jlr
Apr 3, 2007, 12:39 PM
Post #179 of 793
(4940 views)
Shortcut
|
The final tally:
Accepted - Cal State Long Beach, San Francisco State, University of Arizona
Probable Rejection - UC Irvine
No word either way - UC Riverside, San Jose State
I applied only to schools in the west because I have California residency (though currently in the midwest) and because grey days make me tired and depressed and thus, more likely to nap than write. There were aspects to each of the schools that I really liked: UC Riverside has an interesting group of young faculty; San Jose allows writers to work in two genres; Long Beach is home to Stephen Cooper, whose scholarship I admire; San Francisco has some unconventional professors who push beyond workshops; Irvine is the alma mater of some of my favorite writers; and Arizona has a really great community of MFA students and an interesting mix of faculty. Last week, I decided not to wait on Riverside or San Jose any longer and signed up with Arizona. I have visited the school and am very excited to be starting there this fall.
This was a real learning experience for me - sometime in February, as I read about others receiving calls from schools and my schools were all still quiet, I worried that I hadn't applied to enough programs, that I was somehow selling myself short if I didn't take a shot on all of the most highly-ranked schools. But I couldn't be happier with the way things turned out in the end. I've been out of school for six years now and have a strong publishing record in nonfiction. I know agents and editors and am not too concerned with grad school as a networking tool. What I want is time to write, time to read, and a community of writers with whom I can exchange work.
I think Tucson is going to be a great place to find that.
|
