@To those still waiting on something, anything: I hate to say it, as I know how annoying it can be deppending on what kind of day you've had, but don't give up. My notice from EWU comes well over a month after the first on here. And--if you have the stomach for it--a nice brief e-mail to the program(s) may do the trick. I can hardly believe it, as I was starting to think an ever-so slight chance at the waitlist was my only chance for EWU. One of my top 3 choices…1/2 day ride to Glacier NP, few more hours to Yellowstone…and here I am,speechless.
There were about four programs that I just decided to email today, albeit way late in the day, for whatever reason. After I had just emailed EWU, after 530 and through a contact form no less, there it was barely a half hour later in my inbox.
Ok, sorry everyone, just sort of don't know what to do with myself. I’m not even going to think of yapping about having to make a harder decision now, between two programs at least. It’s a great problem to have. So very fortunate.
@Shaving—you’re a class act, and I agree with others here, it’s far from over for you, and—as others have said here—the world doesn’t stop just because some program didn’t accept you, or likewise, accepted you. All my best. I mean that.
Good luck everyone...hope the good fortune keeps on spreading.
@JimfifeOH - EWU is Eastern Washington, right? Congratulations!! There is a lot that is awesome about that school. Are you gonna go?
@Jillian Lauren - congratulations on Baltimore! :)
@Dolores Humbert - aw, yes, ASU! That's fantastic! I can understand the stroking that's going down right now... haha, although maybe you'd better lie down? Nah. I hope you're dancing it out :)
Oh, and thank you @M.Swann! Ahaha... SO cute.
Now good luck all you future ASUers! I'm gonna keep refreshing now. Woo!
@Zoulou: Thanks a lot! Yeah, EWU is Eastern Washington. Ever since my initial reading of the faculty bios, I've had a good feeling about them, not necessarily one that equated to feeling I'd get in though. A personal touch, to put it generically. The program and the place just seems to have that "something" that fits me. How vague is that?
So yeah, definitely leaning towards them, though first year nonresident with no funding could hurt. I'd manage somehow. There are a couple schools left for me that might trump them, all depending of course. Love, love the location--wildernesses everywhere and a little city to boot...anyway, sorry for going on. Again. What about you?
@Otkuda - I just recieved a similar email from Gabriel. You were also accepted to City College, correct? Did I hear on here recently that you contacted them and there is no definite date to which we have to confirm acceptance? We might possibly be costudents!
@JimfifeOH, You sound like quite an outdoorsman, which'll be great in Spokane. How about river rafting, have you gotten in to that yet? Because if you go I bet you'll have plenty of opportunities... :)
I'm from north of Seattle and I gotta say I'm kicking myself for not applying to Eastern! All the people I know who've gone there have been really great people, and if you're into geology, that area of the state is SO cool. Anyway, congratulations, that is awesome news!
Right now my plan is to head to U Alaska, Fairbanks next fall. I am super excited but also super nervous. I'm still sort of waiting up on UNLV, U Miami (Florida) and U Hawaii (MA program) - haha, I don't think I'll get into any of them, and really my heart's always been set on UAF, but now that I might actually be headed for -60 Fahrenheit I'm getting a little freaked!
Well, good luck to you! :) You'll keep us posted, right, what you decide?
Yes, I also applied to Stony Brook Southampton and was also accepted (poetry). I got an email a few days ago and my acceptance packet arrived today. It looks like an interesting program and I got a nice personal letter from one of the faculty members, which I appreciated. However, they said they were "unable to offer me financial support" for my first year. :/
@Le Tigre - awesome, and good luck to you! I have no idea about notifications but I wish it was SOOON, you know?
As far as funding goes, I think it might be pretty grim. I'm not actually sure about English 0 maybe there are some hidden TAships? But I was thinking of applying for anthropology at UH too and I was reading the anthro department's page... under the funding tab, it basically said, "Hawaii is super expensive, we have barely any funding, apply only if you can suck it in and pay." Yikes. So I'm not too hopeful. But I don't know - English could be different! Maybe?
I will def. let you know if I hear something. I might get antsy and bug 'em, send an email... Anyway, good luck!
I thought it was you! Congratulations on the acceptance! Did you get in anywhere else? I can't keep up with this blog @__@
I don't think I will be attending SBSH, just because my two Minnesota State acceptances (Moorhead and Mankato) are far more compelling. Right now I'm going crazy trying to figure out if Sarah Lawrence is worth the money. I'm thinking not but, man, it's Sarah Lawrence!
I also got into Sarah Lawrence! And also going crazy trying to figure out if it's worth the money. Sooo tempting, even with the enormous loans.
My other acceptances are to Emerson, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers-Newark. I think my decision will come down to Sarah Lawrence vs. Emerson -- I really like both programs. Might come down to which will put me in the least debt.
Pacific Bennington Warren Wilson U Alaska Anchorage UC Riverside VCFA UNO
I know some have already notified folks but are they going in waves? Am I to assume a rejection if others have heard in my genre and I have not? Has anyone been notified of being on a waitlist? The process seems to vary by school and so does the protocol.
Oh man, I just had a moment of mental head-thunking there... I mean, how clueless can I get? I applied to UCR and I definitely wasn't meaning to do any low-res programs.
But there's a low-res program AND a regular one at UCR, right? RIGHT? Seriously, I wouldn't put it past me to make this kind of mistake - but isn't there a low-res program at Palm Springs?
Haha, oh boy - and I don't know if this'll help since we're in different programs (oh man, at least I hope we are!) but I've heard nothing from UCR since they received my app. Good luck to you, on all of your schools!
Dolores, sweetheart, now you've gotten yourself in quite the pickle. What're gonna do now young lady? I'm not in a position to offer advice, but, during my Lent-inspired meditation sessions, I'll be blessing your person with thoughts of sanity and serenity.
Congrats! Do you have any idea which school you're going to choose? (I'm not-so-secretly hoping you'll turn down your spot at IU, since I'm on the waitlist at Indiana and haven't gotten accepted anywhere yet. No pressure. Really.)
Also, I mentioned it to klairkwilty earlier, for obvious reasons, but Nabokov is one of my favorite writers. I prefer Pale Fire over Lolita, however.
Congrats to all who've had good news - and best wishes to those of us still waiting.
Congratulations to all of the NYU acceptancees and waitlisters. And let me not forget the EWUs, the ASUs, and the OSU. Wait? What? Is that a Baltimore? (*Yeah!*) And is that a Stony Brook Southampton? (*Hell Yeah!)
Holidaaay. Doop Doop Doop. Doop Doop Doop. Celabraaate. Doop Doop Doop. Doop Doop Doop. If we took a holidaay (ooh yeah cum on). Took some time to celuhbraate (Holuhdaay). It would beee - it would be so nice.
To partly explain my exuberance: I got free gin from a friend today :D (The good stuff too - Plymouth!!! :D :D :D)
This is completely ridiculous, but is there anybody else who is sort of afraid to ask what position you are on the waitlist? Without knowing what my position is, I can imagine that I'm not somehow last on the list.
@alyssa if you're worried about it, you could always couch it in a series of questions to send via email (i.e. has the program typically gone to the wait list in previous years; if so, how many waitlisters are typically accepted; any potential for funding; and oh, by the by, what number on the waitlist do i happen to be?
@Shaving, I completely missed your post before, but if you're still reading, there are SO many assumed rejections on that list - you gotta have hope! I am sending good acceptance vibes your way tonight.
Zoulou! I actually told the director that I was doing an awkward little happy-dance WHILE I was on the phone with him. I couldn't help myself! It just slipped out! *blushes*
Phillywriter and MFAguy, trust me when I say that I'm doing my best to come to a decision asap. My mentor and I are going to hit the tarot cards next week. Fo sho.
Cratty! How is it that you've become one of my "pros" on the VT list!? Every time I see your name, I'm like, dang! We gotta hang out and swap stories! You and Khalilah! I donno. It's like an VT/IU thing! Good people making some tough decisions. Eek! But thanks for the blessings, dude. I am really losing my shiiiiizz over here! (I wasn't kidding about the tarot cards.) Expect another doozy of an email soon.
Okay, so I found out I'm high up on the waiting list at Ohio University today....and they just beat Georgetown!!! Does anyone else think thats a good sign for me?!!!!
unfortunately i did call the office and the lady there said they had no record of my application. sucks but what are you gonna do.
@weighswithwords
i received an e-mail confirmation for my payment. that's why i don't understand how they could not have received my application. don't you usually need to submit everything first in order to pay? maybe the hunter system was different.
i live in china (which accounts for these responses coming about 200 posts late...just woke up) and i've decided i'm going to blame the ccp.
@Arna, Hi! I'm in a bit of a tizz trying to decide what I want to do. Maybe it would help me if I could get some insight into how you made your choice? I'd like to decide and be done with it...asap. Could I email you about this, please?
If yes, can you drop me a line at shabnam.nadiya(at)gmail dot com. if not, no worries. :-)
@JimfifeOH -- Congrats! As a fellow CNFer, I've been rooting for you! My brother goes to school right now in Spokane (Gonzaga) and adores it; he's also something of an outdoorsman, and has loved climbing, hiking, skiing, fishing. I was really tempted to apply to EWU -- it seems like an absolutely amazing program.
@Shaving -- Hanging in there. It's not over 'til it's over. I really admire the courage it takes to post here, but there are also so many stories I've seen this year alone of people who've been rejected outright one year and then accepted to multiple fantastic schools a year or two later. I've got my fingers crossed for you.
@Old Poet (this is really Courtney Elizabeth--there's something messed up with my login name)....Purdue emailed about a week ago saying that I was rejected. Good luck...perhaps you're on a waitlist? I would call the department.
Hey, HEy, HEY!! What's wrong with having poets (such as moi) as TAs?
We'll sit in circles in the classroom, pass bottles of whiskey around, and have in-class writings written in ABAB CDCD EFEF rhyme schemes! I don't know what could possibly more fun than that.
Nothing makes class more fun than a little rhyme and a whole lotta booze.
AHH! Crazy as it seems, my last two schools have been my only positive news throughout this MFA madness.
However, my Columbia College Chicago acceptance has been quite an impersonal process centered around money and contact solely from the graduate admissions office. They sent me a letter from the director of graduate admissions with deposit info along with a financial info email from "the graduate admissions team" telling me that I need 36k to attend the program. Not happening.
@Cecil Peoples, Why wouldn't you get funding if you're an int'l? I've heard this before...on the Speakeasy forum, during pre-application season, people were tellng me again and again that I had no hope of funding as an international applicant. But all three places I got accepted to offered me funding. I'm sure it's the same for other international applicants as well. :-)
no i questioned the lack of funding for international students because it sounds unfair to me. i don't know why living abroad would have anything to do with funding, but apparently it does.
Koru - I looked up Hendricks. My jaw dropped when I read about their distillation process. Sweet Jesus - it sounds so ripe and fragrant (those are smells, I know) . . . and given the degrees of distillation, I can imagine how smooth it is too. It doesn't sound like Hendricks is produced on as large a scale as other brands (sounds unfeasible), so I'm sure I wouldn't find it here in Jamaica. Coming to NY soon, tho :D. Which brings me to: If anyone has an interesting brand of gin and/or whisky you think I should try, please let me know. After years, I've settled on Plymouth (gin) and Woodford Reserve (bourbon) and haven't moved on since. I'm ready for change! Grrr!
I was also accepted into Columbia College's MFA program. The email indicated that the 36k should be loaned out via a fafsa request...meaning that it'll have to be paid out, but not for a while. Still wondering about housing cost n' whatnot. Do you think the 36k includes housing costs? I spoke with the assistant director today and she was very warm and accomodating. I'm going up there in a few weeks to check out the program. Hope you have better luck with NYU!
@cecil, haha. No worries. I guess some schools might discriminate, but none of the ones I wrote to prior to drawing up my list did. Because of the posts on the Speakeasy, I wrote to several schools asking about funding specifically. I wasn't about to shell out an application fee if I had no hopes of funding. They all wrote back saying it makes no difference where you're from, if you get in. The level of enthusiasm varied from program to program (one, which i ended up not applying to, effectively wrote, WOw! Bangladesh! You write! And in English! Apply, we give money!)(No, that wasn't a verbatim report :P), but they all confirmed that my international status would not effect funding opps.
mmmm .... gin and whisky, two of my favourite topics!
Hendricks is by far my favourite gin, though i sometimes desecrate it by adding lime to the tonic water. and hendricks will say no to that, serve it with cucumber instead ... but with the lime it's as nice.
it *is* a bit dear ... but i can get tipsy on one glass of wine, so a bottle lasts me a while.
on whiskys ... single malts all the way! Laphroaig is my fave, by far, and i have the 10 and 15 year bottles at home near me.
another fun one is maker's mark, for making mint juleps. whenever Nick McRae and I meet up, I'm supposed to teach him my secret mint julep recipe. :-)
Only applied to three programs b/c I decided late in the game to go for it (early Jan) and missed most deadlines. Sad timing. I just didn't want to wait till Fall 2011 to begin as I feel definitely stuck in no-writers land in Phoenix.
USF: accepted Queens College (CUNY): accepted (funding not avail) Warren Wilson: rejected (letter today in the mail)
My professors who are now friends strongly advise me to not go into debt and try again in the fall for well-funded programs.
Are many of you choosing to go into debt or are you waiting for next time around?
@Sarah, I think a lot of it has to do with your own particular circumstances. It's ultimately an answer you have to be comfortable with, one way or t'other ...
@MFA guy, uhm, yessss ... Bombay sapphire is nice! :D
Congrats on the acceptance and sorry about WW. I applied there as well. What genre are you? I have not heard anything from any of my schools. Sadly, I am getting over it, if that makes sense.
I realize that among the various kinds of information I need to explore prior to leaving bangladesh, I should also find out as much as possible on the current topic of discussion. Now gin I don't do. But whisky. Ahem. I should famliarize myself with good cheap brands, since the brands I'm familiar with will no longer be available.
Errr.. how do you tell your professors that you didn't get in anywhere and you're sorry for wasting their time?
The one possible scenario that's running through my head is me shoving a box of chocolates at them and mumbling "SorryIdidn'tgetinanywhere" and running away. Ahhhhhgh, awkward!
Maybe just mention that it was a tough year, you'll know what to expect next time, and then ask if you can contact them again for references next year (if you are intested in applying again.)
I highly doubt there is going to be any professor that is going to think "God, well that was an afternoon wasted." More like, "Shit, those schools missed out on something great."
I am heartbroken - I got into Spalding University and I wrote to Antioch inquiring about my application. Their counselor wrote back saying that since they couldn't reach me and they needed some passport copies and transcript verifications they have decided to push my application for Dec2010. And she wrote back saying we emailed you several times to which I replied I didn't get any emails - she wrote the email address they have been emailing me at - it is a wrong ID. I have emailed her a copy of my application which has my correct email ID. I explained to her that I am international applicant this process for me is much more expensive and longer and if they don't consider my application now I will be left with no choice....that's my sob story on my Birthday:(((
I was waitlisted at Hollins, found out today via email. I already emailed them back to get more information, but I wish I had checked this blog first so I could use the suggested questions.
I'm getting pretty close to done with notifications, save for new word on my two waitlists. Gulp. Decision time makes me nervous.
Is it sad that I think of MFA programs now when I watch March madness??
Poetry. It's funny how I didn't realize how badly I wanted to go to WW until I got acceptances (albeit with no funding) from the others. I think I'll wait to next fall and do better research.
Oh Nefretitti, that's awful! Not to mention unprofessional.If your application had the correct email address and they sent the messaes to a wrong address, then the onus is with them. I hope they realize this and do something about it.good energy to you!
I haven't heard anything from Warren Wilson or Bennington and have been checking my mailbox religiously for rejection letters. VCFA, well, they sent my rejection letter March 25th. It was unkind. All fiction, by the way.
As someone who's wandered the globe, never underestimate how much people like to sample local alcohols. Not just the big names of Europe and the US.
So feel free to keep your loyalty to those you know best from home ... actually, one of my favourite spirits is the pineapple moonshine a friend's dad makes in his stills, pretty darn close to Hollins, now that i think about it ...
as for cheap brands, i'm probably not the one to ask. not that i have money. i buy good stuff, but sparingly. :-)
Whiskey (Scotch): The Macallan 18, Balvenie Doublewood, Glenlivet 15 yr
And I need some. I just got my 7th rejection in a row. Plus, I got nearly unanimously rejected last year (apparently near the wait list on Purdue, and accepted to NMSU's MA program with no funding). So, yeah, I'm having a whiskey kind of day. I'm still waiting to hear from 6 schools, so I'm trying to hold onto hope. Reading this blog sometimes helps because y'all are so nice and encouraging; but sometimes it doesn't help because I keep hearing about all the good news out there that I'm not yet a part of.
Best to you all. Hope next time I check in, I'll have some good news to report.
okay, I know you've already had this cleared up for you, but as the other Emma in question I thought I would re-clear ;)
I was accepted at Montana initially, and told that I was "the first alternate" for a TA position, which means that if any of the TA people declined, the position went to me. I was later called and notified that I would be getting funding.
@Emma -- congratulations on another acceptance! Selfishly I hope you choose Montana, as I will probably end up there (unless I get off Oregon's waitlist) and want you in my workshops.
@everyone else -- CONGRATULATIONS to all of you who've heard good news.
LOL @Dolores Humbert, for the dancing and saying so, and @Cratty, for the tipsy song :) I'm really glad you guys have done so well, and I wish you lots of luck on those decisions!
I LUV THIS BLOG! Thank you dannigirl. I'm familiar with the bourbons and the Scotch, but the Irish Whiskys I've taken note of and are on my list *If thank you were an emoticon it would be here*
MFAGuy - Yeup, Bombay Saph is lovalee. So are certain types of Tanqueray, ooh, and Citadelle (although, after a while, the subtlety of flavour borders on insipidity . . . leave it to the French). But I'm thinking brands that are really out there - unearthed in some remote distillery in Jakarta. Nadiya, what brands of whisky do you recommend that's from Bangladesh? They're some local brands here in this former Commonwealth, but they're not very good. What we do have, tho, is rum - very good rum, perhaps my favourite in the world. Most unfortunately, I've grown rather numb to the spirit.
Aww shucks, Zoulou, I'm just a small town girl livin' in a lonely world :)
I've been reading the blogs without commenting. Congratulations to everyone who got accepted. But it's a bit depressing. I only applied to Hunter and Brooklyn and it looks like it's a done deal. Better get back to writing...
Shaving, Thanks for sharing and I REALLY hope you get some good news... Most of your schools are pretty damn selective and I think it comes down to a statistical it's-bound-to-happen-to-somebody-who-doesn't-deserve-it sort of thing. It sucks and I hope you still have good news on its way.
Re: UNLV Thanks for the info, but seriously.. two to THREE weeks? Three weeks from today is April 9th. 6 days before we have to make final decisions! I know they had a late date but that just seems REALLY late. I'm sure it's because they're so blown away with my sample that they haven't been able to work for weeks. :)
Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear that! I am not sure I can brave this process again. Kudos to you if you tackle it again. The second-round stories on the blog have been inspirational.
@ Sud
You seem like such a neat lady. It would be great to land in the same place even if we are different genres. Thanks for being so open...
@ Ratliff
I am also feverishly checking the mail - tackling the mailman, refreshing the blog, listening for a dial tone, checking my email(even though my schools notify via snail mail or telephone). I hear that April 15th is the magic date but can't help but query how all of the notifications will occur between now and then - it seems a bit unrealistic.
@ all accepted/waitlisted
Congrats!! You are one talented bunch.
@ all liquor lovers
I am with you. Ketel One on the rocks with a twist please...Stat.
Ugh. Was convinced there would be an LSU rejection letter in my mailbox when I got home. Completely empty. Sigh, SIGH. Can we please get on with the misery-out-putting?
I know what you mean. I thought for SURE I'd have an Arizona rejection waiting for me today, but alas. My literature friend has her heart set on UoA, and if we both got in, we were going to move there and get an apartment and braid each other's hair and shit. She hasn't heard from them yet, and still thinks I might get in. No matter how many times I explain that it's OVER, the ship has sailed and is in Tahiti, she just refuses to stop believin'. That's the University of My Friend's Delusional Optimism for you.
So I am ecstatic and also completely crazed--I actually got into Sarah Lawrence today, which to me is a huge huge deal. I have been salivating over this place for over a year now. The problem is of course, funding...
@ Laura T- Are you thinking of biting the bullet and going to SLC anyway? Did you get funding from Emerson?
@ both Laura T & Ian- Are you guys going to that accepted students day in April? I think I might...It would be so cool to meet!
@ JimfifieOH- I also was gladly surprised to hear that I got into EWU. I really like the faculty and the outdoors/closeness to nature is pretty cool. But alas, such a different feel than SLC. Congrats on getting in, and your enthusiasm for the program encourages me. :)
Best wishes to everyone else. About two weeks ago I posted something along the lines of, 'I'm not getting in anywhere, I suck.' I was wrong. Don't give up!!
I applied to UCR for full-res poetry, and received an email from them last month stating that my application had been "recommended for admission." I received another email last week from them stating that they need a transcript from me before they can proceed with my application.
Ashley Brooke, I also applied to UNLV, and the prospect of waiting 2–3 more weeks to hear is just insane. I guess at least by that point everyone they try to accept will be committed to another program and they'll eventually get down the list to me!
Congratulations! I'm excited you got into a dream school. As for the April student meet -- I don't know. I did not have aspirations of SLC. Honestly I picked it as a "higher odds" admit. I was playing all the strategies; the South, Bottom 100, Big Programs, Unfunded, etc. Now is the best time for me to attend grad school, and I've been saving and waiting for 3 years.
I will most likely be declining my spot at Sarah Lawrence, flattered as I am to have been accepted. I just don't feel the program is a good fit, especially for the price. It seems like an amazing opportunity and fantastic program. I hope you're able to rustle up some funding :)
That 36K factors in not only housing (12K per academic year? I think not!) but the apparently mandatory meal plan you'd get if you stayed in their "dorms." So subtract about 14K and that's the true guesstimate cost. It also depends on the student and what s/he chooses to spend as well.
Received e-mail rejection from Purdue. On year three of applications and so far:
Year 1: Columbia, NY (Accepted) Year 2: Montana (Accepted), Alaska-Fairbanks (Accepted), Notre Dame (Waitlisted) Year 3: *tumbleweeds* Five more schools to go.
Hopefully the third time really will be the trick.
Hey, I'm in at EWU for fiction. Even though they're not a prestigious program, I have to admit that they were actually among my top choices of the 16 programs I applied to. The guy who called me gave a really convincing pitch about how important "fit" was to them with regards to the people they chose, and they have some really interesting things going on with their writers in the community program. Almost every full-residency MFA seems to require TAships of some sort, and while EWU has these, their program is unique in that their teaching positions aren't necessarily to college students, but sometimes to K-12 students, post-grads, community workshops, and even prisons. They've got a lot going on. I would really suggest giving them a call and speaking to someone about it.
I'm heading up to Spokane next week to check it out, so if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail and I'd be more than happy to share my take on the city and to send pictures and stuff. --> hansenma at onid dot orst dot edu
I got my financial aid offer from them a few days after they called about the acceptance. It's different for everyone, but they got me a tuition waiver to cover the out-of-state cost (so I basically would just pay instate). Their TAship stuff is VERY competitive.
If it makes you feel better, as attracted as I am to Eastern, my first choice was (and still is = OMG) Minnesota, so I'll likely be turning down my spot at EWU, which means a funding opportunity will be opening up for someone.
How is it that SUNY Albany has my GRE scores and I don't?
This means everything is complete and should be in review now. (This is for the creative dissertation PhD.) Please, keep your fingers crossed, as I really would like to start this fall.
Congratulations to all the acceptances. My goodness, some of you have such wonderful choices to make!
Thanks for the thoughts. First off though, Columbia College is only a two year program and the email was very clear to state that the *first* year costs were 36,000. They said that I should be granted that in loans via a fafsa. Do you think those loans are a guarentee? I doubt it. :/ I really want to go, though. Students live in downtown Chicago right in the thick of it. What an amazing experience that might be..... In other news: ACCEPTED: Columbia College Rejected: OSU, IU, Purdue Waitlisted: Notre Dame Pending: University of Illinois, Vanderbilt.
Thanks for the bit o' clarification re: Columbia College. That quoted number scared the bejezus out of me upon opening the e-mail. But I'm still not counting Columbia out entirely.. Chicago is too fantastic of a city!
@Courtney
Do you know if loans/costs are less your second year @ CC? It's one of my favorites esp for its city living and publishing scene. So depressing it costs mucho moolah. Do you have other schools you're waiting to hear back on?
Agreed...Columbia College loooks amazing. I think that costs can change depending on the student and the year. Their website says that they offer Follett Fellowships and Getz Awards and some GSIs. However, those aren't guarenteed. I rung up finanaical aid yesterday and they informed me that I have not recieved any sort of awards...yet. We'll see. I know that students can work as editors though 'round town and for the University's primary literary publication. That could bring some additional income in. I will be visiting there in a few weeks though. VERY EXCITED!
Sounds like I should try calling their offices then. At the very least to hear more options. David Trinidad told me on the phone they didn't have anything to offer me @ present but maybe if I sound desperate financial aid will give me a gazillion dollars ;)
GL on your visit! I can't arrange for the time off yet so you'll have to let me know how it goes!!
@LHH - You seem to be our direct line to Pinsky. Any word on whether they are done notifying poets yet? I want to know if I dare hold out hope! I wish all you BU hopefuls well.
@the duchess, congrats on the NYU waitlist - I'm sorry about the financial situation at Columbia College... I hope they'll realize the error of their ways and throw bags of money at you!
@Nefertitti, how awful! And, as someone else said, how unprofessional of Antioch. I am sending internet hugs.
@Cratty, can we please go out drinkin' sometime?
@Summer, amen, sister. Robert Pinsky, my phone is waiting. Call me?
Congratulations on Sarah Lawrence! Which genre are you? Are you definitely going to go?
As for my SLC decision, I really don't know. I am still waiting on funding from Emerson -- they said money decisions should be made soon -- and that might make my decision for me.
I'm not sure if I am going on April 7 -- I would like to but I would have to skip my classes that day. And also by then, I will probably have made a decision. If I decide on SLC, then I'll go, but at this point I really don't know what my decision will be.
I'm finding the decision process to be completely agonizing!
I'm in at SLC for CNF, what genre are you? I plan on going to the April open house. I think it will give me a good sense for fit, and I'm extremely excited about the program!
So for months I've been looking forward to seeing Salman Rushdie speak in April, the culmination of the city of Buffalo's Babel series, and I just realized that he's coming the day after I get my tonsils out. I am extremely displeased that I'll probably miss him.
@hobbledehoy I'm on the fiction waitlist at Alabama! One of my dream schools. But--i anticipate taking myself off the waitlist next week, because i think i'm going to accept an offer from Michigan. I will also, LSU waitlisters, free up a fiction spot there.
@phillywriter I found out via email, about 10 days after i thought they were finished notifying. There are still schools i haven't heard a peep from, though they seem to be finished (Syracuse, Vanderbilt), and i like the theory (Julian's?) about an unofficial, deeper waitlist. It's the only thing that makes sense to me.
So if you haven't heard from Alabama yet, that's my guess? but it's totally _just_ a guess. I would love to hear other theories.
That's awful! I just had my tonsils out in January and it was not a fun experience. Maybe if you take your painkillers right before the reading, you'll be able to make it through!
The international student funding comes down to this: they are still eligible for AWARDS, but not FINANCIAL AID.
Specific schools might have specific rules about TAships that would disqualify int'l students, but the vast majority of programs that fund through TAships and fellowships would also fund int'l students.
I think the schools who have said "no funding" really mean "no financial aid" because there are citizenship requirements for federal and state grants and loans.
Again, that might vary school to school based on their own rules for TAships, but there isn't a blanket "no funding awards for int'l students" rule or anything.
I've just accepted an offer from Iowa State. So excited!
I've also declined spots at Hollins, New Hampshire, West Virginia (w/ TA), and Wilmington. All for poetry. I hope this will result in good news for people on the wait list!
Thanks for keeping me relatively sane throughout this process, and best of luck to everyone.
Another poster contacted Syracuse and was told that some applicants were being kept in a holding file. Seems like it is a "not accepted, not waitlisted, but if everyone else declines we'll call you" list. I am not waiting by the phone.
Congrats on Michigan and other acceptances. Ann Arbor is a great college town.
@ threes: Iowa State just felt like the best fit overall, and they offered a great funding package. Current students seem very happy, and I like the program's environmental focus and fieldwork/travel opportunities. I was initially nervous about moving to the midwest (I'm currently in Vermont), but Ames looks like a sweet college town with very cheap apartments. And a skatepark for my husband. ;)
Ok we're really winding down here! CONGRATULATIONS AND HIGH FIVES to everyone who got some good news this week. It has been such a joy to live through this nerve-wracking, heartbreaking, high-fiving time with all of you. Cratty, koru--I'm, going to need some of that gin! In at ASU via phone call last night! Hahah--awkward happy dance is right, Dolores!! Hurray!
You said you were in with funding at SF State. I didn't know they had any particular funding. What is it? Did you apply for that separately or was it something they offered to you specifically when they accepted you based on your general application for the program? Is this for the MFA? When did you get your acceptance and by what means? What genre?
I applied for their MA for Fiction and have not heard anything yet.
@Hobbledeyhoy or whatever your 4 syllable h word is...
I am also waiting anxiously on the Alabama fiction waitlist. And seeing as it's my only good news, I'm hoping hard.
Especially because today I opened my mailbox to find my LSU rejection (knowing it was coming did not make this one easier, unlike some others) and my email to a GMU rejection. Not a happy Friday.
And don't I wish that Vandy was doing the Syracuse thing and holding my app... but more likely they're just swamped and haven't sent out all their rejections yet.
I'll revise that to say: Bama being my only good news is not the only reason I'm hoping to hear a yes from Bama, of course. It's an amazing program and has been in my top schools from the beginning.
I don't want to seem like I'm complaining about the waitlist-- I know I'm lucky to have caught Alabama's eye; I'm extremely happy about it. I just know this little tryst of ours could end in my heartbreak, come May.
I also doubt that every graduate student would get all that money for loans. And the specification of the costs being specifically for the first year makes a difference, I guess. But I'm in fiction and that particular MFA program is three years, and I'm not taking out loans at all, so I'm really crunching the numbers to see how it works with the money I have left from undergrad (no loans then either).
And I'm visiting, too! At the end of March, though.
@ Chelsea
No problem. I'm planning on playing the "woe is me" card to the extreme while I'm up there because I'm determined to earn some sort of TA/GAship or work-study.
Even with the money issue I'm soooo excited about CCC. If I decide to go (at this point I'm 93% sure I'm going, though I'll be broke by the end of it) I'm definitely going to make the most of those three years.
If you ladies go, maybe we'll see each other despite being in different departments. :)
@summer and hilary Pinsky returned from a trip to England a few days ago. They have only notified three or four poets, and they will at least take three or four more. Last year they took seven. He said they are going for seven to eleven students this year. I will also tell you the second poet teaching first semester this year is David Ferry. FINGERS CROSSED. My guess is the poets will hear over the next ten days.
Thanks for the Columbia College Chicago insights. I definitely found the email odd for not breaking down what exactly the 36k consists off. The website is also very vague in terms of costs.
I did re-read the email and realized that the letter I got was not the one indicating my financial award info. Guess I will have to call and see what is up too.
And NYU won't tell me the size of the waitlist or where I am. AGH.
Also, thanks Hilary for the sweet comments. I am so grateful for any sort of affirmation in this brutal MFA season. I wish you well! Along with everyone else still in limbo.
I'm in the same boat, only with Indiana instead of Alabama. My only good news has been a waitlist at Indiana - and it's driving me crazy to be so close to an acceptance and yet so far....
Of course, I still have a few more schools to hear from, but my hope is fading.
Here's hoping we both get accepted from those waitlists!
I'm not sure about NYU, but I do know there were already some waitlist emails reported.
All,
I've just returned from a spring break full of beach and ignorant bliss. Checked my mail expecting a couple rejections-- nothing. SO do we know if Oregon, Irvine and U of WA are still notifying poets? Or is my rejection letter just late?
Miiiiight have to make some calls to the pacific northwest today.
Call financial aid and they should be able to inform you of any rewards you've received. The cost to go to a school for a year (per credit hour wise) is around 22K, leaving 14k anticipated for housing, food, books, etc. Make sure to file your fafsa to be eligible for loans.
Urbana said they that they mailed out their letters yesterday...maybe some of you will hear happy news today! :-)
@Jasmine - Salman Rushdie is one of my favorites, too! Too bad about the tonsils. When I was reading "Midnight's Children," the entire first hundred pages was about the narrator telling a story about how his parents met. It reminded me of the TV show "How I Met Your Mother" and also the movie "Definitely, Maybe" in that the story was about everything EXCEPT for how one parent met another. LOL! Initially, I thought Rushdie invented that device, until I ran across Alice Munro's 1970s short story "How I Met My Husband," which was, again, everything BUT how the narrator met her husband. LOL!
I'm sure someone else before Munro invented this device. I would say the Arabian Nights or some folk tale from China, but I'm not that familiar. I would be shocked if Munro invented this device.
@Wee Meathead - Congrats on Michigan! I'm a Michigan alum and know Ann Arbor very well. (I didn't apply to Michigan's MFA program because Angell Hall sucks and I had new worlds to conquer). Anyway, if you have any questions re. Ann Arbor or the University campus, I'll be glad to help. The only thing is: it's been awhile since I was there so things may have changed. I think there was a Woolworth's on State Street when I was a freshman. LOL! Also, no one will tell you this because the very competitive Michigan atmosphere prevents it, but you should never step on the "M" at the Diag, otherwise, you'll fail your classes that semester. Also, try to get a personal carrel in the grad library - lock and key.
i'm a more recent michigan alum, and when i was a freshman people went out of their way to tell you not to step on the m. kids are more touchy-feely than they were back in your day, i guess.
There's also a pair of lion statues by the bridge to CCRB. I forgot the name of the building or the street. Anyway, if you walk between the pair and if they growl, that means you're a virgin. So, if you're a virgin and don't want people to know this fact, you best not walk between these two lion statues.
Oh FUCK! Congratulations. I just know the more i stare at my phone now the less it is going to ring. i've just got that feeling, if i don't find out by accident or surprise i prob won't get the good news. there goes surprise.
Can you update us when you get official word about fin aid, etc.? The last i heard on this, the most columbia gave out was $10k/yr. A bigger portion of the endowment was given to School of the Arts a year or two ago, I heard, but it was not clear how that would be dished out (especially when their film school seems to lack the slicker high-tech stuff of their competitors. Where I also applied, and haven't heard from. Fuck.) The SotA seems to operate in a separate world from the rest of Columbia.
Fuck me, i'd still do it. It's an amazing school. I met a poet there while I was visiting who told me he got into every school he applied to and still chose columbia, even though he knows he'll be paying off debts for 30 years. like buying a house, haha.
And congrats to all the other Columbia admits who will hopefully hear back today. And, yeah, just generally everyone.
@Mike - I was j/k about Woolworth's. heheh. In my day, we went out of our way to "accidentally" bump someone over so that they'd step on the "M." Not me, of course. Also, I lived in the grad library all four years and played racquetball at CCRB and that other rec center (forgot the name) way south on South State Street.
@Matilda It was a no. 10 envelope with a single sheet in it: very nice pat-on-the-head kind of letter that said: We like you, just not as much as some other people. Keep looking out!
So I'm continuing to watch the mail and playing a lot on the drum kit in the meantime...
I didn't think anything would get me to post on here, but then I called Miami (today, 3/19) and was told that their notifications should be going out "Monday, by US Postal Service," which means that this season is about done for me. I know what a pain in the ass the silence has been for me, so I wanted to let those waiting on Miami to know what I heard. My list, for posterity:
Officially Rejected: Brown UT-Michener Ohio State Texas State UNCW Wisconsin Wyoming
Presumed rejections: Florida Houston LSU Oregon
No word: Miami (again, told me they're sending out notifications by snail mail 3/22/10)
I trust you'll forgive me when I say that my congratulations to everyone who got in are sincere, but not entirely heartfelt. I don't intend to reapply next year. The process was too drawn out, too costly, etc. Bitter? Probably. Disappointed? Yes. Ready to do something else? Absofuckinglutely. Sorry for the long post. Carry on.
@J - I agree that this process is too drawn out. Good luck, man! The MFA is not the be-all end-all. Some people forget that the MFA is just the beginning and not the end. In many many cases, one doesn't even need the MFA.
@Micaela- I'm expecting to get that rejection letter from WW any day now, but still kinda hoping foolishly for the call instead. You have my sympathies, friend.
In any case, I know today I am rejection free- no MFA-related mail for me at all today, which I find as cause to celebrate!
i got a phone call last night from sfsu letting me know i was accepted for poetry. someone on driftless house says mills called for book arts and poetry-- anyone else hear anything from mills?
Just got a call from a Withheld number...thought it might be Columbia for Coreyann or Michaela, or (less likely) one of the schools I'm waiting on. Alas, it was only my sister.
hey any UA applicants who are still waiting to hear: UA mailed my rejection (in CNF) to my permanent address, not my mailing address. (even though i said i would be at my mailing address through june.) if anyone is still waiting on word, it could be because they sent mail to another address...and if you have parents like mine, maybe they don't realize the immediate momentous weight and need of letting you know ASAP and it's sitting in some pile of mail in the foyer of your childhood home.
also, before i thought to check with my parents, i emailed marlene cooksey, the program coordinator, and asked if she could email me news of their decision bc i would be out of town and not receiving my mail (not true, but i had to! i just couldn't wait anymore!) and she emailed me a copy of the rejection letter.
maybe that will help someone else take the edge off the waiting, or solve the mystery of missing mail. hope today yields more good news for all!!
I can relate! My husband travels a ton and is often in various parts of the country so when a random number comes in, my best and most chipper voice answers: "Good morning!" I love speaking with him - of course - but he hears the slight disappointment in my voice. Poor guy! Phone lines are open - just in case you were wondering Bennington, UCR, etc.!
@ Woon, you don't watch Lost, do you? Because a lot of what you say makes me think of it. The long con... The Chosen (referenced in an episode a few weeks ago)...
I'm an undergrad at Columbia and I heard that the notifications (at least for poetry) were going out this (upcoming) week, starting Monday, so if they've started now I presume they'll keep notifying throughout this week. It's a big program and I doubt they'll call everyone in one day. Good luck!
Just received an email from Notre Dame telling me to log in for the decision (which I know is a rejection). But I can't seem to find where this information is displayed!
Woon and Mike, I'm visiting next weekend (and may try to sign a lease). If you have any advice for me on neighborhoods, car/no car, etc, I'm all ears. rebecca dot mydarling at gmail.
2,525 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 801 – 1000 of 2525 Newer› Newest»@To those still waiting on something, anything: I hate to say it, as I know how annoying it can be deppending on what kind of day you've had, but don't give up. My notice from EWU comes well over a month after the first on here. And--if you have the stomach for it--a nice brief e-mail to the program(s) may do the trick.
I can hardly believe it, as I was starting to think an ever-so slight chance at the waitlist was my only chance for EWU. One of my top 3 choices…1/2 day ride to Glacier NP, few more hours to Yellowstone…and here I am,speechless.
There were about four programs that I just decided to email today, albeit way late in the day, for whatever reason. After I had just emailed EWU, after 530 and through a contact form no less, there it was barely a half hour later in my inbox.
Ok, sorry everyone, just sort of don't know what to do with myself. I’m not even going to think of yapping about having to make a harder decision now, between two programs at least. It’s a great problem to have. So very fortunate.
@Shaving—you’re a class act, and I agree with others here, it’s far from over for you, and—as others have said here—the world doesn’t stop just because some program didn’t accept you, or likewise, accepted you. All my best. I mean that.
Good luck everyone...hope the good fortune keeps on spreading.
@JimfifeOH - EWU is Eastern Washington, right? Congratulations!! There is a lot that is awesome about that school. Are you gonna go?
@Jillian Lauren - congratulations on Baltimore! :)
@Dolores Humbert - aw, yes, ASU! That's fantastic! I can understand the stroking that's going down right now... haha, although maybe you'd better lie down? Nah. I hope you're dancing it out :)
Oh, and thank you @M.Swann! Ahaha... SO cute.
Now good luck all you future ASUers! I'm gonna keep refreshing now. Woo!
@Zoulou: Thanks a lot! Yeah, EWU is Eastern Washington. Ever since my initial reading of the faculty bios, I've had a good feeling about them, not necessarily one that equated to feeling I'd get in though. A personal touch, to put it generically. The program and the place just seems to have that "something" that fits me. How vague is that?
So yeah, definitely leaning towards them, though first year nonresident with no funding could hurt. I'd manage somehow. There are a couple schools left for me that might trump them, all depending of course. Love, love the location--wildernesses everywhere and a little city to boot...anyway, sorry for going on. Again. What about you?
Has anyone else been accepted to Baltimore? I'm super bouncy right now and just wanted to see if anyone else had received the email. :)
@Otkuda - I just recieved a similar email from Gabriel. You were also accepted to City College, correct? Did I hear on here recently that you contacted them and there is no definite date to which we have to confirm acceptance? We might possibly be costudents!
Wow, congrats to this afternoon's wealth of acceptances!
@JimfifeOH,
You sound like quite an outdoorsman, which'll be great in Spokane. How about river rafting, have you gotten in to that yet? Because if you go I bet you'll have plenty of opportunities... :)
I'm from north of Seattle and I gotta say I'm kicking myself for not applying to Eastern! All the people I know who've gone there have been really great people, and if you're into geology, that area of the state is SO cool. Anyway, congratulations, that is awesome news!
Right now my plan is to head to U Alaska, Fairbanks next fall. I am super excited but also super nervous. I'm still sort of waiting up on UNLV, U Miami (Florida) and U Hawaii (MA program) - haha, I don't think I'll get into any of them, and really my heart's always been set on UAF, but now that I might actually be headed for -60 Fahrenheit I'm getting a little freaked!
Well, good luck to you! :) You'll keep us posted, right, what you decide?
@ Ian,
Yes, I also applied to Stony Brook Southampton and was also accepted (poetry). I got an email a few days ago and my acceptance packet arrived today. It looks like an interesting program and I got a nice personal letter from one of the faculty members, which I appreciated. However, they said they were "unable to offer me financial support" for my first year. :/
@Zoulou
I also applied to the Hawaii MA program. Any idea when they notify for that?
And more importantly, do you know if anyone gets funding?
@Le Tigre - awesome, and good luck to you! I have no idea about notifications but I wish it was SOOON, you know?
As far as funding goes, I think it might be pretty grim. I'm not actually sure about English 0 maybe there are some hidden TAships? But I was thinking of applying for anthropology at UH too and I was reading the anthro department's page... under the funding tab, it basically said, "Hawaii is super expensive, we have barely any funding, apply only if you can suck it in and pay." Yikes. So I'm not too hopeful. But I don't know - English could be different! Maybe?
I will def. let you know if I hear something. I might get antsy and bug 'em, send an email... Anyway, good luck!
@ Stella IV,
Was the envelope thin or thick?
@ Stella IV
addendum: this is in regards to your waitlist @ SLC
Thanks! :)
@Laura T
I thought it was you! Congratulations on the acceptance! Did you get in anywhere else? I can't keep up with this blog @__@
I don't think I will be attending SBSH, just because my two Minnesota State acceptances (Moorhead and Mankato) are far more compelling. Right now I'm going crazy trying to figure out if Sarah Lawrence is worth the money. I'm thinking not but, man, it's Sarah Lawrence!
Ian,
Congratulations on your acceptances too!
I also got into Sarah Lawrence! And also going crazy trying to figure out if it's worth the money. Sooo tempting, even with the enormous loans.
My other acceptances are to Emerson, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers-Newark. I think my decision will come down to Sarah Lawrence vs. Emerson -- I really like both programs. Might come down to which will put me in the least debt.
Anyone hear from these low-res schools recently:
Pacific
Bennington
Warren Wilson
U Alaska Anchorage
UC Riverside
VCFA
UNO
I know some have already notified folks but are they going in waves? Am I to assume a rejection if others have heard in my genre and I have not? Has anyone been notified of being on a waitlist? The process seems to vary by school and so does the protocol.
Whoa, hold up - UCR is low-res?
Oh man, I just had a moment of mental head-thunking there... I mean, how clueless can I get? I applied to UCR and I definitely wasn't meaning to do any low-res programs.
But there's a low-res program AND a regular one at UCR, right? RIGHT? Seriously, I wouldn't put it past me to make this kind of mistake - but isn't there a low-res program at Palm Springs?
Haha, oh boy - and I don't know if this'll help since we're in different programs (oh man, at least I hope we are!) but I've heard nothing from UCR since they received my app. Good luck to you, on all of your schools!
Haha, sorry - in my panic I forgot to say
@Ali
Hope you get good news soon!
@Laura T
Oh, yes, I remember your Emerson vs. Sarah Lawrence debate. Good luck making a final decision! Both programs sound like awesome fits for you.
Zoulou-
There is a low res and high res program at UCR. There are even two different campuses.
Dolores, sweetheart, now you've gotten yourself in quite the pickle. What're gonna do now young lady? I'm not in a position to offer advice, but, during my Lent-inspired meditation sessions, I'll be blessing your person with thoughts of sanity and serenity.
@Dolores Humbert
Congrats! Do you have any idea which school you're going to choose? (I'm not-so-secretly hoping you'll turn down your spot at IU, since I'm on the waitlist at Indiana and haven't gotten accepted anywhere yet. No pressure. Really.)
Also, I mentioned it to klairkwilty earlier, for obvious reasons, but Nabokov is one of my favorite writers. I prefer Pale Fire over Lolita, however.
Congrats to all who've had good news - and best wishes to those of us still waiting.
Ali-I'm still waiting on Pacific, Bennington and WW...already go a rejection letter (much talked about her) from VCFA dated FEb. 25th. Good luck!
Congratulations to all of the NYU acceptancees and waitlisters. And let me not forget the EWUs, the ASUs, and the OSU. Wait? What? Is that a Baltimore? (*Yeah!*) And is that a Stony Brook Southampton? (*Hell Yeah!)
Holidaaay. Doop Doop Doop. Doop Doop Doop. Celabraaate. Doop Doop Doop. Doop Doop Doop. If we took a holidaay (ooh yeah cum on). Took some time to celuhbraate (Holuhdaay). It would beee - it would be so nice.
To partly explain my exuberance: I got free gin from a friend today :D (The good stuff too - Plymouth!!! :D :D :D)
Wow, lots of news today. Congrats to all who heard some news today!!!
@LHH, your post gave me the biggest, dopiest smile just now. Thank you so much :) I hope I get into BU and we can rock our MFAs together!
This is completely ridiculous, but is there anybody else who is sort of afraid to ask what position you are on the waitlist? Without knowing what my position is, I can imagine that I'm not somehow last on the list.
@alyssa if you're worried about it, you could always couch it in a series of questions to send via email (i.e. has the program typically gone to the wait list in previous years; if so, how many waitlisters are typically accepted; any potential for funding; and oh, by the by, what number on the waitlist do i happen to be?
*shrug* just a thought
@CourtneyElizabeth
How did you hear that you'd been rejected by Purdue??? I applied there but haven't heard anything one way or another...
@Shaving, I completely missed your post before, but if you're still reading, there are SO many assumed rejections on that list - you gotta have hope! I am sending good acceptance vibes your way tonight.
Thanks gancho and peaquah and everyone else!
Zoulou! I actually told the director that I was doing an awkward little happy-dance WHILE I was on the phone with him. I couldn't help myself! It just slipped out! *blushes*
Phillywriter and MFAguy, trust me when I say that I'm doing my best to come to a decision asap. My mentor and I are going to hit the tarot cards next week. Fo sho.
Cratty!
How is it that you've become one of my "pros" on the VT list!? Every time I see your name, I'm like, dang! We gotta hang out and swap stories! You and Khalilah! I donno. It's like an VT/IU thing! Good people making some tough decisions. Eek! But thanks for the blessings, dude. I am really losing my shiiiiizz over here! (I wasn't kidding about the tarot cards.) Expect another doozy of an email soon.
@woon
I'm sorry to hear that. Laughing at all these crushed hopes and dreams is kind of turning me on.
@B.L. Covey - What??? Confused.
@Woon
... Do you have a pony-tail by chance?
Okay, so I found out I'm high up on the waiting list at Ohio University today....and they just beat Georgetown!!! Does anyone else think thats a good sign for me?!!!!
@heath
unfortunately i did call the office and the lady there said they had no record of my application. sucks but what are you gonna do.
@weighswithwords
i received an e-mail confirmation for my payment. that's why i don't understand how they could not have received my application. don't you usually need to submit everything first in order to pay? maybe the hunter system was different.
i live in china (which accounts for these responses coming about 200 posts late...just woke up) and i've decided i'm going to blame the ccp.
@Austin - pony-tail?
All these cryptic posts...
@Woon
You seem the type. No offense. I'm just saying.
@Arna, Hi! I'm in a bit of a tizz trying to decide what I want to do. Maybe it would help me if I could get some insight into how you made your choice? I'd like to decide and be done with it...asap. Could I email you about this, please?
If yes, can you drop me a line at shabnam.nadiya(at)gmail dot com. if not, no worries. :-)
All the people with pony-tails that I know are hippies or otherwise hippie-like.
Good luck to you Dolores! I guess your decision will involve:
Faulty
Location
Funding
Teaching load/class types
Course reqs.
etc.
Man, you've got thinking to do!
@JimfifeOH -- Congrats! As a fellow CNFer, I've been rooting for you! My brother goes to school right now in Spokane (Gonzaga) and adores it; he's also something of an outdoorsman, and has loved climbing, hiking, skiing, fishing. I was really tempted to apply to EWU -- it seems like an absolutely amazing program.
@Shaving -- Hanging in there. It's not over 'til it's over. I really admire the courage it takes to post here, but there are also so many stories I've seen this year alone of people who've been rejected outright one year and then accepted to multiple fantastic schools a year or two later. I've got my fingers crossed for you.
Woon, are you saying you're NOT a hippie?!
*feigns sarcasm*
:)
@Old Poet (this is really Courtney Elizabeth--there's something messed up with my login name)....Purdue emailed about a week ago saying that I was rejected. Good luck...perhaps you're on a waitlist? I would call the department.
Re: Poets as TAs
Hey, HEy, HEY!! What's wrong with having poets (such as moi) as TAs?
We'll sit in circles in the classroom, pass bottles of whiskey around, and have in-class writings written in ABAB CDCD EFEF rhyme schemes! I don't know what could possibly more fun than that.
Nothing makes class more fun than a little rhyme and a whole lotta booze.
NYU Poetry waitlist
AHH! Crazy as it seems, my last two schools have been my only positive news throughout this MFA madness.
However, my Columbia College Chicago acceptance has been quite an impersonal process centered around money and contact solely from the graduate admissions office. They sent me a letter from the director of graduate admissions with deposit info along with a financial info email from "the graduate admissions team" telling me that I need 36k to attend the program. Not happening.
NYU, you are my only hope.
@Cecil Peoples, Why wouldn't you get funding if you're an int'l? I've heard this before...on the Speakeasy forum, during pre-application season, people were tellng me again and again that I had no hope of funding as an international applicant. But all three places I got accepted to offered me funding. I'm sure it's the same for other international applicants as well. :-)
no i questioned the lack of funding for international students because it sounds unfair to me. i don't know why living abroad would have anything to do with funding, but apparently it does.
Yayy for Dolores Humbert!!
And all those ASU and NYU acceptances and waits (and any other I'm forgetting) congrats to you too!
oops, i just realized you realized i was questioning the funding thing.
Koru - I looked up Hendricks. My jaw dropped when I read about their distillation process. Sweet Jesus - it sounds so ripe and fragrant (those are smells, I know) . . . and given the degrees of distillation, I can imagine how smooth it is too. It doesn't sound like Hendricks is produced on as large a scale as other brands (sounds unfeasible), so I'm sure I wouldn't find it here in Jamaica. Coming to NY soon, tho :D.
Which brings me to:
If anyone has an interesting brand of gin and/or whisky you think I should try, please let me know. After years, I've settled on Plymouth (gin) and Woodford Reserve (bourbon) and haven't moved on since. I'm ready for change! Grrr!
@the duchess
I was also accepted into Columbia College's MFA program. The email indicated that the 36k should be loaned out via a fafsa request...meaning that it'll have to be paid out, but not for a while. Still wondering about housing cost n' whatnot. Do you think the 36k includes housing costs? I spoke with the assistant director today and she was very warm and accomodating. I'm going up there in a few weeks to check out the program. Hope you have better luck with NYU!
@cecil, haha. No worries. I guess some schools might discriminate, but none of the ones I wrote to prior to drawing up my list did. Because of the posts on the Speakeasy, I wrote to several schools asking about funding specifically. I wasn't about to shell out an application fee if I had no hopes of funding. They all wrote back saying it makes no difference where you're from, if you get in. The level of enthusiasm varied from program to program (one, which i ended up not applying to, effectively wrote, WOw! Bangladesh! You write! And in English! Apply, we give money!)(No, that wasn't a verbatim report :P), but they all confirmed that my international status would not effect funding opps.
@Cratty,
mmmm .... gin and whisky, two of my favourite topics!
Hendricks is by far my favourite gin, though i sometimes desecrate it by adding lime to the tonic water. and hendricks will say no to that, serve it with cucumber instead ... but with the lime it's as nice.
it *is* a bit dear ... but i can get tipsy on one glass of wine, so a bottle lasts me a while.
on whiskys ... single malts all the way! Laphroaig is my fave, by far, and i have the 10 and 15 year bottles at home near me.
another fun one is maker's mark, for making mint juleps. whenever Nick McRae and I meet up, I'm supposed to teach him my secret mint julep recipe. :-)
Bombay Sapphire Gin is great!
Only applied to three programs b/c I decided late in the game to go for it (early Jan) and missed most deadlines. Sad timing. I just didn't want to wait till Fall 2011 to begin as I feel definitely stuck in no-writers land in Phoenix.
USF: accepted
Queens College (CUNY): accepted (funding not avail)
Warren Wilson: rejected (letter today in the mail)
My professors who are now friends strongly advise me to not go into debt and try again in the fall for well-funded programs.
Are many of you choosing to go into debt or are you waiting for next time around?
@Sarah, I think a lot of it has to do with your own particular circumstances. It's ultimately an answer you have to be comfortable with, one way or t'other ...
@MFA guy, uhm, yessss ... Bombay sapphire is nice! :D
@ Sarah Leon
Congrats on the acceptance and sorry about WW. I applied there as well. What genre are you? I have not heard anything from any of my schools. Sadly, I am getting over it, if that makes sense.
@Cratty, Koru
I realize that among the various kinds of information I need to explore prior to leaving bangladesh, I should also find out as much as possible on the current topic of discussion. Now gin I don't do. But whisky. Ahem. I should famliarize myself with good cheap brands, since the brands I'm familiar with will no longer be available.
Discuss.
Errr.. how do you tell your professors that you didn't get in anywhere and you're sorry for wasting their time?
The one possible scenario that's running through my head is me shoving a box of chocolates at them and mumbling "SorryIdidn'tgetinanywhere" and running away. Ahhhhhgh, awkward!
Mila,
Maybe just mention that it was a tough year, you'll know what to expect next time, and then ask if you can contact them again for references next year (if you are intested in applying again.)
I highly doubt there is going to be any professor that is going to think "God, well that was an afternoon wasted." More like, "Shit, those schools missed out on something great."
I am heartbroken -
I got into Spalding University and I wrote to Antioch inquiring about my application. Their counselor wrote back saying that since they couldn't reach me and they needed some passport copies and transcript verifications they have decided to push my application for Dec2010. And she wrote back saying we emailed you several times to which I replied I didn't get any emails - she wrote the email address they have been emailing me at - it is a wrong ID.
I have emailed her a copy of my application which has my correct email ID. I explained to her that I am international applicant this process for me is much more expensive and longer and if they don't consider my application now I will be left with no choice....that's my sob story on my Birthday:(((
I was waitlisted at Hollins, found out today via email. I already emailed them back to get more information, but I wish I had checked this blog first so I could use the suggested questions.
I'm getting pretty close to done with notifications, save for new word on my two waitlists. Gulp. Decision time makes me nervous.
Is it sad that I think of MFA programs now when I watch March madness??
@Ali
Poetry. It's funny how I didn't realize how badly I wanted to go to WW until I got acceptances (albeit with no funding) from the others. I think I'll wait to next fall and do better research.
Oh Nefretitti, that's awful! Not to mention unprofessional.If your application had the correct email address and they sent the messaes to a wrong address, then the onus is with them. I hope they realize this and do something about it.good energy to you!
@ Ali
I haven't heard anything from Warren Wilson or Bennington and have been checking my mailbox religiously for rejection letters. VCFA, well, they sent my rejection letter March 25th. It was unkind. All fiction, by the way.
@Nadiya,
As someone who's wandered the globe, never underestimate how much people like to sample local alcohols. Not just the big names of Europe and the US.
So feel free to keep your loyalty to those you know best from home ... actually, one of my favourite spirits is the pineapple moonshine a friend's dad makes in his stills, pretty darn close to Hollins, now that i think about it ...
as for cheap brands, i'm probably not the one to ask. not that i have money. i buy good stuff, but sparingly. :-)
@burlaper ... which genre are you?
@Trilbe thanks so much for your wishes, it means a lot:)))
@Sahaider I missed the accident part - I am glad you are fine.
@Congratulations to all those accepted into programs
On the topic of whiskey/bourbon...
Bourbon: Michter's 10 yr, JD Single Barrel
Whiskey (Irish): Tyrconnell, Midleton
Whiskey (Scotch): The Macallan 18, Balvenie Doublewood, Glenlivet 15 yr
And I need some. I just got my 7th rejection in a row. Plus, I got nearly unanimously rejected last year (apparently near the wait list on Purdue, and accepted to NMSU's MA program with no funding). So, yeah, I'm having a whiskey kind of day. I'm still waiting to hear from 6 schools, so I'm trying to hold onto hope. Reading this blog sometimes helps because y'all are so nice and encouraging; but sometimes it doesn't help because I keep hearing about all the good news out there that I'm not yet a part of.
Best to you all. Hope next time I check in, I'll have some good news to report.
Danielle
@ Pema --
okay, I know you've already had this cleared up for you, but as the other Emma in question I thought I would re-clear ;)
I was accepted at Montana initially, and told that I was "the first alternate" for a TA position, which means that if any of the TA people declined, the position went to me. I was later called and notified that I would be getting funding.
@Emma -- congratulations on another acceptance! Selfishly I hope you choose Montana, as I will probably end up there (unless I get off Oregon's waitlist) and want you in my workshops.
@everyone else -- CONGRATULATIONS to all of you who've heard good news.
@dannigirl,
you're the one i'm rooting for to hear good news next!
now go feel a little better from that wonderful list of whiskeys! you have good taste m'dear!
Apparently, I live in the future. March 15th letter date. I should go to bed. Goodnight, all.
LOL @Dolores Humbert, for the dancing and saying so, and @Cratty, for the tipsy song :) I'm really glad you guys have done so well, and I wish you lots of luck on those decisions!
I LUV THIS BLOG! Thank you dannigirl. I'm familiar with the bourbons and the Scotch, but the Irish Whiskys I've taken note of and are on my list *If thank you were an emoticon it would be here*
MFAGuy - Yeup, Bombay Saph is lovalee. So are certain types of Tanqueray, ooh, and Citadelle (although, after a while, the subtlety of flavour borders on insipidity . . . leave it to the French). But I'm thinking brands that are really out there - unearthed in some remote distillery in Jakarta.
Nadiya, what brands of whisky do you recommend that's from Bangladesh? They're some local brands here in this former Commonwealth, but they're not very good. What we do have, tho, is rum - very good rum, perhaps my favourite in the world. Most unfortunately, I've grown rather numb to the spirit.
Aww shucks, Zoulou, I'm just a small town girl livin' in a lonely world :)
DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'!
(The song's in my head now. I feel sheepish, but I had to sing it)
I've been reading the blogs without commenting. Congratulations to everyone who got accepted. But it's a bit depressing. I only applied to Hunter and Brooklyn and it looks like it's a done deal. Better get back to writing...
Shaving,
Thanks for sharing and I REALLY hope you get some good news... Most of your schools are pretty damn selective and I think it comes down to a statistical it's-bound-to-happen-to-somebody-who-doesn't-deserve-it sort of thing. It sucks and I hope you still have good news on its way.
Re: UNLV
Thanks for the info, but seriously.. two to THREE weeks? Three weeks from today is April 9th. 6 days before we have to make final decisions! I know they had a late date but that just seems REALLY late. I'm sure it's because they're so blown away with my sample that they haven't been able to work for weeks. :)
@ Sarah Leon
Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear that! I am not sure I can brave this process again. Kudos to you if you tackle it again. The second-round stories on the blog have been inspirational.
@ Sud
You seem like such a neat lady. It would be great to land in the same place even if we are different genres. Thanks for being so open...
@ Ratliff
I am also feverishly checking the mail - tackling the mailman, refreshing the blog, listening for a dial tone, checking my email(even though my schools notify via snail mail or telephone). I hear that April 15th is the magic date but can't help but query how all of the notifications will occur between now and then - it seems a bit unrealistic.
@ all accepted/waitlisted
Congrats!! You are one talented bunch.
@ all liquor lovers
I am with you. Ketel One on the rocks with a twist please...Stat.
I can never tell the gender of you posters. (probably because I'm not paying attention)
:(
@ Woon
I just came back to the blog after watching the latest Lady Gaga music video. Does that help on the gender question?
Not in the least.
And I've been watching "I'm Every Woman" - love me some Chaka. LOL does that help?
@Woon - But I KNOW, right!
@Ratliff - You drop these "hip" terminology from the modern generation. It's beyond me.
@ Woon haha Anything with "Girl" in the title indicates a female gender, typically, right?
Ugh. Was convinced there would be an LSU rejection letter in my mailbox when I got home. Completely empty. Sigh, SIGH. Can we please get on with the misery-out-putting?
@amanda,
I know what you mean. I thought for SURE I'd have an Arizona rejection waiting for me today, but alas. My literature friend has her heart set on UoA, and if we both got in, we were going to move there and get an apartment and braid each other's hair and shit. She hasn't heard from them yet, and still thinks I might get in. No matter how many times I explain that it's OVER, the ship has sailed and is in Tahiti, she just refuses to stop believin'. That's the University of My Friend's Delusional Optimism for you.
So I am ecstatic and also completely crazed--I actually got into Sarah Lawrence today, which to me is a huge huge deal. I have been salivating over this place for over a year now. The problem is of course, funding...
@ Laura T- Are you thinking of biting the bullet and going to SLC anyway? Did you get funding from Emerson?
@ both Laura T & Ian- Are you guys going to that accepted students day in April? I think I might...It would be so cool to meet!
@ JimfifieOH- I also was gladly surprised to hear that I got into EWU. I really like the faculty and the outdoors/closeness to nature is pretty cool. But alas, such a different feel than SLC. Congrats on getting in, and your enthusiasm for the program encourages me. :)
Best wishes to everyone else. About two weeks ago I posted something along the lines of, 'I'm not getting in anywhere, I suck.' I was wrong. Don't give up!!
@ emma thanks ;-)
@ dannigirl cheers-- i'm nursing a macallan 10 and hope luck finds you soon
@Zoulou
I applied to UCR for full-res poetry, and received an email from them last month stating that my application had been "recommended for admission." I received another email last week from them stating that they need a transcript from me before they can proceed with my application.
Ashley Brooke, I also applied to UNLV, and the prospect of waiting 2–3 more weeks to hear is just insane. I guess at least by that point everyone they try to accept will be committed to another program and they'll eventually get down the list to me!
@Rachel
Congratulations! I'm excited you got into a dream school. As for the April student meet -- I don't know. I did not have aspirations of SLC. Honestly I picked it as a "higher odds" admit. I was playing all the strategies; the South, Bottom 100, Big Programs, Unfunded, etc. Now is the best time for me to attend grad school, and I've been saving and waiting for 3 years.
I will most likely be declining my spot at Sarah Lawrence, flattered as I am to have been accepted. I just don't feel the program is a good fit, especially for the price. It seems like an amazing opportunity and fantastic program. I hope you're able to rustle up some funding :)
Oh, and congratulations to everyone who got good news!
Is anyone else on a waiting list for fiction at Alabama?
@ Courtney & the duchess
re: Columbia College
That 36K factors in not only housing (12K per academic year? I think not!) but the apparently mandatory meal plan you'd get if you stayed in their "dorms." So subtract about 14K and that's the true guesstimate cost. It also depends on the student and what s/he chooses to spend as well.
Can you tell I've been crunching the numbers?
Hobbledehoy: are we related? :)
Hullabaloo: Based on our liking for four syllabled H words, I guess we are! :]
Received e-mail rejection from Purdue. On year three of applications and so far:
Year 1: Columbia, NY (Accepted)
Year 2: Montana (Accepted), Alaska-Fairbanks (Accepted), Notre Dame (Waitlisted)
Year 3: *tumbleweeds* Five more schools to go.
Hopefully the third time really will be the trick.
@ JimfifeOH
Hey, I'm in at EWU for fiction. Even though they're not a prestigious program, I have to admit that they were actually among my top choices of the 16 programs I applied to. The guy who called me gave a really convincing pitch about how important "fit" was to them with regards to the people they chose, and they have some really interesting things going on with their writers in the community program. Almost every full-residency MFA seems to require TAships of some sort, and while EWU has these, their program is unique in that their teaching positions aren't necessarily to college students, but sometimes to K-12 students, post-grads, community workshops, and even prisons. They've got a lot going on. I would really suggest giving them a call and speaking to someone about it.
I'm heading up to Spokane next week to check it out, so if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail and I'd be more than happy to share my take on the city and to send pictures and stuff. --> hansenma at onid dot orst dot edu
I got my financial aid offer from them a few days after they called about the acceptance. It's different for everyone, but they got me a tuition waiver to cover the out-of-state cost (so I basically would just pay instate). Their TAship stuff is VERY competitive.
If it makes you feel better, as attracted as I am to Eastern, my first choice was (and still is = OMG) Minnesota, so I'll likely be turning down my spot at EWU, which means a funding opportunity will be opening up for someone.
Okay, that was a huge post. Cheers and good luck!
Does anyone know if NYU is done notifying?
How is it that SUNY Albany has my GRE scores and I don't?
This means everything is complete and should be in review now. (This is for the creative dissertation PhD.) Please, keep your fingers crossed, as I really would like to start this fall.
Congratulations to all the acceptances. My goodness, some of you have such wonderful choices to make!
@MOmmy J rooting for you, I am sending you all the good luck to get in:)
@ M. B. Wells
Thanks for the thoughts. First off though, Columbia College is only a two year program and the email was very clear to state that the *first* year costs were
36,000. They said that I should be granted that in loans via a fafsa. Do you think those loans are a guarentee? I doubt it. :/ I really want to go, though. Students live in downtown Chicago right in the thick of it. What an amazing experience that might be.....
In other news:
ACCEPTED: Columbia College
Rejected: OSU, IU, Purdue
Waitlisted: Notre Dame
Pending: University of Illinois, Vanderbilt.
Signs I am starting to get totally delirious in regards to not hearing from Hunter College:
I had not one, not two, but three dreams in which I was accepted last night.
I woke up from each one so disappointed that it wasn't real.
@MB
Thanks for the bit o' clarification re: Columbia College. That quoted number scared the bejezus out of me upon opening the e-mail. But I'm still not counting Columbia out entirely.. Chicago is too fantastic of a city!
@Courtney
Do you know if loans/costs are less your second year @ CC? It's one of my favorites esp for its city living and publishing scene. So depressing it costs mucho moolah. Do you have other schools you're waiting to hear back on?
@Chelsea
Agreed...Columbia College loooks amazing. I think that costs can change depending on the student and the year. Their website says that they offer Follett Fellowships and Getz Awards and some GSIs. However, those aren't guarenteed. I rung up finanaical aid yesterday and they informed me that I have not recieved any sort of awards...yet. We'll see. I know that students can work as editors though 'round town and for the University's primary literary publication. That could bring some additional income in. I will be visiting there in a few weeks though. VERY EXCITED!
@Courtney
Sounds like I should try calling their offices then. At the very least to hear more options. David Trinidad told me on the phone they didn't have anything to offer me @ present but maybe if I sound desperate financial aid will give me a gazillion dollars ;)
GL on your visit! I can't arrange for the time off yet so you'll have to let me know how it goes!!
@LHH - You seem to be our direct line to Pinsky. Any word on whether they are done notifying poets yet? I want to know if I dare hold out hope! I wish all you BU hopefuls well.
@the duchess, congrats on the NYU waitlist - I'm sorry about the financial situation at Columbia College... I hope they'll realize the error of their ways and throw bags of money at you!
@Nefertitti, how awful! And, as someone else said, how unprofessional of Antioch. I am sending internet hugs.
@Cratty, can we please go out drinkin' sometime?
@Summer, amen, sister. Robert Pinsky, my phone is waiting. Call me?
today is a new day! lets start the weekend off good. let's goooo Bennington - I'm talking to you!!
@ Rachel Hurn,
Congratulations on Sarah Lawrence! Which genre are you? Are you definitely going to go?
As for my SLC decision, I really don't know. I am still waiting on funding from Emerson -- they said money decisions should be made soon -- and that might make my decision for me.
I'm not sure if I am going on April 7 -- I would like to but I would have to skip my classes that day. And also by then, I will probably have made a decision. If I decide on SLC, then I'll go, but at this point I really don't know what my decision will be.
I'm finding the decision process to be completely agonizing!
@ Rachel
I'm in at SLC for CNF, what genre are you? I plan on going to the April open house. I think it will give me a good sense for fit, and I'm extremely excited about the program!
So for months I've been looking forward to seeing Salman Rushdie speak in April, the culmination of the city of Buffalo's Babel series, and I just realized that he's coming the day after I get my tonsils out. I am extremely displeased that I'll probably miss him.
@hobbledehoy
I'm on the fiction waitlist at Alabama! One of my dream schools. But--i anticipate taking myself off the waitlist next week, because i think i'm going to accept an offer from Michigan. I will also, LSU waitlisters, free up a fiction spot there.
Nerves of steel, everyone!Nerves of steel!
Congrats, Wee Meathead! How did you find out about AL? Snail mail? E-mail? Phone call?
I still haven't been rejected by them, so part of me is holding out some hope.
@phillywriter
I found out via email, about 10 days after i thought they were finished notifying. There are still schools i haven't heard a peep from, though they seem to be finished (Syracuse, Vanderbilt), and i like the theory (Julian's?) about an unofficial, deeper waitlist. It's the only thing that makes sense to me.
So if you haven't heard from Alabama yet, that's my guess? but it's totally _just_ a guess. I would love to hear other theories.
@ Jasmine,
That's awful! I just had my tonsils out in January and it was not a fun experience. Maybe if you take your painkillers right before the reading, you'll be able to make it through!
@LSU
So am I safe to assume all those accepted have already been notified? I applied in poetry.
The international student funding comes down to this: they are still eligible for AWARDS, but not FINANCIAL AID.
Specific schools might have specific rules about TAships that would disqualify int'l students, but the vast majority of programs that fund through TAships and fellowships would also fund int'l students.
I think the schools who have said "no funding" really mean "no financial aid" because there are citizenship requirements for federal and state grants and loans.
Again, that might vary school to school based on their own rules for TAships, but there isn't a blanket "no funding awards for int'l students" rule or anything.
I've just accepted an offer from Iowa State. So excited!
I've also declined spots at Hollins, New Hampshire, West Virginia (w/ TA), and Wilmington. All for poetry. I hope this will result in good news for people on the wait list!
Thanks for keeping me relatively sane throughout this process, and best of luck to everyone.
@Sarah B
CONGRATS!!!
@Wee Meathead
Another poster contacted Syracuse and was told that some applicants were being kept in a holding file. Seems like it is a "not accepted, not waitlisted, but if everyone else declines we'll call you" list. I am not waiting by the phone.
Congrats on Michigan and other acceptances. Ann Arbor is a great college town.
@ Sarah B
Congrats!! How did you choose Iowa State over UNCW, Hollins, WVU, etc? Funding, location, just your fave?
Congratulations to Sarah B and Wee Meathead!
Congratulations to everyone who had good news!
@Ali-thanks for the nice comment..would be great to be with you too.
@quincy - That's my understanding. Best of luck otherwise!
Thanks, everyone!
@ threes: Iowa State just felt like the best fit overall, and they offered a great funding package. Current students seem very happy, and I like the program's environmental focus and fieldwork/travel opportunities. I was initially nervous about moving to the midwest (I'm currently in Vermont), but Ames looks like a sweet college town with very cheap apartments. And a skatepark for my husband. ;)
Ok we're really winding down here! CONGRATULATIONS AND HIGH FIVES to everyone who got some good news this week. It has been such a joy to live through this nerve-wracking, heartbreaking, high-fiving time with all of you. Cratty, koru--I'm, going to need some of that gin!
In at ASU via phone call last night! Hahah--awkward happy dance is right, Dolores!! Hurray!
--Fiction Courtney
@Sarah B.
Congrats on coming to a decision! Sounds like you made a great choice. Best wishes for a wonderful MFA experience!
@Courtney ... *hands you a gin and tonic* ... you deserve it! and congrats :-)
@Sara B ... i'm officially jealous you've made a decision. Sounds like a wonderful fit for you! congrats!
@ K
Hearty hearty congrats!
You said you were in with funding at SF State. I didn't know they had any particular funding. What is it? Did you apply for that separately or was it something they offered to you specifically when they accepted you based on your general application for the program? Is this for the MFA? When did you get your acceptance and by what means? What genre?
I applied for their MA for Fiction and have not heard anything yet.
Cheers,
Daniel
@Hobbledeyhoy or whatever your 4 syllable h word is...
I am also waiting anxiously on the Alabama fiction waitlist. And seeing as it's my only good news, I'm hoping hard.
Especially because today I opened my mailbox to find my LSU rejection (knowing it was coming did not make this one easier, unlike some others) and my email to a GMU rejection. Not a happy Friday.
And don't I wish that Vandy was doing the Syracuse thing and holding my app... but more likely they're just swamped and haven't sent out all their rejections yet.
@ Courtney: KICK ASS!!! Congratulations!!
@ Sarah B: Kudos on your decision! Yay for being The Decider!!!
@subscribing
I'll revise that to say: Bama being my only good news is not the only reason I'm hoping to hear a yes from Bama, of course. It's an amazing program and has been in my top schools from the beginning.
I don't want to seem like I'm complaining about the waitlist-- I know I'm lucky to have caught Alabama's eye; I'm extremely happy about it. I just know this little tryst of ours could end in my heartbreak, come May.
@ Courtney
I also doubt that every graduate student would get all that money for loans. And the specification of the costs being specifically for the first year makes a difference, I guess. But I'm in fiction and that particular MFA program is three years, and I'm not taking out loans at all, so I'm really crunching the numbers to see how it works with the money I have left from undergrad (no loans then either).
And I'm visiting, too! At the end of March, though.
@ Chelsea
No problem. I'm planning on playing the "woe is me" card to the extreme while I'm up there because I'm determined to earn some sort of TA/GAship or work-study.
Even with the money issue I'm soooo excited about CCC. If I decide to go (at this point I'm 93% sure I'm going, though I'll be broke by the end of it) I'm definitely going to make the most of those three years.
If you ladies go, maybe we'll see each other despite being in different departments. :)
@summer and hilary
Pinsky returned from a trip to England a few days ago. They have only notified three or four poets, and they will at least take three or four more. Last year they took seven. He said they are going for seven to eleven students this year. I will also tell you the second poet teaching first semester this year is David Ferry. FINGERS CROSSED. My guess is the poets will hear over the next ten days.
@Chelsea, Courtney, MB Wells
Thanks for the Columbia College Chicago insights. I definitely found the email odd for not breaking down what exactly the 36k consists off. The website is also very vague in terms of costs.
I did re-read the email and realized that the letter I got was not the one indicating my financial award info. Guess I will have to call and see what is up too.
And NYU won't tell me the size of the waitlist or where I am. AGH.
Also, thanks Hilary for the sweet comments. I am so grateful for any sort of affirmation in this brutal MFA season. I wish you well! Along with everyone else still in limbo.
@Gena
I'm in the same boat, only with Indiana instead of Alabama. My only good news has been a waitlist at Indiana - and it's driving me crazy to be so close to an acceptance and yet so far....
Of course, I still have a few more schools to hear from, but my hope is fading.
Here's hoping we both get accepted from those waitlists!
Waitlist purgatory is true agony.
Has NYU finished with all acceptances?
Or are they still calling people?
hey guys, can anyone remind me if there have been any waitlist and/or rejections at New School yet?
@Coreyann: New School rejections have been trickling in...I'm one of them :/
@otkuda: ugh. i'm sorry to hear that.
how'd you hear? post?
Patrick,
I'm not sure about NYU, but I do know there were already some waitlist emails reported.
All,
I've just returned from a spring break full of beach and ignorant bliss. Checked my mail expecting a couple rejections-- nothing. SO do we know if Oregon, Irvine and U of WA are still notifying poets? Or is my rejection letter just late?
Miiiiight have to make some calls to the pacific northwest today.
Yep, snail mail. But it was worded nicely, at least.
@the duchess
Call financial aid and they should be able to inform you of any rewards you've received. The cost to go to a school for a year (per credit hour wise) is around 22K, leaving 14k anticipated for housing, food, books, etc. Make sure to file your fafsa to be eligible for loans.
Urbana said they that they mailed out their letters yesterday...maybe some of you will hear happy news today! :-)
@Jasmine - Salman Rushdie is one of my favorites, too! Too bad about the tonsils. When I was reading "Midnight's Children," the entire first hundred pages was about the narrator telling a story about how his parents met. It reminded me of the TV show "How I Met Your Mother" and also the movie "Definitely, Maybe" in that the story was about everything EXCEPT for how one parent met another. LOL! Initially, I thought Rushdie invented that device, until I ran across Alice Munro's 1970s short story "How I Met My Husband," which was, again, everything BUT how the narrator met her husband. LOL!
I'm sure someone else before Munro invented this device. I would say the Arabian Nights or some folk tale from China, but I'm not that familiar. I would be shocked if Munro invented this device.
@Wee Meathead - Congrats on Michigan! I'm a Michigan alum and know Ann Arbor very well. (I didn't apply to Michigan's MFA program because Angell Hall sucks and I had new worlds to conquer). Anyway, if you have any questions re. Ann Arbor or the University campus, I'll be glad to help. The only thing is: it's been awhile since I was there so things may have changed. I think there was a Woolworth's on State Street when I was a freshman. LOL! Also, no one will tell you this because the very competitive Michigan atmosphere prevents it, but you should never step on the "M" at the Diag, otherwise, you'll fail your classes that semester. Also, try to get a personal carrel in the grad library - lock and key.
In at Columbia for fiction! Sam Lipsyte just called with the good news. I was terribly awkward, but he was nice, and really helpful.
Wishing everyone luck today!
@Julie:
CONGRATS.
holy crap. I kind of want to hide now that they are notifying. aghhhhh.
Thats great news-- are you in anywhere else? I can't keep track of everyone's schools. =)
UNCG too. Waiting on funding news--that'll probably make my decision.
I'm also holding onto a deranged shred of hope for NYU.
@woon
i'm a more recent michigan alum, and when i was a freshman people went out of their way to tell you not to step on the m. kids are more touchy-feely than they were back in your day, i guess.
Congrats, Courtney!
re. Michigan
There's also a pair of lion statues by the bridge to CCRB. I forgot the name of the building or the street. Anyway, if you walk between the pair and if they growl, that means you're a virgin. So, if you're a virgin and don't want people to know this fact, you best not walk between these two lion statues.
HOORAY FOR JULIE! Congratulations on Columbia!
@ Julie
Oh FUCK! Congratulations. I just know the more i stare at my phone now the less it is going to ring. i've just got that feeling, if i don't find out by accident or surprise i prob won't get the good news. there goes surprise.
Can you update us when you get official word about fin aid, etc.? The last i heard on this, the most columbia gave out was $10k/yr. A bigger portion of the endowment was given to School of the Arts a year or two ago, I heard, but it was not clear how that would be dished out (especially when their film school seems to lack the slicker high-tech stuff of their competitors. Where I also applied, and haven't heard from. Fuck.) The SotA seems to operate in a separate world from the rest of Columbia.
Fuck me, i'd still do it. It's an amazing school. I met a poet there while I was visiting who told me he got into every school he applied to and still chose columbia, even though he knows he'll be paying off debts for 30 years. like buying a house, haha.
And congrats to all the other Columbia admits who will hopefully hear back today. And, yeah, just generally everyone.
Yay, Julie!
I didn't think I could be freaking out any more than I already was, but the news of a Columbia notification has kicked my terror up a notch.
Columbia, you have my number. Please call it.
@Mike - I was j/k about Woolworth's. heheh. In my day, we went out of our way to "accidentally" bump someone over so that they'd step on the "M." Not me, of course. Also, I lived in the grad library all four years and played racquetball at CCRB and that other rec center (forgot the name) way south on South State Street.
@Matilda
It was a no. 10 envelope with a single sheet in it: very nice pat-on-the-head kind of letter that said: We like you, just not as much as some other people. Keep looking out!
So I'm continuing to watch the mail and playing a lot on the drum kit in the meantime...
I didn't think anything would get me to post on here, but then I called Miami (today, 3/19) and was told that their notifications should be going out "Monday, by US Postal Service," which means that this season is about done for me. I know what a pain in the ass the silence has been for me, so I wanted to let those waiting on Miami to know what I heard. My list, for posterity:
Officially Rejected:
Brown
UT-Michener
Ohio State
Texas State
UNCW
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Presumed rejections:
Florida
Houston
LSU
Oregon
No word:
Miami (again, told me they're sending out notifications by snail mail 3/22/10)
I trust you'll forgive me when I say that my congratulations to everyone who got in are sincere, but not entirely heartfelt. I don't intend to reapply next year. The process was too drawn out, too costly, etc. Bitter? Probably. Disappointed? Yes. Ready to do something else? Absofuckinglutely. Sorry for the long post. Carry on.
-The Professor
Thanks guys! I've got my fingers crossed for you--
Officially rejected from WW in poetry via snail mail. Still waiting to hear from Bennington, NYU, Columbia, and TNS.
@J - I agree that this process is too drawn out. Good luck, man! The MFA is not the be-all end-all. Some people forget that the MFA is just the beginning and not the end. In many many cases, one doesn't even need the MFA.
Stegner rejection by e-mail today.
ps. list is in fiction
-Prof.
@Micaela- I'm expecting to get that rejection letter from WW any day now, but still kinda hoping foolishly for the call instead. You have my sympathies, friend.
In any case, I know today I am rejection free- no MFA-related mail for me at all today, which I find as cause to celebrate!
Has anyone heard anything from SFSU? Anything?
Has anyone heard anything from SFSU? Anything?
i got a phone call last night from sfsu letting me know i was accepted for poetry. someone on driftless house says mills called for book arts and poetry-- anyone else hear anything from mills?
Has anyone heard from SDSU?! They're the last school on my magic list yet to notify...and the school I've been most anxious about.
always freaks me out when this blog gets quiet... its kind of like we're all sitting in a room together waiting for columbia to call...
or maybe thats just me, sitting here by myself waiting.
Hah. Can you see into my window?
Well, I'm not waiting for Columbia to call me, but I'm in the room with ya, hoping for those calls to come soon anyway.
@Coreyann-- Those of us who didn't apply to Columbia are apparently also holding our breath for you.
@phillywriter-- I hear yah, man. Here's hoping good news comes soon.
@Julie-- yay for acceptances!
@J-- Boo for rejections. I'm hoping Miami goes your way.
just checked on my brooklyn status- rejected. sigh.
Just got a call from a Withheld number...thought it might be Columbia for Coreyann or Michaela, or (less likely) one of the schools I'm waiting on. Alas, it was only my sister.
@miss private eye:
ugh. today seems like a tough day all around. where's the good news? sorry to hear about brooklyn. I think its coming for me soon.
was it online? Or did you email someone?
My online account doesn't seem to have any updates...
@ratliff: hahaha. thanks for looking out! do let me know if columbia calls you looking for me. =) haha.
okay I just called u of washington. no answer-- that's good enough for me to cross it off my list.
Got my official rejection letter from Indiana in the mail today (poetry). Not a surprise, and it was nicely worded.
Now I'm just waiting for closure on Arizona and Hollins. And, you know, waiting on Virginia. So much waiting.
@Coreyann
I'm with you all the way. Having a hard time concentrating at work due to the deafening silence of my phone.
Anyone want to call Columbia and ask them if they're notifying all acceptances today or just a select few?
oregon next...?
hey any UA applicants who are still waiting to hear:
UA mailed my rejection (in CNF) to my permanent address, not my mailing address. (even though i said i would be at my mailing address through june.) if anyone is still waiting on word, it could be because they sent mail to another address...and if you have parents like mine, maybe they don't realize the immediate momentous weight and need of letting you know ASAP and it's sitting in some pile of mail in the foyer of your childhood home.
also, before i thought to check with my parents, i emailed marlene cooksey, the program coordinator, and asked if she could email me news of their decision bc i would be out of town and not receiving my mail (not true, but i had to! i just couldn't wait anymore!)
and she emailed me a copy of the rejection letter.
maybe that will help someone else take the edge off the waiting, or solve the mystery of missing mail.
hope today yields more good news for all!!
@ Ratliff
I can relate! My husband travels a ton and is often in various parts of the country so when a random number comes in, my best and most chipper voice answers: "Good morning!" I love speaking with him - of course - but he hears the slight disappointment in my voice. Poor guy! Phone lines are open - just in case you were wondering Bennington, UCR, etc.!
@coreyann
hmm, i logged into my online acct and noticed that the second para had changed. when i read it they regretted to inform me i was not among the chosen.
The Chosen.
@ Woon, you don't watch Lost, do you? Because a lot of what you say makes me think of it. The long con... The Chosen (referenced in an episode a few weeks ago)...
Clearly I'm getting a lot of work done today.
@phillywriter
I'm an undergrad at Columbia and I heard that the notifications (at least for poetry) were going out this (upcoming) week, starting Monday, so if they've started now I presume they'll keep notifying throughout this week. It's a big program and I doubt they'll call everyone in one day. Good luck!
Just received an email from Notre Dame telling me to log in for the decision (which I know is a rejection). But I can't seem to find where this information is displayed!
I thought Chaim Potok.
Woon and Mike,
I'm visiting next weekend (and may try to sign a lease). If you have any advice for me on neighborhoods, car/no car, etc, I'm all ears.
rebecca dot mydarling at gmail.
@Wee Meathead - I thought you were male!?!?! And looked like Mike Stivic, the original Meathead, of "All in the Family."
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