Okay, everyone who applied to the University of Florida: Has anyone emailed the contact email from their website? It's crw@english.ufl.edu and every time I try to send something, it bounces back! Grrr. A few weeks ago I called to verify that they got my packet with all my materials. The woman on the phone said "they haven't gone through those yet" or something like that. (I didn't need to know if it was "gone through" -- she still could have checked to see if it was THERE...Grr! Anyway...)
So I've tried to email the same question -- it bounces back. And I try again. It bounces back. Which makes me say mean things to my computer.
(Can you tell Florida is my top choice? And that I'm totally sweating this?)
Has anyone had any contact or gotten through to any email account?
@Laura T, I'm right there with you. I didn't apply for a TA so I couldn't expect a call ... I guess we'll just have to hold our breath for the next few days.
I had the same experience, and the lady told me the same thing. It is still showing that they are missing a transcript and my GRE scores and she told me, "Dont worry, just wait for them to call you if they need that stuff." Ahem, don't tell me not to worry. You don't understand - you're already there! (I want to be a gator)
@MommyJ, I did apply for a TAship so I'm doubly worried! At least those accepted already were told that more acceptances are coming in the next couple of days...
Also, I def. concur that Umass can't be even close to done! This wasn't even the official acceptance. I hope everyone gets the call they are waiting for!
i cant help but kick myself for not doing more in-depth research on each program and the faculty there. I wish my Statements were more polished. All the things that go through your mind when you haven't gotten any responses back yet
If the person in the forum isn't legit, then it's an astonishingly elaborate ruse going back 3 years for the sake of fooling a rotating cast of people. I assume they're right!
@animalistic ... yeah, i kind of went back reading her (?) previous posts ... i still just can't fathom the numbers she's posting though, just seems so odd!
Brad, congrats! What a crazy day! Omg, you must be ECSTATIC.
Emma, I wrote fanfiction when I was a teenager! It's a great way to work on your writing and attempting to understand the voice of a character. I wrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Tribe... ha. I've grown away from it, though, because I prefer my own characters.
Koru, If it's true that 85% of applications were in poetry, there would be only 114 in fiction. This sound sextremely unlikely!
@ animalistic ... yeah, i haven't seen much Brown talk either ... i think part of it might be that their reputation and their programme seem slightly at odds?
when i looked into them (and yes, i applied), i knew about their 'experimental' reputation, but it just wasn't as obvious looking at the school's own presentation of itself on its website and programme materials.
so i assumed the lack of chatter here about Brown was just that people, not knowing what the programme could offer, didn't apply, but with the numbers she posted ... 650 poetry apps alone ... it seems there was A LOT of interest.
I, like so many others, have been a silent lurker. A pretty dedicated lurker at that (at least for the past several weeks). I decided it was time to jump in on the convo, because I just can't stand sharing my doubts with non-writers--or even writers who just haven't had the JOY of applying to MFA programs--any more. People in class say "I'm sure you'll get in," and I want to smack them. My boyfriend says "I'm sure you'll get in," but he's engineering and lacks a right brain. He's also been accepted into 4 top schools for his field already, so he doesn't count. My mom says "well, I'm sure it'll work out...what's the name of what you applied for again? M..N..? M..B...? Fiction something or other?" Thanks Ma. Thanks.
So anyway...aside from it seeming slightly easier to be a lurker rather than a contributor, it's useless at this point. I also thought I'd spare you guys the reading because I struggle with making a long story short. Obviously. I promise to be more concise next time...when I'm not making my debut.
But I could have started with this: I applied to 12 programs--was going to be 16 but I missed a couple deadlines and changed my mind on another. Here they are,
(in no particular order) -U of Oregon -U of Florida -Georgia College & State -Vanderbilt -Purdue -Arizona State -U of Alabama -Notre Dame -U of Houston -Georgia State -UNC-Greensboro -Virginia Tech
Didn't end up applying to UMich, UTexas, UIllinois, WMichU, or OldDominion...which I guess would have been 17, not 16.
I have heard absolutely NOTHING from any program. No acceptances, but no rejections either. Also no "we want to take that next step with you" call/email...which I feel might mean I'm not getting into VTech since I've heard a lot of ppl have been interviewed already. Can anyone clarify...is VTech a no go if I haven't been contacted for an interview at this point? And is Vanderbilt DONE accepting? I'd just like to prepare myself.
Like many of you, I'm freaking out and checking my email 300 times a day, reading this blog when I should be doing HW [like now] or when I should be working [like earlier], or when I should be sleeping [like later]. I don't have much of a plan B, and I fear that if I'm not accepted this year and I tag along to whatever state my BF ends up moving to, then I'll be too limited as to where I apply next year. I feel like if I don't get in now then I'll have to make that choice between my commited relationship and my education. No one wants that. And it's hard to tell the engineer with the outstanding future to drop what their doing and follow an undiscovered writer on a path of uncertainty.
My god...I need to cut myself off. I'll save some for later.
In an attempt to leave you all with some useful information--I've been in contact with the MFA director at GCSU and one of the fiction faculty whose on the submission committee. The later will begin reading the LARGE stack of manuscripts tomorrow. Should be a few weeks still until the word gets out about acceptances.
Congrats to everyone who has been accepted and waitlisted! I hope to know what it feels like at some point...preferably soon.
When I went to apply, I of course read that little nugget on their website. I write fiction that most people would never even think of considering experimental. Contemporary realism about people struggling with the shifting ground beneath their feet in former centers of American industry.
But this didn't stop me from applying to Brown, for two reasons:
1. Trying to predict what kind of aesthetic preferences a member of an admissions committee is going to have is a fool's errand. And even if you could, you never know whether they'll consider your story on its own merits or if they'll toss it because it's not their cup of tea. It's too hard to predict this stuff, so don't bother.
2. Though the lyricism and the subject matter of my stories aren't experimental, I often deal in complex or multiple narratives, extremely abstract imagery or a lot of latent thematic stuff buried beneath the surface. So I could absolutely fall under 'experimental' depending on your definition of the word.
I made my decision to apply to Brown by way of the more typical benchmarks: what do I think of people who teach and have taught there? I'm a fan (Renee Gladwell is awesome). How would I feel about living near and going to school/working at the campus? Just fine. I like Providence a lot. It's an odd, fun little city with a lot of great stories. How is their funding? Does their curriculum appeal to you?
Based on my answers to those questions, the consideration of that 'we like experimental writing' thing didn't seem too momentous.
On another note, I also would find it very hard to believe that Brown got 900 or so apps, with only 115 or so in fiction. Seems pretty crazy to me. If you grant a degree that says MFA on it, you basically have to publicly spit in fiction's general direction to alienate enough fiction writers to end up with those kind of numbers.
I ran into the same thing when I was applying-- try Carla Blount: cblount@UFL.EDU or crw@flu.edu. I got a response from the first address and the second was under her name in the email.
Michelle, Thanks for the info on Georgia College & State University. Any idea how "large" this "large" pile is? I haven't seen too many people talking about that school here but I did apply in fiction.
I admit I have nooooo idea what would count as 'experimental' in poetry these days. I'm reading a collection that purports to be 'postmodern' poetry, and I'll be damned if I can figure out how some people were chosen while others were excluded. Seems to be based on vague ideas of one person knew another/influenced another, but ...
Re: Brown's numbers ... I wish Seth would swoop in and say he has a confirmation of some set of numbers. :-)
My boyfriend is an engineer too! He is lovely and wonderful and tells me all the time that I will get in somewhere, and puts up with me bursting into tears and ranting about how I might have no future... And I feel badly when I say, "You're a science person, you don't understand!" But it's kind of true, I guess. He's graduating with his engineering degree next year and, based on his academic record and work history, can objectively trust that he'll probably have his pick of amazing high-paying jobs... While I just have NO IDEA if someone somewhere will like my writing sample and let me into their MFA program.
I'm not sure exactly how large the large pile is, but Marty (the director) did say that they have had more applications than ever this year. I'd assume it's a mixture of GCSU being "discovered" for their combo of a solid program, good rep, and niiiice funding. Especially with this economy. Marty seemed to agree. So--it seems spiteful, but I'm hoping all of those extra applicants applied for the funding and arent actually serious writers, lol.
I believe 500 poetry to 400-450 fiction. I do know that my poet friends tend to be really into Brown's program, so I buy that it's one of the few that ends up with more poets applying.
And as far as trying to play the guessing game with individual schools' tastes, I think someone said that the PD at McNeese has a page on their site where he tries to explain what they are and aren't looking for. I think that's a great move. I think if every program did that, the average person could better target their apps, everyone could knock a couple schools of their list without lessening their overall chances as a result, and the schools would benefit by diminishing the size of their applicant pool and being able to better slog through the apps they do receive.
I know it could be difficult for the admissions committees to articulate what they're looking for and they don't want to accidentally discourage anyone they didn't mean to discourage, but somehow I think writers as good as those on faculty at these programs would find a way to properly express what they're interested in receiving.
I tend to think of "experimental" as a crude and inadequate catch-all for what used to be more readily identifiable as "avant-garde."
God knows I could be wrong, but I think in the context of Brown, it's come to mean the kind of writing that doesn't necessarily fit within an obvious Literary tradition but also isn't Genre; the best known example of this (which is not to say that this is the kind of writing that would gain one admission, but how the hell would I even know?) is Naked Lunch.
If you remove its dated, willfully obscure 60sism writing and examine it thematically, it's concerned with subjects, acts and concepts that aren't, for instance, about the kind of family dysfunction that has defined a lot of 20th/21st Century so-called Literary fiction; at the same time, while employing some tropes of other genres, it's doesn't fit comfortably within any known genre.
What I think has happened, and what makes Brown's focus so confusing, is that a lot of the technique-- if not the themes-- of earlier experimental/avant-garde fiction has seeped into the mainstream, making questions about what "Experimentalism" even is almost impossible to answer. It's clearly a genre of sorts, but one without any easily understood rules.
You're entirely right to disregard this as a concern with regards to Brown. While I think it's obvious that certain types of fiction probably won't make the cut-- I also think it's no easier for the faculty there to define "Experimentalism" than it is for us, and some have decades ahead of us.
There seem to be some trends amongst the writing I've seen from the program. Some of it is, frankly, the most boring stuff imaginable-- but other stuff has been quite interesting. I haven't seen much of a defining link beyond, perhaps, a certain attitude?
Anyway, a good rule of thumb: it's only an experiment when it's failed. Otherwise it's just writing.
I feel you. My BF has to listen to me complain and act emo. Then when I'm done he says "Oh, I was accepted into Purdue today. They are even better than Virginia Tech." and I sigh...because I want to be accepted too goddammit! lol. But seriously, he has a really bright future, as cliche as that is to say, and I wouldn't be surprised if he is accepted everywhere. We applied to a lot of the same schools, but since things are going so well for him, I can't imagine that he'd jump at the opportunity to forgoe a GREAT engineering school so he can be with me at a mediocre engineering school that happened to have a MFA program that accepted me.
Good to know there are other couples with similar situations. It definitely makes the wait harder though, when your boyfriend is accepted to someplace new every day. But alas, no one had to read a 30 page manuscript in the engineering department.
@AB ... you rock! So depending on which of bunny's numbers ... 600+ poetry, or 500 poetry .. or ... yeah.
i like Seth's number better, and I have no idea what the poetry/fiction breakdown is.
@Dreux, there are aspects of 'knowing' what a programme wants that are nice, but there ought to be space for serendipity too ... where they might look at a set of applicants, and someone whose background/interests/goals fit well with the others they admit, even if the person's *style* is a bit different? ...
so, knowing what a place wants is nice, but i like the idea of not defining it too strictly.
and yes, there were a couple of programmes that i said "i'm probably a bit outside what they normally go for, but if i went there, it could be an interesting influence on my writing" ... who knows? maybe i'll be one of those outlyers at some school. :-)
@Rose - Oh crap, you got your SASE back??? I assumed they didn't send those and now I'm freaking out, like they didn't get it or something. I'm calling tomorrow, so thanks for whomever provided UF's actual number. Anyone else not get their SASE back? I sent mine in early December. Ah!
My husband thinks its hilarious when I enter a room after having been gone for a few moments to say things like, 'your phone just rang, it was someone in Iowa,' watching my face go through a series of contortions before telling me he is just kidding and rollicking with laughter, Wow, hilarious, hubby. Just hilarious.
Koru, the problem is that I DID send an SASE and never got it back :( Every time I emailed or called I got the same response that Lauren did, so I assumed everything was fine. If I'm out of the running at UF, of all places, because of that, I think I'll take up drinking. Or crack. :*(
Thanks for the heads up! Yeah, it was Pam who called. Maybe I'm delusional, but I really could've sworn that she said something about being interested in my manuscript... I know for sure that EWU has already extended a few offers in Creative Non-Fiction. Are you positive that they haven't at least started reading through fiction? I remember reading an old post from last year saying that some dude turned in his fiction manuscript and heard back five days later with an acceptance.
On a totally separate note, how do you like EWU? I'm wrapping up my final year at Oregon State and I have a feeling that the campus cultures are probably pretty similar.
I much prefer Seth's #s for Brown : - ) Also, Bunny is saying that Brown is on the tail end of the process. I don't know. Considering that Brown has notified in March for the past three years, I doubt the program would notify this far in advance. *Shrug*
Where in the country are you? You should pull a 'Stealing Harvard' and drive to Florida, break into the English office, and hunt down your materials. And shift your file onto the 'accepted' list. Please move mine over, too.
Thank you everyone for all the Florida info. I just sent an email about my materials but also asked them when fiction applicants will be notified, so hopefully I'll have something to share with y'all tomorrow. Good luck!
This is from Steve Tomasula at Notre Dame, but I'm throwing New Media/interdisciplinary/collaborative work into the experimental ring (even this sort of thing isn't new anymore). Hypertext novels like Shelley Jackson's (Brown alum) Patchwork Girl and work by Ed Falco were considered innovative in the 90s.
I would greatly prefer the lower number @ Brown, too, but applications to Brown have been at the 750 level for several years now. How likely is that in light of the massive expansion everywhere else? Honestly I have no idea!
House of Leaves was scary and really confusing. I think I read about 2/3rds of it (including the crazy footnotes). It took a kind of patience and commitment I couldn't sustain. It still managed to give me nightmares though! I would definitely consider it experimental. (Or maybe just mental.)
@ kaybay: "Or crack." You delight me. When I just read Brad Smith's post about his Colorado acceptance, my heart hiccuped and then I had a series of visions of myself assaulting the wall with karate kicks. And shrieking like an infant.
@Brad: Congrats!! I did my undergrad at University of Colorado. Boulder is gorgeous, friendly, healthy and fun. Also, other than Yale, it's the most beautiful campus I've ever been on.
@Kerry, Kate, etc. Yay! Congratulations on your acceptances.
I'm 95% certain they haven't started reading - at least not Poetry or Fiction. CNF is a horse of a different color though. My undergraduate advisor at EWU is Jonathan Johnson (he kicks ass btw) and he made it sound like they won't start reading until next week at the earliest. We're on a QTR based system at EWU so right now is the crunch time of the quarter. I'm sure that plays a role in how long it takes for decisions to be made.
Pam is a total doll, and I talk to her regularly (I'm the editor of our undergrad lit mag, so I have frequent contact with her lol), and while she knows a lot of things, she has no information about who will or won't get in (at least yet). As a sidenote, I actually had my own panic attack with EWU today. I called about something else, I casually asked her if she had found my application on her chair yesterday because I'd left it Friday but she was out of the office. Her reply stopped my heart 'No sweetie, I didn't get your packet.' GASP! After 10 frantic minutes on the phone with her she found it tucked into a pile of budget stuff she hadn't looked at in weeks. Apparently someone had moved it from her chair for safekeeping (or in my darker thoughts, someone hid it to try and ensure I wouldn't get in - there were 5 MFA students in the office when I dropped it off, and I apparently have a innate belief everyone hates me haha).
As for the campus/culture? EWU is pretty cool, mostly. The MFA students I know and have worked with are pretty awesome, generally speaking, and seem to know their stuff. I've been a student at EWU off and on since 1997, so I do know the ins and outs of campus pretty well at this point. Willow Springs is pretty much awesome, and I had the joy of working on the staff for the current issue (yay!) and reading through the never ending slush pile (boo!) There are tons of amazing opportunities for learning around here, and because Eastern was originally known as a teaching university (educating teachers), they do a pretty great job of nurturing that part of the learning process. Get Lit! (EWU's annual literary extravaganza) is awesome and has featured the likes of Charles Baxter and Thomas Lynch, among others. Spokane is a Small Big City (feels like a small town but is the second largest city in WA), and has a relatively low cost of living (I have a 2 bdrm duplex with a fenced back yard for my dog and only pay $550).
I could probably pontificate more, but I sense my ability to create a coherent sentence left me hours ago (I had a presentation this afternoon on EE Cummings and then a 'discussion' with the prof after about an alternative meaning to his poem in Just- which my professor didn't agree with LOL). I'm also apparently rambling.
Sooooo a few hours ago, but I saw Supernatural in the comments, and I'm like, what! They're discussing Supernatural! Of course, I don't delve into the fanfiction (the slash themed blog just crack me up), but I love, um LOVE, Supernatural.
GIRL if you love SPN but don't read the fic then YOU ARE MISSING OUT. There's slash, sure, but it's not just slash by ANY MEANS.
For example, I only write "gen", which means no romantic relationships whatsoever... just Sam and Dean and Impala ;) And whoever the hell else.
There are some truly amazing gen writers, so amazing you will be shaking your head trying to figure out WHY they are writing fanfic when they could be fulltime award-winning novelists. And they are ALL WOMEN. Which I think is pretty rad.
ANYWAY... clearly you've hit upon a passion of mine. *lets the freak flag fly*
If you're interested in some non-slash fanfiction, let me know and I can send you some links.
Honestly, the fic is about 150x better than the show itself. Just sayin'.
Seth posted on P&W and has changed the Brown number to 950 on TSE. He also said there's no way that Brown got as many poetry applications as one poster is saying.
@Ashley Brooke: It was a million posts ago, but I'm still trying to hold back giggles over sextremely. Smiling. Eyes closed. Little pumps of air coming out my nose.
oh, thanks for reminding me, franny. AB, "sextremely" kind of made my night. now all we need is a clear definition. if "bootylicious" made it into the OED i think there's room for "sextremely." just sayin'.
I got accepted to Iowa today. Poetry. They said they weren't done with fiction yet but had made all the poetry decisions. Not sure if they had actually notified on the poetry decisions, though.
Kate kind of talked about this earlier (regarding UMass), as her experience was similar to mine, but I'll reiterate it here so as to be clear about what I've been able to deduce about where they're at in the process:
The woman who called works for the Grad Admissions office, and her primary purpose in calling was to set up an interview for an assistantship. She told me that I was accepted into the program, but that because the department itself was so busy at the time, they weren't able to give official notifications themselves, though I could expect to hear from them in the next few days..
That's all she said, and I set up an interview for next week.
My guess is that they're still making decisions, and that perhaps Kate and I happened to be on the first round of notifications.
So if you haven't heard anything, that definitely doesn't mean that you're not in. That now-cliche advice certainly applies in this situation.
Re: my online status...
For Umass, it still says that my application is being processed (I don't remember the exact wording.. but it definitely doesn't say that I'm in).
For Colorado, I couldn't find the Email where I received information as to where I can even check my online status, so I have no idea what it says.. sorry.
If there's anything else I can do to help let me know.
I'm thinking maybe Amherst only notified those selected for an assistantship so far...? And is going to notify the other acceptances without assistantships later? Which makes me both hopeful and sad because I really wanted an assistantship, but I would still be ecstatic to be accepted even without one.
But let me reiterate, you should definitely feel good about your writing based on this recent success. So I hope I didn't make you feel self-conscious about that. You should be proud and tell everyone.
Hey Trilbe sorry I forgot to subscribe just read your comment - I feel like the woman in the 'Hung' episode - I am waiting to blurt out - 'I am not stupid I have an MFA'... Anyways guys I am seriously fed up waiting for rejections - it makes me feel like we all are on a raft midsea and these quaint little boats come to pick up some of us - we wave them goodbye and get back to surviving in the choppy seas....
@Go Fish Awesome!! That's the best news one can hear, no?
@Morgan The best of luck to you. I think that Brad's description of the calling order sound pretty realistic, and that they are still making calls.
Thank you to everyone who has extended congrats. You are all very sweet and reading this has been SO helpful in the stressful and the lol-at-the-comments-I-really-needed-that (like that castle game? SO cool! Totally played it for a half an hour!) kind way. Best of luck to everyone; it's still a looong way from April 15.
@RugbyToy: I meant that while they notified me and said they were done making all of the poetry decisions, I don't know that they had actually notified all of the accepted poetry applicants. They have decided on all of them, but I don't know if they have actually notified all of them. I didn't ask.
Yes. Send me your fan fiction suggestions at riahwicker [at] gmail [dot] com You know this is a horrible way to out myself, but I got into fan fiction once before. It was with Jane Austen stuff. I couldn't help it! I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time a year ago and fell in love with the characters.
If Supernatural ends this season [blasphemy to even speak of it!], fanfiction will probably consume me so that Sam and Dean can still live on with new adventures. I just love their characters, and the writing on the show is amazing. Is there fanfaction that is as good as the show writing?
oh god, i know it's poetry talk today (congratulatioins, acceptees! Chin Up, endless-silent-February-ees!) but this umass and iowa chatter is going to make normal life impossible.
I totally snapped at my boss today when she asked me to edit and send some contracts an hour after i was supposed to have left. Not unusual or anything, but my anxiety is HIGHLY VISIBLE and FRIGHTENING to those who don't know what's going on (everyone at work...).
I know. Why is it that we completely shut down when we don't know what's going on with our acceptance/rejection?! I can't function. I'm checking the blogs, my status, and my email every five seconds.
... I guess I'm just trying to draw out the evidence that being as yet uninformed and scared out of one's mind is not an experience that makes one an outsider or alone. There are so many good, good people here -- you know it, even the cynics do.
Mark Twain said heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
We can make it through. My plan: sleep, a lot, then just wait to hear. I'll know by early next week about a couple and hopefully they'll be good news. Otherwise...I might just cry for the next three weeks.
okay, i'm putting my hand up... but i'm somehow afraid that i've missed a post and am now volunteering to cuddle with a penguin or sacrifice a small plastic pony.
Goodnight, MFA blog. May we all wake up to acceptances from UMass / Iowa / Michigan(?) / Colorado / whichever other schools are allegedly going to notify soon. ♥
@ SamN: No worries and thanks! I just meant that I didn't mean to bring up the publication as some kind of a conversation weapon or for "bragging rights." It made me very self-conscious to think that you/others felt that way. I'm glad that was all in my own psyche - whew. Believe me, my husband knows how excited I am.
The conversation is an interesting one, though. To publish or to MFA - that is the question.
As for the tally - I have heard nada from seven of my eight schools.
That's cemented in my brain. By early next week I'll know three things: (1) whether I got into UMass, (2) whether I got into Michigan, and (3) whether my documentary got accepted into the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
If wishing made it so...
I'll either be extremely happy, or extremely sad come this time next week.
my hand's up...just got done doing an example research paper on same sex marriage for my 102 in the morning so i'm late to chime in...this blows donkey kong that there are so many of us...i'm so tired...
Good night everyone... may tomorrow bring good news for many of us!
I'm currently distracting myself with watching the Olympics obsessively (luge right now... whoa that shit is scary) and alcohol, of course. This blog has provided so much support and warm fuzzy feelings these past few days... group hug? Or, anyway, imagine me extending semi-weird, mushy, tipsy hugs to all of you all. Fingers crossed for everyone!! Praying for good news from Michigan and Iowa (and the remaining 10 others that are still alive, on my roster, that is) over the next week.
And lastly, Brad Smith, I'm so happy for you and all your good news from yesterday and TODAY! And I'm so jealous of the relief you must feel. ::Congratulations hug::
Okay, enough fuzziness. Back to luge, drinking, and NBC's hackneyed "inspirational" Olympic music theme.
had to be said...i'm happy people are getting in, but i'd be a bit happier if it were me too!! fucking mfas...self induced torture...we're all pouring the water on our own faces
Ok, you Mason applicants are making me NERVOUS. I just received an email from them on Monday, stating that they were missing my writing & critical writing samples...I SENT THOSE OUT IN DECEMBER!! Even though I'm in poetry, I'm still nervous.
Got an email from UCR today saying that they've "recommended" me for admission to the MFA prog. Hope that's a sign of good news to come.
@Vanni--that UCR email sounds really close to an acceptance to me! Goooood luck! George Mason must be accepting people on a rolling basis. That's what I've decided. I just got an email yesterday saying they'd passed my application on to be reviewed, but they're already making offers in my genre? Wtf?
@ lucas i like your style too man...sorry, had to echo lebowski...haven't traded out with anyone yet, but shoot me an email tomorrow man and we'll do it up
WOW. I can't believe so much happened while I was gone. First, I wanted to post a couple of links from the Stegner Fellows I saw read tonight (Maggie Shipstead and Keetje Kuipers):
@ Brad: Wow. Congratulations! Though I gotta be honest -- my stomach totally dropped into my feet when I saw Boulder had started calling. I'm the green one over here --->
Some while back, there was a discussion on the cost of applying to schools. Without getting too sophisticated (e.g., ignoring both the opportunity cost of a lost year of earnings---which will vary from person to person---and any positive lifetime income adjustment that might stem from an MFA), I tried to calculate the ex ante expected value of applying to the Michener Center at UT-Austin and was surprised to see that it was just under +$850 assuming a $50 application fee, 10:1005 odds of getting in, and fellowship support worth approximately $30K/year. That said, I've already been rejected, which converts the value of my application to -$50.
Thanks, sweetheart! I'm gonna go light up a cig now & pretend that you're here with me; we'll hold hands, sway wherever the smoke goes, and pray that we both get in. *inhale* *exhale*
Are you quoting my own blog to me? I freaking love you for that! By the way, I check that astrology website every month. I admit it. Thanks for the blog love and for the free tarot link. I am so there.
I only applied to UMass, so unless I get good news shortly (even a spot on the waitlist) I'm out of the running this year.
I guess next year, if I decide to do this again, I'll have to apply to low-res programs as I am not moving and UMass is the only MFA in driving distance. Sigh. It's not going to be a fun day. I have to get the car inspected, and I'm SURE there's something wrong that is going to cost hundreds of dollars I don't have. :*(
What a f*cking day! What a wonderful, wonderful f*cking day! Iowa called somebody?! UMass called a couple of somebodies?! Aaaaaand Jojee, Sud, DigAPony, KerryHeadley, Lipsha, Astrid, Kate, BradSmith & DanielleWheeler ALL got accepted in the single day since I was last here?! Wow! All of those people, and I still feel like I've missed someone. The acceptance season is seriously gearing up. I hope we have many more of these good days to come.
@go_fish - It has got to feel good to be the first person in the internet universe that IOWA called. That is amazing! Congratulations!
@Kate & DanielleWheeler & BradSmith - Good luck with your TA interviews! And congratulations on being accepted to UMass! I hope they will offer you tons of money in addition to the honor of being chosen to attend.
@BradSmith - MORE congrats to you on Colorado! Wow! I hope you get a few more double-dose amazing days like yesterday.
@Chrissy - You are really brave! I would never have had the strength to take control like that and call all of my programs. You really helped a lot of people.
@dv - Love your Michener analysis! LOL! That was fantastic.
According to my calculations, there are going to be some awesome (disbelieving), joyous (relieved) posts in the next few days. If you look back on the schools that have notified already, 50% (or more) of the acceptees have been posters on this blog. So, according to my math, some of you are going to be getting into some impossible to get into schools over the course of the next couple of weeks.
@LASwede - I will personally go down to Baton Rouge and kick somebody's @ss if LSU doesn't let you in! The way you have represented the state of Louisiana in cyberspace -- you're their f*cking ambassador, son!
Have been lurking here for some time! I tried to avoid this site and just drown myself in t.v. watching and audiobook listening sessions, but I am no longer able to tamp down the mania! It's been particularly nerve wracking, since I'm in Korea and snail-mail takes perhaps a week extra to arrive here.
Congratulations to all who've been accepted to their schools!
And for all of those still waiting... let us resume hyperventilating into our paper bags.
All I know is that I've been denied by UT-Austin. But that's not so bad... I'm secretly praying for an acceptance from LSU though!
Hey, where in Korea are you? I'm in Seoul. Man, this whole process has been more difficult than it should have been. Simple things, like mailing the apps out, became almost impossible because my Korean abilities are strictly for survival (food, bathroom, costs, etc.). It also costed a small fortune because I did everything EMS. Then there were the time differences I've had to deal with whenever I wanted to call. Also, many of my app deadlines fell during my sacred vacation block so I spent some time sending out the online apps from various hostels throughout China. Guess I should have prepared better. Where and in what genre are you applying?
My list:
Arizona State Brooklyn College Colorado State U of Florida. UCNG Hunter Iowa Michigan Minnesota Notre Dame NYU UCNW Rutgers
Haven't heard anything from any of them yet. Good luck to you and to everyone, as well.
I had a dream that I got into Arizona even though I didn't apply. I was so excited and then I thought, "Hey wait, I don't really want to live in Arizona. I hate hot weather." But they sent me all sorts of nifty brochures and things, and I looked through them and decided that living in Arizona might not be so bad after all.
I choose to take this as some kind of weird omen that UMass will call today. Yep.
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«Oldest ‹Older 1001 – 1200 of 1745 Newer› Newest»*refreshes Amherst app status page*
*eats chocolate*
*refreshes Amherst app status page*
repeat indefinitely...
Congrats, Brad!
to the umass admits--
was your online status updated to reveal your admittance?
also, brad, was your colorado application status updated on applyyourself?
thanks.
p.s. congratulations!
Wow - congrats to brad and kate!! and all other acceptees today.
Hope is still alive for the rest of us. . .it only takes one school and it is still early.
I have determined that there are 90 slots available at my 9 schools - I just need one.
Okay, everyone who applied to the University of Florida: Has anyone emailed the contact email from their website? It's crw@english.ufl.edu and every time I try to send something, it bounces back! Grrr. A few weeks ago I called to verify that they got my packet with all my materials. The woman on the phone said "they haven't gone through those yet" or something like that. (I didn't need to know if it was "gone through" -- she still could have checked to see if it was THERE...Grr! Anyway...)
So I've tried to email the same question -- it bounces back. And I try again. It bounces back. Which makes me say mean things to my computer.
(Can you tell Florida is my top choice? And that I'm totally sweating this?)
Has anyone had any contact or gotten through to any email account?
@the dutchess, i'm glad i wasn't the only one who sat down and tallied up how many total slots there were at the schools i applied to! :-)
@Kate, Congrats!!! I am happy for you.
@Laura T, I'm right there with you. I didn't apply for a TA so I couldn't expect a call ... I guess we'll just have to hold our breath for the next few days.
@Lauren
I had the same experience, and the lady told me the same thing. It is still showing that they are missing a transcript and my GRE scores and she told me, "Dont worry, just wait for them to call you if they need that stuff." Ahem, don't tell me not to worry. You don't understand - you're already there!
(I want to be a gator)
I got my acceptance to UC Riverside via email today! Just waiting on University of New Mexico and Portland State.
@Brad, and congrats to you too. Missed that.
If UMass is taking 10 poets, already with Kate and Brad, 20 percent of the accepted post here.
I want to be a gator too *chomp chomp*!!!
@ Linlki_11:
I got the same phone call from UMass, and my online status still says "applied." Hopefully that eases some nerves :)
My genre is also poetry, btw.
@Emma,
Me, I do, I do! I love fanfiction. In fact, I love it a little too much.
@MommyJ, I did apply for a TAship so I'm doubly worried! At least those accepted already were told that more acceptances are coming in the next couple of days...
@Rosie --
really really really???
What's your fandom? I am Supernatural, straight up.
(I had to delete that last comment because my hearts failed! wtf)
Danielle, congrats gurl! You have a great sample, so even tho I didn't get a call today, I guess those folks at UMass have okay judgement.
Cool! I'm currently into Star Trek. Which is pretty much the epitome of geek, but who caaares.
heads up-- word on the speakeasy is that Brown is in "final stages."
:) Thanks, Morgan! I don't have anyone around to celebrate with tonight, and your comment made me smile hugely!!
@Rosie --
sweeeet! Please accept an embrace, from one hopeful fangirl to another. *embrace*
re: Brown ... yeah, i don't know what to think about the person that keeps posting the Brown updates ... 85% of their apps were in poetry? really?
Also, I def. concur that Umass can't be even close to done! This wasn't even the official acceptance. I hope everyone gets the call they are waiting for!
i cant help but kick myself for not doing more in-depth research on each program and the faculty there. I wish my Statements were more polished. All the things that go through your mind when you haven't gotten any responses back yet
Sure thing! *embrace!* We fan girls have to stick together, LOL.
@koru
If the person in the forum isn't legit, then it's an astonishingly elaborate ruse going back 3 years for the sake of fooling a rotating cast of people. I assume they're right!
@animalistic ... yeah, i kind of went back reading her (?) previous posts ... i still just can't fathom the numbers she's posting though, just seems so odd!
and i tend not to be a sceptical person, lol!
@koru
it does seem INCREDIBLY strange for there to be more poetry apps, but who knows? I haven't seen a lot of people talking about Brown at all this year.
Brad, congrats! What a crazy day! Omg, you must be ECSTATIC.
Emma, I wrote fanfiction when I was a teenager! It's a great way to work on your writing and attempting to understand the voice of a character. I wrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Tribe... ha. I've grown away from it, though, because I prefer my own characters.
Koru, If it's true that 85% of applications were in poetry, there would be only 114 in fiction. This sound sextremely unlikely!
@ animalistic ... yeah, i haven't seen much Brown talk either ... i think part of it might be that their reputation and their programme seem slightly at odds?
when i looked into them (and yes, i applied), i knew about their 'experimental' reputation, but it just wasn't as obvious looking at the school's own presentation of itself on its website and programme materials.
so i assumed the lack of chatter here about Brown was just that people, not knowing what the programme could offer, didn't apply, but with the numbers she posted ... 650 poetry apps alone ... it seems there was A LOT of interest.
so who knows?
Ok sextremely? REALLY? Anyway, I was trying to say that I also doubt some of that information about Brown.
Hello everyone.
I, like so many others, have been a silent lurker. A pretty dedicated lurker at that (at least for the past several weeks). I decided it was time to jump in on the convo, because I just can't stand sharing my doubts with non-writers--or even writers who just haven't had the JOY of applying to MFA programs--any more. People in class say "I'm sure you'll get in," and I want to smack them. My boyfriend says "I'm sure you'll get in," but he's engineering and lacks a right brain. He's also been accepted into 4 top schools for his field already, so he doesn't count. My mom says "well, I'm sure it'll work out...what's the name of what you applied for again? M..N..? M..B...? Fiction something or other?" Thanks Ma. Thanks.
So anyway...aside from it seeming slightly easier to be a lurker rather than a contributor, it's useless at this point. I also thought I'd spare you guys the reading because I struggle with making a long story short. Obviously. I promise to be more concise next time...when I'm not making my debut.
But I could have started with this: I applied to 12 programs--was going to be 16 but I missed a couple deadlines and changed my mind on another. Here they are,
(in no particular order)
-U of Oregon
-U of Florida
-Georgia College & State
-Vanderbilt
-Purdue
-Arizona State
-U of Alabama
-Notre Dame
-U of Houston
-Georgia State
-UNC-Greensboro
-Virginia Tech
Didn't end up applying to UMich, UTexas, UIllinois, WMichU, or OldDominion...which I guess would have been 17, not 16.
I have heard absolutely NOTHING from any program. No acceptances, but no rejections either. Also no "we want to take that next step with you" call/email...which I feel might mean I'm not getting into VTech since I've heard a lot of ppl have been interviewed already. Can anyone clarify...is VTech a no go if I haven't been contacted for an interview at this point? And is Vanderbilt DONE accepting? I'd just like to prepare myself.
Like many of you, I'm freaking out and checking my email 300 times a day, reading this blog when I should be doing HW [like now] or when I should be working [like earlier], or when I should be sleeping [like later]. I don't have much of a plan B, and I fear that if I'm not accepted this year and I tag along to whatever state my BF ends up moving to, then I'll be too limited as to where I apply next year. I feel like if I don't get in now then I'll have to make that choice between my commited relationship and my education. No one wants that. And it's hard to tell the engineer with the outstanding future to drop what their doing and follow an undiscovered writer on a path of uncertainty.
My god...I need to cut myself off. I'll save some for later.
In an attempt to leave you all with some useful information--I've been in contact with the MFA director at GCSU and one of the fiction faculty whose on the submission committee. The later will begin reading the LARGE stack of manuscripts tomorrow. Should be a few weeks still until the word gets out about acceptances.
Congrats to everyone who has been accepted and waitlisted! I hope to know what it feels like at some point...preferably soon.
*Michelle*
p.s. Mmmm cupcakes.
@AB ... exactly! If Brown only has 114 apps in fiction, that would make it one of the easiest programmes to get into in fiction!
and "sextremely" ... we'll let you use that word again when you get a GNE ... :p i like!
@koru
she just said there about 500 apps in poetry out of a total between 850 to 950, thinking it was closer to 950.
So maybe 500 poetry, 450 fiction?
Crazy odds.
actually, I forgot about electronic writing. Playwriting is in another department now-- so maybe 400 fiction?
@ animalistic, ahhh ... so the numbers for poetry went down from an earlier report, which was about 650+ of 800.
like i said, i'm not sceptical ... lol ... but i am! :p
Dudes, WTF does 'experimental' even mean?
When I went to apply, I of course read that little nugget on their website. I write fiction that most people would never even think of considering experimental. Contemporary realism about people struggling with the shifting ground beneath their feet in former centers of American industry.
But this didn't stop me from applying to Brown, for two reasons:
1. Trying to predict what kind of aesthetic preferences a member of an admissions committee is going to have is a fool's errand. And even if you could, you never know whether they'll consider your story on its own merits or if they'll toss it because it's not their cup of tea. It's too hard to predict this stuff, so don't bother.
2. Though the lyricism and the subject matter of my stories aren't experimental, I often deal in complex or multiple narratives, extremely abstract imagery or a lot of latent thematic stuff buried beneath the surface. So I could absolutely fall under 'experimental' depending on your definition of the word.
I made my decision to apply to Brown by way of the more typical benchmarks: what do I think of people who teach and have taught there? I'm a fan (Renee Gladwell is awesome). How would I feel about living near and going to school/working at the campus? Just fine. I like Providence a lot. It's an odd, fun little city with a lot of great stories. How is their funding? Does their curriculum appeal to you?
Based on my answers to those questions, the consideration of that 'we like experimental writing' thing didn't seem too momentous.
On another note, I also would find it very hard to believe that Brown got 900 or so apps, with only 115 or so in fiction. Seems pretty crazy to me. If you grant a degree that says MFA on it, you basically have to publicly spit in fiction's general direction to alienate enough fiction writers to end up with those kind of numbers.
@Lauren-- U of Florida email
I ran into the same thing when I was applying-- try Carla Blount: cblount@UFL.EDU or crw@flu.edu. I got a response from the first address and the second was under her name in the email.
Michelle,
Thanks for the info on Georgia College & State University. Any idea how "large" this "large" pile is? I haven't seen too many people talking about that school here but I did apply in fiction.
@ Dreux,
I admit I have nooooo idea what would count as 'experimental' in poetry these days. I'm reading a collection that purports to be 'postmodern' poetry, and I'll be damned if I can figure out how some people were chosen while others were excluded. Seems to be based on vague ideas of one person knew another/influenced another, but ...
Re: Brown's numbers ... I wish Seth would swoop in and say he has a confirmation of some set of numbers. :-)
Brown also lists "Literary Hypermedia" in their genres - it seems the focus on that makes it more of an 'experimental' program?
@ Michelle,
My boyfriend is an engineer too! He is lovely and wonderful and tells me all the time that I will get in somewhere, and puts up with me bursting into tears and ranting about how I might have no future... And I feel badly when I say, "You're a science person, you don't understand!" But it's kind of true, I guess. He's graduating with his engineering degree next year and, based on his academic record and work history, can objectively trust that he'll probably have his pick of amazing high-paying jobs... While I just have NO IDEA if someone somewhere will like my writing sample and let me into their MFA program.
Ashley-
I'm not sure exactly how large the large pile is, but Marty (the director) did say that they have had more applications than ever this year. I'd assume it's a mixture of GCSU being "discovered" for their combo of a solid program, good rep, and niiiice funding. Especially with this economy. Marty seemed to agree. So--it seems spiteful, but I'm hoping all of those extra applicants applied for the funding and arent actually serious writers, lol.
Good luck!
Seth's numbers say there are 762 total applications at Brown this year.
I believe 500 poetry to 400-450 fiction. I do know that my poet friends tend to be really into Brown's program, so I buy that it's one of the few that ends up with more poets applying.
And as far as trying to play the guessing game with individual schools' tastes, I think someone said that the PD at McNeese has a page on their site where he tries to explain what they are and aren't looking for. I think that's a great move. I think if every program did that, the average person could better target their apps, everyone could knock a couple schools of their list without lessening their overall chances as a result, and the schools would benefit by diminishing the size of their applicant pool and being able to better slog through the apps they do receive.
I know it could be difficult for the admissions committees to articulate what they're looking for and they don't want to accidentally discourage anyone they didn't mean to discourage, but somehow I think writers as good as those on faculty at these programs would find a way to properly express what they're interested in receiving.
Michelle,
Good luck to you as well!
@dreux
I tend to think of "experimental" as a crude and inadequate catch-all for what used to be more readily identifiable as "avant-garde."
God knows I could be wrong, but I think in the context of Brown, it's come to mean the kind of writing that doesn't necessarily fit within an obvious Literary tradition but also isn't Genre; the best known example of this (which is not to say that this is the kind of writing that would gain one admission, but how the hell would I even know?) is Naked Lunch.
If you remove its dated, willfully obscure 60sism writing and examine it thematically, it's concerned with subjects, acts and concepts that aren't, for instance, about the kind of family dysfunction that has defined a lot of 20th/21st Century so-called Literary fiction; at the same time, while employing some tropes of other genres, it's doesn't fit comfortably within any known genre.
What I think has happened, and what makes Brown's focus so confusing, is that a lot of the technique-- if not the themes-- of earlier experimental/avant-garde fiction has seeped into the mainstream, making questions about what "Experimentalism" even is almost impossible to answer. It's clearly a genre of sorts, but one without any easily understood rules.
You're entirely right to disregard this as a concern with regards to Brown. While I think it's obvious that certain types of fiction probably won't make the cut-- I also think it's no easier for the faculty there to define "Experimentalism" than it is for us, and some have decades ahead of us.
There seem to be some trends amongst the writing I've seen from the program. Some of it is, frankly, the most boring stuff imaginable-- but other stuff has been quite interesting. I haven't seen much of a defining link beyond, perhaps, a certain attitude?
Anyway, a good rule of thumb: it's only an experiment when it's failed. Otherwise it's just writing.
Wow, congrats to Kate, Lipsha, Brad, & Astrid! Busy day.
@ Lipsha
Thank you for the offer- I will probably hit you up soon. :)
@Laura T
I feel you. My BF has to listen to me complain and act emo. Then when I'm done he says "Oh, I was accepted into Purdue today. They are even better than Virginia Tech." and I sigh...because I want to be accepted too goddammit! lol. But seriously, he has a really bright future, as cliche as that is to say, and I wouldn't be surprised if he is accepted everywhere. We applied to a lot of the same schools, but since things are going so well for him, I can't imagine that he'd jump at the opportunity to forgoe a GREAT engineering school so he can be with me at a mediocre engineering school that happened to have a MFA program that accepted me.
Good to know there are other couples with similar situations. It definitely makes the wait harder though, when your boyfriend is accepted to someplace new every day. But alas, no one had to read a 30 page manuscript in the engineering department.
@AB ... you rock! So depending on which of bunny's numbers ... 600+ poetry, or 500 poetry .. or ... yeah.
i like Seth's number better, and I have no idea what the poetry/fiction breakdown is.
@Dreux, there are aspects of 'knowing' what a programme wants that are nice, but there ought to be space for serendipity too ... where they might look at a set of applicants, and someone whose background/interests/goals fit well with the others they admit, even if the person's *style* is a bit different? ...
so, knowing what a place wants is nice, but i like the idea of not defining it too strictly.
and yes, there were a couple of programmes that i said "i'm probably a bit outside what they normally go for, but if i went there, it could be an interesting influence on my writing" ... who knows? maybe i'll be one of those outlyers at some school. :-)
@everyone
Someone totally has to clear up this Brown numbers issue!
@ Lauren
I applied to UFlorida as well, and the only confirmation I have of materials is that they sent back the little SASE I included in my packet...
@Rose - Oh crap, you got your SASE back??? I assumed they didn't send those and now I'm freaking out, like they didn't get it or something. I'm calling tomorrow, so thanks for whomever provided UF's actual number. Anyone else not get their SASE back? I sent mine in early December. Ah!
My husband thinks its hilarious when I enter a room after having been gone for a few moments to say things like, 'your phone just rang, it was someone in Iowa,' watching my face go through a series of contortions before telling me he is just kidding and rollicking with laughter, Wow, hilarious, hubby. Just hilarious.
wait so how many are in at umass?
@kaybay,
i didn't include a SASE in my UFlorida packet. my application has probably been stamped with a big red "not anxious enough" stamp. :p
Koru, the problem is that I DID send an SASE and never got it back :( Every time I emailed or called I got the same response that Lauren did, so I assumed everything was fine. If I'm out of the running at UF, of all places, because of that, I think I'll take up drinking. Or crack. :*(
@Michelle - "boyfriend is an engineer and lacks a right brain..." LOL!
Congrats to all the recent admittees! Kate, Brad Smith, Digapony, I hope I didn't miss anyone else.
@Aubs
Thanks for the heads up! Yeah, it was Pam who called. Maybe I'm delusional, but I really could've sworn that she said something about being interested in my manuscript... I know for sure that EWU has already extended a few offers in Creative Non-Fiction. Are you positive that they haven't at least started reading through fiction? I remember reading an old post from last year saying that some dude turned in his fiction manuscript and heard back five days later with an acceptance.
On a totally separate note, how do you like EWU? I'm wrapping up my final year at Oregon State and I have a feeling that the campus cultures are probably pretty similar.
I'm now worried about UF too... eeeek! If anyone gets any more info, please share!!!!
@kaybay, i assume you filed an online app?
i'm sure UF would contact you if they had an online app and none of the supporting documentation. They'd know it was lost in the mail.
Chances are your SASE is sitting in the file, or they didn't pull it out of the parcel when they took out the documents.
I much prefer Seth's #s for Brown : - ) Also, Bunny is saying that Brown is on the tail end of the process. I don't know. Considering that Brown has notified in March for the past three years, I doubt the program would notify this far in advance. *Shrug*
Argh I can't keep up with this blog!
@ Kaybay
Where in the country are you? You should pull a 'Stealing Harvard' and drive to Florida, break into the English office, and hunt down your materials. And shift your file onto the 'accepted' list. Please move mine over, too.
@Rose, @Kaybay,
please move mine over, too :-)
Thank you everyone for all the Florida info. I just sent an email about my materials but also asked them when fiction applicants will be notified, so hopefully I'll have something to share with y'all tomorrow. Good luck!
Ha! Rose, I'm two hours from Gainesville! I totally will if it comes down to that. I will sleep in front of their office! I totally would too... :P
Oh, sorry Koru, I did apply online, so maybe you're right. Whew...
This is from Steve Tomasula at Notre Dame, but I'm throwing New Media/interdisciplinary/collaborative work into the experimental ring (even this sort of thing isn't new anymore). Hypertext novels like Shelley Jackson's (Brown alum) Patchwork Girl and work by Ed Falco were considered innovative in the 90s.
http://www.tocthenovel.com/clips.html
I would greatly prefer the lower number @ Brown, too, but applications to Brown have been at the 750 level for several years now. How likely is that in light of the massive expansion everywhere else? Honestly I have no idea!
all of this talk of experimental fiction has me thinking back wistfully on the "Choose Your Own Adventure" novels ... lol.
(perhaps there's a reason I'm a poet ...)
@Koru
That's prob b/c a lot of hypertext novels (and even print non-linear stories) are basically very complex choose your own adventure deals haha!
experimental makes me think of mark z. danielewski. House of Leaves and Only Revolutions. Those are pretty experimental.
@WT ... you're right! thanks for explaining the imaginative leaps of my brain to me! :-)
House of Leaves was scary and really confusing. I think I read about 2/3rds of it (including the crazy footnotes). It took a kind of patience and commitment I couldn't sustain. It still managed to give me nightmares though! I would definitely consider it experimental. (Or maybe just mental.)
@ kaybay: "Or crack." You delight me. When I just read Brad Smith's post about his Colorado acceptance, my heart hiccuped and then I had a series of visions of myself assaulting the wall with karate kicks. And shrieking like an infant.
Ah, shit. I forgot!
@Brad: Congrats!! I did my undergrad at University of Colorado. Boulder is gorgeous, friendly, healthy and fun. Also, other than Yale, it's the most beautiful campus I've ever been on.
@Kerry, Kate, etc. Yay! Congratulations on your acceptances.
@Rose
I'm 95% certain they haven't started reading - at least not Poetry or Fiction. CNF is a horse of a different color though. My undergraduate advisor at EWU is Jonathan Johnson (he kicks ass btw) and he made it sound like they won't start reading until next week at the earliest. We're on a QTR based system at EWU so right now is the crunch time of the quarter. I'm sure that plays a role in how long it takes for decisions to be made.
Pam is a total doll, and I talk to her regularly (I'm the editor of our undergrad lit mag, so I have frequent contact with her lol), and while she knows a lot of things, she has no information about who will or won't get in (at least yet). As a sidenote, I actually had my own panic attack with EWU today. I called about something else, I casually asked her if she had found my application on her chair yesterday because I'd left it Friday but she was out of the office. Her reply stopped my heart 'No sweetie, I didn't get your packet.' GASP! After 10 frantic minutes on the phone with her she found it tucked into a pile of budget stuff she hadn't looked at in weeks. Apparently someone had moved it from her chair for safekeeping (or in my darker thoughts, someone hid it to try and ensure I wouldn't get in - there were 5 MFA students in the office when I dropped it off, and I apparently have a innate belief everyone hates me haha).
As for the campus/culture? EWU is pretty cool, mostly. The MFA students I know and have worked with are pretty awesome, generally speaking, and seem to know their stuff. I've been a student at EWU off and on since 1997, so I do know the ins and outs of campus pretty well at this point. Willow Springs is pretty much awesome, and I had the joy of working on the staff for the current issue (yay!) and reading through the never ending slush pile (boo!) There are tons of amazing opportunities for learning around here, and because Eastern was originally known as a teaching university (educating teachers), they do a pretty great job of nurturing that part of the learning process. Get Lit! (EWU's annual literary extravaganza) is awesome and has featured the likes of Charles Baxter and Thomas Lynch, among others. Spokane is a Small Big City (feels like a small town but is the second largest city in WA), and has a relatively low cost of living (I have a 2 bdrm duplex with a fenced back yard for my dog and only pay $550).
I could probably pontificate more, but I sense my ability to create a coherent sentence left me hours ago (I had a presentation this afternoon on EE Cummings and then a 'discussion' with the prof after about an alternative meaning to his poem in Just- which my professor didn't agree with LOL). I'm also apparently rambling.
If you want to know more, feel free to ask :)
~Aubs
Wow, congratulations Brad and Kate (and anyone else I missed - work an 8 hour shift and this thread explodes)! Big day for a lot of people!
@Emma
Sooooo a few hours ago, but I saw Supernatural in the comments, and I'm like, what! They're discussing Supernatural! Of course, I don't delve into the fanfiction (the slash themed blog just crack me up), but I love, um LOVE, Supernatural.
Congrats, Brad! Same to those whose good news I missed.
Let's hope for another big day tomorrow.
@Riah --
GIRL if you love SPN but don't read the fic then YOU ARE MISSING OUT. There's slash, sure, but it's not just slash by ANY MEANS.
For example, I only write "gen", which means no romantic relationships whatsoever... just Sam and Dean and Impala ;) And whoever the hell else.
There are some truly amazing gen writers, so amazing you will be shaking your head trying to figure out WHY they are writing fanfic when they could be fulltime award-winning novelists. And they are ALL WOMEN. Which I think is pretty rad.
ANYWAY... clearly you've hit upon a passion of mine. *lets the freak flag fly*
If you're interested in some non-slash fanfiction, let me know and I can send you some links.
Honestly, the fic is about 150x better than the show itself. Just sayin'.
Seth posted on P&W and has changed the Brown number to 950 on TSE. He also said there's no way that Brown got as many poetry applications as one poster is saying.
cool AB and S thanks for the clarifications :D
that, and really cheesy German and Hindi covers of 60s music and Abba are improving my mood. :p
@Ashley Brooke: It was a million posts ago, but I'm still trying to hold back giggles over sextremely. Smiling. Eyes closed. Little pumps of air coming out my nose.
oh, thanks for reminding me, franny. AB, "sextremely" kind of made my night. now all we need is a clear definition. if "bootylicious" made it into the OED i think there's room for "sextremely." just sayin'.
sex⋅treme⋅ly [sik-streem-lee] Show IPA
–adverb
in an extreme degree with sexual implications.
You look sextremely good in that dress.
well, i'm sold on that definition.
I got accepted to Iowa today. Poetry. They said they weren't done with fiction yet but had made all the poetry decisions. Not sure if they had actually notified on the poetry decisions, though.
Thanks for the congrats everybody..
Kate kind of talked about this earlier (regarding UMass), as her experience was similar to mine, but I'll reiterate it here so as to be clear about what I've been able to deduce about where they're at in the process:
The woman who called works for the Grad Admissions office, and her primary purpose in calling was to set up an interview for an assistantship. She told me that I was accepted into the program, but that because the department itself was so busy at the time, they weren't able to give official notifications themselves, though I could expect to hear from them in the next few days..
That's all she said, and I set up an interview for next week.
My guess is that they're still making decisions, and that perhaps Kate and I happened to be on the first round of notifications.
So if you haven't heard anything, that definitely doesn't mean that you're not in. That now-cliche advice certainly applies in this situation.
Re: my online status...
For Umass, it still says that my application is being processed (I don't remember the exact wording.. but it definitely doesn't say that I'm in).
For Colorado, I couldn't find the Email where I received information as to where I can even check my online status, so I have no idea what it says.. sorry.
If there's anything else I can do to help let me know.
Good things will happen! Try to relax.
wow, congrats Go Fish!
Congrats on Iowa Go Fish!
I'm thinking maybe Amherst only notified those selected for an assistantship so far...? And is going to notify the other acceptances without assistantships later? Which makes me both hopeful and sad because I really wanted an assistantship, but I would still be ecstatic to be accepted even without one.
Whattttt Iowa?!?!?! Congrats, my friend.
As for UMass, Laura T, I applied for a TA position as well, and I refuse to give up hope. Either way, here's hoping for tomorrow.
congrats, go fish!
@Go Fish,
#1: Congrats
#2: How did you find out you were accepted if you don't know whether or not they're notifying poetry applicants?
#3: Sincere Congrats
Congrats to the newly accepted!
@Peaquah
We're saying the same things.
But let me reiterate, you should definitely feel good about your writing based on this recent success. So I hope I didn't make you feel self-conscious about that. You should be proud and tell everyone.
Hey Trilbe sorry I forgot to subscribe just read your comment - I feel like the woman in the 'Hung' episode - I am waiting to blurt out - 'I am not stupid I have an MFA'...
Anyways guys I am seriously fed up waiting for rejections - it makes me feel like we all are on a raft midsea and these quaint little boats come to pick up some of us - we wave them goodbye and get back to surviving in the choppy seas....
Did anyone go visit some of the programs they applied to in an effort to schmooze your way up the stack?
Also, what's with American U being slated to notify soon? I thought the dedline for fiction was only Feb 1?
Subscribed.
@Go Fish Awesome!! That's the best news one can hear, no?
@Morgan The best of luck to you. I think that Brad's description of the calling order sound pretty realistic, and that they are still making calls.
Thank you to everyone who has extended congrats. You are all very sweet and reading this has been SO helpful in the stressful and the lol-at-the-comments-I-really-needed-that (like that castle game? SO cool! Totally played it for a half an hour!) kind way. Best of luck to everyone; it's still a looong way from April 15.
Go Fish - Iowa wow wow wow, I am so happy for you!!! That's one hell of an achievement. All the best - Congratulations again....:)))))))
@RugbyToy: I meant that while they notified me and said they were done making all of the poetry decisions, I don't know that they had actually notified all of the accepted poetry applicants. They have decided on all of them, but I don't know if they have actually notified all of them. I didn't ask.
Thank you, Go Fish :) Continued luck and happiness :)
@Brad
I really hope you're right because otherwise, I'm hurting right now. I'll just wait and see what tomorrow brings.
@Go Fish: Yowza!!
@ Emma
Yes. Send me your fan fiction suggestions at riahwicker [at] gmail [dot] com You know this is a horrible way to out myself, but I got into fan fiction once before. It was with Jane Austen stuff. I couldn't help it! I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time a year ago and fell in love with the characters.
If Supernatural ends this season [blasphemy to even speak of it!], fanfiction will probably consume me so that Sam and Dean can still live on with new adventures. I just love their characters, and the writing on the show is amazing. Is there fanfaction that is as good as the show writing?
@Riah --
the fanfiction is SO MUCH better than show writing. Honestly, read it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.
As for the 6th season, it was announced yesterday :)
The only reason I watch the show anymore is to keep up with the fic. That, and the incredible good looks of two flannel-wearing hunters ;)
Also... LOL JANE AUSTIN. That's pretty wonderful.
I'll send you some links.
oh god, i know it's poetry talk today (congratulatioins, acceptees! Chin Up, endless-silent-February-ees!) but this umass and iowa chatter is going to make normal life impossible.
I totally snapped at my boss today when she asked me to edit and send some contracts an hour after i was supposed to have left. Not unusual or anything, but my anxiety is HIGHLY VISIBLE and FRIGHTENING to those who don't know what's going on (everyone at work...).
I know. Why is it that we completely shut down when we don't know what's going on with our acceptance/rejection?! I can't function. I'm checking the blogs, my status, and my email every five seconds.
Who, here, has yet to receive any acceptances? Raise your hands -- let's figure this out. You're not alone.
My hand is raised.
boo.
My hand's raised. Not a word from anyone.
My hand is raised as well :(
OK, folks: Tonight we light a candle (or sacrifice an animal -- whatever suits you) for Coughdrop.
Who else feels like they're the only ones who haven't been asked to the dance?
Hand raised.
raising for no news at all
Chrissy and Sahaider, too!
*raises hand*
haven't heard anything from any program so far!
and my anxiety is also highly visible and frightening, and basically all I ever talk about anymore.
Candles, they are alightin'!
Although nobody sacrifice any animals please! :/
No-news hand raising
ditto.
I've considered sacrificing a My Little Pony. But what would I do without all that pink hair to brush in times of anxiety?
Ok. It'be been, literally a couple of minutes since my first comment and already it's CLEAR that it is not an anomalous sort of situation to be in.
It's like the penguins who huddle together on the ice and would die, save for the warmth of those with whom they suffer.
It ain't over yet. These schools are backlogged and flooded.
Who else hasn't heard?
MORGAN!
Sacrificing a My Little Pony would be SO MUCH WORSE!
My eight year old self WEEPS at the suggestion!
Right? A shameful manifestation of my desperation.
... I guess I'm just trying to draw out the evidence that being as yet uninformed and scared out of one's mind is not an experience that makes one an outsider or alone. There are so many good, good people here -- you know it, even the cynics do.
Mark Twain said heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.
one rejection, no other word from any program. umass and iowa both on my list, so anxiety mounting...
We can make it through. My plan: sleep, a lot, then just wait to hear. I'll know by early next week about a couple and hopefully they'll be good news. Otherwise...I might just cry for the next three weeks.
okay, i'm putting my hand up... but i'm somehow afraid that i've missed a post and am now volunteering to cuddle with a penguin or sacrifice a small plastic pony.
*raises hand*
One rejection, no good news! I'm in.
No sacrificing! Just candles of LOVE AND HOPE!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
★★★★★★★★★★★
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★★★★★★★
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★★★★★★★
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★★★★★★★
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★★★★★★★
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
★★★★★★★★★★★
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
♥
PRETTY STARS!
Ashley, teach us your ways of the stars! Please?
I think they need to be copied and pasted! Supposedly they are ★ and ☆, but only if you have unicode and I have no idea what that is.
♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥♥♫♪☺♣♦☼ ♥
magic
I am now bedazzled and amazed. The hope! The love! The music!
Goodnight, MFA blog. May we all wake up to acceptances from UMass / Iowa / Michigan(?) / Colorado / whichever other schools are allegedly going to notify soon. ♥
I'm late to the party but MY HAND IS RAISED. No acceptances here :*(
@ SamN: No worries and thanks! I just meant that I didn't mean to bring up the publication as some kind of a conversation weapon or for "bragging rights." It made me very self-conscious to think that you/others felt that way. I'm glad that was all in my own psyche - whew. Believe me, my husband knows how excited I am.
The conversation is an interesting one, though. To publish or to MFA - that is the question.
As for the tally - I have heard nada from seven of my eight schools.
♥ WE CAN DO THIS, PEOPLE! I love this community. So much support and kindness.
Iowa?!?!? I didn't check the Acceptance Response times lately, but it seems so early.
Thank god I'm in fiction.
Both hands raised. Might turn into a sad little dance in my living room.
Signing off for the night. Best of luck to all tomorrow!
Off I go to bed to dream of UMass notifications and other such sugar plum nonsense.
Maybe our inboxes will be awash with Michigan love in the morning?
Here is the html for all the symbols you will ever need:
http://blacksoul12012.livejournal.com/69510.html
(many many more following the link at the bottom)
Also, *raises hand.*
2 rejections, 7 to come.
If not tomorrow, then by early next week.
That's cemented in my brain. By early next week I'll know three things: (1) whether I got into UMass, (2) whether I got into Michigan, and (3) whether my documentary got accepted into the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
If wishing made it so...
I'll either be extremely happy, or extremely sad come this time next week.
Both hands raised....Good night to all you guys as I wake and wonder what to do all day..can't wait for you guys to wake up soon...bye
✈
Ok duh, obviously I needed a ;
✍
✎
✏
✐
Thanks Emma
Good night everybodyyyy, good lucks!
Kerry congrats - you have finally been discovered:)))
my hand's up...just got done doing an example research paper on same sex marriage for my 102 in the morning so i'm late to chime in...this blows donkey kong that there are so many of us...i'm so tired...
Hand up... grasping at straws or strings or whatever's holding up the MFA underpinnings these days.
Have heard NOTHING. No Good, no Ill... Nothing. It's quiet on this side, but not full of peace.
www.newagestore.com for free tarot and www.astrologyzone.com for Susan Millers forecast for the month....are my fav haunts for now..AAAhh..
Good night everyone... may tomorrow bring good news for many of us!
I'm currently distracting myself with watching the Olympics obsessively (luge right now... whoa that shit is scary) and alcohol, of course. This blog has provided so much support and warm fuzzy feelings these past few days... group hug? Or, anyway, imagine me extending semi-weird, mushy, tipsy hugs to all of you all. Fingers crossed for everyone!! Praying for good news from Michigan and Iowa (and the remaining 10 others that are still alive, on my roster, that is) over the next week.
And lastly, Brad Smith, I'm so happy for you and all your good news from yesterday and TODAY! And I'm so jealous of the relief you must feel. ::Congratulations hug::
Okay, enough fuzziness. Back to luge, drinking, and NBC's hackneyed "inspirational" Olympic music theme.
@ LASwede
amen.
(and "blows donkey kong" made my evening)
had to be said...i'm happy people are getting in, but i'd be a bit happier if it were me too!!
fucking mfas...self induced torture...we're all pouring the water on our own faces
Ok, you Mason applicants are making me NERVOUS. I just received an email from them on Monday, stating that they were missing my writing & critical writing samples...I SENT THOSE OUT IN DECEMBER!! Even though I'm in poetry, I'm still nervous.
Got an email from UCR today saying that they've "recommended" me for admission to the MFA prog. Hope that's a sign of good news to come.
The emotional string keeps unraveling.
hey swede,
Yeah, I'm up grading papers for 102 (we call it 1020). Anyways, I've said it before, but I like your style. You do sample trades? And my hand is up...
@Vanni--that UCR email sounds really close to an acceptance to me! Goooood luck! George Mason must be accepting people on a rolling basis. That's what I've decided. I just got an email yesterday saying they'd passed my application on to be reviewed, but they're already making offers in my genre? Wtf?
Goooood luck!
*raises hand* only bad news so far...
eight more potential rejections to go... this is hard.
@ lucas
i like your style too man...sorry, had to echo lebowski...haven't traded out with anyone yet, but shoot me an email tomorrow man and we'll do it up
Raise your hand if you want cookies.
i want some oatmeal raisin acceptances if you got any o'those
None of those have come in yet, check back tomorrow!
will do!
I just made some pre-cookie goodness. Won't make it to cookie level. Haha.
Word. And where should I send said email?
just click on my name and thar ye shall be
WOW. I can't believe so much happened while I was gone. First, I wanted to post a couple of links from the Stegner Fellows I saw read tonight (Maggie Shipstead and Keetje Kuipers):
http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2009/fall/shipstead-cowboy-tango/
http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/keetje_kuipers/index.shtml
@ Brad: Wow. Congratulations! Though I gotta be honest -- my stomach totally dropped into my feet when I saw Boulder had started calling. I'm the green one over here --->
night night kiddies...off to the land of milk and honey
Some while back, there was a discussion on the cost of applying to schools. Without getting too sophisticated (e.g., ignoring both the opportunity cost of a lost year of earnings---which will vary from person to person---and any positive lifetime income adjustment that might stem from an MFA), I tried to calculate the ex ante expected value of applying to the Michener Center at UT-Austin and was surprised to see that it was just under +$850 assuming a $50 application fee, 10:1005 odds of getting in, and fellowship support worth approximately $30K/year. That said, I've already been rejected, which converts the value of my application to -$50.
my hands are up for no good news yet, and for cookies, please.
@Chrissy
Thanks, sweetheart! I'm gonna go light up a cig now & pretend that you're here with me; we'll hold hands, sway wherever the smoke goes, and pray that we both get in. *inhale* *exhale*
Go Fish, TAKE ME WITH YOU! I'M A REALLY GOOD COOK, I CLEAN, UMMM...I CAN CLEAN CAR WINDOWS REALLY WELL...
I'm a little late, but my hand is up. way up. I've recieved no news either way.
I go out of town this weekend, so I'll probably get all the email/snail mail when I'm not around. That's usually how it goes, right? ha.
Goodnight, everyone. I'll be back tomorrow for more suffering through all this waiting. Hoping for news! Best of luck!
@ go fish
Nicely done! Congratulations on Iowa. Wow.
Yay go fish!!
@Nefrettiti
Are you quoting my own blog to me? I freaking love you for that! By the way, I check that astrology website every month. I admit it. Thanks for the blog love and for the free tarot link. I am so there.
Congratulations to everyone on their acceptances!! =)
My hand is up for no acceptances and for cookies.
I only applied to UMass, so unless I get good news shortly (even a spot on the waitlist) I'm out of the running this year.
I guess next year, if I decide to do this again, I'll have to apply to low-res programs as I am not moving and UMass is the only MFA in driving distance. Sigh. It's not going to be a fun day. I have to get the car inspected, and I'm SURE there's something wrong that is going to cost hundreds of dollars I don't have. :*(
What a f*cking day! What a wonderful, wonderful f*cking day! Iowa called somebody?! UMass called a couple of somebodies?! Aaaaaand
Jojee,
Sud,
DigAPony,
KerryHeadley,
Lipsha,
Astrid,
Kate,
BradSmith
& DanielleWheeler
ALL got accepted in the single day since I was last here?! Wow! All of those people, and I still feel like I've missed someone. The acceptance season is seriously gearing up. I hope we have many more of these good days to come.
@go_fish - It has got to feel good to be the first person in the internet universe that IOWA called. That is amazing! Congratulations!
@Kate & DanielleWheeler & BradSmith - Good luck with your TA interviews! And congratulations on being accepted to UMass! I hope they will offer you tons of money in addition to the honor of being chosen to attend.
@BradSmith - MORE congrats to you on Colorado! Wow! I hope you get a few more double-dose amazing days like yesterday.
@Chrissy - You are really brave! I would never have had the strength to take control like that and call all of my programs. You really helped a lot of people.
@dv - Love your Michener analysis! LOL! That was fantastic.
According to my calculations, there are going to be some awesome (disbelieving), joyous (relieved) posts in the next few days. If you look back on the schools that have notified already, 50% (or more) of the acceptees have been posters on this blog. So, according to my math, some of you are going to be getting into some impossible to get into schools over the course of the next couple of weeks.
@LASwede - I will personally go down to Baton Rouge and kick somebody's @ss if LSU doesn't let you in! The way you have represented the state of Louisiana in cyberspace -- you're their f*cking ambassador, son!
@Kerry
You are so welcome, a big hug to you....
@MommyJ
I'm waiting to hear from UMass as well. So let's be each other's cheerleader today and hopehopehope we hear something positive today or tomorrow!
GL All..it is a new day, thankfully!
Gofish- Amazing news, well done!
Good luck to everyone over the next few days, hope the phones are ringing off the hook!
Raising my hand to indicate lack of acceptances.
20 applications, 3 rejections (Texas, Wisconsin, WUSTL), 0 waitlists.
Congrats to all those who've had good news! May we all receive good news soon.
No good news here as yet. C'mon poetry!!
Wash U (rejection)
Southern Illinois
Texas State
Georgia College
McNeese State
Old Dominion
Oh, and congratulations to everybody who has heard. What a relief it must be!
This blog has been invaluable to me!
Have been lurking here for some time! I tried to avoid this site and just drown myself in t.v. watching and audiobook listening sessions, but I am no longer able to tamp down the mania! It's been particularly nerve wracking, since I'm in Korea and snail-mail takes perhaps a week extra to arrive here.
Congratulations to all who've been accepted to their schools!
And for all of those still waiting... let us resume hyperventilating into our paper bags.
All I know is that I've been denied by UT-Austin. But that's not so bad... I'm secretly praying for an acceptance from LSU though!
@Mila
Hey, where in Korea are you? I'm in Seoul. Man, this whole process has been more difficult than it should have been. Simple things, like mailing the apps out, became almost impossible because my Korean abilities are strictly for survival (food, bathroom, costs, etc.). It also costed a small fortune because I did everything EMS. Then there were the time differences I've had to deal with whenever I wanted to call. Also, many of my app deadlines fell during my sacred vacation block so I spent some time sending out the online apps from various hostels throughout China. Guess I should have prepared better. Where and in what genre are you applying?
My list:
Arizona State
Brooklyn College
Colorado State
U of Florida.
UCNG
Hunter
Iowa
Michigan
Minnesota
Notre Dame
NYU
UCNW
Rutgers
Haven't heard anything from any of them yet. Good luck to you and to everyone, as well.
@mila/spencer...ha, I'm in Korea too (Busan). most anoying part of applications for me was finding a place to print everything out!
does anyone know the rate of acceptance for SIU Carbondale?
I had a dream that I got into Arizona even though I didn't apply. I was so excited and then I thought, "Hey wait, I don't really want to live in Arizona. I hate hot weather." But they sent me all sorts of nifty brochures and things, and I looked through them and decided that living in Arizona might not be so bad after all.
I choose to take this as some kind of weird omen that UMass will call today. Yep.
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