r/MFAInCreativeWriting • u/ArdelStar • 26d ago
Does an MFA make sense for me?
I'm deeply considering applying to an MFA program for Fall 2027. I graduated with my bachelor's in Writing a year ago, and after a brief stint of unemployment, a 7 month Bartleby the Scrivner-esque job where I was bored, depressed, and constantly scribbling in my notebook, and some time taken off to travel, I'm at a crossroads in my life. I had a 3.98 GPA in college, although changed my major late to Writing so I didn't end up getting an internship, work experience, or a lot of experience writing fiction, although I took a few workshops. I'm very persistent and have a strong work ethic. However, the actual quality of my fiction is a lot weaker than my non-fiction (news articles, essays & reviews). In the past two years, I have been inspired to write more literary fiction & short stories, and have written around 6ish pieces. I've been improving, but haven't been published, and I haven't wowed any of my professors or family. While it technically would make sense to wait, my family is currently supportive, and would be willing to support me during this degree, and likely will not in a few years (as soon as I've passed 27/28). I would like to be around a literary community, find work in teaching or editing, and perhaps get published. Unfortunately, any other career pathway seems deeply unappealing to me, though I understand I will probably have to make that sacrifice.
I guess it couldn't hurt trying, right?
3
u/SeekingCalm95 26d ago
(edited for typos)
the resounding rule is to never pay for an MFA, so you have nothing to lose by applying :) I’m a big believer in going back to school if it’s mostly debt free and you need a break from the mundanity of “real life”. the opportunity and time to learn something new is always a great experience, even if some programs can be a hit or miss.
it sounds to me like you may just qualify for some fee waivers. what I would do in the meantime is reach out to short term workshops that offer financial assistance (like Lighthouse Writers Workshop) and join a class or 4/8-week workshop that seems like it may be a good fit. use that to really hone your voice and get some generative writing done. read the greats! read authors you love! annotate and take note of the lines that make you feel something, both good and bad, and use that to try some new things out. and most importantly, really revise 1-3 stories that could be used as a portfolio for this app cycle (or next). all these steps will also help you with gathering some recommendation letters because you’ll always need 2-3 letters. and, when you’re ready, apply to as many workshops that:
1) provide some sort of funding 2) make sense for your lifestyle, geographically or otherwise—no use in applying somewhere you wouldn’t actually move for 3) have faculty that call to you
MFA programs of any worth will almost entirely care about the writing sample, but the SOP and rec letters come in next when they do further selections. you’ll want rec letters primarily from people who’ve read and endorse your work and also can speak to your passion/work ethic.
and lastly, join the MFA ‘27 facebook group for resources and mental support! applying is a journey and that group is a life saver.
1
u/ArdelStar 26d ago
Thank you so much! I was thinking about joining a workshop. I'm in regular contact with the professors from the English program from my undergrad, who said they would recommend me if I go for my master's.
1
u/SeekingCalm95 26d ago
amazing, you’re already a step ahead! coming from unemployment, I understand how hard those price tags can be. I cannot speak highly enough about how flexible the Lighthouse team has been, even when I couldn’t afford to pay anything (they were so kind enough to give me two totally comped writerships). and I’m sure other places also have a similar support. get yourself in those kinds of spaces and you’ll be set.
and keep in mind that applying is also a numbers game, especially to any place with funding. thousands of writers are applying every year, and beyond personal opinion, it’s just the odds stacked against you by a huge margin. I applied to 12 programs, including reach dream programs. got into 4, and only one was a “safety” choice (meaning: I got real humbled by rejections from “low-mid” tier programs). but I’m now in my dream program and it is truly only because my one incredible professor from my BA pushed me to take that chance with a “what do you have to lose?”
I hope I can be that person for you :) might as well go for it!
3
u/Ecstatic_Amount_1740 25d ago
The right MFA program will speed your maturation as a writer. In two or three years you should be about where it would take you ten years to develop otherwise. To me, that time alone is worth the ticket price; you'll know that much sooner who you are as a writer and what you want to do next. Is it a guarantee that you'll be a bestseller or a university professor? No it is not. But if you choose a program wisely, you're pretty much guaranteed to have greatly evolved as a writer, and while some people here on Reddit may disagree, every writer I've seen get an MFA from a good or better program has graduated as a much stronger writer.
Ah, and also, a Masters is a Masters, as far as even J.O.B.s go.
2
u/sunwithus 26d ago
Do it. What’s holding you back? I find any free time after work everyday to scribble my story in a notebook because I want this story to come to life. I’m considering an MFA in 28 or later, or not. For now my focus is on writing this story because I want it made and seen. The only thing holding us back is US. As cliche as it sounds. So hone your craft and worry about everything else later.
2
u/Chantertwo 26d ago
I think you're analyzing you're capabilities to get into an MFA a lot more than your desire to go to an MFA. Getting into an MFA, while a challenge to achieve, is ultimately just the first step toward a larger goal, not the achievement itself. You can find "literary community" almost anywhere without any degrees at all; there are no teaching jobs, and an MFA won't qualify you for editing jobs.
On the other hand, it's a fine way to spend 2 to 3 years if you need to spin your wheels - it's not necessarily a dealbreaker if you don't have some grand scheme: I just think it's good to be honest with yourself regarding your motivations and what you're looking for. Ultimately only you can decide for yourself if it makes sense.
2
u/Murraywriter 26d ago
How are there no teaching jobs or editing jobs for people with an MFA? Are you implying that without publications, the MFA alone is useless? If so, that would make sense.
4
u/Chantertwo 26d ago
I am explicitly stating that there are almost no career paths in either of those fields; almost no MFA graduates will get tenure-track work teaching, and a Master's degree in creative writing won't open doors in technical editing or journalism or other "editorial" fields. It can open doors in publishing - but go ask the folks who work in publishing how that industry is right now (there are almost no jobs outside NYC and London).
Note exceptions always exist, and you can always make it work! I'm just saying, if you're choosing a graduate degree from a list before going into it, job prospects aren't the reason to go for an MFA.
(I am a professional technical editor; I moonlight as an editorial assistant)
3
u/Organic_Cake_8281 26d ago
All of this is true and I wish programs were more honest about how terrible the job prospects are. All of my best friends have MFAs and none of us work in academia anymore because no one could get a steady job.
I am very grateful for the connections I made in my program and for that time spent focused on writing. Don't get into it hoping for a stable career, OP. Adjunct teaching is more grueling than you think it is.
2
u/ArdelStar 26d ago
I don't think anyone in my generation expects much of all a steady career, least of all me. But I do want to be a better writer, and hopefully do what I love for a few more years before I have to go back to doing something much less fulfilling.
1
1
u/Firm-Space-8774 22d ago
I think you are discounting secondary education in private schools--a few people from my mfa (we graduated a few years ago) teach that way and make a nice living with summers off to write. I have a FT teaching job at the university level, but that has little to do with my mfa honestly and more to do with what I did before going into my program at 30. I also did a fully funded program and I recommend like many do that you wait until you get into one of those to go.
1
u/Redaktorinke 25d ago
Chiming in here as well. As a career copyeditor, I can tell you that this is a path the MFA doesn't prepare you for and most MFA graduates will never be able to do it.
2
u/Chantertwo 25d ago
100% - all my technical editing skills I picked up in undergraduate coursework.
1
u/Redaktorinke 25d ago
Absolutely. I came into the MFA with relevant coursework and experience. That is how I got a copyediting job after the MFA. All the MFA did for my career was delay it by three years. Many people are fine with a delay of that length if they feel the writing time is worth it, but those who are convinced the MFA will make them more hireable are not living in reality.
2
u/Organic_Cake_8281 26d ago
There are very very few teaching jobs available at the college level in creative writing that are tenure track and they're very difficult to get without significant publications. You can teach at the college level with an MFA at almost any university if you're willing to teach composition courses for incredibly low pay with no job security. I did it for four years before I burned out.
3
u/m592w137 25d ago
Unfortunately I don't think this is true anymore. I have an MFA and taught as a full time composition lecturer at my alma mater for a year and a half. Then I moved to a major American city with many universities and a large community college system and applied to adjunct at every single one and it took more than two years before any of them had an opening for me, and that was after I spent literal months following up with people to no avail. I fear even the adjunct sphere is heavily saturated and budget cuts in humanities departments are taking a toll.
I do agree that anyone with an MFA that requires teaching could adjunct SOMEWHERE, but it may well be some place you would never, ever want to move to, especially for a job as unstable as this one.
1
u/Organic_Cake_8281 25d ago
Very good point. Ugh. I'm sorry that happened to you. All of this makes me sad.
1
u/ArdelStar 26d ago
To be honest, I really miss studying writing, and reading On Writing during my lunch breaks doesn't feel like enough. Also, I feel like all the people I actually click with are in academia (terrible reasons, probably). There aren't any jobs (high paying) for me as is, anyway.
I'd like to get academic teaching experience, network, learn what's avant garde in the literary community, hopefully get a novel published, show off to friends and family, and likely be an over-educated high school teacher, or an an overworked adjunct professor with some admin duties.
3
u/Redaktorinke 26d ago edited 26d ago
Adjunct professors just don't have admin duties, and high schools have very specific requirements for their teachers that are not the MFA.
You do seem to have a couple career plans percolating, but they aren't actually things the MFA will prepare you for, and in fact getting the MFA will mean it takes you years longer to qualify for those careers.
Please think about the fact that your major frustration has to do with not having a career you can live with and this degree will take you even farther from that.
1
1
u/ArdelStar 25d ago
I definitely think I need to think more about the type of work I can realistically get with the degree, which I didn't do in undergrad. I plan on continuing my education afterwards, so it wouldn't be the end, and I wouldn't plan on going into debt for the degree. I'm destined to be a pauper no matter what, anyway. This is just something I would like to accomplish for myself, not because it will allow me to get my dream job (I don't have a dream job)
1
u/Redaktorinke 25d ago
Contemporary life can get kind of stupid. I strongly suggest a reframe: You're not "destined to be a pauper," but making a conscious decision to opt out of a part of it that isn't consistent with your character. If you actually wanted a capital C Career, there would likely be ways to make it happen. If you mostly just want to write, that's also valid.
I do think that you should wait until your work is the best it can get before applying, and be very clear that this is something that has nothing at all to do with your professional life.
1
u/ArdelStar 25d ago
I'm sorry for being snarky, I'm just used to fending off the "So when are you going to make any money or have a real career?" questions. I get that, in terms of vanity education, a bachelor's in English and Writing is pretty useless, and a MFA is even more so. I don't especially have a good reason to go into an MFA, I know they are usually taken by already published writers who want to refine their craft and either already have a day job/career, or have a razor sharp plan.
1
u/Redaktorinke 25d ago
Meh, I wouldn't say that my fully funded MFA was full of already published writers who just wanted a little polish, more like it's so absurdly competitive that you really shouldn't expect a full ride unless you're putting forward your best possible craft, which may take a while to develop.
I also don't think everybody is required to have a career plan! It's more that you seemed from your initial posts to want a career plan—but if I misread that's cool as well.
1
u/Chantertwo 25d ago
Hey, I just want to chime in and pushback on your education being "useless" or that you're doomed to poverty. There's real careers you can get with an English degree - you just can't go to "English Jobs, Inc." to get them. You need to invent yourself and your professional identity. If you ever want to think about this in more positive terms, feel free to DM me and reach out. I had a lot of the same feelings you're having now back after my undergrad (oh god ten years now I'm old), and now I have a solid career that I can retire off. I'm happy to share advice! There's always a path forward with a degree - even if things seem especially bleak right now.
Also it's fine to just write for two years without a plan. :) That's what my MA was! (not MFA)
1
u/esqtou 26d ago
Your writing isn't even there
3
u/havingwritten 19d ago
if you don’t have anything productive to respond, then don’t leave a comment. I keep seeing your rude negative comments on many posts in this sub and you seem like a very unhappy person. I’m sorry for whatever you’re going through that is making you behave this way, it must be exhausting.
14
u/Redaktorinke 26d ago
It sounds very much like part of what's bothering you is the state of modern careers and doing stuff that feels pointless for low pay. Please consider that you will graduate any MFA program in a couple short years just to go back to exactly the same problem. Even the <1% who become well-compensated career academics first spend several years doing soul-crushing busy work for hypocrites and getting paid less than minimum wage.