Rejection #3

University of Arizona rejection came in the mail today. Still stings. Bleh. 3 rejections, 2 wait-lists, and still no word from Notre Dame. Patience is a virtue I guess...

Hope, hope, hope, hope, hope

MFA Blogs, Speakeasy Forums and Driftless House, OH MY!

As an MFA applicant, I have been wrapped up in checking several online locations to see who has been admitted/wait-listed/rejected from where and when they received the info --- sometimes several times each hour. I mean, I am seriously crazy right now. I've been stressing myself out so badly that I couldn't come to work on Monday because I had a kink in my neck. I could barely get out of bed.

The MFA Blog has a mailbag, where people post their thoughts and news on a blog.
The Speakeasy Forum on P&W has different threads to write in, ala "Damn... I didn't get in!" or "I'M IN!!!" or even "The Waiting Game... Have You Heard Yet?"
Driftless House has become my favorite, though, as it posts a list of every MFA program and when the first acceptance was.

And now I see another crop of people writing about receiving acceptance phone calls and email wait-list notifications from the University of Arizona. My rejection will probably come in the mail tomorrow or Monday, putting me at 3 rejections, 2 wait-lists, 0 acceptances, and only 1 sliver of hope that I will get in somewhere with funding, which just so happens to be a school that only accepts 6 people per genre and is in the top 25 in the country----- Notre Dame.

God Help Me

Wait-List #2 + Fun Trip Things!!!

I broke down yesterday and called all of the schools I have yet to hear from. I felt it was my right as an applicant not to have a hernia over waiting. Here is what I was told:

Arizona: no admissions decisions for creative non-fiction have been sent out (yay!)

Baltimore: no admissions decisions have been made (double yay!)

Columbia: some admissions decisions have been sent out, but not all (not as big of a yay, but still good)

George Mason: wait-listed and midway on the list, meaning i have a 25-30% chance of getting in... the email was sent to the wrong address (awesome!)

Hollins: no admissions decisions have been made (cool!)

Notre Dame: no admissions decisions for prose have been made (BEST NEWS EVER!!!)

So I can breathe now, knowing I haven't been completely rejected. And now I still have hope for Notre Dame!! FINGERS CROSSED!!!

Also on the "news" front - Danny and I have purchased tickets to visit our friends Tucker and Amanda in South Carolina during the first week of May! We are so excited. Tucker and Amanda are two really great people. We can't wait to see them and experience Charleston and Myrtle Beach. And what is also pretty great is that if I end up getting admitted to any of the above schools, we are taking a long enough trip that I could fly to visit one of them one day while we are out there! So much fun!

New News

So I may have spoken too quickly the other day. It looks like the University of Arizona has not yet notified any fiction/non fiction applications of acceptances as of yet. Sad new though: Notre Dame notified their acceptances yesterday. So here are the stats as of now:

University of North Carolina-Wilmington (waitlisted)

Hunter College (rejected)

Columbia College Chicago (assumed rejection)

George Mason University (assumed rejection)

University of Arkansas (assumed rejection)

University of Notre Dame (assumed rejection)

Hollins University

University of Arizona

University of Baltimore

I have officially decided that if I do not get in anywhere, I will take a deep breath, keep writing and apply again next year.

Application Status

As someone who has been obsessing over Driftless House and Poets and Writers Speakeasy forums, I have gotten a brutal dose of reality. My top choice schools have already dished out what I can assume is most of their acceptances. Here is where I currently stand:

University of North Carolina-Wilmington (waitlisted)

Hunter College (rejected)

Columbia College Chicago (assumed rejection)

George Mason University (assumed rejection)

University of Arizona (assumed rejection)

University of Arkansas (assumed rejection)

Hollins University

University of Baltimore

University of Notre Dame

The final 3 on the list are the only schools who have yet to send out any acceptances. Thank God one of them is my top choice. I really hope I end up lucky on this one....

School List

It occurred to me recently that I have never posted a list of schools I am applying to...

Columbia College Chicago

(Dual Program: MFA in Creative Writing/MA in Teaching)

George Mason University

(MFA in Creative Writing)

Hollins University

(MFA in Creative Writing)

Hunter College

(MFA in Creative Writing)

University of Arizona

(MFA in Creative Writing)

University of Arkansas

(MFA in Creative Writing)

University of Baltimore

(MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts)

University of North Carolina-Wilmington

(MFA in Creative Writing)

University of Notre Dame

(MFA in Creative Writing)