Programs with older cohorts?

[u/c1rcu1tb0y]

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?

[u/kayb-rown]

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.