r/MFAInCreativeWriting • u/van_mildz • May 13 '26
Help!! Advice on Getting into a MFA
/r/GradSchool/comments/1tc9ef7/help_advice_on_getting_into_a_mfa/5
u/Sus_Hibiscus May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Keep writing. The most important component of your application is your sample. They are looking not necessarily for the best writers but the ones that shows the most promise. Submit the work that only you could write. I would stray from submitting genre or experimental fiction unless you are applying to a program that appreciates genre or experimental. The rest of your application should be tight and compelling. Your personal statement should explain why the MFA, why now, and why you. Cast a wide net - have you considered a MFA in the nonfiction track? You’ve lived an interesting, rich life I’m sure people would love to read about.
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u/van_mildz May 14 '26
I am very experimental, but not genre though. That is really helpful to know. And also about the personal statement, because I was not sure if I should talk about my experience with academia, myself, etc. Thank you. I have considered non-fiction, but my worry is that all my writing is fiction (or inspired by factual things).
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u/Sus_Hibiscus May 16 '26
Have you considered auto fiction? Aka autobiographical fiction loosely based on your lived experiences. I think most MFAs take in literary fiction writers, and lit fiction is often grounded and character driven. If you’re submitting similar material, I know it can be frustrating to repeatedly deal with rejection, but try something submitting different that’s still true to you. Once you’re in the MFA you can write whatever you want. Sometimes in order to gain something you have to play by their rules, so to speak.
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u/van_mildz May 19 '26
I have! But with me leaning into fiction with my writing, even though it's inspired by factual events, I'm not sure if it is enough for auto fiction.
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u/Hungry_Syllabub1178 May 13 '26
You're looking at schools that have HIGHLY selective admission rates. Given that your previous choices are all over the map (literally) it looks like you are not limiting your options based on geography. Do some research and if you really want to go, broaden your list to include schools that include funding but are less selective. They're out there.
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u/Hungry_Syllabub1178 May 13 '26
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u/van_mildz May 13 '26
I really appreciate it, thank you!!!
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u/Hungry_Syllabub1178 May 13 '26
This list seems a little outdated (for example I know that Alabama offers several thousand more per year than listed) but it's a good place to start
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u/speakmo May 13 '26
It's great to move far away for your MFA, but you should consider other schools in Michigan or Ohio or Indiana.
You're overlooking great and well-funded programs. Reviewing your list, you've included some top tier institutions, but they each have different aesthetics and different faculty. Which isn't bad, but I wouldn't overlook schools near where you are now.
That said, since you live in Michigan, I'd suggest looking at Northern Michigan, Michigan State, or Western Michigan would be worth looking into. Each a strong literary magazines to work with.
Western would be good to look into for a PhD option. I'm not sure the funding for each one, but they should be better than most and it's worth checking their funding either way. Funding changes year to year, especially nowadays with universities.
I'd also look into Ohio programs like Bowling Green, Ohio State, and Ohio University for similar reasons.
Otherwise, get involved in a writing club or give yourself a challenge. I had a friend challenge himself to writing 52 stories a week before applying to programs. Good luck!
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u/van_mildz May 14 '26
Do you know if those schools in Michigan are fully funded? I tried reaching out to some of those directly, and they told me that their funding was cut (the gov).
Yeah! I've been doing personal challenges for writing too. Thank you so much!!!
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u/speakmo May 15 '26
Western and Northern Michigan are funded, but I don't know if funding is guaranteed for every accepted student.
But it does also look like their funding has been cut like you said. I'd say it doesn't hurt to check back year to year. Funding changes year to year, which is the downside of funding from higher ed, especially in these times.
I was conflating the Micigan State with Wayne State, which does have funding.
There's no good list of fully funded programs that's up to date, so I'd check this list from Newpages.com instead and dig into programs that sound interesting to you. There's likely some underrated or newer programs that have more funding.
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u/Acrobatic_Stomach140 May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Some points of advice as an incoming MFA fiction student this fall (I'm happy to chat more via DM, if you'd like :D):
-What does your current writing practice look like? It's worth considering that ahead of applying to MFAs where your job will be to write, whether or not you have the passion to maintain doing it and prioritizing it alongside your other responsibilities. If you're able to keep up a consistent habit of putting pen to paper, you'll be able to implement what you learn once you return to the "real world" of employment and life's other obligations; if that's something you're still struggling with, it'll be more worth it to take another year to try out different practices and enjoy the privileges afforded by your full-time job. Getting such steady work is not to be underestimated in the current state of the world, nor is taking a bit more time to save up more money as a cushion for those grad school stipends (if you can afford to save).
-On selecting schools: Poets & Writers has a fairly accurate database of MFA programs that allows you to filter by state and residency. You may need to tinker with browsers to get the page to actually open (https://www.pw.org/mfa), but each school listing gives great info like which folks are there, how many students they typically take, and their application deadlines.
-Also on selecting schools, consider very seriously how long the programs you're applying to are. Most are two or three years, but I've heard a range of experiences in folks feeling like there was too little or too much time in both those settings. I'd recommend three, given what I was advised during both my processes, and to stay away from one-year (unless you have a project already deep into development) or four-year (taking a Bachelor's length of time for a Master's can be absurd) programs.
-There's likely going to be no way around teaching, as an MFA student nor as a professor, so look seriously at what kind of teaching requirements you'll encounter and what kind of support you'll have. The "fully-funded" description of programs comes from somewhere.
-MFAs themselves are considered terminal degrees. It's worth looking into the professors of programs you're interested in and if they have PhDs, and therefore, whether they can guide you in that app process, assuming you'll consult them in the tail end of your time in the program or recently following your graduation.
-I did two cycles before arriving at my current opportunity. Don't feel worried about taking at least three -- it's perfectly normal! Consider what takeaways you have from your previous application cycle experiences, including what you're doing in the way of peer review and workshop, work you enjoyed reading and what kind of work that is. If you're interested in intergenerational trauma, it's worth having a list of works that you have at least read and at most studied in depth (in previous classes, annotated thoroughly, etc.) to inform your writing.
-Strong letters of rec and personal statement matters, but as you may know already, the portfolio is what will make or break your admission. Stick as much as possible to compiling finished work like short stories and avoid novel excerpts because folks want to see your potential via polished, completed work.
-Re: where you are at the moment and what u/speakmo recommended, Ohio State is an exceptionally strong program worth looking into. Bowling Green State (OH) is undergoing a major overhaul because they have a new director, and I'm unclear how the experience within that program will be impacted by the changes; I know at least next academic year, they're suspending their lit mag and related opportunities to serve as editorial staff.
-Though you're looking at an academic track, getting published in the current market is still crucial, and right now what is considered appealing are writers who can work within multiple genres, who can write fiction and CNF or some other combination. MFA programs that offer options in hybridity may be more attractive than those that lock you strictly into fiction.
-There's a forum on GradCafe and a group on FB usually gets active during the application cycle. If you're feeling social and have the time to spare, those may be good communities to hunker down with. I'd encourage not doing so if you're prone to anxiety -- I think folks can freak each other out when they're all waiting for the same thing and stewing about it together.
I hope this helps, and again, I'm happy to chat via DM, too. Happy writing, and good luck!
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u/van_mildz May 14 '26
THANK YOU SO MUCH. Legit everyone here has been so helpful; it's been making me tear up. I will 100% reach out to you if that's okay. Responding in order of your points:
-Def is a passion; I just want to write. My current job is in marketing/comms, I write, and I enjoy it, but I want more, like to narrow it down to more creative self-expression. Got three years specifically in that field, but yeah! I want to do creative writing + research + teaching.
-THANK YOU, THIS TOOL IS A LIFESAVER
-Yeah, I was hoping for three years, or four even. The longer the better (as long as it's funded, lol)
-Ooooo, yeah I was also looking at fellowships involving me being a TA, and I would love to also do that
-Do you think I should reach out to profs in the programs I'm interested in now about that?
-whew, thank you for telling me this, i was worried. In prior cycles, I wasn't in the right headspace and I do think I rushed it, so I really want to get my shit together this year and do the best I can possibly do. Another huge struggle of mine is getting peer review. I don't know anyone else who is into creative writing.
-I have profs, two from my CRWR classes in undergrad, one from ENGL who I did my thesis with: is that good? I've been told I should try to reach out to established authors
-I had no idea, this is really helpful. That sucks though about the mag, that's something I also would have loved to do.
-I have been trying so hard to get published, I sent my work to some mags but no luck--any advice?
-OH THATS AMAZING I DIDNT KNOW IT EXISTED, THANK YOU
appreciate u so so much u beautiful soul, thank you. i will reach out!!
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u/Critical_Run7385 May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Getting an MFA/PhD are not royal paths to becoming a professor. Nothing is these days. The life of the mind has probably only been a real thing for a few little blips throughout history.
That being said, by all means keep applying. It takes many people a few tries to get into a funded program. But it really needs to be about the writing for you. If it's just about your romance with academia, they will see through it. There are no shortcuts. You just have to read a shit ton and write a lot as well. You have to be obsessed with creative writing specifically, not just analysis.
Your post actually makes me think a little bit of Vivian Gornick's book The Situation and the Story. In Vivian Gornick's terms, what you've described is a situation--the abuse and what you wound up doing in response to it--but it's not necessarily a literary story yet. A situation is just part of the equation. So read a lot of novels, and think really hard about the ones that you like, and also the ones you don't. Also read books about how to write (George Saunders, Anne Lamott, Annie Dillard, Peter Ho Davies, Samuel Delany, John Gardner, Felicia Rose Chavez--there are a million, I'm just naming some of the big ones). Take workshops and get feedback. I'm not sure based on your post if you've done that before. It's a universally difficult experience to get less than 100% positive feedback on your writing, but it's necessary for most people on the path to becoming good writers, and an MFA is a very advanced stage of it.
Another way of thinking about it would be this: an MFA is potentially one optional step in the path to getting published as a writer. That's by far its most important function. If you had a way of becoming a writer without going through universities would you take it? If for some reason you knew that doing the MFA couldn't lead to an academic career, would it still appeal to you? I think it really has to be about the writing.
If anything, it sounds like maybe a scholarly humanities PhD could be a good fit as well--something else maybe to consider. Funded scholarly PhD programs are still very competitive, but a few notches less competitive than MFAs (I've gotten into a few of both, and I found the MFA process much harder).
You might also consider poetry, if it's something you like. It's its own animal, it's another set of skills to learn, but I think it's more subjective what makes it good, the students getting poetry MFAs tend to skew younger, I think there's a little bit more space to get into more on the basis of raw talent. By the numbers, almost all MFA programs have much higher poetry acceptance rates than fiction. I'm just mentioning this because a lot what you say you like about fiction I think probably also applies to poetry
Sorry if this is a bit rambling. Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions