Hi Everyone,
The new content posting has been pretty quiet around here as I seem to be one of the only people updating the blog these days, what with Tom and Seth busy writing and all, and I have been distracted myself -- with writing, teaching, editing, etc. Never fear. I'll continue to throw up new mailbags, and though the blog tends to quiet down over the summer, there will be semi-regular new posts with relevant MFA related content, so be sure to check back, no matter your status heading into the fall.
For now I have a grab-bag of links for you, and some questions I want to throw out there, and a few thoughts.
The eminently sane Vince Gotera (whose personal statement advice has already proved helpful to many an MFA applicant) has advice about how to handle acceptances, rejections, and (maybe most importantly) waitlists. Sure, this is from 2006, but I think it still stands.
Gotera suggests that if you end up with rejections, you should try and figure out why. The new incarnation of ALC, known as Driftless House (and which seems to be ALC minus Seth) is offering a service to help you do just that. You give them ten pages of fiction, or five of poetry, plus your list of schools, plus $90, and in return you'll get "in-line notes and an evaluation letter." That's nine or eighteen bucks a page! Just sayin'. (I work for less than that, if you are interested...)
This brings me to some questions: If you didn't get accepted, will you be reapplying next year? And what, if anything, do you think you gained from going through the process this time around?
For what it's worth, I always tell my MFA application students and clients that they should think of an MFA as a five or six year process: one or two years to apply, two or three years in the program, and a year to adjust afterward. And that's a minimum, in my opinion.
Also for what it's worth: last year I worked with someone going through her fourth year of applications. She'd been waitlisted before, but never had any full offers. After polishing up her stories and statements she went at it again and was accepted, in fiction, at multiple top schools, including Hollins, Brooklyn, and UNCW [Updated - it was actually UNCG, my mistake.] I can't take much credit on that one -- she did so well because she didn't give up, and used the time in between applications to workshop, hone her craft, and improve her stories. By the time I met her she was already in good shape and just needed guidance on statements and some final developmental feedback. But it goes to show that tenacity pays, both for MFA applications and in your future writing lives. Sometimes the ones who make it are the ones who don't give up.
***end pep talk***
More links: many MFA programs have really terrible websites -- any applicant knows this. But how many have blogs? NMSU does, but I'm not sure of any others. Can we crowdsource this one? Post your links to official (or, I guess, unofficial) MFA blogs in the comments.
Current NMSU student Carrie Murphy also emailed me to let me know about her blog, Master of Fine Eats. "Thought this might be of interest to the MFA blog readers," she wrote, "many of whom are already (if not about to be) poor graduate students."
Last thought: one commentator was lamenting over what to tell your recommenders if you don't have the outcome you were looking for. I say (as a fairly prolific recommendation writer myself) just tell them straight. They won't hold it against you one little bit, and most will be happy to get an update, no matter the results. I sometimes don't hear anything from the people I write recs for -- and I always wish I did.
For all this post's focus on possible less-than-desirable results, the acceptance season is not yet over, and there are still more happy "yay, I've been accepted" comments to come. So don't give up the good fight yet, people!
2,268 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1601 – 1800 of 2268 Newer› Newest»@ Seth
For your data, I applied to the fiction programs at the following schools:
*Brooklyn College
*Ole Miss
*Rutgers-Newark
*San Diego State
Also, I just wanted to say thank you to Seth, and to all of you blog posters, for the helpful information and tips that you've been providing here.
I was a newbie to this application process, and over the last few months of reading posts ("I'm not lurking, I'm wallflower-ing!") I've gained a lot of insight which is sure to make applying a more manageable adventure next fall, as, alas - but not unexpectedly - it appears that I won't be attending an MFA program this year.
But here's to hoping that April is *not* the cruellest month, and that there is good news to come for those still waiting. Best of luck to all!
I just wanted to say that I have funding at Montana (fiction) and am still sitting on it (I'm in Missoula right now, actually). I'm sorry for anyone who's waiting!!! Tomorrow I am headed to Eugene to look at the U of Oregon and I hope to have made my decision by this Saturday. I know how awful waitlists are and I hate that I'm contributing to the endless process. I just wanted to put that out there while you all are talking about Montana.
Also, anyone who has information on the University of Oregon, I would love to hear it!
@inkli
I don't know what I'll decide if I have the opportunity to choose between IU and LSU. I'm still trying not to get my hopes up too much. My fingers are crossed for both of us! (And for all the others who remain in waitlist purgatory.)
@Emma-- Is Missoula as gorgeous as it looks in pictures?
Capped Tooth--there was a suggestion up-Mailbag a few days ago that R-N is not done accepting. So, let's hold onto that a while longer.=)
Waitlist purgatory.
It's 12:44 PM. Trader Joe's to buy some bananas. Run my daily 4 miles. Lunch at Hometown Buffet while writing a short short story that begins:
"I am very short with Sheila; that is to say, I hate her."
and ends:
"Flowers that droop have no backbone."
@Woon,
I just got back from TJ's, where I bought oranges, not bananas.
And lime fizzy water. Have to stay hydrated in the heat. :-)
Hope the story flows quickly from your pen ...
@ Brittany --
I am in love with this town. It is more beautiful than photos.
I will not doubt my decision.
I will not doubt my decision.
Just got a phone call from VCU to pull me off the waitlist (I took a nap yesterday instead of finishing my removal emails) with possible funding. If anyone else is waitlisted there in poetry, you could be getting good news soon.
Woon
Nice opening line
Correction from my posting earlier today: LSU sent me a rejection postmarked March 26th, which just arrived today (old address was used). It appears the email I got earlier today was not particularly informative. Sigh.
Woon,
To be fair, I wasn't talking about ambiguous (economic, genetic, political, social, whatever) inequality.
I was talking about institutionalized inequality, where difference gets codified. Institutions are shaped by ideologies. A program with tiered funding strikes me as ideologically amorphous: they believe art should have full funding, because they value the artist and what she produces, but they also believe art should pay its way, because they must deal with the fiscal realities of the free market.
Which is it: art should be fully funded, or art should pay its way? Can you believe both things?
I don't want to be too scathing toward programs. I know funding is difficult; it's hard convincing people to pour money into the ARTS when people are having trouble putting food on their families. But I do wonder why tiered funding is so endemic. Iowa went through similarly dubious ideological growing pains: they didn't offer equal funding to everyone, and people called them on it. Today, Iowa offers full funding to all its students (the exact dollar amounts differ from what I've read, but it is as close to parity as it gets).
What do you guys think? Are you comfortable with tiered funding? Or should programs aim to treat admitted students equally?
I think we should question the tiered funding practice, is my point!
NB: This should not be taken as critical of people with funded offers. You guys are great! I wouldn't turn down a funded offer either!
@Marissa
I'm currently visiting U. Washington for poetry. There's a few of us discussing the program through email. Go ahead and send any questions my way
mickeyperformancepoetry(at)gmail(dot)com
Are you fiction or poetry?
@UNCG
This is going to be an angry rant--sorry!
Attention to those affected: unless you got an acceptance in the MAIL (ie a letter) you MIGHT NOT be accepted into the university of Greensboro. They have put a hold on ALL acceptances. If you got a call to be recommended to the graduate office, you might be on a waitlist for they will not accept you unless they can give you funding (at least for now, and yeah it's already the 6th). You should email/call them immediately (and raise hell, in my opinion).
Story: my BF got a call from UNCG saying they sent his stuff to the grad school for consideration and that he was in. He emailed Jim Clark after not receiving an official letter (like I did) and Jim Clark basically said he was on a "waitlist to get in" but until they know finances he is not. Thus his particular phone call was a fake-out.
Long story short, this is a disappointment from such a well-regarded school, and I am hugely let down. Also, for those choosing between UNCG and somewhere else I will share another thing I learned from my correspondence with Clark, Terry, and two MFA students there: this school is not looking to get you prepared for a PhD, so if that's your career plan you are going to have to work extra hard to just read and take the required lit classes that will help you be a competitive candidate. They concentrate on "workshopping" and while this is great for some, others might be turned off by the implied feel-goodery.
Sorry about the rant. I was disappointed by several things by them. I wish everyone luck: I'm crossing my fingers for Austin at UH.
i'll be honest...if i get into notre dame, i won't get any sort of stipend, but tuition is waived. that's enough for me. there will be others that will have ta and aaships, and i could give a rat's ass...i figure that they could give us all not a damn thing, then where would we be? if others get it and i don't, it doesn't mean i'll work any less harder, or feel that those are the 'chosen ones' and i'm just the scraps (maybe that's true though, fuck, i don't know!). i'll be happy that some place thought enough of my ability and my promise that they invited me to study at that school. they invested in me and it's an honor in my book.
can i have the fucking oscar now?
That doesn't surprise me - I didn't think UNCG had finished its dibbledobbleshittery.
Tell them to fuck off, but add that you'll send them a letter in a week or so to confirm whether that "fuck off" was a real "fuck off" or whether it was one of those "faux fucks" so common in people lacking the backbone to meet their own cursing precedents again.
Then call Ole Miss. Repeat.
@M. Swann
I think you're right that it is a matter of priorities for schools, because in order to reach full funding most MFA programs have to shave down their class size significantly. That means losing faculty as well, as a smaller program can't support too many.
So, you can turn the question around. As an applicant, what would you prefer: a world were very few people are allowed in to MFA programs, and all receive full funding, or a world where more people can attend, but many are unfunded?
All I'm trying to say is that it's a more complicated question than many people seem to think. Obviously, funding is good, but full funding becomes more prevalent, the system will change significantly, in a number of ways.
I would love to be a program golden child, LAswede. Who wouldn't? The Notre Dame offer sounds hard to turn down, by the way. Full tuition is so much!
And I agree: it's an honor to be admitted. I would hate for anything I've said to diminish that honor!
Maybe I am over-thinking it.
Accepted at Bowling Green State University with full funding for Fiction (off the waitlist).
Finally! BGSU was in my top three choices.
Also waitlisted at UNLV. The very accomodating Laura told me there are ten people on the waitlist and she does not know where I am placed.
@Ena,
My fingers are crossed for your bf ... and for others in his situation at UNCG. That's horrible! It seems to have been a bad year for applicants there ... with all the fake-out GNE's and GNP's that then went to people they then rejected.
The stories coming out of their application process this year are beyond disappointing.
Once again, I'm hoping we all end up somewhere we like.
Congrats Perpetua!
at the swann
oh no, dude, of course not...hell, if they threw some money at me, i'd take it! it just doesn't happen for everyone, ya know, so if not for me, i'll live...yes, i would love to be a little shapeshifter in a cage that eats tiny leaves and tricks tex cobb with my psychobrainwavehoudiniisms.
i've definitely got my fingers crossed for it (for notre dame...not me turning into a lost child that eddie murphy is trying to track down)...i just need one person to drop out of the race!
The schools who are keeping me at bay on their waitlist are making a big mistake. An offer to me will result in the establishment of a multi-million dollar endowment upon my graduation.
Hi! Im a first year poet at UNCW...and if anyone has any questions feel free to email me
em8666@uncw.edu
word
Now up at Flatmancrooked, for those interested:
An Open Letter to Poets Who Hate the Creative Writing MFA
S.
@Jamie,
I'll be in touch soon
:-)
~Eleanor
I should probably say that I accepted Iowa's offer in poetry a few days ago.
I had a counter offer from Jesus Christ, funded by redemption, but I turned it down. In response, he warned me that he's going to find me and beat me to death with Frieda Hughes' poetry books, especially "Forty-Five". This is very worrying.
@Perpetua - Congratulations!! (double-time!) And the email sounds great :)
Hey Folks,
This is directed mostly at those applying next year:
I just wanted to let you know I visited the University of Idaho this past weekend. I sat in on a class with Kim Barnes (who is an incredible fiction/non-fiction writer and is all around brilliant). I stayed after class and we talked about Southern/Southern Gothic literature and it in relation to the literature of the American West).
I went out with six of the kids from the program ranging from 23-35 and we had a great time. I've heard nothing but great things about the program except for lack of funding. I, myself, was lucky enough to get an out of state tuition waiver so will have about 2400 dollars a semester to pay the school for fees (including health insurance). Seth has said not to pay for your MFA and not to go into debt. I got the same advice for one of the writer's there, however, most of the students I hung out with were in debt and said that they wouldn't have done it differently. One of the poets turned down fully funded offers to work with Bob Wrigley. She has plenty of time to work on campus and get her degree.
I've never been in debt before so when Seth got on and said not to go if you weren't fully funded I freaked out and contemplated going through the process again. Going through that kind of stress and then the idea of having to work another year at a soul-sucking (though well-paying) job is not worth the 25,000 dollars for three years of writing.
All of you who are getting ready to apply for this coming year, I would recommend looking at Idaho and other programs like it.
As Woon has posted a number of times, one can never know why one doesn't get accepted at certain schools and does at others. I applied to all SEC schools whose acceptance rates are ridiculous (congrats to those who got in), but after going to Idaho and seeing the campus and meeting the people I'm glad that this was the random school I pulled out of a hat because I get to pursue what I want to pursue sooner rather than later. I really recommend applying to a few schools out of the top forty even if you think Michigan or Virginia is your dream school and you will die if you don't get in there. Believe me, I never thought I would be living in Moscow, Idaho, for the next three years, but I couldn't be happier.
So definitely look into Idaho and some other schools out of the top fifty.
Congrats to everyone!!!
@Mr. Hemlock,
Iowa and Columbia are both great schools so it was a difficult decision, but ultimately, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to work with the poetry faculty at Columbia. There were other factors, of course, but that was the main thing. Are you attending one of those programs?
@poets on the U. of Florida waitlist,
I just turned down my spot at U of FL. A poet on the waitlist should hear from them soon. Best of luck to everyone!
@Lauren,
I tried to base my application choices on places Penélope Cruz might fall in love with me at. Picture it: Woon is doing his daily four-mile run, and I'm sitting reading some biography of Señor this or that (just for show) - Penélope Cruz comes over, says, "Wow, that guy runs fast", and I say, "Miss. Cruz, I always trust a good Woon to break the ice".
Your method seems almost better. I think my method has extra breasts though, so this may come to a debate.
@WreckingLight - I have no idea what you wrote, but I chuckled nonetheless. Generally speaking, I'm always amused when you nitwits reference me.
Thank you DigAPony and Zoulou.
So, after lunch, I swung by the library and borrowed the textbooks used for freshmen comp at a few of the MFA programs in my radar. They weren't bad and, surprisingly, they seemed like a lot of fun and got me excited about TA-ing a bunch of young plastic minds, my little soldiers. This will definitely facilitate the execution of my world domination plans.
@Seth - you had me at "negative integer."
Is it wrong that I'm thinking of the MFA degree as a sequel to my unhappy undergraduate degree, a sequel where I have to change locations to keep it fresh?
(I'm looking at you, "Weekend at Bernie's II").
@Airships
You make a good point, to the extent that sometimes students have to take out small, supplementary loans that, even in the aggregate, are de minimis. (For instance, taking out a 10K loan is not even so big a deal as taking out a car loan, and because the loan is federal it is "better debt" in every sense of the word).
The one thing I would say is that you have to be merciless in calculating expenses. $2,400/semester for three years equals around $15,000. You'll need -- even to live like an impoverished student -- $12,000/year on top of that. So now we're at $51,000 in debt to receive a non-marketable, non-professional three-year degree from a public university. That kind of debt takes years and years to pay off -- and we haven't even factored in interest yet. Over the life of the loan you might well pay $70,000.
People sometimes say, "Well, I'll get a job and earn the money -- I won't borrow it." But even then, to earn $12,000/year working a standard 49-week year (i.e. three weeks of "vacation") -- and we're being generous here, because most folks can't find a job that actually gives them 49 weeks' worth of pay -- you'd still have to make $250/week. In the sort of job you're likely to get, you're looking at $10/hr. to $12/hr. maximum. So now you're working twenty to twenty-five hours a week just to live in poverty; in other words, you're working more than a half-time job while trying to get your Master's, and still living in poverty. Plus you have infinitely less time to write now.
Don't ask students currently in a program rather than in repayment how they feel about debt, Airships. Ask someone in repayment. Debt is just a nebulous, meaningless concept until you're paying $1,000/mo. in loan repayment.
Best of luck,
S.
@ Eleanor
I'm 98% sure I'm going to Brooklyn College, still waiting to hear from 2 schools to finalize my decision.
I was curious about your decision because I've never heard of anyone turning down Iowa to go into so much debt at Columbia. But I know the poetry faculty is amazing. And it's hard to leave NYC once you're established here. I wish you all the best.
Accepted to Cal State Long Beach in fiction via mail yesterday but will be declining my spot. It's not often mentioned on the boards but it's a great program in a great city with affordable in-state tuition.
-Fiction Courtney
@courtney (of the fiction variety)
congrats on the acceptance. out of curiosity, are you currently in southern california? just curious if the mail is slower getting to my door, or if i should brace myself for some bad news.
re: tiered funding and Montana
I happened to be in Missoula over the weekend dropping my brother back at school (and got to meet up with the "other Emma" currently in Missoula, and about to visit Oregon) and had a chance to talk with Judy Blunt about Montana's funding situation. I was an undergrad there, and Judy was one of my profs (and rec writers) so I stopped by her office to chat, and ended up in a funding discussion.
Personally, I was pretty anti-tiered funding, but after talking with Judy I got to see the other side of the issue. Montana would *love* to fund every student they accept, but they just honestly don't know how to cobble together the cash. Unlike some of the larger universities (Iowa and Michigan spring to mind) Montana only has about 12,000 students (undergrad and grad students combined). That means there are far fewer TA positions overall. That, coupled with the fact that the faculty teach both grad and undergrad writing classes, means that they have less time to drum up money, and fewer teaching positions to offer. Judy mentioned that an option that has worked well for students in the past is to take around 6 credits each semester their first year, establish Montana residency, and then pay a lot less in tuition their second year - this only adds on an extra semester of school as well.
I would certainly never want anyone to accept an unfunded offer if they weren't mentally prepared for some debt, and I'm absolutely not trying to sway anyone to the Big Sky State. My point is just that the smaller universities graduate far fewer students each year, which means there aren't as many chances a rock star alumni is going to donate billions of dollars to the CW department. That sucks, because I know Montana is a great program.
That being said, if you have a funded offer elsewhere - take it! If not, though, please don't think all tiered funding systems are based entirely on a department's priorities - no CW faculty member at Montana is getting rich by teaching.
P.S. Missoula really was stunning this last weekend - sunny days, then snow on the mountains. Ooh la la!
@Peaquah
I wasn't saying that it's not the department's priority to fund students. Clearly, they would like to do that as much as possible.
What I was saying is that presumably they could reduce the size of the program until there was nothing left but funded spots. But that would make for a different sort of world of MFA programs, and I don't know if everyone is thinking that through fully.
@ Nathaniel - I know what you're saying, and I actually agree with you. I would like to see fewer spots, more funding - at Montana and elsewhere.
It's great that Iowa has stepped up to the plate in the past few years to get (almost everyone, I believe) full funding. I just wanted to point out that Iowa went for years and years with a wonky tiered funding system before they were able to call in favors from alumni etc. to get more moolah. Perhaps some programs have to go through these "growing pains" to simply graduate enough writers who in turn donate back to the university? I'm not saying it's right, just that it seems to be a pattern.
@Mr. Hemlock
First time I'm ever encountering it either. But the OP may well be rich, we don't know. Also, some people (not saying the OP is in this category or not) have an NYC-centric perspective that would make a move to Iowa almost unthinkable if even a single NYC-area option, no matter the cost, were available. {Shrug} People gotta do what they gotta do -- it's tough to know whether the right choice has been made or not until one gets the bill (with interest) in three years, and then (depending on one's situation) spends the next 10 to 20 years making substantial monthly payments to the feds and private lenders. My hope is that the OP is rich, in other words.
S.
Congrats Perpetua! Now you can finally breathe :)
@Nathaniel
I'm with you -- I think programs should only admit students they can fully fund. Especially because, as time goes on, nearly 100% of those admitted to programs unfunded will turn down their offers anyway. So yes, we're heading toward full funding for everyone, and one way that will be achieved is through increased money being allotted to MFA programs by universities, but another is that programs that can -- (I say "can" because a lumbering, dying behemoth like Columbia cannot, for instance; instead of "too big to fail," it's "too big to succeed") -- will contract in size. Why doesn't it happen more often? Because it requires letting faculty and staff go, and that's a very hard thing to do, understandably.
S.
re: tiered funding
Yeah, tiered funding sucks. I say this as someone who applied to mostly programs with tiered funding -- and ended up being one of the unfunded people.
I've wondered if tiered funding systems create a negative atmosphere in the program -- the unfunded feeling jealous of the funded, the funded feeling guilty for having a free ride while their friends are in debt. This probably happens. I don't mean everyone would hate each other, but just the awkwardness of some people having funding while others are struggling to pay.
I've also gone through moments of self-doubt, thinking, "well the faculty must not have liked me as much as that other person who got funding." But I try to tell myself that's not true. If they admitted me, they want me in the program, they just can't fund everyone. Maybe someone else just had better GRE scores, more teaching experience, etc.
With all unfunded offers, I am probably going to pick my least expensive. I'll probably come out with around $15,000 of debt (carefully calculated and various factors taken into consideration). Which isn't great, obviously, but isn't terrible and isn't impossible to recover from, either.
I would love it if all programs became fully-funded some day, but also do not want that to mean all programs cutting their size down and becoming ridiculously selective. If every program had the 1% acceptance rate that many of the fully-funded programs have, that would mean more and more amazing writers being rejected every year. I don't think that's a good thing at all.
Not to strike up that old sweet song for the umpteenth, but I turned down a fully funded offer (not at Iowa, though) to attend the lumbering, dying behemoth this fall.
@Seth
Yes, I think that's likely what will happen, albeit slowly, over the next while. But my main point was just that a lot of people seem to say "tiered funding is awful, schools should fully fund" without considering all the ramifications of full funding. Obviously, I love full funding, and think it's preferable, but getting there will mean a certain extent of smaller class sizes, less faculty, and so on.
The only way money will magically appear to expand funding opportunities at most of these schools is if future MFA graduates become rich and then donate it!
If anyone is waiting to hear about funding at Temple: I was in the office today and was told that the letters for people getting funding are going out tomorrow. I was actually in to ask about funding, so I guess I was a little impatient! It was nice to get good news early though. :)
I let them know today that I'm accepting the offer. The people there are all really nice and Philadelphia is a very cool city. It's so awesome there is finally an MFA program there. I also just gave up my waitlist spot at UNCW. It was high up on the list, so maybe that will be good news for someone else. The spot was for Fiction.
@Jamie
It's important that you make the right decision for you, which obviously you have. But -- and I'm not being facetious here -- I think it's equally important that as few people make that same decision as possible. I say that because there are only so many people out there who can take afford to take on $125,000 in debt (not counting interest) for a degree of this kind. When I hear about you, or the OP, making a decision like this, I just assume that you have the financial means to make this kind of decision. But because most people don't, it certainly wouldn't be the right decision for most people. There is no MFA professor in America -- not one -- who is worth $125,000 in principle debt, plus $30,000 in interest. And if any professor, at Columbia or elsewhere, thought otherwise about themselves, I would seriously question how they sleep at night. I realize it's possible that you and the OP aren't rich, but have some other situation that makes taking on massive debt for an unmarketable degree (in which prestige is only minimally important, because it's not a professional degree) not just possible but necessary: perhaps a personal medical condition, or family responsibilities (e.g. a spouse, children, an ailing parent or grandparent), or a fear of flying (assuming one presently lives in NYC), or something else I can't think of (but there are many possibilities). But again, because few people will find themselves in that situation, it really is important that the vast majority of people be discouraged from making the decision you and the OP made -- and, as I said, made for good reasons, I'm sure (and I'm not asking what they are, as they may well be personal, and even if not personal, may well be inscrutable to those on the outside looking in). So if I criticize making this type of decision it's not because it's wrong for you -- I can't possibly know that -- but because it's wrong, all things being equal (which they never are, of course) for more than 99% of MFA applicants. Be well,
S.
@Nathaniel
Actually, the good news is that a lot of programs -- a lot of programs, including some of those who publicly decried the rankings -- are now using those very rankings to get more money from their host universities (i.e., not through donations, but by pointing out that in a world where prestige is tied as much to funding as anything else, because selectivity is tied to funding quite strictly, a university can quickly increase the prestige of its MFA just by offering a small amount of additional funding to students). I think we're going to see many -- many -- stipends going up in the years to come, and perhaps, fairly soon, some unfunded programs folding or contracting dramatically. A program like Columbia will take much longer to die because its location and Ivy League status make it an attractive lure for those who (for any one of a number of reasons) are not at all debt-conscious or debt-concerned. Programs located not on the coasts which are unfunded are the ones in the most immediate trouble.
S.
@Laura T
I hear you, but you have to remember that 6 new programs are founded every year, and that increasingly applicants are applying to more programs each year and in successive years as necessary -- and applicants are becoming more and more "efficient" in where they apply, but there's still tons of room for growth in that department (e.g., University of South Carolina, which is fully-funded, should not be ranked as low as it is right now, or University of Kansas, &c) -- so even if programs contract, the internal MFA-applicant culture is adaptable enough to ensure that those with the skill-set to do an MFA will get into one.
Be well,
S.
@sonja
quick question - if you don't mind sharing, did they inform you as to whether or not you'd be getting funded?
also, a few weeks ago i got a very pessimistic sounding e-mail re: funding from rachel blau duplessis. did you happen to get that? i basically wrote off funding at temple after that, but now i'm thinking it's possible they sent that out to everyone.
re. desired trend toward ONLY fully-funded MFA programs.
I like the idea of MFA programs being able to fully fund all students. I really do. It is, after all, the Arts. But it is the naive child in me who likes the idea, the inner child I like to nurture once in a while. However, Seth's focus on transforming the MFA landscape so that ONLY fully-funded MFA programs exist is flawed.
Fully-funded MFA programs don't necessarily draw those applicants (and ONLY those applicants) who need the funding. That is, applicants of all income brackets will be drawn to fully-funded programs for many reasons:
1. hey, it's free money;
2. theoretically, fully-funded programs draw the "best" cohorts;
3. the immersion aspect of fully-funded full-res programs;
4. theoretically, fully-funded programs draw the "best" professors; and
5. the more recognizable "name" value of fully-funded programs.
I'm sure there are other reasons other than the above five.
This phenomenon occurs in college sports. Many well-off college volleyball players (and players of other scholarship sports) accept scholarships even though their parents have money. I also know several trust fund and other relatively well-off individuals who applied to the traditional MFA powerhouses. Not only would they attend if admitted, they would attend with funding. No one turns down money, after all. I'm not making a judgment about whether this is good or bad. Just something to think about.
Do you want only poor people as your cohorts? Or do you want the best writers, regardless of financial situation? Right now, MFA programs do not require any sort of financial disclosure to get funding (other than those who require the FAFSA, but that's another matter altogether). It's all merit-based, theoretically. My initial thought is that it's probably better this way. You don't want Grad Admissions or MFA faculty going over your financial records (not to mention that it's also easy to hide money if you really wanted to). Maybe MFA faculty subconsciously try to admit applicants who they think are poor? I don't know. It's a dangerous thing if they do. For example, what if they refuse to admit an applicant who was a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley because they think he has money? What they don't know is:
a. What if he lost all his money on some ill-fated venture?
b. What if he's mortgaged up to his neck?
c. What if he has virtually no money due to child support and alimony payments?
It's a dangerous thing for MFA faculty and Grad Admissions to over-think an applicant's finances and refuse him/her based on their belief that the applicant has money. That's why it's better to be blind and award funds based on merit. No questions asked.
But then you run into the problem of admitting and fully funding people who don't really need the funds.
It's an issue, no doubt.
I think you want MFA programs that can fund talented writers who need the funds, without excluding good writers regardless of financial background.
@Woon
People who are better off may apply to a fully funded program because it is of top quality, but typically will not want to do the TAing required to get funding. Typically such people will then turn down the funding because of this.
It's not like people are handing you money for free, at almost any of the well funded schools. It's a job.
Nathaniel,
Why would people with personal funds turn down a TAship though?
@Nathaniel - that may or may not be true. I'm not trying to diminish what you said, but we have no data. I do, however, have a small sample that says that some are willing to TA.
@lookylookyyonder
Are you poetry or fiction? I've talk to people in both poetry and fiction, and it seems that things have been handled differently in poetry--regarding contacting accepted students. I didn't receive the email you are talking about, but I think I've talked to a few people in for poetry who did. The only correspondence I ever got was the acceptance letter, which wasn't even sent from the English department (sent from the grad school). I actually called and emailed several times about funding and never got a straight answer--which I think is because they just made/got the decisions yesterday (If I'm remembering from my meeting correctly).
They told me I'd be getting a TAship. I am not sure how many they offer to be honest. If you're curious, maybe you could give the department a call and see if they have you on the list for funding. I was probably going to go there anyway because I had been in correspondence with a few English professors who said it was likely I could do part time teaching my second year (this was before I knew I had a TAship and I was scrambling to figure out if Temple would be affordable). If you have any other questions, feel free to email me (sonjacrafts AT G Mail dot COM). Good luck!
My whole point is: it's great that all MFA programs become fully-funding, but you know what? Even some rich people will try to take a slice out of that pie. So, focusing solely on the MFA programs themselves won't address the issue. You've got to somehow prevent the bored rich writer/artist from taking money from poor writer/artist without removing talented writer/artist (regardless of financial situation) from the MFA game. We need the best writers after all, not just the poor ones.
@Jasmine
Why would people want to TA? I mean, if they really want to teach, I guess they would. But just as many people would probably prefer not to, if actually have the means to pay for school without it.
@Woon
I think we might be talking at cross purposes here. You seem to be talking about a sort of upper middle-class of students, people who "could" afford to pay for it, but would probably prefer not to. I seem to be talking more about hyper-rich types. All I was trying to say was that anyone getting funding is doing a job, for which they have qualified themselves with their writing/academic achievement/whatever. It's not like they're just stealing free money away from poorer writers.
Ugh, please ignore whatever I just wrote about class distinctions. I got something mixed up, or something. Point is, that part of my last post made no sense.
@Nathaniel - Why would people want to TA?
As I said in a previous post (from this afternoon), I borrowed the textbook used in my potential MFA program. I looked it over. It seems fun.
And maybe some want to be creative writing teachers?
There are probably hundreds of reasons.
@sonja
thanks, that's very helpful. i'm in poetry. i guess i'll just sit tight and see if i get any mail in the next day or two.
@Woon
Yes, but if they do want to TA, then they are doing work. And getting paid for it. Which is how capitalism works.
So saying that by doing that they're "stealing money from poorer MFA students" seems kind of dumb to me.
@Seth
I really appreciate all of the work that you do and it definitely helped me with my MFA application process. With that said, I'm a little offended by your comment about Eleanor choosing Columbia over Iowa. It's not that I don't agree about Columbia's situation (I'm going to Brooklyn College in the fall and didn't even apply to Columbia), but the comment just seems mean-spirited. It seems like you can talk about all the things you find wrong with Columbia without targeting specific people on the blog.
I have a close friend who turned down a fully-funded offer at Michigan last year to attend Columbia because she needed to be close to her sick mother. She didn't get into any other NYC school and didn't want to wait another year to apply. Of course, this is hopefully NOT everyone's (or anyone else for that matter) reason for attending Columbia, but I like to think we all come here to support each other in whatever our final decisions may be.
The part of Seth's post that I really liked was the "{shrug}." It made me laugh so hard because it was so consistent with Seth's character. I'm not sure it was mean-spirited. After all, he's allowed to have opinions like the rest of us.
@Nathaniel - Yes, I agree that a student who TA's is earning his keep. What I'm talking about is earlier in the MFA application process. Michigan and other "top" MFA programs are fond of saying they only admit only those they can fund. Six in Michigan, I believe, for example. The rich kid who got the sixth seat is indeed taking a seat away from the seventh guy who may (or may not) be poor. And regardless of financial situation, the person who takes a seat is indeed, by definition, taking a seat away from all others.
@ Laura T-
Yeah, I see that you're leaning toward Emerson.
Keeping in mind that everyone's situation is different:
In my very humble opinion, I think SLC is a far stronger program. I would also have to go into debt for Emerson, and I don't want to go into debt for a program when I've been accepted into another program that I think is better overall, and is better for me. The bi-weekly one-on-one conference system is amazing, and through the focus that SLC puts into one-on-one time with faculty (this is throughout the college btw, not just with MFA students), I get the same intensified guidance of a tiny program, with the more comfortable, and in my mind, useful, size of a program that's similar in size to Iowa.
I LOVE the campus
I LOVE the college's philosophy, and given the way I learn, and my literary interests, this is a program that will fully allow me to develop into "me", as a writer, a program where the primary interest is my personal, individual, development as a wholly original being who intends on producing wholly original work. I feel like its hard to articulate, because every program would purport to have the same focus, but..... I think there's an intellectual freedom at SLC that is probably lacking in many programs. Were funding a complete non-issue, it could have easily been my top choice, even compared to Iowa, UVA, Florida, etc. Simply because I think its an ideal fit for me, and I suspect I can graduate from their program a stronger writer than many other schools. Based purely on my talents, abilities, and interests. My outside perception is that my MFA experience could be free of unnecessary boundaries, and to help me learn to .. fearlessly follow my heart, my interests, my intellect, in order to begin to forge a space for myself in the literary publishing world.
I guess I think its the place best suited to help me find and hone my own, personal, Dennis N, voice.
That said, my debt will be massive.... But the universe (or God, if you ask my folks) has always taken care of me, so I'm not necessarily averse to taking a giant leap of faith.
..of course, declining my offers and polishing, and reapplying next year to funded programs would also be a giant leap of faith, and there in lies my quandry.
For those of you in your 2nd year of applications, or facing your second year of applications, do you have any thoughts for me? What has it been like for you? Two people at two programs said if I polish for another year, I may have a good shot at a fully funded program...but given how many people applied this year, and the likelihood of a similar spike in numbers......I dunno, and of course, if I declined SLC and reapplied, I'm sure they would just reject me.
Thoughts?
Hope this helps Laura T!!! Would love to see you at SLC, since I'll probably be there too:)
@Woon
The number of people who have $155,000 in wholly disposable income is small enough that I don't think it has any bearing on the general -- indeed universal -- utility and fairness of a program that fully funds everyone. Someone who has $155,000 in wholly disposable income is probably named James Franco and will a) get into Columbia on a separate track from everyone else anyway, and b) have the class to pay his own way. You might say, "Well, it doesn't have to be Columbia!" True: But then I'd ask, "Who has $51,000 in disposable income to go to Idaho?" Because disposable income is what we're talking about here: Unlike in a professional school, there is absolutely no explicit sense in which one can be said to be making an investment. One is paying for a writing vacation with a disputed educational component; one is paying for a community and a lifestyle but not a job or publishing contract. Not many people can pay $51,000 for a vacation and not be taking a significant hit to their wallet and their future finances -- and anyone for whom that amount is any kind of a hardship certainly has a right to seek a TAship.
Be well,
Seth
@Woon
So the rich six student should step aside and let the poorer student in? I'm confused.
I think for schools like Michigan, it's part of their mission to only educate the top six students that they receive. So the people who are selected as best, get in. And everyone gets the opportunity to earn their way, regardless of their status. If you start letting rich people in just so they can be fully paid slots, that just sends you back towards Columbia-ishness.
Eliane,
Hopefully (I can only ask, or suggest, that we give each other this courtesy) you read my entire post -- including the parts where I said that I was in no position to question any individual's decision to choose an unfunded program over a funded one, and where I said that a sick relative was one of a host of reasons (some of which I enumerated, many more of which I said certainly existed) for making such a decision. My comments were not directed to Eleanor and the OP as individuals -- as I said multiple times, I'm sure they have good reasons for their decisions, whether I can fathom them or not (and since I gave some examples of possible justifications, certainly I'm willing to meet anyone halfway if they're asking me to fathom their decision-making process, not that either poster did and not that that was my own purpose in posting what I did).
I was a public defender for seven years. If I see a large group of people walking full stride toward the edge of a cliff, I do what any moral person would do: I scream bloody murder to stop them in their tracks. As I said to the OP, what's important is that he make the decision that's right for him, and I presume he's done that. I have no reason to presume otherwise. But there's also no convention of ethics which compels me to presume, also, that the average person is making a good decision when they pay $155,000 to attend the #24 program in America (and falling) instead of, for instance, the program that's been #1 since 1932, funds all its students, is located in one of three UNESCO "Cities of Literature" in the world, and has a better placement record than any school except Virginia, and a higher selectivity than any program in New York City besides Hunter College. These are facts, not opinions, and so if I say them it's because facts like these (and many others of their ilk) apply -- and will, understandably, end up being dispositive -- for the vast majority of MFA applicants, all things being equal (which, as I said to the OP, they are not always).
I presume Eleanor and the OP made their decisions, because they're posting on this blog, with full knowledge of all the conventional wisdom about funding and MFA debt. I don't presume I was telling them anything new, or surprising them in implying that, all things being equal, the decision they're referring to is the wrong one for the vast majority of applicants. But only one applicant matters here: Eleanor, and/or the OP. And I'm perfectly confident in their respective abilities to make the right decision for themselves, considering their circumstances (whatever they may be). Which clearly, in their view, they have done -- or else they would have made different decisions.
Best,
S.
@Seth and everyone else discussing debt, program choice, etc.
The one thing I'm really worried about when it comes to my MFA program is that though I got some aid (2/3 tuition) and will be going only slightly into debt for tuition (maybe $15,000 max), I will go even further into debt for living expenses. And that's what worries me right now. I'll most likely be attending for three years, and I could rack up almost $30,000 of debt just from living in the city that long and paying for food.
That said, it is my sincerest hope to get a teaching job, or some sort of job to help offset the cost, but it's still a huge worry for me. That's the one thing I'm really grappling with about making this decision.
(Advice is apprecaited. Haha. It's a hard decision. I'm visiting the school and city starting tomorrow to see what I think!)
So, my final decision is made and for Seth or anyone who cares...quite a few spots will be made available today and hopefully they'll go to some of you kind people! (phillywriter, I'm looking at you! If you haven't already committed to a program, that is! I have yet to catch up on this blog. Congrats to all those who have made the big decision!)
The final data:
Accepted (all with full-funding):
ASU (COMMITTED!)
Indiana
UNLV
CSU
Texas State
VTech (So hard to let go! Almost
didn't!)
Waitlist
U. Illinois-Urbana
Rejected:
Montana
U of Arizona
U of Arkansas
Washington University
Never Heard Back:
UCR
Rutgers-Newark
I'm very happy with my decision, I have to say. I followed the funding, the study/teach abroad options, the sexy sun and my heart. Courtney and whoever else is going to ASU, I CAN'T WAIT to work and play with you guys!
I am sad, however, that I will miss out working with the awesome folks who have ended up at VTech and IU. Cratty, Sandra and Jasmine, the best of luck to you and I hope to meet you all at some point! Do keep in touch! Don't ever change! Have a great summer! ;) Hahaha! Oh and Woon! WOON! You too! Wherever you end up!
Thanks to everyone's support. Really. Thanks to you too, Seth. This blog has been an absolute gift.
For everyone who will be going at this again next year, please do! Don't give in or give up. I'll be checking in now and then to make sure I see some familiar faces! Good luck!
Dolores is sending her inappropriate love to you all!
Good luck Dolores! I got into Vtech a couple weeks ago, shame you're not going! Good luck at ASU though!
@Seth--
Thanks for the condescending good luck. Much appreciated.
My Uncle killed himself a year ago last month. Everyday, I live thinking about a forty year old with a wife of twenty years, my father's sister, and my cousins, taking a gun to his head and killing himself in a public park. He was a big time lawyer made more money than god. He was never in debt...but he wasn't happy. I was severely injured in a car accident two years out of college. I put the pen down and didn't pick it up until seven months ago and decided that I was going to do this and live my life the way I wanted to.
You ARE right about one thing Seth. One makes the right decision for oneself. I was throwing out a different opinion than yours. You can argue it to the ground like a good lawyer does, but at least there should be another opinion posted. I think your whole 99% stat is not as accurate as you give yourself credit for.
There are so many things that I can write here Seth.
As an undergrad student, I played division I athletics. Do you have any idea how much time it takes to play sports at the division one level? Just put it around five hours a day seven days a week (excluding travel of course). It made me pretty efficient. I also understand about how much it costs to live etc. Got a place. I know how much it will cost me all three years I live in Idaho. Not a complete idiot.
I understand you want Utopia. I understand that in ten years, perhaps I will have never had to pay to get the degree I'm paying for, but it isn't ten years from now...If not now, when...next year the year after that, hell I could be dead by then and if I am dead by then than at least I will have been in school reading and writing for the majority of those days rather than at some job I hate. And I won't have to worry about the debt.
@Dolores: Congratulations on your choice! And I totally feel you on VTech...
@Elaine
Without trying to pick a fight, I'll just say I found the response I received from Seth much more preferable in tone to the comment you refer to. I would guess the one I got better represents his considered thinking on the matter, rather than a minor indulgence in bloggish snark.
I think the key principle here - which I think Seth honored in his response to me - is that statistical trends and dollar figures are one thing, real people and their choices are something else. Bat around all the numbers and financial info you want, tell me the ruinous and dreadful things these indicate about a program - that's fine by me, I might even support those numbers and their arguments - but when an individual here announces their choice, please give them as much respect and support as you would any other member of this community, as that person is still engaging in the same endeavor as you. Whether or not you'd do the same thing, they're still trying to move forward literature and literary culture in this wacked-out nation of ours. Different small route, perhaps unwise, imprudent in your opinion, but same big endeavor.
FWIW, I totally support Seth's project - the whole CW MFA as American literary patronage system, the use of applications to leverage schools to improve funding. I believe in it. I just happened to have made the choice I did. So I support the overall idea, but voted with my feet against it. Perhaps I am a reactionary to the cause, but I hope it's more like that bit about embodying contradictions. Believe me, I started out just as much the little Seth-nik as anyone here, and am quite surprised I ended up where I did - though also extremely, extremely pleased. Maybe I'm an outlier to the march of MFA history, but whether I am or should be I will leave to my statistically minded betters.
@Nathaniel - you're misrepresenting what I said. I did not say rich kids should step aside for poor kids.
@Woon
Sorry, I think I was just being argumentative for its own sake. I'm a little worked up tonight because my basketball team lost. (UConn stinks!) So yeah, no worries.
@Seth - you may well be right about the number of rich people being a small number. But I myself can't really say for sure. I don't have the data. But I wouldn't be surprised how many well-off people there really are all around us. A lot of people who post here bemoan their lack of funds to attend MFA programs, but there may be just as many well-off (but silent) people who do have the funds and keep this fact to themselves. Money is a sensitive topic.
What this boils down to is: you believe the number of "rich" MFA applicants (e.g., disposable $$$ upwards of $150K) is insignificant and I believe I don't know what this number actually is.
But I support you in your mission to transform the MFA landscape to 100% fully funded programs. It is one side of the equation, after all.
Talking about beating a dead horse...
@Seth - you mentioned a rich person with "class" would turn down the funds. I'm not sure class has anything to do with it. A rational person might think:
If I turn it down the funds, can I be sure that the next applicant who gets said funds is poor and deserving?
I cannot. I don't control the allocation of funds. Who's to say the next guy has oodles of $$$? The FAFSA and other financial aid forms (correct me if I'm wrong) don't ask for total asset information. It only asks for federal income tax returns. I know many people whose assets are really high, but whose income is reasonably low, especially the last few years during the recession. Can they afford the MFA? Yes. Will they want to? Probably not.
I believe this is how rational people think.
Well, my last post was incoherent. Oy...
Hi Airships,
I don't make a habit of jokingly wishing people "good luck." I have absolutely no reason not to wish you good luck. So yes, I do sincerely wish you good luck. Not sure why that needs to be clarified, but there you are.
I'm sorry to hear about your uncle. I've been fortunate not to have experienced anything of that sort in my own family; my condolences to you. I've spent a lot of time around violence, however. I've represented more than 1,000 accused violent criminals in two states as an attorney -- and I certainly agree that the lesson of a tragic life is often what you've said: That to the extent we have the means to do so, and can do so without hurting others, we should follow our passions. One reason I advise against debt is that it makes a life of following your passions less -- not more -- attainable. I have more than $100,000 of debt and I have lived more or less in poverty since I moved out of my parents' house in 1994 (yes, that includes my time as an attorney, as I was supporting someone who had no health insurance at the time and that, among other things, nearly bankrupted us; she also had a penchant for trying to kill herself -- I'm not sure how many times you've attempted to keep someone's blood in their veins until the paramedics arrive, but I'll tell you it is, like the incident you described with your uncle, something that changes you forever. Fortunately this person is still with us; so often it seems these things turn on a dime, and again I'm sincerely saddened to hear about your uncle -- my aunt died under tragic circumstances within the past two years, and though they were very different from your uncle's, I know that no loss of a close family member is anything but wrenching).
You did a good job of stating your opinion. As I've intimated before, in other circumstances, our opinions are not equal. In the same way I know less about a loved one committing suicide -- though not for lack of them trying, Airships -- you know less about this than I do. That's not because I'm smarter than you; I probably am not. It's because I spent a few thousand hours you didn't spend analyzing MFA applicant trends -- decisions and outcomes. So no, I can't demand -- and don't demand -- that you respect that, but as I know it to be true I hope you understand I don't have any difficulty (no twinge of conscience) in addressing you as though I know much more about this than you. Because I just do. It's kind of like the way I know, because I just do, that your Christian name is not "Airships." (Actually that's a bad analogy: the former is hard fact, the latter merely a dead certainty).
I don't know what it's like to be a Division I athlete. I played on twenty-five different traveling soccer teams as a kid, played seven years of baseball at three different levels (an All-Star twice), and I was a tennis instructor for several years -- and I also played, as a child, the piano, the hammered dulcimer, the drums, and was Vice President of my high school choir -- but I'll admit that, despite having won a first-degree murder trial at jury, my sense of what it means to be committed and efficient likely takes a back seat to yours. The point being: Neither of us are idiots and I didn't, actually, treat you as one, so no need to return a favor that wasn't granted in the first instance. We could trade accomplishments and histories all day and get nowhere.
If you are entirely happy with the decision to go to Idaho -- a program I happen to think very highly of, by the way -- I'll give you some wholly unsolicited advice: go.
S.
@Jamie
I do appreciate your gracious response. Very much so. I hope I can say -- this is hard to explain -- that if I spoke to you on the phone, if we were in a bar, I'd be patting you on the back and buying you a beer and telling you how happy I am that you're doing something that excites you. As an education activist, my responsibilities feel -- to me -- somewhat broader. You may have noticed that the population of education activists re: the MFA in the United States is... er... one. I feel that burden heavily, because I've watched thousands of applicants (literally!) come through this space since 2006, and I try to approach the MFA thing from an "all things being equal" approach. That's partly because I know and can trust -- and you're living proof -- that folks will make their own decisions based on their own particular circumstances and values.
Best,
Seth
@Woon
I like you, brother.
S.
I hate to think that one day a world will exist where a rich person (be it an actor or musician or just plain rich) will not be able to buy his way into a top school. I mean, what advantages will there be for the rich at this point? Plus, who doesn't want to go to MFA workshops with James Franco?
Wow. Everyone is freaking out. Gross. This is not an Apple rumours blog. Unsubscribing.
It's been like this the whole time.
"foal," we hardly knew ye...!
actually... pretty sure i have no idea whatsoever who that is
think s/he/it was a Brit tho
personally i can't imagine subscribing to any of these threads -- thousands and thousands of posts per week, people! they can't all be genius and/or useful!
good use of "gross" tho -- very '84
s.
This is for Carrie who asked about Oxford. I know someone who was in the program and he has lots of good things to say about it, but some negatives too. It's definitely low intensity, at least in terms of face time, and low supervision, so it's better for someone who likes working alone rather than a lot of teaching and community. More than half the students each year are American. You're not allowed to focus on one type of writing - there is a heavy assignment load, and you have to write in many different genres, so if you already know you really want to write fiction and not radio plays, it's not for you. There's a lot of essay writing, too. My friend also told me that a lot of Oxford people looked down on the MSt students because the program is run through continuing ed department and not "real Oxford," but I don't know how true that is! Overall he really liked the people and the weekends away but ended up feeling like he had to do lots of little projects and couldn't focus on his main area of interest... it really frustrated him. But it's all about how you fit and what you want from a program, if you like working independently and haven't decided on "your" genre yet it could be perfect for you.
Hi lisa--
I'm in Long Beach so I got my letter really quickly! I know that they sent out 6 letters in this batch but so far have not notified any waitlisters.
@John / @Carrie.
Yes, there may be some looking down on part-time students by other Oxford full-time students, especially if there's a sense that the course is an Oxford money-grab designed for American students (it isn't really though, as the non-EU fees aren't that much more expensive). You'll meet certain institutional problems though - The Oxford Union (although it's independent from the university), for example, with its impressive toff heritage, seemingly does not allow those from the Department of Continuing Education to join (see below). I wouldn't be bothered about that (even though I'm a member), but it's definitely a snub given that they make allowances for some other universities (including Brookes, considered unfairly, and with frequent added disdain, the "second" university in Oxford).
http://www.oxford-union.org/joining/join
Anyway, all I know is that whenever I read with the students back in September 2009, a high proportion of them were American, or foreign - the attach rate of English Literature students from Oxford, Cambridge, Durham or other high-profile U.K. universities seemed to be either low or non-existent (even though it's quite good value for U.K. students who don't have, but want, Oxford on their C.V.). Everyone I spoke to was very nice (although I have no time for the directors).
The above is somewhat explained by how I've been rejected twice from the course, as an Oxford alumnus, and this year an application was deemed ineligible essentially because my referee's father was dying and the referee couldn't send in the reference - they wouldn't even re-use any reference materials from last year, and were very rude about the whole thing, but, in my past experience, that's typical from Oxford. I had an atrocious time there as an undergraduate, and the only reason I'd applied was that the exposure to the university is lessened in the MSt, and Oxford in my part-time position would be all the more tolerable for it (subsequent visits to Oxford, without the pressure of the anal, but confused, academic infrastructure, have always been very pleasant). This said, the vast majority of Oxford students enjoy their time at the university, and there's no valid reason why that should be any different within the MSt; after all, you'll still have 100% access to the street vomit of the U.K.'s future government.
One final thing though is that some of those I know who attend the course fly back home after the residencies - I'd urge you to stay in Oxford during term times if possible and involve yourself within the university's societies, and get the rhythms of the place. I'm going back to Oxford later this month as Trinity Term starts for an extended stay, and loafing on the college lawns whilst dreaming about screwing some nearby European princess while chanting Akhmatova, is always enough to make me forget that I'm a potato-digging Irishman with hair made entirely of turf bits.
Seth-- I really enjoyed your article on Flatmancrooked, and I especially enjoyed your response to the guy who commented on it. As another JD/MFA( first year fiction candidate) I sure do agree with you -- that guy most definitely will get an ice-cream headache reading cases for class (no matter how much he thinks he likes Supreme Court opinions now).
@ Wrecking Light
Have you decided to go to Iowa?
@ Chrissy,
If you get a few roommates and look hard to find a nice but cheap place (more luck outside Boston, probably), then living expenses should be manageable with a part time, 20-hours-a-week-ish job, if you're careful. I am REALLLYYY hoping to find a job on campus in one of the offices or something. And if you get to teach a freshman comp class in your second or third year, it pays around $4000 per semester. So you might not have to take on more debt for living expenses. I know that working some random job while in a program isn't ideal, but it's better than more debt. And probably won't be that difficult with a courseload of only 2 classes per semester.
I'm just hoping & praying I can find a job that is not retail or food-service. I can't stand any more of that!
@ Chrissy,
If you get a few roommates and look hard to find a nice but cheap place (more luck outside Boston, probably), then living expenses should be manageable with a part time, 20-hours-a-week-ish job, if you're careful. I am REALLLYYY hoping to find a job on campus in one of the offices or something. And if you get to teach a freshman comp class in your second or third year, it pays around $4000 per semester. So you might not have to take on more debt for living expenses. I know that working some random job while in a program isn't ideal, but it's better than more debt. And probably won't be that difficult with a courseload of only 2 classes per semester.
I'm just hoping & praying I can find a job that is not retail or food-service. I can't stand any more of that!
I have a dilemma- for poetry I have been accepted to the following programs:
-Brooklyn College
-UMASS-Amherst w/ full funding (T.A.)
-University of Miami w/ full funding (T.A.)
My first choice was Amherst, due to faculty, ranking, etc. However, the thought of Miami has been growing on me. I've never been there and truthfully never desired to until I got the T.A. and then I was like, I could get used to life if all I had to do was write and go to the beach!
I love the faculty at both Amherst and Miami. I am not too familiar with the Brooklyn College faculty, but going there would be really easy since I already live in Brooklyn ( and on the same train line!) I could keep my apartment and my job (waiting tables) and since it is relatively cheap I could do it without changing my life much.
But, I have been in NYC for 4 years now, and have no problem leaving for a while. So it is probably Amherst or Miami. Now, the monetary package is about the same I think, but in Miami you only have to teach the second year, and you actually get to teach Intro to Creative Writing instead of just Comp or Rhetoric. At Amherst you have to teach from day one- and its a three year program! I know some people are keen on that but I was sort of gearing myself up for a two year program.
I already know Amherst and the Northampton area well as I grew up 40 min. away. So I have an old dreamy nostalgia, but also a love/hate relationship with New England. I have never been to Miami so I could love it or hate it. However, it would be cheaper to live in and since it's a city the transportation would be adequate and I wouldn't need a car like I'm afraid I might in Massachusetts. And I would have more free time for a second job or even fun (gosh!) in Miami, at least the first year. And I wouldn't necessarily be confined to a college town like I would in Amherst.
Then again, moving to Amherst would be a lot cheaper, my family would be nearby, and when I drove up to visit yesterday the sky was dark and glorious with ecclesiastical rays of sun ripping through the clouds, and there at the end of the bridge was a huge weeping willow, my favorite tree ever.
help, anyone?
@Jennifer
Thanks! :-)
S.
dolores humbert,
congratulations on making your final decision. did you apply in fiction?
i ask because i am on the indiana waiting list.
thanks!
@umIrenic,
Yes, I've accepted the offer from Iowa in poetry. Are you on the waitlist? If so, good luck.
@inkli__11
Yes, Dolores Humbert is fiction. I'll be on pins and needles all day today hoping for her spot! If I'm not the lucky one, though, I hope it will go to you.
Hopefully one of us will be posting IU acceptance news today!
likewise, phillywriter. i really do hope both of us will get in!
did you receive an email yesterday asking if you were still interested in attending should a position free up?
@inkli
Yes, but I received it Monday afternoon. I still don't know exactly where I stand on the waitlist, but I assume it's within reasonable striking distance, otherwise they wouldn't have e-mailed us. Fingers crossed, for both of us!
ohh, i bet you're ahead of me, then! well i hope it works for both of us! :)
@inkli
Who knows? If Woon's theory is correct, waitlists aren't necessarily ranked per se, but instead the waitlister-turned-acceptance is chosen to match similar aesthetics or demographics of the person who turned down the spot. Not sure if this is how it works, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's somehow factored in for a small program like Indiana that prides itself on diversity.
I have a feeling I won't be able to concentrate at work today, at all (as evidenced by the number of posts I've made already to this blog when I've been at work just over an hour)....
@WreckingLight
I know that umlrenic was already accepted off Iowa's waitlist. Not sure if he/she has committed to the program yet, though. Congrats again to you, to umlrenic, and to all others who've made their decisions or have received recent good news!
hello-
first time poster here. apologies in advance for the long post.
for seth, my list:
Accepted:
Rutgers-Newark (fiction)
Sarah Lawrence (fiction)
USF (fiction)
The New School (fiction and poetry)
CUNY – Queens (poetry)
Waitlisted:
University of Washington (fiction)
NYU (fiction)
Rejected (all fiction):
Iowa
Indiana
Michigan
Wisconsin
Michener
Florida
Virgina
Hunter
Brown
Cornell
now: my question(s): I have no funding/TA-ships anywhere (well, some money at the New School, but pennies when you put it to living in nyc), and additionally most of the programs I’ve been accepted to don’t offer opportunities to get funding or TA-ships second year. Funding is important, but not the only factor for me. Teaching experience is also something I would like to get. Again, I don’t know how much that does/should weigh on my decision.
So, two questions:
1. Without considering funding or teaching factors, how would you rank the programs I’m accepted to?
2. Given that I am thinking about funding and teaching experience, as well as the cost of living in NYC (and how that will affect the time I have to write), is it worth waiting another year and trying again? (I’m afraid to give up my spots at these awesome programs because there’s no guarantee I’ll get in anywhere if I apply again next year.)
(For anyone interested, I should also note that I just turned down my spot at USF so a spot will be opening up there).
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Congratulations to everyone who has heard good news and/or made a decision in the past couple of weeks! And good luck to those waiting on waitlists (inkli, phillywriter et al).
I think Woon was basing that on Florida, who doesn't seem to have an outright ranking system - they re-evaluate from the wait list pool when a spot is declined. I'm sure other programs do it that way, but it's my guess that most of them go straight down a list, given all the talk of it on this blog and how much less work that would be for the committee.
@Courtney
thanks so much - i really appreciate it!
@Dolores Humbert I had a question about your funding status at Texas State. I wasn't aware that they had full funding -- only TA/IAships, a couple scholarships, and the Rose Fellowship. Did you get some of these, or all of these? What was your funding situation like for TX State? I only ask because I am on the waitlist for an IAship and have applied for some scholarships. Still waiting to hear back though.I would appreciate any information you can relay to me.
If you want to e-mail, you can write to me at s.alihaider (at) gmail (dot) com
umlrenic
are you maxx headroom?
AWP from April 7-10!
My biggest fear is that MFA faculty won't notify waitlisters if a seat suddenly becomes available in the next few days because they're too busy getting boozed and stoned at AWP.
@LASwede - Max Headroom! Now there's a name I haven't heard since the 1980s.
Since a number of posters have mentioned they're contemplating taking out loans, I thought I'd post some decision-making advice based on my experiences with educational loans - though they were taken out for law school.
First, I'd say that before you make your decision, get as concrete a sense of what the dollar value in loans you'll need will be and what that number will mean to you. (And make sure you factor in estimated interest that will accrue while the loan's balance is outstanding.) I was shocked by how little I and my classmates thought about what x dollars with lots of zeroes after it would actually amount to in terms of monthly and annual payments while in school.
Second, I'd say consider the trade offs you'll have to make once you've obtained your MFA in order to repay your loans. For example, I currently have about $60K in educational debt. Since I lucked out and was able to consolidate at an interest rate below 2%, I only have to pay about $300/month. Now $3600/year is totally doable for me, even though I've been exploring other, less lucrative, jobs than working at a law firm.
In contrast, my boyfriend took out loans totaling well over $100K. He graduated a couple of years after me and has a much less forgiving interest rate. I believe his monthly payments are closer to $1000/month. While I don't think that's an amount I could handle based on my professional objectives, I believe he'll be able to make his payments without too much of a problem. The difference is that the type of legal work that makes him happy is compatible with that repayment schedule.
Long story short, think about whether what you want to do after you get your MFA and the amount you estimate you'll need to pay back are compatible. You may find they're not, but that you're willing to make compromises in the future to accommodate the debt. It's really a personal question, so I'll just recommend everyone be as informed as possible when making this choice. Understand how potential debt will affect your future lifestyle and job choices - this should keep you grounded as you make your decision.
Good luck all.
@ Jen,
Thanks so much more posting your and your boyfriend's experience with loans. I appreciate that information a lot, and I'm sure a lot of other people here do too. Seeing how much the monthly payments are for large amounts of debt makes me feel more confident in my decision not to take on a huge loan.
@ Laura T,
You're welcome! It felt strange to post the hard dollar values (since that's the type of info we tend not to share), but I was hoping it would be helpful for others to see actual amounts.
@ denn1985,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
I agree with you that Sarah Lawrence is a great program, especially because of those biweekly conferences. I haven't heard of another program that does that. I can tell that you are really excited about going there!
For me personally, the most important thing is minimalizing debt. Financial freedom/stability in the future is important to me, and going to Emerson will allow me much more financial freedom in the future. Emerson is an expensive program too, so I definitely see why you want to choose SLC -- if the expense would be around the same, pick the program you love the best! But, I have a weird situation where I can live cheaply in Boston, and Emerson would end up being much less expensive than SLC.
Besides that, I really like Emerson. Multi-genre work, multi-disciplinary work appeals to me, which is available there. I also want some teaching experience, at at Emerson it would be possible for me to teach my own class, which isn't possible at SLC, so that's another big deciding factor for me.
But all things said, I have agonized over this decision, and I love both programs and still wish I could enroll at both, haha!
I have a dilemma- for poetry I have been accepted to the following programs:
-Brooklyn College
-UMASS-Amherst w/ full funding (T.A.)
-University of Miami w/ full funding (T.A.)
My first choice was Amherst, due to faculty, ranking, etc. However, the thought of Miami has been growing on me. I've never been there and truthfully never desired to until I got the T.A. and then I was like, I could get used to life if all I had to do was write and go to the beach!
I love the faculty at both Amherst and Miami. I am not too familiar with the Brooklyn College faculty, but going there would be really easy since I already live in Brooklyn ( and on the same train line!) I could keep my apartment and my job (waiting tables) and since it is relatively cheap I could do it without changing my life much.
But, I have been in NYC for 4 years now, and have no problem leaving for a while. So it is probably Amherst or Miami. Now, the monetary package is about the same I think, but in Miami you only have to teach the second year, and you actually get to teach Intro to Creative Writing instead of just Comp or Rhetoric. At Amherst you have to teach from day one- and its a three year program! I know some people are keen on that but I was sort of gearing myself up for a two year program.
I already know Amherst and the Northampton area well as I grew up 40 min. away. So I have an old dreamy nostalgia, but also a love/hate relationship with New England. I have never been to Miami so I could love it or hate it. However, it would be cheaper to live in and since it's a city the transportation would be adequate and I wouldn't need a car like I'm afraid I might in Massachusetts. And I would have more free time for a second job or even fun (gosh!) in Miami, at least the first year. And I wouldn't necessarily be confined to a college town like I would in Amherst.
Then again, moving to Amherst would be a lot cheaper, my family would be nearby, and when I drove up to visit yesterday the sky was dark and glorious with ecclesiastical rays of sun ripping through the clouds, and there at the end of the bridge was a huge weeping willow, my favorite tree ever.
help, anyone?
re: post-bombing the thread
Holy shiv that is annoying.
@LAswede re: Maxx Headroom
I'm not clicking on those youtube google results.
@phillywriter re: my gender
It's a she!
Hey kids, I disappeared for a while, and will likely remain disappeared until I hear from BU and know for sure what I'm doing (even though it sounds like I'm probably not in if I haven't heard yet)... I don't want to sit on Columbia and their fellowship money for anyone who's waiting if I don't end up going. It's just really not clear if I'll be able to afford it yet...
Congratulations to everyone who's gotten good news in the past few days!
Constance,
can you go to miami to check it out? it sounds like you have very solid ideas of what northhampton and bk are like, but perhaps less so on what it would feel like to be living and studying in miami.
visiting schools made a huge difference in my decision making process. to see it: real, tangible, concrete, and talk to the actually people you'd be working with.
besides advocating a visit, just from the tone of your post, you sound more excited about miami. the teaching gig also sounds better.
do an online tarot reading. (i'm only half kidding!)
good luck!
ps: i love your description of new england. i fled it myself, but the bittersweet dreamy nostalgia remains.
@ Constance,
From your post it sounds like you might be leaning toward Miami. But I think that you could be happy in either program!
If you go to Miami, getting to teach creative writing sounds like a major bonus because not many programs offer that chance. You also seem to be more excited about teaching only in the second year at Miami, versus teaching all three years at Amherst.
I've never been to Miami but I've heard it's great and a lot of fun. I love the town of Amherst -- I'm very attached to New England and adore small, New-England-charm filled towns. But there's definitely more to do in Miami, and judging from your post, more time to do things!
They're quite different programs -- Miami seems like an up-and-coming program, Amherst is old and established; two years vs. three; very different locations. But I think that either one would be a great option, and that you can't go wrong whichever decision you make.
@Constance - I thought I read somewhere here that TA gigs at UMASS-Amherst weren't guaranteed after the first year and that students have to fight to get these vs. PhD's who also want them badly.
@ Constance Culver,
You'd really need a car in Miami - public transportation is spotty at best. I'd also advise you to visit. It really is very different from other areas of the country, and people tend to either love it or hate it. (I'm from Miami and have lived all over the place; for better or worse, Miami really is it's own animal.)
Oops, damn that comma in "its" above. Please pretend it isn't there. :(
apostrophe
@ Woon - I think we went on a blind date once. You repeatedly corrected me on the pronunciation of your name, insisting that the second 'o' had an umlaut.
@Woon
I sincerely hope you're wrong about AWP resulting in delays for waitlister acceptance notifications. Now that you've planted that thought, if no one on the blog reports an IU acceptance today (presumably resulting from Dolores Humbert's spot), I won't know whether it's because it went to someone off-blog or whether the spot is still out there for the taking, and simply won't be offered until AWP fades away.
Ugh. This is brutal.
Ok I know I don't post much here anymore. But I just called TNS b/c I wanted to put it out of my mind once and for all. Apparently they sent a letter out to me on March 11th saying that I was waitlisted, but it didn't make it to me. Pleasant surprise, considering I had assumed outright rejection! The woman I spoke to said she would email the PDF to me just to make sure I got it this time lol.
All this to say, if anyone is still waiting to be put out of their misery by a school, call them! Who knows what you'll hear :)
Congrats to the multitude of people who have heard good news here! No way I can catch up on who got in where, but wherever you guys go, I hope you accomplish everything you hope to.
For anyone waiting to hear from Hunter - according to Gabriel Packard, if you've heard nothing either way, you're still under consideration. That's all the info I could get.
I think I've been rejected by TNS. : P
Just turned down a spot at the University of Colorado, Boulder (with a small fellowship) for Fiction.
I hope that this turns into good news for someone on the blog.
Just turned down a spot at the University of Colorado, Boulder (with a small fellowship) for Fiction.
I hope that this turns into good news for someone on the blog.
Thanks Cielo - I really needed that!
@ umlrenic
You never know! USPS isn't really on top of things like they should be...
But you've gotten great news from other schools anyway, right?
@ Woon,
Oh sh#%. Good thing I'm not operating any heavy machinery today (or ever).
@ Woon & Constance
When I was interviewing for a TOship at UMASS, I was told that the position IS guaranteed for all 3 years for MFA students, though I would have the option to quit after each year if I so desired.
Hey all. Is April 15th an absolute (unspoken) deadline for me to get back to the school that accepted me? When I received my letter of acceptance and other welcoming emails, I didn't read anything about how long I had to make my decision. While reading this blog the past few months, everyone keeps dropping the April 15th date. Can I extend my acceptance deadline? Do you think me evil? First, it's an unfunded acceptance. Second, I can't afford the program unless I score a certain job on campus, and I probably won't know about that job until after the 15th. I'd appreciate any help with info here. For the moment, I'm going to make pancakes. I'll check back later.
I'd love to share more about debt and edumafacation -- I'm close to $55,000 in debt (and worked part-time throughout all of my post-sec ed.)I have a bachelor's, secondary ed. teaching license, and am close to having an MA. Without a terminal degree, I have no hope of teaching full-time to fulfill my dream of becoming a writer, I mean, paying off my debt, I mean, having my own dwelling.
Off to make the pancakes.
@ GGG
Never hurts to ask! And there's nothing evil about it, in my opinion. Do what you need to do to make the next few years happen.
GGG - it seems that most schools consider the 15th the set-in-stone deadline, but call your particular school and find out. If they know that it's a question of waiting to hear about an on-campus job - as opposed to waiting to see if you get off a waitlist or get a better offer - I'd bet they'd be willing to give you more time.
I am currently sitting nice and cozy at the Hyatt in Denver. If anyone else wants to do fun AWP things (not getting stoned though...) email me at abensel2 at washcoll dot edu.
thanks for that info, brad smith, that definitely helps...wish i could say i was joining you at Michener, but i'm still hanging on to that wait list for dear life!
@Rhizobium - Sorry, but I need to get stoned before I go to a poetry reading.
Does anyone know if City College has a definite reply-by date? I've been trying to get in touch with them, but they are impossible to get a hold of. There was no mention of a reply-by date in the acceptance email and letter I received. Hunter College informed me that it may take until the end of April for them to make a decision regarding my acceptance.
@Woon - If you insist, I guess that's okay.
Why does everyone want to get stoned for poetry readings? I never hear about people needing to be high for fiction or nonfiction...oh well.
@ Chrissy re. living expenses.
I got the sense when I visited that pretty much everyone at Emerson works in some capacity - in the admissions office, for the English department, as a TA, etc. Everyone I talked to had been able to secure on-campus jobs.
I'd definitely ask people while you're there - but I got the sense that most people complete the program in three years, not two, so that they can also work.
I'm buying a washer/dryer with my stipend money. None of this coin laundry crap.
@ Constance
Those wait-lists are brutal, huh?
I hope you get in. We can be pals.
BUT, if you don't, I'm sure things will work out for you, Austin or otherwise.
Not to try and break the stereotype, but I'm a poet that's never tried pot, let alone any other kind of drug or even a cigarette for that matter.(How dull must my poetry be right?)
This blog has finally been unblocked by my office so I can become active at work. I wanted to ask, has anyone else on the blog decided on University of Oregon, I'd really like to chat. Thanks.
that's cool...if you're going to oregon, you'll be blazed up in no time! say hello to billy bong thornton for me!
This is a list of the places I've lived in the United States:
Buffalo, Boston, Binghamton and soon, Bloomington.
I obviously compiled my list all wrong. I should have considered only those programs in places that begin with B.
Oh, Indiana, why won't you call? I hear you're ready to move on to someone new, and I stand here with open arms! Can't you see we were meant for each other?
The silence is driving me crazy.
is anyone out there giving up a fiction spot at Western Michigan?
LAswede: Billy Bong Thornton? That is the most amazing thing I've ever heard.
It seems like half the people I meet in Washington have grow operations in their basements. I'm not sure what is appropriate to reveal here, but I'm just going to say I'm fine with that.
I'm going to blow my stipend money on a new wardrobe.
@Elio -
When did you hear from The New School? I'm still getting the "in review" response.
digapony, i wish i could take credit for that one but it comes from the genius mind of dave chappelle...billy bong and wesley pipes...thank you half-baked!
@Julia @Megan
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm planning to ask them for an extension on my response deadline. You're right too, it isn't like I'm waiting on another school, so they should acknowledge my keen interest in making finances work in order to attend their program.
Thanks again girls -- if you were here -- I'd make you pancakes.
I accepted a position in poetry at Univ. of Oregon and have removed myself from the "very high" position on Indiana University's waitlist.
Best of luck to everyone!
@ Julia,
Me too! I'm a poet who has never tried pot, cigarettes, or drugs, with absolutely no desire to. Yay for drug-free poets, hehe. There's too much substance-abuse poetry out there, anyway.
The problem with getting stoned at poetry readings is that you'll start to get the munchies. My guess is that crunching down on some Doritos in the middle of the reading may be construed as being rude. You would have to find something soft like dried apricots, I guess.
thanks for letting us know, jessa.
monday is so far away--what a bummer.
Just as I thought re. AWP interfering with waitlist limbo.
Bummer indeed. Ugh. I want to bang my head on the keyboard now, but I think my coworkers might notice.
@Seth,
I apologize for my belligerent post last night. I do believe that you know more about this both in terms of taking on debt and based on all the work that you have done in terms of your research.
Believe it or not, I edited that post for about two hours last night. What you wrote felt like a personal attack even if you didn't use anything intentionally personal. I felt like you were stating that I wasn't crunching numbers and hadn't thought things out for myself. I understand that you are reaching out to other people to state that their taking on debt is needless, and I'm saying so what live the dream. We are coming from two very different sides of this. Your personal experiences have not led you to the same conclusions that mine have. I have no debt.
As for personal history, I myself have been hauled off in an ambulance and detained in a "hospital." I can say that I've never been so scared in my life, not because of what I attempted, but because of the people that I was around and the doctors who couldn't care less. I've also watched someone else I've loved go through the same thing at such an early age that I was never quite the same after that. Thanks for sharing your experiences because I think it keeps everything in perspective. We've all been through our own personal hell in one way or another.
So again I apologize for coming off as an a@@. I have respect for what you have accomplished and for your well informed opinion. And you are right, living the dream without debt would be fantastic. I hope that the programs take the trend that you do. When I got the final email telling me that I would get no funding, I was bummed, but the writer I was in communication with apologized for the lack of funding and that they wished they'd had it. So do I, but that's life.
So again, I apologize. Thanks for all the work you do for the writers that come to this blog. Hope all is going well in grad school.
(My name is not Airships, but perhaps I will use it as a pen name.)
@Constance - I just wanted to weigh in... MIAMI! Haha, I should back up and say I don't know what would be right for you, I shouldn't assume, but if it was me.... Miami Miami Miami!!! :P
My reasoning, in case you're interested: for me anyway, I want these next three years to be an adventure! And I wouldn't think I'd have an adventure in a Massachusetts college town. Plus, seems like Miami's department is more interested in catering to its students. And gosh - the sunshine! Personally, I am way more apt to get up and go to class in the morning if it's sunny outside :) I looooved doing my homework outdoors, at college in California - oh man I miss that!
Haha, I'm getting way too excited here :P I applied to Miami, btw (did not get in) - so clearly I am biased. Anyway, just wanted to throw that in there. Good luck to you!!
It's 1:41 PM. I've never been so hungry in my entire life. I think I'll try the L&L Hawaiian BBQ. No running today.
@ Maslo
Yes, I've had lots of good news. I am becoming greedy.
@Airships
No worries. I'm happy that you're happy -- I mean that sincerely. I have no doubt you'll love the MFA program @ Idaho.
And as a Final Fantasy fan, I appreciate your handle, too.
S.
Oh geez with the Final Fantasy! Setzer and his airship were the best!
Oh you guys: accepted to Montana for Fiction off the wait-list.
Have we come up with an April version of March Radness? April Wowers? Probably not.
@M.Swann
How about -
"April is the coolest month."
Oh and congrats!
FYI, Woon -
Heard from Florida today, it looks as though they are closing the fiction wait list, all initial admits have accepted their spots. That makes my life (hopefully yours) a little easier to plan, but sad news!
Em
how bout april is the foolingest month...jesus, sorry about that
april - win or stay home
April rules.
This April definitely rules. Cowabunga?
@Emily - I got that email, too. Let's hope one of them flakes out and decommits. Writers have done crazier things.
Hiya all,
I've finally made my decision and am now contacting a bunch of amazing programs to turn down their offers.
It's been a hard decision, because there were so many great opportunities with fab faculty. But expect a slew of poetry waitlisters to be happier later this week. :-)
Oh, and my final decision? To join the carny and be a trapeeze artist.
xx koru
Screw these life-changing MFA decisions. The REAL question is this: Why didn't Woon go running today?
I did go running in the metroparks today :)
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