In reference to Minnesota, where do these notification rumors come from? Everyone posting seems to be way more in-the-know than I am.
Also, where can I find the number of applications sent to a specific program this year? All of this hypothesizing and worrying, and none of it brings me closer to a notification.
I'm looking at programs with later deadlines and was wondering if anyone knew anything about Hamline's funding? I went online and couldn't find anything. Is it safe to say they have no funding??? Just curious :)
@Lizzie - The one who commented on TSE about it had called Minnesota. That's the one that I mentioned. I don't know about the one who came into this thread and "confirmed" it--they never came back to say how they knew.
Application numbers can be found at TSE. Here's a link to the Selectivity rankings, which include both the number of applications and spots available.
huh. after weeks of stalking you people, learning more about you than i know about most members of my immediate family, i've often wondered what (other than an acceptance, of course) would make me finally speak up.
Committees are not bound to read everyone's stuff before extending offers. That may be how Texas does things. I don't know. But I do know some schools extend preliminary offers to very strong applicants before they're even finished reading.
The exact words were, "if you haven't received a phone call, you weren't accepted." The woman explained that she is the person responsible for making the phone calls, so she knows 100% that all calls have been made. Believe me, I want to be wrong. But that's what she reported (extremely reluctantly)--her name is Kathy. There's another woman in the office who answers the phone too & she isn't, apparently, involved in the acceptance/rejection notifications--she just answers the phone. Not sure how to account for the different responses, but I do believe calls have been made. Again, I desperately want to be WRONG!! :)
LOL. Sorry, Swann. But in general the only 'industry-wide' policy about how these applications are processed is that there are no 'industry-wide' policies. Every program chooses to deal with it in a different way.
@chrissy: thank you for the info! and 1100 applicants? i shouldn't be surprised, as apps are up across the board. but ... 1100 applicants? i guess i should be using the fact that i'm actually quite busy at work to help distract me from the waiting. but then, someone would need to block this blog from my internets and i think we all know that isn't happening.
I just went through my email spam folder JUST IN CASE a Syracuse waitlist email ended up there. No luck. I guess it's goodbye, Syracuse. :( At least it wasn't my first choice...
I'm sure we'll see in the next couple days! My last name starts with S.
I really am trying to hold onto the mantra that you haven't been rejected until you've rejected ;p But yeah, seems a tad bleak. Anyway, as Dreux says, the intrigue!
And I KNOW they have the right email, bc I got the silly little confirmation email that my app was complete and submitted. (The funny thing is the email comes from Kathy, who as Danielle said seems to be in charge, so I believe her that they're done accepting, but WHERE IS MY REJECTION??
Mystery of mysteries! They appear to want to torture those of us left lol.
I'm so curious about everyone here on these boards, lurkers and the more vocal ones alike. Since we're getting so anxious and cozy, hi, my name is Victoria, nice to meet you all :)
Hey everyone - Looks like the UT acceptance was a mistake. Chris at the new acceptance site said he was briefly posting rejections and waitlists as well as acceptances. He has now removed the rejections and waitlists.
(Can you tell I'm refreshing these blogs constantly?)
So, good news to all you non-Texas rejects, apparently the report on the Driftless House was a REJECTION and NOT an acceptance :) there's a post by Chris about it on the site. Here's to more worry!
Question for you all on the low-res vs. full res front. I need to decide (tonight) if I'm going to put a final application in the mail for a low residency program. I have an acceptance from a great full residency program, so the only real reason for applying is to keep my options open in case, come early April, I have a melt down and can't stomach the thought of turning my life upside down for an MFA.
Did anyone apply to a mix of low residency and full residency programs? What's your take on that approach?
My last name starts with a "D" and I haven't heard anything from WashU (though in poetry), so I'm guessing it's not alphabetical... Me, I just want some news.
Is there an "Are We There Yet" for 2010? I'm waiting on pins and needles for SFSU, Iowa, George Mason, UT Austin and CalArts (though the list goes on...)
Hence, I created a ning network for us! So anyone have any suggestions for how to tell who is or isn't a troll? If you want to join, send me an email or post on here. Mine is mandasue at gmail dot com. The group is at mfa-limbo.ning.com
raine, I think you're saved my life. Does html work on this blog? Why did I always assume it didn't and post crappy awkward links that don't fit?
Also, I can't believe how many people are talking about Wash U. I never even considered or researched that school and I'm not sure how it went under my radar. I'm assuming that when I saw the selectivity data I just wrote it off. It's clearly pretty popular and selective! Good luck to everybody who applied there.
Thank you, Nick & MFAguy, for the info and kind words. I was hoping you two would chime in. :)
MFAguy, you may not feel like answering in this public forum, which is totally understandable, but why are you looking for a new program? If you don't want to share, maybe I could email you down the line?
Also, congrats to the new waitlists and acceptances posted!
We know some folks have received GNEs (Good News Emails) from GMU. That's all.
@Katie,
I did 2 years of my undergrad at a low-residency program and would be happy to fill you in on my likes and dislikes. We can email, or chat via IM, or whatever works for you.
Ever hear of the MFA 10? Much like the "freshman ten" where you gain ten pounds from all the stress. All the recipes make this more possible. Sticky buns: sugar, cinnamon, a doughy sweet distraction.
1100 apps@ Michigan? Hard not to conjecture, writing on the wall, the odds stacked against [me]
Koru--Lent? A time of anticipation, meditation and penitence? Well if so, being Jewish [mother] but not practicing, maybe I should consider this. Because only yesterday I ate an entire bag of cheesy chips and half of a strawberry shortcake. I told myself it would calm me down.
WordShift, you just hit the nail on the head in that description of Lent! I'm actually looking forward to having something to ground me the next six weeks. :-) This process has been a bit of a ride!
I'm still waiting too ... there's always the possibility they just have a huge stack in random order that they're going to be notifying us as they work their way down the pile!
@Danielle, I'm sure it will be via email if waitlist. I REALLY REALLY hope tomorrow brings clarity and closure on the WashU front, and good news on every other one.
My rejection today was just in the form of an update on the online status, changing the paragraph in the blue rectangle. I was applying for fiction with a playwriting secondary.
@YAR, well, if they had a huge stack of our apps sitting on a table, and when they're done, they just hand them to someone and say 'go down the stack notifying people' ... no reason they'd necessarily alphabetize us before sending emails ... ?
If it makes anyone feel better/worse, this whole process, with its obsessive email-checking and binge cupcake-eating, is EXACTLY like your book being on submission, if not a little worse. So, assuming you survive this, it's all downhill :p
I woke up this morning believing Minnesota would accept/waitlist/or reject me by the end of the day. I know we're all neurotic here, but does anyone feel like time is passing incredibly slow?
It's been three days since my Wisconsin rejection and it literally feels like it was twelve weeks ago.
My friends say I'm really losing it. I haven't been this nervous about something since the will-he-ask-me-to-prom hysteria of high school.
at least you can talk to friends about it! i haven't told people at work, so i have to act normal around them.
and my one art friend who would understand what the process is like because she wants to do an MFA in fibre arts, well, she's kinda been in an alcoholic slump of some sort recently, and not very coherent/raving maniacally so i can't get any sympathy out of her!
gah! this WashU turmoil is corroding my insides! Acceptances to come, acceptances are done. Waitlisting (?), random rejections, sniping in a dark room of confused and mortified citizens.
I had no idea this MFA stuff would be so intense.
Who wants cookies? : ) I think baking is the answer to all our problems. I've been whipping up my own baklava to past the time. Creating food also provides a much needed sense of accomplishment. Yay me! Pat on the back.
@Caleb Doesn't it just make you feel like you're in the not-so-calm part of the storm? Such agony. Why can't it be a simple, all YES's will hear THIS day, all NO's will hear THIS day??
@ Emily, I was rejected from Texas, Wisconsin, and Wash-U. I applied to---hold your breath--18 schools total. It was a huge, huge undertaking, both in terms of my time and my finances, but hopefully I will land somewhere.
you know ... just like Seth & co. made their copany that helps with manuscript reading/looking over MFA apps/etc ... some of you bakers should start a MFA app service providing pick-me-up baked goods for those who are applying ... you could easily finance even going to Columbia with the bakers we have here!
Just have to throw my chef's hat in the ring (that was terrible, I know)- I am rocking some peanut butter/Hershey's Kiss cookies at the moment. Yummmmm.
Maybe I'm not baking many things because I just don't bake much - brownies are about far as I get.
I prefer to work outside trimming my trees and taking care of my grape vines. In this respect, I have to say most pleasure has come from eating fresh fruit and veggies on the daily.
Has anyone here applied to San Diego State University?
Well, according to the admission status website, they've received nothing except my GREs. I sent them an email about this two weeks ago, and never got a response. Then I got an automated email reminder today reminding me to check the status website to make sure they'd received everything. Nothing has changed.
I don't want to email them AGAIN, ugh. I feel like such a pest. Is anyone else having this issue?
Anyone know what's going on with Vandy? When I checked in early last week, they said they weren't done. But no word since. Has anyone gotten a NO from them yet?
@ koru baklava is also my weakness. However, it is fairly time consuming to make, so it takes me away from the worrying. At least until it goes in the oven.
@ YARebels
I agree with your sentiment about more conformity in the process. If Seth's data influences the programs in the positive ways he hopes for, perhaps that can be next on the agenda.
MFA bake club! I like it. Jason J can provide some wine to go with our treats.
@rosie I applied to sdsu as well. Got the same email, checked my status, and same thing... only says they got my gre. I called this morning, and they said they are really behind on updating the status and going through mail. The lady I talked to said that as long as you have proof of the date it was mailed not to worry.
@Caleb, baklava is intensive, indeed! I made it only a couple of times ... both of which were for, interestingly, one of my recommenders for this whole process.
I now live half a world away, so I don't think I'll have to make it again to say thanks for a good rec that got me in to a program!
This isn't very helpful, since I didn't apply to SDSU, but just so you know - it is an incredibly beautiful campus. I also love the city of San Diego, and definitely considered applying there, but I was too worn out after already applying to sixteen (!!!!) schools, and also sort of scared to ask my recommenders for another letter.
Thanks pencore and Falcon! I don't have any proof of the date I mailed stuff...oops. Silly goose I am, I didn't even THINK of that.
Rose, I've been fantasizing about living in San Diego for years because of how pretty it is! And to live near the sea in a warm climate...I can't think of anything better.
One by one, the schools on my list are dropping away like flies ... and though some of them are, like, THE BEST schools (in the popular sense), two VERY, VERY GOOD schools have yet to make a peep, and I'm dying, dying to know ... because once they make their moves, I'll have a pretty good idea of where I'm going, save some late-breaking offer from Iowa, which is about as likely as my dog ignoring a dancing, prancing squirrel.
Anyway. Come on UNCW. Come on Florida. Let's do this thang ...
I actually didn't apply to UCSD...I applied last year and was rejected, so I figured, WHY BOTHER. But last year, I got my rejection during the last week of February.
But yes, I desperately want to live by the ocean and write. I probably won't get to do it for free, though. In fact, at this point, I'd sell a kidney.
@mj I definitely understand what you're going through! It sucks. I applied to 17 schools. I just feel very discouraged and hopeless right now. I need some good news! Otherwise it's going to be a very hard few weeks coming up...
I also applied to a mix of low-res and traditional programs. The difference with me is that the full-res programs I applied to are right in my city, so moving will be unnecessary either way. But regardless, I strongly suspect that a traditional program will be too difficult to fit into my life right now. Though I'm still waiting to see if I get into my number one choice traditional program, I'm really relieved to have a low-res option already. I'd definitely say it's worth paying the application fee just to have that option (assuming you're accepted).
And how did I get rejected by UT Austin when I didn't even apply there? That's some 1984 shit. Man, no one gets in over there...jeez.
[OK, even though it detracts from my joke above, I want to mention that I'm going for levity and not trying to be insensitive to the other Lucas who (obviously) did apply there.]
I'm in the same boat with SDSU. They've received nothing. I have called and they told me not to worry, they just haven't updated in a while. I'll call again in a week if it still says the same thing.
Also, I am now among the other UT rejects. *high five*
So you've called SDSU? I was planning to do so tomorrow because their site says I've submitted nothing. Anyway, we have a few days yet if its actually true. Even though ITS NOT! :)
I'm not sure if I can answer your question in terms of a specific ratio, but I think an estimate of the breakdown is normally, from greatest to least, fiction, poetry, and then non-fiction. I'm sure this changes when you look at individual schools, but I think that's the generally accepted idea of proportions among overall applicants.
Did anyone watch the movie 'Valentine's Day'? (Not that I recommend it at all) I watched to get my mind off this blog and the never ending wait for rejection letters, and guess what - Anne Hathaway in the movie has an MFA in poetry with a hundered thousand dollar student loan and so she has a part time job doing phone sex!!!! That's all I needed to see....
@ Michael Bear, Andrew, etc: This is so odd. I called the CW dept. at Minneapolis yesterday and was told that all responses would be sent out today (yesterday.) I figured that meant the rejections, too.
@Patrick, Thanks for the links! I really appreciate it!
I was the one over at TSE who commented about Minnesota. Called them early last week and the woman I spoke to said that they were going to be notifying Fiction and Nonfiction on Monday. However, she may have forgotten that it was a holiday. Tomorrow? Likely this week? Who knows. I also noticed that their website said March. I'm assuming that's when they'll be done notifying everyone? I dunno. All I can tell you is what I was told when I called. When I realized that today was a holiday, I just figured I'm going to stop trying to anticipate the moment of notification. Or my head might explode.
Good luck to everyone! Oh -- and if anyone has more information on the Iowa CNF notifications, that'd be dandy.
I'm seriously considering calling Iowa's CNF program today. I'm dying to know, and the first phone notification scares me! Good luck everyone! A new day, a new chance to be rejected/accepted!
@amanda & Vanni - Congratulations and good luck with the Syracuse waitlist. Sometimes people are able to get into their dream schools off the waitlist. So you never know what's gonna happen. A P&W poster called Ellen362 got into Iowa off waitlist a while back. I remember reading her posts about it. Good luck to you both!
@Nefrettiti - I wouldn't recommend it, because it was kind of a bad show, but the first episode of HBO's Hung had a great MFA joke / slam. The lady pimp in the show is a poet who meets her male prostitute, who is a lazy high school teacher in Detroit, when the lazy high school teacher uses the state patronage program for poets, Poets in the Schools as a way to get out of having to teach his class. Basically, he has poets come to class and talk to the kids about poetry while he takes a nap. Of course, he's not teaching English Lit, he's teaching History. But he doesn't care. He's a terrible teacher and he knows it. The lady pimp / poet is really into being a poet, but she can't figure out how to make money at it. She gets an idea for Lyric Bread, baked goods with laminated snippets of poetry baked into them, while she's at a self-help seminar. Unfortunately, she has no way to finance the Lyric Bread business. So, one thing leads to another and she ends up becoming a pimp for her lazy high school teacher friend. But they're both so terrible at business that one of their clients ends up calling the lady pimp stupid, to which the indignant lady pimp replies, "I-- I'm not stupid. I have an MFA!"
I know that was kind of a long setup for that joke, but I just about died laughing at that scene.
About the Poets in the Schools, I'm from a low-income / lower middle-class black neighborhood in Chicago and there were always poets or dancers or visual artists in the schools, getting kids excited about the arts. I totally appreciate the importance of the arts -- I'm about to get an MFA in poetry, right? -- but can we, please, get some engineers in the schools to get our low-income, underemployed minority population's next generation excited about designing bridges or information systems? I will never forget when Illinois' Poet Laureate, Gwendolyn Brooks, came and read to my kindergarten class. That type of encouragement definitely saved me from drug addiction and teen pregnancy. But now I'm a f*cking poet, yo! My life is still going to be an endless hustle from one payday to the distant next. I'm just a bit less likely to get shot. I know that there's always complaints about how we're pulling the arts out of the schools. But, having grown up in a poor, urban neighborhood, let me tell you, you're constantly painting a mural or learning African dance or writing a poem about Abraham Lincoln. I'm just sayin'...
Hey there! I just received a call from Northwestern. Anyone else? Any thoughts/perspectives on their MFA program (Creative Nonfiction, particularly)? It's hard to find a lot of outside info about it out there. Thanks for your help and good luck to everyone in these next few weeks/months.
@Chrissy — Dying to know what you find out, if you call the Iowa NWP. Keep us posted!
I had a dream last night that I was accepted by OSU for nonfiction. I was so, so excited — but then, as I looked through my application materials, I realized I hadn't even applied to OSU. (In real life, I didn't.) I started panicking because I couldn't remember if it was OSU or Ohio University that had accepted me, and I was too nervous to ask for a clarification because I didn't want to draw attention to the fact that I'd never really applied. In my dream-conversation with the director, I even started fretting internally about when it would be appropriate to ask about funding.
Too much time on the MFA blogs driving me crazy, perhaps?
@Trilbe - Re: the ubiquity of arts and lack of engineers in schools. I hadn't realized that, and it is ridiculous.
@Everyone - I'm anxious about getting in places, but I'm mostly anxious about knowing for sure where I'm at with these schools. Some are notifying rejections by email, but based on old P&W posts, it seems a lot of schools still notify by mail. I'm wondering what you all think: email so you know right away, or snail-mail because it's more professional? (Or some other reason I can't think of.)
Just got wait listed at Syracuse! Regardless of what happens, I'm just happy to have done better than my nine rejections last year. Good luck everyone, I hope at least one of us makes it in.
Congrats to everyone on the new acceptances and waitlists!
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm slightly envious of the people getting official rejections. I haven't heard a peep...not from WashU, Syracuse, anyone.... :/
Officially rejected via email from WashU in poetry - and, weirdly, I'm mostly just happy to have gotten any news at all. Congrats to all who have heard about acceptances/waitlists today, and I hope everyone waiting on WashU hears soon!
@hilary I totally understand. At this point I just want closure :\ I'm in fiction, maybe that's why I haven't been killed off yet today, since it seems both R's have been in poetry :*(
Come on, WashU, put a girl out of her misery before she eats EVERYTHING in the kitchen. (Sad thing being I will still have FIVE schools left to hear from so the baked goods won't be safe for awhile yet).
So the phone rings and I LEAP out of the chair so fast it flings the cat off the back as I run to the kitchen.
Is it Amherst calling? No. It's my mom. Sigh.
I come back in the living room where the cat is now fighting her way out of the blanket glaring at me. Sorry to sound so disappointed mom, but I was hoping it was someone else.
The cat has moved to the couch now. Safer there. J
I got in to SDSU in 2008 (and attended Fiction for one semester). They are always behind on paperwork and on updating their site --(I even went to undergrad there so I can vouch for this).
I was wait listed there and didn't receive a call until very late March.
A lot of MFA dreams... I had one, too! I got waitlisted at Cornell (didn't even apply there in real life) but then I came online to find out the waitlist included HALF of everybody who had applied and everybody was talking about it online. So sad!
I'm still in limbo with the Mitch. What the freak. I'm getting paranoid that the electronic application went to the UT MA, not the Mitch (because the status only says master's, writing, etc.). I feel myself entering Howard Hughes country over here.
Anyway, I'm sure the big M is preparing the most special rejection, the best rejection, all just for me.
Now I'm just wishing I had applied to at least one program that has already notified people so I could at least have one rejection. Any news is good news.
Rejectored from the University of Wyoming (poetry) via snail-mail this morning.
Surprisingly, I'm not really upset at all about it. Don't get me wrong, Wyoming's got a great program that sounds very practical to me (i.e. internships, travel opportunities, summer stipend, etc.). However, as time passed, I was less-and-less intrigued by the possibility of moving so far away from my family and friends.
Funny...I missed a caller from St. Louis this morning who left a voicemail that cut off after a half-second. The super-nice rejection email from Wash U. arrived two minutes later. Just curious: were they turning people down over the phone?
Michener rejection! If they picked up my application an hour ago, does this turnaround indicate a thoroughness in their readings? Or is their site status bar smoke and mirrors?
I also just received an official Wash U fiction rejection. It does sting a little, since it's the first program I've actually heard from, but the email was so nice. They really know how to let you down easy.
Hey all. My rejection from Wash U came through not long ago. I had to have a friend open my gmail and delete it for me. Such kindness!
I've been a quiet reader here for a while, and since Wash U was my big anxiety this year, I'm probably finished perusing this blog. I wasn't an active part of the conversation, but just as well, I felt supported implicitly. So thank you to all of you. The high tension around here indicates how important this process is for everyone here - so good luck from your quiet friend.
Officially rejected from Wash U in fiction. I still haven't received a Michener rejection, which leaves me with this tiny frustrating hope that maybe, just maybe, I'll get in, even though I don't really want to go there (Syracuse is a much better option for every reason except money). Still, I know how lucky I am that the first thing I heard was an acceptance--these rejections still sting pretty hard, even knowing that I have other options!
Alright, I didn't apply to Wash U so commiserations to those who did & got rejected, but what's so gorgeously nice about this rejection email? I wanna see it! The Wisconsin one seemed really nice to me, and that was still pretty upsetting!
I hope it isn't gauche to ask, but some of you have mentioned that the rejection e-mail was very well written and, even, kind. I didn't apply to WashU and I was wondering if someone might cut and paste it here so we can have a read along.
(God knows I've already been rejected from 3-4 of my 10 programs, but haven't heard peep from them... So, it'll be satisfying to read a solid denied form letter... to soothe one's anxiety?)
There's an MFA joke in the movie "The Savages." The character played by Laura Linney is an emotional wreck. She spends her time applying for the Guggenheim fellowship every year (and getting rejected every year). In fact, she uses her company's copy machine to make copies of her manuscripts for submissions to various agents/publishers/journals. At one point, she has a little exchange with a cabdriver who notices how pitiful she is and she ends her convo with said cabdriver by screaming, "I have an MFA, for chrissakes!"
I may have gotten some of the details wrong, but that's the gist of that joke.
Congratulations Yellow Lux! I was born while my parents were in the George Mason MFA for fiction. They like to tell people that I was breastfed in workshop and that's why I turned out to be a writer. It's deeply embarrassing, BUT George Mason is a great program and you're a lucky dog!
Does anyone know why some notifications from a school come so much earlier than others (for the same school)? And if TSE has only posted one acceptance, over a week ago, does that mean that the school is done accepting, but no one else notified the site? Or, is there just some huge gap between?
Sorry for all the questions, I’ve clearly entered angst mode.
Here's a new low in the Annals of Grasping At Imagined Acceptance Straws:
I googled my pseudonym last night and found that a couple of my zines are sitting within the Iowa's library in its "Floating Collection." This gave me hope until I realized that it didn't matter a lick.
I don't know why the schedules differ so drastically from school to school, but I DO know that schools tend to admit in waves, as much as a couple weeks apart.
My source tells me they are, indeed, wrapping things up at Iowa; the current grad students are now under review, which doesn't really happen until after all the work has been done to pick and clear incoming applicants.
The rumor mill seems to indicate that UNC schools and Iowa should have some calls/emails out in the next 10 days ... but a rumor is only that. The rumors I hear are from students who attend those schools and those programs, but they admit they can't know what their professors know -- can only parse the info they pick up here and there.
feels quiet here today... making me more nervous. no word/updates on new school or amherst? Come on february-- give me SOME news....
every day the anxiety goes up a little. it feels like i'll never hear. like maybe i never even applied. maybe i imagined applying but never did it. thats what i have convinced myself of today....
If it feels quiet, now is the perfect time to join MFA-Limbo where you can share videos, recipes, poems and stories and even chat live with your fellow crazies! Act now by emailing mandasue at gmail dot com.
MFA-Limbo not responsible for lost productivity at work.
I am going to spend this week obsessively checking Amherst's online application status page. Right now, it says "applied." I wonder if they actually update it right away when they make a decision?
No one seems to know why exactly, but many schools space out their notifications. I wouldn't worry if they only started to notify a week ago (I guess unless you've heard that waitlisters have also been notified...). For example, Alabama accepted a couple of poets more than three weeks ago, then Trilbe was just notified recently that she had been accepted. :)
Also, wanted to share this amusing quote found by my boyfriend (who's considering art school):
"While studying ID at Pratt, I had to carry ice-cream waffles festooned with sparklers and sing "Happy Birthday" to patrons at the TGIF-style restaurant I waited tables at."
I distract myself by reading the short stories of John Cheever. I'm also writing another set of short stories (I usually work on more than one). A new story I'm working on is about a guy who swims from one suburb in New Jersey to another several miles away via other people's swimming pools. It's wild. I don't know where I got this inspiration.
I want, need to know where I am exactly. Am I in the bottom of a trash bin? Did they laugh so hard they cried, then forgetting all about it, placed their empty coffee mugs on my manuscript, leaving brown circles?
congrats, Yellow! and question: did you receive one of the GNE(good news emails) that a few george mason applicants mentioned? i know that my file was only passed on to the english department at the very end of january, but wondering how far along they are, or if i can essentially assume rejection since i haven't received a GNE. (because, you know, it's always so easy to predict this stuff.) :)
pdg, according to TSE, there was an Indiana fiction acceptance on 2/3, and Ashley's right that Syracuse has notified acceptances and waitlists (in fiction and poetry). (*continues to mope about Syracuse*)
For those of you who comment/joke about your writing samples being so bad that the AdCom are laughing themselves silly, here's my view: I don't think they have the time to laugh. Too much to do, too little time. Unless your story is about a boy/girl lamenting over a dead pet dog, you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure they're giving your ws a good read, even if it's only for 10 minutes. (I timed myself: I can actually read 5+ pages in 10 minutes, which is quite a lot.)
Seth said last week that Wyoming would be notifying waitlisters soon and since the snail mail arrival of a Wyoming rejection letter this morning I wonder: Are waitlist notifications in the mail too?
Don't worry about the phone ringing. Let it ring. Let them leave a message. I stopped worrying about things I have no control over. And I certainly don't want them to catch me unawares, don't want them to second-guess their pick as I babble incoherently. Let them leave a message and you can call back at your leisure, when you're good and ready...and composed.
Hi all, long-time lurker here. I had a quick question about Iowa. I sent my application packet from Australia (where I lived last year), but never got any confirmation that they'd received it. My application has been filed etc, and a couple other schools I mailed packets to at the same time (Wisconsin and Virginia) confirmed they'd been received. Has anyone gotten a confirmation email from Iowa? Do I just need to chill?
Woon, no offense, but since you've stated you have GNE's from three or four places, you're not nearly as stressed out as a lot of people here are ... you're riding high and easy.
It's easier to tell people not to stress when you're not under such stress yourself.
I am refreshing the UMass Amherst website too - if you click on "applied" they state that they mail letters of acceptance and denial within 2 days of the committee's decision, so here's to hoping they update the website faster than they mail the letters.
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 1757 Newer› Newest»@Amanda, I totally understand the wanting of news, even if it's bad lol.
*repeating to self and rocking* Until I am rejected I am not rejected. Until I am rejected, I am not rejected...
In reference to Minnesota, where do these notification rumors come from? Everyone posting seems to be way more in-the-know than I am.
Also, where can I find the number of applications sent to a specific program this year? All of this hypothesizing and worrying, and none of it brings me closer to a notification.
I'm looking at programs with later deadlines and was wondering if anyone knew anything about Hamline's funding? I went online and couldn't find anything. Is it safe to say they have no funding??? Just curious :)
Texas reject over here! I guess today was them finishing up the rejections mountain and moving on over to the acceptances.
@Lizzie - The one who commented on TSE about it had called Minnesota. That's the one that I mentioned. I don't know about the one who came into this thread and "confirmed" it--they never came back to say how they knew.
Application numbers can be found at TSE. Here's a link to the Selectivity rankings, which include both the number of applications and spots available.
huh. after weeks of stalking you people, learning more about you than i know about most members of my immediate family, i've often wondered what (other than an acceptance, of course) would make me finally speak up.
it was the pandas. oh my god, the pandas.
thank you.
The other side of the Michener acceptance: presumably, if an acceptance offer is made, all manuscripts have gotten a read-through.
So this business of 'in committee' versus limbo seems bootless. We've all been through committee. Now we wait.
@Raine, Thanks for the link!
M. Swann,
Committees are not bound to read everyone's stuff before extending offers. That may be how Texas does things. I don't know. But I do know some schools extend preliminary offers to very strong applicants before they're even finished reading.
Dreux,
My response comes in gif form:
http://i46.tinypic.com/zlzuxj.jpg
I am the girl; you are the little brother.
RE: Wash U
The exact words were, "if you haven't received a phone call, you weren't accepted." The woman explained that she is the person responsible for making the phone calls, so she knows 100% that all calls have been made.
Believe me, I want to be wrong. But that's what she reported (extremely reluctantly)--her name is Kathy. There's another woman in the office who answers the phone too & she isn't, apparently, involved in the acceptance/rejection notifications--she just answers the phone. Not sure how to account for the different responses, but I do believe calls have been made. Again, I desperately want to be WRONG!! :)
LOL. Sorry, Swann. But in general the only 'industry-wide' policy about how these applications are processed is that there are no 'industry-wide' policies. Every program chooses to deal with it in a different way.
Hence all the crazymaking.
@chrissy: thank you for the info! and 1100 applicants? i shouldn't be surprised, as apps are up across the board. but ... 1100 applicants? i guess i should be using the fact that i'm actually quite busy at work to help distract me from the waiting. but then, someone would need to block this blog from my internets and i think we all know that isn't happening.
I just went through my email spam folder JUST IN CASE a Syracuse waitlist email ended up there. No luck. I guess it's goodbye, Syracuse. :( At least it wasn't my first choice...
@YAR
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you on Washington. You have to let us know what happens! I got my official rejection at 4:30. (in fiction)
@Danielle
That blows. I believe you, I do wonder why, though, the R's go out at different times...
The Wash U intrigue increases!
Bizarre happenings. I don't see how people in their office could get their wires crossed on something so significant.
Oh well, only time will tell.
*sigh* who knows...maybe I'm waitlisted? Will just have to wait a couple more days and hope I get SOME kind of notification.
@YARebels
I know. I wonder, too. My last name starts with a V. Maybe alphabetically? I also wonder how many apps. v. acceptances.
Here's to some great news for you SOON!!
@Danielle
I'm sure we'll see in the next couple days! My last name starts with S.
I really am trying to hold onto the mantra that you haven't been rejected until you've rejected ;p But yeah, seems a tad bleak. Anyway, as Dreux says, the intrigue!
One would think they have the rejection email written and all they need to do is add a few hundred recipients and hit send.
Okay, I'm willing to de-lurk for this. I haven't heard a peep from Wash U. Want news!
Dreux,
If they do that, I hope they remember to hide the recipients. Indiana forgot that little tidbit and a lot of people were pissed a couple of yrs ago.
@Dreux one would think!!
And I KNOW they have the right email, bc I got the silly little confirmation email that my app was complete and submitted. (The funny thing is the email comes from Kathy, who as Danielle said seems to be in charge, so I believe her that they're done accepting, but WHERE IS MY REJECTION??
Mystery of mysteries! They appear to want to torture those of us left lol.
I'm so curious about everyone here on these boards, lurkers and the more vocal ones alike. Since we're getting so anxious and cozy, hi, my name is Victoria, nice to meet you all :)
Hey everyone - Looks like the UT acceptance was a mistake. Chris at the new acceptance site said he was briefly posting rejections and waitlists as well as acceptances. He has now removed the rejections and waitlists.
(Can you tell I'm refreshing these blogs constantly?)
So, good news to all you non-Texas rejects, apparently the report on the Driftless House was a REJECTION and NOT an acceptance :) there's a post by Chris about it on the site. Here's to more worry!
Bah!!! You stole my thunder Raine :P
Hi Victoria! My name is, um, Danielle. Nice to meet you too!! Wish I could've met you in St. Louie.
:)
Question for you all on the low-res vs. full res front. I need to decide (tonight) if I'm going to put a final application in the mail for a low residency program. I have an acceptance from a great full residency program, so the only real reason for applying is to keep my options open in case, come early April, I have a melt down and can't stomach the thought of turning my life upside down for an MFA.
Did anyone apply to a mix of low residency and full residency programs? What's your take on that approach?
(I'm looking at Goucher, by the way.)
Sorry kaybay! Guess you weren't quick enough on the draw this time. :)
Yah. I still have a chance...lol.
@Rebels,
My last name starts with a "D" and I haven't heard anything from WashU (though in poetry), so I'm guessing it's not alphabetical... Me, I just want some news.
@hilary well at least they're not kicking us off the island in alphabetical order :p I'm in the same boat. I just want some news!
Is there an "Are We There Yet" for 2010? I'm waiting on pins and needles for SFSU, Iowa, George Mason, UT Austin and CalArts (though the list goes on...)
@ YARebels, I feel the same way.
Hence, I created a ning network for us! So anyone have any suggestions for how to tell who is or isn't a troll? If you want to join, send me an email or post on here. Mine is mandasue at gmail dot com. The group is at mfa-limbo.ning.com
raine,
I think you're saved my life. Does html work on this blog? Why did I always assume it didn't and post crappy awkward links that don't fit?
Also, I can't believe how many people are talking about Wash U. I never even considered or researched that school and I'm not sure how it went under my radar. I'm assuming that when I saw the selectivity data I just wrote it off. It's clearly pretty popular and selective! Good luck to everybody who applied there.
In that last mailbag, I believe I saw mention of a George Mason acceptance...I hunted, but couldn't find it properly! Does someone mind filling me in?
Also, congrats to all of the acceptances rolling in! I'm excited for you and hoping for even more good news from all of you.
Thank you, Nick & MFAguy, for the info and kind words. I was hoping you two would chime in. :)
MFAguy, you may not feel like answering in this public forum, which is totally understandable, but why are you looking for a new program? If you don't want to share, maybe I could email you down the line?
Also, congrats to the new waitlists and acceptances posted!
Just FYI on the Washington rejection.
My last name starts with "W," so if it's alphabetical, they've already gotten to the end.
Another WashU fiction reject here, FYI. Argh.
RE: Wash U
So, if it isn't alphabetical, maybe they notify based on when your application was received?
Weird. I'm a "V" and haven't heard a word...I postmarked pretty late in the game.
Sure, I'd be glad to share GRE scores, GPAs, writing samples, and bank account numbers. But I draw the line at recipe sharing!!
Kristina,
We know some folks have received GNEs (Good News Emails) from GMU. That's all.
@Katie,
I did 2 years of my undergrad at a low-residency program and would be happy to fill you in on my likes and dislikes. We can email, or chat via IM, or whatever works for you.
Another day and nothing in the mailbox and no phone calls. I need to relax if this is going to last until the end of April.
(I'm so glad I found you all)
Ever hear of the MFA 10? Much like the "freshman ten" where you gain ten pounds from all the stress. All the recipes make this more possible. Sticky buns: sugar, cinnamon, a doughy sweet distraction.
1100 apps@ Michigan? Hard not to conjecture, writing on the wall, the odds stacked against [me]
[sigh]
Freshly rejected from UT Austin.
@WordShift ... no MFA ten here! Lent starts Wednesday for me ... so I get to stress on an empty stomach! ... which is probably worse than the MFA ten!
@Danielle it's either order of application, or maybe waitlist. I'm hoping the latter. Here's to knowing before I become a raging alkie.
Hey Digapony,
no probs. I did write a pro/cons list of the place/program in an earlier mailbag.
@YAR,
I'm completely with you! Did you postmark late?
Koru--Lent? A time of anticipation, meditation and penitence? Well if so, being Jewish [mother] but not practicing, maybe I should consider this. Because only yesterday I ate an entire bag of cheesy chips and half of a strawberry shortcake. I told myself it would calm me down.
Ha Ha!
@Danielle I was pretty close to deadline. I had a recommender who didn't get their letter in until the 15th of Dec.
A question for those rejected from Austin, how did they notify you? I just checked my online status and it doesn't have any new information.
Also, re:UT Austin, what genres were you rejected from?
WordShift, you just hit the nail on the head in that description of Lent! I'm actually looking forward to having something to ground me the next six weeks. :-) This process has been a bit of a ride!
re: WUSTL
I'm still waiting too ... there's always the possibility they just have a huge stack in random order that they're going to be notifying us as they work their way down the pile!
@YAR
Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I wonder how/when they notify for waitlist. I'm guessing tomorrow will bring some clarity/ peace of mind, yes?
@Koru, it seems inefficient to reject people in random order lol.
@KORU
Totally possible and highly probable.
@Danielle, I'm sure it will be via email if waitlist. I REALLY REALLY hope tomorrow brings clarity and closure on the WashU front, and good news on every other one.
@Peter
My rejection today was just in the form of an update on the online status, changing the paragraph in the blue rectangle. I was applying for fiction with a playwriting secondary.
@YAR, well, if they had a huge stack of our apps sitting on a table, and when they're done, they just hand them to someone and say 'go down the stack notifying people' ... no reason they'd necessarily alphabetize us before sending emails ... ?
@Koru, alas it makes sense.
If it makes anyone feel better/worse, this whole process, with its obsessive email-checking and binge cupcake-eating, is EXACTLY like your book being on submission, if not a little worse. So, assuming you survive this, it's all downhill :p
@Koru
Six weeks, maybe I should give it a go, some variation of this. cucumber sticks, cheese.
RE: acceptances/rejections.Maybe I'll just not check email/mail, or answer my phone for two months.
But no. I do this every ten minutes, where even a, "Hi it's CCA, did you file your FAFSA?" gets me going.
@WordShift Today's FAFSA reminder from Columbia seemed PARTICULARLY painful.
awww, sorry Lucas. I was rooting for you. I guess I'll expect mine tonight or tomorrow.
I woke up this morning believing Minnesota would accept/waitlist/or reject me by the end of the day. I know we're all neurotic here, but does anyone feel like time is passing incredibly slow?
It's been three days since my Wisconsin rejection and it literally feels like it was twelve weeks ago.
My friends say I'm really losing it. I haven't been this nervous about something since the will-he-ask-me-to-prom hysteria of high school.
@Rose,
at least you can talk to friends about it! i haven't told people at work, so i have to act normal around them.
and my one art friend who would understand what the process is like because she wants to do an MFA in fibre arts, well, she's kinda been in an alcoholic slump of some sort recently, and not very coherent/raving maniacally so i can't get any sympathy out of her!
gah! this WashU turmoil is corroding my insides! Acceptances to come, acceptances are done. Waitlisting (?), random rejections, sniping in a dark room of confused and mortified citizens.
I had no idea this MFA stuff would be so intense.
Who wants cookies? : ) I think baking is the answer to all our problems. I've been whipping up my own baklava to past the time. Creating food also provides a much needed sense of accomplishment. Yay me! Pat on the back.
Screw the time to focus on writing and the sense of community! I wanna get an MFA for the baked goods!
Seriously, you guys are a bunch of bakers! :P
oh Caleb ... baklava is a weakness of mine!
@Caleb Doesn't it just make you feel like you're in the not-so-calm part of the storm? Such agony. Why can't it be a simple, all YES's will hear THIS day, all NO's will hear THIS day??
@ megan, thanks for the support!
@ Emily, I was rejected from Texas, Wisconsin, and Wash-U. I applied to---hold your breath--18 schools total. It was a huge, huge undertaking, both in terms of my time and my finances, but hopefully I will land somewhere.
you know ... just like Seth & co. made their copany that helps with manuscript reading/looking over MFA apps/etc ... some of you bakers should start a MFA app service providing pick-me-up baked goods for those who are applying ... you could easily finance even going to Columbia with the bakers we have here!
Just have to throw my chef's hat in the ring (that was terrible, I know)- I am rocking some peanut butter/Hershey's Kiss cookies at the moment. Yummmmm.
Tomorrow, I'm tackling bitesize lemon drop cupcakes, and a banana bread.
Maybe I'm not baking many things because I just don't bake much - brownies are about far as I get.
I prefer to work outside trimming my trees and taking care of my grape vines. In this respect, I have to say most pleasure has come from eating fresh fruit and veggies on the daily.
Has anyone here applied to San Diego State University?
Well, according to the admission status website, they've received nothing except my GREs. I sent them an email about this two weeks ago, and never got a response. Then I got an automated email reminder today reminding me to check the status website to make sure they'd received everything. Nothing has changed.
I don't want to email them AGAIN, ugh. I feel like such a pest. Is anyone else having this issue?
Anyone know what's going on with Vandy? When I checked in early last week, they said they weren't done. But no word since. Has anyone gotten a NO from them yet?
@ koru
baklava is also my weakness. However, it is fairly time consuming to make, so it takes me away from the worrying. At least until it goes in the oven.
@ YARebels
I agree with your sentiment about more conformity in the process. If Seth's data influences the programs in the positive ways he hopes for, perhaps that can be next on the agenda.
MFA bake club! I like it. Jason J can provide some wine to go with our treats.
V/YaR-- Nothing on the Vandy front. Don't think they've sent rejections, yet.
Hey Rosie,
Call them. You're not being a pest, especially if nothing is showing up when you check your status online.
Good luck!
@rosie
I applied to sdsu as well. Got the same email, checked my status, and same thing... only says they got my gre. I called this morning, and they said they are really behind on updating the status and going through mail. The lady I talked to said that as long as you have proof of the date it was mailed not to worry.
By which I mean I've received nothing on the Vandy front. I'm aware they called acceptances in last week.
@Caleb, baklava is intensive, indeed! I made it only a couple of times ... both of which were for, interestingly, one of my recommenders for this whole process.
I now live half a world away, so I don't think I'll have to make it again to say thanks for a good rec that got me in to a program!
@ Rosie
This isn't very helpful, since I didn't apply to SDSU, but just so you know - it is an incredibly beautiful campus. I also love the city of San Diego, and definitely considered applying there, but I was too worn out after already applying to sixteen (!!!!) schools, and also sort of scared to ask my recommenders for another letter.
But good luck!
@Rosie & LA Falcon,
also applied to sdsu, and my status is the same. I assume they are slow on updating the web thing, and will let us know if they are missing things.
Thanks pencore and Falcon! I don't have any proof of the date I mailed stuff...oops. Silly goose I am, I didn't even THINK of that.
Rose, I've been fantasizing about living in San Diego for years because of how pretty it is! And to live near the sea in a warm climate...I can't think of anything better.
@ Rosie
You applied to UCSD also, right? Have you heard anything? All I want to do is live by the beach and write for free, is that too much to ask??
One by one, the schools on my list are dropping away like flies ... and though some of them are, like, THE BEST schools (in the popular sense), two VERY, VERY GOOD schools have yet to make a peep, and I'm dying, dying to know ... because once they make their moves, I'll have a pretty good idea of where I'm going, save some late-breaking offer from Iowa, which is about as likely as my dog ignoring a dancing, prancing squirrel.
Anyway. Come on UNCW. Come on Florida. Let's do this thang ...
@Morgan,
I actually didn't apply to UCSD...I applied last year and was rejected, so I figured, WHY BOTHER. But last year, I got my rejection during the last week of February.
But yes, I desperately want to live by the ocean and write. I probably won't get to do it for free, though. In fact, at this point, I'd sell a kidney.
@mj
I definitely understand what you're going through! It sucks. I applied to 17 schools. I just feel very discouraged and hopeless right now. I need some good news! Otherwise it's going to be a very hard few weeks coming up...
@ Rosie,
Sorry to hear about your luck last yr. But let's hope 2010 is fantastic for you! Where else did you apply? And what genre? I'm poetry.
Katie,
I also applied to a mix of low-res and traditional programs. The difference with me is that the full-res programs I applied to are right in my city, so moving will be unnecessary either way. But regardless, I strongly suspect that a traditional program will be too difficult to fit into my life right now. Though I'm still waiting to see if I get into my number one choice traditional program, I'm really relieved to have a low-res option already. I'd definitely say it's worth paying the application fee just to have that option (assuming you're accepted).
Wait...so there are two Lucas's on this board? How did I miss that? And which one am I?
And how did I get rejected by UT Austin when I didn't even apply there? That's some 1984 shit. Man, no one gets in over there...jeez.
[OK, even though it detracts from my joke above, I want to mention that I'm going for levity and not trying to be insensitive to the other Lucas who (obviously) did apply there.]
I am curious, as a newcomer to this blog, what are the predominant proportions between the different disciplines; poetry, fiction, and non-fiction?
i have to say, it wasn't until reading this blog that i have become increasingly sick to my stomach in anticipation and dread.
You guys are great though! :)
I'm in the same boat with SDSU. They've received nothing. I have called and they told me not to worry, they just haven't updated in a while. I'll call again in a week if it still says the same thing.
Also, I am now among the other UT rejects. *high five*
@madeline stevens
So you've called SDSU? I was planning to do so tomorrow because their site says I've submitted nothing. Anyway, we have a few days yet if its actually true. Even though ITS NOT! :)
@Jarsh
Yep. They seemed unconcerned, so don't worry. Sounds like everyone on here is experiencing the same thing.
@Thomas
Nice Rae Armantrout rec. ;)
@ Peter
I'm not sure if I can answer your question in terms of a specific ratio, but I think an estimate of the breakdown is normally, from greatest to least, fiction, poetry, and then non-fiction. I'm sure this changes when you look at individual schools, but I think that's the generally accepted idea of proportions among overall applicants.
Did anyone watch the movie 'Valentine's Day'? (Not that I recommend it at all)
I watched to get my mind off this blog and the never ending wait for rejection letters, and guess what - Anne Hathaway in the movie has an MFA in poetry with a hundered thousand dollar student loan and so she has a part time job doing phone sex!!!! That's all I needed to see....
A bit quiet. I'm hungry for baked goods. Yes a day for yays and nays I agree, why draw this out!
We'd all be on standby to prop each other from afar. Eat cookies in some state of delirium.
It's late here in Cali, tomorrow a day spent at the DMV will also mean I'll have my cellphone, either turned off or on.
Oh strange area code, oh a bill collector no wait it's...Iowa, Michigan. *gulp*
@ Nefrettiti
Haven't seen the movie but that's painful funny. Or not. It's supposed to be a satire but how far off from the truth is it?
Phone sex? We need an MFA to do that?
Yikes!
@ Michael Bear, Andrew, etc: This is so odd. I called the CW dept. at Minneapolis yesterday and was told that all responses would be sent out today (yesterday.) I figured that meant the rejections, too.
@Patrick, Thanks for the links! I really appreciate it!
hello all!
I was the one over at TSE who commented about Minnesota. Called them early last week and the woman I spoke to said that they were going to be notifying Fiction and Nonfiction on Monday. However, she may have forgotten that it was a holiday. Tomorrow? Likely this week? Who knows. I also noticed that their website said March. I'm assuming that's when they'll be done notifying everyone? I dunno. All I can tell you is what I was told when I called. When I realized that today was a holiday, I just figured I'm going to stop trying to anticipate the moment of notification. Or my head might explode.
Good luck to everyone! Oh -- and if anyone has more information on the Iowa CNF notifications, that'd be dandy.
I dreamt that John Waters called to ask me about my application to Brooklyn. Also, I had a magnet instead of a nose.
I'm seriously considering calling Iowa's CNF program today. I'm dying to know, and the first phone notification scares me! Good luck everyone! A new day, a new chance to be rejected/accepted!
@amanda & Vanni - Congratulations and good luck with the Syracuse waitlist. Sometimes people are able to get into their dream schools off the waitlist. So you never know what's gonna happen. A P&W poster called Ellen362 got into Iowa off waitlist a while back. I remember reading her posts about it. Good luck to you both!
@Nefrettiti - I wouldn't recommend it, because it was kind of a bad show, but the first episode of HBO's Hung had a great MFA joke / slam. The lady pimp in the show is a poet who meets her male prostitute, who is a lazy high school teacher in Detroit, when the lazy high school teacher uses the state patronage program for poets, Poets in the Schools as a way to get out of having to teach his class. Basically, he has poets come to class and talk to the kids about poetry while he takes a nap. Of course, he's not teaching English Lit, he's teaching History. But he doesn't care. He's a terrible teacher and he knows it. The lady pimp / poet is really into being a poet, but she can't figure out how to make money at it. She gets an idea for Lyric Bread, baked goods with laminated snippets of poetry baked into them, while she's at a self-help seminar. Unfortunately, she has no way to finance the Lyric Bread business. So, one thing leads to another and she ends up becoming a pimp for her lazy high school teacher friend. But they're both so terrible at business that one of their clients ends up calling the lady pimp stupid, to which the indignant lady pimp replies, "I-- I'm not stupid. I have an MFA!"
I know that was kind of a long setup for that joke, but I just about died laughing at that scene.
About the Poets in the Schools, I'm from a low-income / lower middle-class black neighborhood in Chicago and there were always poets or dancers or visual artists in the schools, getting kids excited about the arts. I totally appreciate the importance of the arts -- I'm about to get an MFA in poetry, right? -- but can we, please, get some engineers in the schools to get our low-income, underemployed minority population's next generation excited about designing bridges or information systems? I will never forget when Illinois' Poet Laureate, Gwendolyn Brooks, came and read to my kindergarten class. That type of encouragement definitely saved me from drug addiction and teen pregnancy. But now I'm a f*cking poet, yo! My life is still going to be an endless hustle from one payday to the distant next. I'm just a bit less likely to get shot. I know that there's always complaints about how we're pulling the arts out of the schools. But, having grown up in a poor, urban neighborhood, let me tell you, you're constantly painting a mural or learning African dance or writing a poem about Abraham Lincoln. I'm just sayin'...
Hey there! I just received a call from Northwestern. Anyone else? Any thoughts/perspectives on their MFA program (Creative Nonfiction, particularly)? It's hard to find a lot of outside info about it out there. Thanks for your help and good luck to everyone in these next few weeks/months.
@EPAC - I believe Northwestern has a blog where you can ask questions of current students. Here's info from a post in December:
Northwestern MA/MFA said...
The official web site is http://www.scs.northwestern.edu/grad/cw/.
The unofficial web/blog site is http://northwesternmamfa.blogspot.com *and you can ask questions and sign up to converse w/ a student.
--Sandi Wisenberg, co-director
wisenberg@northwestern.edu
December 12, 2009 9:45 AM
@Chrissy — Dying to know what you find out, if you call the Iowa NWP. Keep us posted!
I had a dream last night that I was accepted by OSU for nonfiction. I was so, so excited — but then, as I looked through my application materials, I realized I hadn't even applied to OSU. (In real life, I didn't.) I started panicking because I couldn't remember if it was OSU or Ohio University that had accepted me, and I was too nervous to ask for a clarification because I didn't want to draw attention to the fact that I'd never really applied. In my dream-conversation with the director, I even started fretting internally about when it would be appropriate to ask about funding.
Too much time on the MFA blogs driving me crazy, perhaps?
@Trilbe - Re: the ubiquity of arts and lack of engineers in schools. I hadn't realized that, and it is ridiculous.
@Everyone - I'm anxious about getting in places, but I'm mostly anxious about knowing for sure where I'm at with these schools. Some are notifying rejections by email, but based on old P&W posts, it seems a lot of schools still notify by mail. I'm wondering what you all think: email so you know right away, or snail-mail because it's more professional? (Or some other reason I can't think of.)
Re: Vanderbilt
I thought I had read that they wouldn't be getting to poetry acceptances for a couple weeks.
so the absolute worst thing has happened...I've lost my cell phone.
anyone heard anything from: uva,vcu, vtech, fsu, arizona, oregon, calarts, notre dame, pittsburgh, unc, maryland...?
Just got wait listed at Syracuse! Regardless of what happens, I'm just happy to have done better than my nine rejections last year. Good luck everyone, I hope at least one of us makes it in.
@Alexander-for what genre?
Congratulations Alexander!
Official rejection from Wash U, poetry. Onward and upward!!
*stares at inbox*
*hits refresh*
*hits refresh*
*hits refresh*
*eats cupcake*
Congrats to everyone on the new acceptances and waitlists!
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm slightly envious of the people getting official rejections. I haven't heard a peep...not from WashU, Syracuse, anyone.... :/
Me neither, guys.
Me neither.
* hits refresh *
Ok, back to reading manuscripts.
the problem with applying to schools in the city you already live in? getting calls from numbers with that area code is not so unusual.
Just got a 212 (nyc) call... confirming my lunch reservation with my mom tomorrow.
I must sound INSANE to these poor people, i pick up the phone all desperate and excited. ha.
Officially rejected via email from WashU in poetry - and, weirdly, I'm mostly just happy to have gotten any news at all. Congrats to all who have heard about acceptances/waitlists today, and I hope everyone waiting on WashU hears soon!
For Michener limboers, status now says my application is in committee. Think it took two months for someone to even look at my manuscript? Maybe!
@hilary I totally understand. At this point I just want closure :\ I'm in fiction, maybe that's why I haven't been killed off yet today, since it seems both R's have been in poetry :*(
Come on, WashU, put a girl out of her misery before she eats EVERYTHING in the kitchen. (Sad thing being I will still have FIVE schools left to hear from so the baked goods won't be safe for awhile yet).
So the phone rings and I LEAP out of the chair so fast it flings the cat off the back as I run to the kitchen.
Is it Amherst calling? No. It's my mom. Sigh.
I come back in the living room where the cat is now fighting her way out of the blanket glaring at me. Sorry to sound so disappointed mom, but I was hoping it was someone else.
The cat has moved to the couch now. Safer there.
J
Re: SDSU
I got in to SDSU in 2008 (and attended Fiction for one semester). They are always behind on paperwork and on updating their site --(I even went to undergrad there so I can vouch for this).
I was wait listed there and didn't receive a call until very late March.
Great city. Great campus.
At least WashU knows how to craft a fabulous rejection letter--seriously!
Such a nice letter actually takes the sting off, a bit.
A lot of MFA dreams... I had one, too!
I got waitlisted at Cornell (didn't even apply there in real life) but then I came online to find out the waitlist included HALF of everybody who had applied and everybody was talking about it online. So sad!
Wait, Danielle, you got yours too? Poetry or Fic?
Wash rejection here, fiction, about an hour ago.
It's true, Danielle, it was exceptionally worded...
@ M.Swann
I'm still in limbo with the Mitch. What the freak. I'm getting paranoid that the electronic application went to the UT MA, not the Mitch (because the status only says master's, writing, etc.). I feel myself entering Howard Hughes country over here.
Anyway, I'm sure the big M is preparing the most special rejection, the best rejection, all just for me.
Now I'm just wishing I had applied to at least one program that has already notified people so I could at least have one rejection. Any news is good news.
Rejectored from the University of Wyoming (poetry) via snail-mail this morning.
Surprisingly, I'm not really upset at all about it. Don't get me wrong, Wyoming's got a great program that sounds very practical to me (i.e. internships, travel opportunities, summer stipend, etc.). However, as time passed, I was less-and-less intrigued by the possibility of moving so far away from my family and friends.
Oh well...
Best of luck to everyone else today!!!
Funny...I missed a caller from St. Louis this morning who left a voicemail that cut off after a half-second. The super-nice rejection email from Wash U. arrived two minutes later. Just curious: were they turning people down over the phone?
Michener rejection! If they picked up my application an hour ago, does this turnaround indicate a thoroughness in their readings? Or is their site status bar smoke and mirrors?
Matt,
It would take a pretty evil program to reject via phone. The MFA program at the University of Eternal Burning?
Old Poet,
Sorry to hear about your Wyoming rejection! Mine just might be in the mail as we speak.
@ Hannah
I also just received an official Wash U fiction rejection. It does sting a little, since it's the first program I've actually heard from, but the email was so nice. They really know how to let you down easy.
...
Hey all. My rejection from Wash U came through not long ago. I had to have a friend open my gmail and delete it for me. Such kindness!
I've been a quiet reader here for a while, and since Wash U was my big anxiety this year, I'm probably finished perusing this blog. I wasn't an active part of the conversation, but just as well, I felt supported implicitly. So thank you to all of you. The high tension around here indicates how important this process is for everyone here - so good luck from your quiet friend.
Best,
Leslie
Officially rejected from Wash U in fiction. I still haven't received a Michener rejection, which leaves me with this tiny frustrating hope that maybe, just maybe, I'll get in, even though I don't really want to go there (Syracuse is a much better option for every reason except money). Still, I know how lucky I am that the first thing I heard was an acceptance--these rejections still sting pretty hard, even knowing that I have other options!
jessie - true that. it's so much better to have at least one acceptance so the ensuing rejections don't feel so horrible and hopeless :(
Alright, I didn't apply to Wash U so commiserations to those who did & got rejected, but what's so gorgeously nice about this rejection email? I wanna see it! The Wisconsin one seemed really nice to me, and that was still pretty upsetting!
@ WashU applicants
I hope it isn't gauche to ask, but some of you have mentioned that the rejection e-mail was very well written and, even, kind. I didn't apply to WashU and I was wondering if someone might cut and paste it here so we can have a read along.
(God knows I've already been rejected from 3-4 of my 10 programs, but haven't heard peep from them... So, it'll be satisfying to read a solid denied form letter... to soothe one's anxiety?)
Ha, Pencore, that was so much more diplomatically worded than my request! Thanks :)
Acceptance to George Mason this morning, via e-mail.
I have a full-time job and none of them know - I had to contain myself hardcore. No weeping for joy in the cubicles, please.
Commiserations to all who got the WUSL rejection.
That movie where George Clooney and Vera Farmiga fly around giving people the boot...does any MFA rejection occur like that?
;-)
There's an MFA joke in the movie "The Savages." The character played by Laura Linney is an emotional wreck. She spends her time applying for the Guggenheim fellowship every year (and getting rejected every year). In fact, she uses her company's copy machine to make copies of her manuscripts for submissions to various agents/publishers/journals. At one point, she has a little exchange with a cabdriver who notices how pitiful she is and she ends her convo with said cabdriver by screaming, "I have an MFA, for chrissakes!"
I may have gotten some of the details wrong, but that's the gist of that joke.
Congrats Yellow!
What genre?
Gosh, that is indeed a lovely rejection from WUSTL. It leaves your self-esteem intact. Aww yeah.
Congratulations, Yellow Lux. Go on, jump around your cubicle!!!!! Woo hoo!
Oops, sorry! George Mason in Fiction.
Congrats, Yellow!!!
congratulations! its nice to hear of an acceptance.
Congratulations, Yellow Lux!
Congrats Yellow Lux! It's great to have an acceptance. Hope many more are on the way.
From one cubicle to another,
CONGRATULATIONS!
Does anyone know for sure if Iowa's done reading both Poetry and Fiction applications? Or if they've made a decision?
Congratulations Yellow Lux! I was born while my parents were in the George Mason MFA for fiction. They like to tell people that I was breastfed in workshop and that's why I turned out to be a writer. It's deeply embarrassing, BUT George Mason is a great program and you're a lucky dog!
@YAR,
Have you heard yet? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you...
@Danielle
No :*( I haven't heard a word yet. I bet my app is just at the bottom of their large Rejection pile, but I wish they'd get it over with...
Does anyone know why some notifications from a school come so much earlier than others (for the same school)? And if TSE has only posted one acceptance, over a week ago, does that mean that the school is done accepting, but no one else notified the site? Or, is there just some huge gap between?
Sorry for all the questions, I’ve clearly entered angst mode.
Here's a new low in the Annals of Grasping At Imagined Acceptance Straws:
I googled my pseudonym last night and found that a couple of my zines are sitting within the Iowa's library in its "Floating Collection." This gave me hope until I realized that it didn't matter a lick.
@Lizzie
I don't know why the schedules differ so drastically from school to school, but I DO know that schools tend to admit in waves, as much as a couple weeks apart.
Any other WashU apps still in limbo? Maybe they just forgot about me :(
@Stranger
My source tells me they are, indeed, wrapping things up at Iowa; the current grad students are now under review, which doesn't really happen until after all the work has been done to pick and clear incoming applicants.
The rumor mill seems to indicate that UNC schools and Iowa should have some calls/emails out in the next 10 days ... but a rumor is only that. The rumors I hear are from students who attend those schools and those programs, but they admit they can't know what their professors know -- can only parse the info they pick up here and there.
YAR,
I'm still waiting.
@WT
I am going to break my refresh button if I use it any more.
feels quiet here today... making me more nervous.
no word/updates on new school or amherst? Come on february-- give me SOME news....
every day the anxiety goes up a little. it feels like i'll never hear. like maybe i never even applied. maybe i imagined applying but never did it. thats what i have convinced myself of today....
If it feels quiet, now is the perfect time to join MFA-Limbo where you can share videos, recipes, poems and stories and even chat live with your fellow crazies! Act now by emailing mandasue at gmail dot com.
MFA-Limbo not responsible for lost productivity at work.
I am going to spend this week obsessively checking Amherst's online application status page. Right now, it says "applied." I wonder if they actually update it right away when they make a decision?
@ Lizzie,
No one seems to know why exactly, but many schools space out their notifications. I wouldn't worry if they only started to notify a week ago (I guess unless you've heard that waitlisters have also been notified...). For example, Alabama accepted a couple of poets more than three weeks ago, then Trilbe was just notified recently that she had been accepted. :)
If you all are looking for a distraction, check out these photos of the Bad Taste Exhibition in Berlin.
http://www.core77.com/gallery/photos_search.asp?album_id=113&context_id=1&page_no=1
Also, wanted to share this amusing quote found by my boyfriend (who's considering art school):
"While studying ID at Pratt, I had to carry ice-cream waffles festooned with sparklers and sing "Happy Birthday" to patrons at the TGIF-style restaurant I waited tables at."
http://www.core77.com/blog/business/an_art_school_that_sells_scads_working_class_studio_15961.asp
I distract myself by reading the short stories of John Cheever. I'm also writing another set of short stories (I usually work on more than one). A new story I'm working on is about a guy who swims from one suburb in New Jersey to another several miles away via other people's swimming pools. It's wild. I don't know where I got this inspiration.
@ RugbyToy
Thank you for taking the time to answer.
I want, need to know where I am exactly. Am I in the bottom of a trash bin? Did they laugh so hard they cried, then forgetting all about it, placed their empty coffee mugs on my manuscript, leaving brown circles?
I feel oddly brave.
:"(
Anyone know when the following schools will notify (fiction)?
Michigan
Indiana
Syracuse
pdg,
Syracuse has already notified both acceptances and waitlisters.
@Woon
LOL at first, I was like...duh! The Swimmer by Cheever. But then the internet slapped me in the face and I heard your sarcasm.
congrats, Yellow! and question: did you receive one of the GNE(good news emails) that a few george mason applicants mentioned? i know that my file was only passed on to the english department at the very end of january, but wondering how far along they are, or if i can essentially assume rejection since i haven't received a GNE. (because, you know, it's always so easy to predict this stuff.) :)
pdg, according to TSE, there was an Indiana fiction acceptance on 2/3, and Ashley's right that Syracuse has notified acceptances and waitlists (in fiction and poetry). (*continues to mope about Syracuse*)
yellow, congrats! :-)
my Wash U rejection letter has finally arrived. alas.
For those of you who comment/joke about your writing samples being so bad that the AdCom are laughing themselves silly, here's my view: I don't think they have the time to laugh. Too much to do, too little time. Unless your story is about a boy/girl lamenting over a dead pet dog, you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure they're giving your ws a good read, even if it's only for 10 minutes. (I timed myself: I can actually read 5+ pages in 10 minutes, which is quite a lot.)
Seth said last week that Wyoming would be notifying waitlisters soon and since the snail mail arrival of a Wyoming rejection letter this morning I wonder: Are waitlist notifications in the mail too?
Don't worry about the phone ringing. Let it ring. Let them leave a message. I stopped worrying about things I have no control over. And I certainly don't want them to catch me unawares, don't want them to second-guess their pick as I babble incoherently. Let them leave a message and you can call back at your leisure, when you're good and ready...and composed.
Hi all, long-time lurker here. I had a quick question about Iowa. I sent my application packet from Australia (where I lived last year), but never got any confirmation that they'd received it. My application has been filed etc, and a couple other schools I mailed packets to at the same time (Wisconsin and Virginia) confirmed they'd been received. Has anyone gotten a confirmation email from Iowa? Do I just need to chill?
Woon, no offense, but since you've stated you have GNE's from three or four places, you're not nearly as stressed out as a lot of people here are ... you're riding high and easy.
It's easier to tell people not to stress when you're not under such stress yourself.
P.S. I applied in fiction.
@ Laura T
I am refreshing the UMass Amherst website too - if you click on "applied" they state that they mail letters of acceptance and denial within 2 days of the committee's decision, so here's to hoping they update the website faster than they mail the letters.
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