Advice to MFA Applicants
TEN POINTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE APPLYING
Ten points to consider before applying.
Do some financial planning. Funding might not be your top priority, but it should be part of your planning. Make sure you’ll have enough money to live on, at least somewhat comfortably, while you’re a student. If a program doesn’t offer full funding, look into jobs on campus, work-study opportunities, travel and research stipends, and other monetary resources the program might offer. And, not least, understand the long-term costs of student loans—and interest rates.
Size matters. What’s more attractive to you: an intimate environment with a small group of peers whose work (and personalities and social proclivities) you’ll get to know closely, or a larger cohort and workshop environment where you’ll get to know and work with many writers (and perhaps have slightly more anonymity)?
Read books by faculty. Don’t pick a program just because you recognize the names of the faculty. Know their work, too. You’ll want to find not just a mentor, but someone whose writing style, sensibilities, and aesthetics resonate with your own. So if you haven’t already done so, make sure to read the work of the faculty with whom you’re interested in studying. Once you’ve narrowed your top programs, ask an administrator if the teachers you want to work with will be on sabbatical during your residency. And ask around: Is that amazing author a generous teacher? Look online for any proof that the critically acclaimed writer is also a caring professor.
Decide if you want to teach. Does the program require teaching undergraduate courses, or offer opportunities to teach outside of funding requirements? If so, what will your course load and time commitment be? Don’t forget about the time spent outside class reading, grading, and prepping. Do you want your writing to be your primary focus in an MFA program? If so, make sure you have time for it.
Location is important. If you choose to attend a full-residency program (see page 88), you’ll probably be spending the next two or three years in a new place. Would you prefer to live in a big city or a small town? Somewhere warm or cold? Near the coast or in the mountains? Consider the resources most important to your life outside of the classroom—socially, culturally, environmentally, gastronomically, or otherwise.
Review your residency options. Maybe you want to earn an MFA while keeping your job and maintaining your current life and location, taking only a week or two out of your busy schedule to attend workshop. Depending on your career or family situation, you may want to consider a low-residency program (see page 96).
Explore the curriculum. Is the program focused on the workshop model? Does it offer courses in craft, theory, or literature? What about genre fiction, or cross-genre study? You may have a traditional or more experimental focus in your work—make sure the program you choose accommodates your interests.
Consider extracurriculars. Do you want to work on the staff of a literary magazine? Are you interested in leading workshops in prisons or community centers? Does the program have a regular reading series? What about student groups, campus organizations, or volunteer opportunities? Think about what will help make your time in the program more dynamic and fulfilling, and make sure those opportunities are offered.
Talk to current and former students.
Do some research and ask students as well as alumni about their experiences at the programs you’re considering. Ask your friends and followers on social media and try to connect with poets and writers who are in those programs. Ask them about the faculty, the local community, the social scene, the rental market— anything and everything that matters to you.
Visit the campus. If your dream program is nearby, drop in for a visit. If it’s across the country, perhaps wait until you’ve been accepted, then sit in on a workshop before deciding. Take a stroll around campus. Visit the library, gym, or graduate student center to get a feel for the space. Set up meetings with faculty and administrators. If you can, go out to a reading or drinks with current students. Programs often include such opportunities on prospective students’ days. So take advantage of them. Ask questions, and don’t be shy. You’ll get to know a lot more about a program and a school—including its community, politics, diversity, and atmosphere—this way than you ever could from a website.