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....

Discouraged, Yet Hopeful

I have felt incredibly discouraged about not hearing anything from the other 7 graduate schools I have applied to, especially since I have seen on Poets and Writers that several people have been accepted to the schools and programs I applied to. Part of me thinks I should throw in the towel and resign my hopes of getting in anywhere. It would help make it a lot less painful when I get 7 rejection letters, or notices of being placed on a wait-list, which isn't any more fulfilling than not getting in.

But another part of me truly believes I am a gifted and talented writer. Another part of me knows I have what it takes to make it in an MFA program and get out of it exactly what I am looking for. I need to believe in myself more - in my talent and my desire. Maybe that will help me along a little bit.

The Waiting Game

The University of North Carolina-Wilmington sent me a pleasant email letting me know I am on the wait-list. It is better than the rejection I received from Hunter College, of course, but it still doesn't provide me with any answers.

This in-between feeling I am experiencing right now is so frustrating. I don't know where my life is headed, if it's headed anywhere at all. Even the school who has provided me with something other than a rejection has not given me any insight as to what my future may hold.

Looks like the waiting game is all that's out there for me right now.

Rejection #1

The first rejection came today from Hunter College in New York City. It stung a lot more than I thought it would. I opened up my email and there it was… 

From: Hunter College Graduate School 

Subject: Your Decision Is Available Online Now

I was terrified, but at the same time, ecstatic. It’s only March 2nd. It MUST be an acceptance, right? Of course I was wrong and after just a few seconds my dream of living and writing in New York City, which I have ached for over the past 3 years, was quickly and suddenly shattered.

It gave me a bit of a shake down. My confidence in my application materials has plummeted. My GRE scores weren’t high enough… my personal statement lacked any kind of personality… my writing samples were interesting but immature… the list keeps going.

I wonder how much longer I will feel this way. Hopefully the next bit of news I receive is positive so I don’t keep spiraling downwards.

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)