Monday, February 15, 2010

New Mailbag, Monday, February 15, 2010

What do you reckon? Time for a new one?

1,757 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   1601 – 1757 of 1757
Jasmine Sawers said...

Adam:

Excellent points

Spencer:

You're still getting a little stuck on Adam's point B. Why do you think programs are "making concessions" with the quality of potential student work when they choose minority candidates?

I'm not trying to continue an argument, but I am trying to understand why you're so sure a writer of color is almost automatically less deserving of a place in an MFA program than a white writer. Forgive this unflattering comparison, but you sound too remniscient of people I've known who would like to blame their not getting into an Ivy League school on the people of color who did.

Unknown said...

I don't think I am stuck on his point B. Because I agree with what he said. Also, I wouldn't go so far as generalizing an entire program for choices they make. I specified this in saying "reader." I think you misunderstand me. I still love you though.

-Your friends sound like assholes. There's no blaming or spite in my tone, believe me. You're finding it where is isn't.

Kendra said...

@ SamN: we're on the same side of the table. If I was ever on an admissions committee, the manuscript would win out. All the time. However, all things being equal, they have to make a decision *somehow* and all those little things are factors. Maybe they don't like the phrasing in a SOP, they don't want too many writers from the Western half of the US, they want to balance the numbers of guys and girls. Or maybe - on paper - you, me, one of us seems really similar to someone they already have in the program and they want to branch out.

I think this is especially the case in small programs (take Wisconsin for example) where they're trying to choose a group of six people who will get along, challenge each other, and all write different, interesting things.

Jasmine Sawers said...

Spencer

You and I are not going to agree on this, but I still love you too.

Luckily, those assholes aren't my friends, but their ilk are common among the oh-so-privileged people I grew up with and still suffer daily. (Gotta love crashing in your hometown for a purgatorial year pre-grad school.)

Unknown said...

@Jasmine

I was about to say... you need new friends. BTW, I checked out your profile. Are you a pinay? I read you did some Peace Corps time there.

Jasmine Sawers said...

I am not a Pinay, but I did my service in the Philippines, yes.

Unknown said...

@Jasmine

The first line of your profile says you're a mixed race writer. Do you mind if I ask you what your background is?

Unknown said...

@Jasmine

I've gotta get going. Got some intense COD4 to do. We'll continue this later. Hope catch up with you a little later.

Jasmine Sawers said...

Spencer

NO!

Um, joking. If you must know, my mother's Thai and my dad's a white dude of Irish/German/French extraction. Wasn't it totally obvious from my pictures? Check out that...French Canadian earlobe, or something.

Unknown said...

Jasmine

I didn't see the pictures. Are they in your profile?

Chrissy Widmayer said...

It's a new (although very early) day! Hoping for good news for a whole slew of people today (including myself)!

Best of luck, all.

Jasmine Sawers said...

Spencer,

I was just joking about the pictures. Can't tell anything about me by inspecting my face, no matter how hard you might try.

Arna said...

@RugbyTony

You're in Kansas? I am too! Which city?

SamStod said...

Every time this thread goes more than half an hour without a comment, I check my internet connection and then the news to see if nuclear war has wiped out the rest of the world.

Right now, I have assumed rejections from Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota to go along with my actual rejections from Wisconsin and Texas. Waiting on UC-Irvine, Iowa and Michigan.

I wish all of these schools would hurry up for better or worse so that I could go back to being a non-crazy person.

LAswede said...

i was reading through the 'diversity' posts today and wanted to add that i am, on my father's side, a first generation american...no school has ever asked me anything about this, but if i wasn't white, i have a feeling they probably would...i haven't even thought of this before now, and to be honest, i could give a rat's ass...i do not care about such trivial matters, but many people do (no matter what ethnicity) because they feel it may give them an upperhand in certain situations, like the one we're all going through at the moment...it's unfortunate that we can't just speak about decisions based on merit, but we've been conditioned to know better...i suppose we idealists would like to think otherwise, but then spencer comes along to remind us of the absolutely unfortunate reality that even this process is not color blind, as it certainly should be...

Chelsea said...

@SamStod

I legitmately just did the same exact thing. haha

What does that say about a) our dependency on the Internet and b) our fixation with this blog?

..Nothing we didn't already know I'm sure :P

Happy Friday all!

phillywriter said...

@SamStod

Ditto. I guess the MFA bloggers aren't early birds, or if they are, they're actually productive at their jobs in the morning, or have successfully kept their resolutions to go to this blog less often. Unlike myself, who keeps breaking that resolution and wakes up early because of MFA-anxiety sleep disturbances and can't concentrate at work so instead obsessively checks this blog, hoping that no one will walk into my office and notice what I'm doing (and what I'm not doing).

This anxiety is killing me.

phillywriter said...

Or everyone's lurking here right now but no one has anything new to say. (Myself included.)

Raine said...

Hi phillywriter! I'm lurking with nothing new to say. I wish I had something to share.

Brandy Colbert said...

yeah, ditto. nothing to say. i'm at work every morning by 8 (it's as brutal as it sounds for a non-mornign person like myself), but the blog doesn't seem to pick up until a couple of hours later.

so. mornin' all.

Leslie said...

Lurking--nothing new to say. Just waiting...............

phillywriter said...

It's nice to know I'm not alone here!

But yeah, nothing new to report. No acceptances, no waitlists, same old crushing anxiety.

Ashley Brooke said...

RugbyToy,
Oh, gosh! Your "I'm in ... *sigh* Kansas" comment fooled me for a moment into thinking you were accepted at University of Kansas and that you were being ungrateful about it. I'm glad to have figured you out!

Speaking of University of Kansas... I'm still without news two days after rejections went out to at least 3-4 here and DH... No acceptances reported yet. Is anybody in the same boat as me? Delurkify yourselves!!

Ashley Brooke said...

That should be "same boat as I" before you mumble to yourselves that I don't deserve a boat.

scomp said...

denied from umass (fiction)

added to assumed cornell, and real texas at austin and madison wisconsin.

all that's left is iowa (hahahahahaha), nyu, michigan, and brown.

oh christ i'm not getting in anywhere....

Corey Haydu said...

@scomp
how'd you hear about your umass fiction rejection?

I haven;t heard either way yet so i'm starting to freak.

Jasmine Sawers said...

Hey scomp, how did you find out you were denied from UMass?

scomp said...

logged onto the spire site--i guess they've uploaded some of the denieds...

Victoria Schwab said...

@scomp hey I'm waiting for Michigan, Brown, and NYU too. Want to be in my "OH FUCK" club?

Corey Haydu said...

@scomp, thanks.

Mine still says "applied" as of October 26th. Which does nothing to make me feel better. In fact it makes me wonder if they've even looked at it...

scomp said...

@YARebels

Dude. YES.

Like, I did my part, ok? I only realized I had a proclivity for writing my junior year of college, I got a couple things published after, and I've done my couple years of real world experience, while my roommate went right into grad school. Then the economy fell apart! I voted for Kerry! I'm a good person!!

Jasmine Sawers said...

re: UMass

When I click the "applied" link after logging into the check status site, all it says is that the graduate school is awaiting a decision. Making me sweat out my rejection ;)

Laura said...

@ scomp,

Did you get a definite rejection from UMass, or just assumed because you haven't heard from them?

Laura said...

oops, sorry scomp, lots of other people already asked that question!

scomp said...

so can i ask a cornell question? i haven't received anything from them--no email, letter, obviously not a phone call. am i an idiot to hold out any hope on this one?

is there a system i can log into?

has anyone gotten firm rejections?

Jasmine Sawers said...

Scomp

I'm in the same boat as you with Cornell. And as far as I can tell, there's no system to log onto. All I got was a form email some time ago saying when they would make decisions (late Feb/early March).

Victoria Schwab said...

@scomp I'm waiting on Cornell, too! Are we the same person??

And don't we deserve a break?? I think we do.

Laura said...

Also waiting on Cornell, but in poetry. I don't think that any poetry acceptances to Cornell have been reported yet...? Unless I missed it.

christina b said...

FYI--for those who applied to emerson and lesley in poetry--emerson will be mailing out their decisions in late march and lesley will notify applicants 2-3 weeks after march 1st...hopes this eases some stress...

Laura said...

LATE MARCH for Emerson?!??! AHHHH. That's my first choice. SOO. FAR. AWAY.

scomp said...

YARebels, perhaps in this insane season, I/we am/are one person driven so insane that I/we have split into two distinct personalities. Which of course means there's one less talented and worthy person out there applying to my/our schools and therefore I/we should feel a bit closer to the dream :)

Chelsea said...

Late march for Emerson? Oy!

I've never been good at waiting. Don't see that changing either, ha.

Victoria Schwab said...

Actually, if we divided, then there are now TWO applicants where there could have been one. CURSES.

scomp said...

oh wait, that's true. damn me/you!

(ok i won't keep up with that joke; it's almost as annoying to read as a bizarro superman comic)

Victoria Schwab said...

So what do we think? Is there ANY hope of hearing from Michigan today, or should I put my pity party away until Monday?

Laura said...

This also makes me worry that Emerson might be delayed because of a larger number of applications than what they're used to... especially because they waived the application fee. AUUGH.

Trilbe said...

@Rose - C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S ! I'm SO happy to hear that you've gotten some good news! I hope this acceptance brings you a beautiful peace-of-mind weekend.

@RugbyToy - Eeeek! UNCW?! Wow! Congratulations!

@WreckingLight - Congratulations on hitting the ball out of the f*cking park on your follow up attempt! You are an inspiration to us all.

Where'z my homiez at?! Eli? Cratty? NickMcRae? I hope you're all doing well! I've cut back to once-per-day(-ish) on the blog, so I feel like I haven't talked to y'all in foreverrrrrr.

Corey Haydu said...

So what are the schools we are thinking could notify today?

Some more umass maybe? Michigan? Iowa??? I'm trying to remember which schools seemed to be gearing up to notify.... anyone have a list of schools to obsess about today? =)

Unknown said...

Iowa, Michigan, Umass, UNCW?


I've been feeling ill all morning

SamStod said...

Okay, so for anyone who doesn't get in this year, next year who wants to go all strangers-on-a-train to ensure we get in?

I can get a job at one college and replace all of the samples they get in with inferior samples taken from fan fiction message boards. Maybe insert lines about their mental instability and how they don't see what the big deal is about plagiarism into the SOPs...If someone else wants to do the same at a college I want to go to, we can ensure that the other person's sample is in the top 1%.

I don't see how it could POSSIBLY go wrong.

Victoria Schwab said...

@SamStod

Best. Plan. Ever.

I'll add Cornell to that list of places we could hear from, bc at this point, WHY NOT?

phillywriter said...

@SamStod

Great plan. And since murder isn't involved, maybe we won't end up crushed under a carousel like in Strangers on a Train . (I haven't read the book, but I love the film.)

amanda said...

You guys are killing me! I just got Strangers on a Train on my netflix and am gonna watch it this weekend! Putting fingers in ears.

------> lalalalalalalalal <------

phillywriter said...

Amanda, it's a great movie. I hope you enjoy it! And don't worry - I didn't tell you who meets that fate, so I think there's still plenty of suspense for you left.

amanda said...

OK good! I'm slowly working my way through the Hitchcock I haven't seen yet. Rear Window is one of my all-time favorite movies.

jessicaestone said...

spontaneously decided a road trip is in order, if i want to stay sane through the weekend. having heart palpitations about quitting the blog cold turkey - can you guys promise not to talk about anything important till monday?

Chrissy Widmayer said...

Come on, UMass? Maybe maybe? Come on! Let me know where I stand before I die.

And, fyi, the Spire site has said that "Your application is in review" under the "applied" link since I applied, at least.

I'm hoping Michigan will notify today, too. Because I'm going to explode if someone on my list doesn't notify today. Seriously. I just want to know so much!

nattyish said...

Just got my confirmed Amherst rejection. Oof.
Is anyone else applying to BU? I'd been holding off, in case somewhere admitted me in February, but now I think I might just go for it.

Victoria Schwab said...

Chrissy, if Michigan doesn't notify today, at least for the "recommended for acceptance" part if not the full thing, I WILL LOSE WHAT'S LEFT OF MY MIND.

Which isn't much.

Chrissy Widmayer said...

@YAR, that is how I feel exactly. My mind is slowly disintegrating like grains of sand in an hourglass. Each second more of it is gone.

phillywriter said...

I'm torn about whether I want to hear any news today. If schools I didn't apply to accept some of you today, I'll be happy. But if today one of my schools accepts other people but not me, I'm going to be in a state of panic and despair. I think I'd rather not know. At least not now.

Of course, what I really want is my own acceptance. Just one. Anywhere I applied will do. Even a waitlist would be encouraging. But as more and more of my schools notify people other than me, the knots in my stomach just get larger and more twisted.

MommyJ said...

I'm feeling a bit better today. I cried, stopped reading the blog, and then took a nap yesterday ... good way to escape. At least there are no more baked goods in my house!

Today I am making fourteen matching skirts for the Girl Scout troop costumes for the international fair next month and this is the first time I've come to visit you all.

I logged into my UMass Spire account and it still says applied, so there is still hope, I guess. Maybe they just haven't uploaded the poetry denials yet.

MommyJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mostly Swell said...

@Spartacus
Your short story on an admissions committee sounds killer fun.

fried okra... uh huh, where kaybay??? I'll dig deep into memories of my nana. a little flour?, definitely corn meal, with pepper and salt mixed in?, bacon grease and a cast iron skillet. Okra, of course, sliced and 110 degrees in the shade outside, hotter than hell in the kitchen, windows open for a cross breeze, should there be any movement outside to bring such a blessing...

sigh. yeah, fried okra. Can'tchoo jes' hear the pops and crackles???

Has Minnesota finished???? And Michigan, today? Sweet. I doubt it though. But that would be sooo cool. I hope ya'll are right. Alas, I think my fate is undetermined for weeks, if not months.

dell said...

@ Umass hopefuls: did everyone get spire accounts to log in to? I only got info to check my application on the graduate school website and am now nervous that they don't have my materials...

When did friday become my most dreaded day of the week???

Good luck to everyone!

Mostly Swell said...

I meant to say "where's kaybay?" - that was a blunder and not intended dialect. Too way over the top for me.

dell said...

@myself: sorry everyone, I was confused- my application check-up page IS through spire. Time to start trying some of your foodie ideas so that I can eat my way through this anxiety!

Laura said...

So, freaking out and feeling in need of a Plan B, I have just decided to apply for Teach for America. Today is the deadline. Oh god.

Peter said...

Rejection today from UT Austin in Poetry

Chelsea said...

My plan B is as follows:

Melt in Your Mouth Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
2 sticks of unsalted butter, minus 1 tbs
7 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1c sugar
4 eggs
1 rounded tbs all purpose flour
parchment paper
confectionary sugar, for garnish

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 350* and line 8" cake pan with parchment paper. Grease sides of pan with butter.

Chop dark chocolate into even pieces, cut butter up and place both in microwave safe bowl.

Microwave chocolate and butter mixture on high for 10-15 seconds, then stir and return to microwave. Repeat this process until chocolate is just barely melted.

Pour melted chocolate into medium size bowl, let cool for about 3 minutes.

Add sugar to chocolate and stir with rubber spatala until well mixed

Add one egg at a time, making sure to mix completely with wooden spoon after each addition.

Then add flour, mix well.

Pour batter into parchment lined pan, bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, shut oven off but leave cake inside to continue baking.

After 10 minutes, remove cake and place on cooling rack. Allow cake to cool completely before removing it from pan.

Wrap cake in plastic & refrigerate. Remove cake approximately one hour before serving.

Serve dusted with confectionary sugar and a side of fruit salad.

Because this cake is made with dark chocolate, it is best made 24 hours in advance.




Eat and be worry free!

(One of my all time favorite chocolate cakes..uber indulgent!)

Victoria Schwab said...

@Chelsea my plan B is to EAT EVERYTHING IN MY KITCHEN. Can my plan B hang out with YOUR plan B?

Chrissy Widmayer said...

Seriously, why aren't we all starting bakeries for our Plans B? That cake looks DELISH!

Kendra said...

Hey guys - I can't believe I'm getting to post this. I just got an email from the University of Michigan, and I'm in for fiction!

They didn't say anything about letting anyone else know or how many offers they're sending out today. I also don't know anything about poetry. It was just financial aid stuff, and an acceptance offer.

I hope other people hear soon as well. A very sincere good luck to all. (I'm secretly hoping some of us will be classmates next year.)

Mostly Swell said...

Oh Sh*&! So here I am, staring at the screen. I'm a confirmed addict.

It's the same with smoking. I can't even have just one. (And I have not had "just one" since 1990, but still, I can't, or I'm on it all over again.)

subscribing, but NOT smoking. nonono, OMG... please, no (whimper)

amanda said...

@ K. Peaquah:

That's awesome, congratulations!!!

Chrissy Widmayer said...

I might just throw up. Fingers crossed!!!!!!! Congrats KP!

Mostly Swell said...

whoa. K. Peaquah...
sizzlin'

that's so cool.

not me, no e-mail yet.

but congratulations. really and truly. To everyone who has gotten some positive word - you all rock.

phillywriter said...

Congrats, KP!

I will now officially be unable to concentrate on anything at work today beyond refreshing my personal e-mail.

Maybe Michigan lost my e-mail address....

Sincere congrats, though. Really.

Dr. James McSaddle said...

I am positively sick about the University of Michigan. I guess I knew how it was going to play out.

Jamie said...

However the cards fall, you guys should start your bakery. Why?

1. Work off any MFA debts accrued
2. You could probably give it a clever name
3. You know how to cater to nervous MFA applicants (which, if current trends continue, will be a 50 million person market in five years)
4. Cross marketing literature and baked goods could be a very successful model, and might just be the wave of the future
5. More clever names for your confections/loaves/etc.
6. To elaborate on #4, Reading space + literary events + WiFi + books + baked goods + coffee + ambiance = Cha-Ching!
7. You could recycle MFA (and later publisher) rejection letters as bread wrappers, or make them the table surface via that Martha Stewart lacquer method.

There. Did I just solve everybody's problems?

Chelsea said...

@ KP

Wowzah! Many congratulations! I'm sure you're grinning ear to ear.

@ Victoria

Let us unite! There is always strength in numbers and even more importantly, always strength in chocolate ;)

Chrissy Widmayer said...

@K. Peaquah,

I always feel bad when I go off on something about how freaked out I am when someone posts an acceptance, rather than being able to be really happy for them, so I just want to say again how FLIPPIN' EXCITING that is for you, and congrats, once again!!

Jamie said...

Hey K. Peaquah, major congrats!

Arna said...

Is someone on here the Firmuhment person responsible for this:

firmuhment.tumblr.com ?

and especially for the Lorrie Moore Gets a Blog story?

Because I just wanted to say that I enjoyed all that. And I'm sorry about Wyoming.

Kendra said...

Thanks guys - please don't have dashed hopes! I just thought everyone would want to know. I know I would.

Chelsea said...

@Jamie

Wanna be the business manager/PR director for the aforementioned MFA Bakery? haha

You've got some good ideas going there!

Jasmine Sawers said...

K. Peaquah, congratulations!

Dr. James McSaddle said...

My contact at Michigan said that they are in the process of making those emails, and that they aren't all out thought. But I feel the sense of doom in the nerves of my neck.

Victoria Schwab said...

Chins up, people. Strength here. Just bc KP got her YES (ee! CONGRATS) does not mean it's over!

*eats a dozen cookies*

scomp said...

this is the baker in nyc, yes? i know i'm late to the posting party but i live in brooklyn and i hate working in an office. i'm so down for this!!

Jamie said...

@ Jamie

I know my idea already exists and is called "Starbucks/Barnes and Noble," but I'm thinking the hip, downtown, local version, not the corporate franchise. People are hungry for this stuff in all senses.

amanda said...

@ Jamie: Man, you've got some business sense! I think if they're really gonna embrace the MFA angle, they've GOT to make it a mail-based service. Think of the hundreds, nay thousands!, of people who would be ordering their yummies to dull the pain of waiting...

Victoria Schwab said...

Did anyone panic and go to their Rackham school access page after seeing KP's news?

Chrissy Widmayer said...

@Jamie,

I can make commercials for the bakery. I'm good at that. And make a documentary that will be come wildly famous because it's infused with the wonderful characters we all are. Sound good?

scomp said...

rent is much cheaper than you'd think and you could EASILY get a reading series for every day of the week. those are great ways to meet writers (who, no matter how prominent, will always grab a venue if they can) and agents. my mentor met her agent thru her reading series. this is a great idea!

Thomas said...

how is one supposed to study for a latin quiz today with this much stress? it is not possible. mors mors mors

Sequoia N said...

Big Congrats K.Pequah!!!

MFAguy said...

anyone get a change in their online michigan status yet?

SamStod said...

Congrats K. Peaquah!

Though, I will be refreshing my e-mail every 30 seconds for the next two hours.

Jamie said...

@ amanda - Yes, I'm all about the mail order. It could be a promise - "We deliver while you're still freaking out." "If you hear a decision before you get your chocolate cake, we guarantee your money back." We could make a complete MFA waiting kit, make special recipes with ingredients "proven" to relieve stress, offer organic starter mix for the DIY crowd, etc. It's really the beginning of an empire...

But we'd still need a storefront in Oakland, Columbus OH, New Orleans, or a similar place both for our online image and because it's more fun.

phillywriter said...

@Jamie - I love the rejection-letter table decoupage concept!

@James McSaddle - If you learn that Michigan is finished sending out the acceptance/waitlist e-mails, please let us know. Then I can stop obsessively refreshing my e-mail in hopeful desperation - and might actually get some work done today.

Re: work - I'm increasingly concerned that my recent erratic and unproductive behavior at work
will eliminate continuing in this job as a possible Plan B. Of course, I still hope I won't need a Plan B.

Mostly Swell said...

From what I recall, the online status won't change until Rackham approves the acceptances the English dept recommends. We'll get e-mails before anything changes on their website. Which means we don't get to obsessively check the website. Damn it!

And Minnesota doesn't even have a status page. ):

MFAguy said...

Hey thanks,

And congrats to any Michigan acceptees!

Victoria Schwab said...

My inbox is empty and I think I just ate a chocolate bar. I can't say for sure, but all of a sudden there's an empty wrapper beside me.

amanda said...

@ Jamie: Totally! Although, instead of offering to give them money back in case of acceptance (because seriously who could afford that?), there could be a little sealed box that says "Open in Case of Acceptance" that has sparkler celebratory candles and kazoos!

Chrissy Widmayer said...

This bakery HAS to happen. That's all I'm saying.

Victoria Schwab said...

@Chrissy @Jamie and all thes rest.

I'm SO in on the bakery idea, it's one of my lifelong goals :)

Corey Haydu said...

any other fiction applicants have no change on their online status pages for umass?? its kind of killing me. I just want an update!!

Thomas said...

just got an e-mail fro armantrout - i did not get into umass. so next year will be waiting i suppose. sad day in the life.

good luck to everyone else.

Dr. James McSaddle said...

@phillywriter

I don't know how much more on top of the Michigan thing I desire to be. I'll check my inbox, yes. But, I think it looks more and more as though I should accept defeat with a faint semblance of end-days dignity.

Mostly Swell said...

@YAR
OK, take it easy.
breathe.
a little deeper.
feel it in your belly.
relax, and open up that belly.
let the air in.

ok, that's it.
not try it again.

again..

now, check to feel the floor under your toes. feel it?

everyone... breathe

or maybe it's just me.

I have a shakespeare seminar to study for - can't even wrap my head around studying for a latin test. for real???

Victoria Schwab said...

Surely all of the Michigan YES's didn't go out in the same moment. THERE MUST BE HOPE.

Please?

Victoria Schwab said...

@Mostly Swell

THANK YOU.

Chrissy Widmayer said...

There's most definitely still hope. I'll holding out until the end of business, then I'm calling (we'll see if I can make it till then).

Victoria Schwab said...

@Chrissy what would we do without your phone powers?

Chrissy Widmayer said...

I'm waiting in Poetry. Do you think they'll get to us today? Or will fiction be today, and poetry early next week?

Chrissy Widmayer said...

@YAR We would die. I mostly call out of desperation. Haha. I'm really not that good on the phone. I'm just neurotic and impatient.

Victoria Schwab said...

@Chrissy according to TSE they've always been same day.

Chrissy Widmayer said...

@YAR And thus, I commence with the throwing up. Gaaaaah.

Mostly Swell said...

@YAR and everyone

this is a really hard day already. I think all I'll do is breathe, if i do that. And try to remember to listen to the songbirds that have arrived - like spring is here??? it is???

yes, songbirds have been singing yesterday and today.

and I don't know what to say about the mfa thing. we all know it's not over even when programs have begun their notifications. but, it doesn't make it easier.

@Jamie and the MFA bakery. That reminds me of the movie "Stranger Than Fiction" Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a baker who developed recipes for her law school study group.

Victoria Schwab said...

The ONLY thing keeping me from following suit is that with 22 slots, I have to think that a good number more of our MFA blog rank will get the nod. So far there has only been ONE.

phillywriter said...

Dear Michigan:

Please send me an e-mail (preferably an acceptance, but a waitlist or even a rejection will do) so that I can concentrate on my work and not put myself in jeopardy of losing my job.

Thanks very much.

Brandy Colbert said...

congrats, KP! many of us here are insanely jealous of you. :)

Victoria Schwab said...

Dear Michigan,

What @phillywriter said.

Chrissy Widmayer said...

@phillywriter

Sometimes I think we should actually send messages like that to them. Haha. What do you think they would do if we did?

Mostly Swell said...

maybe i should have told the michigan folks how utterly cool I think they are.

Mostly Swell said...

I considered writing Wisconsin to let them know that, given the large number of schools people have applied to, they may find that there top choices are going elsewhere, and that I would not be the least offended if they should find the need to reconsider rejections. If they find that to be the case, just shoot me an e-mail, drop me a line, whatever.

Victoria Schwab said...

How horrific will it be if KP's was really early, and we're stuck in this waiting hell until next week? I'll have no fingernails left.

Mostly Swell said...

ditto for Minnesota and Michigan, although I have not officially been placed on the rejection heap.

Chrissy Widmayer said...

That's why I'll eventually give into the desire to call them.

Unknown said...

Congrats KP!!! ...I was hoping that post was going to be made by me, though......


Seriously, I just moved my office's trash can next to my chair, so if I puke at least I won't have to clean the carpet afterward. I'm an absolute mess, you guys. This day has got to end.

Jenna H said...

does anyone know anything about IOWA except the one person that got in? I'm applying for poetry and it's my first choice and I think I have a really good shot but is it time to assume rejections yet?

also, i'm an idiot and i didn't know they would call you if you get in so i put my home phone number down twice out of laziness so my parents might miss the call and i might not find out until they mail me something either way. SIGH.

phillywriter said...

@YARebels

That would indeed be horrific.

This is pure torture.

phillywriter said...

@Jenna H

Don't fret. If they're trying to contact you with an acceptance, they'll leave a message if no one answers. And if the line is busy, I'm pretty sure they'll send you an e-mail.

Sarah said...

@Thomas

Did you apply to UMass in fiction or poetry??

@All other UMass fiction applicants

Still haven't heard anything, and my online status still says "applied" like it has since I applied in November. I assume a lot/most of you are in the same boat..?
Gahh, I hate this, why can't they just notify everyone at the same time?!

Unknown said...

Ya'll, I just wanted to chime in here and say that I did NOT apply to an MFA program and am stressed the hell out for you guys. I have been checking back every few hours to see if anything has changed. Good luck to you!

Jasmine Sawers said...

Sarah

Yep, I'm in the same boat with UMass. Still. Still. And... yep, still.

frankish said...

Just signed up for a MAR online fiction workshop that starts soon. Between that and packing up my house to move by March 1, I should be able to keep my mind off obsessively checking for acceptances and rejections. :P

As always, good luck to all!

Victoria Schwab said...

Nearly had heart attack when I saw email from ADMISSIONS...

It was Columbia finally getting back to me with my tracking number.

*heart attack*

Dr. James McSaddle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dr. James McSaddle said...

In a few minutes I am going to take my test to be a Census Worker nice and Scotched up. A belly full of Dewars on the rocks and bean curd Ramen Noodles is the only way to face this shit down.

Ashley Brooke said...

Congrats to K. Peaquah for Michigan!

Nancy Rawlinson said...

New weekend mailbag is up!

the duchess said...

@Thomas

How do you know you didn't get in? I'm confused. Did your status change in the Spire site?

Congrats to KP!!

Btw, I would like this bakery to give free cupcakes for every rejection. And I am excellent at frosting.

Eli said...

@Trilbe, dude! I'm here, happy it's Friday, had a loooong day at work and just swallowed an entire pack of chocolate covered coffee beans... at 6.15pm UK time... which is gonna keep me buzzing into the night, so, people, bring NEWS! I have nothing to report on the MFA front myself, so am keeping quiet. Just the wiscy rejection, implied cornell & syracuse rejections, and nowt from the others. Meanwhile, my dear, I hope you're google earthing the shit out of Tuscaloosa...

I've been working on next year's list, though, (ever the pessimist!) and it includes some lovely, lovely programs. Also, the idea that not getting in this year, working on my writing and reapplying with a year's more experience under my belt - a year more to read, figure my shit out, and dig in a little deeper before arriving on a program - strikes me only as a good thing.

Wow, those coffee beans are kicking in. @future bakers, sell these things! They're the business!

@K. Peaquah - congratulations sir/madam! (sir, right?). Well done. Party hard.

@Everyone else - I'm crossing my fingers for news for everyone. This limbo seems endless, and good luck to us not all exploding with cake and anxiety before april 15th rolls around.

@Mostly Swell, welcome back! I've been keeping away a bit too. Tad too clobbering-me-around-the-head-with-my-impending-horrible-failure here for me at times.

@Jamie, Dreux said something way back about the adcoms being nuts if you don't get in s'where. I reckon dude's right.

@Amherst. Just get it over with already.

Laura said...

My UMass status still says "applied" too (poetry).

The Hobo Bobo said...

YARebels- Columbia has been sending out a disproportionately high number of fake-out emails (ADMISSIONS TO SUMMER PROGRAM, &c.) Just terrible.

Sarah said...

@Thomas

Did you apply to UMass in fiction or poetry??

@All other UMass fiction applicants

Still haven't heard anything, and my online status still says "applied" like it has since I applied in November. I assume a lot/most of you are in the same boat..?
Gahh, I hate this, why can't they just notify everyone at the same time?!

Seth Abramson said...

Hi all,

Thought you guys might find this interesting: I've just recently put up on TSE the Five-Year Overall MFA Rankings. This is a particularly good time to link to it, I think, for the reason below.

Keeping in mind, as ever, that rankings must be used with extreme caution, I think this new ranking is interesting because it's the largest compilation of data in the history of the degree (1,000 MFA applicants participated in the poll across a five-year period) but also because its particular structure allows one to determine what percentage of the best-researched MFA applicants apply to a given program, historically, using simple math. For instance, the University of Iowa received 505 votes out of 1,000 poll participants, meaning 50.5% of all applicants applied to the Writers' Workshop; Johns Hopkins University received 134 votes, meaning that 13.4% of the applicants polled applied there; and so on.

Best of luck to everyone,

Be well,
Seth

P.S. Keep in mind that to see the most recent trends in MFA program esteem one needs to look here (the 2011 rankings).

Ben McClendon said...

Congrats, KP!

I will be rushing home after work, since Gmail is blocked at the school where I teach.

But... as long as it's not poetry....

Thomas said...

sarah, it was for poetry. but i learned from my professor who knows Mr. Gizzi well and had e-mailed him. so i haven't received "official rejection" it's just that i had what might be called an "in" or something

so yeh.

Victoria Schwab said...

Trilbe just reported a poetry acceptance to Michigan at the other blog.

Apparently emails are still going out. I feel ill.

Trilbe said...

I'm having a HEARTATTACK, yo! The University of Michigan just sent me an email acceptance in poetry. I have read the email about 170 times already. Yet, I still don't believe it!

I am NOT the kind of person that this sh*t happens to! I am just NOT. I mean, I'd hoped, of course. But I am actually STUNNED. I am humbled. Honored. I feel like a poet, fo realz, at this moment. Yet, I am completely incapable of using language with any finesse.

@K.Peaquah - Mad congratulations!

amanda said...

New mailbag's up, guys! Come join us at February 19th.

Laura said...

OH MY GOD, GO TRILBE!!! You rock. CONGRATULATIONS!

amanda said...

Has anyone posted an actual acceptance to Vandy in Poetry? Or are all three of those people not on the board (or silent)?

Jacqueline Stephens said...

Oh, Come on! How long does it take to read 10 poems that lack difficulty! You only asked for 10 pp! Not that that is a bad thing, as I am short-poem girl. Yes, I have a cape. (It's a very small cape.)

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