Resources and other pointers for first-time applicants to Creative Writing MFA Programs in the US
by Shah Tazrian Ashrafi
No matter which side you pick in the age-old debate – is an MFA necessary to become a writer? – it can’t be denied that a lot of writers long for the time and space provided by an MFA program. After all, not everyone can build a sustainable practice of writing after coming home jaded from their 9-to-5 job, attending to their families, and maintaining a social life. Writing is a craft that requires thinking, observation, and meditation, all of which are time-consuming. Unless they combine their talent with a military discipline, no serious writer would send out to publishers the first draft of their novel written in the evenings for three months. Needless to say, an MFA might not be absolutely necessary to become a writer, but it can certainly help with the gift of time and space.
As the application season begins in September 2024 for the Fall 2025 session, writers should consider the following aspects.
Is a generous funding your priority?
When I was beginning my MFA applications in 2023, I knew I couldn’t possibly attend a program that isn’t fully funded. My best friends in this regard were: ProFellow and Poets & Writers. They have neat, efficient lists of programs that are not only fully funded but also of the amount of stipends they give to students to support their living costs.
In the same vein, it’s important to personally research by Googling and asking around whether the stipends provided by the schools are compatible with the cost of living. A cautionary tale for those not willing to research this essential bit can be found here about an MFA student at University of Arizona coming to terms with a crisis.
Although I am not giving an exhaustive list here, these fully-funded schools typically offer a generous sum: Vanderbilt University, Litowitz Program (Northwestern University), UW Madison, Washington University in St. Louis, and Johns Hopkins University.
The faculty
Do you dream of working with faculty members who have published novels, memoirs, story collections, and poetry collections? Are you someone for whom such credentials do not matter? Whatever one’s preferences (including and beyond the ones mentioned above), they should go through the profiles of faculty members listed on the relevant university pages so they can get a strong sense of what kind of mentors they are looking for.
The cohort size
There is no such thing as a “safety school” when it comes to MFA programs. From my experience, I can say the application season is a wild journey into the smouldering chimneys of heartbreak; the schools one might consider safe can easily turn out to reject them outright without even waitlisting them.
One way of “playing it safe” could be looking at programs that admit more students than the typical amount of 15 students at most. The renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop at University of Iowa and the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at University of Michigan should be kept in consideration as they boast a larger cohort.
Guidance
Once the list of prospective schools has been made, it’s time to do the bittersweet work of crafting a strong writing sample and statement of purpose. I call it bittersweet because while the first drafts of these pieces tend to fill the writer with joy and hope, the revision process bursts the bubble and can make them doubt their chances of getting in. Thankfully, there are writing groups and workshops that can blunt the sharp edges of doubt. Jess Silfa, a graduate of the MFA program at Vanderbilt University and a current PhD student in Creative Writing at University of Cincinnati, holds an online workshop in June that gives constructive feedback to applicants about their writing samples and statements of purpose. Participants of the masterclass have gotten into Helen Zell Writers’ Program and Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Commonwealth short-story prize shortlisted author and a graduate of the MFA program at University of Notre Dame Arman Chowdhury also offers a consultation starting late summer for prospective students.
Moreover, joining the MFA Draft group on Facebook (prospective applicants attending MFA programs in Fall 2025 should look out for MFA Draft 2025) will be an added blessing in terms of making friends, gaining insights into the programs, and the cities they’re based in, receiving feedback on writing samples and statements of purpose, and finding a spiritual fellowship of misery and happiness in general.
The writing sample and the statement of purpose
There are people who get into MFA programs without any publication history. Then there are people who do not get into MFA programs with a sizeable history. So it doesn’t really make or break the deal if your writing sample appears in a literary magazine. What the programs generally look for in the writing sample are quality and promise. I wish I had an objective way of measuring these elements, but unfortunately, like many others, I don’t. However, for the applicant’s own satisfaction, for samples they should use pieces published in competitive literary magazines. If they don’t have such publications, they should subject their samples to rigorous revisions after getting neutral and constructive feedback from writer friends, mentors, and workshop circles. Whatever one’s circumstances, it is important to have some kind of validation behind the writing sample because the application season is long and seemingly unending. There will be moments of despair after the submission of applications where the applicant will be paralyzed by doubts. For those moments, I believe the validation is a healthy backup to reaffirm the applicant’s faith in their worth as a writer.
The statement of purpose need not be quirky or outlandish. To paraphrase Danielle Evans, you have the writing sample to exhibit those sides. But the statement needs to strike the right balance showing a glimpse of your writing philosophy, the things that motivate you to write, and what you are hoping to achieve in your time at and after the program. Originality (typically, in the form of gripping personal anecdotes) is appreciated, and mediocrity (typically, in the form of rants suffused with over-optimistic and over-academic tones) is not your aide. It’s also helpful to begin writing the statement after the application portals have opened because they come with specific guidelines and prompts to include in the statement. During my applications, I solely relied on this website to find “the right balance”.
The waiting and the decisions
I can never forget the four months I had to wait after the applications. Anxiously refreshing my email and rummaging through Grad Café on a daily basis for any sign of people hearing back from the schools I had applied to are curses I wouldn’t wish upon any writer. Brace and forgive yourself for not being productive in those months. Distraction works, but not for long. The anxiety is an inevitable experience.
If you receive an outright acceptance (around February, mostly), things will be smoother for you than others, especially if you are an international applicant, because it will save you a long stretch of time to get your visa procedures started.
If you are put on a waitlist, chances are high you will not hear back with a definitive decision until April at least. Be prepared for more anxiety if you find yourself in this stage.
If you are rejected, do remember that the writing sample and the statement of purpose are not the only considerations for an admissions committee. They look for compatibility in the cohort they are admitting. Each year, they also look for certain kinds of writing, though we can never determine what they are; I have heard of people who were rejected by a school only to be accepted next year by the same school for the same writing sample. I am certain other factors also remain at play, but the most important thing to remember is: rejections from MFA programs shouldn’t doom a writer to surrendering their dreams.
It might help to remember what a Creative Writing instructor once told me (I shall keep them anonymous):
Just so you know, the application process is wacky and you shouldn’t take a lack of acceptances as any kind of indication of anything. The students we most heavily recruited often turned out to be duds, and those we reluctantly admitted often turned out to be superstars — there’s no good way to judge from an application.
Shah Tazrian Ashrafi is the writer of The Hippo Girl and other Stories (2024. He is a Write Beyond Borders alumnus (2021-22) and a South Asia Speaks Fellow (2023). He is an incoming MFA student (Fall 2024) at UW Madison. He provides one-to-one writing consultations for writers looking to sharpen their short stories.
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