This was my second time around applying to MFA programs. The first time I made funding a priority, and sent a slew of applications across the country, with little result. I revamped my writing sample and this time decided to focus on staying in New York. By considering low-residency programs, I could afford to maintain the life I love here in the city. I worried a low-residency program would lack the community of an on-campus program, but I’ve found it to be not true at all. There’s an outstanding camaraderie among the writers in my program, faculty and students alike.

In deciding upon an MFA program, it was important that I be able to take electives outside of writing, so that exploring my other interests would be possible. After entering my program, however, I realized that there were other factors important to me that I could not have estimated beforehand such as a large program, large faculty, and, particular to Sarah Lawrence, the conference system, in which students meet with their professors every other week to discuss work. Without this latter feature, I wouldn't have the opportunity to get to know my instructors.

When I first applied to MFA programs, I vowed I would only attend a university that offered me a full ride, stipend, and teaching experience. Several offered me all three, but I chose NYU, which offered only one semester of teaching and very little financial assistance. I chose it for the name, the location, the outreach programs, and the faculty; I also didn't, at that age, really know what it meant to have student-loan debt. After you've finished, most faculty will tell you they're too busy to give recommendation letters or blurbs, even if you've studied closely with them.

I only applied to one MFA program: Brooklyn College. It met all of my needs—local, affordable, competitive, highly regarded, flexible enough that I could continue working. The tuition is really the great equalizer. Brooklyn makes pursuing an advanced degree in poetry possible without incurring massive debt. I had great professors, especially Mac Wellman, Lou Asekoff, Lisa Jarnot, and Julie Agoos, and, ultimately, I learned that writing isn't about recognition in workshop, it's about sitting down and getting friendly with words, every single day.

I sought a program where writing would not be locked down in a narrow routine, overworking a single muscle in poetry, fiction, essay, etc. I am delighted with my selection of Stony Brook Southampton. I'm on the Manhattan track, which allows me access to unparalleled talent, and so close to home! My work has grown through exposure to top tier novelists, playwrights, essayists, and more. Their genuine interest in my work is an unexpected tonic and contributes to a dynamic, supportive classroom experience.

While researching MFA Creative Writing programs, I had two main requirements: it had to be located in New York City and it had to offer classes in writing for children and young adults. The New School matched both of these criteria, but had other benefits as well. Faculty was made up of notable authors, small class size which meant more attention to students and there was access to a network of amazing writers. In my first year, I got to meet renowned authors from my genre.

I applied to three area MFA programs in early 2010. I was nearly forty, newly “downsized,” and not convinced pursuing a creative writing degree was practical. I researched each program extensively. Reviews and statistics are valuable, but the personal connections I made during my search helped me select the MFA program that is right for me. Campus visits, MFA program events, and informal conversations with students and faculty yielded the most valuable information. My main criteria were location, accessible faculty, and diverse student body (especially age!).

I chose an MFA in fiction because as a librarian, I have access to all "information" and find that truth wavers along that thin fiction line. Surrounding my life are ancestor-spirits who've charged me the task of storytelling on their behalf, first-person. My politics walk in hand with public education, thus CUNY [City University of New York] is my home.