The question of which MFA program in creative writing is nearly an impossible question to answer. Judgments of this kind can be nothing but subjective and thus any number of answers is possible. What is best for one person will not be best for another. Thus, in order to divine the answer to the question which is the best MFA program, the asker of the question must first consider what their definition of “best” is.
As a writer, one can use the tool of imagination to discover what they want to achieve from a writing program. Try this simple exercise and write your way to an answer.
Imagine that it is ten years on from your graduation from an MFA program and you are being interviewed by a writing magazine on the occasion of the publication of your fourth novel. This novel, as with the previous three, is destined for the pages of various bestseller lists. You are seated in a chair and the interviewer says…
“You have had a tremendous amount of success as a writer and I have heard that you attribute much of your success to your graduate writing program. Could you tell our readers what you learned in your writing program and what made the program the right fit for you?”
Considering the question for a moment you sit quietly and then begin, “Well, I do believe that my MFA program helped me along the path as a writer. The best thing about the program was finally identifying myself as a writer. That, of course, and the interactions with other students — other writers.”
“And the instructors?”
“Yes, the instructors and teachers were key. The best thing about them was…”
And thus, by using the imagination, a writer has the advantage of discerning the type of program they would most like to attend and to define what “best” looks like for them. Will it be a part-time program? Low residency? A program with famous writers in residence? Again, each writer’s definition will be individual and unique. Once you have defined what looks best for you, including location and affordability, you can then begin to gather materials from various programs and see which one comes closest to the vision of what is best for you as a writer.
Yet even with all of this research and worry over where to go, the fact is, you get from a program what you put into the program. Any writing program can be perfect for a certain writer at a certain time, and the attitude of the writer is the key as to what can be gained from any writing program.
In the end, use your writing to explore what you want from a writing program. Do your “due diligence” in trying to find such a program, and then put together and send off some applications and trust the eternal muses to open the right door.