How to Research Writing MFA Programs

Part 1 of “How to Get Into a Writing MFA Program”.

Let’s jump right into it.

1. Determine what you are looking for.
2. Check out Poets & Writers.
3. Do the basic program research.
4. Note the application process.
5. Research the faculty.
6. Interview the faculty and students.

Here’s the spreadsheet I built and used to juggle all the different colleges together: Numbers file / Excel file! Sorry for any wonky formatting if the numbers file failed to convert well. It should look like this:

Take it, change it, make it your own so you can compare, contrast, and prioritize with ease. I elaborate below in case the link gets broken.

1. Determine what you are looking for.

Some of it you’ll figure out when you start researching and getting a general sense of programs in the first place.

A major question I had was choosing between a regular, low-residency, and an online MFA program. I am a software engineer who lives in three states of existence: coding, writing, and taking a break from writing — (laundry, bathing, pretending to be an adult, etc). Going to a full-residency writing program risked losing touch with the software industry, so I tended towards low-residency.

Check out if a low-residency is right for you in “A Low-Residency Student Offers Insight” from The MFA Blog here — and read those comments!

2. Check out Poets & Writers (pw.org).

The 2012 Top 50 MFA Programs was my starting point. If someone could link an update in the comments, that would be awesome.

The Poets & Writers Forum was my primary, non-biased, non-college-website resource. There was ample discussion on the programs, like pros and cons and style. I actually began writing this article to give back to the community there, but I cannot seem to access it anymore. Keep an eye out in case it becomes available again!

There’s also College Confidential. Don’t be daunted over there.

3. Do the basic program research.

Note that every college website wants to have its own structure. That’s why I suggest doing a quick survey through each program’s website and filling in your spreadsheet as you go. You’re essentially reformatting the information for yourself for quick reference and slow agonizing in the future. This ideally also means you won’t spend 20 minutes jumping through the hoops of every unique college website looking for that one detail that you definitely remember seeing somewhere. (Been there, done that.)

Make time to call the colleges you’re interested in to chat with admissions folks to get the basics as well. They may set you up for a half hour chat. This is your chance to impress them as well as ask your questions. Start establishing a relationship.

Here are the columns I had at the end of my research:

• type: Full residency, low residency, online?
• structure: What does daily work look like? What are the major assignments? How long is it?
  
  For example, during the two years at Goddard, we have:
  > Semester 1: two short critical papers
  > Semester 2: one long critical paper
  > Semester 3: a teaching practicum
  > Semester 4: the thesis
  > along with a monthly packet exchange with your advisor, in which you read 3–4 books, analyze one technique you would like to steal from each of those works, and submit 20–25 pages of your own new and revised creative work.
  
  Plus the feverishly awaited ten-day residencies to start every semester, so potent it liquidates the brain. You can learn more about our euphoria over here.
• thesis: What does a thesis in your genre look like at this college?
• workshops: Is this program workshop-heavy? Instructed by faculty? By students? How many times will you get feedback?
• time commitment: If it is a low-residency program, where in the 15–30 hours / week is the average? When Goddard marks itself at a 26-hour average, it is not a joke.
• professional development: What kinds of resources, classes and workshops does this program provide to teach or connect you to the business aspects?
• peer interactions: How much connection and activity can you expect with your peers? Of course, in a full-residency program, you can expect to see them in class, but in my low-residency, the eleven members of my incoming class in Port Townsend, Washington chatters more than weekly via emails, plus through a Facebook group, and one-on-one text exchanges, constantly passing resources and providing suggestions to help each other out of a rut. This kind of support cannot be undervalued. We’re a full semester through and this group is still going strong.
• pros and cons: For me, genre-pliancy was huge. Not only did I want to write both fiction and nonfiction, but my nonfiction about being an immigrant was heavily informed by South Asian fiction. I had not recognized what parts of my daily lifestyle and of my identity were South Asian until I first saw the details mentioned in the literature of Khaled Hosseini and Jhumpa Lahiri. Thus, I needed a program that would at least allow me to feel free to read fiction to inform my nonfiction, if not flirt along the lines of both. Pacific University felt too strict for that need.
• Does it require an English Degree??? Just kidding. Don’t ever worry about this. (I had been!) Of course a program will want a student body with a wide variety of experiences!

4. Note the application process.

• Link to the requirements page: Please save this. It saves time. Believe it!
• Application Deadline: Include priority deadlines that may waive application fees or make you eligible for scholarships.
• Statement of Purpose: Note length, format and the questions each college would like you to address. Expect to write a customized statement per college. If that sounds like a pain, you can avoid having to write too customized many statements by not writing too many statements. It’s on you to research and filter appropriately.
• Writing Sample: For example: “20 double-spaced pages of your writing. If you are planning to write in more than one genre, please include samples from each.”
• Critical Analysis: Do you need to submit one? Plan to write one! If it does not require one, consider being suspicious. Analyzing techniques an author used is genuinely half of what I am paying to do. Hopefully this is something you look forward to too!
• Transcript: Does this college want them? Official, unofficial? With the application? After you’re accepted?
• Recommendations: How many? From whom? Professors only? Do co-workers count?
• Cost: Tuition + fees / semester. (Sometimes, you can just start from here.)
• Financial Aid: What scholarships are available to you?
• Resume / C.V.: Necessary? I would recommend submitting it any time you can.
• GRE: Is this necessary? Some colleges are more likely to award scholarships for this.
• Contact Info: Just note it down so you don’t have to go to the college website.

5. Research the faculty.

What the faculty writes is what they teach best. If you see something that looks like what you want to write, that’s a major plus — and something to note in your application essay!

6. Interview the faculty and students.

One or more faculty, two or more students, per college.

Don’t be afraid to ask for this. Again: it is your job to inform yourself. You may spend $20–60K+ on this, folks! There’s no room to be shy about it. If you’re looking at someplace like Columbia, make sure to attend one of their webinars.

I used the interviews to understand the culture of each program as well as the rigor and structure throughout — but there’s more to it than that. Get ready for some journalism, ladies and gents, because this is the place where you take excellent notes, jotting quotes to use in your application essay!

All right. You’re ready to research. So go out and do it!

If there are any other phenomenal resources you can think of, please leave them for others in comments below! :) See you in “How to Apply to Master’s Programs!”

Originally written to support my article “How to Find a Writing Master’s Program for Minorities.” You can check out these two articles to learn more about why I needed to write that in the first place: Junot Diaz’s Cornell experience in “MFA vs. POC,” and David Mura’s “The Student of Color in a Typical MFA Program.”

Disclaimer: All views and opinions expressed in my writings are completely my own, and not a reflection of anyone else.