I took the GRE in 2008 and did atrociously, so I actually studied hard and took it again last October. Even though everyone online said, "The GREs don't matter!!!" I didn't believe it. I did better this time, but my friend got a 680. She barely studied. She's a literature lady, so the GREs might be more important for her apps. But I'm still jealous.
Does anyone have any idea how big this so-called Wisconsin short list is? Are we looking at 100 kids (which is the feeling I have, though it's based on nothing) or are we looking at smaller (or I guess possibly bigger) number?
With all due respect, if you are living in another country and want to apply to an American school, you just have to suck it up, do what research you need to get the necessary info, and make the trip to the testing center somehow. Thousands of other students around the world (even in countries with chaotic infrastructures) make it happen for the TOEFL, GRE and other standardized tests. I had to take the GRE abroad and while it was an inconvenience, I didn't really see any other choice. (Patrick, there is an ETS center in Dublin - you can take the GRE here. Some centers do it by appointment while others have specified days.)
I'm sorry Patrick, but I just can't believe you don't know what the GREs are, unless you approached this application process incredibly lethargically. I'm from the Caribbean. I have friends from and colleagues from all over (England, India, Indonesia, Africa, Ukraine) who are already in or are preparing for grad study. We are all very much aware of the GREs, even though, like in my case, there is one test centre that you have to make reservations with waaaay in advance of a desired date. But still, it's just something you know. I mean, even if you've never heard of the GREs (which I just don't believe), simply undertaking the process for applying to grad programmes in the States leads one to naturally find out about them . . . in nooo way can I fathom ANYBODY going through this process not eventually learning what the GREs are. I don't buy it dude. I'm going with the troll theory.
I'm not saying that people shouldn't take the tests necessary for admission; what I'm saying is that it's very conceivable for a foreign student to not take the test, not understanding that it's a standard test for graduate school determinations. I knew that, and found a way to fit it in. Bit stressful, as the only way to fit it in (tried to schedule in London, but by August the first slot available for a GRE test was in January), so I found a way to take it in another country. Which gave me one shot, and VERY thankfully I received the score I was aiming for. But I knew I needed the GRE, and honestly had no idea that there would be a 6-month wait to take the test overseas.
So, here's a story for you all: I applied to Cornell on a whim. I had very little hope for getting in from the beginning. I attended a state school for undergrad, I don't know any alumni, and my resume is not particularly prestigious in any way. However, Lorrie Moore and Diaz went there, two of my favorites, so I decided to give it a shot anyway. What the hell, right? I noticed that Cornell sent out their acceptances/rejections on the 12th of February last year. So, of course, I was a little anxious today, even though i expect a rejection. I got a phone call around 11 a.m. this morning....from an area code I didn't recognize....I was too nervous to pick up so I let it go to voicemail then listened to the message. "This is Jennifer," the message started, "Calling from the English department at..." (this is the climax of my story, are you ready?) "Chapman University." I did not apply to Chapman. I only ordered an information packet about the program a long time ago. Apparently they were wondering if I was still planning on applying.
Almost gave me a heart attack. Ugh. Still no word from any of my schools.
Side note: if anyone is interested in Chapman, though, they sound kinda desperate...so...go for it.
Honestly lads, I din't want to create hassle, I decided I wanted to do an MFA, I'm not a big research kind of huy, I just go with the flow, and am probably wayyyy too laid back about all that stuff, so appologies if i've annoyed anyone! I just thought that for American colleges they would accept tests etc from other places, that is why I never bothered with the GRE. sigh!
Ummm... Regarding the distraught, hopeless note I posted early this morning... Well, guess what? THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA JUST CALLED! I AM IN FOR POETRY!
I don't believe it. And, clearly, I sounded like I didn't believe it, since Robin kept having to say, "Well, I'm going to send you an email, now, which will prove that we're actually having this conversation."
Congrats Trilbe and anyone else who I haven't congratulated yet! (and I guess the people who I have if you wanna a double dose, and fair enough, its Friday night)
680 verbal, 730 math, 5.5 writing. Exactly 0 time spent studying. And it had been 7 years since I had done any math in an academic setting.
What does that prove? Nothing in the eyes of MFA programs, and in a more general sense it only proves I'm a middle class white kid who grew up in the suburbs.
620V/ 5.0 Writing. I don't even want to think about the Math score. At least I had the highest GRE score of anyone in the building that day. [Note: I was the only person in the city taking the test that day according to the test center log in sheet]
I'm posting my scores because I'm owning them. They suck and I know this. But damn it, I'm an intelligent individual that slipped through the stupid testing cracks!
I'm posting my scores because I'm owning them. They suck and I know this. But damn it, I'm an intelligent individual that slipped through the stupid testing cracks!
I took the GRE twice because I thought my scores sucked. They still pretty much sucked the second time. All I got was 20 points higher on verbal the second time, and almost 100 points lower on math! I mostly guessed on every question in the math section so I guess I was just luckier the first time...
That test is racist, classist, and more importantly it is completely incapable of measuring any sort of intelligence or aptitude that could prove relevant to anything a human being could possibly want to do with his/her life. I resented having to take it, and my good score only proves the usual criticism of the test right: with 0 studying, this white middle-class male was able to score high. My success on the test proves it's garbage just as much as any other smart person's failure does.
Cratty, I had the feeling from the start since he really goes out of his way to mention he is from Ireland over and over and is always like "oh I don't it I'm foreign." BUT at the same time, I don't want to accuse anybody of anything or start drama. So I guess I will assume that everyone here is authentic unless they prove to me otherwise. So Patrick, I apologize if you're being genuine. I can't advise google enough! Good luck and congrats on your acceptance at Glasgow.
In Tokyo (There are two test centers but only one was administering the test that day. Maybe 20 people came in to take English language proficiency tests. I was the only GRE). The test centers in China are much more crowded due to an "Ivy or bust" mentality. Education is very much an insular beast in Japan for many.
Excuse you, Laura, but I got a 590 on the verbal and I don't suck one bit!!! (I'm being kittenish right now, FYI.) But I got a 490 the first time, so I was ecstatic to get anything close to 600. My math score was 390 the first time, 420 the second. I got 4.5 on the writing both times.
I'm happy, it's over, it doesn't matter, I'll eat wet cement before I ever take that God awful test again, etc..
It just really sucks, because I did not take two years of college very seriously (the ones in the middle), so my overall GPA is only okay. Couple that with average GRE scores and I'm held back from other fields too (I'd like to also get my MA in philosophy).
Just the way it goes! I do resent that test though...
My GRE score (combined math and verbal) dropped 130 points between when I first took the test after college and this past December (since it was more than five years, my old scored don't count...what a racket!).
A friend helpfully pointed me to an article that equated this difference to an 11 point drop in IQ. Even worse, assuming the SAT is a reasonable proxy, I expect GRE scoring has gotten easier over the last 20 years...meaning 11 point of lost intelligence is an underestimate. :P
Ask any science/math oriented person at a top tier grad program what their GRE verbal score was, and I guarantee that most people on this board would have a higher score. A 400 or 500 something in math isn't the end of the world for a humanities person. Also, a lot of people seem to have the habit of comparing their SAT scores to their GRE scores. Why? They are two different tests. The math on the GRE is generally easier (since most people just don't take a lot of math in college) and the verbal is harder. And the whole electronic test throws all comparisons out the window.
Just google "SAT racist" or "standardized tests racist" and you'll get better explanations than I could ever give.
Essentially there's a pretty easily proven set of arguments out there that standardized tests like the GRE don't prove anything about intelligence or aptitude, but that they do ask a lot of questions that people who come from a white middle class background would know how to answer.
I'm not being sarcastic at all. Being of the opinion that standardized tests are racists/classist isn't even controversial anymore. It's pretty much proven fact and it's old news. ETS and everyone else have made lots of changes to the test since they were first accused of those biases (maybe around 1998 or so was when people were being most critical) and have since made a lot of overtures to the relevant advocacy groups about how much better they're doing. But most people still consider the format inherently beneficial to white middle class folks who had the benefit of calm, well-managed classrooms in suburban schools when they were growing up, where they could practice bubbling in multiple choice tests from junior high on up.
I did freakishly well on Math (my strategy relied heavily on guessing), well on Verbal and scored in the FORTY-FIRST percentile in writing.
I know that the scores won't affect admissions, but what about teaching assistantships at schools that are only partially funded? Not sure if I would want someone who scored in the 41st percentile teaching freshman comp if I were on the ad com...
Pretty representative of the body of information that's out there. There are lots of hard numbers/research to be found if that's what you're after, too.
"Although eliminating analogies is an admirable first step since studies have found these to be biased against those from non-white, non-middle-class backgrounds, (what with questions involving words like "regatta") the problems with the SAT were always deeper than that."
The GRE still has analogies. ETS drops them from the SAT because they're admittedly 'culture-bound' (read: discriminatory), but leaves them on the GRE.
Rosie, no you don't suck! I'm just a perfectionist when it comes to scores, grades, and that sort of thing. I was the dork in high school who would get depressed over a B+ on my report card... I'm still pretty hard on myself when it comes to that sort of thing, even though I know it doesn't REALLY matter.
I'm not going to lie, I've heard this argument too. As an educator, I hear it all the time about the SAT.
I'm from a white, middle class upbringing. I studied very hard for that (like a lot). I memorized a ton of vocab words. I really don't know what else to say. I don't know if it's because I'm a woman and it's biased, if it's because I had been out of school for a few years, or if it's just because I'm not as smart as I think I am (haha, that can't possibly be it ;)), but I got what I got. And I'm okay with it. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Or it's that you just don't test well, which is another problem with standardized testing. More than anything else, it measures your ability to take standardized tests. Which isn't really an important (or even useful) skill to have.
The first thing any test prep tutor will tell you is that the only thing the GRE/SAT measures is your ability to take the GRE/SAT.
Despite taking a very, very unconventional path through undergrad that included almost 0 courses that weren't fine arts courses (I took 1 lit/English course and 0 math courses), my performance on the GRE was almost a mirror image of my performance on the SAT. All the relevant stuff was much fresher in my mind back in high school when I took the SAT, but that didn't end up mattering, because my innate ability to score high on standardized tests hadn't changed.
My family did the stereotypical Asian thing and sent me to SAT prep courses while I was still in junior high school. Unfortunately, I suck royally at math. I'd give anything to fit that Asian stereotype.
over the years, whites and the wealthier classes have traditionally scored better than minorities and middle/lower classes on the GRE/SAT/AP's etc
Thinking goes: if it were a fair test, every group would score about equally (the bell curve would hit similar scores, at specific points, for each race or class). Because this is not so, the test is probably unfair. The testing boards have long acknowledged this, and have tried to fix it... um, supposedly. B/c rich white people still dominate those tests, statistically speaking, like whoa. Thus the tests are considered to be slanted unfairly to favor rich/white folk.
I hope that made sense -- I usually confuse people (and myself) when I talk statistics... and add on top of that trying to be politically correct? Pshhhh
I'm a perfectionist, too. Got straight A's as an undergrad. High school...well, those were different times, simpler times, OKAY I WAS A LAZY BASTARD IN HIGH SCHOOL. But I always thought I was a good test taker. Then the GRE came along and shot my ass out of a cannon.
The studying wasn't completely useless, though. I learned words like ennui and harangue and paean. Don't get much of a chance to use them in conversation, though...
LOL Meredith, I used to live in Victoria so I have a shitton of friends in Vancouver, and I promise you that the only thing the Canadians care about is hockey gold. Everything else is just window dressing.
But I agree they mean nothing for CW MFAs (or much else beyond them). The only gain I've gotten from them is bragging rights over my very competitive brother. Still haven't gotten into any programs, though, and I'm bitter about the hundreds spent on the test/score reports. ETS is a scam.
Speaking of the Olympics, is anyone else here a figure skating fan?! I've been following it obsessively (particularly the ladies) for the past four years.
My GREs are sky high, almost perfect across the board. (I doubt anyone has a higher GRE score) Yet, I am still without an acceptance. Rejections so far:
Texas Wisconsin
Probable rejections based on reported acceptances: Vanderbilt Cornell
One of my recommenders said that I have just as good a shot as anyone. Another said that I should be in a top tier school. So far, zilch. I looked back at my writing sample and some passages make me cringe. Yikes!
My guess is that my writing sample did not resonate with anyone, or if it did, there were so many strong candidates that I can't possibly begrudge anyone for their good fortune (and my lack thereof). It's the luck of the draw. And I'm okay with that.
As I reported several pages ago, I have a feeling I will be accepted, at the very least, by two schools based on email correspondence so far (their queries about TA-ships). But when I look back at my writing sample, there's definitely room for improvement.
I'm not one to get disappointed at the schools that have so far rejected me. I've never been about prestige or status or the type of car I drive. It's okay that I don't end up in Texas or Wisconsin. I'll be happy with an acceptance from any ONE of the schools I applied.
I think almost everyone feels that way with their writing, Woon. It's part of being a writer :p I have a book coming out soon, and I still feel like that daily.
(1) One school inquired about a missing TA application. I called and they they all but said that I was accepted. wink wink. But the person I talked so said she wasn't authorized to deliver that info to me. wink wink.
(2) Another school is planning on running a background check on me for a TA position. They said to expect an email on it. I checked the school's policy on background checks and apparently, they conduct background checks on only finalists (the ones they want to hire), not a pool of applicants. So, by implication...
(3) A third school sent me all sorts of email about their school. It's probably nothing. It's probably just the English Dept not communicating with the rest of the school. The right hand not talking with the left, that sort of thing.
I apologize for the rerun. I'm on syndication now.
@frankish -- LOL! Seriously, when I first started this odyssey, I only wanted to apply to those schools that did not want GREs. What a hassle it is to sign up, study, and take the bloody test! But as I compiled my list of schools, most of them wanted GREs. So, I sucked it up, made flash cards, and finally took the damn thing. Now, all I want to do is take full advantage of my good scores and apply only to GRE schools. LOL!
Anyway, the GRE opened up my world. But so far, no takers. *sigh*
@Woon - Yeah, I really wasn't looking forward to retaking the GRE either. I'm glad you did well. While it will probably have no real impact on MFA admittance it may well qualify you for non-departmental fellowships once you get in somewhere. Also, if you haven't already looked into independent scholarships and the like, you might want to do so. Some of them use a GPA/GRE gradient among other factors.
I'm not too ambitious about fellowships/scholarships and the like. I'll be happy with a tuition remission and a stipend for the TA-ship. I'm not greedy. But first, I need an acceptance...
I just want the opportunity to learn from and interact with a writing community, a community that I suspect have higher GPAs than me (even though I have a higher GRE). LOL!
Thank you everyone!!! Especially Cratty, whom I looooove. And Chelsea and Jamie who were so kind to me when I was down in the dumps this AM. Thank you, not just for your wonderful well wishes, but for being RIGHT about not assuming a rejection. I've never been so happy to admit to someone that YOU were right and I was wrong.
My friend, Erin, just texted me, "Did you just get into the school that you told me THREE WEEKS AGO you were rejected from?" Well, yeah. I jumped the gun when I heard about a poetry acceptance -- even though you all warned me not to. So, don't jump the gun, you guys! Being in limbo, just means you're in limbo. It doesn't mean you've been rejected. For reals, yo! I am Lazarus, come from the dead Come back to tell you all
Thank you, everyone! Thank you so much for your endless kindness!
Dear Trilbe, we need to go see a Broadway play together. Then go buy out a bar and discuss the faults of dear Billy Blake, while Virginia Woolf's great grand niece plays a jazzy tune on the pianoforte.
@BrandiWells & Greg - Congratulations, you guys! Maybe I'll see you there?
@lechatgris - Wow! The first Iowa acceptance of the year! Amazing!
@ArnaBontemps & SamN - Congratulations! I can't believe that actual people get into Cornell's MFA. It's like you've done the impossible! Where Junot Diaz became Junot Diaz. What?!
Next week, when I don't hear from UMass, I will think of how you were sure you didn't get in and then weeks later got the call.
Another round of congrats for all the other admits and waitlists.
For me, it's been a hellish day. I got a call during a break in my training from George the paramedic who was transporting my husband to a hospital nearly two hours a way, finally got him home (fortunately ok if a bit battered.) spent the am recertifying my restraint training so I ache and had to go retrieve my older daughter from school at 9:30 p.m. I am going to bed. I don't want to wake up until April, ok?
@Trilbe Congrats on Alabama! That is wonderful. I've long appreciated the kindness and thought with which you've treated everyone here.
@Madeline Stevens Hang in there! I had an anxiety attack ten hours before Cornell called me. Anything can happen. Everything can change in a single minute. I'm rooting for you.
I can't understand why there is not more interest in the program (or perhaps people are trying to keep it a secret!).
The program would seem to have a lot going for it:
--Excellent funding --Strong faculty --Many published alumni who have appear to have landed teaching positions at top universities --Miami itself being a top 50 university in the US News and World Report rankings --The program being in, well, Miami.
I know I'll be pleased if I get in. Anyone else feel the same way?
Here is another question. Does anyone know where I could find a list of the oldest MFA programs in teh country, preferably with the dates of establishment. I have tried googling around for such a list, but haven't had any luck.
I was really, really contemplating it. Now I can't even remember why I didn't. It was a trivial requirement that at the time I felt too exhausted to complete. I was finished with the application process and if I had to watch one more woman lick the adhesive on my transcript envelope or attempt to remember my password at the GRE site, I would combust. Perhaps Miami required a year of coursework in bibliography/ archival research? Can't remember. And of course, obviously, yes, I now wished I'd applied. Ditto for New Mexico State, Kansas, Colorado State, Boulder, Alabama, Hawaii (MA), and etc.
Trilbe, congratulations. You seem a genuine sweetheart, so I'm glad you got some good juju. You seem like you would smell real nice, too. What an exciting program!
Le Tigre, I applied to Miami. You're right, when I came across Miami and saw what it offered I knew right away that it's somewhere I'd actually really want to go for all the reasons you listed. Miami doesn't have full funding for everyone, but for those who get a TAship, it's a really great package (the stipend's just under $16K). I also noticed that Rutgers-Newark's stipend is over $21K/yr - that's another little gem too (Jayne Anne Phillips heads that programme!). I'm pretty secure in where I want to go, but an acceptance from those schools (with full funding) would be tempting.
Thanks to everyone for the congrats. After reading some of the blogs from last year, I think this is an even more supportive group than in years past. (Just my biased observation of course.)
Anyway, there are plenty more acceptances to come for everyone. The next six weeks will be exciting.
I'm pretty sure UC-Boulder has a FL requirement. I didn't think Kansas had one though.
This is the problem with applying to so many schools: they're beginning to run together in my mind! I only applied to twelve, but I know some of you tackled many more than that. How the hell did you do it?
I wish the GRE was free because I would retake it just to assuage my wounded pride. I ran out of time on both the writing and verbal sections. I'm a terribly slow thinker.
Personally, I like to hear that Pulitzer winning writers struggle with their craft and wonder if they're even "writers" too. It makes me feel reassured, especially because if I get rejected from all of my schools, I'm sure I'll have to go through the initial questioning-my-profession phase before I can move on.
Oh! And a round of applause for Arna, Madeline, and the waitlisters! I'm delighted to hear it. The acceptances and waitlists alike - at such great programs, these are gigantic compliments to your work.
Congrats to those who got in and for many of us waiting in the wings, let's not lose faith. Still too early to tell.
GRE's aren't important, most schools (MFA programs)are doing away with the requirement all together. It's a quantitative graph. Some people aren't good at test taking (that be me) I haven't taken mine for many reasons, though I did apply to Hunter. They said apply, if you get accepted then take it.
It's the creative sample 80%, the qualitative way to get in, then SOP, letters of rec and lastly transcripts, GRE's, GPA's.
A side note about Texas. I know someone who got in years ago wasn't happy and transfered to Iowa for their second year. It happens. Don't lose hope dear hearts, it'll happen, hopefully this round. (please oh please)
I guess no one addressed your question because no one knows?
Any ideas how large the Wisconsin-Madison shortlist pool is?
This is conjecture, but I estimate the people who report acceptances/waitlists/shortlists on this blog represent around 10-20% of accepted/waitlisted/shortlisted MFA applicants. I think three people reported a shortlist (even though the term 'shortlist' never appears in the text) email from Wisconsin-Madison, so this would put the shortlist pool at thirty.
Add twenty to that to be safe, and we get fifty. There's your answer. Fifty people on the shortlist.*
1. Wait-list snail-mail notification from Ohio State University. 2. Wait-list snail-mail notification from University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign).
Right now, I'm excited and super cautiously optimistic about what this means.
But the definite good news, I guess, is that these notices (at least from these schools) are still making their way through the USPS. So...if you haven't heard anything yet, don't lose heart!
I ended up with a 600 verbal / 620 math / 4 writing. 84th percentile / 48th percentile /44th (or something) Not the greatest scores, but high enough to get me by most of the graduate schools.
The GRE is really all about knowing how to take the GRE. If you take a paper test, skip questions you don't know the answer to and come back later. That way if you don't finish, you end up with the highest score possible.
If you take the electronic, you need to work VERY hard on the first 10 (since they pretty much set you at your hundreds place score), then work on finishing the rest. Computer Adaptive Testing is kind of dumb that way. If I remember right, it basically works like this: you start off with a virtual 400, and it asks you a 400-level question. You get it right, and you get a 450 question, get it right and 500. Get that wrong and it takes you back down to 450. As the test 'figures out' your level of competency, the amount of points you earn from each question goes down. That means you are pretty much screwed if you have a bad run at the beginning.
I'm calming down after a minor freakout this morning. I applied to eight programs (all of which were top tier) and so far have received rejections from Texas and Wisconsin. Standard doubts and fears entered my mind as I decided that I was screwed for this cycle.
Then I remembered - I didn't get into two programs with acceptance rates this year at 1% or lower. I still have six schools left. Take a breath and see what happens. Worst case scenario, I have almost ten months to write more, get some more stuff published, and get ready for this all again next year.
And if I don't get in, I WILL try again next year. My personal feeling is that anyone who gives up because of stress or fear of failure is going to have a hard time making it as a writer anyway. Your whole life is about receiving rejection after rejections and plugging away at it until you get there. Who knows how many potential Pulitzer Prize winning authors gave up before they ever had to become what they had the potential to be. There is something to be said for talent, but a while lot more to be said about persistence.
Congrats to all the acceptances!!!! I have a potentially really stupid question. If one of my references was never submitted (I only just found out now) would my application still have been considered by Cornell? Cheers.
also, I want to give a hearty shout out to @Dreux. Turning down a program is hard, but it takes a lot of class to do it so early. A lot of people would have held on until they were accepted somewhere else, or until April otherwise. Turning it down now should give one waitlisted person a much better February, or even make sure that spot goes filled. Kudos.
I applied to Miami. Seems like a strong program that is still under the radar. I would be very happy to get in/attend. I think it's one of those programs that once people learn about it, we'll see it rise into the top 50.
Wow, so I've been away for just a very short while and I come back to allllll this good news for so many people! This is so wonderful! Enormous CONGRATULATIONS to all! I'm afraid if I try to name names I'll miss some people, but, I do want to give a shout out to my girl TRILBE!
@ Trilbe
You are such a positive force on here, and have been such a strong supporter of mine, and so I think it's simply wonderful wonderful wonderful that you've been accepted somewhere you're so excited about! Way to go!
May the good news continue to rain down on us all!
Madeline: Thank you so much for posting the link to Junot Diaz's essay about becoming a writer. I loved it. His work is marvelous. It is relieving to know that great writers struggle with failure, too.
Oh, and above, I forgot to say that I applied for poetry.
Thought i'd check in here to see what's what since i got the old rejection from Wiscy yesterday (no surprise).
TRILBE!!! 'BAMA!!!! WOAH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
You've been one of my favourites on the board since way back in the day (like, november), and you rock. I sort of feel I've followed your travails and I am so damn happy for you!!!!!!
Woo hoo!
Congratulations too to the other acceptances I've missed, and thanks Kaybay for being so 'effin funny in the backlog of posts i just skimmed through.
I reckon it's still game over for me - in the evenings that feels awful, in the mornings, for some reason, it feels absolutely fine. Wiscy rejection, Syracuse & Cornell implied rejections, and there is no way my other four big boys can turn out any different. The odds are too low. I finally broke down crying last night - not because i think i deserve a place at any of these schools, but because, like everyone, i worked my ass off obsessively and crazily for months on these applications, and spent a shitload of money, and i just felt exhausted and pissed off.
But, as my friend reminded me last night (while we were watching Los Angeles Plays Itself - great film btw): 'you hit up 7 top 10 schools, one of which doesn't even pay international student tuition, with a novel excerpt you yourself describe as 'very silly science fiction'. You've got to be realistic about your chances. Man up!'.
It's so humiliating to finally have to admit I should have applied to the Terry Pratchett Academy of Eccentric English Writers instead. Oh well. Next year, I guess.
Anyway, whatevs.
Whatevs. re. GRE scores too, i got 29% in maths, 99% in verbal & 5.5 writing and it doesn't matter a monkeys. to anything. ever. i doubt it's even been looked at.
@Trilbe, i hope you have a massive smile on your face and an absolutely top weekend!!!
@everyone else, congrats where due and otherwise, chin up/man up/the only way is up/etc.
@Eli <B *is that how you make a heart or is there another button to do that? The "B" makes it look weird...* Anyway, I was trying to share my love :) Maybe easier to do without an emoticon.
Ok, that was really funny, I just went on Yahoo.com and saw a complete tutorial on (and I quote) "how to type hearts on your keyboard." Maybe I just should have waited!
yeah, you'll almost definitely see me there. you going to the weekend in March? email me at greghouser1 [at] gmail.com if you wanna chat...and congrats again!
In the dream, I get a call from a woman who says I've been accepted to Indiana for poetry. "But I applied in fiction," I say (I couldn't write decent poetry if my life dependend on it).
"Oh, hold on," she says. "What's your name again?"
I tell her. She says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have called you by mistake. You're not on either of these lists."
Crappy, crappy dream.
Congrats to all those who've received acceptances and waitlists! I'm still 0 for 20.
CONGRATULATIONS TRILBE!!! You are an awesome person and you so totally deserve this :) :) :)
...Aaaaand implied rejection from Ohio State for me, as I did not get one of those "wait list" notes in my mailbox. Oh well. I'm in at Central Florida and if I just pray to the "funding fairy" I should be okay. Incidentally, my GRE scores are high enough to qualify for a fellowship at Central Florida, so that's one good thing. 690 verbal, 740 math, 4.5 writing (WTF?!)
Anyway, happy Saturday everyone! I'm working today, packing up books in order to shut down this Barnes & Noble. Depressing work. But I like weekends -- I feel safe from rejections on the weekends :)
I received a wonderful message from Keith Scriber last night letting me know I'm in for fiction at Oregon State. I'd love to get in touch with anyone familiar with the program!
Okay so I also had an MFA dream last night! I dreamed I got a note from Syracuse (which I didn't even apply to?) that accepted me into an MA in english lit program despite the fact I applied to an MFA in creative writing. They sent back my sample with a note that said "Your thesis was good but this sucks! Stick to what you're good at!"
:( Why does my unconscious hate me? And why is it still thinking about my thesis? That was done MONTHS ago... (well like two but it feels like a long time)
Coughdrop :D I learned from that Yahoo article that if you press "alt" and the number three, it makes a nice little heart. It doesn't work on this blog, though. Poooh.
I'm delighted to report, on the dreams topic, that I'm back to swimming in alligator infested ponds... and I'm ok with that, after the weird MFA nightmares...
Congrats to CB and Laura! And an anticipatory congrats to all who receive good news today. I probably won't be able to check until muuuch later (...I hate retail, it's stupid).
I'm wishing I applied to more than 7 schools just so the chances of hearing SOMETHING by now would be a bit higher. I think my heart is eating itself with worry.
@Rebels, patience, grasshopper. Catch dragonfly with chopstick.
I'm with you one hundred percent - I only applied to 7 schools (I have a serious geographical constraint in the form of a wonderful boyfriend with whom I now live, not to mention application fees) and I would love some news - any news at all.
I guess I'll just try to write my anxiety-induced ulcer away. Here's to news on Tuesday!
Ooooh, Adam - you old, son. 1984 is where it's at! Madonna; Miami Vice; synth! What am I saying. Booo 80s! Everyone knows the 90s was far more culturally relevant.
@Cratty: Agreed regarding the 90s being more culturally relevant. I'm old enough to have remembered the 80s and I really despise most of the music, fashion, etc., even more than the hideous 70s. Ick to all of it.
@all - Thank you so much for your way too kind comments about me! I'm actually super surprised by that, because I thought I came across as on the internet as a.) super douchey and b.) a stalker who could cite Nick McRae's stats to a frightening degree and invoke the ghost of Raysen.
@NickMcRae - As always, mad love to you, bro! I'm so excited to see you posting over on MFA Chronicles. I'm dying to see how things develop as your offers roll in. You've declined two spots all-f*cking-ready, sir?! You are a hero! The only potential competition for your title of MFA Adonis is C.Wink, if he is able to apply to only two schools and then get accepted to both. You two are, like, in the Superbowl of grad writer cred.
@Eli - I've followed this blog and Poets & Writers for the past couple of years and do you know what freaks me out every year? The fact that it seems like the tiny handful of people who get accepted into the Cornells and the Virginias and the Micheners seem to be actives here and/or at P&W. Another thing that freaks me out is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of crossover between the supercompetitive programs. I go back pretty far on here, and there just aren't a lot of people making the agonizing choice between Michener and Cornell. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm just saying it doesn't happen a lot. So, it seems to me, like you've got as strong a shot at getting into one of the big magnet schools as anybody else here. If you missed out on Wisconsin, then maybe it's your year for Amherst or Brown.
EVERYBODY is always shocked when they actually get accepted to one of those programs, because they never seem to think they're going to be that person. Seriously, go to P&W and click anywhere along the line of the "I'M IN!" thread and check out how flummoxed people are when they get the nod from Brown. It seems to me like it's more than just gratitude or relief. It's shock. Nobody thinks they're that person, but four people are that person.
Trilbe, I'll be in Jamaica for a few more months, then I'll be heading to New York. How long will you be in the city? Will you still be around in, say, early June?
So what, WT? You're telling me you don't have all the albums by Backstreet Boys, N'Synch, Britney Spears, 98 Degrees, LFO, O-Town, Christina Aguilera, Hanson, Mandy Moore, Spice Girls, B*Witched, Westlife, Boyzone, Willa Ford and . . . are there any I'm forgetting? Disclaimer: Cratty has no affiliation with - nor does he endorse - any of the aforementioned entertainers, artists or groups. He went into self-imposed seclusion after the infiltration of late 90s pop music on our popular culture. He does, however, have a penchant pointless research.
As yet one more Michener-Wisconsin-Cornell(?) reject, I've hit on a coping strategy: I'm buying myself a book for every rejection this season. Now, I imagine you're all book-buyers and this doesn't seem too special but I have a hard time buying anything for myself (especially on my AmeriCorps "salary"). So I'm excited. Today's buys: Eaven Boland's Collected Poems and vol. 3 of the Paris Review Interviews.
Yeah, Garbage was pretty solid. Foo Fighters and Weezer are two other mainstream faves. Alanis Morrisette can go hide in a cave for all I care. I'm split on Dave Matthews (I think he's sort of like those interior design reality shows (Trading Spaces etc.) that we all probably watch in secret but don't like to admit to)
And let's not forget less mainstream bands that were formed in the 90s like Pavement, Hefner, Modest Mouse, Portishead, Stereolab, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Belle and Sebastian, Sleater-Kinney etc. etc.
Kaybay, you can call me V, if that's easier. I'm a member of a group called the YA Rebels :p
I nearly had a heart attack, bc phone rang and caller ID said VANDERBILT, and then I answered and it was just my doctor with a question (I live in Nashville and go there). Curses!
I just found out today that one of my very best poet friends got into Alabama, too! She is so amazing--I admire her so much. Maybe you two will end up going to school together! You'll both be lucky if you do!
Trilbe, thank you so much! I wanna high-five what you said...but it's brimming with too much optimism for me so I must shun it instead. Ha. No, seriously, pouring through past years on these boards during my MFA fevers, I've noticed what you've said does seem to be true...Seth has noted (somewhere, i can't remember right now) there's some kind of weird yet happy correlation between hanging around here and getting in too. Yet I feel safer (and sadder, but hey) by clinging to my big fat rock of I-ain't-going-nowhere pessimism. I appreciate the vibe - man, you know i do! But I just gotta keep writing, and look beyond my bruising brushes with the big boys.
Thank you, though!
Kaybay and Ashley, that <3 just looks like a bum (bottom/arse/ass) to me. The 3 bit anyway. Which is kind of like saying 'I hug your bum'. And that shit ain't right, reaaaaltalk, etc - I too am gonna have to google 'heart shaped emoticons' to get a more refined, ahem, handle on the thing.
Tree that Wanders, the end of the nineties sucked? What??!? Although you did just mention Pavement and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci so I forgive that ridiculous statement. Don't forget about properly good albums by Bonnie Prince Billy, Wilco, Neutral Milk Hotel, Yo La Tengo...etc etc...I could bang on about this for ages but should probably go to some nerdy music forum for that. The 90's is my favourite music era, so i'm disappointed this comment is going to land somewhere around 2022.
WT, I think of Belle and Sebastian and Modest Mouse as being bands from the early 2000s, though mainly because that is when I listened to them. I was too young in the 90s to really get into anything that took too much effort to find.
Eli, The best hearts is ♥ but I doubt that this blog will allow it.
2,238 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1801 – 2000 of 2238 Newer› Newest»I took the GRE in 2008 and did atrociously, so I actually studied hard and took it again last October. Even though everyone online said, "The GREs don't matter!!!" I didn't believe it. I did better this time, but my friend got a 680. She barely studied. She's a literature lady, so the GREs might be more important for her apps. But I'm still jealous.
Does anyone have any idea how big this so-called Wisconsin short list is? Are we looking at 100 kids (which is the feeling I have, though it's based on nothing) or are we looking at smaller (or I guess possibly bigger) number?
Koru,
With all due respect, if you are living in another country and want to apply to an American school, you just have to suck it up, do what research you need to get the necessary info, and make the trip to the testing center somehow. Thousands of other students around the world (even in countries with chaotic infrastructures) make it happen for the TOEFL, GRE and other standardized tests. I had to take the GRE abroad and while it was an inconvenience, I didn't really see any other choice. (Patrick, there is an ETS center in Dublin - you can take the GRE here. Some centers do it by appointment while others have specified days.)
I'm sorry Patrick, but I just can't believe you don't know what the GREs are, unless you approached this application process incredibly lethargically. I'm from the Caribbean. I have friends from and colleagues from all over (England, India, Indonesia, Africa, Ukraine) who are already in or are preparing for grad study. We are all very much aware of the GREs, even though, like in my case, there is one test centre that you have to make reservations with waaaay in advance of a desired date. But still, it's just something you know. I mean, even if you've never heard of the GREs (which I just don't believe), simply undertaking the process for applying to grad programmes in the States leads one to naturally find out about them . . . in nooo way can I fathom ANYBODY going through this process not eventually learning what the GREs are. I don't buy it dude. I'm going with the troll theory.
WT,
I'm not saying that people shouldn't take the tests necessary for admission; what I'm saying is that it's very conceivable for a foreign student to not take the test, not understanding that it's a standard test for graduate school determinations. I knew that, and found a way to fit it in. Bit stressful, as the only way to fit it in (tried to schedule in London, but by August the first slot available for a GRE test was in January), so I found a way to take it in another country. Which gave me one shot, and VERY thankfully I received the score I was aiming for. But I knew I needed the GRE, and honestly had no idea that there would be a 6-month wait to take the test overseas.
So, here's a story for you all: I applied to Cornell on a whim. I had very little hope for getting in from the beginning. I attended a state school for undergrad, I don't know any alumni, and my resume is not particularly prestigious in any way. However, Lorrie Moore and Diaz went there, two of my favorites, so I decided to give it a shot anyway. What the hell, right? I noticed that Cornell sent out their acceptances/rejections on the 12th of February last year. So, of course, I was a little anxious today, even though i expect a rejection. I got a phone call around 11 a.m. this morning....from an area code I didn't recognize....I was too nervous to pick up so I let it go to voicemail then listened to the message. "This is Jennifer," the message started, "Calling from the English department at..." (this is the climax of my story, are you ready?) "Chapman University." I did not apply to Chapman. I only ordered an information packet about the program a long time ago. Apparently they were wondering if I was still planning on applying.
Almost gave me a heart attack. Ugh. Still no word from any of my schools.
Side note: if anyone is interested in Chapman, though, they sound kinda desperate...so...go for it.
Honestly lads, I din't want to create hassle, I decided I wanted to do an MFA, I'm not a big research kind of huy, I just go with the flow, and am probably wayyyy too laid back about all that stuff, so appologies if i've annoyed anyone! I just thought that for American colleges they would accept tests etc from other places, that is why I never bothered with the GRE. sigh!
Ummm... Regarding the distraught, hopeless note I posted early this morning... Well, guess what? THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA JUST CALLED! I AM IN FOR POETRY!
I don't believe it. And, clearly, I sounded like I didn't believe it, since Robin kept having to say, "Well, I'm going to send you an email, now, which will prove that we're actually having this conversation."
Wow. Just. Wow.
Congratulations to everyone accepted today!! Wow, Cornell really is consistent with that "second Friday of February" thing.
Congratulations Trilbe!!!
TRILBE: And they, and they, and they - they loooove yoouuuuu tooooooo!!!
Trilbe, congrats! Woooooohooooooo!
Congratulations, Trilbe!!!
Trilbe--
As you are such a kind, positive member of this blog community, I am so happy to congratulate you today! Hurray!
So did Cornell ONLY send out their YES's today? I didn't see anything before today commenting on the second friday of Feb.
Congrats, Trilbe!
And ha! My verbal was a 570 :p but my essay was a 4!!! Don't know HOW that happened...just meant for more creative writing :p
Congrats Trilbe and anyone else who I haven't congratulated yet! (and I guess the people who I have if you wanna a double dose, and fair enough, its Friday night)
680 verbal, 730 math, 5.5 writing. Exactly 0 time spent studying. And it had been 7 years since I had done any math in an academic setting.
What does that prove? Nothing in the eyes of MFA programs, and in a more general sense it only proves I'm a middle class white kid who grew up in the suburbs.
Congrats, Trilbe, really! Awesome!
620V/ 5.0 Writing. I don't even want to think about the Math score. At least I had the highest GRE score of anyone in the building that day. [Note: I was the only person in the city taking the test that day according to the test center log in sheet]
YAY Trilbe!!!
Kaybay: Nothing here yet. I wanna piece o' that Challah.
Congratulations, Trilbe! :D
Trilbe,
CONGRATS! omg yayyyy! I love when the regulars get in!!! Also wtf I thought you were in fiction ALL THIS TIME.
Patrick,
You can take the GRE in Ireland (Dublin) and it takes 5 seconds to google that all out.
Major wicked congrats to EVERYONE today!
I'm posting my scores because I'm owning them. They suck and I know this. But damn it, I'm an intelligent individual that slipped through the stupid testing cracks!
510 V, 540 M, 5 W.
Booya
I'm posting my scores because I'm owning them. They suck and I know this. But damn it, I'm an intelligent individual that slipped through the stupid testing cracks!
510 V, 540 M, 5 W.
Booya
Wandering Tree - only person in the entire city? Where was this? Thimphu, Bhutan?
Ashley B - I'm tellin' ya, I'm starting to believe your troll theory.
YA,
I also got a 570V. I got a 5.0 AW. And that is justttt about unspecial enough for me to not worry about it.
I took the GRE twice because I thought my scores sucked. They still pretty much sucked the second time. All I got was 20 points higher on verbal the second time, and almost 100 points lower on math! I mostly guessed on every question in the math section so I guess I was just luckier the first time...
Verbal: 590 / 610
Math: 520 / 450
Writing: 5.0 / 4.5
Hate that test.
Trilbe,
Way to go! I know Alabama was high on your list, so I know you are psyched.
That test is racist, classist, and more importantly it is completely incapable of measuring any sort of intelligence or aptitude that could prove relevant to anything a human being could possibly want to do with his/her life. I resented having to take it, and my good score only proves the usual criticism of the test right: with 0 studying, this white middle-class male was able to score high. My success on the test proves it's garbage just as much as any other smart person's failure does.
Cratty,
I had the feeling from the start since he really goes out of his way to mention he is from Ireland over and over and is always like "oh I don't it I'm foreign." BUT at the same time, I don't want to accuse anybody of anything or start drama. So I guess I will assume that everyone here is authentic unless they prove to me otherwise. So Patrick, I apologize if you're being genuine. I can't advise google enough! Good luck and congrats on your acceptance at Glasgow.
In Tokyo (There are two test centers but only one was administering the test that day. Maybe 20 people came in to take English language proficiency tests. I was the only GRE). The test centers in China are much more crowded due to an "Ivy or bust" mentality. Education is very much an insular beast in Japan for many.
Excuse you, Laura, but I got a 590 on the verbal and I don't suck one bit!!! (I'm being kittenish right now, FYI.) But I got a 490 the first time, so I was ecstatic to get anything close to 600. My math score was 390 the first time, 420 the second. I got 4.5 on the writing both times.
I'm happy, it's over, it doesn't matter, I'll eat wet cement before I ever take that God awful test again, etc..
It just really sucks, because I did not take two years of college very seriously (the ones in the middle), so my overall GPA is only okay. Couple that with average GRE scores and I'm held back from other fields too (I'd like to also get my MA in philosophy).
Just the way it goes! I do resent that test though...
@ Dreux
How is the GRE racist and classist? I'm asking out of sincere curiosity, not to antagonize- I didn't take the thing myself.
I was going along with Dreux being sarcastic. But still, I'm wondering what prompted the comment.
re: GRE - Ha!
My GRE score (combined math and verbal) dropped 130 points between when I first took the test after college and this past December (since it was more than five years, my old scored don't count...what a racket!).
A friend helpfully pointed me to an article that equated this difference to an 11 point drop in IQ. Even worse, assuming the SAT is a reasonable proxy, I expect GRE scoring has gotten easier over the last 20 years...meaning 11 point of lost intelligence is an underestimate. :P
Don't ever get old....
Scores in perspective
Ask any science/math oriented person at a top tier grad program what their GRE verbal score was, and I guarantee that most people on this board would have a higher score. A 400 or 500 something in math isn't the end of the world for a humanities person. Also, a lot of people seem to have the habit of comparing their SAT scores to their GRE scores. Why? They are two different tests. The math on the GRE is generally easier (since most people just don't take a lot of math in college) and the verbal is harder. And the whole electronic test throws all comparisons out the window.
Not to mention a completely different scale for scoring
DigAPony,
Just google "SAT racist" or "standardized tests racist" and you'll get better explanations than I could ever give.
Essentially there's a pretty easily proven set of arguments out there that standardized tests like the GRE don't prove anything about intelligence or aptitude, but that they do ask a lot of questions that people who come from a white middle class background would know how to answer.
I'm not being sarcastic at all. Being of the opinion that standardized tests are racists/classist isn't even controversial anymore. It's pretty much proven fact and it's old news. ETS and everyone else have made lots of changes to the test since they were first accused of those biases (maybe around 1998 or so was when people were being most critical) and have since made a lot of overtures to the relevant advocacy groups about how much better they're doing. But most people still consider the format inherently beneficial to white middle class folks who had the benefit of calm, well-managed classrooms in suburban schools when they were growing up, where they could practice bubbling in multiple choice tests from junior high on up.
I did freakishly well on Math (my strategy relied heavily on guessing), well on Verbal and scored in the FORTY-FIRST percentile in writing.
I know that the scores won't affect admissions, but what about teaching assistantships at schools that are only partially funded? Not sure if I would want someone who scored in the 41st percentile teaching freshman comp if I were on the ad com...
First result for "SAT racist" on Google:
http://www.alternet.org/story/13826/
Pretty representative of the body of information that's out there. There are lots of hard numbers/research to be found if that's what you're after, too.
From that article:
"Although eliminating analogies is an admirable first step since studies have found these to be biased against those from non-white, non-middle-class backgrounds, (what with questions involving words like "regatta") the problems with the SAT were always deeper than that."
The GRE still has analogies. ETS drops them from the SAT because they're admittedly 'culture-bound' (read: discriminatory), but leaves them on the GRE.
Rosie, no you don't suck! I'm just a perfectionist when it comes to scores, grades, and that sort of thing. I was the dork in high school who would get depressed over a B+ on my report card... I'm still pretty hard on myself when it comes to that sort of thing, even though I know it doesn't REALLY matter.
I'm not going to lie, I've heard this argument too. As an educator, I hear it all the time about the SAT.
I'm from a white, middle class upbringing. I studied very hard for that (like a lot). I memorized a ton of vocab words. I really don't know what else to say. I don't know if it's because I'm a woman and it's biased, if it's because I had been out of school for a few years, or if it's just because I'm not as smart as I think I am (haha, that can't possibly be it ;)), but I got what I got. And I'm okay with it. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Are people really posting their GRE scores? How in the world did this get started?
Bahahahaha!
Kaybay,
Or it's that you just don't test well, which is another problem with standardized testing. More than anything else, it measures your ability to take standardized tests. Which isn't really an important (or even useful) skill to have.
The first thing any test prep tutor will tell you is that the only thing the GRE/SAT measures is your ability to take the GRE/SAT.
Despite taking a very, very unconventional path through undergrad that included almost 0 courses that weren't fine arts courses (I took 1 lit/English course and 0 math courses), my performance on the GRE was almost a mirror image of my performance on the SAT. All the relevant stuff was much fresher in my mind back in high school when I took the SAT, but that didn't end up mattering, because my innate ability to score high on standardized tests hadn't changed.
My family did the stereotypical Asian thing and sent me to SAT prep courses while I was still in junior high school. Unfortunately, I suck royally at math. I'd give anything to fit that Asian stereotype.
@ DigaPony
over the years, whites and the wealthier classes have traditionally scored better than minorities and middle/lower classes on the GRE/SAT/AP's etc
Thinking goes: if it were a fair test, every group would score about equally (the bell curve would hit similar scores, at specific points, for each race or class). Because this is not so, the test is probably unfair. The testing boards have long acknowledged this, and have tried to fix it... um, supposedly. B/c rich white people still dominate those tests, statistically speaking, like whoa. Thus the tests are considered to be slanted unfairly to favor rich/white folk.
I hope that made sense -- I usually confuse people (and myself) when I talk statistics... and add on top of that trying to be politically correct? Pshhhh
I'm a perfectionist, too. Got straight A's as an undergrad. High school...well, those were different times, simpler times, OKAY I WAS A LAZY BASTARD IN HIGH SCHOOL. But I always thought I was a good test taker. Then the GRE came along and shot my ass out of a cannon.
The studying wasn't completely useless, though. I learned words like ennui and harangue and paean. Don't get much of a chance to use them in conversation, though...
@Rosie - You will in grad school. Those three words describe it perfectly. :D
Laura! I'm the same way. Got a 650 in my math, and a percentile of FORTY for the writing section. OOPS :p
p.s. is anyone else watching the Opening Ceremonies right now?
China 1, Canada 0
LOL Meredith, I used to live in Victoria so I have a shitton of friends in Vancouver, and I promise you that the only thing the Canadians care about is hockey gold. Everything else is just window dressing.
If they win it, Vancouver will riot.
@frankish,
... D:
Dreux,
Don't forget about curling!
V: 740, M: 710, W: 4.5
But I agree they mean nothing for CW MFAs (or much else beyond them). The only gain I've gotten from them is bragging rights over my very competitive brother. Still haven't gotten into any programs, though, and I'm bitter about the hundreds spent on the test/score reports. ETS is a scam.
@Meredith
Come on, ANYONE was going to have a sucky opener after China!
Speaking of the Olympics, is anyone else here a figure skating fan?! I've been following it obsessively (particularly the ladies) for the past four years.
Are we allowed to obsess over the weekend? Or do programs pause in their heartbreaking and life-ruining and occasional calls of cheer until Monday?
My GREs are sky high, almost perfect across the board. (I doubt anyone has a higher GRE score) Yet, I am still without an acceptance. Rejections so far:
Texas
Wisconsin
Probable rejections based on reported acceptances:
Vanderbilt
Cornell
One of my recommenders said that I have just as good a shot as anyone. Another said that I should be in a top tier school. So far, zilch. I looked back at my writing sample and some passages make me cringe. Yikes!
My guess is that my writing sample did not resonate with anyone, or if it did, there were so many strong candidates that I can't possibly begrudge anyone for their good fortune (and my lack thereof). It's the luck of the draw. And I'm okay with that.
As I reported several pages ago, I have a feeling I will be accepted, at the very least, by two schools based on email correspondence so far (their queries about TA-ships). But when I look back at my writing sample, there's definitely room for improvement.
I'm not one to get disappointed at the schools that have so far rejected me. I've never been about prestige or status or the type of car I drive. It's okay that I don't end up in Texas or Wisconsin. I'll be happy with an acceptance from any ONE of the schools I applied.
Dreux... that's obvious!!!!!
No but really, I hope they win. All my hockey-fan friends and Canadian friends are all crazed about it, too.
Dartmouth shout-out on tv @ now! woooooo! (yeah yeah, lame, I know)
Heh, Woon, well at least you're not lacking confidence.
Woon,
I sympathize. Without an official acceptance, those 'good news emails' must be taunting you from your inbox.
It's like being up by 1 point with the clock running down. Sure, you're on the verge of victory, but it ain't over til you actually won.
Hang in there, buddy.
I exhibit bipolar signs wrt my writing samples. Some days are sunshine, others are bottomless pits.
Also, I propose we coin GNE (Good News Email), to complement the coining of FOE.
GNE = an email expressing interest on a program's behalf when that email is not followed by a near-immediate offer of official acceptance.
This is all very interesting/disturbing. I'll have to look into it more.
I think almost everyone feels that way with their writing, Woon. It's part of being a writer :p I have a book coming out soon, and I still feel like that daily.
@Woon - If I were you, I'd call the program directors and let them know that you doubt anyone has a higher GRE score.
Frankish, I think you were a stand-up comic in a former life.
I like the new term GNE -- Good News Email.
As I said, I have two GNEs:
(1) One school inquired about a missing TA application. I called and they they all but said that I was accepted. wink wink. But the person I talked so said she wasn't authorized to deliver that info to me. wink wink.
(2) Another school is planning on running a background check on me for a TA position. They said to expect an email on it. I checked the school's policy on background checks and apparently, they conduct background checks on only finalists (the ones they want to hire), not a pool of applicants. So, by implication...
(3) A third school sent me all sorts of email about their school. It's probably nothing. It's probably just the English Dept not communicating with the rest of the school. The right hand not talking with the left, that sort of thing.
I apologize for the rerun. I'm on syndication now.
Hey Woon,
What's your email? I want to ask you a couple questions about your GNEs.
@frankish -- LOL! Seriously, when I first started this odyssey, I only wanted to apply to those schools that did not want GREs. What a hassle it is to sign up, study, and take the bloody test! But as I compiled my list of schools, most of them wanted GREs. So, I sucked it up, made flash cards, and finally took the damn thing. Now, all I want to do is take full advantage of my good scores and apply only to GRE schools. LOL!
Anyway, the GRE opened up my world. But so far, no takers. *sigh*
GRE's!!
Bah, I had pretty decent scores but I took the test over 5 years ago and as most of you all know, they now do not count!!!
@Woon - Yeah, I really wasn't looking forward to retaking the GRE either. I'm glad you did well. While it will probably have no real impact on MFA admittance it may well qualify you for non-departmental fellowships once you get in somewhere. Also, if you haven't already looked into independent scholarships and the like, you might want to do so. Some of them use a GPA/GRE gradient among other factors.
Cheers!
I'm not too ambitious about fellowships/scholarships and the like. I'll be happy with a tuition remission and a stipend for the TA-ship. I'm not greedy. But first, I need an acceptance...
Congrats Trilbe!
You're one of my favs here, so I'm so happy you got into an awesome program!
I think I'll be happy even without a stipend.
I just want the opportunity to learn from and interact with a writing community, a community that I suspect have higher GPAs than me (even though I have a higher GRE). LOL!
Thank you everyone!!! Especially Cratty, whom I looooove. And Chelsea and Jamie who were so kind to me when I was down in the dumps this AM. Thank you, not just for your wonderful well wishes, but for being RIGHT about not assuming a rejection. I've never been so happy to admit to someone that YOU were right and I was wrong.
My friend, Erin, just texted me, "Did you just get into the school that you told me THREE WEEKS AGO you were rejected from?" Well, yeah. I jumped the gun when I heard about a poetry acceptance -- even though you all warned me not to. So, don't jump the gun, you guys! Being in limbo, just means you're in limbo. It doesn't mean you've been rejected. For reals, yo!
I am Lazarus, come from the dead
Come back to tell you all
Thank you, everyone! Thank you so much for your endless kindness!
HUGE congratulations to Arna, Sam N and Trilbe!
Gee, go to work for 8 hours and miss all the fun.
HUGE congrats, Trilbe!
And you give us all who've seen others get their nods already hope!!
@Trilbe - Congratulations! Sounds like a winner!
Dear Trilbe, we need to go see a Broadway play together. Then go buy out a bar and discuss the faults of dear Billy Blake, while Virginia Woolf's great grand niece plays a jazzy tune on the pianoforte.
congrats, trilbe! you are always so positive on this blog and i think we need that sometimes. so happy for you!
@BrandiWells & Greg - Congratulations, you guys! Maybe I'll see you there?
@lechatgris - Wow! The first Iowa acceptance of the year! Amazing!
@ArnaBontemps & SamN - Congratulations! I can't believe that actual people get into Cornell's MFA. It's like you've done the impossible! Where Junot Diaz became Junot Diaz. What?!
@trilbe congrats!!!!!!!! I am SO pleased for you.
Next week, when I don't hear from UMass, I will think of how you were sure you didn't get in and then weeks later got the call.
Another round of congrats for all the other admits and waitlists.
For me, it's been a hellish day. I got a call during a break in my training from George the paramedic who was transporting my husband to a hospital nearly two hours a way, finally got him home (fortunately ok if a bit battered.) spent the am recertifying my restraint training so I ache and had to go retrieve my older daughter from school at 9:30 p.m. I am going to bed. I don't want to wake up until April, ok?
@Trilbe
SUPER CONGRATS! You really, really deserve it.
@MommyJ
Sorry to hear about your husband. I'll say some prayers.
Thank you, everyone for the kind words.
@Trilbe
Congrats on Alabama! That is wonderful. I've long appreciated the kindness and thought with which you've treated everyone here.
@Madeline Stevens
Hang in there! I had an anxiety attack ten hours before Cornell called me. Anything can happen. Everything can change in a single minute. I'm rooting for you.
@Sam N.
I'm going to gmail right now.
Good luck everyone!
Congratulations Trilbe and all the Alabama and Cornell folks!
Congrats, Trilbe, Sam and Arna!
And good luck to the others who are waiting for the good news. It is always darkest before dawn, and be it MFA or not, there will be light soon.
We live to fight another day.
Big congrats to Trilbe! Your posts are always so thoughtful - you just seem genuinely down-to-earth and, well... nice :) I'm happy for you.
Cornell admits... awesome news!!! Arna and Sam N., you must be thrilled! Congrats!
I have a question:
Did anyone else apply to the University of Miami?
I can't understand why there is not more interest in the program (or perhaps people are trying to keep it a secret!).
The program would seem to have a lot going for it:
--Excellent funding
--Strong faculty
--Many published alumni who have appear to have landed teaching positions at top universities
--Miami itself being a top 50 university in the US News and World Report rankings
--The program being in, well, Miami.
I know I'll be pleased if I get in. Anyone else feel the same way?
I know that the University of Michigan and the University of Washington both have foreign language requirements. Do any other programs.
I am monolingual and I am not adverse to learning a new lamnguage, but I would rather not take the time out of an MFA program to do so.
Art, Michigan no longer has a foreign language requirement. One program that does require a foreign language is Johns Hopkins.
Art, you posted that and my heart sank.
WT, THANK YOU for clearing that up!!
*breathes deeply*
I think Ole Miss has one, too.
They vary in how strict they are, so be sure to get details before you embark on that journey.
Here is another question. Does anyone know where I could find a list of the oldest MFA programs in teh country, preferably with the dates of establishment. I have tried googling around for such a list, but haven't had any luck.
Of the programs I looked at closely, only Johns Hopkins, Mississippi and University of Houston had foreign language requirements.
Cheers!
Tigre,
I was really, really contemplating it. Now I can't even remember why I didn't. It was a trivial requirement that at the time I felt too exhausted to complete. I was finished with the application process and if I had to watch one more woman lick the adhesive on my transcript envelope or attempt to remember my password at the GRE site, I would combust. Perhaps Miami required a year of coursework in bibliography/ archival research? Can't remember. And of course, obviously, yes, I now wished I'd applied. Ditto for New Mexico State, Kansas, Colorado State, Boulder, Alabama, Hawaii (MA), and etc.
Since I have no real news to report...
I'd like to congratulate all those who've gotten their acceptances!!!!
In personal news-- I haven't been rejected from Michener yet! I'll use this blind optimism to coast through the weekend.
Kansas, South Carolina, UMKC all have a FL requirement I think.
Trilbe, congratulations. You seem a genuine sweetheart, so I'm glad you got some good juju. You seem like you would smell real nice, too. What an exciting program!
Congrats Trilbe! I like seeing good things happen to nice people. You send out good vibes.
Le Tigre, I applied to Miami. You're right, when I came across Miami and saw what it offered I knew right away that it's somewhere I'd actually really want to go for all the reasons you listed. Miami doesn't have full funding for everyone, but for those who get a TAship, it's a really great package (the stipend's just under $16K). I also noticed that Rutgers-Newark's stipend is over $21K/yr - that's another little gem too (Jayne Anne Phillips heads that programme!).
I'm pretty secure in where I want to go, but an acceptance from those schools (with full funding) would be tempting.
Thanks to everyone for the congrats. After reading some of the blogs from last year, I think this is an even more supportive group than in years past. (Just my biased observation of course.)
Anyway, there are plenty more acceptances to come for everyone. The next six weeks will be exciting.
I'm pretty sure UC-Boulder has a FL requirement. I didn't think Kansas had one though.
This is the problem with applying to so many schools: they're beginning to run together in my mind! I only applied to twelve, but I know some of you tackled many more than that. How the hell did you do it?
Yup Kansas has one:
http://www2.ku.edu/~englishmfa/requirements/index.shtml
That was the main reason I didn't apply there. Growing up in the UK, my language skills were kept to the one language!
I wish the GRE was free because I would retake it just to assuage my wounded pride. I ran out of time on both the writing and verbal sections. I'm a terribly slow thinker.
Thank you, Arna, and SUPER BIG CONGRATS to you and everyone else who's been accepted!!
Since Diaz was mentioned, I thought I'd share this article he wrote. Yes, it happens to be on Oprah.com, but don't judge:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Junot-Diaz-Talks-About-What-Made-Him-Become-a-Writer
Personally, I like to hear that Pulitzer winning writers struggle with their craft and wonder if they're even "writers" too. It makes me feel reassured, especially because if I get rejected from all of my schools, I'm sure I'll have to go through the initial questioning-my-profession phase before I can move on.
We all have a lifetime of agony ahead of us :)
Hi All,
I was quiet for a bit because I needed to mope and fight with my boyfriend a little.
@Trilbe: Wow! What beautiful news! Feel proud. Feel very proud.
My fingers are crossed for Saturday acceptances. More good news is on its way, I'm sure.
Oh! And a round of applause for Arna, Madeline, and the waitlisters! I'm delighted to hear it. The acceptances and waitlists alike - at such great programs, these are gigantic compliments to your work.
Get some rest, writers.
"Arna, Madeline, and the Waitlisters"
Sounds like a band.
Congrats to those who got in and for many of us waiting in the wings, let's not lose faith. Still too early to tell.
GRE's aren't important, most schools (MFA programs)are doing away with the requirement all together. It's a quantitative graph. Some people aren't good at test taking (that be me) I haven't taken mine for many reasons, though I did apply to Hunter. They said apply, if you get accepted then take it.
It's the creative sample 80%, the qualitative way to get in, then SOP, letters of rec and lastly transcripts, GRE's, GPA's.
A side note about Texas. I know someone who got in years ago wasn't happy and transfered to Iowa for their second year. It happens. Don't lose hope dear hearts, it'll happen, hopefully this round. (please oh please)
@Bryant
I guess no one addressed your question because no one knows?
Any ideas how large the Wisconsin-Madison shortlist pool is?
This is conjecture, but I estimate the people who report acceptances/waitlists/shortlists on this blog represent around 10-20% of accepted/waitlisted/shortlisted MFA applicants. I think three people reported a shortlist (even though the term 'shortlist' never appears in the text) email from Wisconsin-Madison, so this would put the shortlist pool at thirty.
Add twenty to that to be safe, and we get fifty. There's your answer. Fifty people on the shortlist.*
*Snake oil
Got some good news today...
1. Wait-list snail-mail notification from Ohio State University.
2. Wait-list snail-mail notification from University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign).
Right now, I'm excited and super cautiously optimistic about what this means.
But the definite good news, I guess, is that these notices (at least from these schools) are still making their way through the USPS. So...if you haven't heard anything yet, don't lose heart!
Best of luck to everyone!!!
I ended up with a 600 verbal / 620 math / 4 writing. 84th percentile / 48th percentile /44th (or something) Not the greatest scores, but high enough to get me by most of the graduate schools.
The GRE is really all about knowing how to take the GRE. If you take a paper test, skip questions you don't know the answer to and come back later. That way if you don't finish, you end up with the highest score possible.
If you take the electronic, you need to work VERY hard on the first 10 (since they pretty much set you at your hundreds place score), then work on finishing the rest. Computer Adaptive Testing is kind of dumb that way. If I remember right, it basically works like this: you start off with a virtual 400, and it asks you a 400-level question. You get it right, and you get a 450 question, get it right and 500. Get that wrong and it takes you back down to 450. As the test 'figures out' your level of competency, the amount of points you earn from each question goes down. That means you are pretty much screwed if you have a bad run at the beginning.
I'm calming down after a minor freakout this morning. I applied to eight programs (all of which were top tier) and so far have received rejections from Texas and Wisconsin. Standard doubts and fears entered my mind as I decided that I was screwed for this cycle.
Then I remembered - I didn't get into two programs with acceptance rates this year at 1% or lower. I still have six schools left. Take a breath and see what happens. Worst case scenario, I have almost ten months to write more, get some more stuff published, and get ready for this all again next year.
And if I don't get in, I WILL try again next year. My personal feeling is that anyone who gives up because of stress or fear of failure is going to have a hard time making it as a writer anyway. Your whole life is about receiving rejection after rejections and plugging away at it until you get there. Who knows how many potential Pulitzer Prize winning authors gave up before they ever had to become what they had the potential to be. There is something to be said for talent, but a while lot more to be said about persistence.
Congrats to all the acceptances!!!!
I have a potentially really stupid question. If one of my references was never submitted (I only just found out now) would my application still have been considered by Cornell?
Cheers.
also, I want to give a hearty shout out to @Dreux. Turning down a program is hard, but it takes a lot of class to do it so early. A lot of people would have held on until they were accepted somewhere else, or until April otherwise. Turning it down now should give one waitlisted person a much better February, or even make sure that spot goes filled. Kudos.
Congrats to all acceptances.
Today I received one of the unofficial acceptance emails from George Mason University.
YAY!
Crying and shaking and acting like a lunatic.
@Cratty - you sure about Miami funding? Seth's guide says everyone gets full...
i'm out at wisconsin and, i would have to assume, syracuse. really starting to feel down about now.
anyone know if cornell contacted all acceptances today? do they even have a waitlist?
I applied to Miami. Seems like a strong program that is still under the radar. I would be very happy to get in/attend. I think it's one of those programs that once people learn about it, we'll see it rise into the top 50.
Wow, so I've been away for just a very short while and I come back to allllll this good news for so many people! This is so wonderful! Enormous CONGRATULATIONS to all! I'm afraid if I try to name names I'll miss some people, but, I do want to give a shout out to my girl TRILBE!
@ Trilbe
You are such a positive force on here, and have been such a strong supporter of mine, and so I think it's simply wonderful wonderful wonderful that you've been accepted somewhere you're so excited about! Way to go!
May the good news continue to rain down on us all!
NM
Madeline: Thank you so much for posting the link to Junot Diaz's essay about becoming a writer. I loved it. His work is marvelous. It is relieving to know that great writers struggle with failure, too.
Oh, and above, I forgot to say that I applied for poetry.
Congratulations for all the acceptances!! :)
Thought i'd check in here to see what's what since i got the old rejection from Wiscy yesterday (no surprise).
TRILBE!!! 'BAMA!!!! WOAH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
You've been one of my favourites on the board since way back in the day (like, november), and you rock. I sort of feel I've followed your travails and I am so damn happy for you!!!!!!
Woo hoo!
Congratulations too to the other acceptances I've missed, and thanks Kaybay for being so 'effin funny in the backlog of posts i just skimmed through.
I reckon it's still game over for me - in the evenings that feels awful, in the mornings, for some reason, it feels absolutely fine. Wiscy rejection, Syracuse & Cornell implied rejections, and there is no way my other four big boys can turn out any different. The odds are too low. I finally broke down crying last night - not because i think i deserve a place at any of these schools, but because, like everyone, i worked my ass off obsessively and crazily for months on these applications, and spent a shitload of money, and i just felt exhausted and pissed off.
But, as my friend reminded me last night (while we were watching Los Angeles Plays Itself - great film btw): 'you hit up 7 top 10 schools, one of which doesn't even pay international student tuition, with a novel excerpt you yourself describe as 'very silly science fiction'. You've got to be realistic about your chances. Man up!'.
It's so humiliating to finally have to admit I should have applied to the Terry Pratchett Academy of Eccentric English Writers instead. Oh well. Next year, I guess.
Anyway, whatevs.
Whatevs. re. GRE scores too, i got 29% in maths, 99% in verbal & 5.5 writing and it doesn't matter a monkeys. to anything. ever. i doubt it's even been looked at.
@Trilbe, i hope you have a massive smile on your face and an absolutely top weekend!!!
@everyone else, congrats where due and otherwise, chin up/man up/the only way is up/etc.
Has anyone received word from Arizona or Boise State? I would think we should hear any time.
@Eli <B *is that how you make a heart or is there another button to do that? The "B" makes it look weird...* Anyway, I was trying to share my love :) Maybe easier to do without an emoticon.
kaybay, I think you want a 3! <3!
Ah! Thanks :) <3
Ok, that was really funny, I just went on Yahoo.com and saw a complete tutorial on (and I quote) "how to type hearts on your keyboard." Maybe I just should have waited!
congrats trilbe!
yeah, you'll almost definitely see me there. you going to the weekend in March? email me at greghouser1 [at] gmail.com if you wanna chat...and congrats again!
Wanted to share an MFA dream I had last night:
In the dream, I get a call from a woman who says I've been accepted to Indiana for poetry. "But I applied in fiction," I say (I couldn't write decent poetry if my life dependend on it).
"Oh, hold on," she says. "What's your name again?"
I tell her. She says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have called you by mistake. You're not on either of these lists."
Crappy, crappy dream.
Congrats to all those who've received acceptances and waitlists!
I'm still 0 for 20.
@phillywriter That's awful!!
CONGRATULATIONS TRILBE!!! You are an awesome person and you so totally deserve this :) :) :)
...Aaaaand implied rejection from Ohio State for me, as I did not get one of those "wait list" notes in my mailbox. Oh well. I'm in at Central Florida and if I just pray to the "funding fairy" I should be okay. Incidentally, my GRE scores are high enough to qualify for a fellowship at Central Florida, so that's one good thing. 690 verbal, 740 math, 4.5 writing (WTF?!)
Anyway, happy Saturday everyone! I'm working today, packing up books in order to shut down this Barnes & Noble. Depressing work. But I like weekends -- I feel safe from rejections on the weekends :)
Hi guys,
I received a wonderful message from Keith Scriber last night letting me know I'm in for fiction at Oregon State. I'd love to get in touch with anyone familiar with the program!
Congrats, CB!
Okay so I also had an MFA dream last night! I dreamed I got a note from Syracuse (which I didn't even apply to?) that accepted me into an MA in english lit program despite the fact I applied to an MFA in creative writing. They sent back my sample with a note that said "Your thesis was good but this sucks! Stick to what you're good at!"
:( Why does my unconscious hate me? And why is it still thinking about my thesis? That was done MONTHS ago... (well like two but it feels like a long time)
AND congrats to CB! Just saw that, sorry! <333 (Threes, Kaybay, Threes!)
Coughdrop :D I learned from that Yahoo article that if you press "alt" and the number three, it makes a nice little heart. It doesn't work on this blog, though. Poooh.
Hooray for Trilbe and cb!!! Great news.
I'm delighted to report, on the dreams topic, that I'm back to swimming in alligator infested ponds... and I'm ok with that, after the weird MFA nightmares...
Congrats to CB and Laura! And an anticipatory congrats to all who receive good news today. I probably won't be able to check until muuuch later (...I hate retail, it's stupid).
I'm wishing I applied to more than 7 schools just so the chances of hearing SOMETHING by now would be a bit higher. I think my heart is eating itself with worry.
~V
Is it too late to brag about my GRE score?
Heh, umIrenic you can brag, but the moral seemed to be that the scores didn't do shit :p
JK!
@Rebels, patience, grasshopper. Catch dragonfly with chopstick.
I'm with you one hundred percent - I only applied to 7 schools (I have a serious geographical constraint in the form of a wonderful boyfriend with whom I now live, not to mention application fees) and I would love some news - any news at all.
I guess I'll just try to write my anxiety-induced ulcer away. Here's to news on Tuesday!
@hilary Patience?? What is this thing you speak of? :p
@Rebels I knoowwwwwww... hehe.
Ok, I am disappearing from the blog until Tuesday in an effort to preserve my sanity.
Also, huge congratulations to all the new admits/waitlisters. And, to everyone else: We can do it!
Congratulations to Arna and Sam! Cornell?! WOW!
(Sorry... just catching up.)
it is probably time for a new mailbag. . .
Hooray! 1983 was the year I was born! (I hope this isn't a huge fail. Post quickly, Adam, quickly!)
Ooooh, Adam - you old, son. 1984 is where it's at! Madonna; Miami Vice; synth!
What am I saying. Booo 80s! Everyone knows the 90s was far more culturally relevant.
Oh, and to whoever was wondering if Miami is fully funded - it's not. All students receive some form of aid but not all students are fully funded.
@Cratty: Agreed regarding the 90s being more culturally relevant. I'm old enough to have remembered the 80s and I really despise most of the music, fashion, etc., even more than the hideous 70s. Ick to all of it.
But the 90s -- they rocked!
@all - Thank you so much for your way too kind comments about me! I'm actually super surprised by that, because I thought I came across as on the internet as a.) super douchey and b.) a stalker who could cite Nick McRae's stats to a frightening degree and invoke the ghost of Raysen.
@NickMcRae - As always, mad love to you, bro! I'm so excited to see you posting over on MFA Chronicles. I'm dying to see how things develop as your offers roll in. You've declined two spots all-f*cking-ready, sir?! You are a hero! The only potential competition for your title of MFA Adonis is C.Wink, if he is able to apply to only two schools and then get accepted to both. You two are, like, in the Superbowl of grad writer cred.
@Eli - I've followed this blog and Poets & Writers for the past couple of years and do you know what freaks me out every year? The fact that it seems like the tiny handful of people who get accepted into the Cornells and the Virginias and the Micheners seem to be actives here and/or at P&W. Another thing that freaks me out is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of crossover between the supercompetitive programs. I go back pretty far on here, and there just aren't a lot of people making the agonizing choice between Michener and Cornell. I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm just saying it doesn't happen a lot. So, it seems to me, like you've got as strong a shot at getting into one of the big magnet schools as anybody else here. If you missed out on Wisconsin, then maybe it's your year for Amherst or Brown.
EVERYBODY is always shocked when they actually get accepted to one of those programs, because they never seem to think they're going to be that person. Seriously, go to P&W and click anywhere along the line of the "I'M IN!" thread and check out how flummoxed people are when they get the nod from Brown. It seems to me like it's more than just gratitude or relief. It's shock. Nobody thinks they're that person, but four people are that person.
@Cratty - I'm in NYC... If you want to have that drink, I'll wear my pearls!
@cb - Congratulations!
@Greg - Right on! I will send you an email!
Early 90s music (Which was really the awakening of 80s alternative and new wave) was awesome. Late 90s? Shudder.
Congrats cb! That program looks really cool.
I'm also an Oregon State fiction applicant, and am now quaking in my boots...
Also, I really, really love bad '80's music, but only in the so-bad-it's-hilariously-good kind of way.
Trilbe, I'll be in Jamaica for a few more months, then I'll be heading to New York. How long will you be in the city? Will you still be around in, say, early June?
So what, WT? You're telling me you don't have all the albums by Backstreet Boys, N'Synch, Britney Spears, 98 Degrees, LFO, O-Town, Christina Aguilera, Hanson, Mandy Moore, Spice Girls, B*Witched, Westlife, Boyzone, Willa Ford and . . . are there any I'm forgetting?
Disclaimer: Cratty has no affiliation with - nor does he endorse - any of the aforementioned entertainers, artists or groups. He went into self-imposed seclusion after the infiltration of late 90s pop music on our popular culture. He does, however, have a penchant pointless research.
Good music from the 1990s: Sonic Youth, Garbage, Everclear, Bush... ?
Cratty,
Thanks so, so much for reminding me, in this time of anxiety and fear, how much I loved B*witched.
What do we think...any letters coming in today's mail? Or are we dead until Tuesday?
~V
Yar, I'm guessing nothing will happen until next Wednesday, but I'm hoping something will happen today! I have my phone in my pocket :)
Ha, I just sounded like a pirate there! I will be calling you YARebels for now on...
As yet one more Michener-Wisconsin-Cornell(?) reject, I've hit on a coping strategy: I'm buying myself a book for every rejection this season. Now, I imagine you're all book-buyers and this doesn't seem too special but I have a hard time buying anything for myself (especially on my AmeriCorps "salary"). So I'm excited. Today's buys: Eaven Boland's Collected Poems and vol. 3 of the Paris Review Interviews.
Ashley,
Yeah, Garbage was pretty solid. Foo Fighters and Weezer are two other mainstream faves. Alanis Morrisette can go hide in a cave for all I care. I'm split on Dave Matthews (I think he's sort of like those interior design reality shows (Trading Spaces etc.) that we all probably watch in secret but don't like to admit to)
And let's not forget less mainstream bands that were formed in the 90s like Pavement, Hefner, Modest Mouse, Portishead, Stereolab, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Belle and Sebastian, Sleater-Kinney etc. etc.
Kaybay, you can call me V, if that's easier. I'm a member of a group called the YA Rebels :p
I nearly had a heart attack, bc phone rang and caller ID said VANDERBILT, and then I answered and it was just my doctor with a question (I live in Nashville and go there). Curses!
~V
Ah. I thought you were just a strong supporter of the Confederacy. Shows how much I know :P
thanks everyone for the congrats.
and congrats everyone else that got in yesterday!
@trible
my email's brandiwells @ gmail dot com
email me if you wannna chat
WT,
Pavement! Hooray! I wish I had money for Coachella this year!
@ Trilbe
I just found out today that one of my very best poet friends got into Alabama, too! She is so amazing--I admire her so much. Maybe you two will end up going to school together! You'll both be lucky if you do!
NM
Wow, the P&W threads have a ton of info on where diff schools seem to be in the process! (Sorry, I'm a novice in the obsession part of this process).
~V
Trilbe, thank you so much! I wanna high-five what you said...but it's brimming with too much optimism for me so I must shun it instead. Ha. No, seriously, pouring through past years on these boards during my MFA fevers, I've noticed what you've said does seem to be true...Seth has noted (somewhere, i can't remember right now) there's some kind of weird yet happy correlation between hanging around here and getting in too. Yet I feel safer (and sadder, but hey) by clinging to my big fat rock of I-ain't-going-nowhere pessimism. I appreciate the vibe - man, you know i do! But I just gotta keep writing, and look beyond my bruising brushes with the big boys.
Thank you, though!
Kaybay and Ashley, that <3 just looks like a bum (bottom/arse/ass) to me. The 3 bit anyway. Which is kind of like saying 'I hug your bum'. And that shit ain't right, reaaaaltalk, etc - I too am gonna have to google 'heart shaped emoticons' to get a more refined, ahem, handle on the thing.
Tree that Wanders, the end of the nineties sucked? What??!? Although you did just mention Pavement and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci so I forgive that ridiculous statement. Don't forget about properly good albums by Bonnie Prince Billy, Wilco, Neutral Milk Hotel, Yo La Tengo...etc etc...I could bang on about this for ages but should probably go to some nerdy music forum for that. The 90's is my favourite music era, so i'm disappointed this comment is going to land somewhere around 2022.
WT,
I think of Belle and Sebastian and Modest Mouse as being bands from the early 2000s, though mainly because that is when I listened to them. I was too young in the 90s to really get into anything that took too much effort to find.
Eli,
The best hearts is ♥ but I doubt that this blog will allow it.
Ahh, 2008: the year i actually cared about Vampire Weekend.
Morgan, I'm seeing Pavement at All Tomorrows Parties in May!!!!!!!
i ♥ pavement, thanks ashley!
er, so, yeah, um...♥
where are our trolls? this is getting gushy.
heh, sorry Eli, I did not mean to shove my internet booty in your face. I meant to show you some love. It is almost V-day!! XOXOXO
How did you do the cool heart??! I want to learn your ways...
Sometimes I am tempted to make a troll.
When I was 14 I used to pretend to be a gay history teacher and post around on rap message boards.
Kaybay,
type &
then hearts
then ;
all together with no spaces
♥
&HEARTS
did not work, LOL
♥
YAY!
sorry people but I gotta try this ♥
Post a Comment