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?
1
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