Poets & Writers Speakeasy: Writing and Publishing: MFA Programs: Low-Residency MFAs: Page 89

Subscribe | Give a Gift Subscription

Advanced Search

Main Index » Writing and Publishing » MFA Programs
Low-Residency MFAs

You are not signed in. Click here to sign in.
If you are not a member, Register here!

123041 registered users

1 ... 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 ... 102

View All

maybemd

Sep 30, 2010, 10:52 PM

Post #2201 of 2528 (4866 views)
Shortcut

Re: [alamana] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks, folks! Still floating about on the news.

jacksbird

Oct 1, 2010, 2:01 AM

Post #2202 of 2528 (4847 views)
Shortcut

Re: [susanjoy] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hello everyone, thanks for all your comments. This is my first post on this board.

I live in the SF Bay Area, which I'm not willing to leave, due to family, community, projects, etc, but most of the MFA programs here are hugely expensive or unappealing. I'm starting to very strongly consider low-res programs, and am particularly interested in Warren Wilson, Antioch LA, Goddard, Pacific, and VCFA. I feel quite confident that I could handle the independent writing aspect of doing low-res, and I do well with mentorships (rather than constant big group critiques), and I have a pretty amazing community of writers to hang out with here when I need face-to-face time, so in many ways lo-res seems like a good option. My main concern about doing low-res is that I don't only want to develop my writing - I am also very interested in teaching, whether at community colleges, universities, high schools, community groups, etc. I'm not looking for prestige and tenure track in a famous university; I'm looking for connecting with real people, sharing what I have to share, and getting a paycheck in the process.

Does anyone have any thoughts about ways to get guidance and experience in teaching while doing a low-res program? Has anyone tried to make this happen while doing one of the programs I mentioned above? (Warren Wilson, Antioch LA, Goddard, Pacific, and VCFA)

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on which programs are most receptive to working in multiple genres?

Thanks so much for any thoughts.

pongo
Real men bake bread.

Oct 1, 2010, 8:13 AM

Post #2203 of 2528 (4837 views)
Shortcut

Re: [jacksbird] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Goddard has teaching requirements; you must teach a practicum (that is, a self-organized course) and write an analytical essay on the experience to graduate. I included a number of books on teaching writing in my curriculum. They also have a program where you can take an extra term and come out with teaching certification, if that's something you might need.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Oct 1, 2010, 10:01 AM

Post #2204 of 2528 (4831 views)
Shortcut

Re: [jacksbird] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Jackbird,

I'm an alumna of VCFA, and I was hired almost immediately after graduation to teach at a local community college. Vermont doesn't offer a teaching practicum, but the best advice I can give you is what I received at Vermont: If you want to teach, then start teaching BEFORE you graduate. If you aren't qualified to teach at the college level yet, then teach in other venues. Teach at community centers and senior centers. Set up writing workshops for high school students. Teach at writing conferences. Take a course at your local community college on teaching ESL and volunteer at literacy centers. Teach writing courses for your park and rec department. These may not pay well, but they will give you both experience and job contacts. Believe it or not, you can teach at all of these places without the MFA if you do a little planning and networking. I created my first teaching job by phoning our local park and rec department to ask about creative writing courses. When I learned they didn't offer any writing workshops, I asked if they would accept a proposal from me to create one. I now teach three courses that I designed.

Other than teaching for community centers, park and rec, writing conferences, and libraries, I had almost no teaching experience when I was hired at the community college. My only formal classroom teaching experience was over 30 years ago when I was first in grad school (where I was a TA). However, the community college was impressed by my initiative to create my own teaching opportunities outside of the traditional classroom--and they were impressed by my MFA. For a community college in this area, MFA grads are rare and hard to find.

Vermont is quite receptive to dual genre degrees, but it requires a 5th semester. You can pursue a dual-genre degree in CNF, fiction, and/or poetry--your choice of combination.

Hope that helps.

Jeanne
http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

jacksbird

Oct 1, 2010, 10:45 AM

Post #2205 of 2528 (4827 views)
Shortcut

Re: [jlgwriter] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

thank you so much, both of you. I really appreciate it.
I actually am already in the process of trying to create some teaching opportunites - working on getting some grant funding to offer writing workshops for queer and trans folks here where I live, among other things.
Did you feel like your mentors at your schools were able to offer any advice or help on teaching if you needed it?

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Oct 1, 2010, 11:01 AM

Post #2206 of 2528 (4824 views)
Shortcut

Re: [jacksbird] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

When I was at Vermont, they held a panel discussion on teaching writing during one of the residencies. That was very helpful. All of my advisors gave me a reference when I asked them. I talked to a few of them one-on-one about teaching, but I graduated during the peak of the bad job market, so I don't know that they had any advice--other than common sense.

AWP and Poets & Writers are good sources for teaching jobs. You should also look at highered.com (I think that's the site. It's been a while since I've been there.)

Jeanne
http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

bighark

Oct 1, 2010, 11:34 AM

Post #2207 of 2528 (4821 views)
Shortcut

Re: [jlgwriter] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Not traditional teaching, but tutoring work through places like http://www.smarthinking.com is a good way to get experience with writing pedagogy.

Ellienor

Oct 6, 2010, 10:53 PM

Post #2208 of 2528 (4752 views)
Shortcut

University of New Orleans Low Res. [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi! I've been sifting through this board, but have not found anything on the low res program at the University of New Orleans. Does anyone have any information? Ever applied? An alum would be wonderful!! I'm so interested in the summer residency portions, which are all over seas. Any info. would be great! Thanks!!

silkentent
Margaret DeAngelis

Oct 13, 2010, 9:00 AM

Post #2209 of 2528 (4675 views)
Shortcut

Re: [Ellienor] University of New Orleans Low Res. [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

A friend of mine, who is not a member of this community, went through that program. He raves about it. He is talented and is seeing some success in placing stuff in small regioonal venues. He works slowly, I think, and intermittently because of his full-time job. Every time talk of pursuing an MFA comes up between us, he praises his experience in this program.

Margaret DeAngelis
Markings: Days of Her Life
http://www.silkentent.com/Trees

jacarty
Jessie Carty

Oct 13, 2010, 9:27 AM

Post #2210 of 2528 (4670 views)
Shortcut

Re: [jacksbird] Low-Residency MFAs [In reply to]	Can't Post

Congrats to Maybemd by the way!

On teaching and low-res. I was able to get adjunct work at a community college after my low-res at Queens. That being said, it does help to put some teaching experience on your cv.

I was able to note that I had taught a seminar (part of my graduation) and I also did some free teaching in the community for writers so that look good as well on my CV.

The tutoring suggestion is also a good one or if you have the time (and the will) to try subbing :)

Good luck with it!

http://jessiecarty.com

evemorton

Nov 10, 2010, 6:51 PM

Post #2211 of 2528 (4399 views)
Shortcut

Goddard's Feb residency is creeping up [In reply to]	Can't Post

It's been a while since I've posted....but now only have 4 months to go until I'm studying at Goddard. I can't wait. It seems like it's taken forever to get here -- and I still have 4 more months...lol. Thanks Pongo for all of your help in answering any questions I had.

If any Goddard alumni has any old study plans and/or schedules of workshops they could send me to prepare me on what to expect, that would be so cool...Are you supposed to have a draft of a study plan already written before your first residency or do you create one after you arrive?

I'd appreciate any help you could give me...thanks so much.

Eve

Eve Morton

greenpenquills

Nov 25, 2010, 8:21 PM

Post #2212 of 2528 (4312 views)
Shortcut

Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi all-

Does anyone have experience applying to lo-res programs last minute? Because of complications with admission deadlines for schools for fall/winter, it would be best for me to apply for spring/summer residency. The problem is that those deadlines are in 6-8 weeks, and I haven't started the application process yet. Would it be better to wait and potentially miss a chance to apply to all of the schools I'm interested in, or do this last minute? My writing sample needs some work, and would obviously be stronger if I spent another 4 months on it, but I think it's relatively strong as is.

Any opinions on this?

Thanks!

(This post was edited by greenpenquills on Nov 25, 2010, 8:22 PM)

pongo
Real men bake bread.

Nov 26, 2010, 9:40 AM

Post #2213 of 2528 (4294 views)
Shortcut

Re: [greenpenquills] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I applied in plenty of time, but I knew a few people who had just made it under the wire, and who found out they were due at a residency with about a week to get ready. So it didn't seem to be a handicap. And, of course, if you miss one deadline, another will come along soon enough. I think most of the low-res programs have incoming classes with each residency.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

karinr
Karin Rosman

Nov 26, 2010, 11:47 AM

Post #2214 of 2528 (4289 views)
Shortcut

Re: [greenpenquills] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Can you contact the school? I just applied to a low-residency, and after talking to them, I got the impression that it would be a good idea to apply early. Check on the program's website.

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Nov 26, 2010, 12:58 PM

Post #2215 of 2528 (4286 views)
Shortcut

Re: [greenpenquills] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

greenpenquills,

It depends on the school, the number of applicants, and the quality of the applications. I don't remember exactly, but I think I sent my low-res applications in very close to the deadline. If you have everything in order (writing sample, recommendations, personal statement, transcripts, etc.), it probably doesn't make that much of a difference if you apply ten weeks before the deadline or one week before the deadline--as long you make the deadline.

Some low-res schools put students on a wait list or ask them to consider starting the following semester if they've filled their quota early. I would tell you to go ahead and apply. You won't get into the program any sooner by waiting to put together the perfect application.

Good luck.

Jeanne
http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

maybemd

Nov 27, 2010, 2:45 AM

Post #2216 of 2528 (4254 views)
Shortcut

Re: [greenpenquills] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I pulled my application packages together in a bit more than a month. You just have to go for it.

If you really feel that your stories, the most important part of your application, are not yet ready then hold off. But working on them for four months sounds excessive. Have they been workshopped or run by your writing group?

You do have all the application materials from the schools you're interested in, yes? If not then call them or get on their websites and request them ASAP.

Get your transcript and recommendation letter requests out first, then start drafting the essay(s). I hadn't written non-fiction in many years so I sweated over my personal essay and annotation! Customize each essay to the program. The feedback I got on the personal essay from faculty members was that they were sincere and self-revealing. They just looked over the annotation to see if I could write in an academic manner, as one faculty member put it. They never mentioned my reference letters or my college work. But then I'm old and my college English courses were decades ago.

Hopefully you have more than one story you would feel comfortable using as your manuscript submission. Both my stories had been workshopped and revised but didn't feel ready for submission for publication, not yet "done". The schools must have seen them as promising; I was accepted into all the programs I applied to.

Put together a timeline and stick to it. Include time to mull over your list of recommendation letter writers, what you want from an MFA program, and what you want out of your writing career.

Surf the schools' websites and mine them for information about the program and how each works, get a feel for their "cultures", the different instructors, where their graduates teach and work (if that's important to you), etc. Get a feel for their differences. You have to choose them as much as they're choosing you.

At least one of the programs, Goddard, has rolling admissions. Others might too.

At some point, you have to decide your application is ready to send out. It will never be perfect, just get it as close as you can in the time alloted. Remember, they are looking for students, emerging writers -- folks with talent and who have a thirst for mentorship and training but are not yet full-blown writers.

Best of luck! Feel free to PM me with questions.

-May

greenpenquills

Dec 1, 2010, 1:02 AM

Post #2217 of 2528 (4179 views)
Shortcut

Re: [maybemd] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I've decided to apply now for spring/summer residencies. My sample is already pretty strong, so I'll be spending the next few weeks dealing with logistical stuff like transcripts and letters, as well as the personal and critical essays.

Is anyone else applying for spring/summer? I'm applying to Vermont, Goddard, Lesley, and Spalding for sure. I'm waffling on Antioch, Pacific, and Queens. I think 5 schools is probably a good number, so I'll have to decide soon which it'll be. Lots of great choices.

jacarty
Jessie Carty

Dec 1, 2010, 11:17 AM

Post #2218 of 2528 (4161 views)
Shortcut

Re: [greenpenquills] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Glad to hear you are just going for it! I had been out of undergrad for a while when I applied to Queens and I believe I applied pretty close to the deadline. For me, getting the references together was the hardest part but if you have a solid writing sample go for it and good luck!

:)

http://jessiecarty.com

greenpenquills

Dec 25, 2010, 12:08 PM

Post #2219 of 2528 (4022 views)
Shortcut

Re: [jacarty] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Sent all my applications out about two weeks ago. The final list: Vermont College, Bennington College, Spalding University, Lesley University, and Goddard College. No word yet from any of the programs (which is to be expected) but I'm waiting anxiously to hear back.

maybemd

Dec 25, 2010, 9:59 PM

Post #2220 of 2528 (4003 views)
Shortcut

Re: [greenpenquills] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Congrats on getting your applications out! I had heard that the three to four weeks of waiting (after the deadline date) can be awful so my husband and I went on vacation at the start of the third week. Seemed like a good idea but received the first acceptance call as we were heading out the door. Two other program directors left messages while we were in a cabin in the woods. Dan decided he couldn't deal with being stuck in a cabin with a crazed, decision-wracked wife so we returned a day early. I then obsessed for a week, creating a spread sheet and talking with writer-friends before making a decision.

Keep busy but don't stray too far from the phone. Certainly don't get in a car and cross any state lines. And build an S.O. relationship with a patient, forgiving, very sane, person (good advice for anyone in the arts).

maybemd

Jan 1, 2011, 4:51 PM

Post #2221 of 2528 (3922 views)
Shortcut

Re: [maybemd] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Happy New Year All!

Getting in my car and heading south to Warren Wilson tomorrow for my first residency! Can't wait to meet my "buddy" and everyone else.

Submitted my first annotation (which sucked, I'm sure) a month ago on John O'Hara's An Appointment in Samarra and my first story for workshop. Won't be able to complete all the reading that I wanted to but I suspect that will be the norm for the next two years. And maybe for the rest of my writing career.

pongo
Real men bake bread.

Jan 1, 2011, 10:29 PM

Post #2222 of 2528 (3902 views)
Shortcut

Re: [maybemd] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

At Goddard we had a workshop in the first residency on how to write an annotation. It's something to learn, and something you will learn pretty quickly. Don't sweat it.

Have fun, though. That's the important thing.

Poetry: It's not just for sissies any more.

Difficult Listening, Sundays from ten to noon (Central time), at http://www.radiofreenashville.org/.

http://home.comcast.net/~david.m.harris/site/

elissa
Elissa Field

Jan 2, 2011, 12:04 PM

Post #2223 of 2528 (3883 views)
Shortcut

Re: [maybemd] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

May, I'm so excited for you. WW's residency start date just popped up as a reminder on my Outlook calendar, from when I was thinking I would apply for this year (before I ended up teaching this coming week, instead). Wish I could be on my way there with, so will be here to cheer you on instead. I look forward to hearing how it is going. Hope you and your buddy click. Good luck with it all.

elissa

http://elissafield.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/...p?id=100001772022683

jacarty
Jessie Carty

Jan 4, 2011, 12:36 PM

Post #2224 of 2528 (3827 views)
Shortcut

Re: [maybemd] Last minute applications? [In reply to]	Can't Post

have fun! i've gone up there before to listen to some of the public lectures but it is cold this year :)

http://jessiecarty.com

MarisaLS

Jan 12, 2011, 8:07 PM

Post #2225 of 2528 (3735 views)
Shortcut

Re: anyone do Lesley University's low-res MFA program? [In reply to]	Can't Post

has anyone enrolled in Lesley University's low-res MFA program for nonfiction and if so can you tell me the pros and cons of your experience? and/or is anyone else here applying and did you hear back yet? what are the chances of scholarship $$? i am still paying off my other grad school loans and don't know i can afford to go into more debt...unsure if i can swing this one.

1 ... 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 ... 102

View All

Main Index » Writing and Publishing » MFA Programs