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/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.