Why a Creative Writing MFA Might Not Be Worth It
Repeat after me: ‘I am a writer’
You could’ve taken a snap-shot of me and slapped it on the front of a university prospectus. I was standing outside the campus where I taught, literally jumping for joy.
I had just been accepted into the University of British Columbia’s MFA in Creative Writing. They liked my writing.
Someone liked my writing.
I calmed myself down, got into my car, and stared at the acceptance letter.
“Every year we receive many more applications than we can accept; the caliber of the writing is high, and the selection process difficult. You may assume that your writing is held in high regard by the faculty.”
Me? My writing? High regard? What? Really?
I remembered one figure from the website, too: there was a twenty percent acceptance rate! I was going to tell everyone that. In a humble, “Phew, I was lucky,” kind of way, of course.
I didn’t pay much attention to the other figures in the acceptance package when it arrived. The ones with dollar signs in front of them. I was IN, baby!! I was a writer!! I’d figure out the money, and how I was going to do my job and an MFA, later.
