Friday, February 24, 2012
Where Are You Applying? Part 3
The previous "Where Are You Applying?" and "Where Are You Applying?" Part 2 are up over 200 comments now, so I'm starting another one to keep it reasonable. Please post where you are applying, which program (fiction, poetry, CNF, etc.) and if you've heard anything back yet (acceptances, rejections, waitlists, etc.)
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256 comments:
1 – 200 of 256 Newer› Newest»I'm writing sonnets to Montana and burning them in my shrine.
finally - some good news. accepted to calarts in fiction/critical studies, via status check!
I applied to 7 programs for fiction:
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Syracuse
Iowa
Cornell
Johns Hopkins
UMass, Amherst
The tally so far
Rejected:
Minnesota (Fiction)
Alabama (CNF)
Wyoming (CNF)
Accepted:
WVU (CNF)
Waitlisted:
Kansas (fiction)
Radio Silence:
Iowa (fiction)
Iowa State (CNF)
SIUC (fiction)
New Mexico (fiction)
Oregon State (CNF)
Hollins (CNF)
Mississippi (fiction)
NCSU (fiction)
Miami (fiction)
McNeese (fiction)
VCU (fiction)
GCSU (CNF)
Tennessee M.A. (fiction)
Has anyone heard anything from:
Hunter College - Fiction
Brooklyn College - Fiction
Columbia University - Fiction
?
Thanks!
There have been at least two fiction acceptances to Brooklyn, one yesterday and one on Wednesday. Hunter has notified some people for memoir, but not for fiction as far as I know. I don't believe anyone has heard from Columbia yet for anything.
Thanks very much, Claire. Congrats on WVU!!
accepted to texas state and west virginia for fiction!
I just got the acceptance call from Queen's University of Charlotte myself. Fiction.
Claire,
How did you find out about the two acceptances to Brooklyn on Wednesday and yesterday?
Thanks!
Daniel, they were both members of the facebook group that got phone calls.
Ok, so about UC Davis. I received an email on Jan 17 letting me know that my app was complete and that I'd be informed by February or later what the decision was. I've checked my status about fifteen times, and there's nothing to suggest either rejection or acceptance. Keeping in mind that I submitted my app on the day of the deadline, how does this look?
Also, I know acceptances, waitlists and rejections have gone/been going out for the following, but I haven't heard a word:
Michigan (fiction)
Purdue (fiction)
Iowa (fiction + poetry)
And, of course, UC Davis (fiction)
Any idea how many people Boise State waitlists (for poetry)? I understand they accept 2-3 people, so I'm afraid the waitlist is considerably long.
Thanks in advance!
Where I applied in Poetry...
Iowa
Houston
Indiana
Washington, St. Louis
Virginia
Alabama
South Carolina
Just got word from Wisconsin that I am on the waitlist. Holy crap! They were really nice about it, too.
Waiting to hear from (fiction):
Iowa
Hopkins
Hunter
Brooklyn
I see the buzz that Iowa and Brooklyn have started making phone calls ... Not to me, unfortunately.
Eketer-Pietra--I have seen acceptances for Iowa in fiction on the FB group but nothing in poetry yet.
Has anyone heard anything about Iowa NWP, like when they might contact?
I applied (in poetry) to:
Vanderbilt
Boston U
U of Miami
Georgia College
and San Diego State
No word from any of them.
Freaking out over here. I just discovered that ODU has an application status check page. So I went on and found out my application is listed as incomplete because they didn't get my transcripts from West GA! The deadline to apply was Feb. 15th. I'm screwed. Two weeks ago I found out that the same school failed to send my transcripts to Ole Miss, and I've ordered them twice now. So I guess I can mark both those schools off my list. I'm f*cked.
Monica, don't despair just yet! A lot of times applications are listed as incomplete when they have received the materials. Most of the time, they will contact you if something is missing.
Try getting in touch with someone at the school, either in the graduate office or the program director, to make absolutely sure. If you ordered them, it's not your fault if they didn't arrive. They might be willing to let you re-order them if that's all they are missing. Don't give up until you have actually confirmed with someone that they don't have them & it's too late. Really!
That's good advice, Claire. I will call on Monday. I just wish I would've logged on sooner. If I had, then I would've noticed that my appl was listed incomplete.
This is killing me! I really want to get my MFA, but if I come up empty-handed I don't think I'll re-apply. I guess I'll just get my master's in social work counseling instead. I can always write on the side. I mean, that's what I've been doing for the past 2-3 years now.
I am happy to report that this week I received acceptances for fiction MFA programs at: Northern Michigan University, Texas State University and the University of Arizona. They were all via phone.
Received an acceptance to Arizona today, via email. But I'm all the way out in Australia, so there you are.
Received an acceptance to NYU (fiction) yesterday. It came by email, followed up by a phone call.
@Art Film For Girls
Where I'm from we'd call that 'cleaning up'. Congrats!
@Eketer Pietra
I had an email from Davis on 24th saying my status would change on 28th. I assumed rejection. But in fact my status changed that day, apparently implying acceptance pending visa stuff (I'm international). I've since had another email inviting me to what seems to be an induction for new students in April. Hope that helps in some way, best of luck.
@Claire
If it was up to those of us who depend on your FB updates, you'd get accepted everywhere...
@violet24 Congratulations! That program is amazing. So many of my friends have their MFA from it or are currently in the program.
@BJH Thanks so much! I am pretty excited. Texas and Arizona both said to be "patient" about waiting to hear about funding. Northern Michigan offered the funding right away.
Got my rejection from Wyoming in the mail today....Here's hoping for better news soon
@maaricarter
Applied to:
Portland State
U of Iowa
Boston U
Columbia College Chicago
Florida State
no word yet...
I guess it's safe to say Cornell is over... it's just funny that we haven't heard of any acceptances in Fiction. But they've surely gone out already.
@BJH: Gah, congratulations! Are you Fiction, too? I would kill to work with Yiyun Li and Lynn Freed.
I'm still hanging on to a shred of hope that they're system is staggered. I submitted my app right before the deadline, and didn't receive the email stating that my app was complete until Jan 17th. Did you apply earlier, BJH?
For Poetry:
U of Wyoming (Rejected)
WVU (Accepted)
Vanderbilt
Iowa
LSU
Ole Miss
I've been following this blog for a while, so I figured I would share. Also, hi Claire! Looks like we might be at WVU together.
JGuzman, we very well may be! The more interaction I have with the faculty and current students, the more I feel like it would be a fantastic place to spend three years. I'm really excited - even if I don't get in anywhere else, I think WVU would be a great fit for me. Their TAship package is pretty sweet, too. I'm a little worried about the 2/2 teaching load, though - I've heard it can be overwhelming at times.
@art film for girls -- thanks... and congrats to you and everyone else!
if i end up going there, maybe you could put me in touch with these calarts friends?
@Claire, I agree! I've received really good vibes from the faculty and the MFA candidate I emailed. The teaching load does look like a challenge, but I figure it will give us a lot of teaching experience. And the location seems great!
@violet24 Of course. A close friend of mine who has her MFA in writing/critical studies from Cal Arts has her email address on her blog:
http://imnikkidarlingandyourenot.blogspot.com/
It's in her bio section. She's great and writes mostly non-fiction. Her blog like so many blogs is personal musings, however.
Applied to 12 programs in CNF:
Minnesota (rejected)
Alabama (rejected)
Arizona (assumed rejection)
Iowa NWP
Notre Dame
New School
Columbia
Memphis
LSU
New Orleans
New Mexico
Alaska @ Fairbanks
Again:
Poetry
Univ. South Carolina
Notre Dame
Univ. Virginia, Charlottesville
Virginia Tech.
Ohio State Univ. (Poetry & CNF)
Univ. Florida, Gainesville
Vanderbilt
Washington Univ., St. Louis
Washington Univ., St. Louis is the only one place with any kind of timely communication (rejection). However, apart from UF & ND, I’m trying to keep safe and keep my sanity by assuming rejections from all others—esp. in light of the rumor mill here. (And, let’s face it, the chances of a UVA acceptance are just ridiculously slim now.) . . .
So since I’m already pretty close to it anyway, I’m going to the dark side here. (Please move on to some warmer, fuzzier place—http://icanhascheezburger.com/—if you don’t need any further negativity in your life right now.) In fact, I’ve posted something along these lines in the past, but nobody responded/commented. Once more, though, I ask: just how bad is the state of the higher ed. job market for teaching creative writing?
At first, I knew it wasn’t good, just from proximity to and knowledge of the marketplace for the humanities in general. Then this summer I met for a long & frank discussion with a poet and past winner of the National Poetry Series whose writing has appeared in the *biggie* national publications—oh, and he has a PhD in an unrelated field, in addition to an MA and MFA. He explained how even with a book published and an MFA from a decent program (to say nothing of the other above credits), the only thing he could find was a community college teaching job, at which he still remains. He lamentably recalled how he couldn’t even get *interviews* for jobs at regular colleges & universities. So then I thought the creative writing teaching market was pretty bad. Right now, though, I’m thinking it’s even worse. I just searched “creative writing” on the Chronicle of Higher Ed. site and yielded only eleven results—but with only two! positions actually described as such.
So I knew things were bad in this area. (And I know the Chronicle of Higher Ed. isn’t an ultimate indicator.) But are they really *this* bad?!? Really, somebody, please offer some slivered ray of hope here if possible. I’m waiting. . . .
Until then, though, I’m now wondering if with this kind of teaching job market, maybe these programs sending out the rejections are actually doing me and so many others a big, big favor.
@Matt - I don't mean to sound patronizing, but I think attending an MFA program as a means to employment, besides not being realistic, as you indicate with your reference to the dismal academic job market for those in the humanities, is simply not the point of MFA programs. Really, given the realities of the job market, many people would even advise against pursuing a regular English PhD program for any other reason but intrinsic rewards. The only point for attending an MFA program should be to have two to three years to have at least a little more time than you normally would to work on writing. Really, if your goal is to be a teacher, you should get a PhD in Rhetoric - teaching comp. classes is the one thing that isn't going to go away (unlike the rest of the humanities sadly). And ultimately, if you want to teach creative writing, I think a school will always take publications and success as a writer over a degree and success as a student.
I don't know why teaching at a community college is considered such a bad thing. I'd enjoy that. I have a BFA in creative writing and have been accepted to more than one MFA because my first English 111 community college teacher took interest in a high school drop out who was intimidated at even trying to turn sentences into paragraphs.
"my first English 111 community college teacher took interest in a high school drop out who was intimidated at even trying to turn sentences into paragraphs."
Same here. My Comp One instructor at a local community college got me on track. Then, my non-fiction was published when I was only a sophomore. Now I'm halfway through my MA, and I'll be going MFA after that. And if I end up teaching at a little community college, no problem.
We had an English teacher in high school, Dr. Garvin, who wore a suit and tie to school everyday. He taught AP English during the day, and taught English courses at a local university at night. One of the happiest and most sincere people I've ever met.
I don’t want to come across as arbitrating—esp. when I sincerely left that open question in my post above—and I’m truly not the need-to-have-the-last-word type, but. . . .
To address a couple points: 1. Certainly I know that teaching creative writing on the genuine collegiate/university level is not a *realistic* goal today—but only lately have I begun to fully realize that it’s next to impossible. Also, as most all reputable MFA programs specify such teaching as at least one of the aims that applicants should hold—and for which MFA residents are given some training in their TA—there’s something pretty disingenuous/fraudulent going on to simultaneously cast aside these teaching goals as improbable. And of course the MFA is primarily for working on your writing/art, but it’s also become a bare minimum for creative writing teaching positions at many institutions—in addition to those publication credentials. 2. Lastly, there’s nothing wrong w/ teaching community college—so long as you don’t see anything wrong w/ teaching community college. That individual I mentioned clearly held some resentment. Also, the picture can be very different once you’re actually on that other side and in that comm. college teaching job—to say nothing of the fact that not all community colleges are created equal (like most things).
To anyone's knowledge, do MFA programs notify one another of their applicant lists? In other words, would applying to 15 programs disadvantage an applicant because schools assume that there's no commitment to any particular program?
@Matt - You are right, a lot of programs sell GTA positions as teaching experience. And, it is true, that getting a master's qualifies you to teach as an instructor at the college level. I already have an MA and am currently working as an instructor (I teach mostly comp, and get to teach one low-level lit class). So having gone through a program, I'm not "bitter" and hopefully, not "cynical", but I guess I'm definitely not "optimistic" or "enthusiastic" about teacher training and the teaching career. To me, a GTA position is largely cheap labor for the university and a MA for most people will give them a chance to be an adjunct instructor, which pays at about the same rate as a GTA position - you make more because you teach more.
There's nothing wrong with teaching at a community college, but just to be clear, it's not easy to get a job at a community college either, especially not a tenure track position, especially with just a Master's. Or in other words, it's hard to get a job that pays enough to justify getting a Master's, at least purely in terms of economics. The only other thing I would say about teaching is that very little of it is the "change lives" kind of stuff. It's mostly just grading. And grading. And then some more grading.
I'm not saying it's terrible, but well, it's not that glamorous either and in terms of the cost of getting a graduate degree, the pay instructors make, and the amount of time you have to put in to your job, getting an MA or an MFA with the intention of teaching, is probably not the best option for an aspiring writer.
That said, I'm still doing it and don't regret it, even though I probably sound pretty negative.
@Eketer-Pietra
Fiction, yes, and thank you. I applied in good time but my transcripts were very late, so my application was only recently 'complete'. You're right, the faculty is impressive. But I've heard nothing about funding yet and the sad truth is if I'm required to pay full non-resident tuition, I'm not going to be able to go. Best of luck to you once again.
@anonymous
I've wondered that too. It seems possible since a few programs I applied to asked applicants where else they'd applied. Plus I know there's a lot of fluidity between the professors at certain programs, especially in NYC. But who knows--seems like discussing applicants' eligibility is an ethical issue to me.
got an email from WVU saying they raised their GTA pay (nice). Still no word from Johns Hopkins, U of Florida, UVA, U of Maryland, or U of New Orleans.
got some good news today--accepted for fiction at rutgers-newark.
First, let me say I applied to three programs a couple years ago and was rejected. This time around I've had better luck.
U of Florida (e-mail acceptance)
Oklahoma State U (e-mail acceptance)
U of South Carolina
University of Virginia
AZ state
Cornell
Utah
University of Michigan
U of Arkansas
U of Montana
University of Maryland
Florida Atlantic University
California Irvine
University of Miami
greenjeansgifts, congrats! when did you hear from florida and in what genre?? i'm also in at ok state and still waiting on a bunch of other programs.
Heard from Emerson this morning. In! (Fiction.)
Poetry
U Michigan
Boise State
Oregon State
Virginia Tech
Wichita State
nary a word
This is where I applied in the genre of fiction:
Cornell
Indiana
Wisconsin
Iowa
Montana
UCSD
Arizona
@bunny
Genre: poetry / I heard from UF on Feb 14th. Congrats on Oklahoma State!
Anybody heard from Cornell? It's a few weeks past their typical response times, but I haven't seen any news here, the pw boards, or on gradcafe.
thanks greenjeans! i'm fiction, so maybe there's still hope for uf!
@Jessica A. Kent: Congrats!! Did Emerson notify you by phone, email or mail? It seems so early for them! Maybe because of AWP.
Wait listed at Indiana - email just arrived.
Accepted to Northwestern and Roosevelt (partial fellowship) two weeks ago.
It's like waiting to get asked to prom all over again!
Great job to Jessica, greenjeans, Marina, and all our winners!
@robin smith:
On 2/16, someone (who appeared to be a fiction candidate)posted "cornell acceptance - hoo haa!!"
I don't think he replied to any follow-up questions, but take it for what it's worth.
*
Anybody have any idea whether Iowa is done notifying for fiction?
hey folks, thought i'd chime in for those waiting to hear from rutgers-camden. i just got notified (by phone) of acceptance! haven't heard from anywhere else!
I applied to 4 low-residency MFA Programs:
University of Southern Maine (Stonecoast)
Pacific University
University of Alaska
Spalding University
I received an acceptance (email & phone) from Stonecoast today. Yay!
Received an email this morning from Indiana that I'm on their waiting list. I'm on two waiting lists now, Ohio State and Indiana.
in at the U of O for poetry via phone! jumping around!
Is it safe to assume that Brooklyn - Fiction is finished notifying?
Has anyone heard anything from Hunter - Fiction?
Many thanks!
I am fairly certain that the Cornell 'hoo-ha!' person followed up and reported being the victim of a prank perpetrated by his/her friends.
@Alyssa C. - I logged into their online portal and found out. (As I've been checking it every ten minutes for the past week!) No active contact from them yet.
Yes, I am the Cornell hoo-haa person who was punk'd by my "friends." Still no work from Cornell...
@Unknown, is that Oregon?
@MarinaMu and Humblepie: Fiction or Poetry? And congratulations!
@marsupxyz
I wouldn't assume Brooklyn - fiction is done notifying. I just got a phone call this morning. You could have knocked me over with a freakin' feather. Beyond thrilled. Best of luck, all!
@ Pensive Monkey: yes, U of Oregon.
Any word on Montana Poetry from the Facebook group yet?
Fiction for me, Scott_atl! :) are you applying for fiction or poetry?
It seems that most people who have posted acceptance from Emerson have gotten word through their online application status. One rejection was reported through snailmail. Has anyone gotten a rejection through the online app status? Mine still says it's under review. I'm taking this as a negative sign. Maybe they are doing acceptances through the online status and rejections through the mail?? Any ideas?
@MarinaMu: Poetry. Thank goodness you're fiction. I was getting nervous. Indiana is one of my top choices. Best of luck to you!
Congrats, MAB! All the best!
Did Brooklyn share any numbers with you?
I also found out I was on the waitlist (for poetry) at Indiana today, via email. I'd filed them away with my presumed rejections, so that was encouraging!
@calgary: Congratulations! I've applied there this year and am still waiting... this is getting intense...
hey @unknown did you get any details from Rutgers-Newark? anything? numbers? fellowship info?
Received a rejection from the University of Tennessee M.A. program today. This is my list:
Ohio State - Rejection
Vanderbilt - Rejection (Acceptances and waitlists confirmed via the MFA Blog)
Purdue - Rejection (Acceptances and waitlists confirmed via the MFA Blog)
Tennessee M.A. - Rejection
Georgia College - Told to wait until March 15th
U of Cincinnati M.A. - Told to wait until March 15th
Florida - Waiting
Ohio University M.A. - Waiting
Notre Dame - Waiting
A word of advice from someone dealing with a proverbial nails in the equally proverbial coffin: I've noticed that this process goes a lot easier when you focus on other things and put it out of your mind as best you can. I've made it a rule to not check my e-mail from the time I head to work until I arrive home. I also now only check web sites such as those which offer a University Application Status twice a week and this MFA Blog once a day. Doing other things makes it almost bearable, even pleasant in a sense. Yes, rejection can be painful. But that's something we just have to learn to accept. Rejection doesn't go away. Luckily, in a weird way, a rejection can be exciting.
@daveeb, do you mind if I ask how you received your Tennessee rejection? I applied to that program as well and haven't heard anything yet.
@Claire
Postal service, Presorted First Class. Sent out February 24th, 2012.
I'm also in at Rutgers Camden as of this morning!
@rebbiek: they are taking it slow at Rutgers Newark and trying to gauge interest of accepted applicants before making firm offers. Not sure how many applied/accepted.
@daveeb, I kid you not, twenty minutes after you posted this, I went downstairs to check the mail and had my U.T. rejection letter waiting.
Kinda sucks. I am from the Knoxville area and would have loved to move back there.
Waitlisted today at Indiana for poetry by email.
Yet to hear from:
Cornell
LSU
U of Oregon
U of Texas (English Dept)
Iowa
Fiction
CANADA (in case anyone is looking to study with me in Western Canada)
Saskatchewan - acceptance (by email, Jan 25)
UVic - rejection (or "refused") (online status page, Feb 26)
Guelph-Humber - no word (and no response to an email I sent asking for info)
USA
UW-Madison - rejection (by email, Feb 17)
Michener - no word
Question for those rejected by Michener: I don't have GRE scores posted yet, so online my status just says "incomplete." For those of you who didn't make it in, were any of your documents outstanding? I was told by email today that successful and waitlisted applicants will for sure be notified by March 10. I read on the website, though, that rejected folks may not see their status online updated because of outstanding docs. Could really stand to know now if I'm not getting in.
@ Sirrah,
Thanks for letting us know about the March 10th date. My status for Michener is complete and still "in review." Seems like they're sending out rejections in waves. They must have some kind of first, second, third, on and on infinity phase out system. I was feeling pretty excited about my "in review" status around last week, but a friend of mine, who is now at Columbia, told me that it went the same for her--that she was "in review" forever, or well into late March last year--before she ever did receive a rejection from them via snail mail. I think they must condemn a significant number of applicants to no man's land, just in case. Meanwhile, folks are reporting acceptances to NYC programs that I've applied to, but unfortunately, I've got nothing. Sigh. But congrats to everyone getting yeses! If not this year for me, next year.
Got a Brooklyn (fiction) acceptance by phone today. First place that has called, and I was suitably shocked. :) I sounded like such a dope.
Kate
To prove I am in fact, human after 3 acceptances in a row last week, I got TWO rejections in the mail today from University of Wyoming (my dreams of being a cowgirl are dashed) and University of Michigan (honestly, that was a pipe dream, but I had to try.)
Just an FYI.
@ scott_ati
Thanks for the congrats. I was waitlisted for fiction.
Accepted at Oregon State by Phone/E-mail and Idaho by E-mail.
Declined both offers because I've already accepted my spot at Ohio State, though.
Hope these spots go to some deserving people from the board!
Those were both today, btw.
congrats horatio! what genre?
Fiction!
Thanks for the congrats.
congrats even more then! now that it looks like idaho acceptances have gone out, i'm just hoping maybe there's a waitlist spot to be had:)
Subscribing :)
I don't think anyone has heard yet, or at least no one from this website or the fb group, but any word from The New School or Columbia? I'm thinking we'll know by the end of next week, if not the end of this week...
I applied to 4 programs for poetry:
Michigan (rejected)
Indiana U (waitlisted)
UNC Wilmington
Western Michigan
question about Indiana: Does anyone know how many people they place on their waitlist? I know they accept 6 people in each genre, and I've noticed at least a couple other people here say they were also waitlisted for poetry...I'm wondering how good our chances actually are.
This "Cornell Hoo Haa" incident is becoming legendary. Perhaps future generations of applicants should remember the "Hoo Haa Incident" as a perfect example of how inaccurate and misleading some of this internet hearsay is, and take from it a reason to be calm and hopeful until getting official word.
I have applied for nonfiction at
Iowa NWP
Columbia
UNC Wilmington
Arizona
Not a word yet, but I feel as though Columbia and Arizona should be coming soon.
waitlisted at Indiana for poetry--still really excited though!
@DaymanNightmanWoahaoahaoh: As indicated in my earlier posts, I am the Cornell hoo-haa individual who was punk'd by friends with a phone call from a person impersonating a rep from the Cornell Dept of English congratulating me. I apologize to all to whom I caused trepidation, but if the event is now deemed to have achieved legendary status, well, then, it was definitely worth my personal victimization!
The only way the ultimate "legend" of the "Cornell Hoo-Haa caper" can get better is if fate deals me a wonderful blow straight to the jaw with an acceptance to Cornell in the near future!! Now THAT would indeed be legendary.
Acceptance from Florida Atlantic yesterday and University of Memphis today.
Still waiting to hear from:
UNC Wilmington
NC State
University of Greensboro
Emerson (Masters, Writing & Publishing)
Florida State
University of Florida
University of Centra Florida
St Louis University
University of New Orleans
St Louis University Madrid (MA)
Vanderbilt
WVU.
Has anyone heard from any of the above schools?
it's probably fair to say that Iowa is done notifying acceptances, yes?
Re: Indiana wait-lists
They wouldn't tell me how high I was on the wait-list, due to "admissions policy," but I knew of at least 3-4 others who were on the IU wait-list in my genre.
I'm not sure how many people made it off the wait-list last year (I wasn't one of them), but I wasn't informed of my ultimate status until April 19th. The whole thing was kind of b.s.
In non-fiction:
U Idaho (accepted-- e-mail on the 27th)
Wyoming-- assumed rejection (I'm driving cross-country now, so I am not home to receive the rejection letters that seem to have gone out)
Still waiting on...
OSU Corvallis
UNC Wilmington
Boulder
I was told in an email this morning that Guelph-Humber will have made decisions by end of next week (March 9) and if I haven't heard from them, I am free to contact them again and check in. At least one other person on here mentioned Guelph, so, well, that's for you!
Follow-up to what I said about Michener: they will be making acceptance decisions next week, so people should start hearing about acceptances and waitlistings starting March 5. And if you don't hear anything by March 10 (a Saturday?), you can consider yourself rejected.
So looks like next Friday could be a very good or very bad day!
Update:
U of Michigan - rejected
No info from
Virginia Tech
Boise State
Oregon State
Wichita State
@ Becky. Congrats on FAU--I received an e-mail acceptance yesterday as well. (poetry)
Also was officially rejected by Michigan.
Hey all. I have been following this blog for a while. I just wanted to post that I was offered a spot at Rutgers Newark (fiction) this morning. I'm ecstatic! I barely know what to do with myself. Good luck to everyone else.
Thanks Sirrah! Good luck to you.
Thanks greenjeans. Looking at comments above, if I don't hear from WVU, U of Florida, or Vanderbilt (who I wasn't banking on anyway) soon, I should move my prospects elsewhere. Does anyone know anything about U of Memphis?
Applied to:
University of Illinois UC - rejected
University of Michigan - rejected
University of Minnesota - rejected
Assumed rejections:
Indiana University
Purdue University
Waiting hopefully still:
Bowling Green State University
Why assumed? Well apparently the people they picked way back in Jan. and early Feb. received phone calls already...so the rest of us get to suffer and be hopeful about our 'under review' status, meanwhile they already have kicked us to the curb.
This is my second year in a row applying to get into MFA programs. First year I was silly and only applied to UW (Seattle) and was waitlisted. I'm not delusional, I excelled academically and outside of the classroom, have an extensive list of accomplishments as I'm sure many of you do...so my question is why are we spending hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to play a game where almost all of us lose, and we don't even know why because schools won't deign to tell us.
Does anyone else feel like the world's punishing us for being creative? I just want to be a part of preserving the importance of poetry in our society and at every turn, the world and the poetry society itself (from academic institutions to the general exclusivity in the poetry world as it is now) raise a wall for me to slam into. I'm just not sure how much more impact my body can take.
I'm struggling to understand why I'm being punished for working incredibly hard and doing everything right. And I'm sure many of you feel that way too.
The only thought that keeps me sane is knowing if I'd pursued something more logical, like law school, I'd be knowingly residing myself to a life of misery even worse than what we're experiencing with every rejection.
Aren't we suckers for punishment, though, SpunkyJess? Applying to MFAs is like sending in five/ten/20 short stories/poems to the best journals on the continent, knowing the likelihood you'll get published is pretty damn small, but doing it anyway. And then you get the rejection slip and suffer through that and then get on the computer and start all over again.
Or think about workshop (if you've done workshop), where 15 people lambaste your work, and you can't say a word in your own defense. And some of that was invigorating wasn't it? Those fuckers! They don't know good writing when they see it! I'll show them. And so you do, and you get slagged again, or rejected by a magazine, or denied admission to a school.
I thought about law school too but then I thought about a life where I was unhappy because I had chosen a joyless path. At least there is joy to be found on our creative pursuits, even if it's ephemeral. I am happy being unhappy most of the time if overall my pursuits honour my creative spirit. Wow, that's cheesy. *barf* Must be all this waiting.
Hi everyone,
Keep your chins up--it's a scary time!
Speaking of scary, has anyone heard (or heard of someone hearing) from Iowa for poetry? If so, when? I know fiction was happening last week, but there didn't seem to be any poetry news, at least of last Friday.
I hope that everyone gets in somewhere they want to be (I know it's silly and impossible, but I hope it).
Daniel
Applied to (Fiction):
U Wisconsin (rejection email)
U Kansas (rejection email)
Vanderbilt (assumed rejection)
Wyoming (rejection letter)
Pacific Lutheran - low res (accepted! via phone)
Yet to hear from:
UT Austin (Eng. Dept.)
Eastern Washington
U Florida
Miami U of Ohio (M.A.)
McNeese State
Also, a friend of mine just got accepted at Montana, also fiction.
@Sirrah
Well said, you're absolutely right. We suffer knowingly because as we know, to not write would be to stop living (so to speak). And so despite the pain, we just keep trekking, desperately waiting for the day when someone recognizes that what we have to say matters.
That said, best of luck to everyone. This path will never be an easy one.
Hey, y'all. I was just looking at the acceptance rates for different programs on the MFA Research Project site. The site lists the 2012 acceptance rate for Ole Miss. Have the Ole Miss acceptances gone out already, and did anyone on here get accepted?
I'm also waiting anxiously for the following:
--LSU
--Old Dominion
--New Mexico State
--Wichita
--McNeese
--Georgia College
--Georgia State
Does anyone who got into Hunter want to talk about program/offers?
Hi all!
I'm an undergrad at UF and they should be sending out acceptances any day now for those who are waiting. If you got rejected from Michigan, how did you hear? I haven't received a letter or e-mail yet. . .
erica, heard via postal letter, which was delivered yesterday. I'm closer (Arkansas) to Michigan than you.
I was blissfully happy when I was working on writing a few more poems and the admission materials! I had a purpose that dovetailed quite nicely with my values.
Hey! I'm finishing up my B.A. at Florida State I'm waiting on hearing back from Brooklyn College and Hunter College, as well as Florida State. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Word is that FSU is going to be sending their responses out sometime next week for those who are waiting.
@SpunkyJess, hey, next time you hit a wall, make a door. 2012 is the dawn of a new age of thinking. We're in a recession and you know what happens in unsettling recessions? People spend time analyzing and thinking about their situations, just like you. It leads to innovation and progressive. Say you don't get in where you want or anywhere at all. Then get a job, even if it's crap, then volunteer in the community hosting workshops, giving readings, and have discussions with the other writers in your community. You want to publish work? Start a press and publish other people, work on your craft, find mentors outside of the academy and apprentice with them. E-mail, mail, and call your favorite writers-- the worse they can say is leave me alone, but I've never had anyone say that. Apply to conferences and writing retreats that you can pay for with the crap job that won't lead anywhere, then improve, and I can almost guarantee that if you're genuine and work hard, you'll get everything you've ever wanted and more.
nice pep talk, ch, keep it coming!
still waiting on:
montana (although someone said they've started notifying)
hopkins
brown
columbia
austin masters
cornell (surely a lost cause by now)
irvine
in the genre of fiction....
@Daniel. I got into Iowa for poetry on Saturday via phone. Don't lose hope, though, they're known to stagger!
@ericakenick - I got my rejection from Michigan by post last week; I also live in Michigan, so I imagine quite a few letters are still en route. And I'm not positive, but I believe they've sent their acceptance letters through email (for fiction, at least; dunno about poetry).
Two people on FB just posted LSU acceptances, one poetry, one fiction, both by phone earlier this evening. One said they are accepting 6 total, hoping to get funding for 2 more.
Another Oregon State (fiction) acceptance over at FB Draft.
Just got a wait list e-mail from Oregon- Corvallis, in non-fiction. They said they had accepted 4 non-fictioners, FYI. They also seem super nice.
Got a rejection from USF on the 14th. Hopefully one of the other 12 schools workout. Fingers crossed.
Re: Montana. I was accepted last year, but wasn't notified until a couple of weeks after they'd made their initial offers. Of course, I didn't get any funding so that's why I'm at it again this year, but I just wanted to share for those of you who are thinking Montana is a lost cause b/c they've already begun notifying...
Poet--Congrats and thanks for the news!
Been following for a while but a new poster :n)
I applied to the following programs - Poetry
John Hopkins
University of Baltimore
George Mason University
University of Maryland
NYU
ALL are radio silence. Has anyone heard anything from them in poetry?
I keep seeing mention of a FB group - can someone point me in the right direction ?
@Rea
The FB group is in the Highly Recommended Links section of this blog, at the top: 'The 2012 MFA Draft Group'.
My advice is: avoid it like the plague!
Thanks! I found it not long after posting that comment. It's already getting me worried and frazzled. I think I'll only look in moderation - other wise it'll drive me crazy.
I've already seen some people hear back from programs I've applied to which is chipping away at that wall of peace I had going on.
thanks for the heads up @BJH
@Rea: Still waiting to hear from Hopkins (poetry too)as well as UVA, BU, and Michigan (assuming rejection since everyone acccepted seems to have heard).
I noticed a couple people were accepted to FAU. I was too, but applied there as the ultimate back-up plan since I'm already in FL. Is their program actually good??
Heard back from 2 of 4 Colleges that I applied to for MFA in Poetry.
Invited for an interview at Bard College (Email Feb 20).
Accepted into NYU MFA - Poetry (phone notifiation February 28th).
I was hoping to instead send this info to MFA research project, anyone know where I can submit this to?
@ericakenick - Congrats on your acceptances! I was wondering the same thing...got in a UF and FAU. Obviously, UF is higher ranked, but I want to talk to grad students from both programs and try to read the poets' work as well. I have heard that FAU offers really good funding, so both schools are probably even on that score.
@Cookette, did you apply for fiction/poetry/CNF? I applied for fiction and haven't heard back yet.
@Rea the facebook group is a group of 1200 of us applicants/current mfa students.
Despite what some folks on her have said we're actually really nice if a bit crazy/neurotic at times.
Also many of us have been members since last spring when the application season began so if you do join and feel left out don't. Just jump in and introduce yourself. We really do have a ton of useful information if you search through and you can always turn off notifications if our non-MFA related chatter annoys you.
Anyone out there hear any murmurings about UW Seattle? Past notification dates range from mid-Feb to mid-March, so we could hear any day now, or we could hear in two weeks... *grin*. Any info out there?
Has anyone heard back from NYU or Hunter in fiction? Can't tell if having heard nothing by now means a rejection or if I should still have hope.
@Anyone;
it seems like no one (including myself) have heard from Hunter yet. The completel silence is kind of scary. But several people over on FB have gotten into NYU for both fiction and poetry. But that doesn't indicate there aren't more acceptances coming.
so U of Florida has already gone out- is that fiction or just poetry or both?
@Alyss, thank you for the info. Though hearing that several people have already been accepted to NYU for fiction is what I was afraid of, it's better than constantly wondering I guess. The silence from Hunter is scary but hopefully they are just taking their time deciding. Good luck to you!
Has there been any word from Ole Miss or Southern Illinois yet?
@Kristen: I applied in fiction. Hopefully you get in.
@Cookette: Thanks! Good luck to you - I am sure good news will come your way from elsewhere.
@Alyss
Thanks so much :n) That's really sweet of you. I joined and already have gotten a nice response AND found a LOT of useful information.
It prompted me to go ahead and check my online app status and make a few calls because of confusing information.
Baltimore University is starting their review process next week. Haven't heard back from the other programs yet.
@ericakenick ugh! Glad I'm not the only one waiting to hear back from Hopkins :n) Good Luck to you and Congrats on your acceptance!!
@Brooklyn Music Gal Congrats!! I'm SUPER excited for your acceptance into NYU !! Hopefully I'll hear one way or the other soon!
I heard Hopkins has been accepting today - it is true?!
Cookette, how did you find out from USF? I applied from fiction and have not heard or received anything yet...
Accepted by Temple via email today. No funding, but I'm glad to finally get some good news after six rejections.
I've seen the buzz that Brooklyn College and NYU have notified several accepted applicants, but has anyone received/heard about rejections from either of these two programs? Are they sending out rejection letters/emails yet? Also, is there an online status check for NYU? I can't find it. Thanks guys!
Strange, but I've noticed that in all three of these "Where Are You Applying" threads, no one mentions applying to the University of New Hampshire. Is there anybody out there? If not, why not?
@Unknown: I applied to New Hampshire for poetry.
@... I was notified via e-mail. Haven't heard of anyone hearing anything from them yet.
Has anyone heard anything about Fresno?
I havent heard a thing about their program on here.
Thanks in advance for any help.
How many LSU offers have been reported on the facebook group? Just the one in each genre so far? Just wondering whether to mentally check that one off my list already. Also, any news on ASU?
Does anyone know if NYU has rolling admissions or do they do it all at once? Thanks!
Anyone hear anything from either USF or Saint Mary's in California?
FB group reports 2 Colorado State acceptances for poetry so far. Starting on Friday.
RE: NYU, I'm not really sure about their process, so take this with a dose of skepticism:
Last Friday I was offered a spot and fellowship (full tuition + teaching). A couple of days ago the director sent out an email congratulating those admitted and welcoming them to a reception of some kind - suggesting, I think, that they've sent out all initial acceptances. However, since no applicant has to reply before April 15, I imagine they're maintaining a a healthy wait list. As far as I know, there isn't an online status check.
Maybe offers are more staggered than the above suggests...?
Do we know any more about JHopkins? More than 1 poetry IowaWW call?
Guys, congratulations to those who have received acceptances!!!!
To those in limbo, remind yourself of the acceptance rates. This might help with the ego pains and hurts.
And sure, pay your bills.
But stay feral.
Sometimes the crazy opossum finds a steak.
@ship,
Thanks for the info and congrats on your acceptance!
@ship of fools,
Thanks for the info and congratulations on your good news.
Applied in Fiction to:
U. Montana
U. Alaska (Fairbanks)
U.C Riverside
U.N Las Vegas
Purdue
New School
U. Oregon
U. Iowa
No rejections or acceptance from any of them, still under review...
I'm curious. Only one school to which I applied mentioned anything resmbling an interview, and, I looked at a lot of programs to which I did not apply, and don't remember seeing anything about interviews, but I see lots of posts about them. What's up with interviews? What do you think the purpose is?
Regards!
Late last night I got an email from University of Maryland stating my status had changed. I checked it out and I wasn't picked up for their program. It wasn't my top choice. Does anyone know anything about that program ?
I applied to 6 programs for fiction:
UNCG- Rejected via email
NC State-Rejected via email (I was missing a recommendation, so I'm not surprised.)
Johns Hopkins
Florida State
Brown
UVA
It's hard to feel optimistic after getting rejected from the two least selective schools on my list, but fictioner's post on the Part 2 board about IWW keeps me hopeful.
Good luck to everybody who hasn't heard and congratulations to those who have gotten acceptances.
Also, if anyone knows anything about FSU or JHU response dates for this year, I'd love to know more. I saw Lisa said that FSU will probably be responding next week. I also saw that ericakenick heard that JHU was accepting yesterday. Any update on that?
Thanks so much to anyone who has posted. This blog is helping me keep my sanity!
@blackhound: I think that some schools interview in order to get a sense of whether you'd be a good fit for a TA position.
@Tree#1: I don't know what JHU acceptances were sent, but I'm hoping they were just for poetry...
By the way, do you mind if I ask when you got your UNCG e-mail? I still haven't heard anything from them.
Here's to a great March, everybody.
Officially rejected from Purdue this morning via email. Was an extremely nice email, probably the nicest rejection email I've received. Still love the program at Purdue, but oh well.
@Bird - I got my email from UNCG on February 13th. The email directed me to my application, where a new link marked "decision is now available" led me to a rejection message. Good luck! Hopefully your lack of news is a good sign!
@Matt: Agreed about the Purdue rejection e-mail being kindly worded. The specific acceptance rate figures were a nice touch.
@Tree#1: Thank you kindly for the information. After more rejections than I care to think of, a good sign would be welcome. I might break down and shoot them an e-mail about my status.
Just called Cornell and they told me that has been a delay, and that we should expect to hear from them next week. Now, what does that mean? Since we haven't heard anything from fiction from them, shoudl we assume they really haven't made their fictino decisinos yet? I think it's almost impossible... anyway, most likely they're just waiting to hand out rejections, well... or working on the waitlist or something. It's so weird! Anyone has any other news on Cornell?
The AWP 2012 Conference is this week (ending 3/3), so I would imagine some programs are focused on that instead of sending out acceptances. Hopefully once it's over we will hear quickly.
Bird, thanks for your thoughts. Good luck!
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