I've been accepted into an MFA program in creative writing with a full tuition scholarship and a stipend worth around...

I wrote three short stories and submitted two or three to each program to accommodate their requested sample size. (I had one 15-page story, one 10-page, and one 5-page.) I wasn't sure what a successful sample looked like, so I tried to write tidy plots with familiar themes. I spent some time reading Cheever, O'Henry, and Updike short story collections because I thought that style of fiction would fly at most programs. I'm not sure my sample was representative of the kind of fiction I hope to publish someday, but I tried to use my statement of purpose to bridge the gap. I think you kind of have to "play the game" a bit.

If it's of interest to anyone, there are all kinds of funded programs out there. Many of the stories in this forum's writing critique threads are better than what I submitted in my sample, so if you're one of those folks (or think you compare favorably to those folks), a funded offer is probably within your reach.

Here are some of the programs I considered:

themfayears.com/fully-funded-programs/

huffingtonpost.com/seth-abramson/underrated-mfa-programs_b_850147.html

Yes, I guess the homogenizing thing probably shouldn't concern anyone with a strong constitution. Among my other concerns, I wonder whether I'll be compatible with the other members of my workshop cohort. I also wonder whether the teaching course load (again, two courses per semester) and literature / elective course requirements will crowd out my writing time. I have a 9-5 job right now that, while not a perfect fit for me, doesn't take up any of my reading and writing time. Instead of enrolling, I could just continue on and find a writing group in the city.

That's pretty good, i'm thinking of applying for an FMA after i'm done with my lit bachelor

GOOD call.

Congrats mate

post one of your samples

GOOD joke

>Should people attend if they're fully funded?

Hell fucking no! There's like a 95% chance you're going to be working at starbucks after you get the degree.

That's cool and all you're doing it, but i've never once met anyone with a MFA who can produce anything worthwhile.

I'm sure there's a few out there, but you know those people would have been producing good quality stuff with or without the degree.

Why can't people with MFAs get copywriting jobs after they graduate? Seems like it'd be a natural progression if they make no money from their fiction.

>Why can't people with MFAs get copywriting jobs after they graduate?

Well, because most of them aren't even talented enough to do that. Even if you have the MFA, you still have to actually PROVE yourself capable of working in the field.

Others still firmly believe that they're literary geniuses, even though there's no evidence at all to support that, so they would never stoop so low to that job.

If you're getting a free ride, plus party money like OP, then sure you should do it, but just don't expect anything from it.

an MFA in the publishing field is worth pretty much the same thing as getting published once in a credible source....which isn't that hard to get if you got any actual talent.

Congrats, mate, we need some Veeky Forums degenerates in the literature business. Just found out yesterday i was rejected from Vanderbilt, so hopefully it was you who took the spot and not some roastie. Still waiting to hear back from three more and I'm nervous as fuck.

Could you tell us a bit about your work? How would you describe your style and what do you write about? Favorite writers, etc

Thanks for the post, friend.

Good luck to you! I applied to five schools and have received a waitlist, a rejection, and a funded offer. Still waiting to hear back from two. It's not impossible that you and I are waiting to hear back from one of the same schools and will wind up in a workshop together.

I don't want to talk about my work or style because I don't think I could do it in an interesting way. I'm still figuring out some pretty fundamental questions about how I want to write. I'll elaborate on what I said earlier about my writing sample because I think it's the most valuable information I can convey to prospective applicants: (1) I didn't take many risks with respect to style or tone. I wrote in the third person present or past tense and tried to keep myself from doing anything too showoffy. (2) As I said, I tried to focus on universal themes. I tried to make my statement of purpose an honest assessment of where I am as a writer (what I've read and still need to read, what my bad habits are, what themes I like to explore and why, etc.). There should be some kind of resonance, I think, between the writing sample and the statement of purpose. I tried to think of myself as a potential investment for the admissions committee. I wanted them to have a clear idea of my "brand identity" and to be able to extrapolate from what I said about my fiction and what I actually showed them of my fiction what sort of thing I might actually be able to write ten years from now -- because really, that's what they want to know, and I don't know any better than they can what I'll be doing in 2027. (3) As for favorite writers, I don't have anything exciting to report here. If you imagine the kind of fiction MFA students are typically drawn to, and consider that I wouldn't be interested in entering a program like this unless that sort of thing was the target I was orienting myself toward, you might get an idea what sort of books I like to read or force myself to read. So it'll make you roll your eyes when I say that I think Updike is god and Michael Chabon is a lot of fun. Tom McCarthy's Satin Island is one of my favorites. With respect to "the classics", I like the American Romantics and Southern Gothics.

Of course if you want to apply, you'll likely have to take the GRE for at least a couple of schools that interest you. I studied with Magoosh and found it very helpful. If anyone's interested in my score, it was high, but I don't think it was ultimately important. I got a perfect score in the Verbal and Writing sections, but many students report much lower scores.

Sorry if any of this sounds self-inflating. I'm just trying to think what would have been helpful for me to read when I was preparing to apply this time last year. I've also been drinking.

Don't put too much stock in Veeky Forums's advice when you're making important life choices.

Would I get a fully funded Master's? Absolutely.

There's few things I hate more than idiot college lit major who sit in the room and sip imported whiskey, as they crank out pure trash at their keyboard, thinking that drinking somehow makes them feel closer to all the great drunk writers.

Not op
But i honestly have no idea how people write drunk
I get too physical,not in my head at all

Stimulants on the other hand...

I am OP, but I'm pretty obviously shitposting on Veeky Forums and not writing fiction right now.

Do you write drunk? If not do you have any other 'chemical' processes?
On stims words come out exactly as i want them
Never feel that way about spber writing,which i can re-edit constantly

Folgers and Marlboro 100's

I'll bet women just love your teeth.

My parents regret investing in braces.

This is all pretty interesting. You seem like a good dude, user. Congrats on the acceptance.

do the problem -- save every penny of your scholarship. you're gonna need it.

What are the best MFA programs to apply to?

Damn dude, a perfect score on on the verbal and writing?

I got a 5 on writing not having completed the first essay and a 161 on verbal.

I'm planning on applying to MFA programs this year or the next but I don't think I'm going to take your approach of trying to be as staid and 'average' as possible. Obviously I'm going to retake the GRE (shooting for that 6, thinking I can get it easy if I even just finish the fucking essays), and study not vocab for the Verbal but the fucking ridiculously worded reading questions. Then write in my normal creative way several short stories of multiple page lengths like you did, as of course the writing sample(s) are the most important part, but without this whole middle of the road approach.

now im worrying that rambling about deleuze in my cover letter might not have been a good idea. if we ever meet, i'll be the guy who wont stop talking about deleuze