They're supposed to send you an email once you pay for your application online. They send you a username and password where you can check your status. It should say that they've received your Toefl scores (if that applies) and transcripts. But I had to call to check if they received my manuscript, letters of recommendation, and SOP. Why don't you email them?
I sent all my app materials via certified, so I can track on the web whether the intended recipient received them. They did. If you're worried, you could simply email them. Deb West, the coordinator at Iowa, appears to be very friendly and cooperative. At this time of year, when things are hectic? Plus all the snow days? Can't say.
I hate to go home knowing a Wyoming rejection is most likely waiting in my mailbox. Even though I know the numbers aren't necessarily commensurate in terms of acceptances, it is sobering (in the negative sense!) to know that Wyoming receives far fewer applications than the majority of the places to which I applied. If I'm not good enough for those odds, what am I doing hanging around here?
Why did I get out of that nursing program when I was an undergrad, again? (Well, all the fainting, for one.)
Has anyone announced his or her being waitlisted at Wyoming?
Courtney, I know you feel! I'm way over in Ohio, so I'm thinking that it won't even come in the mail today but later in the week. And it's my birthday, I don't need a rejection letter! I worry the same thing about being rejected from Wyoming, BUT keep in mind they only accepted 3 or 4 in each genre, and there is no way that those were the only good applicants. They were just what Wyoming was looking for. We can't stress too much!!
@Courtney -- as Seth and others have said, there are hundreds of real life stories where an applicant gets rejected by all her schools EXCEPT Iowa. Or, after the third try, an applicant finally gets into Brown. Spotting talent/merit in fiction is so subjective (well, unless you're reading Dan Brown) that failure to get into a supposedly low- to mid-tier school doesn't mean you won't get into a top-tier school.
One of my recommenders went to Iowa and she said that when she applied, she was rejected by several top-, mid-, and low-tier schools even though she was accepted by Iowa. Of course, she was also accepted by some mid- and low-tier schools as well.
Another of my recommenders is a Stegner fellow and he failed to get into many top-tier schools.
Thanks guys, I just sent an email. I've just been antsy about emailing the programs because I don't want to seem like a pest. But its better to know that they have it then wonder if it landed in the right hands.
I just got an email from Mark Jarman at Vanderbilt letting me know I've been waitlisted for poetry!
According to the letter, six people total have been accepted, and seven from each genre have been waitlisted. According to Jarman, one of those six acceptances has already given a definite yes to the program. No word as to what genre. Just thought you'd all like to know!
I got an email from Montana last week saying they were missing a letter for me, so I checked the online status of all my LORs and then called all the schools whose status wasn't available online. In all, about 5 or 6 schools were missing letters, and I found that three of them were willing to accept them through email directly from my recommender. One of them (Michener) never let me know. I have no idea if that has any bearing on my rejection, but I think it's certainly better to follow up and avoid that if possible.
Speaking of Stegner, if you read the bios of many of the past fellows, you'll find:
(1) people who do not have MFAs, (2) people with MFAs from mid- to low-tier schools, (3) people who do not even have MAs, and of course, (4) people with MFAs from top-tier schools.
@ the duchess, yes, I hope they update the website quickly! It was updated pretty soon after I sent my application saying that the materials had been received, so I hope that means they are diligent about updating it!
Oh, vanderbilt ::weep weep weep::: So i guess i'll be moving my stew of anxiety here from TSE, where it was simmering along with building bubbles. Greetings, friends.
Has anyone pending Wisconsin as of Friday received an update?
@Laura & the dutchess, I think I read somewhere that Amherst will not update the website saying you've been rejected for a few weeks after the decision so notification has time to arrive. I think rejections go out via snail mail. Are you both poetry?
Maybe I should drive over to Amherst and bang on their doors demanding they let us know the status of our applications while screaming, "Let us in! Let us in!"
Ha, ha, ha.
I should go do the dishes and start the laundry. It would have been much easier to handle the waiting this week if I wasn't on vacation.
Huzzah amanda! Huzzah Nick (...good lord boy, I want to know your secrets...)!
Still in nothingness land over here. Including nothing from Michener (like Jessie, not yet in committee. And like Jessie, expecting a giant rejection with a really sparkly "Oh, what? Hopes? NEVER!" bow).
Did anyone apply to Arizona? Did you get notification that your materials have been received? It occurs to me that I have had no such news. Yeah, I called and left them a voicemail, too.
I think sometimes admissions offices just "say" that they haven't notified/ are still notifying to prevent mass hysteria. It's hard to tell what's what.
Thanks for that info about Amherst! Yes, I'm poetry. I only live about three hours away from Amherst, so driving up and banging on the door seems somewhat tempting, haha.
Ugh, WanderingTree and pencore, is right. Considering that that is the exact same phrasing they used in the email they sent upon receiving applications, I wonder if they hired a robot to pick up the phone and tell people that. Just kidding, Illinois! You aren't a robot! Let me in! Let me iiiiiin.
and still in the extra sparkly false hope Michener limbo. Based on what M. Swann said I think I'm going to say that the status isn't accurately updated unless you are rejected? That's what I'm going to keep telling myself.
Thanks everyone! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't giddy right now. But knowing how hard it is to turn down Vandy, I'm trying to keep from expecting anything from it. The first part of the letter was actually an apology. Kind of funny. But in case you guys were wondering, it says there were 620 applicants total. 6 admits.
Did anyone apply to Maryland or U San Fran? Also Sarah Lawrence. I'm hearing weird things about Sarah Lawrence, which makes me sad because initially I was really excited about it.
Congrats! Best of luck. Just wish wholeheartedly that those who have the spots ahead of you follow their hearts to some place they'll be happier! Then you can get what you want without all the bad karma. =)
Congrats on the acceptances and wait list notifications!!!
I'm impressed by the efficiency at Washington University and (at least from what I've read here) Vanderbilt. The former is now my first official rejection (Yay! Is it wrong that I am actually just excited to hear?), and I'll add Vandy to the presumed rejections.
I'd also like to know what you've heard about Sarah Lawrence. I applied there after one of my rec letters teachers who works there encouraged me to. She says its a great program with a lot of one on one.
does anyone know to what extent programs consider demographics? I hear that's part of the acceptance scheme...which being on the newbie side of this whole thing makes me think chances are even more slim.
The director of Mich. did an interview a while back and talked about finding people they could help reach another level. I'm not sure if this what you mean by demographic but I think committees probably look for some kind of diversity in terms of skill and experience level. As far other demographic stats like geography, race, socio-economic class etc. I don't think it really matters. Sure, universities like to put international students on their brochures but I think that's more of an undergrad college thing.
Congrats to Amanda and NMcRae! I am so jealous right now!!! Vandy! Vandy!! Vandy!!!!!! ahhhh
I applied to UNCG and UNCW and Iowa and Michigan.... all of which are preparing to unleash decisions this week? I feel like I'm standing in front of a firing squad. Blindfold? Cigarette? Please, fiction programs, have mercy! I'm just a little writer with big dreams... merhhhh!
I called in December to ask about some app stuff and they tried to get me apply for January. As in this past January, January 2010. They said that they realized they had "room". This is for poetry. So, I don't know if that means that people are leaving the program or if the school is in need of tuition dollars, but that seemed sort of sketchy to me.
Any news/speculation about when Colorado State will start notifying for fiction??
According to Seth's data, in past years they haven't notified until late February/early March, BUT apparently the first poetry notifications went out on Thursday (2/11), and again, judging from the data, it looks like they usually notify for fiction shortly after poetry. Is it too much to hope to hear from them this week?? (preferably today or tomorrow...:) )
I don't think it's unreasonable to think that CSU will notify sometime this week. Speaking of which Colorado State was by far the most pleasant experience I had applying. Dealing only with one person (Marnie Leonard, who was extremely nice and helpful) was much easier than my experiences with other schools.
@ Nick, Amanda, Yellow Lux, EPAC, and all others who have received great news... C O N G R A T S ! ! ! and for those who have received the rejections, i am of the belief that getting rejections over with is part of the path toward acceptance, so it's like mandatory legwork to get those out of the way.
apologies for my generalities, i pried myself away for a while to rebalance seratonin levels and now with word of iowa CNF acceptances out there i am back to pulling my hair out in good company. but seems there's a splash of good news so cheers and here's to lots of celebratory cupcake eating.
and for everyone with birthdays too-- YAY! i hope good news continues to dance its way toward us in cosmic fashion.
PS- anybody else get an email from George Mason (gasp gasp gasp OMG!) only to find out it said their application was only JUST NOW going to committee? WTF?
but to everyone feeling down, i know saying don't doesn't help, but...don't.
i did my undergrad at Syracuse and ended up taking some grad courses and for 3 years i worked with the mfa faculty. i kept in touch with them the year i was out, and they looked over my sample.
last year i applied to 12 programs including Syracuse, and got rejected from all of them (although, i think i ended up being waitlisted then accepted to sarah lawrence...).
i can't tell you that didn't suck, and the syracuse thing definitely stung. but in the end- it didn't matter. i kept writing and this year i applied to 9 schools with a sample i think was infinitely better than last year's.
so far this year, no acceptances, but Syracuse did waitlist me. so it's a step up. i'm not sweating it. if i end up not getting in anywhere, it'll hurt, but next year i'll again submit an improved sample.
Yeah, I got that e-mail yesterday. Kind of a relief, actually, because I'd been reading about all these people getting GNE's while I hadn't heard a thing.
Are there any engineers who are also MFA applicants? Can you build me a machine wherein I may travel through the internet and throttle my baby brother?
Sometimes I think that I got all of the empathy genes in my family because when I was telling my brother, who has had most everything bestowed to him, about my waiting anxiety he told me I was stressing too much. I responded by saying that I'm stressing because it's very stressful and I'm only looking for a little empathy. To which he replied, "You just want pity."
I've never wanted to strangle him as much as I did at that moment. (Save for when we were kids and he made fun of me for not having boobs [still don't].)
I really recommend having a big brother rather than a little one. Maybe your engineer can invent a time machine and tell your parents to work that one out for you.
Unless you have one and he's equally irritating. In that case, I'm out of ideas.
News for other CNF folks, from a post by Stella over on the Speakeasy:
"I'm a lurker here and have been taking refuge (torturing myself?) every couple of hours with updates. Broke down today and called Iowa and Minnesota because I had a feeling it was all over and my waiting was just going to make it all more painful in the end. Yup. Iowa already called all the creative nonfiction people, and Minnesota sent out all of its acceptances for creative nonfiction via email on Monday. So that's that.
Blah.
Just thought I'd put that out there for anybody who was still waiting for one of those two schools. "
Nope, I have had the great fortune of being a big sister to two younger, surprisingly insensitive, quasi-inconsiderate brothers. (Growing up as the first-born and a girl in a working-class, refugee immigrant family helped me to grow a gigantic chip on my shoulders.)
Am I the only one who has siblings who don't like reading? Who don't even care that you write stories? Who won't read your stories unless you badger them into it? Those are my brothers.
Oh, and here's another gem, the youngest one also told me that one of my stories was like "Chick lit." Dang, I should really stop talking to him.
Congrats to Nick and Amanda on the Vandy waitlist! That's wonderful news... and congrats also to Yellow Lux and EPAC and everyone else who's heard something positive. On the food tangent... wasn't there a mention a while ago about tamales? I myself made some delicious cinnamon and walnut swirl biscuits about two weeks ago... perhaps I should be baking more.
I totally know. Each refreshment (oh, the irony) equals me saying "507! That's three more comments than last time! I just know Sam Chang logged on and wrote 'Dear Briana, I know you are reading this and if you answer it within the next five minutes you get acceptance!'"
If only that were how it worked, I would be SO accepted. :*(
Maybe my MFA/Engineer friend can build implants into your retinas/brains where we our email accounts refresh automatically every half second and we could, you know, not freak out so much.
I applied (in fiction) to both SLC and U of San Francisco... did you already gave your interview? I don't think mine went too well, and now I'm a little apprehensive about the program.
Ahhh, and my first rejection and reply comes today--Wyoming nonfic. Def. not a shocker. But still... I know I saw a few rejects for WY nonfic before noon today, so it looks like they've sent out a good deal of them or all. Happy dark Tuesday to you all. Just kidding now--well, sort of. It was a nicely worded rejection though, and (defense mechanism time no doubt) for some reason I never had too much of a good feeling of my chances with WY. Though, they were somewhere in my top 5 (out of 12). Boo-hoo-hoo.
As far as everyone who'd rather get a rejection(s) versus nothing at all (though I understand the anxiety), be careful what you wish for. Haha. Yes, I am a sage indeed. The 1st one does sting a little extra, though (applied last year also).
@Ashley--let me join in on the chorus of happy birthday to ya! Btw, where in Ohio do you live? Thought I saw on here that you went to Clev. St. I live in a western suburb of Cleveland...born and raised in Parma. You must know of Parma then, right? Haha. Just moved back after four years in coastal N.C. Burr!
Oh, wow, this is long--shoot. Sorry. Well, as long as I'm here: any word out there from Memphis nonfic people? Saw poetry and fic. came in last week...I've got to admit that Bama has been driving up the suspense for me a notch or two the past few days. Ahh, the blessed, awful suspense. I believe no word yet on nonfiction responses?
For those waiting on UNCW--for any genre really--my hunch is buckle up for a long, harrowing ride, as at least last year waitlisters went into April (I think they're know for a hefty waitlist). I received my rejection from them in early April I believe. Grad. from their BFA prog last year--awesome profs and writers.
Lastly, everyone, Nick Macrae, over on the acceptance site today--if you didn't see--gave some good advice for all the restlessness: he got back-to-back acceptances from two different programs last year a full month after the 1st recorded ones went up on TSE. What an unpredictable, crazy process.
End of novella; congratulations to all who've been accepted and waitlisted thus far. And to the rest of you/us--good vibes around (and knock on wood daily, and for God's sake don't walk under any ladders and RUN if you see any black cats outside!)
Hey guys! Thanks for all the congrats. In other news, in a less advertisey appeal than last time, I wanted to share this with you guys. I created a private group on ning.com for us to post recipes and poems/stories, our application lists, etc. There is also online chat capability. So far, there are six of us on there. Anyone who wants a place to be distracted, exchange portfolios, and avoid trolls should come join us. Email me at mandasue at gmail dot com and I'll send you an invite.
JimfifeOH, Parma isn't so far away... I'm in Fairview Park! I wonder if Wyoming only sent letters out in CNF. I'm kind of hoping they're got everyone done with together!
For anyone who is waiting for Northwestern, the receptionist just told me that about half of the admitted applicants have been notified and the other half still need to be. Now, back to analyzing her inflection and phrasing... she knows something.
hmmm...So I've apparently convinced myself that if I continue to refresh my CSU application page, my status is bound to change from "Application Review" to "Accepted!!" (exclamation marks included). So far it does not seem to be working, but that doesn't stop me from refreshing it every two seconds. I think I am going crazy.
Anyone still up to swap samples, email me at: sdeyoreo[at]uci[dot]edu
Hey guys, I haven't been commenting a lot mostly because I don't have anything to add (no acceptances, no waitlists, no GNE/GNP, hell not even a FOE to report :() But, I wanted to let everyone know how much I appreciate your posts and how comforting it is to know that there are so many in the same position as me and with the same reactions as me! I'm not crazy! YAY! Or, at least if I am crazy, there are other crazies out there too. Awwww...
@Ashley, you are one of my blog BFFs, sorry to hear about the rejection. Keep trucking, honey, and HAPPY B-DAY! :)
@Ashley Brooke--hey, Fairview ehh?! How cool. What a small world! While I'm technically in R-River, Fairview is just 500 ft or so down the road. Where my parents and oldest sis first lived. Love the metroparks by/in there! Next to Cuy Veally Nat Park area, River/F-view,Bay Village is my fave area of Greater Clev. Underrated, I say. Ha-ha, anyway...so are you CNF? Thought you were, but maybe not.
Who knows if programs tend to send out all genre rejects together, you know? I used to think so, but now I'd say not necessarily. As a few people have said on here recently--though it was pertaining more to acceptances--they can come in waves, and probably, of course, it depends on when you sent your app in and how big their app pool is (and the # of profs reading them--and their regular schedules,and if you made that 1st and 2nd "cut," and on and on...and...on). Hope that cheered you up!
You're still waiting on WY, right? I'm getting a bit excited about EWU and Bama, also. Def. two of my top choices. Haven't really gotten too, too nervous about it all. Until now, I admit. I mean EWU's deadline was just yesterday, and already peotry and fic acceptances went out! Head start, no doubt, and I sent mine about a month before their deadline. Duhh duhh..
The thing of it is, as I'm sure you've thought of--as it pertains to these two programs--just because there hasn't been word of an acceptance in a certain genre, with another or both others reporting, doesn't mean it hasn't started. Ahhh!
As far as you and WY,I do know that there are at least some programs that send waitlist notifications out by mail, as well as acceptances (I appliced to three such progs this year). So, maybe WY does that??
All best, and enjoy our scenic snowy weather, and, again, happy birthday! Ok...steps away from computer and takes measured breaths.
I'll also survive, and I'm glad to hear of your positive outlook. I can't help but feel, however, like the kid waiting to get picked for the football team, watching as everyone else goes before him. I may be a little frail, but I have heart. I HAVE HEART!! :P I'm so feeling a little Charlie Brown-ish right now. Cue the sad music as I hang my head to my chest, lol
They should have sent you info on how to create an eID (I received a letter in the mail about two months ago with instructions, can't remember if they sent an email too).
Once you've created your eID, you can use it to log onto RAM web, https://ramweb.colostate.edu/ and check on your application status by clicking on "application summary".
Sorry to harp on Vandy-- to those who have heard back, I'm assuming its by email?
My mail arrives ridiculously late in the day. So, my day consists of checking my email and waiting on my mail. Silly St. Louis mailmen. Don't you know you're killing me?
Alright so I know you guys don't really care about this but I just gleefully told a stranger on the street! I found out I passed my literature comps! Considering I am pretty sure I had a panic attack during it and came out shaking, my relief knows no bounds!
Congratulations, Yellow Lux, EPAC, Nick, and Amanda! Glad to know there's some good mojo going on out there. And I hate to admit that I don't know what literature comps are (a big final exam?), but Coughdrop, congrats on passing. :)
I have also been going nuts about Colorado State ever since that poetry acceptance went up! (I'm fiction.) My heart dropped when I saw it, and I've been hoping that they'll hurry up. Colorado would be perfect for me for a plethora of reasons I won't go into here. I hope, I hope, I hope...
On a side note, I have the word hope in Spanish (esperanza! such a cool word) tattooed on my foot. You'd think that would help me remember to be more positive during this process...no dice.
What I keep thinking about is HOW MUCH work we all put into this, our time and energy and our hearts. I wish for each of us an acceptance somewhere. We do deserve it for all we put in to this process. I never tried so hard for anything. I know you all understand what I mean.
Yes, yes its a big nasty final exam that determines whether or not I graduate and you have to know EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TAUGHT EVER BACKWARDS and it is stupid but i PASSED.
CONGRATS on your comps!!!! They are hellish and it is definitely an accomplishment.
I had them for my MSEd. I had nightmares for two weeks before the exam and threw up that morning. For mine, all we knew was it was ONE question. When I called to find out if I passed, all the woman would say was, "You really want to come down here." Turns out I scored 16 out of 16, which almost never happens, and my mentor was there to show me. The whole office cheered for me, which was really cool.
I applied to University of Maryland as well. They confirmed via email that they received everything for my application (because I emailed first, ha) but I haven't heard yay or nay yet. Quite anxious about that school!
They haven't announced anything (that I know of). The very nice PD sends out an update when your work has gone to the committee. If you haven't received that email, you will (soonish, I would guess). Of course, this is for fiction. Not sure about poetry...perhaps a poet applicant can answer that.
Not sure what a "good news email" is, as I haven't been following along too closely with the blog. I've been too anxious.
The e-mail I got from George Mason said "Congratulations, you're in," basically.
I called them today and they said they are still going through applications, so I'm not sure how their approval process works, but it sounds like they're not finished yet. Hope that helps.
Yes, the relationship between hoping and waiting in the Spanish language have always interested me. It seems especially appropriate for this whole process. :)
I was expecting my rejection letter from Wyoming today, and when I opened the envelope I was shocked and pleased to see that I have been wait-listed, in poetry.
My understanding- and somebody correct me if I'm off base here- is that UNCG has it's preferred January deadline (which you need to hit if you want to be considered for an assistantship), and then the graduate school has a final deadline for MFA applicants of March 1.
While anything's possible, it's hard to imagine them making many (if any) final decisions before all the applications are in on March 1 (unless of course the folks applying between Jan 1 and March 1 are automatically downgraded from potential acceptances to waitlisters- but that's just sheer speculation on my part).
Either way, I'm not sure I can handle another month of waiting.
I'm a fiction applicant by the way. And, no, I haven't yet been informed that my samples are in committee. So it's probably still early in the game for both of us.
Came home to a very thin little envelope from Portland State in the mailbox today. I couldn't for the life of me get the letter open, not because I was shaking but because those doggone tricky Oregonians are so skilled at sealing envelopes.
Fake Out Letter. My application has been received and sent to committee.
WHY would you send me that letter, Portland State? WHY?
Congrats to all of the acceptances and waitlists today!
Those snail mail paper letters indicating "Gone to Committee" seem like a waste. A waste of paper at the very least. Those Oregonians should know better than to be so Green-unfriendly.
Seems like ASU poetry is right on time based on past years. If we're to go by TSE, it looks like we should start stressing out around the 2nd wk of March.
Your comment was posted ages ago, but I've been avoiding the internet lately. I live in CA where the sun is actually out, so I've been doing pleasant things instead. :-P
The "acceptance" you remember may have been my comment, although I think there was another commenter with a good news email as well. GMU has been sending out emails telling folks that their samples are doing well. That's about it. They aren't official acceptances.
My theory is that they're doing this because the snow held up their admission process, although that's just a guess. Maybe they do this every year.
It is unnerving because I reeeeally love their program. "You're in - I mean - maybe you're in" is nice, but it isn't as nice as "Congratulations! Let me help you with your bags."
They said official notifications will go out in a few weeks.
@ Mountain King: thanks for posting - I like your attitude. Even though I agree with you completely, it helps to see it in print, and it helps to hear it from someone other than the little voice in my head that is trying to stay balanced and sane. :)
@ Ashley: HAPPY BIRTHDAY girl! That unlucky rejection will mean nothing five - ten years from now when you are going strong in your writing career.
And now for my funny/pathetic story for today. I've been pretty calm so far about checking email, unknown phone calls, etc, because the very earliest any of my schools have notified, according to TSE, is the last week in February. So I've managed to not really anticipate anything until then. And I have a land line, so my cell phone is rarely disturbed but unknown callers.
But then today my phone rang at an unusual time - and when I looked at it it was a completely unknown number with an area code I didn't recognize at all. It turned out to be one of my students, telling me he couldn't make his appointment today because of the weather. But after I hung up, I was shaking so badly I had to sit down and catch my breath. And I thought - ha! I've caught the BUG! :)
Hopefully next time my phone rings with an unknown caller it will be more fruitful.
I question the validity of this UNCG information. I don't think they're going to notify this week. I don't think they're going to notify for a while. But this all just conjecture, anyway.
Thanks Lauren! It's only my first rejection. I had to be tough and get it out of my way. Now I'm ready for ~~**good news**~~! Thanks Megan! That's the spirit - Wyoming meanings nada! Kind of. I did like the idea of living somewhere beautiful and not far from Denver. There are other beautiful places!
Congrats, Brad, on your Wyoming waitlist! Good luck.
♥ I quit you, internet, for the rest of my day. Hopefully in the wee AM hours you can offer me many comments to read over.
Jessica, Thanks dear! Have no shame in eating your raw cookie dough though, because it's delicious that way. Why else would they put it in ice cream? Best of luck to you at your schools!
I read this way back in the comments, but Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program confirmed to me this afternoon that all accepted applicants were already notified via phone. They're "sending out letters" this week (the initial standby, so the woman wouldn't have to tell me I didn't get in...sadface).
Michigan is still wading through everything. 1100 applicants in both genres.
I also just today got an email from George Mason (where I applied in poetry), saying that my application was finally processed and being sent to review. I don't understand how they've already accepted people, as has been reported in the comments here! But we'll see. It was such a mean fake-out!!
Good luck, and congrats to everyone who's wait-listed, accepted, or already over their first rejection. I'm feeling really down about knowing I'm not in at Iowa...
I'm also among the panicked ranks hitting the refresh button on my inbox. I just get that beautiful little "1 New Message!" announcement and somehow misread a "Re:HW Questions" from my prof as Minnesota's "Congratulations!"
My hands are still sweating.
And what the heck is going on up there in the upper midwest? Does anybody have any news on Minnesota? The last hellfire rumor I heard was that they were announcing the rest of their acceptances yesterday... but they haven't...
Hey Chrissy, I'm not very vocal here but just read your post - Don't be disheartened, we all know the number of applications these Univ's recieve and my proff who is at Iowa right now teaching told me this year the apps are much much more - a lil less than double... You have to understand that this is in no way a reflection of your writing ability at all. I mean this applies to all of us...
Speaking of horoscopes, I think mine is sad but true :) -
"Enter the madness... It's the actions/reactions that are taken now that can completely redefine the overall direction of your life... But that often means that the end result is likely to be a lot different than what was expected or hoped for... Somehow, some unexpected variable enters into the equation that adds an element of chaos into the mix... The big thing is that Saturn is also squaring Pluto that can cause the inner fears & insecurities to rise up in some... Most people can handle that energy fairly well, but it can very easily send those that are worn down from stress & strain over the edge."
Not that I'm really into horoscopes, but living in LA one gets accustomed to a certain tolerance for bullshit and I thought mine was particularly spot on today (if not likely applicable to everyone on here):
"Take care of yourself, relax and get more sleep. You'll feel better tomorrow."
The other week I had a horrendous nightmare that ASU half-accepted me: "This poem is the best we've ever seen-- but these, these are absolute shit!" I was to be permitted into the program only if I revised 90% of my poems. Ha! I just thought I'd share this gem of an anxiety dream with y'all, and let you know that it didn't end up so badly (I've heard back from one of my top schools, positive!)... now only 10 more to wait for anxiously. Good luck.
1,757 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 600 of 1757 Newer› Newest»That's true. I forgot about that old advice: when people are stressed and hysterical, the last thing they want to hear is "Calm down!"
Also, even though I have a few GNEs, I still have ZERO offers. So, anything can happen until I get an acceptance...or a rejection.
@ K. Peaquah Shaw
They're supposed to send you an email once you pay for your application online. They send you a username and password where you can check your status. It should say that they've received your Toefl scores (if that applies) and transcripts. But I had to call to check if they received my manuscript, letters of recommendation, and SOP. Why don't you email them?
I sent all my app materials via certified, so I can track on the web whether the intended recipient received them. They did. If you're worried, you could simply email them. Deb West, the coordinator at Iowa, appears to be very friendly and cooperative. At this time of year, when things are hectic? Plus all the snow days? Can't say.
I hate to go home knowing a Wyoming rejection is most likely waiting in my mailbox. Even though I know the numbers aren't necessarily commensurate in terms of acceptances, it is sobering (in the negative sense!) to know that Wyoming receives far fewer applications than the majority of the places to which I applied. If I'm not good enough for those odds, what am I doing hanging around here?
Why did I get out of that nursing program when I was an undergrad, again?
(Well, all the fainting, for one.)
Has anyone announced his or her being waitlisted at Wyoming?
Courtney,
I know you feel! I'm way over in Ohio, so I'm thinking that it won't even come in the mail today but later in the week. And it's my birthday, I don't need a rejection letter!
I worry the same thing about being rejected from Wyoming, BUT keep in mind they only accepted 3 or 4 in each genre, and there is no way that those were the only good applicants. They were just what Wyoming was looking for. We can't stress too much!!
Happy birthday, Ashley!
@Courtney -- as Seth and others have said, there are hundreds of real life stories where an applicant gets rejected by all her schools EXCEPT Iowa. Or, after the third try, an applicant finally gets into Brown. Spotting talent/merit in fiction is so subjective (well, unless you're reading Dan Brown) that failure to get into a supposedly low- to mid-tier school doesn't mean you won't get into a top-tier school.
One of my recommenders went to Iowa and she said that when she applied, she was rejected by several top-, mid-, and low-tier schools even though she was accepted by Iowa. Of course, she was also accepted by some mid- and low-tier schools as well.
Another of my recommenders is a Stegner fellow and he failed to get into many top-tier schools.
So, don't give up hope.
Thanks guys, I just sent an email. I've just been antsy about emailing the programs because I don't want to seem like a pest. But its better to know that they have it then wonder if it landed in the right hands.
Hello friends,
I just got an email from Mark Jarman at Vanderbilt letting me know I've been waitlisted for poetry!
According to the letter, six people total have been accepted, and seven from each genre have been waitlisted. According to Jarman, one of those six acceptances has already given a definite yes to the program. No word as to what genre. Just thought you'd all like to know!
Best to all,
NM
@ Ashley Brooke, happy birthday! :)
@Ashley - Happy Birthday!
@Courtney - Think of it this way, the more rejections you get, the closer you are to that acceptance, which I am SURE you will get.
@ K. Peaquah Shaw & Stranger:
I got an email from Montana last week saying they were missing a letter for me, so I checked the online status of all my LORs and then called all the schools whose status wasn't available online. In all, about 5 or 6 schools were missing letters, and I found that three of them were willing to accept them through email directly from my recommender. One of them (Michener) never let me know. I have no idea if that has any bearing on my rejection, but I think it's certainly better to follow up and avoid that if possible.
Speaking of Stegner, if you read the bios of many of the past fellows, you'll find:
(1) people who do not have MFAs,
(2) people with MFAs from mid- to low-tier schools,
(3) people who do not even have MAs, and of course,
(4) people with MFAs from top-tier schools.
And the Stegner is insanely competitive.
congrats NM! :)
@ the duchess, yes, I hope they update the website quickly! It was updated pretty soon after I sent my application saying that the materials had been received, so I hope that means they are diligent about updating it!
@ Nick McRae:
AWESOME! Congrats!
And also, yikes. Now have a new school to worry about... ;)
Congrats to Yellow Lux and Nick(and anyone I missed)!
Wow, Nick! Incredible streak!
OHMYGOD.
I was waitlisted at Vanderbilt too. Just got the email. I seriously feel like I'm going to pass out. Can't breathe. Going outside for air.
Oh, vanderbilt ::weep weep weep:::
So i guess i'll be moving my stew of anxiety here from TSE, where it was simmering along with building bubbles. Greetings, friends.
Has anyone pending Wisconsin as of Friday received an update?
congrats to nick and amanda!
Also,
@ Yellow Lux and anyone else I may have missed recently
Congrats, friends!
NM
Congrats Yellow Lux & Vandy waitlisters!
@ Nm and amanda
Super huge kudos on the Vbilt waitlist [:
and sending positive vibes to everyone else for a week of good, good news!
Jessie, Laura, and A. Astur A, thanks! :) I shouldn't be spending my day here, butttt... here I am! For now, at least.
Nick, congrats and good luck!
Congrats to Amada as well!
@ amanda
Congrats, Vandy waitlist buddy!
NM
I feel like there are several amanda's in this blog community. Anyway, congrats amanda!
Also, several laura's and ashley's. I could be wrong.
@Laura & the dutchess, I think I read somewhere that Amherst will not update the website saying you've been rejected for a few weeks after the decision so notification has time to arrive. I think rejections go out via snail mail. Are you both poetry?
Maybe I should drive over to Amherst and bang on their doors demanding they let us know the status of our applications while screaming, "Let us in! Let us in!"
Ha, ha, ha.
I should go do the dishes and start the laundry. It would have been much easier to handle the waiting this week if I wasn't on vacation.
Yay for waitlister Amanda!
Happy Birthday Ashley!
Congrats Nick! You're the man!
And thank you, comrades. I forgot about those Cinderella stories. There's hope; there's hope; there's hope. (dum spiro spero)
Happy birthday Ashley! I'm sending you "Acceptance Vibes" today.
Congrats Nick, Amanda, Yellow and anyone I missed.
Huzzah amanda! Huzzah Nick (...good lord boy, I want to know your secrets...)!
Still in nothingness land over here. Including nothing from Michener (like Jessie, not yet in committee. And like Jessie, expecting a giant rejection with a really sparkly "Oh, what? Hopes? NEVER!" bow).
To my Midwestern (or hoping to be so) compadres;
I have just called all of the schools on my list for which there are TSE acceptances posted, and from whom I have not yet heard.
ME: I am curious as to whether you have finished notifying your accepted applicants for the fiction MFA.
The answers:
Illinois: Decisions will be made in March.
OSU: Voicemail
Memphis: Voicemail
Indiana: Voicemail
So, not very helpful. But to anyone curious, apparently Illinois hasn't filled all of their fiction spots yet.
In other news, I have no cuticles. Thanks, rejection season anxiety!
Congratulations to all the Vanderbilt wait-listers! That's a nice shot in the arm.
@ MommyJ - Thanks for the info - yes, I'm in poetry.
Congrats to all acceptees and waitlistees and cheers to the birthday girl!
ALSO ALSO ALSO:
Did anyone apply to Arizona? Did you get notification that your materials have been received? It occurs to me that I have had no such news. Yeah, I called and left them a voicemail, too.
Mj,
I think sometimes admissions offices just "say" that they haven't notified/ are still notifying to prevent mass hysteria. It's hard to tell what's what.
@Laura T and the duchess, does your status say "graduate program in English" or does it specify MFA?
Angst, angst.
@ mj
re: Illinois
I wonder if that is code for "All REJECT notifications will go out in March."
Ugh times infinity.
@ MommyJ,
Thanks for that info about Amherst! Yes, I'm poetry. I only live about three hours away from Amherst, so driving up and banging on the door seems somewhat tempting, haha.
Pencore,
That's what I'm thinking.
Oh, MommyJ, I just saw your other comment. Mine says "graduate program in English" as well.
Ugh, WanderingTree and pencore, is right. Considering that that is the exact same phrasing they used in the email they sent upon receiving applications, I wonder if they hired a robot to pick up the phone and tell people that. Just kidding, Illinois! You aren't a robot! Let me in! Let me iiiiiin.
Nothing from Arizona for me, either. I don't think that is unusual for most programs - they're kind of swamped I'd imagine.
I suppose you are right, KP. And who am I kidding. Like I need another website to check obsessively for a rejection notice.
Congrats Vandy Waitlisters!
and still in the extra sparkly false hope Michener limbo. Based on what M. Swann said I think I'm going to say that the status isn't accurately updated unless you are rejected? That's what I'm going to keep telling myself.
I suppose you are right, KP. And who am I kidding. Like I need another website to check obsessively for a rejection notice.
@Mommy J - yep me too
Thanks everyone! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't giddy right now. But knowing how hard it is to turn down Vandy, I'm trying to keep from expecting anything from it. The first part of the letter was actually an apology. Kind of funny. But in case you guys were wondering, it says there were 620 applicants total. 6 admits.
Holy Mother! 620 applicants?
If I wasn't already sweating it, I sure as hell am now.
Thanks Courtney and MommyJ! Acceptance vibes back at you as well! :)
Also, sorry I spelled your username wrong. ;)
Congrats Nick McCrae and amanda! You all are hitting the big time.
So I'm seeing lots of people who have heard from vandy-- vandy, why won't you contact me???? ughhhhh. I just want my rejection so I can move on.
Hey everyone! I just got accepted to the Northwestern MFA (Creative Nonfiction). Anyone else apply/hear back?
@ Danielle Wheeler - I just got an email from Deb at Iowa - they've got everything. Glad I checked.
Seems like it might be a good sign that they're following up on your missing materials, yes?
@Ashley
My thoughts exactly!
This business of being rejected, but not yet knowing it (officially) is for the birds!
Congratulations EPAC, Nick and amanda!
Did anyone apply to Maryland or U San Fran? Also Sarah Lawrence. I'm hearing weird things about Sarah Lawrence, which makes me sad because initially I was really excited about it.
Wait. I’m confused. Has someone HEARD news from Umass Amherst ?
I want to cry.
I STILL haven't gotten my WashU email. This rejection sans rejection crap is cruel.
@amanda
Congrats! Best of luck. Just wish wholeheartedly that those who have the spots ahead of you follow their hearts to some place they'll be happier! Then you can get what you want without all the bad karma. =)
@Nick
You amaze me.
In my wallowing forgot to say congrats all who have been accepted and/or waitlisted!!!
Has anyone posted an acceptance from Vanderbilt? I saw the one fiction notification listed on TSE, but nothing for poetry.
@name pending
SLaw applicant over here..what kind of things have you been hearing?
You've got me a wee bit concerned :\
Congrats on the acceptances and wait list notifications!!!
I'm impressed by the efficiency at Washington University and (at least from what I've read here) Vanderbilt. The former is now my first official rejection (Yay! Is it wrong that I am actually just excited to hear?), and I'll add Vandy to the presumed rejections.
Cheers and good luck to all!
@YARebels
I haven't gotten anything either. I didn't submit my stuff until the absolute last minute, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Well, I got my rejection from Wyoming in the mail. ho hum.
I'd also like to know what you've heard about Sarah Lawrence. I applied there after one of my rec letters teachers who works there encouraged me to. She says its a great program with a lot of one on one.
new to blog. getting very restless. anyone want to do a fiction swap. email me at evanbrown814 AT gmail DOT com.
@ name pending
I also applied to Sarah Lawrence (cnf) and am curious as to what weird things you've heard as well.
Hey all, just a question for general knowledge--
does anyone know to what extent programs consider demographics? I hear that's part of the acceptance scheme...which being on the newbie side of this whole thing makes me think chances are even more slim.
thoughts?
Emily,
The director of Mich. did an interview a while back and talked about finding people they could help reach another level. I'm not sure if this what you mean by demographic but I think committees probably look for some kind of diversity in terms of skill and experience level. As far other demographic stats like geography, race, socio-economic class etc. I don't think it really matters. Sure, universities like to put international students on their brochures but I think that's more of an undergrad college thing.
Congrats to Amanda and NMcRae! I am so jealous right now!!! Vandy! Vandy!! Vandy!!!!!! ahhhh
I applied to UNCG and UNCW and Iowa and Michigan.... all of which are preparing to unleash decisions this week? I feel like I'm standing in front of a firing squad. Blindfold? Cigarette? Please, fiction programs, have mercy! I'm just a little writer with big dreams... merhhhh!
@Chelsea and @EPAC
Regarding Sarah Lawrence--
I called in December to ask about some app stuff and they tried to get me apply for January. As in this past January, January 2010. They said that they realized they had "room". This is for poetry. So, I don't know if that means that people are leaving the program or if the school is in need of tuition dollars, but that seemed sort of sketchy to me.
@EPAC
How were you notified of the NW acceptance?
Any news/speculation about when Colorado State will start notifying for fiction??
According to Seth's data, in past years they haven't notified until late February/early March, BUT apparently the first poetry notifications went out on Thursday (2/11), and again, judging from the data, it looks like they usually notify for fiction shortly after poetry. Is it too much to hope to hear from them this week?? (preferably today or tomorrow...:) )
@ DFW
The co-director left a voicemail. Also, the decision was available on the website. Did you apply as well?
@EPAC
I applied in Fiction, but have yet to hear anything. Do you mind if I ask how you can check that on the website?
@Sarah
I don't think it's unreasonable to think that CSU will notify sometime this week. Speaking of which Colorado State was by far the most pleasant experience I had applying. Dealing only with one person (Marnie Leonard, who was extremely nice and helpful) was much easier than my experiences with other schools.
DFW,
I got an email from them saying that a decision was posted online, and to log on to the application system. Hope this helps.
@ Nick, Amanda, Yellow Lux, EPAC, and all others who have received great news... C O N G R A T S ! ! !
and for those who have received the rejections, i am of the belief that getting rejections over with is part of the path toward acceptance, so it's like mandatory legwork to get those out of the way.
apologies for my generalities, i pried myself away for a while to rebalance seratonin levels and now with word of iowa CNF acceptances out there i am back to pulling my hair out in good company. but seems there's a splash of good news so cheers and here's to lots of celebratory cupcake eating.
and for everyone with birthdays too-- YAY!
i hope good news continues to dance its way toward us in cosmic fashion.
PS- anybody else get an email from George Mason (gasp gasp gasp OMG!) only to find out it said their application was only JUST NOW going to committee?
WTF?
so i've been trying to avoid this blog.
but to everyone feeling down, i know saying don't doesn't help, but...don't.
i did my undergrad at Syracuse and ended up taking some grad courses and for 3 years i worked with the mfa faculty. i kept in touch with them the year i was out, and they looked over my sample.
last year i applied to 12 programs including Syracuse, and got rejected from all of them (although, i think i ended up being waitlisted then accepted to sarah lawrence...).
i can't tell you that didn't suck, and the syracuse thing definitely stung. but in the end- it didn't matter. i kept writing and this year i applied to 9 schools with a sample i think was infinitely better than last year's.
so far this year, no acceptances, but Syracuse did waitlist me. so it's a step up. i'm not sweating it. if i end up not getting in anywhere, it'll hurt, but next year i'll again submit an improved sample.
no worries, folks.
Er, perhaps I should have checked my inbox before I posted that last one...I'm in committee.
Well done to all the waitlist folks. Good luck with that (for real...).
ugh... no George Mason emails of any kind here. I got the initial ones concerning receipt of my application... and now, nada. :(.
@Pema D
Yeah, I got that e-mail yesterday. Kind of a relief, actually, because I'd been reading about all these people getting GNE's while I hadn't heard a thing.
@Cate
No word from UMass Amherst yet. We're just eagerly waiting to get a call.
I've also got nothing from George Mason for fiction. There was an acceptance posted in fiction, though, which makes me want to headbutt something.
@Gena and Pema D
What did you apply in?
DFW--
Fiction. Le sigh.
Are there any engineers who are also MFA applicants? Can you build me a machine wherein I may travel through the internet and throttle my baby brother?
Sometimes I think that I got all of the empathy genes in my family because when I was telling my brother, who has had most everything bestowed to him, about my waiting anxiety he told me I was stressing too much. I responded by saying that I'm stressing because it's very stressful and I'm only looking for a little empathy. To which he replied, "You just want pity."
I've never wanted to strangle him as much as I did at that moment. (Save for when we were kids and he made fun of me for not having boobs [still don't].)
Where is Real Talk when you need him?!
Pencore
I really recommend having a big brother rather than a little one. Maybe your engineer can invent a time machine and tell your parents to work that one out for you.
Unless you have one and he's equally irritating. In that case, I'm out of ideas.
News for other CNF folks, from a post by Stella over on the Speakeasy:
"I'm a lurker here and have been taking refuge (torturing myself?) every couple of hours with updates. Broke down today and called Iowa and Minnesota because I had a feeling it was all over and my waiting was just going to make it all more painful in the end. Yup. Iowa already called all the creative nonfiction people, and Minnesota sent out all of its acceptances for creative nonfiction via email on Monday. So that's that.
Blah.
Just thought I'd put that out there for anybody who was still waiting for one of those two schools. "
Jasmine,
Nope, I have had the great fortune of being a big sister to two younger, surprisingly insensitive, quasi-inconsiderate brothers. (Growing up as the first-born and a girl in a working-class, refugee immigrant family helped me to grow a gigantic chip on my shoulders.)
Am I the only one who has siblings who don't like reading? Who don't even care that you write stories? Who won't read your stories unless you badger them into it? Those are my brothers.
Oh, and here's another gem, the youngest one also told me that one of my stories was like "Chick lit." Dang, I should really stop talking to him.
Congrats to Nick and Amanda on the Vandy waitlist! That's wonderful news... and congrats also to Yellow Lux and EPAC and everyone else who's heard something positive. On the food tangent... wasn't there a mention a while ago about tamales? I myself made some delicious cinnamon and walnut swirl biscuits about two weeks ago... perhaps I should be baking more.
Congratulations, EPAC!!!
I don't know why I am convinced that if I just click refresh ONE more time, I'll have an answer.
@YARebels
I totally know. Each refreshment (oh, the irony) equals me saying "507! That's three more comments than last time! I just know Sam Chang logged on and wrote 'Dear Briana, I know you are reading this and if you answer it within the next five minutes you get acceptance!'"
If only that were how it worked, I would be SO accepted. :*(
I keep hitting the inbox button on my email because this, of course, will force programs to email me something. Surprisingly, it is not working.
@ the duchess
Thanks for the info!
Is umass supposed to notify today? Any word on a specific date?
Maybe my MFA/Engineer friend can build implants into your retinas/brains where we our email accounts refresh automatically every half second and we could, you know, not freak out so much.
Ugh, who am I kidding?
@name pending
I applied (in fiction) to both SLC and U of San Francisco... did you already gave your interview? I don't think mine went too well, and now I'm a little apprehensive about the program.
@Cate
No word on specific UMass Amherst notification date. I contacted them via email and was told that decisions would be made "soon."
Acceptances will come via phone and denials via snail mail.
According to past stats, this is the week of notification. However, they likely received more applicants this year given the dismal state of things.
http://driftless-house.blogspot.com/
@pencore
I was an engineering student for two years! At Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, actually. So if you want a half-engineer, I'm your man!
Ahhh, and my first rejection and reply comes today--Wyoming nonfic. Def. not a shocker. But still... I know I saw a few rejects for WY nonfic before noon today, so it looks like they've sent out a good deal of them or all. Happy dark Tuesday to you all. Just kidding now--well, sort of. It was a nicely worded rejection though, and (defense mechanism time no doubt) for some reason I never had too much of a good feeling of my chances with WY. Though, they were somewhere in my top 5 (out of 12). Boo-hoo-hoo.
As far as everyone who'd rather get a rejection(s) versus nothing at all (though I understand the anxiety), be careful what you wish for. Haha. Yes, I am a sage indeed. The 1st one does sting a little extra, though (applied last year also).
@Ashley--let me join in on the chorus of happy birthday to ya! Btw, where in Ohio do you live? Thought I saw on here that you went to Clev. St. I live in a western suburb of Cleveland...born and raised in Parma. You must know of Parma then, right? Haha. Just moved back after four years in coastal N.C. Burr!
Oh, wow, this is long--shoot. Sorry. Well, as long as I'm here: any word out there from Memphis nonfic people? Saw poetry and fic. came in last week...I've got to admit that Bama has been driving up the suspense for me a notch or two the past few days. Ahh, the blessed, awful suspense. I believe no word yet on nonfiction responses?
For those waiting on UNCW--for any genre really--my hunch is buckle up for a long, harrowing ride, as at least last year waitlisters went into April (I think they're know for a hefty waitlist). I received my rejection from them in early April I believe. Grad. from their BFA prog last year--awesome profs and writers.
Lastly, everyone, Nick Macrae, over on the acceptance site today--if you didn't see--gave some good advice for all the restlessness: he got back-to-back acceptances from two different programs last year a full month after the 1st recorded ones went up on TSE. What an unpredictable, crazy process.
End of novella; congratulations to all who've been accepted and waitlisted thus far. And to the rest of you/us--good vibes around (and knock on wood daily, and for God's sake don't walk under any ladders and RUN if you see any black cats outside!)
Cheers!
Hey guys! Thanks for all the congrats. In other news, in a less advertisey appeal than last time, I wanted to share this with you guys. I created a private group on ning.com for us to post recipes and poems/stories, our application lists, etc. There is also online chat capability. So far, there are six of us on there. Anyone who wants a place to be distracted, exchange portfolios, and avoid trolls should come join us. Email me at mandasue at gmail dot com and I'll send you an invite.
Ian,
Dang it. I totally forgot about the USF interview.
I wonder if it's too late. Damn.
"... is our master ... chooses who will go and who will stay."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9t5ZqeHcYk
JimfifeOH,
Parma isn't so far away... I'm in Fairview Park! I wonder if Wyoming only sent letters out in CNF. I'm kind of hoping they're got everyone done with together!
oh, j/k, there's my mail: First official rejection, thanks Wyoming for the birthday gift!
@AB
:(
For anyone who is waiting for Northwestern, the receptionist just told me that about half of the admitted applicants have been notified and the other half still need to be. Now, back to analyzing her inflection and phrasing... she knows something.
hmmm...So I've apparently convinced myself that if I continue to refresh my CSU application page, my status is bound to change from "Application Review" to "Accepted!!" (exclamation marks included). So far it does not seem to be working, but that doesn't stop me from refreshing it every two seconds. I think I am going crazy.
Anyone still up to swap samples, email me at:
sdeyoreo[at]uci[dot]edu
Hey guys, I haven't been commenting a lot mostly because I don't have anything to add (no acceptances, no waitlists, no GNE/GNP, hell not even a FOE to report :() But, I wanted to let everyone know how much I appreciate your posts and how comforting it is to know that there are so many in the same position as me and with the same reactions as me! I'm not crazy! YAY! Or, at least if I am crazy, there are other crazies out there too. Awwww...
@Ashley, you are one of my blog BFFs, sorry to hear about the rejection. Keep trucking, honey, and HAPPY B-DAY! :)
Kaybay,
thanks for your support! I'll survive even if I get another 13 of these things.
@Sarah
Where can you check your status on CSU's website? I didn't even realize that was possible.
Am I the only one here who's constantly throwing up in my mouth?
If not, please stop constantly throwing up in my mouth. I'm freaking out enough as is.
@Ashley Brooke--hey, Fairview ehh?! How cool. What a small world! While I'm technically in R-River, Fairview is just 500 ft or so down the road. Where my parents and oldest sis first lived. Love the metroparks by/in there! Next to Cuy Veally Nat Park area, River/F-view,Bay Village is my fave area of Greater Clev. Underrated, I say. Ha-ha, anyway...so are you CNF? Thought you were, but maybe not.
Who knows if programs tend to send out all genre rejects together, you know? I used to think so, but now I'd say not necessarily. As a few people have said on here recently--though it was pertaining more to acceptances--they can come in waves, and probably, of course, it depends on when you sent your app in and how big their app pool is (and the # of profs reading them--and their regular schedules,and if you made that 1st and 2nd "cut," and on and on...and...on). Hope that cheered you up!
You're still waiting on WY, right? I'm getting a bit excited about EWU and Bama, also. Def. two of my top choices. Haven't really gotten too, too nervous about it all. Until now, I admit. I mean EWU's deadline was just yesterday, and already peotry and fic acceptances went out! Head start, no doubt, and I sent mine about a month before their deadline. Duhh duhh..
The thing of it is, as I'm sure you've thought of--as it pertains to these two programs--just because there hasn't been word of an acceptance in a certain genre, with another or both others reporting, doesn't mean it hasn't started. Ahhh!
As far as you and WY,I do know that there are at least some programs that send waitlist notifications out by mail, as well as acceptances (I appliced to three such progs this year). So, maybe WY does that??
All best, and enjoy our scenic snowy weather, and, again, happy birthday! Ok...steps away from computer and takes measured breaths.
I'll also survive, and I'm glad to hear of your positive outlook. I can't help but feel, however, like the kid waiting to get picked for the football team, watching as everyone else goes before him. I may be a little frail, but I have heart. I HAVE HEART!! :P I'm so feeling a little Charlie Brown-ish right now. Cue the sad music as I hang my head to my chest, lol
@DFW
They should have sent you info on how to create an eID (I received a letter in the mail about two months ago with instructions, can't remember if they sent an email too).
Once you've created your eID, you can use it to log onto RAM web, https://ramweb.colostate.edu/ and check on your application status by clicking on "application summary".
Does that help??
@Ashley, sorry. As I was typing my 2nd novella, you sent word about WY...plenty more opportunities to go.
Sorry to harp on Vandy-- to those who have heard back, I'm assuming its by email?
My mail arrives ridiculously late in the day. So, my day consists of checking my email and waiting on my mail. Silly St. Louis mailmen. Don't you know you're killing me?
@ the duchess
Thanks again! I do check TSE, but I thought you may have insider info. =)
Alright so I know you guys don't really care about this but I just gleefully told a stranger on the street! I found out I passed my literature comps! Considering I am pretty sure I had a panic attack during it and came out shaking, my relief knows no bounds!
JimfifeOH,
It sure is a very small world! I'm actually in fiction. It seems Wyoming sent out all of their rejections at once.
@Sarah
That helped quite a bit, thank you. I completely forgot about that letter. My status says department review now, btw.
Has anyone heard or received anything at all from UNCG? I thought I spotted it somewhere on the blog earlier today
Kyle,
I think the rumor is that UNCG was supposed to notify this week, but I haven't seen anyone posting that they've actually heard anything.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.
Thanks red. This is starting to get real.
@Yellow Lux -- I'm at GMU. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. email is on my profile.
My permanent address is my parent's home in California (I'm in Portland, OR now).
Today I got a text from the-not-as-assholish-younger-brother:
Bro: A letter from u of texas at austin came. Want me to open it?
And this following text exchange happens:
Me: I already know it's a rejection. Open away!
Bro: Howd u know?
Me: Online status. That's what the letter says, right? [Note: see how I still have a stupid glimmer of hope?]
Bro: Yeah. Rejected!!
Me: You didn't need to put all those exclaimation points! Hahah.
Bro: Hahaha it makes it more exciting. For example, "accepted!!!"
Me: It doesn't work if it's bad news!
Bro: Oh. They probably would have taught me that if I was accepted!!!!
Congratulations, Yellow Lux, EPAC, Nick, and Amanda! Glad to know there's some good mojo going on out there. And I hate to admit that I don't know what literature comps are (a big final exam?), but Coughdrop, congrats on passing. :)
I have also been going nuts about Colorado State ever since that poetry acceptance went up! (I'm fiction.) My heart dropped when I saw it, and I've been hoping that they'll hurry up. Colorado would be perfect for me for a plethora of reasons I won't go into here. I hope, I hope, I hope...
On a side note, I have the word hope in Spanish (esperanza! such a cool word) tattooed on my foot. You'd think that would help me remember to be more positive during this process...no dice.
@Ashley: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my fellow Clevelander !!! -- But I am so sorry it came with a rejection. That is not right :(
@ today's acceptances/waitlisters, congratulations!
What I keep thinking about is HOW MUCH work we all put into this, our time and energy and our hearts. I wish for each of us an acceptance somewhere. We do deserve it for all we put in to this process. I never tried so hard for anything. I know you all understand what I mean.
...and, Captain Obvious says, WAITING SUCKS!
@Digapony
Yes, yes its a big nasty final exam that determines whether or not I graduate and you have to know EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TAUGHT EVER BACKWARDS and it is stupid but i PASSED.
Lauren - I ♥ you :)
@ Dig
Esperar is "to wait."
Yep.
@kaybay,
Aww, I ♥ you back :)
@coughdrop
CONGRATS on your comps!!!! They are hellish and it is definitely an accomplishment.
I had them for my MSEd. I had nightmares for two weeks before the exam and threw up that morning. For mine, all we knew was it was ONE question. When I called to find out if I passed, all the woman would say was, "You really want to come down here." Turns out I scored 16 out of 16, which almost never happens, and my mentor was there to show me. The whole office cheered for me, which was really cool.
@name pending,
I applied to University of Maryland as well. They confirmed via email that they received everything for my application (because I emailed first, ha) but I haven't heard yay or nay yet. Quite anxious about that school!
Kyle,
They haven't announced anything (that I know of). The very nice PD sends out an update when your work has gone to the committee. If you haven't received that email, you will (soonish, I would guess). Of course, this is for fiction. Not sure about poetry...perhaps a poet applicant can answer that.
My bad if you already knew that.
Lucas,
I did not, thanks. And I am a poetry applicant, so maybe they are strictly looking at fiction as yet
@beedeecee and anyone else interested:
Not sure what a "good news email" is, as I haven't been following along too closely with the blog. I've been too anxious.
The e-mail I got from George Mason said "Congratulations, you're in," basically.
I called them today and they said they are still going through applications, so I'm not sure how their approval process works, but it sounds like they're not finished yet. Hope that helps.
Yes, Kara, All you need is 1!! Good luck
@ pencore
Yes, the relationship between hoping and waiting in the Spanish language have always interested me. It seems especially appropriate for this whole process. :)
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I was expecting my rejection letter from Wyoming today, and when I opened the envelope I was shocked and pleased to see that I have been wait-listed, in poetry.
I'm just glad to have finally heard something.
Right on, Brad! Congrats
wouldn't it be awesome if all MFA programs notified on the same day, like med school matching or whatever?
Got my WUSTL rejection. It feels good to at least know that I exist.
Seth, et. al
Got a call from Arizona State University tonight, accepted in poetry with full funding and stipends. Can't believe it!
Hope all of you are doing well.
Congrats, MRM!
Congrats, Brad & MRM!
MRM,
That's awesome!! Great to hear, congrats
Thanks, kaybay! I was super nervous on the phone and just kept saying, "wow. thank you." over and over again.
Kyle (and other UNCG applicants),
My understanding- and somebody correct me if I'm off base here- is that UNCG has it's preferred January deadline (which you need to hit if you want to be considered for an assistantship), and then the graduate school has a final deadline for MFA applicants of March 1.
While anything's possible, it's hard to imagine them making many (if any) final decisions before all the applications are in on March 1 (unless of course the folks applying between Jan 1 and March 1 are automatically downgraded from potential acceptances to waitlisters- but that's just sheer speculation on my part).
Either way, I'm not sure I can handle another month of waiting.
I'm a fiction applicant by the way. And, no, I haven't yet been informed that my samples are in committee. So it's probably still early in the game for both of us.
Ergh!
Came home to a very thin little envelope from Portland State in the mailbox today. I couldn't for the life of me get the letter open, not because I was shaking but because those doggone tricky Oregonians are so skilled at sealing envelopes.
Fake Out Letter. My application has been received and sent to committee.
WHY would you send me that letter, Portland State? WHY?
Congrats to all of the acceptances and waitlists today!
Those snail mail paper letters indicating "Gone to Committee" seem like a waste. A waste of paper at the very least. Those Oregonians should know better than to be so Green-unfriendly.
Maybe PSU is sending out FOL because they're trying to create jobs.
We are in desperate need of jobs!
@koru -- Don't you already have an acceptance from Ohio State?
Congrats, MRM!!!
Here's to hoping Arizona State fiction will notify as quickly as poetry!
Seems like ASU poetry is right on time based on past years. If we're to go by TSE, it looks like we should start stressing out around the 2nd wk of March.
@Kristinia
Your comment was posted ages ago, but I've been avoiding the internet lately. I live in CA where the sun is actually out, so I've been doing pleasant things instead. :-P
The "acceptance" you remember may have been my comment, although I think there was another commenter with a good news email as well. GMU has been sending out emails telling folks that their samples are doing well. That's about it. They aren't official acceptances.
My theory is that they're doing this because the snow held up their admission process, although that's just a guess. Maybe they do this every year.
It is unnerving because I reeeeally love their program. "You're in - I mean - maybe you're in" is nice, but it isn't as nice as "Congratulations! Let me help you with your bags."
They said official notifications will go out in a few weeks.
@ Mountain King: thanks for posting - I like your attitude. Even though I agree with you completely, it helps to see it in print, and it helps to hear it from someone other than the little voice in my head that is trying to stay balanced and sane. :)
@ Ashley: HAPPY BIRTHDAY girl! That unlucky rejection will mean nothing five - ten years from now when you are going strong in your writing career.
And now for my funny/pathetic story for today. I've been pretty calm so far about checking email, unknown phone calls, etc, because the very earliest any of my schools have notified, according to TSE, is the last week in February. So I've managed to not really anticipate anything until then. And I have a land line, so my cell phone is rarely disturbed but unknown callers.
But then today my phone rang at an unusual time - and when I looked at it it was a completely unknown number with an area code I didn't recognize at all. It turned out to be one of my students, telling me he couldn't make his appointment today because of the weather. But after I hung up, I was shaking so badly I had to sit down and catch my breath. And I thought - ha! I've caught the BUG! :)
Hopefully next time my phone rings with an unknown caller it will be more fruitful.
I question the validity of this UNCG information. I don't think they're going to notify this week. I don't think they're going to notify for a while. But this all just conjecture, anyway.
@ab - happy birthday. you have lots of lurking fans on here, for being so sweet and also for being from ohio. although that may just be me.
@the ever-growing number of folks starting to get life-changing good news, congrats and thanks for sharing. it's encouraging.
@the bakers: i'm feeling insufficient enough as it is, please don't make me feel bad about eating raw cookie dough straight from the wrapper!
Thanks Lauren! It's only my first rejection. I had to be tough and get it out of my way. Now I'm ready for ~~**good news**~~!
Thanks Megan! That's the spirit - Wyoming meanings nada! Kind of. I did like the idea of living somewhere beautiful and not far from Denver. There are other beautiful places!
Congrats, Brad, on your Wyoming waitlist! Good luck.
♥ I quit you, internet, for the rest of my day. Hopefully in the wee AM hours you can offer me many comments to read over.
Congratulations to Brad Smith and MRM!
Jessica,
Thanks dear! Have no shame in eating your raw cookie dough though, because it's delicious that way. Why else would they put it in ice cream?
Best of luck to you at your schools!
I forgot the E! Guilty. Sorry. But now I'm really leaving the internet...
I read this way back in the comments, but Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program confirmed to me this afternoon that all accepted applicants were already notified via phone. They're "sending out letters" this week (the initial standby, so the woman wouldn't have to tell me I didn't get in...sadface).
Michigan is still wading through everything. 1100 applicants in both genres.
I also just today got an email from George Mason (where I applied in poetry), saying that my application was finally processed and being sent to review. I don't understand how they've already accepted people, as has been reported in the comments here! But we'll see. It was such a mean fake-out!!
Good luck, and congrats to everyone who's wait-listed, accepted, or already over their first rejection. I'm feeling really down about knowing I'm not in at Iowa...
Happy Birthday Ashely Brooke, I wish and pray you will soon have tons more to celebrate....cheers
Happy Birthday Ashely Brooke, I wish and pray you will soon have tons more to celebrate....cheers
I'm also among the panicked ranks hitting the refresh button on my inbox. I just get that beautiful little "1 New Message!" announcement and somehow misread a "Re:HW Questions" from my prof as Minnesota's "Congratulations!"
My hands are still sweating.
And what the heck is going on up there in the upper midwest? Does anybody have any news on Minnesota? The last hellfire rumor I heard was that they were announcing the rest of their acceptances yesterday... but they haven't...
Hey Chrissy,
I'm not very vocal here but just read your post -
Don't be disheartened, we all know the number of applications these Univ's recieve and my proff who is at Iowa right now teaching told me this year the apps are much much more - a lil less than double...
You have to understand that this is in no way a reflection of your writing ability at all. I mean this applies to all of us...
My horoscope today says that things might go slowly, but that over the long-term my career will develop well.
Here's to hoping that's true! (certainly feels slow right now....)
Big congrats MRM.. ASU looks pretty awesome, you should be thrilled!
Am I mistaken in thinking that you got in somewhere else already, too?
Kicking ass already.. good for you.
And guys it's 5.30 am my time and I am still checking comments on the blog!!! Lost it completely...:))
Speaking of horoscopes, I think mine is sad but true :) -
"Enter the madness...
It's the actions/reactions that are taken now that can completely redefine the overall direction of your life... But that often means that the end result is likely to be a lot different than what was expected or hoped for... Somehow, some unexpected variable enters into the equation that adds an element of chaos into the mix... The big thing is that Saturn is also squaring Pluto that can cause the inner fears & insecurities to rise up in some... Most people can handle that energy fairly well, but it can very easily send those that are worn down from stress & strain over the edge."
haha...
Not that I'm really into horoscopes, but living in LA one gets accustomed to a certain tolerance for bullshit and I thought mine was particularly spot on today (if not likely applicable to everyone on here):
"Take care of yourself, relax and get more sleep. You'll feel better tomorrow."
Thank you, Holiday Mathis. I will.
The other week I had a horrendous nightmare that ASU half-accepted me: "This poem is the best we've ever seen-- but these, these are absolute shit!" I was to be permitted into the program only if I revised 90% of my poems. Ha! I just thought I'd share this gem of an anxiety dream with y'all, and let you know that it didn't end up so badly (I've heard back from one of my top schools, positive!)... now only 10 more to wait for anxiously. Good luck.
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