An MFA in Creative Writing is not for the faint-hearted. I'll let HG dwell on the emotional aspects but I will give you hard core facts. The admission rate is 2-4%. That's 2 out of a 100 applications at worst, 4 out of 100 at best. Think about that for a second. Take two if you have to. Remember that old story about the prof in IIT who said to his class - look at the person on your right, look at the one on your left , one of you three will make it, remember that story? Yeah, this is actual life numbers.
At this measly 2% admission rate, if you dare ask what your chances are as a novice writer, some might you're ..well..optimistic. If you had no background in English Literature, no background in writing, had wilted all your brain on nonsensical MBA stuff completely and you still ask what your chances are, everyone will say you're disillusioned.
In some ways, am glad we knew about these numbers only much later. When HG applied, we didn't know the magnitude of how much competition there is. Everyone thinks they can write, and in some cases, other people think so too - people on admissions board. We just applied simply to test waters, so to speak, to see if there is something worth fighting for. The hope was - stay in Bloomington. If HG does get wait-listed at some remote university, yes, we will continue next year.
Then, we got a call. Someone told HG that her writing was unique, imaginative and emotional. This one told the rest of the faculty - in 2000 years of Western Literature, no one ever thought of writing about a gay character's father who dressed up as his mother. The only problem, he told HG, was convincing others that though her grammar and writing technicalities were ..ahem...on the flawed side, she really was the real deal.
In a seesaw of emotions, we were elated at first to get the call, hopeful when told a follow-up call was promised, dejected when the said follow-up call didn't happen and finally cheated to be bought to the well but refused to be allowed a drink.
Then the call came.
You're in, the guy said. We'll take you for a year, give you money, teach you how to write.
Holy shit, my wife is going to become a writer.
But then again, am not all that surprised. I always knew.
At this measly 2% admission rate, if you dare ask what your chances are as a novice writer, some might you're ..well..optimistic. If you had no background in English Literature, no background in writing, had wilted all your brain on nonsensical MBA stuff completely and you still ask what your chances are, everyone will say you're disillusioned.
In some ways, am glad we knew about these numbers only much later. When HG applied, we didn't know the magnitude of how much competition there is. Everyone thinks they can write, and in some cases, other people think so too - people on admissions board. We just applied simply to test waters, so to speak, to see if there is something worth fighting for. The hope was - stay in Bloomington. If HG does get wait-listed at some remote university, yes, we will continue next year.
Then, we got a call. Someone told HG that her writing was unique, imaginative and emotional. This one told the rest of the faculty - in 2000 years of Western Literature, no one ever thought of writing about a gay character's father who dressed up as his mother. The only problem, he told HG, was convincing others that though her grammar and writing technicalities were ..ahem...on the flawed side, she really was the real deal.
In a seesaw of emotions, we were elated at first to get the call, hopeful when told a follow-up call was promised, dejected when the said follow-up call didn't happen and finally cheated to be bought to the well but refused to be allowed a drink.
Then the call came.
You're in, the guy said. We'll take you for a year, give you money, teach you how to write.
Holy shit, my wife is going to become a writer.
But then again, am not all that surprised. I always knew.
