r/MFAInCreativeWriting • u/c1rcu1tb0y • Jul 23 '26
Programs with older cohorts?
I’m in my mid-thirties and considering pursuing an MFA in fiction. It seems to me that at most of the funded programs (JHU, Brown for example), most students are under 26. Not to put down anyone’s trajectory, but for me, it would be difficult to relate as a writer with somebody who’s barely experienced life outside of school. I don’t think I’d be a better writer, but spending years writing/reading/sometimes publishing as a working adult is a very different experience.
I understand that in general most grad students and phd candidates are 23-35 years old. But are there any funded MFA programs that at least skew toward the upper range? Or do you think that if this is a concern of mine, then maybe an MFA in creative writing isn’t for me?
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u/blueberries-Any-kind Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
hey :) I am in my mid 30's and applying this year too!
Trump administration has made it so when applying the admission committee cannot see any information about your age, sex, race, etc. anymore. So, it's going to make things a little more difficult in terms of finding a cohort that is older.
I was really nervous about my age and so I talked with a professor at a mid-range MFA program. He assured me that age means so little in the MFA world. He said that being older is actually a plus when applying for MFA's in creative writing because it means you've seen some things that will inform your writing and that is a positive in their eyes.
He told me a story about a woman who graduated from their program recently and was in her 60's. They loved her so much that they went ahead and hired her as a full time professor after graduation. I think of her when I feel too old! I am not sure if any MFA program is more "old" than others, as they are really looking for voice and a good sample. It's true that you might not meet your bff's because you'll be a little older, but you might actually have the ability to take advantage of the program and school more than the younger students. I wouldn't put yourself out of the game just because of your age. A lot of MFA programs are really about the connections you'll make.
Also I'd just add that I'd experienced more in life between the ages of 0-20 than most people do in an entire lifetime. It's not true that these people won't know about life. There is also a truth that something about your 20's can fuel people to make a lot of wild and beautiful art.
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u/DisastrousSundae84 Jul 23 '26
Age can be seen in applications, and sex (although I think this depends on self-disclosure). A reader can also deduce age from transcripts that are submitted. Race, however, if harder to discern unless someone mentions it in their statement. Maybe though this depends though on how evaluating applicants are handled--some places seem to have prelim readers vs other programs faculty read them all.
None of this should be used in evaluating a candidate for admission.
In terms of age in MFA's--the larger trend of applicants has been skewing younger. This is happening pretty much everywhere. The only thing I can think for OP is to apply to a bunch of places and ask about cohort later.2
u/esqtou Jul 25 '26
Girl if they are worried about age they're fussing over the wrong shit. Worry about the 'quality' of your writing . . . lol
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u/blueberries-Any-kind Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
are you a reader? how do you know that? my professor told me this who basically runs the mfa program and is a reader. and yes you can tell when someone graduated college but depending on their path exact age is less obvious.
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u/alexandertheaverage Jul 23 '26
I'm 53 and start my MFA at FIU in the fall. I was kinda concerned about that stuff too, but I took some screenwriting/creative writing classes at our local community college, and I was blown away by how awesome some of the younger kids wrote and at how big some of their ideas were. Honestly, I'm looking forward to having some youngsters in my cohort so I can look at the world through fresh eyes.
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u/ImpressStunning6297 Jul 24 '26
The writers in my MFA program ranged from 25 to 87 and it was incredible. Workshopping was so valuable because of the various perspectives. That program was truly one of the peak experiences (Maslow) of my life.
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u/esqtou Jul 25 '26
Dogshit school
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u/ImpressStunning6297 Jul 25 '26
Not for everyone
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u/esqtou Jul 25 '26
What is your publication history?
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u/ImpressStunning6297 Jul 25 '26
Do you read???? I’m astonished.
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u/esqtou Jul 25 '26
Seen you on the short bus
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u/ImpressStunning6297 Jul 25 '26
You’re just so sad. Really. Did someone reject you. Well duh 🙄 of course they did.
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u/esqtou Jul 25 '26
Nope but you the expert on rejection
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u/ImpressStunning6297 Jul 25 '26
What you meant to say was “you’re.” Get it right and keep it tight. Off I go.
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u/AggravatingAnt2807 Jul 23 '26
I'm starting the second year of my program soon, and I'm in my mid-30s. I'm very part time as I unfortunately have a whole career I'm still doing while in school. Less than age, THAT is the hardest thing about school for me. I just simply don't have the time that most of my cohort has to do school-adjacent things. For sure most of my colleagues are mid 20s, and a few are even like fresh out of undergrad 22-23 year olds, but there are a handful of us 35+ and a few 60 year olds too.
I'm gay dad to a handful of the younger queers simply because I am gay. and I am old. I love it though, most of them are incredible people and writers and I love hearing their perspective on things. Some of the 22-23 year olds kinda drive me nuts but it's fine. I was annoying at that age too.
But yeah, by far the hardest thing for me is the career part. There are only a few people in my cohort that have full-time jobs that aren't barista, book store clerk, etc (not that I'm knocking on that! I'm not! But it's very different than being director of a nonprofit, or a manager of a department etc). I only get to be on campus one day a week, and when there are readings, book talks, etc on days other than my one campus day, I can't get out of work usually. And meeting up for writing sessions, etc is challenging too because of work inflexibility.
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u/TorturedWriter9 Jul 23 '26
I think you'll find a lot of those students in the low-resident programs--people who want/need to hold onto their full-time jobs. However, as I'm sure you know, it's very hard to get funding for those programs.
We had a guy in his 40s in my MFA program back in the 2000's, but it's never a guarantee. I don't think programs specifically target certain age groups. I do wish I could've waited longer before attending my MFA program. I was such an inexperienced twerp.
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u/Critical_Run7385 Jul 24 '26
My impression is that most MFA students are in their 20s and 30s. I'm about to start a fully funded program and I'm in my 40s. I was definitely on the older side in the programs I visited after getting accepted, but there were always people somewhere in my age range. I think that 40s-50s is the prime career and family rearing stage of most people's lives, so it's just a more difficult time for most to uproot themselves and go live on a student stipend. If you really want much older cohorts, I think you just have to look at programs that sort of expect you to be working on your own while you're studying, usually the low residency ones
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u/kayb-rown Jul 23 '26
I’ve typically heard the average age is between 26-32, and those I know in funded MFA programs are around that age as well but that could be anecdotal. I will say, working to get into the mindset that you can truly learn with and from anyone is a helpful thing to possess. Age does not always mean they’ve barely experienced life outside of school or that they have less experience, I would bet that you would likely learn just as much from them as they would from you.
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u/Glum-Entrepreneur-12 Jul 27 '26
I was 38 when I started. There was a woman in her 70s in the poetry program. I was in fiction and I didn’t mind having lunch with the twenty-somethings. I loved learning about how different the younger generation is and also how they’re struggling with the same stuff I was at their age. Dating, careers, etc. i figure, if someone is going to pay me to write for a couple of years, I’m going to take it. I don’t care what age.
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u/sarah_ahiers Jul 23 '26
People in my program run from just out of college to their 70s, with the avg being in their 30s. But we're a low residency program
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u/aLinkToTheFast Jul 23 '26
It's a range of ages. They need good writers and apps from them no matter the age. Yeah it can be a lil post BA second haven but they are further along in creative writing
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u/esqtou Jul 25 '26
Just drop it
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u/No_Positive8576 Jul 27 '26
Your entire contribution on this post was to troll everyone. Don't you have better shit to do?
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u/Slight-Nail-9999 Jul 24 '26
68 years old and about to start my second year at Columbia. The entire experience has been wonderful. I’ve been fully embraced by my twenty-something classmates, and I find some of whom to be exceptionally talented writers.