MFA Catch Up

In NON-MFA news, Anne Lamott is doing a reading in Pasadena from her new book on Wednesday April 14!! I see Anne Lamott as a huge influence on my writing, and I cannot wait to finally get a chance to meet her! J Also, at this very time in 30 days, Danny and I will be on a plane traveling to visit our friends Tucker and Amanda in South Carolina!

In MFA news, I have heard from 8 of the 9 schools I applied to. One school, Hollins University in Roanoke, VA, has still not sent a rejection to me, however I am assuming a rejection as many other people have been accepted to the program already.

I received my official rejection from the University of Arkansas last week. Even after all of the rejections I have received, it still burns. This one was fully expected, but it hurt a little more just because UA is my dad’s alma-mater and I was hoping to be a Razorback like he was, along with the added bonus of living within a few hours of my dad’s family, who I do not know extremely well but who I love more than anything. I would love to experience life with them for once. And my opportunity to do so has been taken away.

In more MFA news, I have officially decided to turn down my offer of admission to the University of Baltimore for several reasons. One being that the communication I have had with the school has been very unpleasant, with little return contact and obvious interdepartmental miscommunications. I have seen how these errors can really damage a student’s experience while obtaining their education, and it is something I am absolutely unwilling to put myself through. The second reason I have decided to turn it down is the lack of teaching opportunities. The career I am pursuing is teaching in the university setting. If I do not obtain the valuable teaching experience that many institutions offer, I am wasting precious opportunities to practice. This would be foolish on my part. The third reason I am turning down my offer at UB is the lack of funding. I am very aware that there are programs out there that offer no funding at all, and that is completely fine. But if I am going to go to a school without any funding, I WANT an excellent departmental communication structure and teaching experience. There is no way I will pay for an education I am not fully behind.

I have decided to reapply next year with what I hope will be stronger writing samples. In the time between now and next January, I am planning on doing the following things to strengthen my applications:

1. Take an English class or two at the local community college to boost my English background, which will hopefully make me more competitive for a teaching assistantship.
2. Study for the GRE and take a GRE prep course to boost my verbal scores.
3. Submit finished works for publication to enhance my résumé.
4. Workshop a brand new piece of writing to submit, that will hopefully be stronger.

I am also planning on doing more research on the schools I will be applying to, going so far as to reading student publications. I have found that many people get rejected from schools simply because they are not a “good fit”… meaning that there isn’t anyone on staff who has the capability to mentor them. So I am going to find writing similar to mine and apply at those programs. I figure, if I get excited about programs that are meant for me, how can I lose? J