Lots of good discussion going on concerning, amongst other things: Is-my-application-complete anxiety, typo anxiety, plan Bs, teaching abroad, the weather conditions of various programs, how to distract yourselves from the aforementioned anxieties, what makes for good teaching and good critiques, and books to read. Did I miss any major threads?
Some links, gathered up top here for ease of access:
Seth's application response time database, which is up and running for the 2010 season.
(Some other resources Seth has made available at this time: Lists of low res programs, creative writing PhD programs, playwriting/dramaturgy programs, and screen/scriptwriting programs.)
As Seth has noted in the comments, he'll be posting a bunch of other good stuff on February 1st, once his contractual obligations to PW magazine allow it, so check back on the Suburban Ecstasies blog then.
And here are a few awesome ways to distract yourselves from general application anxieties, grabbed from various comments (thank you, commentators.)
Puppy webcam!
A poem! "It's the time when we are waiting to be told."
Satirical stick figure games!
Add your own favorite books to read, websites to visit, and things to do to reduce the anxiety, below, as well as open season on other topics, of course.
864 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 601 – 800 of 864 Newer› Newest»Awesome, Laura! Now if only the rest of us fare so well.
Congratulations, Laura!
A top 50 notification! My anxiety level has just raised to DEFCON 3.
Great news. Congratulations Laura!
Yessssssss! For Laura! Way to go!!
Laura, what time of the day were you contacted?
Congrats Laura!!!
Is there any advantage for a program to notify early?
Why do some programs notify in late Jan./early Feb. and some not until mid. March? (assuming their deadlines are all around Dec. 15th)
Congratulations, other Laura! :)
I might be late adding my congratulations, but way to go Laura!
congratulations, laura!!
I had to work late yesterday, so I'm catching up on 400 comments.
Wanted to comment on Wisconsin, but it's been discussed ad nauseum. Briefly though, I was bouncing on my chair at work when I got the email, thinking this is it, this is it! Allowing myself to hope only to find, we'll notify you in Feb. Pooh.
The current data now shows that almost all of the programs I applied to are harder to get into that Harvard Law. Kind of makes me wish I had gone to law school like my friends. At least my GPA would have counted for something. Curses!
@ Seth re: Father Time & Central Park Martian
I have to admit I've turned into quite a fan of yours. I would probably scream OMG I love you! like a tween if I saw you in person. (Watch out, I applied to Madison.) But anyway, in addition to your MFA research, I think your posts are so articulate and well-reasoned. I hope you'll let us know what happens with your PhD when it's finished, whether it's creative or scholarly. I'd love to read it. I'm sure it's eloquent and thorough.
Laura!! Dude, good job!
I wonder if they called all genres at once...
I know it's been vocalized in all forms, forums, and fashions... but I'm interested into our top picks. Now that I've completed my application bundle (almost) I can reflect and say with reasonable certainty, which programs are at the top of my list:
lets' see the similarities!
Top 5 (in order) for POETRY
1. Montana
2. Wyoming
3. Michener (Austin)
4. Oregon
5. University of Victoria
and congrats Laura!!
Congrats on the Alabama acceptance, Laura! :)
....it begins!
Congrats, Laura...it begins indeed.
Congrats, Laura! Great program, great journal.
@mickey: It changes every day, but here goes:
1) Michener
2) Michigan
3) Illinois (UIUC)
4) Southern Illinois (SIUC)
5) LSU
Three years is a big deal to me. However, so is my boyfriend. So, if he gets into RISD, Brown leaps into the 1 or 2 spot.
UGH - sorry. Poetry applicant here.
Re: total applicant pool
Thanks for the responses, guys. Pencore, I like your number way better than mine. And Seth, thanks for all the info. That was really informative.
So if I were to break it down, if it's 2:1 fiction out of 1725, plus the increase in applications this year due to the economy, my guess would be that there are probably 1500 total applicants in fiction alone. Purely a guess of course.
So based on my crazy hard list of schools that I applied to, there are 84 fiction spots available this year for me.
So, just based on numbers. I have a 5.6% chance of going to grad school this year. That means it's 94.4% likely I won't get in anywhere.
Now that I figured that out, I need to figure out the math formula for "How many days of despondency will I suffer before I function properly again."
Okay, so obviously my math is little off. Not everyone is applying to the schools that I applied to, but it's pretty close.
On the bright side, if I do get into a school, there's a 30% chance it'll be Iowa.
Congratulations Laura!
@ Sam
I like your swag.
@ Everyone Else
It has begun.
Congrats, Laura! You are officially the most hated person on this blog now! Just kidding. I didn't apply to Bama, and I don't even write poetry. I think the last poem I wrote was about a penis. It was published in the fourth stall of my junior high bathroom.
Big congrats to you.
@Sam
Your line of reasoning fails to account for the fact that nearly all of us have applied to multiple schools. Look at Seth's notes on yield....
Okay, so now that I’m in the mood for formulas, I’m going to keep using my astute MFA math skills (GRE score 520; Yes, I’m bragging) to determine the odds of another hotly debated issue.
Here’s the hotly debated issue: Since there are at least 5 Laura’s on this blog, what are the chances that there will be a Laura in my first MFA class?
Here’s the answer: 7.3%
Here’s how I figured it out:
First, I had to figure out how many Laura’s there are in the world.
Next, I had to figure out how many Laura’s are gutsy enough to piss off their parents by pursuing an MFA.
After that, I had to figure out if Laura’s are any good at writing. (Since the only person to have reported a top 50 acceptance thus far is a Laura, and since I have no acceptances, I have determined that Laura’s are 100% better than me at writing.)
Based on that info, I came up with 7.3%.
I have also determined that there is a negative 12.3% chance that the Laura in my class will have sex with me.
Any arguments? I didn't think so. Carry on.
@Xataro
On a serious note, finding out the number of people (not applications) that are competing this year for the 84 spots I've applied to is to find a percentage that does not pertain to the yield stat.
Meaning, there are potentially 1500 people applying for the 84 spots I've applied for. I believe the yield figure only matters when you're dealing with multiple applications, not people.
Congrats Laura! Cue a string of reports of Alabama acceptances...?
@Sam
(a) Sam is my name too.
(b) Your 1500 number is an estimate of all fiction applicants to all programs everywhere. In order to evaluate your chances (which of course is silly anyway, since it's subjective) you would need to know how many people applied only to the schools you're applying to. That is, how many people are competing for your 84 spots, rather than how many people are competing for all the spots in all the programs.
So: your chances are probably much better than you thought!
@ Laura
Congratulations! When you get to Alabama, tell Joel Brouwer that I'm still a little miffed about last year ;)
So excited for you!
NM
@Laura - Congratulations! That is awesome and I am super jealous!
Congrats, Laura!
Sam, I'm sure your chances with a Laura are higher haha.
@Laura YAY! Good job!
@Sam Haha, yea, and every Laura I have ever met has been totally weird, too, which just adds to the likelihood that we (meaning Lauras) will become writers. :-P
Any applicants to UNC-Wilmington around here lustily eyeing last year's notification dates?
@Sam
I guess I didn't read that you had found a total number of applicants. Interesting....
We should all perhaps consider things such as the phases of the moon and alignment of the stars, whether the adcoms prefer coffee or tea, and how many of our fellow applicants are ninjas or practice voodoo. I mean, in the interest of paranoia -- er, scientific reasoning -- it just makes sense to account for all the variables.
(catching up on yesterday) big congratulations, laura! that's awesome!
meanwhile, i've just about driven everyone in my life batty with my talk of this stuff (my boss just bit my head off when i said, "Someone got into Alabama! Maybe I'll get a phone call soon! Or an e-mail!"), so, I'm going to go cold turkey and take a break from this blog for two weeks. I know, it's just two weeks, blah blah blah, I'm sure I'll be back here with the same fervor in a fortnight, but we'll see.
Hope good news is coming to everyone, and soon! xo, c
Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!
This song is rather uplifting.
@apcb- here, here. Though I remember Wilmington notified in shifts the last couple of years. Here's hoping we are in the first one!
I'd really love to be living on the beach right now. It the warmest school on my list.
What do you mean when you say "notified in shifts"?
@Danielle - I haven't been the biggest follower of this blog, so I didn't know about these waves you mention. It would make sense, of course, since it's a bigger program ... when I looked at Seth's notification dates I just got a little excited. Of course, those are only a small sample.
@Laura - Congratulations! You're a rockstar -- one of only 5 poets that's been chosen by one of the top MFA programs in the country. Rock on!
@all - My first rejection wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. That's news to me! I thought I'd feel devastated -- cry or something -- when this happened. So, when I didn't lose it last night, I thought that maybe the rejection just hadn't sunk in... But, no, it's fully sunk in -- I've fully accepted that Alabama won't be the one and, somehow, I actually feel fine about it.
I think that reading the blogs for the past few years has taught me something that I didn't think I was capable of learning: it isn't personal, a lot of very cool people get rejected. I'll probably be singing a different tune if we get down to the last few on my list and I still haven't been accepted anywhere. But, for now, I'm okay.
re: UNCW: they seem to notify people in batches.
"We admit on a rolling basis* and generally notify all applicants by April 15. " from the FAQ. So don't despair if you aren't part of the first round of admittance emails that go out.
Congratulations Laura-- that's so exciting. And to everyone else-- I think its great that there's this kind of support from strangers.
I've gotten some "we're reviewing your applications letters" lately and keep thinking they are notification letters- ha. Toronto, Sarah Lawrence, Brown and Columbia all sent letters saying I'll hear from them later. aghhh.
@Trilbe-did Alabama actually say "No thanks" to you? Because, if they didn't and you're just assuming a lack of call means a lack of acceptance, don't lost hope yet! And that goes for everyone else this season--as I learned from last season, nothing is over until you get word from the school yourself.
@ Trilbe
I second what Jenna is saying. Last year I didn't get my acceptances to UNCG or Ole Miss until a long time after the first acceptances showed up on TSE. For instance, TSE lists the first poetry acceptance to Ole Miss last year as happening on February 18, while I didn't get my acceptance email until April 7. Similarly, the first poetry acceptance to UNCG appeared at TSE on February 9 while I didn't get my acceptance until March 29. Trust me, these things are unpredictable. Don't assume rejection from Alabama until you get that polite form letter from the graduate school (I received mine on February 12--I remember because it was the second night of AWP and my roommate called me in Chicago to read me the letter). And don't assume rejection from anywhere else either. I had already lost hope for UNCG and Ole Miss when those acceptances came in. While that might have made it all that more of a surprise when they did come in, I still don't recommend it. Don't lose hope.
That goes for all of you lovely people.
NM
@Jenna - You are a kind goddess of the blogosphere!
@all - One of my brothers just texted me, "Sux!!! When do your safetys notify?"
He's actually not an idiot. He's just, clearly, not a good listener. LOL!
@Nick - Thank you! That's super inspiring!
@Sam,
Laughing myself silly with your statistics on a Laura in your class/having sex with you.
Not to play math geek but ... in strict mathematical terms, percentages are always non-negative. So, while you may have a 0 percent chance of having sex with a Laura, you can't really have a -12 percent chance.
... And I do occasionally brag about my GRE math score ... :)
Thank you guys! It's so nice to be able to share this piece of news with people who understand why I'm so excited. Alabama is one of my top choices, and even if I get rejected everywhere else, I'll still be thrilled.
Also, frankish, don't worry! I'm not blonde. And Sam, your statistical analysis of Lauras was hilarious.
Trilbe, I'm not sure if this is helpful or not, but they didn't say anything about how many people they've notified. So don't lose hope yet!
I thought I'd pass along that - as I wait for word with the rest of you - I did get an acceptance letter of a different sort this week: grant success!
I started a small press festival in Pittsburgh last year, and this grant essentially enables us to hold a second one - with quadruple the budget!
I hope to see some of you there in September! (And I hope even more that I'll have to travel back to Pittsburgh from grad school to attend my own festival!)
@Adam
Very cool. I'll see what I can do to attend. Does your festival have a website?
@MostlySwell:
Yep! www.spfpittsburgh.com
It's all old info - we'll be relaunching with online registration for 2010's festival in the spring.
I can't keep away...
@Laura, congratulations! Nice one on scoring something so good so early!
@Trilbe - hang in there - you never know how it's all going to shuffle out and i have a feeling you'll do absolutely FINE.
@Everyone: Thought you might enjoy whiling away the time with this great (and perversely inspiring, at least for me) gallery of literary rogues and wasters:
http://www.life.com/image/50698313/in-gallery/38742/famous-literary-drunks--addicts
@Eli Thanks.
Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867): Booze, Opium, comin' directly from the MFA Blog.
"Always be drunk ... Get drunk militantly. Just get drunk."
Many comments earlier, a poster asked if it was a good sign that a program was requesting a missing Letter of Rec. I conjectured that it was probably just an issue of getting completed files to the committee--that maybe they don't review a file until all the materials have been received.
But then Purdue emailed me today asking for a missing letter for my application, and I at once realized it is a divine and unmistakable sign of my impending acceptance.
Also, I have used Schrodinger's Cat twice in conversation since yesterday.
J.D. Salinger died, 91.
@ Sunfish
That is truly sad news. Thank you for letting us know. I just blogged a brief homage on my tumblr.
Look how incredibly beautiful he was: http://nickmcrae.tumblr.com/post/358240175/r-i-p-jerome-david-salinger-january-27-2010
I'll never forget the way his books made me feel as a teenager!
NM
So what *is* going on? Why do some folks get notice of their program acceptances weeks, sometimes months before others? I know FSU notifies the fellowship kids first ... but that doesn't explain every other school.
Is there a rhyme or reason? What happens during those few quiet weeks?
I applied to the only school I could afford (due to proximity and such) - Rutgers-Camden. Since it's a relatively new program and a not-so-popular (infamous, really) city, it's rather difficult finding any kind of information. All I know about the waiting process with R-C is they'll get back to me sometime in mid-to-late February.
Don't even know if it'll be a phone call / e-mail / snail mail / see for yourself on the status page kind of thing. And it's a real struggle finding anyone else who applied there, which I guess is good.
In the mean time, I am nervously checking the status page once every couple of hours :(
@Nick
Agreed. Just gorgeous. That's a nice homage.
@Jessa
Not a good week for writers. (except those on this blog!)
RIP Howard Zinn
I hate to rain on the 'they asked for my missing rec' parade, but this is very unlikely to be related to whether or not you're going to get accepted.
Is there a chance that this means you got past the first round of readings? (i.e. the one where some schools just throw out the stuff that is obviously not worth consideration) Sure, I guess.
But most schools just aren't going to do a whole lot with your file until it's complete. They have hundreds of apps to review and they would be glad to lighten their load by declining to review those that aren't going to be complete.
If you get back in touch promptly and make sure they know that your missing materials are on the way, they'll likely stick with your app. If you don't, they might just let it languish, assuming it's unlikely you're going to follow through.
In my experience, about 1/3 of schools have enough common sense to go ahead and review your app with only 2 of 3 recommendations. The other 2/3 are pretty insistent your file be complete before it goes to committee.
Also worth sharing: Brown and UNCG have sent me the 'you're in committee as we speak' letters. In UNCG's case it seems like that often means they're getting close to releasing a few decisions. In Brown's case, a little less so.
dreux,
what sort of email did you get from brown? I'm not sure what you mean.
I got the email that everyone got saying, "We are reviewing applications," yadda, yadda. Did you get something different?
My emails from Brown and UNCG basically said, in so many words:
We're currently reviewing applications and yours is in committee right now. No promises about when we get back to you, but we're giving you a read.
I think part of what's going on here (and a good reason for the wide variation in notification dates) is that if you send them solid gold and it comes out of the bag glowing, they might want to call you and throw a good funding package your way before anyone else gets a chance to.
Or if you're on the bubble, they might not want to decide on your application until they've 'slept on it' for a few weeks.
Druex,
When'd you get these messages from Brown and UNCG?
I believe the Brown e-mail was from the Graduate School admissions office, and not the Lit. Arts department. So I think the e-mail might just be a note sent to all graduate applicants letting us know we'll hear from our respective programs. At some point.
Based on the fuzziness of my short-term memory, I can't speak to Brown except to say 'a little while ago.'
UNCG today. Really, it's nothing to make a fuss about. Sure, it does technically say 'we're looking at YOUR application,' but that doesn't preclude the possibility of a mass email. I mean, let's get real, every crappy advertisement you've received in the mail has been directly addressed to you as if you're the only recipient.
This isn't to say these letters are the equivalent of junk mail, but just to say the way they're written does not necessarily indicate any special attention to my (or your) application.
The exact wording of the UNCG letter was 'Your writing sample is with our committee.'
In the same email I was reminded that the process takes a fair amount of time, a gesture probably taken to avoid inducing the kind of anxiousness in me that my report of its receipt is creating in other commenters. =)
@ Jessa & Nick
I wonder if his kids will encourage Hollywood to come calling now that he's passed. I don't recall them having particularly warm feelings toward him.
All Brown grad applicants got an email from the grad school office a few days ago. Probably doesn't have much to do with the goings-on at the actual program. Though, who knows?
"In my experience, about 1/3 of schools have enough common sense to go ahead and review your app with only 2 of 3 recommendations. The other 2/3 are pretty insistent your file be complete before it goes to committee."
Dreux, just curious, but what exactly is your experience?
My entirely unscientific experience is that one of my recommenders dropped the ball a little bit and when I called schools up (some near to and some after their deadlines) to rectify this, about 1 of 3 said 'oh, no problem. we can review it anyway, but have them send another one just in case.'
The rest were all pretty adamant that the file needed to be completed before it could go to committee, so I'd better get him to email it directly or have it Express Mailed ASAP.
Re: my silly note about being sure that missing letters of rec being a sign of admittance:
I was just kidding. Really commenting on how unknowable and exciting and mystical the whole thing is. One minute I'm sure of something, the next I doubt it with every part of my brain.
I haven't received that email from UNCG. Anyone else not get it? Should I call the grad school and make sure they got my sample? Don't mean to sound panic...just checking. And congrats to all acceptance receivers.
That should say "panicked." Heh. Sorry.
@Lucas, I didn't get any email that said anything about my sample being in committee. I did get an email saying my file was complete, but that was only in reply to an email I sent to the graduate school asking if they had received my transcripts, which, for some reason, were taking longer than expected.
I wouldn't worry about it.
Cheers!
At the risk of triggering a truly unwanted (on the schools' behalf at least) wave of phone calls, I will say the following.
In a number of cases, when schools told me they would notify me if I was missing something, they were lying. I ended up only finding out they were missing something key by calling in myself, and only well after it was likely to become a potential pitfall.
With rare exceptions, I would say that you should politely refuse to take no for an answer as far as discovering the status of your file's completion for review. While it may be perceived as rude in some cases, it's just basic self-advocacy. Stuff gets lost and you'd rather be safe than sorry.
For a moment it looked like my Hollins application was going to get torpedoed for this very reason. I emailed their PD and she immediately cleared it up (making it evident that it was never in really serious jeopardy). But if I hadn't been proactive enough to call Hollins and find out if I was missing anything, things might have ended badly.
Keep your wits about you, but take initiative, too.
@Frankish.
Word. Thanks. I've never received an email from UNCG after the initial "thanks for setting up an account to submit your app" email. But I never emailed them with a question. So...yeah. They are my numero uno, so I guess I got a little nervous.
Oh and Courtney, don't think your hopes too silly.
After all, I gave you 1 in 3 odds of it being related to whether you're being considered. In the MFA admissions game, I'd take those odds upon myself any day.
Wait...I lied. I have an email from the grad school (from one "Angie Moor") saying they have my stuff, but never got an email from the Creative Writing department confirming they got my sample. Oh well. I don't wanna call and be that guy. Everyone else got it...for some reason, I didn't send an SASE to UNCG. I'm going to shut up now. Later.
"Angie Moore." I can't type today.
@Lucas, thinking about it further, it would be irresponsible for me to dissuade you from following up. I just wanted to give you the data point that I also didn't receive the email Dreux mentioned.
On another note, I have to give LSU props for immediately sending out a letter regarding any missing materials (the LSU deadline was Jan 25). I found the school's application to be one of the less painful. It surprises me that I don't hear of more people applying to the program. Is there something I don't know?
re: Frankish
I was also quite happy with LSU alerting me of a missing transcript. (It was still a few weeks before the deadline, too.) I've seen a few people on this site who also applied, but yes, I agree that it seems underrepresented for a fully-funded program. Let's hope that helps our odds.
@frankish, I'm also applying to LSU (poetry), and I'm also wondering why more people aren't into it. 3 years, fully-funded? Bring it on. I know Baton Rouge isn't as cool as some other cities, but what's better? Bloomington? Syracuse?
I have to disagree, though, about their app. It was hard to find in the first place, a poorly formatted PDF when I did stumble across it, and provided no link to the graduate application online. All in all, JANKY.
That said, PLEASE LET ME IN, LSU! :)
Ok, something about Dreux's UNCG email sounds fishy, since no one else got it. Did you send an email to them and they responded with the "sample's in 'committee'" response, or was it entirely unprompted?
Baton Rouge is a unique, cool little city, but it does have a lot of crime and a lot of problems (expensive housing, full capacity, low salaries), but I guess you're right, it can't be worse than Syracuse... I did not think about that...
I think everyone is making a mountain out of a molehill as far as my email goes.
I have called and spoken with their PD about whether my writing sample made it. So maybe he's just being super-generous to a student who seems really anxious as far as he can tell.
Lucas- You should totally call UNCG. It's so easy with them.
Ring ring.
Hi, I want to confirm receipt of my sample.
Hold please.
Hello, this is Terry (their PD).
Hi Terry, I want to confirm receipt of my sample.
What's your name?
Lucas soandso.
Sure, Lucas, it's right here.
(that's literally how it will go).
Can someone enlighten me about Syracuse (as far as quality of life)? I keep hearing so many negative things about the city, but I love so many things about the program there.
I love Syracuse. People who trash on cities like Syracuse are rust-belt-phobic, sheltered products of the suburbs. Don't listen to them. Unless you're one of them, in which case you're unlikely to give a city like Syracuse a fair shot, so steer clear.
Rust belt cities inevitably have a lot more human history to them than their more vital coastal counterparts, so there's a lot to learn about cities like those and a lot to draw on for your first novel or your next collection.
Chiming in on the mysterious UNCG email.
That program is notorious for this. Several people will probably be getting mysterious emails from them during the next couple of months. That's just how they operate. I know it kind of freaks people out, but they're well-meaning. Trust me. They are good folk. I wouldn't necessarily take getting an email like this from them to mean you're in (though you might be), and I also wouldn't take not getting an email as a sign that you're doing badly with them (though, once again, who knows, you might be). Just a heads-up. Emails will be sent, things will be posted, confusion may ensue, some people may panic, but it will all end up okay. Everybody hop on the UNCG rollercoaster!
Seriously, though, everything will be fine! Take it from a veteran ;)
Wishing us all the best,
NM
I'm skeptical of Syracuse mostly for horrible winter reasons. I'm from Pittsburgh - an absolutely fantastic Rust Belt city that won't have seen the last of me if I get into any of these places - but winters have been relatively mild here in comparison to the blizzards of the '90s.
Not so, I hear, in Syracuse, and that makes me a little anxious. That said, I'm a non-driver, and there's nothing like being stranded to help you do your work!
Wow Dreux, your self-aggrandized assumptions about me are so correct. A "sheltered product of the suburb." Cute. I wish I could be as "cultured" as you. Really.
As far as your UNCG call goes, I wanted to know whether the response was prompted, because they probably tell everyone that their sample is "in committee" right for PR purposes. They're not going to tell you that you've been rejected or accepted at this point. However, if they randomly sent you an email saying that, I would read something more into it. It probably means nothing other than they've received it.
Snarky, snarky, Mr. Dreux...
I don't know about you guys, but I'm literally starting to lose it. Ever since notice of Laura's Alabama acceptance, I've been on pins and needles. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through the next few days, much less the many weeks ahead! Ugh.
Just had to vent my frustration that I can't seem to let this go! And I likely have a long time to wait....
Well, you can take self-involved product of a wealthy urban environment if you want. Sniping at me for assuming I'm 'cultured' screams Manhattan (or maybe a transplant to Brooklyn?), but I'm no psychologist. Just an educated guess.
phillywriter,
i'm right there with you. last year fiction and poetry notified on the same day, so i keep willing the phone to ring.
And the email was totally random. I last called (not emailed) into UNCG quite a while ago. This was out of the blue.
Nick said it better than I could, though. There's nothing to read into stuff like this. The email means only what the email says. Nothing more, nothing less.
Never been to Manhattan... I live in Lakeland, FL, a small Southern town in Central Florida. I went to school in Auburn, AL. My mom lives in Robertdale, AL. I'm originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but I think it shows that I'm not some kind of stuck up suburbanite, and it's a little insulting that you're going around making these assumptions. I'd be insulted if I was from Brooklyn or Manhattan, too.
Honestly, there's something the tone of your sudden posts that is getting under my skin right now. I'll do my best to not respond, because I worry that it only eggs you on, but I can't make promises. You're presenting yourself as either a dude with a huge ego or a little man with horrible insecurities...
Take your pick. You're the one who's determined to nitpick an utterly insignificant email I posted only to inform people here that there's a possibility their UNCG application could be getting a close look soon. Sorry for sharing.
Also, as far as my 'sudden' posts go, I wasn't aware this was an exclusive community or that I had to pad my post count here before I could report information or express my opinions.
I haven't been around the site long enough to know if there's an ignore button, but for your sake I'll push it, even if it's only figurative.
I'm insecure? Something I heard once about glass houses comes to mind.
Mom, Dad, stop yelling, you're ruining my birthday party!
;)
NM
wow. i can tell the stress level of everyone is increasing!
Nick and Laura (and anyone else who's heard) ... BIG congratulations!
Wandering Tree ... my suggestion re: Syracuse is to ask the students who are there now. If/when you get a call or email that you've been offered a slot in the program, ask the person contacting you if they can put you in touch with some current students so you can discuss the program and the city. That's going to be the best answer: by learning from potential classmates if they've found a way to enjoy living together there. That'll also help you find housing, know the good/bad parts to avoid, etc.
Hope everyone is doing well. I'm swamped under a lot of work, so I can't really catch up with you chatty lot!
Hey WT,
I sent you a PM on Speakeasy. Please check it.
Thanks!
@Lauren
My -12.3% chance of having sex with a Laura is the base percentage. My chances of having intercourse with a Laura increase by 6.2% per alcoholic beverage consumed.
Thus, at two beers I have a 0.1% chance. After three beers I have a 6.3% chance.
Based on these findings, I have determined that after eighteen beers I am irresistible.
I hope this clears things up for you.
Sam, it's unclear whether this irresistibility is based on you or Laura drinking those 18 beers.
If it's you then wow. I refer you to the link I posted earlier of boozed-up and supposedly, I mean, notoriously, irresistible authors.
If it's both of you and you still manage to get it on, you're my heroes.
OK NO PANICS, KIDS. I just got a letter from Texas State in the mail with a Texas State ID number. Don't freak out when you see this letter. It is not an acceptance or a rejection, just a heart attack.
PS OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING.
what's happening here? oh nooooooooooooo drama on the internet
everybody yoga
@Nick McRae:
You just made me laugh out loud. Many thanks.
I sincerely hope sheltered suburbanite over there gets in everywhere she applied. I don't see this as a competition. I see it much more simply: if my writing is good, I'll get in. That has nothing to do with all of you, and everything to do with how I've spent my time as a writer, and to a certain extent with my own natural talent (if I have any).
So Kaybay, I hope you get into everywhere you want to go.
I still take exception to people writing off rust belt towns as gross or crime-ridden or run-down without ever having live in them, and if someone makes ignorant assumptions about places dear to me, I'm going to make equally unfavorable assumptions about what's driving their questionable judgments.
I'm a transplant to Brooklyn and have never been to Syracuse, but I'm sure the people there can't be too devolved. It's not like it's flyover country or something LOL. There's got to be someplace there where I can get a decent latte - I mean, they voted for Obama, right? Plus, I'm sure all the industrial relics make for great fashion shoots and loft parties. And a rust belt would look good with my distressed Diesel jeans.
Jamie, I just about spit out my tea.
Amen.
As for the "rust belt:"
I've lived in and around Cleveland for my entire life, and I do like it here. However, I think I would like to live in another part of the country for my MFA, though I've applied to Syracuse and I would be very excited if that is where I end up. At the same time that I would like a complete change of scenery, It would be nice to not be too far from home. This part of the country has a lot to offer, but we definitely have our share of problems. I don't think it's fair to write off a place, but there are any number of reasons why a person might not want to live in a given place. I imagine weather is top reason for some people not wanting to live in Syracuse.
And of course:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY
Ashley,
I guess I know where I'm going on my next vacation!
Ack, I'm so late. But it's great to see that someone's been accepted (Go, Laura!). Don't get me wrong, I'm nervous; I'm compulsively overeating (mmm), but, I dunno, maybe cuz it's still so early in the season, the fact that someone has gotten an acceptance from a top 50 hasn't triggered my panic button . . . yet.
Yo, Kaybay, Dreux - chill. It was a misunderstanding; no one really meant the other any harm in the beginning. Maybe it's cuz I'm Jamaican, but I'm all about the mellow vibes. So jus tek it easy, zeen? Wheel, come again and let the good vibes flow.
Ha!
Don't totally write us off, though! I used to work at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I wouldn't trade that place for anything. Really! And... our art museum! and our Orchestra!
It's not all bad, but I do appreciate a good Cleveland joke. :) Make sure you check out the sequel video, too.
I'm sorry, but I have to comment on this. With all due respect, my earlier posts were not at all inflammatory. Dreux jumped on the inflammatory bandwagon with comments like "People who trash on cities like Syracuse are rust-belt-phobic, sheltered products of the suburbs. Don't listen to them" comment. My reaction was who is this person who shows up only to talk about an email he got about his sample being in committee and make rude comments about people.
I don't see how I'm acting like my writing is amazing or something. Seriously, where did that happen? I would be happy to get into ONE place! I think a waitlist or two might help, but I'm not making any assumptions about my talent and I'm not claiming to be the next Shakespeare or something.
Why's everybody taking this guy's side? I'm confused!
And just to clarify, I applied to Syracuse and would be happy to go there! I was just agreeing with Adam's comment about LSU being overlooked, because he's right, Baton Rouge can't be worse than Syracuse. That's all I said! Holy cow, calm down!
Dude. No one was taking sides. They're just telling you to chill.
And my comment about people trashing on Syracuse was not directed at you. Your name was not included anywhere in it. You just decided to play the part of political correctness gestapo and get offended on behalf of some fictitious person who might in theory be hurt by what I said.
Wow. I'm done, little man. Good luck, too.
I just heard from Ohio State that I got in for poetry :-)
Congratulations Koru!!
Kaybay-I completely agree with you, but one thing about inconsiderate posting is that. They're inconsiderate. But you're are correct.
Goodness knows I thought the same thing, about a couple of posters, lol.
On another note, McNeese STILL hasn't notified me of receiving my application. PLEASE tell me I'm not alone.
Congratulations, Koru! I love OSU!
Valentine, did you apply for fiction or poetry?
So, Courtney. I'm soooo thrilled that you "get" the Schrödinger's Cat analogy and that it's coming in handy. It is definitely helping me, too. Thanks for letting me know. I was a little worried about my "geeky" post.
Nick, thanks for shedding some light on UNCG's roller coaster process. I got the same mysterious e-mail out of the blue, and I'm trying not to get too nervous about it. It helps to hear from someone who's been through the confusion already!
Also, a similar heads-up to Purdue applicants: I got an e-mail today saying that my file was complete and under review by the committee, so it sounds like their process is also getting started. (That was in response to a follow-up on missing GRE scores, so don't panic if you didn't hear from them!)
*Deep breaths*
congrats, koru!! fantastic news. :)
Go koru!
4Mai - Thanks :) I have also not heard from McNeese, except for the first email (which I think is automatically sent) confirming that the email was received. The rolling admissions thing is what's keeping me in the dark about them though, because I still don't know how that works (?). I suppose it wouldn't hurt to call them just to be safe. Good luck!
Yes!!!! Koru - great news!!! Awesome!!! Congrats!
Congrats, Koru! That's fantastic!
I have to ask: Did they call you or e-mail? What time of day (including time zone)?
Congratulations!
Hey, new guy, stop proving her right and back off. Kaybay is a longtime contributor, not to mention a positive, friendly presence on this site. It's cool to jump in, but a lot of us have been swimming in this pool for months. You don't need to need to make waves just for sport, much less spash the nice girl in the face.
How's that for a really bad extended metaphor?! How about we throw down with some super-cheesy turns of phrase to express our collective angst? Just a suggestion, you know, to lighten things up.
phillywriter -- they called about 15 minutes before I posted saying I was accepted, so about 5pm EST today.
Congratulations, koru! How exciting!
Thanks Farrah :) I was really, really happy to see Koru's acceptance on there to change the "tone" of the discussion, lol
Right on, Farrah!
Your posting on this site for months earns you absolutely nothing in my eyes, buddy. I paid the same application fees and put in the same hours getting my work together as you did.
I went to Ithaca during undergrad, so I've been through Syracuse a couple times on my way to Rochester and such. I found it charming. But, then again, I loove cities (except LA). The landscapes, the architecture - I love it. I love what it says about the people, u know. I love driving through Kingston and seeing the early British influence, the Georgian architecture and such, and then seeing the brash, colourful Dancehall inspired buildings juxtaposed next to them. I mean...i just love them - Paris, Bombay, London, Nairobi, Madrid, Cairo, San Fran, Rio - they say so much about the testament of the human will, u know? And after all that, I must say - I hate the country. When I was really small, I visited some relatives in the country. Their dog bit me on my leg.
R.I.P. JD Salinger and Howard Zinn.
Did anyone catch Mr Zinn with Bill Moyer's a while back? The shows are archives on pbs.org (Bill Moyers) The dude Matt Damon was Howard Zinn's neighbor when he was growing up. He confronted his elementary school teacher about one of the holidays, I think it was Columbus Day. Can you imagine having Howard Zinn as the neighborhood grandpa??? wow.
I know we just got off the whole Syracuse thing, but I think I'm going to throw something out there. My parents (who are from the west coast) moved to Syracuse about two years ago.
This is all I hear from them: It's so cold here, the food isn't fresh, the people aren't friendly. They often use the word "different" to describe the citizens. Also, apparently there is a significant amount of radon near their house and my mother is convinced she's slowly losing her hair and getting cancer.
I visited Syracuse a few times and the campus is absolutely wonderful. I applied there and I hope to get in. I am in love with George Saunders.
I didn't think the people were unfriendly, and as far as the food I ate while I was there, it was food. It seemed like a cool place to me. But seriously, ALL my mother says to me is how cold it is. It's like it's all they talk about. I've never lived in snow (never seen snow fall), so I think it would be an adventure.
Hurray Koru!!!! Congratulations!
PS..Team Kaybay!
Google 'lake effect snow.' If it gives you nightmares tonight, avoid Syracuse.
@Mostly Swell. It was a totally geeky post...so I loved it!! ;-)
Oh..I missed that - congrats Koru! Was Ohio one of your top choices?
@Courtney
Yeh geeks!!! I'm thinkin' I'm a good fit for Michigan. (Just because the whole university scene there is research and a badass geek-hood.) We'll see, they may beg to differ. I'm also lookin' at Minnesota and Wisconsin. And no, I'm not intending to further develop my geeky side in a creative writing program.
Congrats, Koru ^_^
I'm betting on at least another couple notifications tomorrow. Whatever the schools are determined to get out before folks go home for the weekend.
Congratulations, Koru!
I applied there, too, for poetry. DEFCON 2.
Oh, and concerning the war that's erupted this afternoon, I'm Switzerland. I'll be happy to hold onto anyone's money for the duration....
congrats koru!!! YAY!
LOL
That's good Xataro.
Hey, all! Let's chill and remember that no one has a "right" to this blog more than any other. That being said, none of us know each other in the non-cyber world, and shouldn't be making judgments either way about anyone. Let's steer the blog back toward its intended purpose- a friendly and supportive environment to talk about the MFA and related topics.
Congrats to Laura, Nick, and koru! May we all be getting such good news in the coming months.
I hope none of you have cruel roommates or friends inclined toward crank calls.
Because all this anxiety is just one big fake message on your answering machine waiting to happen.
Congrats Koru!
@Mostly Swell/Courtney (and others?): A few months ago I alluded to Schroedinger's Cat at work and a coworker wikipedia-ed it. I had always loved the paradox...until my coworker read me this: "Schrödinger did not wish to promote the idea of dead-and-alive cats as a serious possibility; quite the reverse, the paradox is a classic reductio ad absurdum. The thought experiment serves to illustrate the bizarreness of quantum mechanics and the mathematics necessary to describe quantum states." So: this waiting process certainly allows me to relate to a live-dead cat. However: don't get caught with your pants on the ground when mixing allusions! Someone will wikipedia the Cat and be all snotty as they undermine your original point (which is not, as it happens, what I aim to do!)
On a side note, this coworker missed a call from an unknown 307 number today and I got really excited, thinking Wyoming was starting to notify...until I remembered this coworker did not apply to MFA programs. It seems hard to believe that not EVERYONE is waiting for their phone to ring from unknown numbers.
I wonder if bill collectors know now is prime time to call MFA applicants with outstanding debt from weird numbers?
No calls. It's only 3:00 on the left coast but feels just about right for a glass of wine. You know. To take the edge off. And stuff.
@ Jenna: heheh, so true! The second time I used it in conversation yesterday (with a coworker), she just made a face and said, "Ew. Dead cats are disgusting."
@Jenna
I love it. The metaphor is perfect to describe this insane process, historically dubious though it may be.
Trying to explain Schrödinger's Cat to a room full of teenagers in an English class has been one of the more hilarious incidents in my teaching career. It inspired me to write a poem called "Schrödinger's Kitchen" that may or may not be a good poem depending on how I feel when I sit down to revise it.
@frankish
Haha, when 3 o'clock (left coast time, also) hit yesterday, I had three gimlets. :-X Grab your wine glass. It helps, kind of.
Are you into wine? There's this great red zinfandel called Gnarly Head - it's like $8/bottle. Nice.
Hey Dreux,
Would you be kind enough to paste the content of your Brown Committee email into this blog?
Many thanks!
Hey Animalistic,
I looked that one back up and the poster who said it's from the Grad School, not the Lit Arts dept., was right. So it's more general than the UNCG one. If you still want it, I'll post it.
@ koru, YAY! I hope it's one of your top picks!
@ Frankish (and Laura), it's 5 o'clock where I am. I'm up for a glass of wine myself.
@Jenna
Ah, but that was my point. I was addressing our collective obsession of determining whether we'd be accepted or not, based on statistics. It was really meant to be a commentary on how difficult it is to tolerate the uncertainty of not knowing - and observing the number of posts vacillating between "I'm in" and "No way. I'm not in."
And on the side, are you challenging my claim as "geek"?
's ok, I can handle it.
Congrats, Koru! Sweet program. I'm kicking myself for taking them off my list.
@Xararo
Can't wait to read it.
Hi Koru,
Congrats! Jesus that was fast, the committee just met to make selections on Tuesday :-)
I am a current OSU poetry student, so please free to milk me for information like the info-cow that I am. I really love the program here and would be remiss if I didn't make myself known to you.
Email me if you want to chat about the program! and again, HOORAY!
OMG -- Darnit -- I applied to Ohio State in Fiction. No calls today.
:(
And, hm. Dreux? I don't think people appreciate unpleasant, opinionated know-it-alls in general. And when one comes here with mysterious fantasy emails from top programs, well...I draw my own conclusions.
And kaybay you rock :)
And Syracuse gets a motherloving boatload of lake-effect snow.
The End :)
OK, time to go find a distraction. Like a bottle of alcoholic memory wipes. Best wishes, all.
I actually like the weather in upstate New York. As a kid, I lived in Rochester (which usually gets more snow than Syracuse) and thought it was great. Having lived in Southern California for a while, I can see how people might find the winters cold. While there is snow and not much sun, though, it rarely gets the truly frigid temperatures (and windchills!) you see in the middle of the country. And they have four real seasons...upstate is beautiful in the spring and fall.
Cheers!
Actually, Syracuse may get more snow than Rochester, come to think of it, but they are just about the same. :D
Cheers!
Love ya, Lauren! Hey, how's the job front coming, by the way?
Congratulations, Koru! This is exciting news! The poets have been hearing first, it seems!
As for all of this drama, all I can say is this: I won't take any side, but I have plenty of respect for Kaybay. Dreux, you are certainly welcome here, but you won't be well liked if you continue to antagonize. I have faith that you won't, and that you meant nothing by your first comment and only became offended when it was taken so seriously.
BUT BLAHBLAHBLAH, as your official peacekeeper:
I DECLARE THIS TO BE THE END OF BAD FEELINGS. ANYONE CAUGHT BREAKING THIS RULE BY SPREADING BAD JUJU WILL HEREBY BE CONDEMNED TO SIX WEEKS OF EXTRA APPLICATION SEASON WAITING.
your welcome for the caps lock.
Ha! Bad juju... love that. Agreed. I love the support and community I have here enough to let this go. I can be a little "opinionated" at times, so I'll try to keep that in check.
Seriously though, you guys are often and there are good handful of you that I'm more interested to hear good news for than myself. I'm thinking very good vibes, specifically for the Ohio State/Bama folks :)
hooray Koru!! It's so great to hear about people getting in!
I'm a little jealous of the poetry people right now because they always seem to hear first. Oh well! We shall get there! Deep breaths.
@kaybay,
The jobhunt is over -- I am going to another Barnes & Noble as a bookseller. I have to take a pay cut because I will no longer be a manager, but the stress of not having a job (and seeing so little out there in my jobhunt) got the better of me, so I said yes to the offer. I am one of the very few being retained by B&N -- I was lucky to have made a good impression on the district manager and the manager of the store across town. So I feel a lot better. Thanks for asking :) The stress of this MFA waiting game plus impending joblessness was getting to be a drag!
In gerenal, poems can be read quicker than fiction, especially when there are half the number of applicants!
Also jealous, but still glad I didn't apply in poetry. :) Mine is what you'd call NOT VERY GOOD.
@AshleyBrooke,
LOL about 'not very good' poetry. Me too!
And can somebody tell me how it is I am not going to sit staring at my phone ALL DAY tomorrow, WILLING Ohio State to call me?
Ugh. I'm off work tomorrow, so I can devote the whole entire day to this endeavor. Fun, fun.
Oh wow, often = awesome in my last post (they sound similar, right? right?).
@Lauren - yay for you! I'm glad to hear that. *sends good Ohio State vibes*
Lauren,
Haha, any attempt I make at poetry ends up very prosey and then I realize it would work better as a story.
Good luck with OSU! As soon as anyone mentions one of my schools, I know I'll go into hypercrazymode.
Yay, Koru!!!!
Thank God we're finally hearing something. Well, I'm not hearing anything yet, but you know, I'm happy in the collective sense (which may expire if I haven't heard anything by the middle of February.)
Almost 800 comments!
We're seriously out of control.
Congrats, Laura and Koru!
And none of the 6 schools I've applied to have so far mailed me anything (except from UVA, where the receipt of my sample was confirmed thru email by Barbara).
I'm guessing the schools have burned down my application file and are secretly monitoring the comments on MFA blog and having a laugh about it... :|
Re: Schrödinger's Cat
One of the short stories I submitted references Schrödinger's Cat so extensively that I almost titled it "Dead Cats." And now, as a fiction applicant to OSU, I keep checking my online status obsessively, neurotically imagining both an acceptance and a rejection simultaneously, only to have it say - as it has said every day for the past month - Application Status: Evaluation. And I would almost rather have these schools kill my cats already, I'd rather have all my cats be dead than live in this day-to-day metaphysical limbo.
Damn application anxiety. At least reading this blog I can feel normal.
Did anyone here apply to U of British Columbia? I don't seem to HAVE a status online.... its making me paranoid- the field is blank. But according to Pat Rose, the contact over there (via mass email) they were meeting to discuss applicants on the 26th...
I'm guessing this is just me obsessing and not an actual issue, but thought I'd check in to see if anyone else has this issue... haven;t heard much talk of Canadian schools on these boards.
Thanks!!
@Coreyann
My status has all kinds of things missing on it for UBC but I wouldn't be too worried. When I applied two years ago, same thing happened. Sometimes they are a little slow updating there.
@Emily Walker
Thanks. Glad to hear other people have that issue too. And good luck! Hopefully we'll both be hearing soon!
First off, Koru, congrats!
I applied to both Bama and OSU for poetry, so I am definitely on edge right now (even after Nick's soothing post, which I'm totally aware is true, about everyone getting responses throughout a longer period of time than a few days).
Dreux, I don't think (can't remember who it was that said it) was implying that you had to "pay" anything, or give literal dues or something, to be here. It's just, like in any community, when you've been here for so long (like kaybay has), you do tend to be respected more for what you say, not to mention the fact that, to me, and obviously to kaybay, it does seem a little off that most of your comments are quite negative. I mean, are we seriously namecalling over this? Seems kind of pointless to me.
Btw, I am [one of the] Ryan[s] from previous posts; just made it to changing my handle on here.
Xataro, by the way, I am totally with you on the DEFCON level!
@koru - Congratulations! You are officially among the Elite Early Notified. And I am in awe!
@Tory - You seem so cool and nice, on MFA Chronicles. I'm a big fan!
It definitely looks like it's time for a new mailbag. This one is bulging...
whoa, did you see that?
Robert(?) Thompson from Syracuse and Nicholas Delbanco from Michigan interviewed about JDSalinger by Jim Lehrer on PBS. It's probably on their website if you missed it.
I was familiar with Delbanco, but not Thompson. he was really articulate - handled the camera well. Delbanco was equally articulate, but maybe a little nervous. Also, there was an obvious time lag for him to actually hear the question, from when it was asked.
check it!!!
@Kevin
Maybe we can start a "Dead Cats Society"
Congrats, Koru!
maslo, agreed!
Re: Dead Cat's Society
I'm in!
We totally need a pledge to read at the beginning of all of our top secret meetings! Perhaps a quote from Schrödinger himself?
/clearly needs more to do
@Mostly Swell,
You can keep the #1 geek status since you were aware of the correct implications of Schroedinger's paradox. I must admit, though, that I pretty much fell in love with the Uncertainty Principle in high school and, if I had to choose one principle to live my life by, it would still be that (which works very well for these weeks of waiting). How nerdy does that make me?
Mostly Swell,
I caught it too. Robert Thompson is an absolute legend in television and media. The guy KNOWS how to handle the camera. Back in my reporter days (holy manure patties I miss NYC), I interviewed the guy a couple times. I was amazed at how much the guy knew about TV, newspapers, books etc. There was even an article about him that he was the most quoted source on matters to do with media (think it was of '07). Anyway, he was so usable, my editor told me to lay off - try to find sum new sources. I'll see if I can find the article. (Oh, and he answered interview requests so quickly . . . I started to wonder if he gloried in the attention). Still, decent guy.
@Dead Cats Society
"No self is of itself alone. It has a long chain of intellectual ancestors. The "I" is chained to ancestry by many factors ... This is not mere allegory, but an eternal memory."
-Erwin Schrödinger
I vote for this one! Works well for the writing community, I think.
Trilbe,
Thanks so much, I can only hope I am half as cool as I appear online...I guess? Hahaha.
@ Jenna
I love it! You are right, the idea of multiple 'selves' is a good concept for writers! Good ole Papa Erwin...
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