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Has Anybody Made a Final Decision?

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debernardi
jeff thorsby

May 5, 2006, 1:50 PM

Post #151 of 793 (5380 views)
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Re: [jennymck] Has Anybody Made a Final Decision? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yes, I made a visit a few weeks ago. Everyone I talked to was really cool, and while many complained about funding, all said that they'd go there again if they had it to do over--funding or not. I don't know much about the nonfiction program, but according to one of the MFAers there, the Poetry Center has the largest collection of poetry in the world, and the entire center is very nice, as is the rest of campus. Also, they're building a new Poetry Center that will open while you'd be there. And, again, I don't know about nonfiction, but the poets they turn out there just keep winning prizes and doing great things. If you get any funding, you should really seriously consider attending.

Jendago

Mar 22, 2007, 9:56 AM

Post #152 of 793 (5166 views)
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Another thread revived for 2007 [In reply to]	Can't Post

With the end of March just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to rekindle this topic.

Has anyone etched their program name in stone already? What factors were most important in your decision-making process?

BlueVelveeta

Mar 26, 2007, 9:03 PM

Post #153 of 793 (4939 views)
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Re: [Jendago] Another thread revived for 2007 [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well, not officially, BUT...

I just signed my offer letter from U Oregon and am dropping it in the mail tomorrow. Beyond funding, which was for me the most important criterion in selecting a school, I really wanted to stay in the Pac NW and to be within reasonable driving distance of my brand-spankin'-new husband, who will not be able to join me until Spring of 2008. I had a strong interest in working with the UO faculty, and was further won over by Dorianne Laux's straight-forwardness and provision of contact info for numerous current and former students, all of whom gave me very detailed and positive senses of the program. I am also excited that I can take courses in alternate genres if I wish, as I'd really like to take courses in fiction and memoir in addition to my poetry workshops. Finally, though, it was a gut feeling. UO was the first school to accept me, followed by 2 waitlist-turned-offers by other schools, so I did only have 3 to choose from (and that was 3 more than I'd anticipated). They had been in my top 3 all along, so when I got in it seemed like a no brainer, even if my hyper-cautious side felt the need to be patient and thoroughly research the program before accepting. Of the other schools that offered me funding, one required that I teach 2 classes per semester vs. UO's one and the other one doesn't allow extra-genre electives and is in a part of the country where I don't particularly want to live.

I'm really excited---I can't stop browsing Eugene's craigslist and shopping for a new bike to use to get around town. I also just got back from eloping in Hawaii, where I enjoyed the best coffee of my life, and I now feel like joyous sunshine bunnies ate my face.

That's a good thing, by the way.

kiiro

Mar 26, 2007, 9:15 PM

Post #154 of 793 (4934 views)
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Cal State Fresno [In reply to]	Can't Post

I just emailed my acceptance of their offer. I received word of some MFA students looking for a roommate, so I'll email them tomorrow to ask about it.

userunknown

Mar 27, 2007, 8:56 AM

Post #155 of 793 (4817 views)
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Emerson [In reply to]	Can't Post

Is anyone thinking about actually going to Emerson? If so send me a message, I'd like to know who I may be seeing/working with in the fall.

gasolinefight

Mar 27, 2007, 12:00 PM

Post #156 of 793 (4744 views)
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Re: [BlueVelveeta] Another thread revived for 2007 [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'll be going to the University of Washington. Seattle's going to be a huge change for me.

I haven't given them my official response yet and I still am unsure about funding, but it's really where I want to be.

Anyone else going there?

SweetJane

Mar 27, 2007, 12:26 PM

Post #157 of 793 (4714 views)
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MFA@FLA [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm just waiting to get the official acceptance letter in the mail from Florida so that I can mail it back to them and tell them I'll be in Gainesville in August! Although the funding was a little less perfect than Wisconsin's, it's still livable, and the lack of real winter is exciting. Plus, the way the students describe the community (close-knit) and the workshops (very structured) sound perfect to me. I feel like I'm falling in loooove. Now it's just a matter of finding a place to live without actually being in the state. Eep.

SJ

"Oh, all the poets they studied rules of verse
and those ladies, they rolled their eyes"

EastCoastPoet

Mar 27, 2007, 4:00 PM

Post #158 of 793 (4622 views)
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Re: [userunknown] Emerson [In reply to]	Can't Post

Again, I'm still on the fence. What are your reasons for going there? I just can't stand the fact that they don't fund anything...

And to go along with the comments from other people, I'm currently experiencing first hand the "non-attentiveness" of the faculty. I called and e-mailed John Skoyles yesterday and haven't heard back with the answers to my question, while I've received two phone calls and three e-mails from the director and secretary at BGSU. What's the deal!? My heart is in Boston and really want to go back home, but this lack of attention is getting to me...

jmmacleod
Jason Michael MacLeod

Mar 27, 2007, 4:29 PM

Post #159 of 793 (4602 views)
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Re: [EastCoastPoet] Emerson [In reply to]	Can't Post

I think I'm going to have to come out in favor of BGSU as well. Unless you are independently wealthy, Emerson's tuition + the cost of living in Boston = years of financial hardship well beyond the MFA itself. Remember, you are going to study poetry writing not corporate law and they aren't exactly handing out teaching positions universities these days. =)

The way I see it is this:

Option 1) Go to BGSU for MFA. Have a great time, improve your writing and learn lots. And then one day you will walk away with MFA in hand.

Option 2) Go to Emerson for MFA. Have a great time, improve your writing and learn lots. And then one day you will walk away with MFA in hand. And $40,000 worth of debt. Which, at 7% interest, = $465 a month. For ten years.

I know what I'd pick, but then I don't have that same pull to be in Boston. (Though it's certainly a cool city).

Just another opinion and, regardless of what you decide, good luck!

Jason Michael MacLeod

jaywalke

Mar 27, 2007, 7:23 PM

Post #160 of 793 (4505 views)
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It's not a prison sentence! [In reply to]	Can't Post

RE: BGSU vs. Emerson

It's funny that we are all talking about this choice as though it's a term in the pokey! :-] Last time I checked, Ohio had open borders and colleges don't meet in the summer. Without debt, you can catch a last-minute flight out of town for a long weekend or a week in NYC, Boston, LA or any other place for a couple hundred bucks.

When I lived in NYC, I fell into the trap that many do: I almost never went out. The daily grind was so hard that when I got home I stayed there, and beside that I couldn't afford it. Every time you set foot outside you have to have $25 in your pocket ($50 is better). I only went to the theatre or a museum when friends (from the Midwest, usually) came to visit. It's pretty common. I may as well have been in Ohio, but the rent was too high!

prosaic70

Mar 29, 2007, 6:58 PM

Post #161 of 793 (4323 views)
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Arizona State [In reply to]	Can't Post

I will be going to ASU with the bazillion dollars they're throwing at me...
So if you're on the waitlist at Indiana, Montana, New Mexico or Wash U, best of luck--- i'll be taking myself off of all those lists.

Best of luck to everybody...

Fear&Loathing

Mar 29, 2007, 7:11 PM

Post #162 of 793 (4312 views)
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Re: [prosaic70] Arizona State [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi prosaic70,

Congrats! Enjoy ASU.

Thanks,

Fear&Loathing

Dime49

Mar 29, 2007, 8:59 PM

Post #163 of 793 (4263 views)
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Re: [prosaic70] Arizona State [In reply to]	Can't Post

Pending hearing back from U.C. Irvine, looks like I'm heading to ASU as well - poetry. Should be fun.

I'll be freeing up a spot at University of Washington if nothing else...oh, and San Diego State if anyone cares.

jrosello
Jarod

Mar 29, 2007, 11:24 PM

Post #164 of 793 (4198 views)
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Post deleted by jrosello [In reply to]

EastCoastPoet

Mar 30, 2007, 4:05 AM

Post #165 of 793 (4143 views)
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Re: [jrosello] Penn State or FIU? [In reply to]	Can't Post

My suggestion is go somewhere new. I'm speaking from experience here, but there's only so much you can get from the same professors year after year. I have my heart pulling me in one direction too, but I'll most likely go against it because it's the smarter thing to do. I say go to Penn State.

jmmacleod
Jason Michael MacLeod

Mar 30, 2007, 8:45 AM

Post #166 of 793 (4118 views)
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Re: [jrosello] Penn State or FIU? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I vote for Penn State too. Because of the full funding and the reputation. FIU (Florida International, right?) might well be a great program, but doesn't have the national visibility of Penn State (i.e., I've never heard of it). Also if that is where you've done your undergrad, I think it would be very beneficial to go live somewhere else for a few years. Change of scenery, new perspectives, etc. could only help your writing I'd think.

Jason Michael MacLeod

HopperFu

Mar 30, 2007, 9:17 AM

Post #167 of 793 (4104 views)
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Re: [jrosello] Penn State or FIU? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I think the earlier comment about working with somebody new is pretty smart. Dufresne might be a great teacher (Power & Light's a great book), but you'll have a chance to grow more as a writer if you get to work with new teachers. Everybody critiques differently, and the more ways you learn to read your own work the more likely you are to figure out what your blind spots are (and, the hope is, determine how to get past them).
I'm also a huge "take the money" fan. FIU may be cheap, but Penn will actually pay you to come to them. You get teaching experience, which is good if that's what you want to do eventually, and you can save whatever money you would have spent at FIU and bankroll yourself a year or two of extra writing after you are done Penn.

betp

Mar 30, 2007, 11:24 AM

Post #168 of 793 (4052 views)
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other schools? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I've jumped in and out of these forums quite a bit, so this question might have already been asked, but I have two schools (both funded but lesser known programs) that are requiring me to decide by April 9--Eastern Washington & Wyoming. However, I'm on one short waitlist (Minnesota) and still haven't heard from two other programs that are on rolling admissions and where my apps only recently were complete(UNCW and USC). I really really love USC (California, not Carolina ;))

Do I contact these programs? I was planning on calling Minnesota to see my status, but is it kosher to call/email programs where you haven't heard anything and let them know you need a decision?

Basically, if I don't let either EWU or Wyoming know by a week from Monday, I won't lose my acceptance, but I will lose my funding. Grrrr... And does anyone have any thoughts on EWU vs. Wyoming...?

EastCoastPoet

Mar 30, 2007, 2:00 PM

Post #169 of 793 (3985 views)
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Re: [betp] other schools? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I thought almost every MFA program signed some kind of pact that April 15th would be the earliest deadline?

I'm in the same boat, because BGSU is pressuring the hell out of me to tell them my decision. Still waiting on ASU though, and possible Emerson funding.

bighark

Mar 30, 2007, 2:24 PM

Post #170 of 793 (3969 views)
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Re: [EastCoastPoet] other schools? [In reply to]	Can't Post

The April 15th thing is not an agreement among MFA programs--it's an agreement among graduate schools.

Anyway, Bowling Green State University is a member of the Council of Graduate Schools (http://www.cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=102&ctl=InstSearchResult&mid=437&TYPE=REGION&VALUE=MIDWEST), which means that you have until April 15th to make a decision regarding your scholarship offer.

Of course, this doesn't mean that BGSU can't apply a little pressure. I mean, you can't blame them for wanting to know as soon as possible. As long as they don't threaten to pull your funding, they're allowed to put a little heat on you.

Knowledge is power.

Good luck!

gasolinefight

Mar 30, 2007, 5:32 PM

Post #171 of 793 (3885 views)
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Accepting an offer [In reply to]	Can't Post

Besides mailing in the official forms that the school sent me, I should probably also call them to accept the offer, right?

Do I call the professor who contacted me to accept? She gave me her home phone number, so I'm unsure if I should use it for that purpose. I've also been in contact with her through email--would an email be acceptable? Should I just call the department secretary instead?

Any input would be nice. I know this isn't any big deal, but I'm unsure which would be best. Plus, I'm horrible on the phone and don't want to make an even bigger fool of myself.

I think I have a slight phone phobia.

rpc
ryan call

Mar 30, 2007, 10:34 PM

Post #172 of 793 (3818 views)
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Re: [nerdytina] Accepting an offer [In reply to]	Can't Post

call the professor
i think that would be nice to do

RCWalker2

Mar 30, 2007, 10:44 PM

Post #173 of 793 (3812 views)
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Re: [rpc] Accepting an offer [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm going to Virginia Tech. Good funding, tuition is covered, the cost of living there is dirt cheap, and the faculty is pretty darn good...I'm a happy poet. Anyone esle headed to VT?

JonathanC

Apr 1, 2007, 1:00 PM

Post #174 of 793 (3677 views)
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Re: [RCWalker2] Accepting an offer [In reply to]	Can't Post

Me too. Though I have a couple of interesting waitlists, I'm pretty much torn between my acceptances at Columbia and VT. They're nearly mutually exclusive programs: one is expensive as hell, in a huge city, an old program, etc. and, well, one isn't. Both appeal to me.

How did your telephone interview go? What do you know of the faculty?

jennymck

Apr 3, 2007, 6:03 AM

Post #175 of 793 (5161 views)
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Re: [Jendago] Another thread revived for 2007 [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm going to Ohio State for nonfiction.

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