While all MFA programs have different deadlines for application, most traditional programs will enter new students in the fall term. Many low residency programs will also begin in the fall, but some will offer a summer term admission and a few have an added option of winter admission. Add to the previous mix a small number of programs that have rolling admission and flexible starts and you can see that there is no one right answer about when all programs begin or when their deadlines for application are. With all this in mind, the best advice for a potential MFA student is to get organized and be strategic when considering programs.
Organization does not have to be complicated. Here is a simple organization structure if you are applying to MFA programs:
1. Make a simple list of the programs you are considering applying to attend.
This can be a document file, a spreadsheet, or just on a piece of paper, but make sure there is room for multiple columns of factors for each program. For example: distance, cost, travel, low-residency versus residency, number of hours required, teaching versus non-teaching based, et cetera.
2. Begin to gather information on each program.
Some of this information can easily be obtained from the internet and the schools websites. Alternatively, you can click on most programs links or email them and have hard-copy program information mailed to you fairly quickly.
Tip: If you end up talking to an operator and they are doing a hard-sell or want you to do an “immediate application” run like hell.
3. While gathering program information make a list of what you want to get out of an MFA program and what any “must have” aspects of the program are.
For instance, is it important that it be a traditional full-time program such as The Iowa Writers Workshop; do you need a low-residency format so you can work; does the program need to be within driving distance; are there specific genres you want to study; does the program have a teaching component or certification. The better you understand what you want from a program, the easier it will be for you to make the best decision you can about which program to apply for.
4. Evaluate the individual programs data as it comes in and fill out your master “spreadsheet” that was described in step “1″ above.
As you look at each programs brochures and materials keep two things in mind: First, keep in mind what your criteria for “best” is; and second, remember that the material you are looking at is a “sales brochure” – it has been created to sell the program.
Tip: Take a close look at faculty and at graduates of the program and do some on-line searches to see what they have been writing and publishing.
5. File everything and dig for details.
Make a simple file of all the program data and make sure to get all of the details you need to make comparisons. Every program will present data differently and you will have to dig or make a few calls to get apple to apple comparisons in some cases. This is especially true in the case of program length and cost.
Tip: If you are doing a low-residency program find out if residency period room and board is included in the estimated program costs. This can add up to an additional $3,000 a year in some cases.
6. Gather as much data as possible to make a good decision but trust your gut.
Okay, we are writers, and as such we understand that things are not always cut and dried. Any MFA program can deliver the goods for a particular writer if the circumstances are right for the writer at that particular time. Maybe the program is not great but the writer and one particular instructor just click; or, perhaps it is just the simple fact that the writer has finally taken the step of committing to writing by starting an MFA program.
Conversely, you can have a great writer at a great program and it just doesn’t work out. For example, Raymond Carver, one of the best American short-story writers ever, only made it through one year at Iowa’s famed workshop before throwing in the towel. Why? Because Carver thought the program was distracting him from his writing.
In the end you have to make a decision based on what you feel is right for you, but gathering data is part of the decision process. When you make your decision, you can feel good about making the best decision for you at this particular time.