And finally..... Acceptance

I have been accepted to grad school.

No wait, no wait… It gets better…

I have been accepted at TWO of my top three choices.

I am so ecstatic I can hardly think straight. I can’t believe I found my direction, the path I think best suites me as a person and my strengths, and I get to go to school to learn more about it and obtain experience that will provide me with a job meant for me.

Here are the stats in ranks of preference –

TOP 3 (in no particular order)
Indiana University – Conditional Acceptance, Pending Faculty Interview and Assistantship Placement
University of Arkansas – ?
University of South Carolina – ACCEPTED! (Assistantship Interviews are in February, but the acceptance is official, regardless of Assistantship Placement)

IN ORDER OF REMAINING PREFERENCE
New York University – ?
University of Vermont - ?
Ohio State University – ?
Ball State University – Conditional Acceptance, Pending Faculty Interview and Assistantship Placement
Harvard University – ?
University of Denver – ?
Vanderbilt University - ?

It is still a waiting game, but I am not anxious anymore. Regardless of what other schools I am accepted at, and regardless of what assistantship I get (or if I get one, at certain schools), I know I get to go. I know I get to move forward in my career. It’s so cliché, but the future looks so bright right now, I need a pair of sunglasses

The Official Grad School Application List - 2010

Here it is! Hopefully, I will get a LOT of acceptances, and have a horribly difficult time trying to decide between such lovely programs. However, here is how they rank to me:

1. Indiana University - Bloomington, IN

2. New York University - New York, NY

3. University of South Carolina - Columbia, SC

4. University of Arkansas - Fayetteville, AR

5. Ohio State University - Columbus, OH

6. Vermont University - Burlington, VT

7. Ball State University - Muncie, IN

8. Harvard University - Cambridge, MA

9. University of Denver - Denver, CO

10. Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN

I am so excited!

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

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)