It's only been a few days since the last mailbag, but as we near 1,000 comments, it seems like a good time for a fresh one.
Congratulations to those who've heard good news from programs, and best wishes to everyone still waiting. Remember, it's still very early.
1,074 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 1074 Newer› Newest»mfapoetry,
No. Your sample matters. I can't imagine clout meaning anything, ever.
@Cratty
cool. Glad the interview went well.
As far as tattoos go, I have a little one of pawprints on my wrist. I got them for my dog. This takes us back to the dog/cat person discussion. I suspect I'll get another someday, but I usually plan for a million years first.
Congrats, Gancho.
ah, and I have no tattoos... or piercings. Instead, I have a very real fear of needles. ...
Congrats gancho!
I am sick, sniffly, stuffy and stuck at home. ANyone want to trade samples for a little reading today? I am driving myself crazy sitting here watching minutes tick by on the clock.
Congrats Gancho and Smiling Whatever-it-was :)
As for the long-distance relationship thing. I've been in one for a year and a half now. My girlfriend finished her PhD in 2008 and moved to Florida for an awesome tenure-track position (she teaches literacy/education).
It's difficult sometimes, but it is mostly really good. We see each other often. We talk every day. We video-chat on google. We send packages. We know we will be together in the future. (Whether that future begins in August depends upon my acceptances/rejections.)
Long-distance relationships most definitely can work. They just need to be handled with maturity and kindness.
Suddenly I realized why Dreux would be incapable. Hm.
Oh snap.
still up for fiction sample trading if i haven't traded with you already.
brandiwells at gmail dot com
I've run out of 2 tattoo shops hyperventilating like a madwoman. If I hadn't, I would have a dragonfly tramp stamp and train tracks around my ankle right now. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank God for fear.
Here's hoping for many more phone calls for this group today!
@ Brandi
sent my sample to your email
@gancho
Congraties!
NM
@ smiling
Congrats!
Ok folks, here's a story for you. A few days ago, I found the completed cover sheet for my UVA sample sitting on my bedroom chair.
After a few days in denial, hoping it was an extra, then thinking UVA "probably" didn't need it -- I realized that without the cover sheet, I was essentially counting on them to "match up" my sample to my grad school application based on my name. No guarantee they would go to that trouble.
So I finally called the department this morning. Admitted that I hadn't sent a cover sheet and asked if they'd like me to send it now. The lady I spoke with told me to email it and gave me her address. Great! I sent it off.
Only then did I actually look at my samples. No name. No identifying information. Just a stupid, anonymous personal statement bleating that "It's always been my dream to be a writer" and the text of my stories.
So functionally, I was actually counting on them to have noted my name and address from my FEDEX package when it arrived.
Not that I'm sure I put a name on the return -- might have just been my address.
And assuming all the packages weren't opened by interns and then piled up until someone, going through the stack, found my nameless, coverless sample and chucked it.
So I had to send another email to the (by-now-convinced-I'm-an-idiot) department rep. explaining that I realized that there was no identifying information on my sample. I had to paste in some clues for the poor woman -- mailed on January 4 via fedex (yes, I'm one of those relying-on-the-postmark applicants), first line of the personal statement is thus, name of the stories are ....
Groan. Face buried in arms.
Ahh, Nina, I know how you feel! I'm a sickie sickie sick too! I'm wasting my time watching the price is right because my computer it giving me a headache to look at longer than 10 minutes at a time. I'm still managing to check this blog, though...
Eeyore,
I would just resend the sample/everything (with your name on every page) and hope for the best.
Good luck. It's not the end of the world!! It can be fixed, surely.
Congratulations Gancho!
Hey Nina (and anyone else),
Totally down for a fiction swap.
amylinjl (at) gmail (dot) com
Look forward to it!
Re: tattoos--I have the sacred heart from this book cover: http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n1006.jpg on my left shoulderblade. I'm also thinking of getting a quote from The Eloquent Peasant, an ancient Egyptian story, that goes like this: "I have found one of these peasants, eloquent of speech!" That might take some work, though, because I would want the hieroglyphs to be both accurate and elegant, which means working very closely with a tattoo artist. Oh well, I guess that's what you pay them for.
Also, I got a FOE from Greensboro just now telling me my writing sample was being sent to its first review. It was very politely worded! So I only freaked out for about half a second.
I feel so boring! No tattoos. And re: relationships? My husband is so excited to move. He tells everyone about me applying to MFA programs and it's kind of adorable. "Yep, I'm going to follow her wherever she gets in!" Sigh. Sweet boy. He does tease me about spending all of my time on here. And he says hi! ;-)
@Courtney -- your husband will love it. He can go around campus riding the free shuttle bus, eat lunch at the campus deli, check out the chicks, run laps around the jogging track, and generally feel young again. Maybe he can edit your short stories for you while you're working on new ones. A significant other can be useful in many ways.
Subscribin'...No tattoos, no news, just mild MFA blues...
How's this for a manuscript "mistake"? I just reread my manuscript and noticed the three times I mentioned my middle-class, small-town protagonist's car, I referred to it as a Miata. I meant just plain Mazda.
So, people are reading it thinking there's an average, everyday homemaker driving some inexplicably super sweet wheels to the local mall.
I have no tattos but my husband is covered! Sleeves, the whole 9 yards. I like to think of us as the yin/yang of ink. I have seriously considered three tattoos in my life
1) Age 14- a huge "FTW" across my neck.
2) Age 17 - a set of hands clasping my throat
3) Age 28 - a quotation, "Arrange whatever pieces come your way." Virginia Woolf
@Courtney
OMG, that's sweet. Tell him "hi" back. (;
@Lauren
You made me laugh laugh laugh. What a brave post. Look out for a nasty response. I guess I'll get some now too. Whateva. I must be tired. Other than offering encouragement and validation for you folks who are making it work, I'm staying out of the domestic relations debate. (-;
I read in Ann Landers many many many years ago (yes Ann Landers!), "Don't give unsolicited advice, wise (people) don't need and fools won't heed it."
Off to see my adviser. Can't wait to see her face, showing amazement at how complex my novel actually is. (;
wow, emoticons today!!
Make that, "Don't give unsolicited advice, wise (people) don't need it and fools won't heed it."
@MelonHead
That's hilarious. I'm sure the homemaker in your story was stoked to get super sweet wheels.
...and I'm also sure any adcom won't even blink twice.
Please don't take her Miata away. She's earned it.
@MelonHead -- I don't think it's that unusual for an "average" homemaker to be driving a Miata to the shopping mall. Among my friends, the ones with the better jobs/status aren't driving BMWs and Mercedes Benzes. In fact, my "lower status" friends tend to drive better cars than my "higher status" friends.
I myself drive a beat-up old 1995 Toyota only because it drives really well and I've been too lazy to shop around for a new car. If it works...
I have no tattoos or a boyfriend/husband "holding" me back. I just go where the wind blows me.
...
I sound like a loser.
Okay, I think I'm starting to want to fiction swap...
delurking to say a friend of mine got a phone call from Syracuse yesterday saying she's in for poetry.
Congratulations to everyone else who's gotten good news!
Ooh Mai, fiction swap me please! And anybody else? So bored @ work. fixittuesday at yahoo.com
PS...Anyone else waiting for Wyoming today? Didn't someone report that they'd be making fiction calls later in the week? I might have made that up in the happy thoughts section of my brain.
@ Sunfish -- you are cracking me up today.
@ Woon -- You're so right; he is going to love riding around campus taking advantage of student life!
Woo Hooo! Hooray for good news. Congrats to your Syracuse friends. I just got the word from Virginia Tech - I'm in. As the coming week approaches, I'm sure there's going to be much more good news rolling in for peeps!
It just has to happen!
@Courtney - Seth posted that they thought they'd start making fiction calls by the end of the week.
@Trokee - Syracuse. I wonder if they are notifying poetry first or all genres. *sigh*
Cheers!
@Cratty - Congrats! That's great.
Whoa. Somebody got a call yesterday from Syracuse for poetry?! Mein heart just stopped.
@Cratty,
Congrats! Fantastic news!
and, Congrats, Cratty! I hear that is a beautiful campus and an awesome buncha faculty.
Courtney, yup, I've got Wyoming on the mind! Seth said they'd start at the end of the week, so today seems like the earliest day that could qualify... I think tommorow and Saturday are more likely. He said they'd start at the end of the week, so they might not even all be going out!
I'm surprised to hear about Syracuse (congrats to your friend), but I imagine it will still take some time for fiction calls to go out.
can't spell tomorrow.
Congrats on Va Tech, Cratty!
Congratz but WTF, all these calls going out to people and their friends. Neither I nor my friends have heard jack squat diddle. Lord, maybe we suck as a collective.
@AB - re: Syracuse - Yeah in '08 and '09 fiction notifications began 2-4 weeks after poetry.
Cratty, nice work!! You're on a roll.
Danielle, my heart stopped too, and I'm not even applying for poetry. I feel that's scarily early.
Trokee, congratulations to your friend!
Cool, thanks Frankish - a steady heartbeat's resumed.
Today I got a bunch of boxes and started packing up my books. I figure if each time I come check the blog, I make myself go pack a box of books or old clothes or kitchen stuff or give/throw away some junk from the garage, I should have everything organized by the time I hear (one way or another) from programs. I've decided to move, either way. :D
@Cratty -- is the Virginia Tech for poetry or fiction?
I think "Jack Squat Diddle" makes a good pseudonym.
Cratty, congrats again!
Cratty
Congratulations! VT has such a great funding package. If I'm not mistaken, is this your second acceptance? Iwanttoreadyoursample!
Congrats, Cratty!
Man I feel like the acceptances are just rolling out this week! What's the deal? I thought this was the biggest group applying to the mfa program ever? Clearly, people who run mfas are overachievers!
I'm fiction.
Thanks everyone. Your well wishes are very heartening. I just got a rather distressing call, though. So I have to head out for a few.
I do hope when I get back there will be some celebrating for other folks going on.
yay cratty!!
if only alabama tuscaloosa would announce for fiction... then I could seriously relax, cause none of the other schools I applied to send out acceptances (and rejections until mid feb-late march). But alas, this waiting is killing me.
well, not "yay" for the distressing call, but congrats on the acceptance.
p.s. ditto danielle re: the syracuse news, and i didn't even apply for poetry, either.
@ Cratty! Wow! Good for you! Two this week and counting!
Congrats to all the acceptances this week! I can't keep up with you guys :)
Does anyone know if there have been any Virginia Tech poetry acceptances yet?
Congrats Cratty on acceptance #2! How exciting to know that not only have you been accepted, but you have options already! Very cool. Also, congrats to other acceptances I've missed. I'm singing "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys on repeat in order to up my spirits and avoid the pits of despair and anxiety.
Anyone else have a good theme song?
Themesong- Livin Thing by ELO. Hell yeah.
I should totally put some Beach Boys on my shuffle, though. Good vibes.
I'm still interested in swapping samples with folks. I'm fiction, but I'll read anything! My email:
ssholley(at)siu(dot)edu
Congrats, Cratty!
Theme song today: "Galway Girl" by Steve Earle
I'm not Irish, but I like to pretend I am.
@Cratty, congrats! two in a row! wow!
@Dig, i've been listening to the Avenue Q soundtrack a lot the last few weeks. Even songs like "What can you do with a BA in English" have been putting a smile on my face. And "Schadenfreude" ... upbeat in a weird way! :p
So much good news! Congrats all!
Oh, and good vibes music, Fleet Foxes "Sun Giant" album.
wow, congrats cratty?
where all did you apply?
i meant "congrats cratty!"
didn't mean to have that ? there. sorry!
@ Courtney, Brandi, and sh . . . just jumped in the latest sample swap. I emailed mine and look forward to reading yours.
Jim White "Buzzards of Love" from CD "Drill a Hole in that Substrate and Tell Me What You See"
Also, "Combin My Hair in a Brand New Style" and "If Jesus Drove a Motor Home" motor home motor home motor ho-o-ome... (oh be quiet)
Congrats Cratty. SuperDuper - You must have stoked them in your interview.
And Trokee, congrats to your friend. Very cool.
Next week is Madison!!!!!!
Any one know about Michigan??? Ideas about when they'll be e-mailing folks? (I believe e-mail is their method of choice.)
And Bob Dylan just came on my shuffle "Beyond the Horizon" - lounge bubbles are floating about.
Oh, I'm back from my meeting. My adviser likes my pages and is looking forward to the story being a novel. Woo Hoo!!! Sweet.
@Woon
Good point. I think I'm going to keep it a Miata, actually. It adds a fun and unexpected dimension to the character.
I should note I'm about the exact opposite of a car person, which is why I was so surprised when I Google Imaged Miata.
And no tattoos here. Though, I'd love to get an Irish cross somewhere. But on what part of my body, I have no idea.
Subscribing.
Still hoping that Indiana will call. I've read three fiction acceptances.
In my pack, I included one experimental flash piece, and I'm hoping that didn't dissuade them.
@Ryan Duke
I don't think including the experimental flash would dissuade the. It seems like it would show your diversity and ability to push against perceived limits.
@Mostly
That was the hope!
I'll just keep on keeping on about Indiana, though gripping my phone as tightly as I am makes it difficult to type...
@ Ryan Duke-
I'm doing the same thing, but for Syracuse.
But are you sure you want to be come a Hoosier? I am currently deep in Hoosier-land and, lemme tell ya, these people are serious about their Colts. Serious. It is ALL I hear about.
I hope you get that call, though!
Checking in after a couple of days and so much happening!
Congratulations to everyone who's had acceptances, so exciting! :-)
I have a phone interview with VTech - in the next fifteen minutes or so. Wish me luck!!
Good luck, Nadiya!
Hey, it looks like things are starting to roll now.
Congrats to Gancho, Cratty, and the friend that got into Syracuse. If I missed anyone, congrats to you as well. I think we're going to see a lot of acceptances on this blog in the next few weeks.
@Nadiya
oooh... good luck!!!
stay calm, breathe, go to the bathroom, NOW, before the phone rings
OK, good luck
@jessie
Got the same kind of e-mail from UNCG. Isn't it great that Terry and his co. take the time to write to each applicant? I imagine it saves them a lot of frantic phone calls in the end, as well. Too bad the rest of the MFA programs can't be as awesome, haha. I guess we'll all just have to bite our nails for the next six weeks straight.
@Ryan Duke
You made me laugh. Thanks. My programs have not made calls yet, so I'm still of the humble yet optimistic mindset.
Luck to you, Nadiya. Wishing you the very, very best.
NM
@Chelsea
What was the email from UNCG? Just curious since I applied there and have them on the brain constantly!
Wading in the velvet sea -- Phish
This too shall pass -- OK Go
Unstoppable -- Santigold
Bulletproof -- La Roux
Small Potatoes -- A Weather
(love the lyrics in this song -- my mind just chews on them. In fact, I think I'll nominate this song as the official theme song of this blog. "there was a time when I didn't know you...and there'll be a time like that again" -- perfect description of our little community, yes?)
The Middle -- Jimmy Eat World
(boyfriend sweetly put this on a heading-to-take-the-GRE playlist for me -- oldie but goodie!)
You never let go -- Matt Redman
I feel like I'm making a mixtape for you all. >smile<
Hear hear on Fleet Foxes! Album wise, I'd add House With No Home, Horse Feathers.
@Ryan Duke (and the rest of us bloggers)
I read Dorothy Parker's short story, "Telephone Call" last night. It reminded me of us. wow
Congrats to everyone accepted and sending major good vibes to all waiting!
Just got accepted to VTech, as well, for fiction! I'm over the moon! Such an ideal program. Cratty, what are your thoughts? Want to swap some info?
Sunfish, I too like to think I'm Irish. Have you ever been to Galway? BEAUTIFUL. And they play the song like 5x a night at the pubs and it's always a crowdpleaser! LOVE IT!
Thirding the Fleet Foxes loveliness!
I also highly recommend the screamin' red hot London lungs on this song - it's an asskicker:
http://hypem.com/#/track/1005558/Florence+The+Machine+-+Dog+Days+Are+Over
Congratulations, Dolores! It seems like this blog's participants are very popular with Virginia Tech! :D
Cheers!
Danielle and Dolores, woo hoo!!!!
I am so pleased for you both!
Danielle - Syracuse - wow. Absolutely excellent stuff :D
Dolores! Danielle! Congratulations!
Holy crap!
Wow!! Congrats Dolores & Danielle!
@Dolores Humbert - Yes, I just got back from Galway myself! I was on a bus coming back into town from the Inisheer ferry when "Galway Girl" came on the radio. The bus driver, a 70 year old tiny gnome of a man, reached over and cranked up the volume. I heart Ireland;)
Eli -- awesome song. First exposure to Florence + The Machine. Excited to check them out.
Dolores, Danielle -- congrats!
@eli
when I saw eeyore's rec of La Roux's Bulletproof, I immediately thought of Florence & the Machine's Dog Days Are Over
I also love her songs Cosmic Love and Howl.
I love UK music and would also recommend: Bat for Lashes (Daniel, Pearl's Dream), the xx (Islands), and Kate Walsh (Light & Dark, Seafarer, As He Pleases - there is a free EP on amazon)
I will have to check out Fleet Foxes!
Congrats to all those accepted!! Bravo!
Thanks, everyone! And go, Daniel! Woop!
Sunfish, I just got a little teary-eyed! No joke. Were you visiting or living/studying there? (Warning: if you answer this question, prepare for a blast of nostalgic posts!)CAN WE BE FRIENDS?! AH.
@gancho + @cratty C O N G R A T S ! ! ! ! !
so awesome, good work you guys!!!! (cratty hope the distressing call is fine)
@nadiya good luck with the interview!
@melonhead i'm CNF but don't they say that characters write themselves? i guess he/she wanted a miata and that was that!
@DigAPony Dirty Projectors "Stillness is the Move"
@Eeyore I'd call again and see if you can just send a new sample if you talked to them recently and she was willing to put your coversheet with your app..it means there's prob still time and it would certainly make it easier for them. I did something similar where I called bc after I had fedexed my app I found the TA essay sitting on my printer. Nooooo... but it was not a big deal. That actually happened with two schools and both were very accommodating.
However I still feel like an idiot for the typo in one of my stories where I reference Howards End by EM Forster which I spelled, "Howard's End by Em Forrester." baby typos, but i think they speak volumes— pretty sure it reads "pretentious and doesn't even know her shit"!
no tattoos. i think my dad scared the option of me and my sister by saying jews can't get buried in a jewish cemetery with tattoos and they'd have to cut them out with a knife when we died...which i think is a load of BS. plus we barely qualify as jewish. however, he did give a powerpoint presentation to our family on the dangers of infection when my older sister got her tongue pierced. and i fainted at the ripe age of 20 when i got my ears pierced, and when i took out my earrings for the first time, the holes closed immediately. skin sealed. so i think i might be like sunfish if i tried to get a tattoo, it simply wouldn't work.
ok here's for more acceptances!!
@dolores @danielle WOW this blog moves fast---
C O N G R A T S ! ! ! ! yes yes yes!
ps @courtney your husband sounds like such a sweetie!
@ everyone else sharing their relationship woes, hiccups, etc nice to know there's a sea of empathy out there!
Congrats to all the poetry people!
Nadiya, hope your interview is going well! Kick ass!
I'm still up for fiction sample swapping
sequoia@alumni.grinnell.edu
(Perhaps I should change my blog handle as well - Turtle Beavenhauer? hmm.)
wow, i'm seeing some good music recs here.
i'm going to make a playlist for us all and then everyone can download it, if they wish. 3 cheers for not needing tapes or cdrs any longer!
similar stuff to what eli and the duchess have already recommended.
re: syracuse acceptances. had my first pang of defeat as i read about the poetry acceptances but it only lasted a while as i've applied for fiction. congrats to those poets!!!
Congrats to Cratty, Dolores and Danielle!
Avenue Q is the shit. I've had "Everyone's a little bit racist, sometimes... it doesn't mean we go around commiting hate crimes" stuck in my head on and off for the last month...
I haven't listened to much Jim White, but I like "Still Waters" very much.
I have on the front left side of my pelvis, small phrase in Arabic. Occasionally I worry I got the translation wrong, and it says something dirty. :)
I've been listening to the Cribs and Last Shadow Puppets... but for varying MFA application season moods, may I humbly suggest the following:
Frustration: 7 Year Bitch, Catch-22 ("Giving Up Giving In"), Dillinger Four ("Maximum Piss and Vinegar" is necessary for those moments of unsightly green envy).
Despair: Go old school with some Bessie and some Billie. But then cap it off with a little Jane's Addiction or Country Joe and the Fish, because you don't want to wallow too much...
Anxiety: Gomez, George Jones (old stuff), Frank Sinatra and copious amounts of booze. :)
I'll suggest some happy music if I get some happy news. So there. :)
Congrats to Cratty, Gancho, Dolores, Danielle and anybody I missed! I hope all of you are celebrating :)
Music recommendations:
I didn't realize how much I listen to the following bands until I actually looked at itunes instead of just re-charging my various idevices.
The Album Leaf
The Roots of Orchis
Massive Attack
The Decemberists
Pulp
British Seapower
The Dresden Dolls
Congrats to all recent acceptances!
congrats, danielle and dolores!! so excited about all of the awesome news this week. :)
Dolores - I studied @ UCD one summer in college and just went back before Christmas for a retreat on Inisheer. I love it so much. The people, the countryside, the accents, the sheep. *sigh* I kissed the Blarney Stone (which I found to be slimy and repulsive) but I think it worked.
Mostly I like it b/c "my hair is black and my eyes are blue!"
lol
@Eeyore & The Duchess - I'm listening to Bulletproof right now - it's great. It's doing to me what the Yeah Yeah Yeah's 'Zero' also does...makes me dance!
Never heard of Kate Walsh so I'll check her out, thank you, but know the other two pretty well (you can't avoid Bat for Lashes over here, she's everywhere). Everyone's music recommendations are good - and that goes for the Bob Dylan way upthread too! (Mostly Swell, I think?). And WT, nice to see some love for Pulp.
Feels like a party on the MFA blog. Bring on more acceptances! And more music!
Congrats to Danielle, Cratty, Gancho, Dolores! I'm starting to lose track of all the newly accepted folks, so in case I missed anyone, yay for you too! Finally, things are moving in this process!
Yes! Keep all the acceptances coming, four fold. Congratulations everyone.
More Music?
Margot & the Nuclear So and So's are my all-time favorite, and I will take any chance I can to pimp them.
Other favorites: The Magnetic Fields, Blitzen Trapper, Kate Miller-Heidke, Regina Spektor, the Arcade Fire,
Johnathan Rice, Rilo Kiley.
wow, take a short nap and presto - the blog has come alive!!!
I'm feelin' either really old or way way way out of touch. I've barely heard of any of these musicians (except for Jim White and Bob D.) Yes, Eli, that was me. And Kati-Jane - Still Waters came from the movie "Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus" I think. Great song, great and weird movie. Anybody heading south or already there, check it. There's even a cameo appearance of Harry Crews.
Is Steve Earle's Galway Girl new? I don't think I've heard it. I'm bad. I don't listen to the radio. I used to DJ a bit, not much, just subbed. But maybe that's why I don't tune in anymore. Sort of like eating at McDonald's after working there. I don't do that either (don't worry, it's been YEARS since I worked at McD - 1980. whew!!!!)
OMG I almost forgot - Delores and Danielle WOOHOO a big shout out - Congrats!
For the rest of my cohorts waiting by the phone, I suggest agin, Dorothy Parker's monologue, "A Telephone Call" It's choice.
Yay Danielle and Dolores!!!!!!! So exciting!!!!!!! What a big day on the blog!
oh, and Congrats to Dolores!!
@Danielle
That's great. Third time's a charm, I guess. And this time around, top choice called you first. Nice. I hope you're on a cloud for eons after all of that.
Ashley Brooke -- any way you're in the DC area?
Or any other Magnetic Fields fan around DC?
A friend of mine has an extra (free) ticket to the show tonight. Long story made short, she doesn't want to go alone and is looking for (non romantic) company.
So on the off chance someone on here is local and interested in a free ticket...
@ Dolores & Danielle- congrats!
Re: music
Huge, huge Avenue Q fan! I got to see the show spring of my senior year of undergrad. I enjoy thinking to myself, "What DO you do with a BA in English?!" (I am a musical theater nerd in general, btw.)
Also, word on the ELO. I find that both Cake and Oh No! Oh My! always lift the spirits. Loving the idea of an MFA Blog soundtrack.
Oh Eeyore, I WISH. I am both in Ohio and sick. I hope your friend finds somebody for the ticket, though, because I'm sure the show will be awesome. You should go! Thanks for the offer, and make sure that she goes no matter what!
Danielle, congratulations! That's great...especially that you got into your first choice. Awesome!
Apcb, I have the same issue with UVA--my letters/transcripts apparently haven't been received and my app is "incomplete." I re-submitted them and emailed the admin assistant and have received no response!
Pretty lame considering I paid $6 each time for Interfolio mailings. In a way, I lose interest in a school that doesn't respond to emails and doesn't update your app when materials have been sent and resent.
Also, I got a phone call from an unknown area code (480) just now and almost had a stroke. Turns out it was my internet host calling for my new credit card info. Sigh.
Hobo bobo -- to reiterate Trilbe from January 18 -- UVA doesn't post a "complete" on your application.
"*Please be aware that your application status will remain "incomplete" even if all required materials have been submitted and received by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences."
Though the "what-ifs" are still nerve-wracking.
@ Danielle & Dolores
Big congrats!
NM
@ Danielle & Dolores Congrats!
@Dig Glad there's another Avenue Q fan out there. I saw it in London this fall, and they had Trekkie's understudy on that evening; he TOTALLY flubbed up "The Internet Is For Porn" which was a disappointment. :( But they changed the George Bush line in "For Now" to "Swine Flu" which was funny, since we were in the midst of swine flu craziness & paranoia.
Here's to some good "you got in" vibes for everyone tomorrow!
Hey, @Pencore, finally just checked out my homeboy, Cruger, doing Grind Time. Poor kid - he was pretty good but there was something unnaturally slippery about his accent - kept on going from street london to american to hints of being possibly, secretly posh. He should have kept it street, a la Dizzee Rascal! And he had some pretty decent rhymes, but illusion Z's seemed to flow far better.
Still LOVE the "woooh" of the audience after a punchy line; that makes me howl with laughter. Cruger's t-shirt is bloody hilarious too.
@Next year's applicants perusing this year's threads for salient information, er, sorry...
@Danielle - third time lucky - fantastic. I too hope you're doing cartwheels for many weeks/months to come.
Eeyore... dude, thanks for the clarification. Didn't see that comment (not on this site that much) and don't remember reading it in the email, but that's very reassuring.
Does anyone have any suggestions on combating the anxiety of waiting? So far I've relied upon beer and innumerable cigarettes.
@ koru-
You have inadvertently solved a mystery. I've always wondered what they'd do with the George Bush line once he left office. :)
First time posting here. I applied to Syracuse and VA-Tech only, for Poetry (hadn't taken the GRE; well, still haven't taken the GRE). Looks like I'll be back here next year, although I am not completely saddened, I am relatively new to writing poetry -- only seriously for about 6 months -- so I'll have more to workshop when the time comes, I hope... and more pubs. Congrats to all who've been accepted and best of luck to those still waiting.
@tarnmcarthur
if you're new to the blog, maybe you haven't seen the advice floating around - that it ain't over 'til it's over. There will be many people who get waitlisted and eventually get accepted.
6 months isn't long for writing, but that doesn't mean much - some folks are good right out of the gate. And, frankly, none of us know what catches the eye of those on the admission committees. So, all of that is to say, don't throw in the towel just yet.
Yes, this is true. And I have had success in my writing with a couple publications, and I did study under a great poet in university, so it's not a lack of confidence, I just find it easier to assume the worst and be happily surprised -- okay, maybe not the best way to live, true, but this forum seems like a good place to help with keeping your sanity.
OMG, you all are one chatty bunch :)
Whoever mentioned Kate Walsh -- I love her :) and yes, please, somebody make an MFA blog soundtrack :)
And, of course, congratulations to Dolores and Danielle! It makes me so happy to hear about acceptances. I know how I'd feel if/when I get one, so I know how awesome it is for you guys :) Yay!
Is anyone else hitting refresh on her browser/inbox, as if clicking the mouse will squeeze another post out? This is madness. I'm going to watch Intervention on Hulu.
LOL
not sure about the sanity part - we are all going insane on this blog - I think I have company in saying it's a collective effort. Evenings seem especially choice lately.
Congratulations on the acceptances!
And I definitely fall into the "hit refresh on your e-mail just one more time" camp.
OK I am now sick. I guess it's official: I have too much on my plate. Next fall, whether or not I am doing one or two grad programs I am only workig one job.
Nerd alert: I just figured out how to make this blog a button on the home screen of my iPhone!! !: -)
@Cratty, Dolores and Danielle congrats! Whooop!!!
I am getting more anxious about Amherst. Oh to be a senior in high school again ... My dingbat daughter didn't turn in her final English paper for the semester until her teacher emailed me. Argh. And as I was chewing her out, one of her colleges called. Talk about the worst tming. Still, I now have her iPod.
As far as music, I'm listening to Loudon Wainwright III, Arcade Fire, Regina Spektor, Karine Polwart and Kim Ritchie.
Can UMass-Amherst please notify early this year? Pretty please?
@ MommyJ
Are you a fiction or poetry applicant?? I applied to UMass-Amherst too (in fiction) and your post caught my eye. Any UMass applicants on here with news on when they plan to notify?
@MommyJ
Loudon!!! I love Johnny Cash's cover of his "The Man Who Couldn't Cry"
Have you heard it?
And did you know his ex, and mother of his children Martha and Rufus, died a couple of weeks ago? Kate McGarrigle. Fresh Air interview with Terri Gross http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13
@MommyJ
scroll down, there are past shows, this is under "MUSIC" duh
OMG, I was just doing that thing I do every day, by which I mean, logging on to all my applications to check the status -- when -- I logged on to University of Central Florida's website and saw that, low and behold, I am "admitted" !!!
And it says "This program will formally contact you soon with additional information regarding your acceptance."
Sharing here first -- nobody else knows yet :)
@ Lauren, that's incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an insane way to find out! That's a new category.
Lauren, congrats!!!
Of course, now I am tempted to login and check my applications for admittances, which I'd never thought to do.... :P
@Lauren
OMG
And that's where your partner is, yes????
wow, swell - absolutely positively 100% swell
Ok, sorry, I'm commenting on old stuff. Haha, this is going to be funny, because this was all talked about yesterday. But, I went to sleep early :)
Re: Dreux and I dating - pretty sure he has a better chance getting accepted into every one of his programs than getting a date with me ;)
Re: tattoos - I don't have any, although I've contemplated getting a small, concealable one. My boyfriend has one very large tattoo of a baseball in flames on his throwing shoulder, but now that he's not playing baseball, it's kind of ridiculous. He hates it. And the Ace of Spades on his forearm. His hatred of his tattoos has made me afraid to commit to something like that. I don't wanna regret it! Plus, needles yuck!
ummm, what else?? Oh! Farrah XOXOXO :P
hmmmm... did I miss anything else???
No news for me and I'm finally started to get antsy! I'm refreshing the blogs too often and keeping my phone with me like it's an epi pen or something. Seriously, I contemplate bringing it into the bathroom with me... I don't, but it's in the back of my head... yeah...
CONGRATS TO ALL ACCEPTANCEES!
LAUREN! CONGRATS!! SERIOUSLY, THIS IS AN ALL-CAPS MOMENT! ORLANDO IS ONLY A SHORT DRIVE TO JACKSONVILLE!
*checking my status now*
Damn you. *checking statusi*
Well, I must report the first rejection here, sucks for me. I was "not admitted" to UCF. Oh well, it's good to know either way. But congrats all!
boo
sorry to hear that kaybay
boo booooooo...
I'm rooting for you for your pendings. (:
no word on mine. websites all say pending. I figured.
Congratulations to the recent acceptances!
Got to admit, the first Syracuse acceptance post made my heart drop down to my feet -- first time one of my schools has notified anyone on here. I applied in poetry, too. :/
It didn't feel as bad as I thought. I mean I certainly knew I was going to get rejected somewhere, and it's an odd relief to get word from SOMEWHERE, even if it is negative. Even if it's a bad omen, I've talked to so many talented writers from this blog and elsewhere who were either completely rejected or waitlisted without an acceptance, that it doesn't feel like a "rejection." Like Wandering Tree said a loooong time ago, it just wasn't the right "fit" ;)
Congrats to everyone who got good news today!
I refuse to start checking web sites for status updates — I can't let myself open up one more avenue for me not to be productive during the day...
Chiming in a little late on the music front, I've recently stumbled upon Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros ("Home" is especially great on their latest album), and the A.C. Newman (front man from the New Pornographers — really loving "Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer" and "Prophets").
@Lauren, Congrats!!! (That's how I found out I'd been admitted to the special ed cert. program I'm now doing. Hee, hee, heee.
@Sarah, I'm poetry. It's actually the only place I've applied because it's driving distance and I can't uproot everyone right now.
@Swell, I haven't heard that cover, but I love Johnny Cash too. I hadn't heard Kate died. I'll have to listen to the piece. I loved her. I saw her a couple of times at Cafe Lena's in Saratoga Springs, NY. I saw Rufus and Lucy in '09. There's a Fresh Air interview with Loudon from last year discussing High, Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, which is what I'm listening to now. It's a double album, so it actually runs my entire drive from my second job to home. The entire extended family is amazing!
Anyone know if you can check your Michigan status online?
Lauren-YAY! Congratulations! UCF all the way!
Kaybay-BOO! SCREW UCF! You still have plenty schools left, so keep hope alive. If it makes you feel any better, I just spent the past ten minutes status checking every app I could find.
I'm dying here, Cornell is most likely going to start accepting next week.
Thanks guys! Look at this support here, it makes a rejection palatable! And yes, 4Mai, I have 10 left, so no worries yet. Just a bad way to start the season, grrr...
@ Lauren C O N G R A T S ! ! ! yay for you and your love!
@kaybay--You'll make it. Don't fret.
@mfaguy--I do think there is a way to check the Michigan app, but I haven't had any luck doing so. Something about creating a UM Friend account and it hasn't worked for me thus far. If you figure out an easy link, I'd be happy to hear about it.
All right Lauren!
Also, tarnmacarthur's sentiments totally reflect my own (albeit technically unhealthy) way of thinking about this whole process. Basically, I've been operating off of one of my favorite Say Anything quotes (oh Lloyd, how I'll always love you even though Chuck Klosterman told me you don't exist):
"If you start out depressed, everything's kind of a pleasant surprise."
I'm not officially recommending this way of thinking, but sometimes, for some people, it works.
kaybay, way to keep your chin up and have a sense of humor. sorry about UCF but sounds like it's good just to know and get it out of the way. and thinking about friendly fire blog feud romances cracks me up. you're a star.
Congratulations Lauren!
And my dear Kaybay, with a sample that beautiful, good news is on its way tout de suite!
I feel the same way about wanting to know something, anything about any one of my apps. I'm hungry for info!
Hey thanks,
I have one of those U of M accounts, but can't find my status anywhere. hmmm.
Best of luck all!
Geez, I go to work for ten hours, come home, and I have a couple hundred comments to read. Why I am even surprised?
Congrats on all the acceptances, guys! How exciting! :o)
@MommyJ
That's along drive!!!
I'm not familiar with that release. Loudon promotes Johnny's cover in the liner notes of the CD (Loudon's "Attempted Mustache" - wow, that's old, 1973.)
I listened to the interview after sending you the link (it was on my to do list.) It's sort of slow and sad. Just a warning. And it's from 1993. Here's a YouTube link to a song (in French) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB6-sH5jozA&feature=related
Also was on my to do list. It's great. Some tattoos on the video.
BTW: Who's over forty in this bunch??? over thirty? over fifty?
LAUREN,
CONGRATULATIONS! I am so excited for you! Hopefully there is a funding offer on its way, too!
Kaybay,
I'm sorry! Honestly, I read yours sample and Lauren's around the same time as the first samples I read from anyone on this blog, so I feel connected to you and ladies and I want the best for you! I thought both of your samples were good, so this is evidence of fit! I still believe that yours is coming.
*whomp whomp whomp* Age alarm: 27 (as of March 11 2010)
@Mostly Swell,
I am 40 (!!!)
But I don't look it, feel it, or act it :)
@Swell, slightly closer to 50 than 40, one husband, two tattoos, two leopard geckos, three rats, three kids, three in college in the fall (none of the rats and only two of the kids. LOL).
If I get into the mfa program, I'm going to make it three tattoos. But I'll not increase the number of husbands or lizards.
@Mostly Swell, I'll turn 40 whilst working on my MFA!
Congrats Lauren, Cratty, Danielle, etc.!
I envy your early acceptances! :)
I had a funny fake out today. I got an email from Vanderbilt, and I'm thinking OMG. I open it up on my phone. It's a reply to a tech question I had emailed a MONTH ago. I'll spare you the details, but alas it was not from anyone having to do with anything MFA, and it was about 3 weeks past the deadline. (The app ended up submitting fine.)
So it was just the universe messing with me. (Considering Vanderbilt should notify soon...)
Lauren! Congratulations! Such great news! I am not surprised at all. Now bask in your glorious glow.
Excuse me while I check my status on all the websites now, just in case any of them say "Admitted" next to my name.
25, but I feel like I've been writing for decades!
Mommy J, I love that you grouped your husband and kids with the rats, haha. Sometimes feel like they're one and the same?? I kid...
will turn 30 during MFA. will be carded well beyond then i presume. since everyone i meet thinks i am a freshman in college.
@MFAguy
I couldn't find any updated status on UMich website either. There is a link at the bottom of the page where my info is that takes one to a site that spells out the process. Apparently the English Dept makes a decision, sends the names to Rackham, who then approves. I think Rackham is pretty strict about GPA's and such. At least, they seem so. Anyway, we should get an e-mail from the English Dept if they recommend us, and then later, an e-mail from Rackham, if they approve. So it's a two e-mail, week long process.
@Abbie
What was your obstacle for creating your account. I did mine so long ago, but I still may be able to help. Maybe you didn't click on the link for Prospective students? That's where they have my information posted.
And who asked about transcripts showing up on the UMich site? I think they only post transcripts from the schools where we obtained degrees. The English Dept wanted all of them, but Rackham only wanted the degrees - and they are who maintains that website. (I think. But, really, not sure.) Those are the only transcripts of mine that they posted. The others say "Transcript Unavailable", which shocked me at first, but now I'm alright. I do know that somewhere on that site, it says that unofficial transcripts are fine, until accepted, then official transcripts are required and somewhere they said if the transcripts are late, they will forgive you or "make allowances" or something on that order.
geez, I got all of that? I only applied to three programs, so I have their websites memorized. (;
I'm going to need to see some pictures before I ask Kaybay out. I don't do blind dates.
Hey U of M peeps, when I applied there they sent a bunch of emails and one said where to check status.
It's this address: https://weblogin.umich.edu/
I check it from time to time, but I don't think it's actually that helpful.
@MFA guy:
You can. I received two emails on Jan 10 explaining how to set up an account. It's not straightforward, there are a couple of online forms to fill out.
First one:
https://friend.weblogin.umich.edu/friend/?p=Xf9k1X2n
Then, once you've created the friend account, login here:
http://weblogin.umich.edu/
Logon with your email address and password.
Click "wolverine access".
Then, under the "students" heading, click "new & prospective student business".
Under "admission" heading click "application status".
Presto! (But nothing interesting up yet. Sad face.)
Actual MFA application-related question:
Has anybody emailed U of Florida to check to see whether their application materials were rec'd? Since we sent them straight to the dept., our online status doesn't reflect that. Anyway I emailed the addy on the MFA page on the website and it bounced back to me as 'undeliverable.'
I emailed crw@english.ufl.edu which is what's on the site.
Does anyone have another address that has worked to get in touch with the department?
Thanks Bookmoth. I have the account set-up. I wasn't sure if there should have been an "in-progress" or "with department" there, like on similar college accounts.
http://www.mediafire.com/?yn0tdximdqq
there it is guys. mfa blog music volume 1!!! it's a zip file ~65mb.
1 Bob Dylan - Friend quotes
2 Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
3 The xx - Islands
4 Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
5 Santigold - Unstoppable
6 La Roux - Bulletproof
7 Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home
8 Memoryhouse - To the Lighthouse
9 Anna Ternheim - What Have I Done
10 The Smiths - Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
11 The Decemberists - Top Choice Program, Won't You Call Me
12 Low - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved My Writing Sample
13 Chet Baker - Look for the Silver Lining
ok, the low and decemberists song titles obviously aren't real but the songs are.
download away and enjoy!!
I'm 46
@MommyJ
Oh, I get it, you'll be the third one in college, right? No more husbands, lizards or kids, right?? I mean, ya know, it's hard after 40. But I won't say you can't or shouldn't!! er-hem
Oh, Dreux, I'm gorgeous, sucka! :P
Lauren, I had the same problem with UF and eventually gave up trying to contact them. I figured they would let me know if anything is missing.
By the way, I must make a small confession: after finding that out about UCF, I dug into my candy stash like a mo fo! lol Chocolate covered gummy bears, oh my.
@ Dreux,
Amazingly, you came across as a presumptuous ass even when you were "joking."
@ everyone else,
Thank you for the congratulations! I'm so so so excited :)
Hey Kaybay or anybody, if anyone wants to exchange fiction samples, I'm ready to do so. I need something to read besides published books and I'd like to add to stroke some egos by telling them how great their samples are. :)
chh118@mac(dot)com
download in progress
You rock Jason J
Now I get to hear some of these tunes. Too many names to look up. This is perfect.
Thanks
mostly swell, no, you rock!
i added some stuff obviously but also pulled from people's suggestions. hope you dig it.
Sunfish--where did you stay on Inisheer in the winter? That's so cool. We spent some time on INish Mor last summer, and we want to go back. We were up and down the West Coast, but Aran was the best (followed by a hike along the coast from Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher.) What was it like with the days so short in December? I imagine that'd be good for writing.
In Galway, my husband and I met the woman who lives in the red house on the Long Walk (of Galway Girl fame--the walk, not the house.) That will be a short story some day--she was unforgettable.
Oh, guys, and I'm the old lady of this blog, at 51. Only applied to one program cuz of family commitments, so I'm just rooting for everyone else right now--congrats to all for good news; fingers crossed for everyone else.
Kaybay,
I'll believe it when I see it. In my workshop, taking everything I say about your stories personally.
Anyway, like I said. If we get joint acceptances, coffee's on me during the campus visit.
Where did you apply again?
@ Jason,
THANKS! I absolutely adore that Smiths song (it's one of my all-time favorites).
@ everyone else,
Question: Who out there has applied to non-top-50 programs? What are your thoughts about getting an MFA from a school with less 'status' or however you'd like to quantify this difference -- ???
Right now I'm thinking, when I researched some 'low-ranked' programs, including Central Florida where I just got in -- the programs seemed good/interesting, the faculty seemed well published, etc. -- in other words, no reason not to go, yes?
Thoughts on this? I'm really really interested in hearing from you guys, my peers.
(And now I'm off, heading home to my no-internet and no-TV little batcave. So I won't reply till tomorrow.)
@MFAguy:
Oh yep, see that you've posted that twice now.
I can't click refresh fast enough!
Just turned 26.
Clinging to mid-twenties.
@Leslie
OK ok ok
You can have that title. But it's kinda cool to get some ages. I love the youngsters - you keep it fresh (and so much more. I hope that didn't sound patronizing, you know that, though.) And everyone who meets me is surprised at my age. Now that gray hairs are coming in, people aren't as surprised, come to think of it, but I like my grays. (and my age. It really does get better and better after 40. For me, anyway.)
To those who were not accepted in previous years:
How many programs did you apply to before?
How many this year?
What did you do differently this time around?
Lauren:
I got into a new MFA (Glasgow), which will start its second year this fall. MFAs are rare in the UK, it's not on any ranking list, it's just completely new and therefore untested and hasn't "proven" itself.
It's a great location with some awesome writers and what sounds like an interesting program. Sometimes my favorite author A.L. Kennedy even shows her face. My problem here is money. USD to GBP exchange sucks, and students rarely get funding, and American students get almost none anyway. Though it's technically much more affordable to attend a British university because their costs are lower, with the exchangeand the cost of living, it becomes an untenable option.
I would go live in Scotland in a heartbeat if I didn't have to think this through logistically.
@everyone/anyone
Anyone up for reading something I've just started writing in the past few weeks?? It's only the very beginning (literally, just the first 3 pages of what I hope will turn into a novel..), but I would still love to get some sort of feedback on it! :)
And I'm up to read anything any of you want to send me (I'm a fiction person myself but am down to read some poetry too...)
Mostly--I'm proud of my grays, too, and will never cover them. I'm okay with my age. I still get surprised looks when I say my daughter is 27. Hope that lasts. I've got two pretty much full-grown kids, a good guy to hang around with, and pretty much know what makes me happy. So, no complaints. It's taken me this long to do something with my writing; but if this path doesn't work, I'll figure out another way.
Congrats to all who have been accepted. And sorry to hear about the rejection, Kaybay - hang in there!
Got a Fake Out today from Queens. It was a letter, looking all official and admision staus-ish stating that they recieved my application. Damn. But yay.
Music: Dave Matthews Band!
I am so confused yet so entertained! Last time I was here, kaybay was defending the honor of the mfa blog against the malevolent trolling of Mr. Dreux.
...
Now there is subtle online flirting?
Oh this'll make a great story Yahoo News!
congratulations to you, lauren!!
@mostly swell: i'll be 31 in three short months. eep. also, curious as to why you thought rackham was strict about undergrad gpa? i didn't remember seeing anything about that, but i also didn't read the graduate school website nearly as closely as the english department. also, if they are, i'm screwed. i graduated 8 years ago, but my grades were not lovely.
@ Jason J, thanks! that's awesome you did that!
@Lauren you bring up a good question/point about the top 50 and rankings, bc if funding is one of (the?) biggest factors in creating the ranking system, will the ranking system just perpetuate itself in terms of reputation and status? even if caliber of education, in terms of learning and faculty (difficult to quantify) of other schools is very competitive? because "fit" is so important..it seems unfair to imagine that just bc a program isn't as "competitive" in terms of selectivity that it won't be providing a comparable education.
just thinking out loud.
Lauren,
I didn't apply to any non-top 50 schools except UC Davis, which I think is like 54. But I can't afford to accumulate any more school debt, so funding was a major factor in my decision. Unfortunately for me, most of the best funded programs are in the top 50.
I think you should definitely go if you can afford it and it's your top choice or you don't get into a school higher on your list. I think any MFA program will make you a better writer and help you reach your full potential. However, if you're hoping an MFA will help you get published, I think the reality is that some agents/editors/publishers care *where* you get your MFA. I've had this said to me several times at conferences (once by an agent who apparently thinks Columbia is still a top tier school).
@kaybay: sorry to hear about ucf, but as many have said before - application season is young!
@ Kaybay, sorry about the no, but that will make the yeses sweeter. Obviously the stars are aligning to unite you with Dreux, so you might want to cross off any program to which you both haven't applied.
XOXO
No, it is NOT flirting, I'm trying to not indulge the guy, because he seems to get off on creating that said malevolence. I'm just trying to keep the peace, what can I say.
I really did think the long distance relationship comment was out of line and out of the asshole. But I think I'm done arguing :)
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