in anywhere yet. Would sending it again next year be a heinous idea?
I think if you're applying to the same schools you should probably change it up. Chances are you could write something equal or better with the time between now and next application season. If you're applying to different schools I think it'd be fine though.
I really haven't gotten any news either way with my current applications. I also quite like my portfolio story, quite. That's why I picked it. I figured a 23 year old guy writing from a pregnant narrator's perspective might set me apart.
I'm also thinking of doing an MLIS if I don't get into an MFA program this year. I work for a legislative library, and I really love my job. I'd probably do one of the distance programs and keep working my job with the hope that I'd get a pay raise/promotion to real librarian instead of library tech. The head librarian makes near six figures, so it seems like a good gig to me.
I have no idea whether you should use the same writing sample or put together a new one. BUT ... my own sense is that a lot of us who have talked about our writing through this process feel as if we're writing stronger stuff now. See what the next six months brings. No reason to make the decision now.
Write, write, write. And workshop what you can, let others who are useful literary critics look at it. Not just friends or family, but people who have an idea of what makes a solid piece of writing.
Personally, I'd be worried about going into a CW degree if I felt that nothing I had written in the past year was better than the stuff I wrote a while ago. It could point to real struggle in grad school.
I read one other post responding to BH and I think he might have a point, but then again, I don't know how he would have been as a teacher. Ole Miss, I mean I have read so many books that have been about or around the school in the past. I have been to Oxford and loved it, though I'm not sure i would fit in politics wise. I figured the writer's workshop would be a safe-haven. If you get in, I'd talk to the students and see what they have to say. The first-years will know what they will be missing this coming year. If the program is built around BH and without him it will be terrible, than I'm sure that they will have something to say. I guess we don't have to worry about it unless we get in. I was just kind of hoping I would email him some day and be able to ask his opinion even if I didn't go to Ole Miss.
@ Emily, it definitely doesn't matter. I was accepted at OSU and my GPA isn't fantastic. I have a 3.3 overall, which isn't bad but isn't great, either, especially considering that my undergraduate college is not exactly Harvard. And my transcript includes two withdrawals, an F (in poetry workshop -- in my defense, I forgot to withdraw until after the deadline to do so), and two repeated classes I did poorly in the first time around (the bad grades have been replaced for my GPA but are still listed on the transcript). I hated my 1st major (political science) but stuck with it for three years so I hardly went to class, didn't do the work, etc. I've been much better about that now that I don't want to die during every class.
I was really worried when I first applied because I REALLY wanted to get into OSU but read somewhere on their website -- can't find it now -- that "successful applicants" generally had 3.8 GPA and a GRE of like 650 or something. I actually almost didn't apply but then thought, "Hey, who knows?"
My understanding, as others have said, is that the GPA really only makes a difference in terms of qualifying for TAships/fellowships because the requirements are often set by the graduate school instead of by the MFA program itself.
I hope that's true, that I can write better stories in the upcoming year. Or begin a larger project. I suppose everyone likes their samples; that's why they send them. Why I'm so attached-this story got me into a fairly competitive program two years ago (personal issues kept me from attending). But the program rejected me this year. It's just daunting to create something new out of this wreckage. Thanks for providing such thoughtful responses.
Burning the midnight oil on a paper, but I had to chime in about something before going to bed.
@all fiction applicants:
For your writing samples, did most of you submit one long story and/or an excerpt of a novel to the programs you chose? Or did you opt for multiple pieces of shorter fiction? I did the latter, though I feel this probably hurt my chances with the bigger programs (Hunter, Brooklyn and Iowa: I'm def. looking at you).
I've been fooling around with flash fiction and brevity for a few years now, and I'm hooked. I can't stop editing and whittling down my stories. I'm proud of the work I've accomplished, but I feel like most of the people I've showed my work to (snobby friends, teachers) think I produce these things half-assedly and with no focus (WRONG!).
I guess this helped with the New School acceptance, but part of me feels like many programs and publishers disdain (way) shorter fiction.
For the record, I spend as much time with my writing as the next person, so I hope my penchant for flash fiction does not ruffle any feathers.
Still, do you guys think the top-rated programs are looking for longer stories and/or excerpts of longer projects? I read somewhere that this was the case, but, given how distinct each person's status and story was/is within these programs, I'm probably, VERY, wrong.
I can definitely see the appeal. It must feel like that story has some sort of magic, and it probably does, but if you're applying to the same programs with the same story it can make them feel like your a stuck writer when they would probably more excited to see something new.
Quick question about the Stegner fellowship. If someone is a Stegner fellow, but hasn't gotten an MFA, would that person still be qualififed to teach? (I know it is considered a post-MFA program, but non-MFa holders are admitted.)
I just wanted to pop in here to suggest a documentary that really moved me. For those who haven't seen it, Stone Reader is a film that every aspiring writer should watch. The film portrays the realities of writing in a depressingly honest manner. However, the film is also deeply hopeful in a magical way ... kind of like writing.
Here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LkhLsk8bwU
I watched the film online through Netflix. But I also found a link for watching the film online, but I can't vouch for the link's validity.
I just got an on-line rejection in play writing from UTA. My first rejection. sigh. I'm glad that my first two bits of feedback were interviews at least.
By the way I was so done with this waiting and needed something to pep me up to be able to write again - I haven't written a word since I started these applications. I have enrolled myself for a ten day trek to the Himalayas in May!!
I took a class with a Stegner fellow that didn't have an MFA (he just had a J.D.). Let me put it this way: If you're a Stegner Fellow, chances are you've already made some waves in the literary world or at least have a pretty damn good shot of doing so. While degrees may be necessary to hold certain titles in academia (i.e. Professor), there isn't a rule saying that you have to have an MFA to teach (usu. at the lecturer level). Obviously, if you win a National Book Award or the like, a university might be willing to make exceptions.
Are you missing materials on their status page? Mine claims to be missing transcripts from my 3 undergraduate universities (yeah, I transferred a lot).
I also applied to Florida and they are missing one of my transcripts and my GRE test scores. Carla Blount told me not to worry about that and if I get accepted, then we can work on that.
I applied with three short stories; in some cases, depending on page requirements, I applied with two or four. Maybe I'm being naive, but I can't imagine this hurt my chances, since (in my own biased little opinion) all these stories are full and self-contained. I thought it would be the incorrect choice for me to apply with an excerpt or a single longer story for various reasons: committees would not be able to see my range (if I even have any), an excerpt would be necessarily cut to the point where it lost depth/meaning/nuance, and I would be gambling my chances on a single piece instead of laying bets on several pieces.
I don't know if most people go the excerpt/single piece route; I find them brave if they do. While the majority of readers (and publishers) do look for novels/long work and disdain of the short story form, for the purposes of applying to these programs, I personally feel confident in the short form because of what I mention above regarding range and ...completeness, I guess I would say.
I am not denigrating the choice to apply with long work or an excerpt by any means. Long work or short, a single piece or multiple, a strong manuscript gets people into schools, period. Simply saying for me, and maybe you, Anti-, the choice to use short fiction is not one that I feel I should regret simply because of trends among the larger reading public.
Sorry if that makes no sense, it's 5 am and I've lost my mind.
@Ryan, amanda, Violet_Mai, Dougo, and anyone else I missed
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I ask because I don't know whether I should or can wait to apply another year.
Practically speaking, the biggest thing that would make me hesitate to apply again is providing 3 letters of recommendation. What did you all do about letter of recommendations? Just ask professors/recommenders to mail it again (the same ones/same letters), or?
And did most people ask their professors/whoever was able to write about your writing, your performance as a workshopper, etc. as their recommenders?
Thank you all for your wonderful, kind comments about me! But I have to admit that I'm not that nice. I'm just a creepy stalker-type who is enjoying watching everyone's success. This blog is like a reality show, where the contestants are people with depth and actual goals. You guys are my favorite f*cking show right now!
ChrissyH - Congrats on your upcoming pub in LIT. I think you should take some credit for yesterday's New School acceptances -- you uttered the words publication of The New School and then, like, 4 (or more?) people from the blog get accepted. Speaking of which...
@Xavier & Anti- & weighswithwords (formerly the real Real Talk, right?) & Nadia - Congratulations on TNS!
@LauraT - Sweet Baby James, girl! You became an ArnaBontemps/NickMcRae -- all in one day! Wow!
@dYIJ - You're on a roll, too! Maybe not all in one day, like LauraT, but you're doing really well. And we all know that this is an impossible game to do well in.
Congratulations @laura & LeTigre & Mallory & Mickey & MrHemlock! Yesterday's acceptances were not only rad, but also alliterative...
@Meredith - Congratulations on your waitlist! I hope you will have even happier moments coming soon.
@KT: The LORs were a headache, that's for sure. But I think I read on this blog (forgotten where), that some programs (I think someone mentioned Iowa, though not sure) will let you reuse the LORs from previous applications.
I tried to get a mix of people as my recommenders - a former Prof who also had experience as an editor with me, a writer friend with whom I have a mutual critiquing relationship and an editor with whom I've worked in compiling an anthology.
Anti, I did both. My sample was originally one story - a 30pg piece. And I sent that off to some schools, and then I realised, hmm, the way the story's structured, I could break it into two, change some names around and have two self-contained short stories. So I did, and I sent them to schools that required several stories. When I had the choice, however, of sending either the long story or the two short ones, I tried to feel out the school (which, do I think, would they respond to better?) and went the way of my guts. For my piece of mind, I have been fortunate enough (really fortunate, I know) to have been accepted to places based on both samples. So I'm going to have to go with the adage that, when it comes down to it (one story or several), it doesn't matter - it's what you feel most confident about in regards to a particular school. OK. I'm done blathering.
Not quite. KT, I asked my recommenders (two former writing profs and my former mag editor) who wrote my letters last year to do it again. I didn't go as far as to implore that they should write something brand new. But I had faith they wouldn't be flippant about the process. It did help that I'm close to all three and, given what they know I've been through in the past year, were all earnest in trying to help. I felt a bit guilty, yeah, but it helps when you know they sincerely want to help.
Nadia. Major congrats. Was NS your top choice? Ah, NY . . .
Trilbe, You're so awesome. I simply don't know how you keep up with the blog.
Woke up to a FOE from TNS...thanking me for my application and directing me to the Creative Wtg viewbook incase I want to learn more about the program. Booooooo. Not cool.
Kudos to those already accepted this week and to those who have not yet heard--you're in my thoughts :)
@Arna - I'm sure you're right about the IWW funding. I thought I'd read that they'd mostly equalized it. But I'm sure I'm misremembering because, if your assessment wasn't right, Seth would have stepped in an straightened us both out!
@honeybadger & Nadiya & peaquah - I am definitely going to UM for the visit. I'm sorry you can't go, Nadiya! It seems like a great opportunity. Actually, I'm heading out to 'Bama today! Yea!
I won't lie, during the MFA, I'm looking to shamelessly attach myself to a mentor as well as to a writing clique. So, I'm interested to see how I interact with Peter Streckfus and Joel Brouwer at 'Bama. And with Laura Kasischke and Thylias Moss at UM. I especially admire Thylias Moss -- I'm the kind of cornball who is fascinated by theory. But you can't really tell if a writer/thinker is a good teacher based on their work. So I'm gonna try to find out what she's like as a person.
Re:Michigan & the Missing Documents - Maybe I just got lucky. But, due to an oversight -- despite my STUPID EXCEL CHART that should have helped me avoid these accidents! -- I didn't even request that one of my transcripts be sent to the graduate school at Michigan until the week of the MLK holiday (more than two weeks after the deadline) and I never, to this day, had that transcript sent to the English Department because I forgot, until I just now read on this blog, that both the grad school and the English Department were supposed to receive copies. Maybe I didn't have a problem because I didn't call to ask about it(?) Once I realized my mistake, I just had the transcript sent out and hoped for the best(!) Or maybe things worked out for me because Karma knew that I'd genuinely tried my best to get everything to everyone accurately and on-time.
Re:SAIC - SAIC's classes do look awesome! I love that they do classes like, The Book as a Work of Visual Art and Typography and Typesetting for Writers. But while I was looking through their catalog, I kept thinking of David Sedaris in Me Talk Pretty One Day talking about how, when he taught literature at SAIC, he just made random sh*t up because he knew that he could get away with it. Like, when he had his class watch the soaps and write papers on them, because he didn't have time to keep up with all of the shows he wanted to watch. He is SO wrong! But I love him!
Congratulations to all the New School acceptances! I know someone who is a current student there, and she just gave me the scoop on it last night. It sounds amazing, and I'm super excited for you guys.
@Jasmine and @Anti-, I also submitted several shorter pieces. These were pieces that have already been accepted at various journals, so I was confident in them.
I've been writing longer stories lately (~25-30 pages) so several of my submissions were just one 24-page story. Others also included a 15-page story. They're related, and one character appears in both, but they definitely stand alone. My Syracuse acceptance was on the strength of just the 24-pager, so I'm renewing my efforts to send that one around to lit mags.
I think using a variety of shorter stories is also a good strategy, but for me personally I felt that my strength was depth rather than breadth, if that makes sense.
Laura Kasischke is awesome. She taught me fiction in undergrad, and wrote one of my recommendations to grad school. Fun Fact: she has the most Hopwoods of anyone to date.
What's Iowa's funding like for International students that are accepted through mail, rather than a call? I mean the ones who get calls get the most funding, right? But is it possible that International students don't get any funding whatsoever?
THANK YOU for the congratulations!!!! Trilbe, I don't think I'm nearly as awesome as Nick or Arna, haha!
Having acceptances is SUCH a relief, but I am now in a state that I hope none of you will have to face... Funding limbo. It means having acceptances that I don't know if I'll be able to accept! Eep. As of now, I don't have a TAship at Pitt, Rutgers-Newark hasn't made funding decisions, and I don't know about Sarah Lawrence -- I'm going to call their financial aid office today and ask (and remind them that I'm poor and don't want to go into debt and please give me an enormous scholarship?). Also longing for a TAship to open up at Pitt and/or for Rutgers to decide to give me one.
Received the second rejection in two days on a story I'd sent out in November. Sent it out to three more magazines in under half an hour. If only applying to the MFAs was this efficient.
Yeah what the heck is with this New School email today telling me to visit the school? Not only have I visited multiple times, but I applied. I don't get their deal.
@Leslie No kidding! I remember when I first started sending stories out, it was a day long ordeal to go through Writer's Market and try to parse out what the magazines were looking for, then getting a stack of legal envelopes, SASEs, a ream of paper and an extra printer cartridge.
Now with an hour or two on Duotrope I can get ten out. I love living in the future.
@Andy - Sorry. Just saw your comment about Webster. I think you may have been in my Shakespeare I class with Anne! And, if you're the same Andy, I saw your play performed. Were you there in 2005?
I had inquired about transcripts being marked as missing on the status page as well--apparently there was a miscommunication between the English department and the Admissions office. So, the UF status page is incorrect in regards to missing transcripts.
I was also told that notifications will go out by March 15.
To anyone else waiting on the New School---I was looking at Mailbags from last year and it looks like their notifications are spread out and in different forms---phone calls went out in February but someone got in by mail on March 22nd, and someone else got a phone call (for Writing for Children) on Mach 30. So I guess we don't have to give up hope yet, though I wonder if the early people are the ones who get scholarships. :\
Did anyone else apply to the Writing for Children program? I put in a dual app with fiction.
Thank you so much for writing that and for looking what happened with the New School last year. I was pretty bummed yesterday (because my inbox was, sadly, empty) so this gives me a little hope.
Thanks for looking into TNS. I applied in poetry and as far as I can tell, no acceptances/rejections have been sent out for it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Rejections are exhausting--I want some good news!!
No problem! From some of the posts it sounds like they really are all over the place with admitting people and there were definitely snail mail rejections AND acceptances coming in at the end of March.
thank you so much for all of the excitement/congratulations! Everybody here is just so wonderful!
I just wanted to pop on here quickly and see how everybody's doing :), wish everybody nerves of steel, luck, and inner-calm for the day. This is getting intense, huh, March? Well, we're tougher!
I'm so excited for all the good news that's been coming in, here! And I'd love to connect/chat with the other New School people, here (are we all CNF? Maybe Fiction, too?).
Hang in, everybody. I think about you guys often (honestly, I do) and know we're all rooting for each other. Can't wait to get home tonight and get caught up on the day's news!
Thanks Sarah. I got that irritating "come visit us" NS email too. Good thing I got all my rage about my empty mailbox out of my system yesterday with a long gym session, a bunch of cookies, and "The good wife."
I feel like I want to read "A Portrait of the Artist as Young Man" over yet again, and retreat into self-assured, grandiose exile in my mind until my unchecked mailbox is full with whatever news comes my way a month from now.
Any other suggestions in the Henry Miller, Joycean, all for art, pure self-affirmation kind-of-vein? I could use a new read. I've been reading many quieter, more subtle books. But I think I could use a dose of grandiosity!
Yes. My instinct is to read as well; read and reread my beloved classics, yet then the a-hole devil on my shoulder says, "No! You've not been accepted to any schools yet! Reading those will only remind you of your writer-ly desires! Go eat some cake instead!"
Accepted to Rutgers Newark for Poetry by form e-mail from the admin side (not directly from the MFA). Not sure if they are offering funding this year, as the form e-mail states I didn't receive funding and have to produce proof of $41,000 as an international student. I've checked my pockets and all I have is this fine aftershave sample, and my drug ring is only in its nascent stage. I'll get confirmation later today, but let's hope Iowa offers me something like The MFA Golden Table, or Precious Muse Platinum Bouquet. Brown and Virginia to go, as Oxford pulled out citing lack of ability to transfer references - it's the MFA admin equivalent of a floppy dick.
I hear you about the difficult decision of whether to apply again. Although I did get into Montana (off the waitlist, by the way, and without funding), I had found the whole process of applying a lot more demoralizing than I expected going in. But I wrote a ton last year, and felt like I had much stronger samples to send out. So I gave it another shot.
I felt really bad about making my recommenders hassle with my letters all over again. Basically I told them it was fine to send the same letter, but if they wanted to update it I would send them my resume/new samples if it would be helpful. I think two updated theirs and one didn't. But they were super supportive and none of them made a fuss. I'd say if that's your main hesitation, just remind yourself that these people believe in your writing, take a deep breath, and ask.
In the end, I'm really glad I applied again. I'm having much better luck this time around. And I feel, strangely, like these schools did me a favor by rejecting me last year: I wrote a lot in the interim and I think I improved.
What's your situation, though? Do you have a funding offer? Are you employed now? Having a job I liked, and not getting any funding from Montana, made it a pretty easy choice for me. But if I was unemployed or had been offered some funding, I'm not sure what I would have done.
@ anti - sorry, just saw your question about samples. I sent two stories (one 15 pages, one 20 pages) to most schools. Wisconsin and Virginia only got the 15 page one since they seemed to be such sticklers about sample lengths. My longer book-length work is in creative non-fiction, so that wasn't an option.
Hi everyone--I just wanted to let you know that UNCG's spring break starts next week. I don't know if that impacts the decision-making or not, but that may explain some of the delay.
Also, if you haven't already, fill out a FAFSA! (This is good advice even if you aren't applying for UNCG.) There is a lot of funding out there that you can get, and a lot of it doesn't have to be paid back.
Good luck with the waiting game! I know this time last year I was a wreck waiting. I can't believe that was a year ago... man, time has flown!
2,502 comments:
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fiction for me! oh lordy, I wonder how big this waitlist is.... I feel like I'm at the doctor's office, finally out of the waiting room!!!... to wait again. more. in an individual patient room. commence impatient foot-tapping once again.
@ Meredith
Congrats on your first good news. It is a relief, isn't it?
and thanks miss private eye!!!
@ sh
I am CNF.
@ Dry Leaves
yeah, it really is!! even if it's just a waitlist... it's nice to know some school likes me at least a little! (oh man, I sound so pathetic... bahhh!)
well this may be a sign of me losing my mind, but after all the New School news today and my hopes slowly fading, I'm sending out an application for Queens University low-res. I feel like I hsould have explored the low-res option more fully in the first place... but luckily they have a late deadline. so... here we go. what a day.
Coreyann,
Relax! The notification season isn't over yet! If you really want to send out some low-residency applications just so you have peace of mind, I think Goddard College, Pine Manor College, and Spalding all have late submission dates. Goddard and Spalding don't need your materials until like April or May, if I remember correctly. That's if you want to start the program this summer. If you'd be willing to wait until next January to begin your MFA experience you could even wait until September to apply to a full list of low-res programs.
@SAIC applicants
Has anyone else been getting too hopeful by all the shiny pamphlets and giant book they send to you when you apply? It's killing me. I feel like they're just trying to tempt me and say, "Look how awesome our program is!" only to reject me later this month.
(Hmm, I might be wrong about a couple of those. Possible that dates have changed since I first researched those schools... But you can check out Seth's list of low-res programs and research yourself.)
@ klairkwilty
You went to Webster? Me too! Pearson House FTW! I was a film major, but I still took lots of workshops with Erickson. Plus I had a play produced in Surfacing every year that I was an undergrad. Could we have crossed paths?
@ pretzel
Yeah....that humongous book they sent last month is just sitting feet away...taunting me, like "Haha, this program is awesome, only you can't get in because you're not good enough and you don't have enough money! Bwahahaha..."
It's awful.
Ugh, this whole process just has me stressed out...just put me out of my misery already, schools!!
@smilingraindrops:
thank you-- yeah, I've been doing some research today. i do know its just the anxiety of this whole process making everything seem "over" even though its still so early. But seeing some other options that I hadn't looked into before helps bring the stress down... a little. =)
thanks for the help!
@M.B. Wells
But at least we get a "free" book (but considering the application fee was $75, I guess it was a pretty pricey book).
Laura T!!!! I'm freaking out on your behalf! CONGRATS! I'm so excited for you!
Everyone else who got in, AWESOME! MARCH RADNESS IN EFFECT!
@ pretzel,
Yeah, at least we got something for that fee we paid.
CCNY on the other hand....I don't know WHAT they could give me if I decide to shell out that $125 (oh, and they don't take credit cards--check/money order only).
Laura T
Wow!!! Congrats!!!!! x3
The University of Maryland should have (snail) mailed out acceptances for the poetry program on Friday 2/26, according to both the director and coordinator of the CW department. I haven't seen anyone on here who applied to Maryland in the first place, but thought it would be helpful to pass along any information I had.
E-mail me if you get in. It's lonely being the only one not talking about Michigan, Iowa, McNeese, UNM, or UNCW.
gosmj_at_rhodes_dot_edu
Hi Rebecca!
Has anyone talked to Irvine? Are we assuming they've called their six (in fiction at least)?
Congrats to all the New School admits! I have a friend there in CNF. If you have any questions let me know and I'll ask him/pass on your e-mails to him.
I also wanted to jump into the "is the MFA worth it?" conversation.
I was wondering about this the other day and kept wondering if I was wasting my time and one of my professors reminded me that when I finish my MFA, I will only be twenty-six. If I can spend the next three years doing what I love -- reading, writing, teaching, being around people who love to write, living in an amazing place -- why the hell not? If, when I'm done, I can't find a teaching gig, I'll still only be twenty-six and I'll have plenty of time to figure it out.
If I was older and applying for an MFA (I'm still twenty-two until the end of April) I'd probably have a different take on it, but right now I can hardly decide what I'm going to do next weekend, let alone what I'm going to be doing fifteen years from now. Maybe I'll even realize I hate teaching. Maybe I'll realize I should have gone to law school. Who knows? But I'm not going to let the uncertainty about the job market taint my elation about three fully funded years to do what I love.
@ Jameson's Thomas Benton's articles:
While they do provide a lot of food for thought, does anyone else feel like Benton yaws on and on without giving any sort of solutions? If academia is a dead-end hope for humanties-geared individuals, then, pray-tell, what are we supposed to do with ourselves?
After moving away from home with my computer-engineer boyfriend (who landed his $80k-a-year job before he graduated) and being surrounded by his similarly successful friends, I began to experience the exact feelings of worthlessness that Benton addresses. Then when I looked around and realized that it wasn't just me, but all my English/PoliSci/LSA-graduate friends who were having difficulties, I started blaming "society." Why are teachers and writers inherently undervalued?
I rankled and fumed until my dad advised me to "quit it;" that marinating in my own bitterness was the best way to go insane, literally. I was also alienating the hell out of my boyfriend. The poor soul.
So I've shifted gears back to hope, which seems to be what Benton is advising against, quite vehemently. So: if I can't have hope, what are folks like me left with? Really? Half-hearted dreams of teaching unappreciative high schoolers? Listening to our rich spouses talk about coding and bug-triaging while we absently scribble fragmented poems on napkins that will be thrown away buy the busboy? Or worst of all, living out our lives wondering, "what if...?"
Benton says barely anyone can enter grad school without taking enormous risks. But, can anyone accomplish anything without taking enormous risks? People do it every day.
Be wary, yes. Do research. I'm planning on applying next year, and I've started my research now-- not so much by reading this blog, but by speaking to admissions offices, professors, current students, and post-grads. And you know what? If I get to the point where I think and MFA isn't the best fit for me, I'll change directions. I'm nearly two years out of college and I've learned that if you're night fighting for the life you want every day, you're losing ground. But I don't want articles like this to make people think they should quit before they start. Or be afraid of a battle and a few tears.
That's my piece...
hi?
Shit, now everyone knows my name is rebecca.
@AnotherJenny: Well said--couldn't have said it better myself. I agree that Benton makes some quite good and poignant points. And they shouldn't be taken lightly. But, you're also right: buyer beware; writer beware. However, the cliche is there for a reason: without risk there is no reward. And this is coming from, ahem, a thirty-four-year-old. Ouch, I outed myself.
Good luck with everything.
Coreyann--as a result of today's discussions, I too am researching low res programs to see if I can find something I can afford and live with timewise(somehow fit it in while keeping my full-time job--which I had really been hoping not to have to do, but oh well. In this economy, I should be glad to have one.)
Anyway, it's giving me a possible Plan B to consider. Makes this whole thing feel more hopeful.
@anotherjenny
I didn't read the piece for fear of...well adding to all my current fears. But I still read this blog, so I'm only partially masochistic. I guess.
At any rate, I applied to 10 schools this year and part of my reasoning behind pursuing an MFA was this: I'd been following around my goal-oriented boyfriend while he pursued his "useful" education and decided I needed to do something for myself. But what exactly was that? A degree in Health Communications, like Google ads kept suggesting?
Hell, no. I needed to pursue something I had genuine interest in, to hell with the risks.
So now I'm waiting around to hear back, separated geographically from my now-gainfully-employed boyfriend and hoping I catch a little bit of a break after a fews years of post-college floundering and dead-end or joyless jobs.
But I do not think I made a mistake. If I get a useless degree I will still believe I made the right choice, regardless of where it leads me. Even if I wind up as a PR flack in huckster hell, at least a gave it a god damn go.
Thank you, by the way, for your eloquent post. You are not alone.
@Meredith: I'm very happy for you, as I've read many of you're encouraging comments here, despite some hard luck and waiting on your end. I, among others, added my two cents--though I veered into the wordy realm, I'm sure--just recently over on DH about how deep the UNCW waitlist may be. In short, though it could be bigger no doubt given this crazy application year, I don't think it's too much more than 7-9 per genre. Of course, this is only a guesstimate.
Cheering for you! (especially since you're in fiction and not CNF. Ha-ha). Dryleaves is definitely right-on in saying it's a relief to get some good news.
@Kati-Jane--I don't know what to think about Hannah's passing. I'm a huge southern gothic fan and I looked as him as the great-grandson of Faulkner. I applied to the Ole Miss program (don't know if I would be lucky to get in), and those were my thoughts...What would the program be without Barry Hannah? I love the Ole' Miss campus and the crazy southern gothic scene and I visited Rowan Oaks and poured some JD on William's grave. I don't know...maybe such a prestigious position would pull somebody else amazing in, but who would replace Hannah (Cormac McCarthy 20 years ago). I got on to websites and started ordering his first signed additions this morning...only one so far, but I'm hoping to snag his most recent novel that I love.
@ everyone--I have been a lurker here and have been posting at Amanda's blog. This blog has caused me to break down in tears a number of times, but in the end looking at it has been more helpful than harmful.
I got into the Tennessee for an MA in Creative writing and Idaho for an MFA (as others on this blog have--for fiction). I got pumped reading their website and who wouldn't want to be a Vandal only a little less weird than being a Hoya during undergrad.
I applied to MFA programs right out of college. This time around, I felt much more confident because I believe all the reading that I have done in the meantime and life experience has allowed me to expand my voice.
So congrats to everyone so far and there are many of you...and don't give up if you have to apply more than once. Read like hell. That's my best advice.
sorry folks, I hate punctuation and don't care about grammar too much like any good English major should.
Just to add a different spin on the "is an MFA worth it" thing, there was a study out a day or two ago that showed that the average salary for an undergraduate philosophy major was higher than that of business administration major ten years after graduation. So if anyone asks you "What are you gonna do with an MFA?" stick their noses in that.
Wow, if anyone I know feels like their inbox is lonely I'm gonna recommend they subscribe to one of these threads. It's kind of insane. I had to force quit Mail cause it couldn't keep up.
I am gonna play dumb and say I don't know Barry Hannah though I did apply to Ole Miss, and am hoping for a good response. I haven't gotten anything back yet from my seven.
Vanderbilt and Alabama have supposedly already made their decisions, but I haven't got squat back from them either. I wasn't too excited about Vanderbilt, but Alabama could have been interesting.
Good luck to all who are getting accepted. As for everyone else who knows what the next few days/weeks will bring.
@DG
Haha sick! Can you link to that article!? Ever since I graduated with a philosophy degree I've been getting grief for it. "What are going to do with a philosophy degree!," they'd ask. "What won't I do," is my response.
CONGRATS ACCEPTANCEES!!! MEREDITH, DIGAPONY, LAURA T, COURTNEY! YOU ARE ALL AMAZING, ROCK ON!!
DG - I'm a philosophy major and I read that too and got a little puffed up, like "yeya, take that business majors!" Then I realized that the only job I could get was as a high school teacher and returned to my previous slouching position. Then again, most of my business major friends are unemployed and live with their parents still :D No offense to those living with their parents, I just had to put up with their judgmental faces as I told them my major was philosophy and that I did not want to go to law school. I need something to rub in their faces! SOMETHING ;0)
Just a quickshot about the MFA: At the very least, you have a master's degree. In terms of salary, this can have a direct impact for a number of other fields. Most employers looking at your educational background won't care that you an English degree or a degree in cross-stitching, but they will care that you stuck with something for four years. Or that you went to the trouble of getting an advanced degree. An MFA is never a useless thing. :)
I must burst some of our bubbles here though and say that we have to take into account the philosophy majors that go to law school. Alas, there are many out there who did not major in philosophy for their love of Hegel :(
I'm running out of alternatives for using my degree other than teaching. Seriously, any ideas?? It is funny though, my brother has a business degree from a great school, military experience, and an internship under his belt, and cannot find work to save his life. F you state of Michigan and your 13% unemployment :*{
Official rejections via snail-mail from Oregon State and UC-Boulder for Fiction. I applied to 17 schools and I only have 4 left now. I've pretty much lost hope :(
That's fine and dandy about getting a Master's degree for upward mobility within your company. But tell me: what is this about the Master's in cross-stitching?
I know *I'd* be interested in a masters in cross-stitching.
@ kaybay
I still remember when I told one of my sorority "sisters" (a guy--I was in a co-ed service band sorority) that my major was in English; he, the oh-so-smart engineering major, quipped: "Well, at least you can still get a job at McDonald's."
I know I shouldn't have been pissed, but boy, was I!
I never spoke to him again after that. Asshole.
@Woon:
The Master of Science in Cross-Stitching is quite a valuable degree offered mostly in communities with a larger geriatric population. Once it was established as a full discipline, many subspecialities formed, organized around the stab-and-sew and railroad-stitch schools. In conjunction with a textiles certification, one can go far in the world of fashion and design.
Regarding the use of the BA or MA:
If you are interested in working as a communicator or writer, there are so many areas that you could specialize in. I was trained for a month in one of my disciplines, and I began working from home. You could learn to write articles, edit, do some of the basic things we're trained to do or you could look into PR, technical companies, and other organizations that would be interested in hiring a creative mind. Most of the time it's marketing departments that'll get your foot in the door, but I have interviewed for positions that involved little more than making a person's gibberish into presentable sentences. There are a lot of different ways you could apply yourself. Hell, Abercrombie and Fitch employs philosophy PhD holders to write some of their slogans. As lame as it would be to work for a place like that, you'll be making money, and you'll be using your degree. Instead of working a crappy retail job, you could be working a crappy corporate job but making more money. Would make it more palatable until other opportunities came around. There are even more things you could do, which is why people write books like What to Do with An English Degree. I'm not saying those books are amazing, but sometimes it just takes a shift in perspective and a bit of resourcefulness to see where you can put your talents to use. Hell, save up some money from your crappy job and dump it into a weekend seminar on grant writing. Then approach some organizations on the side until you can make a full-time go of it. There are plenty of quick skill sets that will prove invaluable in the long term. I'm definitely not saying don't pursue teaching and publication because you can certainly make those happen, but like someone else mentioned, you might have adjunct at a couple different schools before you get the tenure track of your dreams. Just a few thoughts, sorry to ramble.
Uh oh...congrats to all the New School acceptances! Boo hoo for me, LOL.
@ Hullabaloo
I feel you on the SIUC rejection letter. Mine wasn't even sealed shut!
@ MB Wells
What a dick. Good for you for never talking to him again.
Upon hearing about my Creative Writing major, someone told me "I don't even know why they teach English anymore! Everyone should just learn computers."
I've also gotten a "What, you mean like children's books?"
People are weird.
MB Wells - F him and his smug practicality *shakes fist a la Homer Simpson* :P
Discuss MFA
For everyone crying out for a forum: I've installed one and have created some preliminary categories -- all I need is you all to start posting!
http://yxnstat.com/forum/
I think the forum might need some moderators. Does anyone have experience using phpBB?
Please join and post!
hiya all,
i'm having trouble loading the blog for some reason, and am just really busy this week, so sorry for silence over here!
congrats to all the New School acceptees!
am i right in thinking all the recorded ones have been in fiction and CNF so far?
re: Masters' in Cross Stitch. Never diss the practical arts. they're always needed.
@kaybay, i have tonnes of ideas what you can do job wise ... do you have an email?
Someone asked me why I studied English once, and I ninja'd up a couple copies of the Norton Critical Anthology and proceeded to impress upon him how literature was still relevant. Yay for hardcovers with sharp edges.
p.s. I posted this on DH, but I got a call from Johns Hopkins this morning, I'm waitlisted for poetry! There are five on the waitlist, with no ranking.
@ DigAPony and kaybay
I mean, what the hell? You can't even get a job at McDonald's anymore!
LOL
Koru,
I don't think you're the only one having problems with the blog. It's doing some crazy things. It might be a blogger wide issues since I've been encountering problems on other blogs as well.
Kaybay,
You sound like someone that needs a pair of brass knuckles with the letters M.F.A engraved on it.
"I'm getting an MFA in creative writing."
"Oh, so you write stuff like Twilight then?"
"No, not like Twilight."
"Oh, I like Twilight. Jacob is HAWT. You should do something with computers."
"Hey, look! It's some goth kid with a wolf shirt!"
BAM
@dylJ -- There's already a forum. It's a Ning group that has forum and chat capabilities. You have to be invited, of course. They let me in, so I'm sure their standard is not too high.
Contact Jasmine or amanda.
I'm there. We should try to grow and develop THAT group, instead of another forum. I don't want to spread myself too thin. Unless your forum really takes off, in which case, I'll follow wherever there's traffic. Hee.
@WT, glad to hear that it's not just me ... i was wondering if my poor lappie was just being beaten to death by me and finally giving up the ghost!
@Woon ... yeah, when we saw you were on limbo, well, we almost packed our bags ... lol j/k!
@WanderingTree: OMG. That would be amazing.
@WT
I think having an open forum in this format would allow those who don't necessarily want to participate but just spectate to benefit from community too.
i.e. you don't have to register to access information.
@ WanderingTree
I am rolling over here. Can we please design a pair? Because I've gotten that Twilight response more than once, and I'm sure the look-of-death appeared on my face each time.
Kinda like how the girl's face morphed at the end of Paranormal Activity...
Accepted at Adelphi via phone today. I hope to hear from the all the other programs I applied to within the next 10 days so I have plenty of time to make an informed decision.
On a related note, how is that some applicants are called for acceptances and others "only" recieve letters? I'm thinking of Iowa specifically.
DYIJ,
I was actually referring to the technical problems many people have encountered over the past couple of days not the content and/or accessibility of the site.
@DYlJ - I bookmarked your swell site. We'll see how the traffic goes with time. Thanks for setting this up.
@ all the people who are currently teaching high school or elementary/middle school:
How did you land your teaching jobs? Do you need a degree in education? Is there a test (like the GRE) that you have to take before or after applying?
I'm in art school, about to finish up, but I've heard of a few people who wound up teaching elementary or high school right after graduating.
So any info. on how any of you landed your teaching gigs would totally be welcomed (and no, I'm not doing this just because I want a job after graduating. I've tutored in the past, and I like talking and helping out younger people with any school-related troubles they may have).
It'd be interesting to teach in the morning and afternoon and take MFA classes in the evening (most of the schools I've applied to offer evening classes, so that's a plus).
koru: kbritten at yahoo dot com. Look forward to your ideas!
Wandering Tree, my middle name is "brass knuckles" :P
Can we market these brass knuckles? I want a pair too.
I want a pair in both silver and gold...or gold-plated silver, whichever.
@Anti
To teach in high school you need your teaching certificate which you have to take several tests including the basic skills test, content test and APT test. You also need to have an education degree from an accredited university. My knowledge only extends to teaching English, but I have a friend who went through and art education program and I would assume it is a similar situation. There may very well be ways around the education degree for specific circumstances, but I am currently not aware of them. Hope that helps.
@xavier
You mentioned you're in Honolulu. Are you from there originally? Going to school there? I'm from Hilo and graduated from Manoa in 08. Congrats on New School. You think you're gonna accept? People always talk about the high cost of living in NYC, but Honolulu people don't exactly have it easy, either. And I assume there are more work opportunities in NYC and the public transport is a million times better than DA BUS. I also applied to New School for fiction, but haven't heard from them.
Anti -
Ok, I'm going to out myself here as a *collective gasp* THEOLOGY teacher!! I'm not uptight or judgmental, I swear, I just really, really needed a job with benefits and it was the only job tolerant of my stigmatized degree. My degree is in philosophy, but I also took enough religious studies classes so that my degree is sort of a co-degree thing-a-ma-bobber. BUT, I'm not a Jesus freak!! The good thing about my job is that I do not need to be certified, so I applied with a regular bachelor's degree and that's all I really need.
One reason I want my MFA is for the lit classes, because I do not want to teach theology (I'm not okay with forceful evangelism, it makes me want to barf all over the place). If I teach again, it will be in English and probably not at a religious school. Just not my thing. People's faith life is their business and I don't want to be forced to make it mine.
You have to have a degree in early education to teach elementary school. Depending on the public school district, you can usually apply with a bachelor's degree and apply for a temporary teaching certificate. I've heard that you need to have the actual certification by three years (at least it's that way here), and you have to take classes, so it's a little tough. Most private schools require you to be certified in three years as well, but they do hire you without certification and without a degree in education (a complete waste, btw).
I cannot recommend teaching right now because I DESPISE my current job. It's really about fit though, so if you decide to apply for teaching jobs, research the schools in depth and *be picky.* Don't just go anywhere.
*for which
*an art
Geez I'm going to go headbutt something.
After reading Kaybay's post I realized I should mention that I was speaking about public schools only and in the state of Illinois. I do believe these qualifications vary state to state and with private schools.
@Georgie,
This is my first year applying to MFA programs. I applied to 11; so far, I have one acceptance, 2 waitlists, and am waiting for results re: the last 8. I honestly don't know how people find the energy to apply year after year. That kind of determination completely astounds me. This is a do-or-die kind of situation for me. If I didn't get into any place, I guess I'd just keep on writing & do the plan b route & maybe apply later, later, waaaayyyy laterrrrrr on. The whole process is so exhausting. I even had a dream the other night where I was removed from a waitlist & was officially accepted...woke up from my dream, checked my email on my phone, FAIL. I can't sleep for more than 4 hours at a time because I've become so neurotic and obsessive about checking my email. BLEHHHH.
Good luck again to all, and keep on truckin! Although it's only March 1st, there WILL be an end to all of this madness, & congrats to those that have been accepted to their dream schools and can now finally sleep.
*march 2nd, there you go, i don't even know what day it is anymore.
Yes, I am in Florida and I think the requirements are a little more lenient. I think it was "little poet who could" who said that in his state you have to be certified upon hire??? I'm not sure if that's what he said, but it was something like that. DF's right, it does depend on the state. Good luck :)
Vanni, where were you accepted, if you don't mind me asking? I'm remembering Syracuse, is that right?
Kaybay,
Syracuse accepting me was only a dream...I got a waitlist from them. =(
Accepted at George Mason, though. ^_^
@Anti-
did you say you were in the Philly area? Or am I just getting confused now.. Anyway I believe PA teaching requirements are some of the strictest around. I have a friend who took online classes for a year and a half, is now student teaching, and THEN will be eligible for her certification. She does it through Drexel, FYI. As some other folks said, I think the requirements for private/charter/religious schools are different. They always post jobs at magnet schools on idealist.org.
One more thought: I know NYC, NJ, and Pa are all tough places to get teaching jobs currently, bc of state and city budget issues. Someone with more knowledge feel free to correct me :)
Vanni - sweet waitlist though!! Congrats on your acceptance too!
By the way, for anyone thinking about plan B's, may I recommend looking into a Master's in Library Science? I have no experience in the field, but from what I can tell the job pays well, is relatively low stress, is academic, and is similar to teaching. Something I'm considering :D
Thanks, Kaybay, wishin ya tons of luck! =D
@ UI acceptances---how did you hear you got in...and did anyone say anything about funding to you?
Hey Spencer,
Yes, I'm in Honolulu. I've been out of college for about five years and working as a journalist. I applied to grad school to escape the crumbling newspaper industry. I'm waiting to hear back from 10 other schools. So far two acceptance: Otis College in LA and The New School.
Where'd you apply to? Any responses so far?
@kaybay
I don't mean to be a downer, but the job outlook in library sciences are looking not so great right now. Several years ago, it was believed that since most of the librarians are retiring, that a lot of slots would be available for the MLS graduates, but it hasn't been happening... probably due to budget cuts, the whole switch to digital and people accessing information independently rather than turning to the library. Libraries are now hiring folks with expertise in a certain field (law, medicine, science, etc) and then just training them... instead of hiring fresh graduates. Buttt... it's not all doom and gloom, I think...
@kaybay and others considering the MLS, I totally see where you are coming from! As I was in the midst of applying for mine, a teacher said, "imagine being the person responsible for introducing a kid to Charlotte's Web." of course, that would be a school library or public library, and unfortunately those are both being hit hard by the economy (I work for the Philly library system and we got rid of 111 positions this year...). academic or corporate library positions are probably the safe bet- apparently pharmaceutical companies are big on hiring librarians for info systems ppl :)
sidenote: I didn't end up going for the MLS
@sabina:
I'm in the Philly area. I'm planning on hopefully moving to North Jersey and working either there or in NYC while I begin my MFA.
But yeah, I'm not surprised any of the three states you've mentioned are strict when it comes to the teaching situation. I went to elementary and high school in Jersey, and even then, the atmosphere amongst teachers was highly competitive and critical (and this was before the recession!). I can only imagine how bad it is now.
@kaybay and DFW and anyone else who mentioned something helpful that I may have overlooked due to my incredibly forgetful nature:
Your information is invaluable. Thank you so much for your answers.
kaybay: Theology... though I consider myself spiritual, I still had a hard time taking Religion class seriously (I went to a Catholic high school for a bit over a year). A lot of it felt like a REALLY goofy history class. The fact that you're teaching something you don't necessarily believe in is commendable, to say the least. I hope you eventually find what you're looking for in regards to the teaching situation. It'd be nice to teach Eng. Lit. @ a high school (standards such as 1984 and Invisible Man are still my fav. novels ever).
If push comes to shove, and I REALLY need something to fall back on, I guess I can try subbing(I'd probably have to hold another job just to make ends meet, but no one said it was going to be easy).
And I was actually considering going for the MLS, too. I hear the courses are not incredibly complicated. A former coworker got hers from Drexel (online) and said it was a piece of cake.
I work at a library in my school, so the thought of going that route has more than once seemed tempting...
wow - March radness in effect today - congrats to all acceptees, especially Ms. Laura T for the raddest day of all!
I need a pig here! And an acceptance!
@kaybay - library sciences was totally my plan B plan. But like you say Mila, the job outlook is not that great. I figured out that Indiana has an awesome MFA and MLIS program, but both are 3-year programs. Several schools have low-res MLIS degrees like UW and San Jose State.
I thought it would be cool to be an archivist and work at a museum-type place. But those jobs are likely very hard to come by and the thought of having to do a lot of digital programming at a lower salary than an IT specialist bummed me out.
Thank you for all the congratulations!
And congratulations to all the accepted people today!!!
And MEREDITH -- yay for some good news!! Congratulations on the UNCW waitlist!!
That asian guy and his baseball are starting to piss me off.
for anyone considering some of the more affordable low-res programs as a Plan B, here's some (more) info:
Pine Manor, Queens U. of Charlotte, Goucher, and Ashland have relatively low tuition (I mean, for low-res, which means $5,000-$6,000/semester).
Spalding could be an excellent value -- offers $1200 assistantships (you don't have to live in Louisville to get one) and tons of scholarships; if you've written a book you can use that as your thesis and get the degree in three semesters.
Pacific Lutheran is quite affordable if you have an MA in English and can graduate a year early.
Converse College has the cheapest tuition but some of the most acclaimed faculty anywhere (Albert Goldbarth?); I can't imagine the low tuition will last; it's really bizarre in a good way that there's a program out there like this one.
Residents of Kentucky and neighboring states might want to take a look at Murray State for its discounted tuition; residents of Nebraska get a huge tuition reduction for the University of Nebraska low-res MFA.
Warren Wilson and Spalding have scholarships for underrepresented groups.
@kaybay
Hey. I've been a lurker, as they've been called recently, but when I saw that you taught theology, I was curious. I'm a religion major with a few dabblings in philosophy, and I was wondering if this backing informs your writing at all. If so, I would be interested in seeing some of your writings and sharing some of my own as well, although, if this comes across as intrusive, we can disregard the whole enterprise altogether. And since this is a first appearance for me, congrats to those who have gotten in where they desired.
Does anyone have the direct link for the UFlorida application status check? I can't seem to find it...
Thanks!
@Rose: http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/appstatus.html
i know this came up waaaaay back in the game, but i'll throw in my nickel's worth...i noticed many people saying that there are not many teaching jobs out there, that there are many phds w/o jobs, which is true, but it's probably because they are full of the snobbery...as i've said before, people really should look into the community college route for teaching...you do similar hours, and often for more pay...i left a university to go to a community college and received a 10 percent raise to do so...i've noticed, and i learned this at grambling, that many doctors refuse to do this or refuse to even consider going to a 'lesser' school to teach, which is total douchebaggery...i am constantly looking at jobs, and there are constantly openings...people are afraid to move, or get out of a comfort zone, and many of them just like to out and out bitch about the lack of opportunity for an expert in the literature of aboriginal art circa 1550...gimme a fucking break! there are jobs out there, maybe not that superdreamjob, but there are jobs out there if you are willing to look and go!
p.s. teaching high school will kill you quicker than a blind denzel washington!
@kaybay and other potential librarians -
I have an MLS and am currently an academic librarian. As far as low stress, it really depends on your library! Unfortunately, the academic library can be just as rife with politics and baggage as any workplace. I'm a fairly young librarian, and the struggle between the "new generation" and the traditional librarians can be pretty tricky to navigate.
In the past, librarians were often hired for special skills - law, science, etc, and they often had two Masters - a specific subject in addition to an MLS. The trend now seems to be moving towards an MLS and a digital/web skill set.
That's my experience, anyway. But considering I'm hoping to trade in my MLS for an MFA, you may want to take it with a grain of salt. :)
@Xavier
Congrats on the two acceptances. I've still yet to be accepted and got rejections from Syracuse and UNCW. Bummer. Still waiting to hear from:
Arizona State
Brooklyn College
Florida
Greensboro
Hunter
Minnesota
New School
Notre Dame
NYU
Rutgers
Some are assumed rejections, as they've already made notifications. A bit disheartened at this point, to be honest. I could have approached this process in a much better, more organized way. Definitely a learning experience.
BTW, what newspaper/magazine do you work for in Honolulu?
Lauren: I've had similar thoughts... who could replace the amazing, dazzling Barry Hannah with his incendiary prose? I have a great feeling for Oxford, itself, however, which mitigates the worries about the fact that the Ole Miss program might have a lot still to go on...
Other thoughts?
@kaybay et al... UW-Milwaukee offers an MLIS in library science and an MA in creative writing. That is what I have currently. I love my degrees--they have offered me so many AMAZING opportunities!
Re: The MLS:::
I don't have the degree, but I do get to work the reference desk at a large public library. I do the same job as the librarians (but since I don't have the degree, they get to pay me less!)
I can tell you that there is nothing low-stress about this position, unless you are lucky enough to be in a small quiet rural branch or maybe in an academic library. You aren't in a quiet room surrounded by books discussing fiction with polite readers- you are helping loads of unemployed and stressed-out people use a computer mouse for the first time or create a resume. Or you are printing out tax forms and telling teenagers to turn off the porn. This is 90% of what we do. Most of the librarians I work with say that they never would have chosen this career had they known how the position would evolve- they aren't using their skills as a reference librarian anymore. Libraries are changing.
Just something to think about. If you love helping people it is a great job for you, but don't expect to be spending much time with the books.
@LASwede:
AMEN!
DFW1986:
I KNOW, RIGHT? I've been advised against any sort of spoiler on this blog, so I'll just say: OMGWTFPOLARBEAR!?
@honeybadger:it would have been so fabulous if i could have. But from South Asia for a weekend? Sigh. I wish. Have fun those of who're going. And give me updates!
maaaaan, i miss everything when i actually buckle down at work and do my job. hmmph.
CONGRATS to everyone accepted in the last couple of days!
@laura t: so happy for you, girl! kicking ass and taking names ...
so it looks like i can expect my (rejection) letter from michigan any day now if they mailed them out on friday (?). which, i would really like that confirmation because i keep throwing open my mailbox, preparing myself for the bad news, only to have urban outfitters, j. crew, AND west elm catalogs fall out. yes, all in one day.
re: the MLS degree, i was actually planning to apply for that initially and then ended up completely talking myself out of it and focusing on MFA programs instead. methinks i took the wrong route.
so at this point, realllly wanting to know if george mason is done notifying for fiction? would like some closure on that one.
and brown, well ... i know you won't love me like i love you, but i'll still pretend like we have a shot together. xo.
i'm assuming the deleted comment was directed at me...so i would say sorry, but i didn't see it...plus, that movie's like 4 months old so...
LAswede,
The deleted comment was mine. I was just gossiping about Lost and misspelled a word.
killer bee's...just implied that, wrongly, from the spoiler post, ya know...wasn't even thinking about that movie...i was literally thinking about a blind denzel sneaking up and lopping off my melon...
my bad completely
Hey everyone, to those who were accepted into programs, or actually anyone who applied, what were your GPAs like? If you don't mind me asking, I heard it doesn't really matter but it still worries me. Thanks
sorry...killer bees...on number 70 out of 95 or so 5+ page composition papers...my brain is annihilated...i'm seeing comma splices in my sleep!!
LAswede,
Haha, I have no idea what you're talking about right now!
@everyone talking about the MLIS
I currently work at as a reference assistant at a university. Believe me it is very stressful. And I also get paid half of what others make because I don't have that freaking Masters even though I know more than some of the staff do.
Sometimes people have a misconception of the field. In academic institutions you basically become a faculty member. Some librarians are even tenured. As others have mentioned this field is rapidly changing. Everyday I hear about the imminent demise of librarians. It seems as though anything with a connection to the liberal arts and culture is being targeted these days. What exactly is the value of an army of business managers?
I got into an MLS program but then I got accepted for my poetry MFA. I quickly dropped the MLS for my dreams. No regrets.
Kati-Jane--
I have similar worries about Ole Miss... Oxford mitigates some, but I'm curious as to if the attitude to incoming students will be, well, dejected... "Oh man, if only you were here last year!" or something to that effect. Eh, but maybe that's crazy.
@those with good news today [sometimes multiple times over, lol]--
Congratulations!
@those still waiting--
There will be time; There will be time!
@ Emily,
My GPA is 3.86. I really don't think it matters much, though. GPA might matter for TAships sometimes, but really, who knows?? Like everyone says, it's mostly the writing sample! All the other factors, like GPA and GRE scores and everything, seem to make up such a small percentage of any decision. At least from what I've heard. I wouldn't worry too much about your GPA!
Spencer,
You seem to have a great list, a mixture of small/large programs with varying funding options. You are bound to hear from someone soon. It's still early. At least you had the balls to apply to Syracuse! I didn't have the confidence to go for the big fully-funded schools.
I haven't heard from 10 schools, but at least three of them are assumed rejections since they started notifying a couple weeks ago:
Portland State
Univ Oregon
Oregon State (assumed rejection)
CCA (assumed rejection)
CalArts
Mills
SFSU
Saint Mary's College
Univ Arizona
Arizona State (assumed rejection)
Chin up, dude!
BTW, I don't want to announce where I work on this blog, in case my employer is watching. But let's say it's a Honolulu daily newspaper. That leaves you with two guesses.
Good luck!
@Emily, my GPA was abysmal as an undergrad. GPA can help determine if you're capable of doing the work/understanding stuff in your classes, except ...
1. GPA varies from school to school. honestly, there's a hell of a lot of grade inflation, though there are also schools and teachers that keep to a real bell curve, so one person's 4.0 might be another's 2.7
2. Sometimes people have bad semesters, when something major happens, like a parent dying, having to take extra job hours to stay in school, etc. A student who works to pay tuiition and has a 3.0 isn't necessarily dumber or less motivated than a 4.0 student living with daddy's credit card.
Committees are made up of faculty who see their students' lives and know that behind the numbers there's a complex person, and that the numbers aren't as quantifiable as they might seem.
@Emily. I have gotten into a couple of programs, and I have a 3.8 GPA. However, I was in college for 8 years. I had a serious illness which sometimes kept me out of school, and I was very worried about how it would effect my chances. I didn't write a whole "overcoming hardship" type of personal statement either, although I did breifly address it. I get the impression that it's really true what they say about your writing sample being by FAR the most important thing. Also, let me say that my GRE scores were ridiculously bad. Worse than anyone I know. My advice is don't sweat the small stuff, and in the eyes of the writers reading your application, I think GPAs and GREs are the small stuff. Just the impression I get.
True Story: I read one of my favorite short stories and felt better. Now if I could only begin writing one of those myself...
Also general question: I quite like one of my writing samples, even though it hasn't gotten me in anywhere yet. Would sending it again next year be a heinous idea?
I think if you're applying to the same schools you should probably change it up. Chances are you could write something equal or better with the time between now and next application season. If you're applying to different schools I think it'd be fine though.
I really haven't gotten any news either way with my current applications. I also quite like my portfolio story, quite. That's why I picked it. I figured a 23 year old guy writing from a pregnant narrator's perspective might set me apart.
I'm also thinking of doing an MLIS if I don't get into an MFA program this year. I work for a legislative library, and I really love my job. I'd probably do one of the distance programs and keep working my job with the hope that I'd get a pay raise/promotion to real librarian instead of library tech. The head librarian makes near six figures, so it seems like a good gig to me.
@Georgie,
I have no idea whether you should use the same writing sample or put together a new one. BUT ... my own sense is that a lot of us who have talked about our writing through this process feel as if we're writing stronger stuff now. See what the next six months brings. No reason to make the decision now.
Write, write, write. And workshop what you can, let others who are useful literary critics look at it. Not just friends or family, but people who have an idea of what makes a solid piece of writing.
Personally, I'd be worried about going into a CW degree if I felt that nothing I had written in the past year was better than the stuff I wrote a while ago. It could point to real struggle in grad school.
@Kati-Jane,
I read one other post responding to BH and I think he might have a point, but then again, I don't know how he would have been as a teacher. Ole Miss, I mean I have read so many books that have been about or around the school in the past. I have been to Oxford and loved it, though I'm not sure i would fit in politics wise. I figured the writer's workshop would be a safe-haven. If you get in, I'd talk to the students and see what they have to say. The first-years will know what they will be missing this coming year. If the program is built around BH and without him it will be terrible, than I'm sure that they will have something to say. I guess we don't have to worry about it unless we get in. I was just kind of hoping I would email him some day and be able to ask his opinion even if I didn't go to Ole Miss.
@ Emily, it definitely doesn't matter. I was accepted at OSU and my GPA isn't fantastic. I have a 3.3 overall, which isn't bad but isn't great, either, especially considering that my undergraduate college is not exactly Harvard. And my transcript includes two withdrawals, an F (in poetry workshop -- in my defense, I forgot to withdraw until after the deadline to do so), and two repeated classes I did poorly in the first time around (the bad grades have been replaced for my GPA but are still listed on the transcript). I hated my 1st major (political science) but stuck with it for three years so I hardly went to class, didn't do the work, etc. I've been much better about that now that I don't want to die during every class.
I was really worried when I first applied because I REALLY wanted to get into OSU but read somewhere on their website -- can't find it now -- that "successful applicants" generally had 3.8 GPA and a GRE of like 650 or something. I actually almost didn't apply but then thought, "Hey, who knows?"
My understanding, as others have said, is that the GPA really only makes a difference in terms of qualifying for TAships/fellowships because the requirements are often set by the graduate school instead of by the MFA program itself.
@ koru, presley thomas
I hope that's true, that I can write better stories in the upcoming year. Or begin a larger project. I suppose everyone likes their samples; that's why they send them. Why I'm so attached-this story got me into a fairly competitive program two years ago (personal issues kept me from attending). But the program rejected me this year. It's just daunting to create something new out of this wreckage. Thanks for providing such thoughtful responses.
Burning the midnight oil on a paper, but I had to chime in about something before going to bed.
@all fiction applicants:
For your writing samples, did most of you submit one long story and/or an excerpt of a novel to the programs you chose? Or did you opt for multiple pieces of shorter fiction? I did the latter, though I feel this probably hurt my chances with the bigger programs (Hunter, Brooklyn and Iowa: I'm def. looking at you).
I've been fooling around with flash fiction and brevity for a few years now, and I'm hooked. I can't stop editing and whittling down my stories. I'm proud of the work I've accomplished, but I feel like most of the people I've showed my work to (snobby friends, teachers) think I produce these things half-assedly and with no focus (WRONG!).
I guess this helped with the New School acceptance, but part of me feels like many programs and publishers disdain (way) shorter fiction.
For the record, I spend as much time with my writing as the next person, so I hope my penchant for flash fiction does not ruffle any feathers.
Still, do you guys think the top-rated programs are looking for longer stories and/or excerpts of longer projects? I read somewhere that this was the case, but, given how distinct each person's status and story was/is within these programs, I'm probably, VERY, wrong.
Thoughts?
Georgie,
I can definitely see the appeal. It must feel like that story has some sort of magic, and it probably does, but if you're applying to the same programs with the same story it can make them feel like your a stuck writer when they would probably more excited to see something new.
Quick question about the Stegner fellowship. If someone is a Stegner fellow, but hasn't gotten an MFA, would that person still be qualififed to teach? (I know it is considered a post-MFA program, but non-MFa holders are admitted.)
@ Michael
I care about U of Maryland! Any word on how far they are with fiction?
Congrats to all the new acceptances!
I just wanted to pop in here to suggest a documentary that really moved me. For those who haven't seen it, Stone Reader is a film that every aspiring writer should watch. The film portrays the realities of writing in a depressingly honest manner. However, the film is also deeply hopeful in a magical way ... kind of like writing.
Here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LkhLsk8bwU
I watched the film online through Netflix. But I also found a link for watching the film online, but I can't vouch for the link's validity.
http://www.alluc.org/documentaries/
172525/watch_stone_reader_2002_online.html
I just got an on-line rejection in play writing from UTA. My first rejection. sigh. I'm glad that my first two bits of feedback were interviews at least.
@Meredith and @Le Tigre a big congrats to you both - it must be so so relieving to hear some good news....wish you both all the best...
By the way I was so done with this waiting and needed something to pep me up to be able to write again - I haven't written a word since I started these applications. I have enrolled myself for a ten day trek to the Himalayas in May!!
big day/happy day here.
The New School did, in fact, offer me acceptance and a large scholarship! I. Am. Beyond. Happy. Happy doesn't even begin...
Also, UNCW emailed to let me know they liked my portfolio and that I'm on their wait list.
I'm exhausted from smiling! :) (and also out of practice)
Congrats, Nadia! I'm mad jealous. :P
@Nadia that is so so amazing - congratulations wow
Art,
I took a class with a Stegner fellow that didn't have an MFA (he just had a J.D.). Let me put it this way: If you're a Stegner Fellow, chances are you've already made some waves in the literary world or at least have a pretty damn good shot of doing so. While degrees may be necessary to hold certain titles in academia (i.e. Professor), there isn't a rule saying that you have to have an MFA to teach (usu. at the lecturer level). Obviously, if you win a National Book Award or the like, a university might be willing to make exceptions.
Sam,
That documentary looks awesome (and a little warm and cuddly). I'll have to check it out.
@ Raine
Thanks for the link!
@ Everyone who applied to UFlorida
Are you missing materials on their status page? Mine claims to be missing transcripts from my 3 undergraduate universities (yeah, I transferred a lot).
Argh!
@Rose
I also applied to Florida and they are missing one of my transcripts and my GRE test scores. Carla Blount told me not to worry about that and if I get accepted, then we can work on that.
Anti-
I applied with three short stories; in some cases, depending on page requirements, I applied with two or four. Maybe I'm being naive, but I can't imagine this hurt my chances, since (in my own biased little opinion) all these stories are full and self-contained. I thought it would be the incorrect choice for me to apply with an excerpt or a single longer story for various reasons: committees would not be able to see my range (if I even have any), an excerpt would be necessarily cut to the point where it lost depth/meaning/nuance, and I would be gambling my chances on a single piece instead of laying bets on several pieces.
I don't know if most people go the excerpt/single piece route; I find them brave if they do. While the majority of readers (and publishers) do look for novels/long work and disdain of the short story form, for the purposes of applying to these programs, I personally feel confident in the short form because of what I mention above regarding range and ...completeness, I guess I would say.
I am not denigrating the choice to apply with long work or an excerpt by any means. Long work or short, a single piece or multiple, a strong manuscript gets people into schools, period. Simply saying for me, and maybe you, Anti-, the choice to use short fiction is not one that I feel I should regret simply because of trends among the larger reading public.
Sorry if that makes no sense, it's 5 am and I've lost my mind.
@Ryan, amanda, Violet_Mai, Dougo, and anyone else I missed
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I ask because I don't know whether I should or can wait to apply another year.
Practically speaking, the biggest thing that would make me hesitate to apply again is providing 3 letters of recommendation. What did you all do about letter of recommendations? Just ask professors/recommenders to mail it again (the same ones/same letters), or?
And did most people ask their professors/whoever was able to write about your writing, your performance as a workshopper, etc. as their recommenders?
@Georgie - Loves you too!
Thank you all for your wonderful, kind comments about me! But I have to admit that I'm not that nice. I'm just a creepy stalker-type who is enjoying watching everyone's success. This blog is like a reality show, where the contestants are people with depth and actual goals. You guys are my favorite f*cking show right now!
ChrissyH - Congrats on your upcoming pub in LIT. I think you should take some credit for yesterday's New School acceptances -- you uttered the words publication of The New School and then, like, 4 (or more?) people from the blog get accepted. Speaking of which...
@Xavier & Anti- & weighswithwords (formerly the real Real Talk, right?) & Nadia - Congratulations on TNS!
@LauraT - Sweet Baby James, girl! You became an ArnaBontemps/NickMcRae -- all in one day! Wow!
@dYIJ - You're on a roll, too! Maybe not all in one day, like LauraT, but you're doing really well. And we all know that this is an impossible game to do well in.
Congratulations @laura & LeTigre & Mallory & Mickey & MrHemlock! Yesterday's acceptances were not only rad, but also alliterative...
@Meredith - Congratulations on your waitlist! I hope you will have even happier moments coming soon.
@KT: The LORs were a headache, that's for sure. But I think I read on this blog (forgotten where), that some programs (I think someone mentioned Iowa, though not sure) will let you reuse the LORs from previous applications.
I tried to get a mix of people as my recommenders - a former Prof who also had experience as an editor with me, a writer friend with whom I have a mutual critiquing relationship and an editor with whom I've worked in compiling an anthology.
This blog is hot! So many acceptances! :-)
Anti,
I did both. My sample was originally one story - a 30pg piece. And I sent that off to some schools, and then I realised, hmm, the way the story's structured, I could break it into two, change some names around and have two self-contained short stories. So I did, and I sent them to schools that required several stories. When I had the choice, however, of sending either the long story or the two short ones, I tried to feel out the school (which, do I think, would they respond to better?) and went the way of my guts. For my piece of mind, I have been fortunate enough (really fortunate, I know) to have been accepted to places based on both samples. So I'm going to have to go with the adage that, when it comes down to it (one story or several), it doesn't matter - it's what you feel most confident about in regards to a particular school. OK. I'm done blathering.
Not quite. KT, I asked my recommenders (two former writing profs and my former mag editor) who wrote my letters last year to do it again. I didn't go as far as to implore that they should write something brand new. But I had faith they wouldn't be flippant about the process. It did help that I'm close to all three and, given what they know I've been through in the past year, were all earnest in trying to help. I felt a bit guilty, yeah, but it helps when you know they sincerely want to help.
Nadia.
Major congrats. Was NS your top choice? Ah, NY . . .
Trilbe,
You're so awesome. I simply don't know how you keep up with the blog.
Morning All!
Woke up to a FOE from TNS...thanking me for my application and directing me to the Creative Wtg viewbook incase I want to learn more about the program. Booooooo. Not cool.
Kudos to those already accepted this week and to those who have not yet heard--you're in my thoughts :)
@Arna - I'm sure you're right about the IWW funding. I thought I'd read that they'd mostly equalized it. But I'm sure I'm misremembering because, if your assessment wasn't right, Seth would have stepped in an straightened us both out!
@honeybadger & Nadiya & peaquah - I am definitely going to UM for the visit. I'm sorry you can't go, Nadiya! It seems like a great opportunity. Actually, I'm heading out to 'Bama today! Yea!
I won't lie, during the MFA, I'm looking to shamelessly attach myself to a mentor as well as to a writing clique. So, I'm interested to see how I interact with Peter Streckfus and Joel Brouwer at 'Bama. And with Laura Kasischke and Thylias Moss at UM. I especially admire Thylias Moss -- I'm the kind of cornball who is fascinated by theory. But you can't really tell if a writer/thinker is a good teacher based on their work. So I'm gonna try to find out what she's like as a person.
Re:Michigan & the Missing Documents - Maybe I just got lucky. But, due to an oversight -- despite my STUPID EXCEL CHART that should have helped me avoid these accidents! -- I didn't even request that one of my transcripts be sent to the graduate school at Michigan until the week of the MLK holiday (more than two weeks after the deadline) and I never, to this day, had that transcript sent to the English Department because I forgot, until I just now read on this blog, that both the grad school and the English Department were supposed to receive copies. Maybe I didn't have a problem because I didn't call to ask about it(?) Once I realized my mistake, I just had the transcript sent out and hoped for the best(!) Or maybe things worked out for me because Karma knew that I'd genuinely tried my best to get everything to everyone accurately and on-time.
Re:SAIC - SAIC's classes do look awesome! I love that they do classes like, The Book as a Work of Visual Art and Typography and Typesetting for Writers. But while I was looking through their catalog, I kept thinking of David Sedaris in Me Talk Pretty One Day talking about how, when he taught literature at SAIC, he just made random sh*t up because he knew that he could get away with it. Like, when he had his class watch the soaps and write papers on them, because he didn't have time to keep up with all of the shows he wanted to watch. He is SO wrong! But I love him!
@Cratty - I loooooovvvvveeee yoooouuuuuuuuu!
Congratulations to all the New School acceptances! I know someone who is a current student there, and she just gave me the scoop on it last night. It sounds amazing, and I'm super excited for you guys.
@Jasmine and @Anti-, I also submitted several shorter pieces. These were pieces that have already been accepted at various journals, so I was confident in them.
@Anti:
I've been writing longer stories lately (~25-30 pages) so several of my submissions were just one 24-page story. Others also included a 15-page story. They're related, and one character appears in both, but they definitely stand alone. My Syracuse acceptance was on the strength of just the 24-pager, so I'm renewing my efforts to send that one around to lit mags.
I think using a variety of shorter stories is also a good strategy, but for me personally I felt that my strength was depth rather than breadth, if that makes sense.
@Trilbe:
Laura Kasischke is awesome. She taught me fiction in undergrad, and wrote one of my recommendations to grad school. Fun Fact: she has the most Hopwoods of anyone to date.
You know your day is not going to go well when it starts with an email rejection from a magazine you forgot you'd sent a story to....
Hopwoods--i have three...we can see how much good that's doing me!
@ Seth,
What's Iowa's funding like for International students that are accepted through mail, rather than a call? I mean the ones who get calls get the most funding, right? But is it possible that International students don't get any funding whatsoever?
THANK YOU for the congratulations!!!! Trilbe, I don't think I'm nearly as awesome as Nick or Arna, haha!
Having acceptances is SUCH a relief, but I am now in a state that I hope none of you will have to face... Funding limbo. It means having acceptances that I don't know if I'll be able to accept! Eep. As of now, I don't have a TAship at Pitt, Rutgers-Newark hasn't made funding decisions, and I don't know about Sarah Lawrence -- I'm going to call their financial aid office today and ask (and remind them that I'm poor and don't want to go into debt and please give me an enormous scholarship?). Also longing for a TAship to open up at Pitt and/or for Rutgers to decide to give me one.
@WT
Let me know what you thought of the documentary. I thought it was really terrific.
Received the second rejection in two days on a story I'd sent out in November. Sent it out to three more magazines in under half an hour. If only applying to the MFAs was this efficient.
Yeah what the heck is with this New School email today telling me to visit the school? Not only have I visited multiple times, but I applied. I don't get their deal.
Sam--true that! Onlin Submission Manager is our friend!
@Kristen
FOE e-mails are the devil.
Dear TNS,
Unless you're going to offer me acceptance...stop toying with emotions.
Oy!
@Leslie No kidding! I remember when I first started sending stories out, it was a day long ordeal to go through Writer's Market and try to parse out what the magazines were looking for, then getting a stack of legal envelopes, SASEs, a ream of paper and an extra printer cartridge.
Now with an hour or two on Duotrope I can get ten out. I love living in the future.
@Andy - Sorry. Just saw your comment about Webster. I think you may have been in my Shakespeare I class with Anne! And, if you're the same Andy, I saw your play performed. Were you there in 2005?
@UFlorida Missing Transcripts -
I had inquired about transcripts being marked as missing on the status page as well--apparently there was a miscommunication between the English department and the Admissions office. So, the UF status page is incorrect in regards to missing transcripts.
I was also told that notifications will go out by March 15.
subscribe
To anyone else waiting on the New School---I was looking at Mailbags from last year and it looks like their notifications are spread out and in different forms---phone calls went out in February but someone got in by mail on March 22nd, and someone else got a phone call (for Writing for Children) on Mach 30. So I guess we don't have to give up hope yet, though I wonder if the early people are the ones who get scholarships. :\
Did anyone else apply to the Writing for Children program? I put in a dual app with fiction.
Has anyone else applied to MSUM? With the later deadline, I am dreading the even longer wait...ugh!
@Sarah
Thank you so much for writing that and for looking what happened with the New School last year. I was pretty bummed yesterday (because my inbox was, sadly, empty) so this gives me a little hope.
:)
Thanks Sarah!
@Sarah
Thanks for looking into TNS. I applied in poetry and as far as I can tell, no acceptances/rejections have been sent out for it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Rejections are exhausting--I want some good news!!
@Amber, Kristen, and Chelsea
No problem! From some of the posts it sounds like they really are all over the place with admitting people and there were definitely snail mail rejections AND acceptances coming in at the end of March.
Which means more waiting, ugh, but still.
Hi all! I got a phone call from UC Davis offering me a spot in poetry. Does anyone have insight into this program?
thank you so much for all of the excitement/congratulations! Everybody here is just so wonderful!
I just wanted to pop on here quickly and see how everybody's doing :), wish everybody nerves of steel, luck, and inner-calm for the day. This is getting intense, huh, March? Well, we're tougher!
I'm so excited for all the good news that's been coming in, here! And I'd love to connect/chat with the other New School people, here (are we all CNF? Maybe Fiction, too?).
Hang in, everybody. I think about you guys often (honestly, I do) and know we're all rooting for each other. Can't wait to get home tonight and get caught up on the day's news!
p.a. Wow, LJ, fantastic news already!! CONGRATS!! That's an amazing start to the day! wooohooo!!
Thanks Sarah. I got that irritating "come visit us" NS email too. Good thing I got all my rage about my empty mailbox out of my system yesterday with a long gym session, a bunch of cookies, and "The good wife."
@miss private eye,
This is several days delayed, but where is everyone looking to see BU financial aid status stuff?
I feel so uninformed.
@LJ
One of the UC Davis poetry profs taught me at another school some years ago. Can I email you?
Did anyone else here apply to Brooklyn for poetry?
@Nadia
Congrats on your acceptance! I take it you write CNF? I'm in for fiction at TNS. Are you in New York already, or making the trip from elsewhere?
You can hit me up at jason ed collins at hotmail dot com.
I'm so wound these days! Come on acceptances..
I feel like I want to read "A Portrait of the Artist as Young Man" over yet again, and retreat into self-assured, grandiose exile in my mind until my unchecked mailbox is full with whatever news comes my way a month from now.
Any other suggestions in the Henry Miller, Joycean, all for art, pure self-affirmation kind-of-vein? I could use a new read. I've been reading many quieter, more subtle books. But I think I could use a dose of grandiosity!
Yes. My instinct is to read as well; read and reread my beloved classics, yet then the a-hole devil on my shoulder says, "No! You've not been accepted to any schools yet! Reading those will only remind you of your writer-ly desires! Go eat some cake instead!"
Any word from GCSU fiction????
i also got the "waitlist" email from UNCW in fiction.
i tried posting this on the driftless house but it didn't seem to work...has anyone gotten a formal rejection from cornell yet? if so, which genre?
Nothing wrong with cake! Cake's good, too.
@ umIrenic,
I applied to Brooklyn in poetry. No word yet!
@ em yeu anh,
I applied to Cornell in poetry and have gotten only silence. Assuming rejection obviously, but no formal notification.
Accepted to Rutgers Newark for Poetry by form e-mail from the admin side (not directly from the MFA). Not sure if they are offering funding this year, as the form e-mail states I didn't receive funding and have to produce proof of $41,000 as an international student. I've checked my pockets and all I have is this fine aftershave sample, and my drug ring is only in its nascent stage. I'll get confirmation later today, but let's hope Iowa offers me something like The MFA Golden Table, or Precious Muse Platinum Bouquet. Brown and Virginia to go, as Oxford pulled out citing lack of ability to transfer references - it's the MFA admin equivalent of a floppy dick.
Emily,
There were acceptances at GCSU in poetry and CNF on Monday, but nobody mentioned fiction. Hopefully that means they haven't gone out yet...
Is there anyone who knows about the program at Bath Spa University?
I've been accepted and am trying to find out more about the MA Creative Writing program there, but am having some difficulty getting information.
@KT
I hear you about the difficult decision of whether to apply again. Although I did get into Montana (off the waitlist, by the way, and without funding), I had found the whole process of applying a lot more demoralizing than I expected going in. But I wrote a ton last year, and felt like I had much stronger samples to send out. So I gave it another shot.
I felt really bad about making my recommenders hassle with my letters all over again. Basically I told them it was fine to send the same letter, but if they wanted to update it I would send them my resume/new samples if it would be helpful. I think two updated theirs and one didn't. But they were super supportive and none of them made a fuss. I'd say if that's your main hesitation, just remind yourself that these people believe in your writing, take a deep breath, and ask.
In the end, I'm really glad I applied again. I'm having much better luck this time around. And I feel, strangely, like these schools did me a favor by rejecting me last year: I wrote a lot in the interim and I think I improved.
What's your situation, though? Do you have a funding offer? Are you employed now? Having a job I liked, and not getting any funding from Montana, made it a pretty easy choice for me. But if I was unemployed or had been offered some funding, I'm not sure what I would have done.
@mshalston
i completely felt the same way. i don't remember who but some kind soul on here linked me to here:
www.bu.edu/applicantlink/
most of us have only seen "financial aid assistance" under our applicant link after logging in.
@ anti - sorry, just saw your question about samples. I sent two stories (one 15 pages, one 20 pages) to most schools. Wisconsin and Virginia only got the 15 page one since they seemed to be such sticklers about sample lengths. My longer book-length work is in creative non-fiction, so that wasn't an option.
In at Iowa!!!!!
In at Iowa!!!!!
Nadiya, congratulations!
I wish UNCG would stop sending me Alumni news and women's basketball updates.
The heart can only jerk to a stop so many times in a week before damage is done.
@Nadiya
That is so exciting! Congratulations!
How did you find out?
@ Nadiya - awesome!
@Nadiya, congratulation! Such wonderful news. Please let us know if it was a phone call, email, or snail?
Boy, for some reason I thought I'd have heard from more schools by now. My list so far is
UT Austin-rejected
GMU- Accepted
Have yet to hear anything from
Irvine
SFSU
Iowa
CalArts
St Mary's
Texas State San Marcos
Georgia State
U of Minnesota
Hunter
For the record there are a couple assumed rejections in there and I am applying in Poetry
Anyone have any idea when SFSU starts notifying in poetry? I would like to learn to surf, the correct pronunciation of "brah"
RE: UNCG
Hi everyone--I just wanted to let you know that UNCG's spring break starts next week. I don't know if that impacts the decision-making or not, but that may explain some of the delay.
Also, if you haven't already, fill out a FAFSA! (This is good advice even if you aren't applying for UNCG.) There is a lot of funding out there that you can get, and a lot of it doesn't have to be paid back.
Good luck with the waiting game! I know this time last year I was a wreck waiting. I can't believe that was a year ago... man, time has flown!
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