As of March 14, this blog will no longer be updated. Visit seth abramson's data bank of application response times. The comments will remain open for the exchange of information and encouragement.
In 2007, the 2007 MFA Acceptances blog (thanks Lindsey!) was a great resource for nervous MFA hopefuls. So I've decided to start a similar site for (no less nervous!) 2008 applicants. If you've heard news from any of these schools (or heard from a school not on this list), comment below to let us know and I'll update this master list. Please let us know WHAT you heard (accepted, rejected, waitlisted), WHEN you heard (the date-- be as exact as possible), and HOW you heard (phone, email, post), and to which genre you applied (Fiction, poetry, screenwriting, etc). If you'd prefer not to comment, feel free to email me. Congrats and good luck to everyone!
2008 MFA/MA Creative Writing Programs
Adelphi-
Alabama- 2/17 accepted poetry via phone; 2/25 rejected fiction via snail mail
Alaska (Anchorage)-
Alaska (Fairbanks)-
American University- 2/15 accepted poetry via phone; 3/6 accepted creative nonfiction via snail mail
Antioch-
Arkansas -2/27 accepted poetry via phone
Arizona-
Arizona State- 2/15 accepted poetry via phone
Baltimore- 3/3 accepted fiction/nonfiction via email
Bard-
Bennington College-
Boise State- 1/25 accepted poetry via phone
Boston U-
Bowling Green (OH)-
Brooklyn College- accepted fiction via phone
Brown-
Cal Arts- 3/8 accepted (genre?) via phone
California College of the Arts- 2/29 accepted via phone (genre?)
Cal State (Fresno)-
Cal State (Long Beach)-
Central Florida - 2/15 accepted fiction via email
Chapman-
Chatham College- 1/24 acceptance creative nonfiction snailmail; 1/28/08 accepted - creative writing - via snail mail; 2/15 fiction acceptance via snail mail
City College of NY-
CUNY-Brooklyn-
CUNY/Hunter- 2/22 CUNY Hunter rejected via snail mail (Fiction)
CUNY/Queens-
Cleveland State-
Colorado- 2/19 accepted fiction via phone
Colorado State-
Columbia - 3/3 accepted fiction via phone; 3/6 accepted nonfiction via phone; 3/8 accepted poetry via phone
Columbia College (Chicago)-
Cornell- 2/8 accepted poetry via phone; 2/8 accepted fiction via phone; 2/14 rejected fiction via snail mail
Depaul- 3/1 denial letter via snail mail
Eastern Michigan-
Eastern Washington- 2/10 accepted creative nonfiction via phone; 3/3 accepted poetry via phone
Emerson- 2/9 accepted poetry via mail
Farleigh Dickinson-
Florida- 2/24 accepted poetry via email; 2/29 accepted fiction via email; waitlist fiction via email
Florida International-
Florida State- 3/3 accepted poetry via phone
George Mason- 1/26 accepted fiction via email
Georgia- 3/1, rejected, PhD fiction, snail mail, letter postmarked 2/27
Georgia State-2/23 accepted poetry via mail
Goddard College-
Goucher College-
Guelph University-
Hamline-
Hollins- 3/3/08 accepted poetry via email; 3/3 accepted nonfiction via email
Houston-
Idaho- 3/1 accepted poetry via phone
Illinois (Chicago) -
Illinois (UIUC)- 2/20 accepted fiction via email
Indiana- 1/25 accepted fiction via phone; 3/1 waitlist fiction via phone
Iowa- 2/15 accepted nonfiction via email; 2/18 accepted fiction via phone
Iowa State-
Johns Hopkins- 3/3 accepted poetry via email
Kansas-
Lesley- 2/15/08 accepted (low-res) writing for children by phone; 3/3 accepted fiction via phone; 3/5 accepted poetry via phone
Louisiana State-
Mankato-
Maryland- postmarked 2/28 accepted fiction via snail mail; 3/1 accepted fiction via snail mail; 3/3 accepted poetry via snail mail
McNeese State- 1/17 accepted fiction via email; waitlist fiction via email; rejected fiction via email
Memphis-2/8/08 accepted creative nonfiction via phone & email
Michigan- 2/19 accepted poetry via email; 2/19 accepted fiction via email
Miami (University of, FL)-
Mills College- 3/8 accepted fiction via snail mail
Minnesota- 3/3 accepted poetry via email
Minnesota State (Moorehead)- 2/18 accepted poetry via email
Minnesota State (Mankato) - 3/1/08 Accepted for CNF via Snail Mail
Mississippi (Ole Miss)-
Missouri (Columbia)- 2/13 accepted poetry by phone; 2/13 accepted fiction by phone
Missouri (St. Louis)-
Montana- 3/7 accepted poetry via phone; 3/7 accepted creative non fiction via phone
Murray State-
Naropa-
Nebraska-
Nevada (LV)-
New England College- accepted poetry via phone
New Hampshire- 3/5 accepted fiction via phone; 3/5 accepted nonfiction via phone
New Mexico State- 2/14 accepted poetry via phone
New School- 2/15 accepted fiction phone
New York University-
North Carolina State-
Northern Michigan-
North Texas-
Northwestern-
Notre Dame- 2/20 accepted prose via phone
Ohio State- 1/25/08 accepted fiction via phone; 2/7/08 waitlisted poetry via email
Old Dominion-
Oregon-
Oregon State- 3/6 accepted fiction via email
Pacific Lutheran-
Pacific University- 3/3 accepted poetry via snail mail
Penn State- 2/8/08 accepted - Penn State Creative Nonfiction - via email
Pine Manor- 12/24/07 accepted- low res. mfa creative writing / writing for children and young adults - via snail mail
Pittsburgh- 2/26 accepted non fiction via email; 2/29 accepted fiction via snail mail
Portland State-
Purdue- 1/31/08 accepted - poetry - via email;2/14 fiction rejection via snail mail
2/7/08 accepted- fiction via phone; accepted creative nonfiction via snail mail
Queens University- 2/10 accepted - fiction - via phone
Roosevelt-
Rutgers- 2/19 accepted fiction via phone
San Diego State-
San Francisco State-
San Jose State-
Sarah Lawrence-
School of the Art Institute School (Chicago)-
Seattle Pacific-
Seton Hill-
Sewanee-
Sonoma State-
South Carolina-
South Florida- 2/12 accepted via email; 2/14 & 2/28 rejected via snail mail and email
Southern Illinois (Carbondale)- 2/27 accepted via snail mail
Southern Maine-
Southwest Texas State-
Spalding- 1/6/08 accepted - low res mfa writing for children and young adults -via telephone
St. Mary's-
Stanford (Stegner Fellowship)-
Stonecoast - 2/12 accepted via phone
Syracuse- 2/8/08 accepted - poetry - by phone; 3/4 accepted fiction by phone
Temple-
Tennessee (Knoxville) -
Texas-Austin Michener Center- 3/5 accepted poetry via email
Texas (El Paso)- 3/4 accepted fiction and nonfiction via email
Texas State (San Marcos)-3/4 accepted poetry and fiction via email
Texas Tech- 2/16 rejected PhD Fiction by postal mail
UBC-
UC-Davis- 3/2 accepted fiction via phone; 3/3 accepted poetry via phone
UC Irvine-
UC Riverside-
U of Hawaii-
UCSD (playwriting)-
UGA-
UMass (Amherst)- 2/18 accepted for poetry via phone; 2/20 accepted fiction via phone
UMass (Boston)- 3/4 accepted poetry via emali; 3/5 accepted fiction via email
University of Memphis-
University of New Mexico-
University of New Orleans-
UNC Greensboro-
UNC Wilmington- 2/13 accepted for Poetry via email; 2/13 accepted for fiction via email
University of San Francisco-
USC- 2/25 rejection playwriting via snail mail; 2/21 accepted for poetry PHD; 3/3 accepted fiction via snail mail
University of Southern Miss.-
Utah- 2/8/08 poetry acceptance via phone
Vanderbilt- 2/29 accepted poetry via email
Vermont College- 2/5/08 accepted Vermont College writing for children (lo-res) via phone; 2/18 accepted poetry via phone
Virginia-
Virginia Commonwealth University - 3/5 accepted poetry via email
Virginia Tech- 2/29 accepted poetry via email
Warren Wilson College-
Washington (Seattle)-
Washington U (St. Louis)- 2/13 rejected - poetry - via snail mail; 2/15 accepted - fiction - via snail mail
Western Connecticut State-
Western Michigan- 2/21 accepted fiction via post; 2/25 rejected via snail mail
West Virginia- 2/13 accepted poetry
Whidbey-
Wichita State- 2/20 accepted fiction via snail mail
Wilkes University
Wisconsin- Madison- FICTION- 2/25 rejection via website; 2/29 accepted via email; 3/1 waitlist via email
Wyoming- 2/27 accepted poetry via email
Yale (playwriting)-
1,268 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 601 – 800 of 1268 Newer› Newest»where did that UNH acceptance come from? 2/9? ... that was a while ago.
where did that UNH acceptance come from? 2/9? ... that was a while ago.
what's up with blogger double-posting me - as if i didn't seem anxious enough as it was. Thanks Blogger. way to be a tool.
anyone heard from uc davis for poetry yet? i'm getting anxious...
Hang in there, Wranglers. This could be the week.
I know that the references you list on your Stegner app are not allowed to tell an applicant if they have been contacted for a reference (though sometimes the referee is too good a friend and tells anyway), but I'm wondering what you guys think. How many applicants do you think that they would request references for... ... closer to ten in each genre or closer to twenty five?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH1
Via snail mail March 1, 2008, denial letter from DePaul Arts Leadership Program.
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to inform you that I got into University of Maryland for fiction. The letter came on March 1st, but was dated February 28th. Walked in today from a road trip and saw the envelop sitting on my table and because it was so thin I thought I was out. Good thing I was wrong! I wish you all good luck in the coming months, I'll keep watching the posts to join in on your celebrations. Thanks for the great blog Godfrey.
-The Rant
P.S. If anyone wants to share anything about Maryland's program I'd love to hear it. Post or email me at tjerome@loyola.edu
hi therant,
i just graduated from maryland as an undergrad in may. although i concentrated mainly in poetry while i was there, i can say the fiction mfa is a pretty good program. i had a friend who was in fiction and he seemed to have a good experience, especially studying under murad kalam. the mfa students have frequent of readings and seem to have a lot of opportunity to teach (i had mfa students teach two of my workshop courses). the reading series put on by the university is pretty great, as well. tony hoagland, george saunders and anne carson all read while i was at maryland, and thats just a small selection! if you do go there, i recommend NOT living in college park. its fun when you're an undergrad, but i don't think its an environment very friendly to graduate study. DC is only about 15 minutes away and there are other really nice suburbs close by. if you want any other info, you can email me at camm1212 at gmail.com
HAPPY MONDAY ALL!
May this week be filled with acceptances.
3/1/08 Accepted to Minnesota State University-Mankato for CNF via Snail Mail.
(It ain't Iowa, but at least my fallback is in place.)
Has anyone heard anything from Penn State University? My husband has been admitted to a PhD program there, and the director of his program sent him a rather dismal email saying that if I hadn't heard anything yet, I probably wasn't going to get good news. I'm not sure whether he knows something I don't or whether he simply doesn't know how the creative writing program does things... Help?
Ah, the first week in March. History has it that many of our Admissions friends begin contacting their accepted students. I just wanted to wish everyone good luck, and to commiserate before I start drinking heavily.
On a related note, I feel like there should be some sort of MFA FAQ that I can give out to my friends. It could include important statistics (acceptance rates, funding likelihood, tuition costs) and explain that the phrase "of course you'll get in" is neither true, nor helpful.
Happy Monday, all.
Here are pretty girls I'd like to dance with:
U of WA
Montana
Oregon
San Diego State
Wisconsin (currently wait listed)
Michigan (currently, and probably forever, rejected)
Has anyone heard anything about them? Acceptances? Rejections? Program highlights?
In at Hollins for Poetry via email!! Best day of my life! 3/3/08
Hey does anyone know anything about the fiction program at St. Mary's in N.CAlifornia. I applied there because I have family in the area and because I know someone in the NonFiction program. But its expensive, housing is expensive and they have no student housing options, and the girl I know in the program is actually trying to transfer out cause she hates it. Its making me not want to go there, so I was wondering if anyone knew anything more about the fiction program? Anything good about it?
I've been really excited about the University of Washington program lately. I hope they announce their decisions soon. The only downside is that only some are funded, but we'll same what happens. They got some money recently.
M.
I caved in and called Penn State. Apparently, their first round of acceptances (in all genres) went out several weeks ago. Bummer.
Someone tell me this is NOT a joke (the MFA gods would be too cruel) - I just got an email from Minnesota inviting me to their MFA "prospectives" weekend with the greeting line "Hello Creative Writing MFA admits" - AGGGH!!!! But this is the first I've heard - no acceptance letter, no acceptance email, no phone call....did anyone else get this? I'm panicking that the accidentally sent it out to the whole list or something...
this is for poetry, btw.
I must breathe...
Anon,
I think you should call the program ASAP. Congrats!
M.
hi maureen, i haven't heard anything from uc davis, either...
*tapping fingers*
also, this is belated, but i was accepted 2/12/08 to vermont college/poetry
hang in there everybody!
This is the Anon. from above re: Minnesota - I emailed Julie Schumacher, the program director who sent the email, and I am indeed accepted! She said she thought Ray Gonzalez had made phone calls already (though I didn't get one). Details of admission offer are going in the mail today. Yay!
Congrats on Minnesota! I applied there last year and was denied (sniff!) I know you said you're in for poetry, but if you haven't already you should check out Julie Schumacher's book "An Explanation for Chaos" - it's one of the best story collections I've ever read (about 14 times). The very thought of talking to her on the telephone is pretty thrilling!
I guess I should strike out Minnesota from my list since I haven’t heard anything... :(
To anon re: my Texas State rejection
I got one, too. I'm going to go drown myself in Chivas. Want to come?
anonymous Re TX State Rejection,
I think I saw your post on Seth's board too. Um absolutely all for drowning myself in...whatever. But it has to be after my show tonight! Do you live near San Marcos ? I'm in Austin.
sorry to add salt, but how did texas state notify you guys?
mail, email, text message, radio, smoke signals??
....just wondering what the form of my rejection will be
thanks
I'm waiting on Texas State too. I didn't get anything in the mail today, but my application status changed today from a very excited: "We've received your application materials! We are processing your application...etc." to a: "Thank you for your interest in Texas State. You will receive written notification of our decision in a few days." It sounded very much like "Your rejection letter's in the mail."
re: Everyone's TX State rejection
Got the big "No thanks" in the mail, dated Feb. 28.
To anon -- I also live in Austin.
Accepted to Pacific University, poetry, by mail today.
For those of you who just went in a panic to check your Texas State online status like I just did, don't get too excited (as I just did) if it congratulates you on being accepted to the grad college. I called the MFA program and the guy said that being accepted by the grad college doesn't mean you'll be accepted into the MFA program. Damn. He also said that written notification will be sent soon, but he couldn't tell me when.
it seems like A LOT of people applied to texas state this year. i live in syracuse, ny, how could i survive in red state texas! haha
but if i get in, you best believe i'm going to go down there and check it out
(but i'd never start saying ya'll!)
:)
got a call and a very non-informative voicemail from joshua clover from u of cali at davis about an hour ago. only, i can't call back until i get off work in three hours. ahg, the suspense is killing me!
it would be just too cruel to make a call for anything other than an acceptance, wouldn't it? wouldn't it...?
To anon who lives in Austin ...and got rejected from Texas State, like me. Come see my show at Hyde Park Theater Tonight on 43rd and Guad at 8pm. Seriously. Then we can be miserable together at the Parlor across the street. I'll be wearing a pink dress in the show. I'm on after intermission. Sorry but I need to stay anonymous so no one important sees me complaining!
Accepted to FSU by phone for poetry today. Wow.
accepted to university of baltimore--poetry. they sent an email. still waiting from virginia and hunter (cuny). an awful day at work just became better!!!(i won't have to be a butcher for the rest of my days)
lucy, re: Penn State, there's only been one acceptance reported, and that was CNF on 2/08. I was beginning to think it was a ghostie. Funny no one else reported acceptances. I applied, too, but I didn't expect to get in (I'm PSU undergrad).
Accepted by phone to Eastern Washington University in poetry with a TA.
Good luck everyone,
m.
re: St. Mary's of California--
Hi Lauren,
St. Mary's is a terrific program and a top CNF program that thus far has gone under the radar...it doesn't have appeal for the reasons you already mentioned: not much for funding (though scholarships are available and second year students usually are funded), no housing and the Bay Area is expensive (but it also has a thriving literary community). From what I know the instructors are generous with their time and offer constructive feedback. Not a lot of hand holding though, and they do expect coursework. As with any program or work situation, some students gel, and some don't. Sounds like your friend wasn't a fit, but it doesn't mean the program is bad necessarily.
I think we'll be hearing more about St. Mary's in the coming years. Until now, it's been a somewhat hidden treasure, which can only be a good thing for applicants...Good Luck!
Accepted today by mail for poetry at Emerson and University of Maryland. Best day ever! Maryland says they'll contact us soon about funding, but no mention of funding from Emerson. Anyone know anything about funding possibilities there? It looks limited...
snail mail rejection umass amherst poetry
This was quoted on the speakeasy. It's a big one, so I thought I'd mention it.
"Holy God. In at Johns Hopkins for poetry via e-mail. Speechless."
2/29/08 accepted - USC MPW via snail mail; letter was from grad. admin.; letter from the MPW Dept. to arrive this week.
Still waiting on UC Riverside, Cal State Long Beach.
PS: I still can't believe it...
Oops, forgot to say: Fiction (and nonfiction as my own personal secondary emphasis).
what is USC MPW?
Accepted to Columbia U by phone! For fiction! With fellowship!!
I'm ... pretty insane with excitement right now. Good luck everyone!!!
Alabama: rejection, fiction, snail mail, received 3/3 (in Southern California)
Texas State: rejection, fiction, snail mail, received 3/3 (in Southern California)
accepted at University of Baltimore for poetry, 3/3. Notified by email.
"wait-listed" by Rutgers, poetry, via snail mail.
I'm actually totally stoked about both. I'm just happy to know that I can at least go SOMEWHERE....although Rutgers would be neat.
thanks Anonymous for the info, I was hoping maybe it was the nonfiction for my friend who was a ficiton person but applied on a whim for nonfiction, and I know she had a problem being the youngest in the program which I am completely used to. I think im the youngest in everything I do.
I am still hoping I get accepted elsewhere though, the housing really bothers me and Im just not as excited about it.
Waitlisted at Wisconsin in fiction via GradApply. I didn't get an email, although their department website says they sent them out. I was sure I was rejected until I saw that.
first notification today (3/3). :)
UMass, Amherst: Rejection, Poetry (snail mail, Southern Cali).
Sort of a relief to get that first envelope... never mind that it's a no go.
Still waiting to hear from the following:
Michigan
Arizona
Columbia
Iowa
Syracuse
Sarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence keeps sending me financial aid information in all sorts of envelopes... Really freaking me out.
Lauren,
Here's my 2 cents: if you only get in at St. Mary's and are not so thrilled about it, why not wait another year and reapply to other places? You are very young, so you have a lot of time. There's no rush. Don't go into crazy debt unless its for something you really, really are enthused about.
Good luck!
To Lauren and Anonymous regarding St. Mary's,
I applied to St. Mary's too. Housing wasn't an issue for me because I'm bringing cats and my boyfriend along. I didn't know much regarding the school but it seemed like a good program and had great writers-in-residence. This conversation has me worried. Lauren, why didn't your friend like the school?
University of Kansas-Rejection by Mail, Fiction 3/3/08. This sucks.
Did anyone else mistake the phone waitlisting at indiana for Iowa and briefly want to shoot themselves?
there's nothing disappointing about a waitlist call. some of us would kill to be waitlisted.
anon-
nothing bad about the waitlist, it just wouldve meant that I didnt get one. Please do not apply logic to my anxiety.
Someone on the Speakeasy reported getting into Syracuse this morning with a University Fellowship. Just thought I'd pass along the news.
With the list of schools that have yet to reject me dwindling, I have begun to seriously contemplate the prospect of not getting in anywhere. I'm sure there are others on here who have experienced this before. What did you end up doing with the next year? Has anyone tried applying to an MA in English program at one of the schools where the MFA program rejected them to get to know the professors and such to get into the MFA that way? Any thoughts? One of my faculty mentors suggested it, if I didn't get in outright.
oh, i got into PSU for CNF back in feb. but i got rejected from pitt.
Did anyone else just get the "Thank You for Applying to the University of Houston!" email from the admissions office? It was essentially saying that "you will hear from the department or program to which you applied," or you can call them, or you can check your status online. Checked my status, still says "application is complete." Is this good? Bad? Neutral? Did everyone get this email? Anyone with insight, I'd appreciate it.
To anon in Austin,
Sorry I missed your show. A friend who is applying to law schools got a couple of biggy rejections yesterday so we decided to have a rejection celebration dinner. We also made a pact to do the same every time we get denied so we have something good to associate with the disappointment. Silly as it is, it helped. Good God, I'm pathetic...
Letter of rejection from Yale came in the mail yesterday for MFA in playwriting.
Still waiting to hear back from Brown, NYU and Juilliard...
Ryan,
Last year I applied to 8 schools, was accepted by 1 of them without any funding, and was shut out by the other 7. Right around late March I started to realize that I would not be heading off to Providence or Charlottesville in the fall, and here I was high and dry without a Plan B, and - ick! - faced with the prospect of having to do the whole application process all over again. When I got my final rejection from Irvine in late April, I wallowed in depression for about 6 days and then came up with a plan. I got an additional job and worked about 50 hours a week, all through the spring and summer, saved up a pile of money and then moved to Berlin in September with my boyfriend. I spent the fall there writing; for the first time in years I was not working 1 or more jobs, I started writing 4+ hours a day. I got a few food articles published and a short short, my first published piece of fiction. In November and December, I applied to schools again, only 6 this time. After I sent off my last application, just after New Year's, I headed off to Vietnam by myself, to fulfill my dream of learning to cook Vietnamese cuisine. I arrived back home in the middle of February, and a week later I was accepted at Michigan, and then waitlisted at Wisconsin.
In short, I was able to have a wonderful fabulous adventure that I would NOT have had if I hadn't been rejected by all those schools! My writing got much better, and I had the experience of writing full time, rather than squeezing it into weekends and nights. Plus, the experience of busting my butt for 5 months to save money in order to write full time was very empowering. Now I am so happy that it worked out the way it did, something I would NEVER have thought possible while staring at that pile of 7 rejections.
I hope this helps! Take lemons and make a lemon tart, and all that.......
chelbeerocks
I think in my friends case she was a fiction person who went there for nonfiction, but mainly she told me that most of the things in workshopped were very personal experienced not tied in to worldly truths at all to make them relatable- and she didnt feel nonfiction should be like that. For me I think its a matter or not really being super excited about it, the school price doesnt bother me much but the housing costs do cause id be on my own. However, its not like ive even gotten in there yet or anything. Still holding out for Irvine and Riverside.
Anon.,
What's the University of Houston link to check your app. status?
Thanks.
To anonymous also in Austin
Thats okay you can see the show every mon-wed until march 26th. It will make you laugh enough to forget your rejections for a bit.
I ALSO got the Houston email. Now I'm trying to figure out how to check my status.
My Houston status says application complete. I think it's nothing to get excited over. Simply an automated email probably sent to everyone who applied to Houston.
Katie J.,
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Very inspirational!
I was also waitlisted at WI. Did your email give you an impression of where you are at on the waitlist? I'm wondering how many people actually do turn down their offer.
3/4/2008 rejected UC Boulder nonfiction via post
I am one of those people who strongly feels that getting a degree that you don't really want in hopes of possibly getting into another degree program is a waste of time and money. Being a student forever is not impressive life experience that will help your writing. Get a job or travel, and learn from that.
a.anonymous,
Based on the waitlist email I received from Judy Mitchell, it seems that at least a few accepted folks turn down their spots, thus giving me reason to hope. Fingers crossed...
Best of luck to you!
anonymous,
The MA program I was referring to is fully-funded, so it wouldn't be wasting money. After getting an MFA, I plan to get a Ph.D. in Literature and teach, so the MA would, arguably, not be a waste of time. Plus, I already have plenty of life experience outside of academia.
The question was more about, do you think getting into an MA program to get to know the professors, etc., to eventually enter the MFA program will work? Has anyone here tried that route?
I received my first rejection today from Vermont College (low-res) in fiction via snail mail.
The letter was postmarked Feb. 28.
Quick question for anyone who applied to New Hampshire - I just checked my online Blackboard Application review, and think I noticed a change... I mean, I've only obsessively checked it ten times a day for the last three weeks or something, but I could be wrong.
Anyway, under the "Decision" line, it reads "Waiting on Final Dean Approval." Does anyone else know - has it always said this? My recollection is that it used to say something along the lines of "Under Review" or something, but I could easily be wrong. And, I suppose, even if I'm right, it doesn't necessarily mean anything positive for me.
Oh well... anyone else heard anything from them?
did you guys get in for poetry or fiction at texas state??
My status at the UMASS website finally changed from "applied" to "pending." Do I remember people saying that it changed to "pending" right before they received their rejection letters?
anon, re: unh
you might be in luck
my status at unh reads:
Application Status: Complete-ready for review
Decision: Under Review by Department
no mention of the dean reviewing..
anon,
regarding new hampshire, my status has also changed from some variation of 'under review' to 'waiting on final dean approval.' who knows?
good luck.
Re: UNH --
When I called the department last week, they said the poetry decisions would be finalized by Wednesday (tomorrow!) at the latest. My "decision" still reads "under review by Department" (the way it has every day for the past few months). It sounds like this could be good news for you, especially since the person who first reported an acceptance there said that it came through on the website first. Am crossing my fingers for you!
re: UNH / robert & anon(s)
it's good to hear from other applicants, but i don't think my status has changed. What genre are you applying in?
I'm the anon that posted the first (most recent) question about UNH - I'm applying for fiction. Anyway, trying not to get my hopes up, and crossing my fingers for everyone...!
re: UNH --
(I'm the second anon, I think) Poetry.
fiction, here.
also trying not to get my hopes up.
good luck, everyone.
re: unh
i am nonfiction
i am the walrus
Accepted at U of Maryland for Poetry via Snail Mail. Letter arrived yesterday, March 3rd-- dated February 28th. And I know for a fact a friend of mine went through the exact same dating for acceptance.
Keep on keepin' on!
--C
fiction here... did you all apply for a TA slot at UNH? that was an interesting application.
Hey All,
My Application Status at UNH also changed to "Waiting on Final Dean Approval" today. When I got my acceptance letter from Maryland it said that the decision has to be finalized by the Dean of Graduate Studies, so I'm hoping that the UNH web message means the same thing.
-The Rant
P.S. I applied for fiction.
Re: unh
Second anon, again -- Yup, applied for a TA position. Loved the application, but goodness I couldn't tell if it was a trap or not. Seriously, how could anyone dream of writing a paper in which Bill O'Reilly is the *only* source?
re UNH TA
the essay was all over the place. i didn't know what to make of it, or where to focus. i liked the assignment and i think it lightened the TA app, but now i have this newfound fear of undergraduate writing. very scary.
Hi! Has any accepted at The New School yet?
Anonymous, I'm visiting the New School this afternoon and evening, but I haven't accepted their offer yet.
So far, all the students I've spoken with (by telephone) seem happy or very happy with the program. The faculty is really strong, and the current students tell me that they are unusually available and invested in working with MFA candidates.
But I'm still waiting on five more schools, and the cost of the New School gives me pause.
One of my recommenders just sent me an email that a lady from the University of Washington (Seattle) emailed him asking if I would make a good TA and take it seriously. She also said she can't promise anything. So he is telling me not to get my hopes up to high... I am just thinking ... why would they be wondering if I would make a good TA if they were not planning to admit me? It's really starting to stress me out! Please someone calm me down! I feel like my only acceptance will remain New England College where I probably won't even go!
Linda,
Please leave a post after your visit and let us know how it went!! I am considering their offer as well. Did you recieve any money? I'm curious what other offers people were given. They offered me a small amount of money. I heard wonderful things about the program and some graduates I know are publishing and are doing well...
Agh, Adam B. Hold me. I haven't got my Yale MFA letter yet, but now I know it's waiting for me. Where do you live? How long before I'm out of my misery?
Also, when I called to check on a transcript issue, a very snippy lady asked what I'd applied in, and then told me the Brown decisions had been made. Thanks, snippy lady! I didn't need to know!
Anonymous,
I will definitely post tomorrow about visiting the New School this evening. I've heard many great things about the program (especially the faculty). One of the current students I spoke to has had some success publishing stories (in journals, I think) this year.
Another student I spoke with yesterday told me that there is a lot of support for people working on novels, which is a big plus for me.
I've asked as many non-probing questions as I can about funding, and I get the sense that a lot of people receive the same offer I did, which is to say, a fellowship that covers a little less than twenty-five percent of tuition. So should we get a professional degree that is practically guaranteed not to pay for itself? I have a pretty good full time job that only requires me to work 37.5 hours a week. I have time to do workshops in NYC in the evenings, and I feel like I'm making progress on my writing without the MFA. But I'm not generally working with writers as experienced or well-connected or successful as the New School faculty. Is that opportunity worth the debt? I really don't know.
Linda,
I received pretty much the same offer as you... New School is expensive, but not as expensive as say, Columbia. I've heard wonderful things about their faculty as well. I took many workshops at the NS and though the professors were wonderful, it was the level of writing of the students and experience of the students that was the issue... Many had never workshopped before and thus were unable to really help or give guidance. I don't know... My mentor who is a well published author seems to think that an MFA is worth it for the guidance, the connections, and the time to write.
ok, but seriously, whats the deal with columbia? is it over?
New School definitely seems more attractive than Columbia. I took one New School workshop that I really enjoyed, but enrollment was by application only and limited to twelve. It was also taught by a heavy hitter, so I think it drew some pretty talented writers.
This semester I'm taking a Sackett Street workshop. It's early in the process, but it looks like it's going to be pretty useful.
Sorry to everyone else for this off-topic thread. I'll cut it out until I have something concrete to say about New School.
Yeah, is Columbia over? I've only read a couple posts on people being accepted and it seems that they're the ones who are getting offered huge packages... Maybe there is still hope?
Maybe someone should call Columbia... Hmm...
I have to make a decision by the end of next week, so I broke down and called a few schools I'm excited about. Here is what I know:
Iowa and Illinois sent out all letters on Monday & Tuesday, so we should all hear something really soon.
Indiana is sending out letters this week, so we should hear something by the beginning of next week.
I hope that helps!
To Anon who wrote about the University of Washington: what genre did you apply in??
M.
You threw me off referring to me as Adam B...you were talking to me, right?
The brown decisions...for all genres, or just playwriting? And have they already been notified? Got me curious...
Going into debt for an MFA is one way to regret your decision. Better to defer, wait for next year, write and be happy.
As far as connections go, you've got to be serious about this. It's not like every year the course instructors hand over their students' manuscripts to their own agents. That might happen, say at Columbia, once every few years. And that won't mean the agent will pick up the author, in any case. If the agent does pick up the author, there's still no guarantee that a publisher will accept the book, let a alone two publishers begin a bidding war.
A program should not be defined as "great" unless it fully funds its students. Without funding, it's a good program (maybe) with a (high) cost attached.
I'm not a cynic, really. I'm just telling the truth. Wait for a good program.
PS. You think a TA or teaching fellowship is a good idea, but it's highly counterproductive to the concept of "Focused time to write in a productive environment." If you're a good teacher, you'll invest far too much energy into your class; therefore you'll be wasting time you should use to focus on your thesis. If you're a bad teacher, you'll be wasting the students time, and only a little of your own.
Hold out for schools with full funding and no teaching requirements. There are only a few, but trust me: it will be worth it.
Someone Whose Realized The Myth of Connections, The Anxiety of Heavy Debt, and The Truth In Teaching Fellowships.
By "Whose," I mean "Who's"
Pensive- I was referring to the adamrburnett who made the following comment:
AdamRBurnett said...
Letter of rejection from Yale came in the mail yesterday for MFA in playwriting.
Still waiting to hear back from Brown, NYU and Juilliard...
I don't think that's you, unless you signed in wrong. But you can hold me anyway.
As for Brown, she just said "the applications in the department have gone out." Then, while my brain was gibbering, she might have said something about either theatre or literary arts. So I don't know. (Playwriting is in literary, of course.)
Frankly, I'm not sure she knows what she's talking about. They don't even have a head over there! Who's reading the applications?
did New School send out all their letters??? I'm still waiting to hear from them for poetry....but i have that terrible sinking feeling.
wahhhhh
Linda and anons,
Thanks for the New School posts. I'm pretty sure I'm going to accept unless a Stegner magically comes my way. I look forward to how your visit goes. Also, has anyone actually received an acceptance letter? Anyone thinking of graduate housing?
I would encourage anyone choosing between programs offering very different funding packages to think about how you will feel when you're finished and you have some sizeable debt to pay off. I finished an MA in creative writing a few years ago. It was at a great program, but I was admitted right out of undergrad with no financial support. I eventually got a TA my second year, but I took out loans every year, resigning to myself that I would have to get a job afterward anyway, so I could afford to pay off loans later if it meant I could be in a writing program doing what I loved.
Three years after I finished my degree, I have a mountain of debt, and an MA that isn't necessarily helping me get a job the way your other typical grad degrees might(though, honestly, unless you worked your butt off, an MFA leaves you with only slightly more job prospects). I don't regret going, but I realize now the value of a good funding package much more acutely than when I was in the thick of my program.
If you're applying for an MFA or PHD in creative writing, a teaching assistantship is a good thing. Yeah, I would love to write unfettered, and teaching takes up a lot of time and energy. However, there are only a minute selection of programs who pay all their applicants' entire way without them having to teach, and most other programs offer only a few (often only one) spots for fellowship students (where you don't have to teach). THIS IS A GOOD THING. It's good because even if you don't want to teach later on, you could if you had to since you now have experience (I know, that's not why the good teachers teach, but you might surprise yourself by doing well and enjoying it). I don't know about you all, but I think waiting around to get into a school that pays your way without teaching could take much too long. A lot of people out there are applying for MFA's and want to be writers, and the best opportunities sometimes involve more work on your part. The people who succeed in writing programs are the people who work hard, not neccessarily the most talented or well-funded. Your MFA is supposed to be about having "time to write" and it may seem that teaching will undercut that, but only if you let it.
If you're looking at serious debt for a traditional program, why not quit your job and enroll in a low-res program? It's much cheaper. And with all the time on your hands, you're more likely to produce serious work.
Are there any low res programs that offer funding other than federal financial aid?
Has anyone gotten a letter yet from Iowa informing them they've been admitted for fiction?
some low res programs offer merit-based scholarships and such. for starters, check out anna's blog (just know that funding info can be outdated, so it's best to do your own homework). I'm not sure if all programs are listed, either.
http://lowresmfa.blogspot.com/
Has anyone checked their Michener status via the website recently? Any changes?
Yesterday I posted about UNH and the change in status (to "Awaiting Final Dean Approval" or whatever).
Anyway, good thing I didn't get my hopes up - my status now says "Denied Grad."
Ah well, thems the breaks, right?
i don't think idaho is finished admitting
I'm sorry UNH anon. rejections always suck. don't fret too much - more or less, we're all in the same boat, different programs, same boat.
7 schools and i might be rejected across the board. contrary to popular belief, seven is not so lucky.
Desislava,
I'll be happy to let you know if I hear anything about Washington cause I've been a little desperate lately for news. Congrats to you on the TA headsup. I hope that works out for you, cause I know funding is limited at Washington.
About Idaho: I'm not sure if Idaho has finished contacting. I have a good friend in the program so I plan on asking him tonight. I also know that Idaho has a limited number of TAs, so when I spoke to Wrigley on the phone, he said that this was the strongest batch of poetry applicants they ever had, and that they selected the top three for TAs. He also encouraged me to let him know soon if I plan on accepting the offer or not so he can notify the person next on the list. So they apparently rank their applicants in order to offer them funding. That's about the extent of my knowledge.
I hope things work out for you!
Good luck,
M.
To the anonymous person wondering about New School: I called New School last week, and they said all their decisions will not be made until the end of March. I believe this is for all genres.
Ok, guys...I have a question.
I read somewhere that people were able to see their status on the Michigan website, and I was wondering where exactly they found it...
Thanks!
I've been thinking a lot about funding, lately. It's kind of making me crazy, actually. Here's what I think. Everyone is in different situations, financially. Everyone has different expectations as to what they will do after the MFA and whether or not getting a job is going to be a part of that. Although getting into a program that offers funding is ideal, it's not possible and realistic for everyone who has the desire or deserves to get an MFA to get those beautiful full funding packages. I might have to take out loans. That's an ok decision for me. I'm young and single and have no other debts (undergad loans or a bad credit card habit) to pay off. I fully expect to work after getting my MFA because short of hitting the NYT Best Seller list with my MFA thesis, it's not realistic to expect to live off my words at that point. But with the way that some people talk about debt it's often seems like money is the thing that is going to make or break the MFA experience. To me that seems ridiculous. Writing will never go the way we expect or hope it will go and we do ourselves a disservice when make big generalizations about what we should expect (like "there's no need to pay for an MFA").
I think that everyone here is pretty awesome and supportive. So I'd like to see a bit more support for those of us who aren't lucky enough to get full funding. I'm not saying that funding options aren't important, I'm just saying that I don't think they should define MFA programs as much as they do.
Thanks, everyone. Sorry its a bit of a rant.
Tori,
When you applied to Michener you were supposed to receive a UTEID. With the EID you then a create a password, and long in here:
https://utdirect.utexas.edu/admissions/status_check.WBX
Good luck!
M.
M,
Have they begun to post any decisions there yet??
Hey Desislava and M. Douglas,
I got into Idaho for poetry, and I'm pretty sure that Robert Wrigley said they only took 4 poets this year. So I assume that he has contacted all 4, but that doesn't mean all 4 will accept the offer. So I would GUESS, Desislava, there's still a chance of getting in.
They took 4 people only? Jesus Christ! I never knew they were taking so few. First, they say they had the strongest batch of poets this year then they accept only 4. That's funny! Anyway, congrats on your acceptance:)))
Anon on Idaho,
I wasn't sure of the number, but I think you're right about it only being 4. That was a lot less than I expected. Were you offered a TA?
Anon on Michener,
From what I heard, they should be finished deciding next week. I don't think they have made any offers yet.
Desislava,
Thanks for the congrats. I hope things go well for you!
M.
Well, with 4,000 MFA in CW graduates coming out of school every year, it seems that an awful lot of people "deserve" an MFA, though exactly how one would deserve to study for a degree is a little beyond my sense of ethical understanding.
I'm more curious why so many of us are seeking out an MFA as opposed to pretty much... anything else.
That is, why does studying for this degree weigh so heavily upon us, even to the point where some of us apply to ten (or more) schools and get accepted nowhere. I mean, maybe I've confused a love of literature for a talent at creating it. I think that this might be a trend. Everyone wants to be the star, walk around calling themselves a writer, in love his/her own ideas. Is this MFA craze a symptom of our own excessive self-worship?
Perhaps I, and some others, would make much better editors and publishers than writers.
I love poetry, fiction and drama. But I'm not good, apparently, at creating any of them.
Some people on this blog, which I read like crazy, waiting for my one last school (which I now may pass on), encourage each other, saying "Good luck" "you're a good writer" etc. None of that is sincere. You don't really wish them good luck, and how could you know that an anonymous poster is a good writer.
I wish you all luck in your experience. I think I should look into founding a press. I think that's my calling. Maybe we'll work together some day.
Oh, and, Anon about Idaho:
Where else did you apply?
M.
Anon,
"Some people on this blog, which I read like crazy, waiting for my one last school (which I now may pass on), encourage each other, saying "Good luck" "you're a good writer" etc. None of that is sincere. You don't really wish them good luck, and how could you know that an anonymous poster is a good writer.
I wish you all luck in your experience..."
So should we assume that your "wish" was insincere as well?
M.
just about to mention that, M.
now i'll return to obsessing about my own ideas... gorging myself on my own words. and btdubs, pay attention.
ugh.
Insincere?
No.
It was sarcasm.
Nice...
Thank you for clarifying your unhelpful and unwanted sarcasm.
:) Have a Nice Day.
I think Anon has a good point, and I wouldn't take it personally. I think it's realistic to ask what you expect out of this degree and how any of us could possibly be successful in the face of those numbers, especially for the only position which it "qualifies" us to do is teach when those positions are so few.
3/5 waitlist at UC Boulder for poetry dated 2/27
Anyone out there with more information about UC Riverside? How many people do they accept and how is funding? Please shed some light!
oh i forgot to say waitlist to UC Boulder notification came by mail. a fairly nice letter, too!
snail mail rejection michigan (ann arbor) poetry
And on the topic of "what one should expect from an mfa"--I think that anyone who is truly serious about writing should know that, fundamentally, there are only two necessary conditions for developing into a writer of significant accomplishment: reading broadly and intensively, and writing persistently. Self-discipline, anyone?
Of course, the two-three years spent in an mfa program wherein one could have the time to read and write and interact with more-established practicioners would be great for any would-be writer, but I've had the same suspicions regarding the "trendiness" of mfa programs (that Atlantic article last summer likely further swelled the applicant pool) and I also wonder whether the actual fruits that these programs exist to facilitate--engaging poems, short stories, non-fiction--couldn't be also achieved with sustained independent effort.
But enough pessimism--best of luck to everyone else even though it appears that in the Fall I, too will be a writerly pariah relative to you lucky ones who have been deemed admissible!
Accepted at The New School with a merit scholarship. Phone, this afternoon. Nonfiction.
I'm going to be the most ecstatic boy cashiering at Banana Republic tonight.
Sorry if this gets double posted...my blogger is being sketchy(or maybe finally hearing from a school has just made me buggy).
Desislava Parashkevova,
I actually go to UC Riverside right now as an undergrad. From what I have been told the accept about 8 per genre (of which they offer pritty much ever genre you can imagine) There is alot of interplay between the genres, so not only will you do your area, you will also get to experience the others and work closely with the people from the other genres. I have heard that most students get funding, however they dont really advertise that. I can also tell you the one of the programs biggest names Susan Straight will be going on leave after next year, that way people who have applied tot he program specificlly for her will still get to work with her. If you want to know anything else let me know.
I received a rejection letter from Michigan (fiction) today in the mail with a March 3rd postmark. My only real surprise there was how long it took for them to send it out.
I'd also like to chime in with some friendly skepticism about the place that these programs have in your lives as writers. All the best writers did perfectly well without a graduate degree. They would probably laugh at the idea. Most were ignored while they were living. You don't write because it's easy and you need guidance, but because it's difficult and you're independent. The well intended -- even technically correct -- instruction you'd get in a program could even thwart you in the long run, and you'd never even realize it. This isn't to rationalize, it's just a fact. MFA programs have many fine qualities, but should be approached with the same skepticism that many of you are employing (correctly so) in regard to your rejections. And the hurt of being rejected for grad school is nothing compared to the hurt of being rejected by publishers, or finding publication and having a book ignored. I'd close your browsers, buckle up, and get to work.
Lauren, honey, have you ever heard of spell check? And grammar check?
Unfortunately as writers, rejection is something we are going to have to deal with most of our professional lives. My boyfriend took a different approach with all of the rejection letters he received from publishers when he submitted his novel...
he blew them up and made art with them and had a gallery show.
Consider this practice.
just got into lesley, via email, for poetry
Lauren,
Thanks for the UC Riverside info. Glad Desislava Parashkevova asked because I was curious about that school too!
Anon,
yea well when im writing super fast comments straight on this box, while trying to hold three conversations, and write an articulate paper about Roman Homosexuality- grammer and spelling here gos on the bottom of my to do list. Lets not get rude ok.
Accepted at Wyoming on 2/27 by e-mail for poetry with a TAship
Waitlisted at U Florida by e-mail on 3/3
And waitlisted at U Colorado Boulder by mail on 3/5
Laura -
Congratulations on your acceptance and waitlist! Do you know if all the waitlisters have been notified by UF?
Received my Yale MFA in Playwriting rejection letter today, March 5. Still waiting on three other applications for MFA playwriting programs. I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about this.
Signed,
Blue in Boston
5 Mar 2008: accepted to Wyoming in poetry via telephone.
Yale MFA Anon...if you don't mind me asking, what was the date at the top of you letter, and where abouts do you live?
Hey there. I've lost hope a bit in the whole MFA enterprise and might resig from the struggle and be content with an MA in Intercultural Humanities for the next two years. However, I am pretty sure I still want to do an MFA afterwards, and until then I want to try to be a bit more literary-active... I am quite new to publishing and poetry contests in the US so I want some advice from the more experienced ones amongst you. For someone who has close to no history of publicatons, which could be the first periodicals that I could send some poetry to with some prospects of getting them published? I'd say, my writing is decently good. And, do you know of any upcoming poetry contests worth participating in? I'd be grateful for any informaton and advice! Thank you and good luck everyone while I am trying to shake off the daydreaming abut U. Washington! ahhh
Jeramey, congratulations on your New School acceptance.
I visited last night to check out the space and attend the National Book Critics Circle finalists' reading. (The New School writing program hosts the reading and the awards ceremony on back to back evenings each year.)
I have a strong feeling that the New School's greastest asset is its people. Jackson Taylor, Associate Director of the program, was extremely helpful and welcoming. Likewise the reading was incredible: more than twenty fantastic writers read from novels, memoirs, as well as books of nonfiction, poetry, and criticism. Junot Diaz is (as he might say) "hard-f$%^ing core" and wonderful.
The writing program office (on the fifth floor of a slightly older, modern building) and the classrooms and reading areas are inviting and do feel like a campus. The building is close to Union Square, so it's really in the center of a busy part of Manhattan, with all the good and bad that implies. There's a schwarma stand about a block from the school that smells wonderful, and a Jamba Juice that could easily break me if I end up accepting the New School offer.
For those who don't have time to visit, I have to say that I found calling the office and chatting with current students to be even more revealing than the visit. They've been really generous with their time.
I'm still waiting on a few other schools, and struggling with questions about debt and funding. Since I've been out of school for a few years, I know what it feels like to be paying on student loans six years after finishing a program. I have that experience every month, and it will continue for many years to come. Of course I understand that decisions about funding are very personal, and I respect people who decide to take on that responsibility.
My impression of the New School was very positive, and I am giving the (fiction) program a very serious look.
Desislava,
My suggestion regarding publications is to begin, of course, with journals that are willing to accept new and emerging writers. That might sound like an obvious statement, but I know a terrific poet who has not yet published cause he only submits his poems to the New Yorker, Getttysburg Review, etc.
You can find a great list of legitimate journals off the CLMP website under the member directory. I would try the South Dakota Review, a good journal with a Western edge (it was my first publication, so I naturally support it!), and others like Willow Springs, Mid-America Review, Northwest Review, and many others depending on the style of your poetry. There are also several excellent online journals. Most of the mags and journals have contest info. on their website. I know that the deadline for the Indiana Review contest is coming up, and Naomi Shihab Nye is the judge. That would be an excellent contest.
Anyway, just some thoughts.
M.
Rejection from Iowa, poetry, by mail 3-5-08. Boo.
Thanks for posting that! Do you have any recommendations for journals for Fiction? I too have no publishing credits, but am eager to start sending things off.
Pensive,
My guess is that it goes the same for fiction as it does for poetry: start with the medium journals and move up. I used to spend hours on the CLMP site looking at the different journal websites, reading the selected work and deciding whether I had a shot at publication. If you haven't already, I recommend buying the Writer's Market book (I have the 2007 Poet's Market) at least to have an example off which to base your cover letter, formatting, etc. Things will change as you get more feedback and send more stories off. Soon, and I know there are some who publish immediately, you'll start receiving the rejections. Then you'll start ranking the rejections on whether you received a slip with a comment or not--positive and negative rejections, I suppose. Then you'll start seeing publications. At least that's how it worked for me.
Submitting to mags and journals will become a part of your daily life in graduate school and in your career as a writer, so I think it's important to begin as soon as possible.
Anyone else with publication suggestions? Maybe we're all too anxious to worry about this stuff. So I apologize for the intrusion.
M.
my mentor (whose 17th book will be published this summer) has a different approach. she told me that i could publish in x, y, and z journals all day, but why, when you can shoot for a, b, and c. she told me to hone my craft until it's ready for the big guns, because other than that, what's the point? it makes sense, although i understand how good a publishing credit would feel right now, pretty much regardless from where it comes from. but shouldn't we not rush and have bigger aspirations?
Anon,
Great point. It's essentially the same point John Witte makes about his editorial practice at Northwest Review. Take time to develop your writing and then submit. Have patience. Marianne Boruch at Purdue has the same philosophy.
For me, I thought it was important to gain some experience. I wanted to learn from rejection and then move on. When I was learning a new language, I was told I had to make nearly 100,000 mistakes before I spoke it well. So I started making mistakes immediately.
And what happens when you spend years on your projects, investing all of your energy in your work, and the Atlantic Monthly or Poetry immediately rejects it? Hemingway told Hotchner, when Hotchner asked whether he should become a writer, that a man (or woman, of course) doesn't know what's in him until he tries to pull it out. I believe he's right. So that's why I think it's important to see where you stand.
I guess I try to walk a line between the two opinions: submit your work, but only when you've made it your best.
M.
Linda--
Thanks for the info. I'll actually be in New York for my spring break next week, so I'll be getting a chance to visit the campus and go to a few readings myself. I agree about the people: Jackson Taylor seemed very enthused and welcoming over the phone and wanted me to come by the department and go to some of the readings while I'm in town, even mentioning that he would try to get me in contact with some current students (something that seems like it was a point of contention in the past according to older speakeasy posts).
Let me know what you decide. If the visit goes well, there's a good chance I will end up there.
Anon, I would agree with you if say your x y z journals were all online magazines; I think most want to see their work in print on a physical object and a plethora of publications in online magazines only (unless you have say, DIAGRAM and slope) is possibly dubious. At the same time, I find it difficult to compose for a cover letter over and over "this would be my first publication". An amazing credit as a first credit would be wonderful to be sure, but a respectable credit would be just as well in my opinion.
I'm freaking out because yesterday I got a call with a 413 area code and didn't pick it up and no one left a voice mail. I realize the chances of it being Umass (the only school I know with a 413 area code) are slim, but say it was, and they wanted to waitlist me or something, they wouldn't just skip me over and rule me out because I didn't answer the phone, right? Also, anyone who got a call from Umass, was the number 413-559 something? I'm freaking out mainly because I'm so anxious to hear something from any of the schools I applied to--I've heard nothing yet from Umass, Alabama, American, Bowling Green, or Michener.
rejected from cornell.
waiting on:
irvine
u-dub
saint mary's
san francisco
in the odd chance that i do not get accepted to any, who wants to join me on a cross-country romp??
the anxiety is getting to me...
Lauren,
Thank you so much about the UC Riverside information! 8 people per genre - this has made me feel uneasy, but hey! I can try again next year if it doesn't work! I am a never-despairing 21-year-old:)
M.Douglas,
Thanks so much for the comprehensive response. It is amazing that I was looking at the Indiana Contest right before I posted the question about publishing! I was just a bit intimidated when I read that Indiana Review published 1 per cent of all submissions:) But yes, I am planning to participate...
By the way, did you ever work in WSU? I have a feeling I read it on your blog. I was there for an exchange semester. If by any chance you lay your hands on that student magazine, LandEscapes, the Sprng Issue, you can read two of my poems there: If the Dancefloor (Sestina) and Internet Sonnet!
Let me now pay attention to the African History lecture I am attending right now:))))
anonymous,
my u-mass call was from the 413 area code.
good luck!
I'm at the top of the wait list for U of MN poetry. Anyone here accepted think they might decline? :) Give me some hope?
Anyone hear anything about anything from Oregon?
Someone just got accepted to Oregon on the Speakeasy!
Oh man, AND a Michener acceptance on Seth's blog. Poetry.
Minnesota Waitlister- how/when did you hear from them?
I don't know how i'm supposed to work today. My head is about to explode.
anon-
Im right with you. The phone call acceptance from Oregon on the speakeasy just about put me over the edge.
I couldn't take it and called Brown to find out if people had been contacted yet. I didn't specify genre on purpose. The woman was very nice, and she said that NO people have been notified yet, and that notifications would go out around March 15th. So...there ya go!!! Fshoo.
And M. Douglas...
Thanks for the info!!
Called Michener and she said that all admitted students have been notified, mostly by email, including the waitlisted.
So it would appear that we have one confirmed Oregon acceptance for fiction, via phone. I cant decide when i should start to panic.
I am panicking now. In the last 42minutes since I read that Oregon post on the Speakeasy I have refreshed my screen 42 times, read more horoscope, put my boyfriend on home phone alert, and prayed for the first time in 15 years. I can't remember wanting anything this bad in a long time.
Then I hope you get in, Anon. Have you called Oregon yet?
M.
No, i'm afraid to call...
anon-
it sounds like we are kindred souls as i have begun carrying my phone in my shirt pocket and put it on both vibrate and ring to ensure that i hear it. I have been clicking refresh like crazy and I am debating just throwing myself out the window.
Okay, i called. I spoke to the receptionist who was very nice and said that fiction met last night and was meeting again today. She said they have picked a few but still have a few more slots to pick and will notify people today and tomorrow. Then, send out waitlist and rejections next week. So hang tight Poloman9. A person can live without oxygen for two days, right?
anon,
thanks for calling. you are a braver soul than I am. Man the next two days are going to blow.
To the anon who called Oregon, Did they specify fiction or poetry? Will they be making all their calls this week?(Thanks for calling, by the way!) And Poloman, don't go out the window just yet! Or ever for that matter!
This was for fiction. When I asked her if all students had been chosen and contacted, she asked me which department I was referring to and then gave the answer I spoke of earlier.
I was super scared to call, but I figured if she told me they were all contacted I could commence crying. I applied to five other schools but this is my top pick.
On the topic of finding journals to publish poetry/ short fiction, this is a great resource for narrowing down your search.
http://www.duotrope.com/index.aspx
i feel jealous of people who still feel a glimmer of hope when they hear rumblings of acceptances at schools they applied to. i applied to both oregon and michener and honestly, at this point, i feel so beaten down by this process (at least 4 rejections, 0 acceptances, 0 waitlists) that my default when i see something like that is, as i suspected, i'm not getting in there either. i am really and truly in awe of anyone who's not completely demoralized at this point.
the receptionist at oregon said that accepted poetry applicants will be notified next week.
good luck all!
If I didn't have hope I wouldn't have applied in the first place. Gotta keep hope alive!
Sick over the Michener poetry news. Didn't expect it, but was hoping. I thought someone had said earlier/elsewhere that they weren't even deliberating until March 10?
Another writer just got into Oregon in fiction on the speakeasy. Two down, four to go.
Rejected just now by mail for Iowa (fiction)...now assumed rejection from Michener...I'm sort of laughing at myself for spending the money to apply to these super long shots, but I guess I didn't want to wonder "what if". GEEZ, when are schools I actually have a chance at notifying??? Rejected from 3, Waitlisted at 1, Assumed Rejection from 1, Waiting on 7
I called Michener, and the lady told me the first round of picks had been notified late last night, but wait-listed applicants would be notified on the fifteenth of this month. I think somebody else needs to call, too, to see what they say so we can try to find some consistency.
That's sad about Michener.
Has anyone's status changed on their website?
To the question re: MN waitlist: I got a letter in the mail yesterday and an email letting me know my position on the waitlist after I contacted them today.
And the 800th comment... whew.
3/6/2008: rejected from University of Iowa, fiction, letter dated March 3. The letter also says that 835 people applied for 25 spaces (doesn't specify genre).
3/6/2008: rejected from Florida State, fiction, letter dated 2/27.
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