Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Are WE there yet?

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:

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Lindsey said...

haha sorry realitywrites! I've been exercising my trigger finger. And i need a little luck--rejected from 7 places, waiting to hear back from 5more. Man, I thought I'd at least get waitlisted somewhere!

Anonymous said...

into johns hopkins for fiction! got the call this morning. good luck, everyone!

Anonymous said...

Just found out I was rejected at U of Minnesota for fiction via their online application thingy. I kept on checking and it was finally updated with a little link with a rejection letter.

brig said...

ryan-

i grew up in wichita and know it far too well. it is not particularly 'rich' in character, nor a quaint midwestern town. the neighborhoods i would consider taking a look at are in the college hill and midtown area. the area right around the school is, by wichita standards, not desirable and perhaps (and again this depends on yr standards) dicey/dangerous. when it comes to food i'd say yr in pretty good luck as most folks in the 'TA consider eating entertainment, as there is not a lot else happening. from where would you be moving?

Anonymous said...

Are there any people accepted to Alabama for fiction who don't plan on actually going there next fall? I'm just wondering because I'm on the "unranked waitlist," too. I really hope to be accepted, though!

Anonymous said...

those being contacted by UNH, have you also heard on funding?

Anonymous said...

Just got word from The New School Office of Admissions that decisions will be given out on an ongoing basis starting the 3rd week of March.

Not really sure what the means, seeing as though some have already heard.

Anonymous said...

Brig-

Thanks for the info. I've been looking at apartments at Rent.com, but wanted to stay away from the "dicier" parts of town, as you put it (for sake of wife and baby). I wouldn't have been able to know where they were without you. Thanks again.

I'm coming from around the Tulsa area.

Anonymous said...

keyes,

you can call and ask. if you're not funded, you can also ask if you're on the waitlist.

Anonymous said...

thanks, anne! i'll give it a shot tomorrow since it's already past 5 out there on the east coast.

did you receive funding from them?

Anonymous said...

keyes,

nope, no funding, though she mentioned the waitlist.

brig said...

ryan-

also, if you are not so concerned with 'character,' aim for the NE part of town. it is newer/rapidly expanding and apartment complexes seem to be popping up all over...on the whole, i'd say wichita is a very affordable place to live.

Anonymous said...

Sarah Lawrence, letter of rejection on 3/12, dated 3/7

Pensive495 said...

Sorry to here that Sarah Lawrence Anon. If you don't mind me asking, what genre? And do you live far from New York?

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard from columbia college in chicago? Judging from previous years, they appear to accept by the phone. I'm just curious as it is my top choice!

roderick mcclain said...

have not heard from columbia college either

anybody apply to SAIC?

Anonymous said...

rejected from UNH for nonfiction via their website...no email or snail mail confirming, but i assume it is on its way

Lij said...

After receiving rejections from Minnesota, Hollins, and Iowa by mail, I just saw on the UNH website that I'm "admitted to program."

HURRAY!

Still waiting to hear from Arizona and Notre Dame, but I'm very happy with this news from UNH.

No word on funding -- maybe they'll call or e-mail with an official acceptance soon?

Anonymous said...

Sorry, forgot to add: Sarah Lawrence rejection was for fiction

Lij said...

Oh, good point -- to clarify, my UNH acceptance is in nonfiction.

spillingink said...

FYI: I applied to both Columbia College and SAIC and have not heard a word from either. :)

P.S. I would like to talk about CalArts with anyone else who is thinking of going there.

Anonymous said...

Question--So, the director of one of the programs I got into emailed me to assess my intentions and wanting to know if there is anything they can do to "sweeten the deal"--has anyone run into this? Any ideas on how to respond? It's already a fully funded program, so I'm not sure if this means they're willing to offer me more money on top of the stipend or what. Since every little bit would help, I want to make sure I respond in the right way...

Anonymous said...

Hello,

Wondering if there are any CW PhD applicants out there, and if so, have you heard anything from Nebraska, Ohio, GSU, or Southern Miss.

Thanks!

A.Anonymous said...

I'm making my rounds on the MFA forum circuit; here is my contribution:

Today:
Rejected from Montana for fiction via postal mail
Waitlisted at U of Oregon also for fiction via postal mail

I know a few folks have reported acceptances to U Oregon for fiction and poetry. Has anyone been waitlisted?

Anonymous said...

laura mary carrie,

they must really want you! my best advice would be to be as honest as possible with them. you might even ask flat-out (but gently) whether there was more money on the table. are there things that concern you about the program? maybe you could as honestly as possible outline some of your thoughts about the school and program and see how the director responds. if money is a big concern, say that you're hestitating about living costs, etc. if you really, really want to teach CW your first year, mention that and so on.

either way, i'd be flattered if i were you!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on UNH, lij! If you call their office, they'll tell you about funding. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard from Virginia Commonwealth? I know at least one person on Seth's blog was accepted for poetry a while back, and I'm trying to decide whether or not to give up hope.

realitywrites said...

anonymous @ 7:25 a.m. - I'm in the same boat as you!

Anonymous said...

realitywrites:

Maybe I'll just call and ask. I'll post whatever I find out. I'm so chicken about these things...

Anonymous said...

realitywrites:

Okay, so I called. Thom Didato looked up my file and said, "Well, you're not in the first wave of acceptances, but you're not in the rejection pile either. We haven't made all the decisions yet. You're kind of in limbo. We're hoping to let everyone know in the next two or three weeks." I said my other schools wanted a yes or no soon and he said I should go ahead and take their offers.

So: If you call, they'll at least tell you which pile you're in.

realitywrites said...

oh thanks. yeah I am SUPER chicken about these things. I don't have any other offers as of yet, so I don't have any room to debate it either. But it's good to know that they're still making decisions. I'll just sit tight!

AdamRBurnett said...

I awkwardly called NYU yesterday for playwriting. They said no decisions had been made yet...I have a feeling I'm going to be all around rejected but I just want the answers now so I can start moving forward with plan B for next year...

Anonymous said...

Is there anyone here who hasn't heard from UMass yet and/or has been placed on a waitlist by them? I haven't gotten a rejection letter yet, and I'm wondering if this could mean I'm on a waitlist. Then again, my online status is "pending" which I've heard means a rejection letter is coming soon...

Anonymous said...

accepted to brown 3/12

Anonymous said...

Addition to the above anon post: that's UMass Amherst I'm talking about.

Anonymous said...

brown anon: fiction? poetry? how were you notified? is this the first you'd heard from them?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for calling NYU AdamRB. I guess we'll have to wait some more.

Anonymous said...

Anon--
Thanks! The program is my top choice anyway, so they may not realize that they don't have to do anything, but your suggestion of finding out about teaching CW the first year is a good one. The interesting thing is, I applied there as an afterthought, but it's become my top program because they have made such a point to be friendly and welcoming and let me know how much they liked my work. It feels really good.

Anonymous said...

Laura Mary Carrie: do you mind outing the program in question? It sounds like they are pretty committed to their admitted applicants in a positive way.

TheRant said...

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know that I got a rejection letter today from Idaho (Marked Mar. 11), so accepted and rejected applicants should be hearing soon. I also got accepted to Lesley University yesterday via phone call from Steve Cramer. Missed the call unfortunately, so I got to call back today.

Accepted: U of Maryland and Lesley

Rejected: Sarah Lawrence, Idaho, Umass, UNH, Rutgers

Waiting on: UNC-Wilm, Colorado St., Columbia(Chi), Chatham, American, So Maine, and Fairleigh Dickinson

Good Luck Everyone!

-The Rant

P.S. I'm in fiction

Anonymous said...

It's Ohio State. They have been incredibly warm and welcoming from the get go. Apparently their program is all about the camaraderie.

Anonymous said...

LMC: I had a hunch that it was Ohio. The faculty seems really awesome.

Anonymous said...

What's the deal with NYU? They had one of the earliest application deadlines (Dec. 18) but still not a peep from them in fiction or poetry, as far as I can tell. Meanwhile, the New School wants a final decision by 3/25, and there won't be much time to make it if NYU comes through with an acceptance late in the month. I wish all the schools would report at the same time instead of putting us through this agonizing waiting game.

Anonymous said...

Anon--did you get in there, too?

Pensive495 said...

Brown Anon, you're killin' us! Info!!! :D

Thomas Lee said...

Anything on Stegner. I don't have my hopes up, but most years they've said something by now (at least contacted recommenders), from what I understand.

Anonymous said...

Accepted to University of New Orleans for fiction via email 3/13

ali said...

LMC: this is the ohio anon. Sorry for the unintended cryptic-ness. I also got in to OSU, for fiction. It seems like a good program.

Anonymous said...

ok, seriously. seriously. i STILL haven't gotten that minnesota email, or a status change. someone please tell me you're in the same boat, otherwise i'm pretty sure i should start thinking my writing sample got totally lost in the mail. this SUCKS. any encouraging words would be most appreciated.... thanks guys.

Anonymous said...

anyone heard from UC Irvine? I thought there was word on this blog that UC Irvine Profs were making decisions last weekend. Anyone know anything?

spillingink said...

I got my Emerson acceptance package today! Anyone else?

Anonymous said...

Yale Playwriting already sent rejection letters as of 3/8/08 (via snail mail).

Last year (2007) NYU/Tisch let thier potential dramatic Writing MFAs know of thier statuses via email during the first week of April (I got waitlisted there last year)

Hope that helps someone! Thanks!

Ira

Anonymous said...

Molly o, re: Minnesota:

You should give the program a call. The assistant, Kathleen, has been really friendly and helpful. Since they seem to have notified people across the board already, I don't think it would be inappropriate for you ask them over the phone. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Molly O-
hate to dim your chances. I also never received an update email or an updated online status from Minn. BUT just yesterday I received a rejection letter from them. In fiction.
I guess Charles Baxter and I weren't meant to be friends.
-Anon7

carrie murphy said...

whodat- did U of New Orleans tell you anything about funding/ taships? i'm in there for poetry, but their letter didn't mention money and i'm scared about broaching it.

Anonymous said...

yeah, i guess no news means bad news. that's what i was afraid of. i'm used to it at this point- six rejections and counting! woo-hoo! thanks for your help, guys.

Anonymous said...

I'm also anxiously waiting to hear from UC Irvine Fiction. Anyone have an update on them?

Lindsey said...

Rejected snail mail for fiction at Montana. Very depressing and disappointing. 4 more schools to hear back from, but after 8 rejections, I don't think I'm going anywhere come fall.

Pensive495 said...

Anyone else having a hard time logging onto the speakeasy? I keep getting an error message.

Anonymous said...

Camm:

THey just said they would be making decisions about that soon and would contact me if selected. I figured I'd give them a week or so and then start calling them about it.

Do you think you'll be accepting?

chelbeerocks said...

Rejected by St. Mary's. My first actual rejection but seeing as everyone else has already received acceptances from my other schools, I am convinced doom is on the way via mail. I'm bummed.

Pensive495 said...

I went to the Who's online speakeasy board and found this:


"No registered users have accessed the forum in the last 15 minutes.

No guests have accessed the forum in the last 15 minutes."


Well shnikees.

Anonymous said...

pensive,

chill out, please. your nerves will thank you.

Anonymous said...

Anyone receive Emerson acceptance packages for fiction yet?

carrie murphy said...

whodat-i just sent joanna leake a letter inquiring about it all. i'm definitely interested in the program, but money-wise (at least so far) i'm kinda leaning towards new mexico state. will you accept?

Megan said...

Hey spillingink,
I've also been accepted to CalArts in fiction. Right now I'm just hoping I can find some way to afford it, because I'm really excited about going there. I'm hoping I can get some sort of funding, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to wait till they review my FAFSA or if I should just call the Financial Aid office. I wish I could make it to the accepted student event, but hopefully I can at least visit the campus sometime before I have to make a decision. There's not really much I can tell you, but it's good to hear from someone else who's considering going there.

Anonymous said...

yeah, pensive. chill out. you're making EVERYONE nervous! gosh.

chelbeerocks said...

I applied to CalArts but haven't heard back so i'm guessing that's a reject. I'm feeling like a big fat loser. :(

anne said...

accepted to brooklyn college for poetry--by e-mail tonight.

Anonymous said...

Camm:

Not sure yet. There are still a couple of places that I haven't heard back from yet and I also want to wait and see about funding. I'm from NO and would love to move back home, but I want to see what all my options are (if there are options) before I make a decision.

Anonymous said...

Congrats traffic jam! Mass or personal email, by any chance?

anne said...

anonymous,

thanks! it was a mass e-mail.

Anonymous said...

I called Emerson today asking for any info...i was told that my letter was "processed on March 8th" but they wouldn't tell me if i was accepted or rejected because they "can't give that information over the phone". Translation: "I don't want to tell you you got rejected so I will wait til you read your letter."

Personally, I am guessing it means it's a rejection since others have gotten accepted already and i live in Mass so if they mailed me something i would have gotten it already. Oh, well. Has anyone even heard of any Emerson rejections yet?

Ian Prichard said...

SFSU acceptance into fiction via email March 10. Also waiting on UCI, amongst others, so whenever anyone hears about it, please please please post. Thanks, and good luck everyone!

Anonymous said...

Oyez, Oyez:

I hereby direct all potential Iowa Writers Workshop candidates to this following link, whereby they will find the following information a consideration to attend another MFA program.

I'm sorry. I can only tell you what's happening, with a high degree of abomination among students.

They are trying, as of this writing, to secure ownership (as though we were full professors... Wait, in that case they'd get less than 25% total value of our work).

That's right kiddos. Reconsider. My Iowa's now trying to rob the poor:

http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/

Until this decision is rendered forthwith inadequate, and unethically sound, I recommend that all incoming students defer their acceptances.

This is, simply, unacceptable.

Spread the fucking word.

Iowa is trying to pinch its students' rights of ownership of creative works.

Spread the word damn loud. This is an outrage. Trust us.

Anonymous said...

MFA CANDIDATES:

Are you out there?

Don't let this new Iowa WW news go without answer.

If you are a candidate, and sadly, I imagine all candidates have already left this forum feeling satisfied, DON'T STAND FOR IT.

Keep in mind, it's not the IWW that issues programmatic control over this; it's University Wide.

Tell them NO; they do not own your creative work. Tell them NO; they do not accrue a percentage of your future success.

Even if you are not accepted, tell them NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They do not own rights.

I'm dreadfully sorry to the Houston applicants, and the Arizona applicants, but good must be done, small as it might seem.

Reprehensible, it is. Reconsider your IWW choices.

Take a university that will respect you ownership over your own creative works.

Another catastrophe from Iowa.

It ain't your momma's program.

Just imagine that bullshit.

Find yourself any program that doesn't claim ownership of you work.

As artists, you have very few rights left. Don't let IWW take them.

FYI: I am one of four students withdrawing with an offer of full funding elsewhere.

Do not be a sucker!

Anonymous said...

The slow fall of kings!

Anonymous said...

The sad story behind the current situation can be read here. Or, you can access the Chronicle of Higher Education article here.

The following is not intended as legal advice to any person, group of persons, or institution. It is merely the present-sense impression of the author, a private citizen affected by the legal situation described above, and therefore a possible litigant in any class-action suit filed with respect to the illegalities discussed at the link above and in the blog-post below. Nothing said here should be relied upon by any reader, in any manner or to any degree, as legal counsel, nor is what is written here written in my capacity as a licensed attorney (retired/inactive), but rather as an aggrieved party--a private citizen with the same rights of civil suit as any other citizen, ruminating openly on his own legal options under the circumstances.

When the University of Iowa made me an offer of admission in February of 2007, I took that offer, presented to me in writing by the University of Iowa, as a contract proposal for which my agreement was sought. Upon accepting the University's written offer of admission--which acceptance was made with an understanding of the degree requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree, as laid out in the University's own sanctioned, publicity-related materials--I entered into a contract with the University of Iowa. Had the University retracted its offer of admission--say, in June of 2007, after I had detrimentally relied on its offer of acceptance by turning down pending offers of admission (and, as with the offer at UI, employment) at two other universities--I don't think either they, or anyone, would have been surprised if I had immediately brought a civil suit against them seeking injunctive relief.

Yet whatever my (or anyone's) view of that hypothetical situation, one which thankfully never arose, my detrimental reliance on the offer made by the University (and accepted by me) in March of 2007 was extant beyond any shadow of a doubt as soon as the University took tuition from me, assessed (and got me to pay) miscellaneous student fees, prompted me to move to Iowa from New Hampshire, prompted me to seek and secure housing here, offered me employment in one of its departments, and prompted me to borrow thousands of dollars from the United States Department of Education (a federal entity). I might even go so far as to add that the University's offer of admission enticed me to cross over state lines in order to perform upon the contract I had entered into with the University.

All of this was done based upon there being clear terms for my graduating from the University of Iowa: if I paid tuition and maintained passing grades, I could predict, based upon the University's written assurances (as codified in its own sanctioned, self-published materials) precisely how many credits I would need to graduate, as well as any other requirements for graduation (for instance, the completion of a thesis to the satisfaction of the Iowa Writers' Workshop faculty, and the completion of an additional second-year [analytic] written assignment to the satisfaction of the self-same faculty).

Now I understand that the University wishes to amend its offer of admission to change the terms of the offer, such that the performance that I must engage in, in order to graduate and receive the consideration for which I entered into the contract (to wit, a degree), will now include me signing over first North American serial rights to any creative work I should produce as part of my attempts to meet one of the previously-known-to-me requirements of my contract with the University--to wit, the completion of an MFA thesis as a requirement for graduation. I am being asked, that is, to give up an additional right--the right to my own intellectual property, and to my own copyrighted materials--in order to receive the previously-promised consideration of a contract I've already signed (via a letter of intent to the University).

Politely, and with all due respect, I hereby decline (and will do so again in writing if need be) the University's proposal to amend its previous offer, which I accepted approximately a year ago when I began to accrue what is now thousands upon thousands of dollars of legally-cognizable detrimental reliance. I also hereby express my willingness to join any class-action suit against the University of Iowa, as the University's actions are so clearly in violation of contract law (in my personal opinion, as a private citizen and prospective litigant) that I can only imagine a class-action suit will be initiated shortly, seeking injunctive relief against the University the moment it attempts to deny a graduate student an MFA degree (the most important consideration to be provided its contract-acceptees/students by the University, under its existing agreement with them) for failing to accept the University's proposed amendment to the said pre-existing contract.

I am not a rabble-rouser. I genuinely admire the University of Iowa as an institution and am usually the sort to mind my own business and not make waves. But as an artist, and as a citizen, I will stand up for myself. I will cry foul when the circumstances are, as they so evidently are, foul. I am disappointed in a University I admire greatly, and feel--as I know all current and former students of the Writers' Workshop do--betrayed by the administration of this great educational institution. Betrayed not merely as to a matter of little insignificance, but as to a matter touching upon my very soul: my art. So to the extent this blog-post is firm, resolute, unyielding, and even confrontational, it is only because injustices must be confronted, and when confronted must be confronted firmly, resolutely, and with an unyielding demeanor.

What I find stunning is that this issue has even gone this far. I think that if someone tried to tell, say, eminent [poet] Rita Dove, or eminent [novelist] Tobias Wolff, that their next manuscript would be confiscated by their respective educational-institution employers (and let there be no doubt here, prematurely publishing a manuscript of poetry or prose destroys the entirety of its commercial and publication value, as publications/publishers will not re-publish work already available for free on-line) any such proposed policy would have died an administrative death within 48 hours.

Within 48 hours.

The fact that it has not happened here at the University of Iowa is a testament, I suppose, to the fact that when it is merely a student who is seeing their prospective publishing career destroyed, and their art effectively stolen by a multinational corporation, there is ample time to vacillate and hem and haw and procrastinate in attempting to find an immediate solution to the dilemma.

It's not merely that the University of Iowa is, in my own view, acting illegally here, and it's not merely that the University is attempting to force its students to donate their creative product for free to (as I noted) a giant, multinational corporation (who will then make a profit off it via the advertising on its Google Print website)--it's that these actions are so egregious I'm not sure merely reversing the current [reprehensible and morally-bankrupt] policy is enough anymore. It would have been enough if (as would have happened if anyone who counted was seeing their creative work threatened) the policy had been reversed almost immediately after the error had been discovered. But now, I think, we've gone beyond that point, and the University of Iowa must not merely reverse the policy or face (I can only imagine) a hugely embarrassing class-action lawsuit, must not merely apologize to all its graduate students for the insult of not consulting with them en masse on any of this, but must, in addition, explain to the University community why it is that the rights of students are not worth a bucket of warm spittle in the view of those [as-yet unidentified] University administrators who allowed this scandal to happen--and those [identified] administrators who now refuse to speak to the media, or student groups, and will converse only with selected delegates from the specific graduate schools affected (i.e., all of them).

At stake now is not merely the good standing of the University in the eyes of its most important assets--its students--but also the very reputation of some of its most august, respected, and popular graduate school programs, such as the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. Right now dozens of poets and writers and memoirists across the country who have been admitted to the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop (or the nonfiction program) are deciding whether to attend this institution--deciding, in light of this ongoing scandal, whether or not they can any longer presume that Iowa has a unparalleled and even historic reputation among the 200+ MFA programs now operating in the United States. These students have until April 15th to make their decision, and I am certain that the vast majority of them are now waiting for an answer from the University on this pressing, time-sensitive question.

They are waiting for a reversal of the policy at issue. They are waiting for an apology to the affected students. They are waiting for an explanation of why any student who comes to the University now should place his/her trust in an administration which has shown itself so singularly disinterested in the fate of its graduates once they've received their degrees. It is not the place--or the responsibility--of a student body to go begging to its administrators merely to preserve rights granted them under the law. It is the place of administrators to protect those rights. Or, to face the inevitable and dramatic consequences when they do not.

Anonymous said...

I am a student at Iowa right now and we all think this is bullshit.

We are fighting it though.

I encourage all the accepted students not to turn down their offers but threaten to turn them down unless this obscene policy is reversed.

Use your power for good.

Fight the fucking system.

Anonymous said...

whipcrack!

Amen. Fight it. Or else lose that small bit that makes you You.

Anonymous said...

whipcrack!

Amen. Fight it. Or else lose that small bit that makes you You.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

What's the problem with taking 25 students per genre?

Ooo, that they inbreed and creat Iowa.

Amen, brother.

Everyone, transfer, or else eat that uncle spunk.

Open wide. It's IOWA. MMMMM Yummy.

Swallow. Swallow.

Future candidates, stop being so seduced by a reputation that hasn't meant anything in more than thirty years.

Yummy. Yummy. Iowa Cummy.

Thank god someone's saying something. I've had the worst experience here.

Should've gone to AZ/

Anonymous said...

Hmmm.

You guys are a little obscene.

Nobody here gobbles dick, unless you count getting into second year workshops.

Looking back, UW Madison was far more generous with their offer.

Maybe I'm a little deluded, but, yeah, I see what you all are saying.

Don't agree that AZ is a better program, but whatever.

Follow your heart, not the Iowa siren song, right?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

You and the other 32 students per genre waitlist.

Good luck.

I'm poetry, what's everyone else... ...simply regretting better offers at smaller programs.

What kind of love are missing? Want to be stroke nicely?

Sorry, and welcome to the midwest.

Anonymous said...

Didn't you hear?

Iowa is the final say in talent.

Just look at the Yale Younger, the Ruth Lilly, the Whitman, the Stegner, the NPS, the Agnes Starett, the publications in journals with reputations to uphold that don't welcome Dean Young secondary spunkalations. Iowa has much to live up to, before it continues riding coat-tails of generations that have come before present day.

It's funny though: tell enough people it's true and sooner than later you garner app fees by the plenty.

Pay attention wanter-inners. We're here and it ain't roses, not by the longest shots your cannon knows.

That's why we're here on the blog. Hoping for transfers.

Pensive495 said...

Sorry for the stress earlier. Nerves are a little shot.

Anonymous said...

Iowa is the best.

Stop hating and jealously berating.

All of us accepted apps know your full of shit.

Anonymous said...

And that's a good reason to believe the hype surrounding the program.

Come here and you'll get a book deal just like the .34% of other grads from the program.

If you knew the smell of your own shit, you'd know that "your" doesn't equate to "you're."

Yeah.

Come to Iowa, misuse words.

Dream bigger than reality.

Let your imagination imagine you in a place where shit is as it should be.

We're all shocked.

Let's not pretend things will fix themselves.

Burn this baggy whore down.

Pensive495 said...

I'm curious now. How are they maneuvering the legalities of all this?

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous Iowa Hating One Sentence Paragraph Guy,

We are sorry you didn't get in anywhere you applied. We are also sorry your parents didn't love you and that you have no penis.

But seriously, have your insecurities reduced you to criticizing the spelling on a blog post? Is this what your life has come to? Look at yourself and ask that question.

Then consider the fact that this blog is read by people who want real information that will have an impact on their lives. We are not here for your pathetic whimpering about rejection or your self aggrandizing bullshit that proves nothing more than the fact that you are a terrible person. Perhaps you think it is funny? It is not.

Perhaps you should consider killing yourself. Please. We are serious about this, you should commit suicide and leave the rest of humanity alone.

We are anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget.

We have your IP address.

Anonymous said...

what the hell happened to this blog?

Godfrey, are you there?
can you clean up some of these comments??

Anonymous said...

Seriously. You leave the blog for a few hours and it becomes completely unrecognizable.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, to be serious, we should write about these issues like the adults and like the writers we are, not like children in middle school or high school. And telling someone to commit suicide is NEVER a good thing to suggest. Come on, let's all grow up, use this blog for what it's made for, and take action against Iowa if that is what you want to do. But please, no more obscenity-laden blogs about it. That doesn't do anything.

Lauren Cummings said...

Can we get back to accepted and rejected news, leave your rants to your blogs please people. Specially Iowa ranters, sorry there are probably lots of us here who don't care about Iowa and didnt apply there.

Anonymous said...

The idea of a poetry copyright having any value is laughable -- sorry, guys. Is this going to cut seriously into your $1,250 book advance or the $10 a line that Poetry magazine is paying? As poets we'd probably be better off if the entire medium were free and on the internet. How many people pay to read contemporary poetry today? Maybe 20,000? If it were a free medium it might be more like 50 million, which is enough of a difference to create some way to support the writers, whose primary income is likely from teaching, not publishing.

Anonymous said...

I doubt that "free-ness" of poetry would suddenly create a booming interest in the genre; it's not the cost of the books that keeps people from reading. Apparently, the NEA states less than 50% of Americans read a book in a year, even if that book is about golfing. And while publishing a poetry book might not be lucrative, the point is, you wouldn't be able to publish said thesis as a book at all. Why would you put in the work to create a manuscript if you didn't own it? Saying it isn't "valuable" is not a good enough reason to give it away.

Desislava Parashkevova said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Rejection letter from the New School came yesterday (3/13) for fiction.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, and um...all that same stuff about U of Oregon. Everybody refuse to go there....

(Then I will send them M&Ms with my name on them, and they will HAVE to accept me...Mwahahahahaaaa)

But seriously...I thought I was in the wrong place for a minute. I'm ashamed that that kind of writing is on this blog, which has been such a source of support in the past. I hope that we can bring it back up to the standards that I, and everyone else I'm sure, had become accustomed to.

--end rant.

Desislava Parashkevova said...

Just wanted to change the seting so that the comments come to my email... tired of checking back..

Babelle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

i'm officially switching to seth abramson's blog; unlike this one, it hasn't undergone a complete devolution.

Anonymous said...

This is embarrassing.

Please ignore some of those Iowa comments (though maybe not all of them).

I went out with my wife last night, and left my 18 yr old brother and his friend at my house.

I came home and then kept joking about Iowa. After some questioning, it turns out they were posting to this blog last night. I think I can see their handiwork.

I'm sorry I left the blog up on my laptop.

I'd send the two jackals home early, but then I'd have to drive them.

I'm locking my computer so it won't happen again.

Anonymous said...

by "then kept joking" I mean "they" kept joking.

Lauren Cummings said...

Did anyone get more conformation about Brown, I dont know why I care I doubt I will get in nor do I care at this point really expensive, 3 years, really really far from home- I could deal with all of these but all three together makes it difficult. It would be nice to just get accepted just for the sake of it. But I am curious cause the one comment was vague and no one else seemed to hear anything. Strange!

Godfrey said...

Hey guys, please keep this under control! I hereby ban all talk of penises, small or otherwise.
I'd hate to turn off anonymous comments but I'd also request that you take your Iowa discussion elsewhere (P&W perhaps?). Continued congrats to everybody getting accepted; fingers crossed for those still waiting to hear!

Anonymous said...

any updates on stegner fiction?

Godfrey said...

"Anonymous said...
i'm officially switching to seth abramson's blog; unlike this one, it hasn't undergone a complete devolution."

To be honest, this is pretty disheartening. With that, I'm going to stop updating this because it has become too much of a handful for me -- I, too, am an MFA applicant, and have jobs and bills to pay. This experience has been as emotional for me as it is for all of you. I'd encourage you all to visit seth's blog. http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/2008/01/2008-data-bank-of-application-response.html as I am exhausted by all this. I know he definitely culls some of his information from the comments in this blog; he is not applying to any programs this year, and can update acceptances/rejections with fewer frayed nerves. By visiting his site you'll be increasing traffic to his website. His stats have been very useful to all of us, and increased traffic is important to him -- less so to me.

This forum will continue to stay up for those who wish to comment anonymously-- again, seth inspects these comments as well, so please continue the talk of acceptances. Please, please, please stop picking on individuals, especially those brave enough to post with accounts rather than anonymously. I, for one, have found pensive's presence on this blog a great comfort, which is more than can be said of the anonymous Iowa discussers.

Thanks for all your help this year.

Thomas Lee said...

No word on Stegner that I can find. From past blogs, google searches, it looks like they notified accepted people by phone in early March in 2007, and sent out reject letters in April. I'm assuming that puts me in the rejected pile, but I never had my hopes up when they accept 10 out of 4000

Pensive495 said...

Thanks for kind words Godfrey. How has your MFA process been going? I hope you've been accepted.

Anonymous said...

Brown is a two year program. Plus fully funded.... I haven’t heard a peep...

noah m. said...

thanks, godfrey, for all the work you've done on this! maybe it's for the best... kindof sad to see the discourse devolving, especially over what truly is an important issue over at iowa and the IWW.

Anonymous said...

Godfrey,

I'd just like to thank you for this blog and the amount of work you've put in to it. Please know how much we all appreciate it.

Best of luck with your application responses!

Anonymous said...

I saw some guys blog that he had been accepted for Stegner in early march of this year.

I can't remember the site, but it wasn't a lie.

Does anyone know who I'm talking about?

I was googling and found his acceptance post.

I remember it clearly, because it broke my heart.

Anonymous said...

Accepted to UM-St. Louis via email today! I am so thrilled. Does anyone have more information on the program? I am still waiting another few weeks to hear if I am offered a TA Position.

PS- This comes after 3 rejections and a waitlist offer so it's super sweet!

Susan L. said...

Columbia College anyone?

They accept by phone no?

I'm so tired of endlessly checkin my phone, and running to the mail box when the mail man drives by.

Anonymous said...

I think Columbia College might be on spring break. I called them four times yesterday and once today, and only got Tony's answering machine.

Anonymous said...

Just found out I'm waitlisted at NYU for Fiction via email. They said they'll be making acceptance calls within the next few weeks. They also noted that they will be accepting 15 students in poetry and 17 students in fiction for the fall 2008 incoming class.

Pensive495 said...

In for fiction at Sarah Lawrence! Ernesto Mestre called me, and I stuttered all over the place. I think I may have screamed in his ear!

Good luck to all!

Susan L. said...

Actually Columbia College Chicago's spring break starts the 24th.

realitywrites said...

Hey Anonymous @ 12:08 - I got accepted at UM-St. Louis today, too! I got in for poetry - what genre are you? message me on my blog, if you can. I'm curious why you applied. I kind of did it on a whim, but of course this is great news - and my first acceptance!

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard from Penn State? I'm waiting for my rejection.

Pensive - Does that mean you're not going to Pitt? :(

Anonymous said...

Hooray for Pensive!

And thanks to Godfrey!

Pensive495 said...

Not necessarily, things did just get more interesting though. Neither school offered funding. I think I'm going to visit both schools, and then make my decision. Gah!

Anonymous said...

is anybody else waiting on bennington? i'm anxious!

Michael said...

Yeah, Susan L., It's so nerve wracking waiting hear back, especially from Columbia Collge. I keep checking my email, the mail box and the phones. I can't remember if I set my home phone or my cell phone as the best way to contact me. I just hope that when I am at work, helping a patron, that I don't suddenly shout out something I may regret! Seth's site is the only place I know that has listed how schools respond; it does say Columbia is by phone. 2006 responded by the 24th of March, while 2007 responded by the 9 of March, so it should be anytime. But if they are on spring break, oh, brother :-P

I hope this helps for all of you waiting to hear back from Columbia College.

Michael said...

Well, I hope we hear back from the 24th then!

Anonymous said...

Do any Texas State people remember what day they said they'd have word about funding?

M said...

Rejected by IOWA (a blessing?), UMASS (Amherst), and INDIANA (Bloomington), all by letter, in the last 10 days (Indiana's came about 20 minutes ago).

Waiting to hear from:

Boston U
Oregon
UC-Irvine

Poetry, in all cases.

I've seen one confirmed acceptance to Boston here, and read a lot of speculative stuff about Oregon, but I've seen next to nothing about Irvine.

If anyone has received any news from these three schools, or is privy to information that has escaped my attention, I'd be grateful to read it.

Best of luck to all my fellow scribblers, scholars, and masochists...


M

Anonymous said...

yes, one stegner poet has been outed:

http://howtolikeit.blogspot.com/

no word on any fiction acceptances yet.

Thomas Lee said...

The Stegner notification that people are referring to was regarding poetry. I don't know about fiction. It's very, very, very possible that they've all gone out, and the 10 lucky people who got it did not bother telling us.

Anonymous said...

columbia college folks--

i live in chicago--didn't apply to Columbia. But I'm guessing they might be busy as heck right now. They have their "Story Week" coming up next week (which by the way is AMAZING!). It's a full week of readings/discussions by students, profs, and visiting writers--this year ZZ Packer, Junot Diaz, and MORE!!!

SH said...

M -

I was accepted to Boston as well, and there was another one over on Seth's blog. So that's three (including me) that I know of (all for poetry). I was notified by phone, and recall something to the effect that there were around eight positions out of roughly two hundred applicants.

Best of luck to you

Anonymous said...

Can someone call UC Irvine for me, please? I've tried two times today and got no answer. I'm anxious--fiction.

Anonymous said...

Columbia College is on Spring Break from the 22 to the 30th.

Also, it's important to note that the Poetry and Fiction programs are in separate departments and don't coordinate their notification times.

Best of luck!

Anonymous said...

Hi. I thought I posted this before but maybe it didn't take. I was accepted to Broolyn College for poetry this week. Does anyone have any thoughts about that program? I don't know too many people who went there for poetry, so I'm curious if anyone has any strong opinions. Thanks!

anne said...

anonymous,

i'm in for poetry at brooklyn, too! i have a friend in the program right now who has nothing but nice things to say about it. lots of one-on-one time with professors, which is a plus.

s.t.liaw said...

RE: UCI.

Yesterday, I spoke to a friend who is a 2nd year there (poetry). His understanding is that they have not sent out acceptances yet (poetry).

As for UOregon, I understand that 6 have been accepted (poetry) and the waiting list is about deep.

s.t.liaw said...

that is, 12 deep.

Anonymous said...

accepted at brown.
by phone.
for playwriting
3/12

Susan L. said...

Oh yea! I forgot it was story week at Columbia College. All you lucky guys in chi town better check out Joyce Carol Oates for me and let me know how fabulous she is. ;)

Michael said...

Yeah, I forgot too! It sounds absolutely amazing. I may have to get up there if I can get away from work.

Anonymous said...

Joyce Carol Oats is apparently out! Too bad! But you guys should still get here (Chi). We might bump into each other. We can wear shirts that say, "Are We There Yet?"

Susan L. said...

ok- this is weird.

I seriously JUST got a phone call from columbia college saying I was accepted!!!!

Right after I posted that last comment :)

Anonymous said...

waitlisted for virginia poetry by email--after 3 official rejections for poetry (Cornell, UMass, Michigan) and not having heard from any of the other four schools, even this waitlisting felt extremely refreshing...

Anonymous said...

Mia - waitlisted by Brown for fiction? Did you have a phone interview?

Anonymous said...

sorry about that Mia post, it was meant for Seth's blog...ug, end of the day and I need go home! :)

TheRant said...

Susan,

What genre were you accepted for fiction or poetry?

Susan L. said...

Therant-

I got in for fiction.

TheRant said...

Susan,

Who did you talk to, Randy Albers? Did they say anything about other acceptances? That's one of my top schools, I love the three year program with the M.A. in Teaching Creative Writing track. I hope they haven't contacted everyone! Congrats, it's a great school and Chicago is amazing!

Thanks,
The Rant

Michael said...

Congrats Susan! Do you know if they called anyone else or said how many people they were accepting into the fiction program? This, too, is my top school and I really would like to live in Chicago!

Anonymous said...

Has anyone been rejected from Penn State? I haven't heard a word from them...

Susan L. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susan L. said...

Michael and TheRant-

Thanks for the kind words!

I do not think you should give up hope just yet... Maybe they didn't get to everyone today, or maybe your phone went nuts and you missed the call, or you wrote your cell number incorrectly on the application form. Who knows.

I don't know who exactly I talked to (obviously female, though) because I was so baffled that most of the information I recieved went in one ear and out the other. I was so emotional about the whole thing that I just wanted to get off the phone and scream into a pillow. My roomate stubled in the room in the middle of the phone conversation, and I mouthed oh my god! "Columbia?" she asked. I nodded I can't believe it. The second I got off the phone I callapsed on the floor in a puddle of tears.

I've been rejected everywhere else. Columbia(chi) was my first choice, so I had all but given up on it. This was a HUGE shock. The only thing I retained from the conversation is that I should contact Ann Hemenway if I have any questions.

Sorry, I do not know if they contacted everyone in the fiction program today, and I know nothing about the poetry or teaching programs. I think the fiction program excepts about 17 students a year, but I don't remember where I read that information. I don't know if this helps.

Best of luck!

SebsInFortLauderdale said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Michael said...

There is absolutely no need for that kind of language on this board, or anywhere else. Please, leave the comments to relevent information, rather than coarse language. As numerous people have said before, leave those kinds of comments to your blogs. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Now that Godfrey's gone, that's probably all we have to look forward to in these comments. :-/

I kinda almost wish he'd have turned anonymous comments off. (I have a name I post with, but there's no sense in letting a bunch of crude anonymous jerks know what it is.)

Godfrey said...

I'm not gone! I've also discovered how to delete comments. amazing. mean spirits, beware!

PS UC Irvine worriers, you have a long road ahead of you. They're notoriously slow, notifying near the end of April. Last year they rejected people via answering machine message.

PPS Maybe we should all write screenplays while in limbo: http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/
this is from the nanowrimo guys

Murphy said...

To Anonymous regarding the changes in the board,

I'm not sure why anonymous posts were ever allowed. It gets so confusing with all the different anons. The ease of posting anonymously also encourages offensive comments such as the ones that made this board recently.

I created a Google identity just so I can post here. In most cases, I don't get the appeal of posting anonymously anyway. It's not like Murphy is my real name, and to use Google this way you don't have to create a profile.

I hate that this board won't be updated from now on. I found it must easier to navigate than Seth's board because there were fewer posts.

Anonymous said...

Nothing new. this happened last year as well. Someone gets way out of line, another threatens talk of ip addresses and then comes the anonymous "it wasn't me, it was my little brother" or "it was some jackals on my laptop..."

Best just to ignore it. I for one believe that anonymous posts encourage more people to come forward and announce their acceptances and (muchmoreso) their rejections. I think we'll get more information if people can post without giving up their identity, or a direct link to their profile/blog.

Anonymous said...

I agree. Also, anonymous posting allows other people who read this blog (like professors and current students) a chance to give out information without worries.

Anonymous said...

has anyone else gotten the rejection letter from illinois? did they really have to tell me they only got "over 30" poetry applications. ouch.

Anonymous said...

In for poetry at UC Irvine by phone, 3/15. :)

Anonymous said...

regarding UNH funding, has anyone been contacted by the school?

I don't want to call the office just because I can't wait to find out. I imagine since it's been this long it's not good news anyways.

I'm still waiting on another program, but I have my heart set on UNH. Best of luck to everyone!

Anonymous said...

Rejected from Michener for fiction via the website status...I logged in using my UT EID and password. 1 acceptance, 1 waitlist, 4 rejections, 6 to go!

Anonymous said...

Waitlisted today (3/15) by Johns Hopkins for fiction, by mail. It would have stung, but I'm already in my top program with funding, so all is well in Mudville. Will probably call and take my name off the list this week so somebody else can step up to bat.

It was cool to see Dave Smith's signature on my mail, though. Great poet.

Anonymous said...

Sunday 16 March - just got a call from Univeristy of Washington (poetry) - I'm in and on cloud nine!
After several yrs. of rejections - I finally made it - with funding.
Good luck to all, stick with it.

Desislava Parashkevova said...

Oh dear god, brl, you are making me so nervous! A million congratulations... I am so eagerly waiting for them but I haven't been called (yet?). M. Douglas, where are you? Come and tell us, did they call you? Dear God, I am anxious...

Brl, what kind of funding did they offer you? TA or fellowship?

Hang in there, everyone!

Desislava Parashkevova said...

My Mom just wrote me an email that she received a brief letter from Iowa and it contained the word 'sorry'. Boo, Iowa, boo!!!:)))

Anonymous said...

Godfrey is a punk. I hope he doesn't give up as easy on his writing as he did on this blog.
Plus, he was wrong on UC Irvine. Check Seth's Blog. Seth Rocks.

Anonymous said...

Rejected at Notre Dame (fiction), via I called the program and finally asked!

Is it just me or does it seem like all the super hard to get into longshot schools notify first? Making me feel nervous!

Also my writing sample from my Iowa application was mailed back to me (In self addressed stamped envelope I included), the semi sad thing, it looked completely untouched, no creases at the stables, no wrinkles or writing on the page...it looked fresh, making me wonder if they even read it...Iowa was a long shot so it's okay, but you pay the money, you hope they at least review your materials.

Anyway...
1 acceptance, 1 waitlist, 5 rejections, and 5 to go. When this process is over I will feel a lot better.

MC said...

desislava,

No ring on my end with UW. It may not be too late, but it seems I didn't make it this time. I sure hope you get the call, however. Good luck!

I tried all last week to get an answer but they either didn't have it or didn't want to give it out. If you contact let them, let me know.

M.

Thomas Lee said...

Stegner Fiction? Anyone? Anyone? Or is it possible that no one who posts on this board was accepted?

R.T. said...

I'm so screwed! I've been rejected at 9 schools (some are assumed) and now I'm waiting on VA and UCIrvine.

Anyone in the same boat?

I feel like such a loser. If I try again it will be in 3-4 years.

R.T. said...

And Montana.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard from University of Washington for fiction?

Anonymous said...

r.p.:
i'm not in the same boat, but i'm also waiting to hear from UC Irvine. It's my top school and I'm scared that they've made all their calls already.
I read on seth's blog that some folks received calls for fiction and poetry acceptances this past weekend.
i'm worried--so this is not to sink your boat.
-anona

Anonymous said...

rp - if you aren't accepted anywhere this year, why do you have to wait another 3 years to reapply? Have you looked at low-res programs? You could apply for spring admission, next year.

bethany said...

hey, has anyone heard from Columbia College (Chicago) for Poetry yet? Did anyone else apply there?

Michael said...

I applied there for fiction and haven't heard anything about poetry. Someone reported getting a call from them last friday for fiction, at about 5pm Chicago time. I have no idea what is really going on; I hope they haven't finished contacting applicants yet! Keep in mind that yesterday was the start of their Storybook Week. I hope that helps Bethany!

Jeramey said...

Just got my rejection from Sarah Lawrence in the mail, Nonfiction. I'm in Texas, for the record.

They spelled my name incorrectly.

Looks like I'll be at Columbia or The New School in the fall, which is fantastic, since they were two of my top choices.

Best of luck to everyone still waiting.

Anonymous said...

Just got a call from Arielle Greenberg. In for poetry @ Columbia College Chicago!

Anonymous said...

Is Houston done making calls for fiction?

Anyone have info regarding if they are still making calls tomorrow? I tried to call the program but only got voicemail.

Anonymous said...

Accepted Columbia via phone, 3/3

Waiting for UC Irvine, Austin, UVa.

Anyone heard from them yet?

Anonymous said...

Hey, it'd be great if anyone, anyone hears anything about the stegner, would let the rest of us know. it's not only possible that those 10 who've heard have decided not to post on the blog, it may even be likely since it's getting into the second half of march. still, until the rest of us hear, it's torturous, no? Please post if anyone hears anything about the fiction. poetry seems to have gone out already.

Anonymous said...

Rejected from New School for poetry by mail dated March 12. My name is spelled correctly but it still stings. My Manhattan dreams are dashed.

I'm still waiting to hear from four programs but should I really begin to give up hope? Have all schools pretty much made their notifications and are now sending out rejections?

Annie said...

Don't give up hope! This is totally not over yet!

Thomas Lee said...

I hate to be a pessimist, but if Stegner poetry fellowship notifications went out 2 weeks ago, I have trouble believing fiction notifications didn't go out as well. Oh well. I wasn't banking on it anyway.

Susan L. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Susan L. said...

Congrats taryn-

looks like I'll probably be going to Columbia Chicago (fiction, though)

still waiting to hear from SAIC.

Let me know where you decide to go.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Susan, and congrats. Chicago should be sweet. I'll likely be in Iowa.

Anonymous said...

r.p.,

I'm in a similar boat! Rejected from everywhere so far, only two left, one of which is UC Irvine...not a whole lot of hope left. Would not be up for applying again next year. This process is too draining! But I'll still be writing...good luck!

Desislava Parashkevova said...

M.Douglas,

I was stalking your blog and saw that you were waitlisted at Oregon. How did you find out? Did they call you or you called them? I am just thinking of calling both Oregon and Washington today but I am feeling nervous...

Anonymous said...

gotta remember that stegner fellows are more likely to have an mfa already (or maybe not want one), and therefore won't be checking out blogs like this.

of course, you'd think that if the news was out, someone on here would at least hear of it through some grapevine...

MC said...

Desislava,

Garrett Hongo called me yesterday afternoon. It was entirely unexpected because I thought that Oregon was finished, but I guess I learned we shouldn't trust these blogs entirely. I don't think you should have a problem calling Washington; Judy has been very nice. I haven't called Oregon before so I'm not sure how they would react, but I imagine they'd be accommodating. Let me know if you hear anything. Good luck!!

M.

Thomas Lee said...

Stanford's official position is that everyone will be notified "by post" before April 1. I think in past years they called in early March though. Is that right?

Desislava Parashkevova said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
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