Considering an MFA in writing

My name is Jacob and I’m an English and creative writing major, and next year I’ll be attending graduate school for fiction writing. This post will likely be more useful for those interested in pursuing graduate studies in the humanities, specifically a fine art (but also anything that has a shaky return on investment, so maybe some social sciences, too.) I say that because if you’re studying accountancy, medicine, engineering or something more vocational/easily-translatable to a career, graduate education may be a significantly smaller risk.
This risk is pervasive and growing in the humanities, and specifically in the fine arts, and I made sure to acknowledge it from the moment I began considering graduate school. MFA programs are usually outstandingly expensive, and the programs that fully fund you – usually meaning you have a TA position that waives your tuition and gives you a little money to live on – are usually tiny and staggeringly competitive. For me, and I assume many students interested in graduate studies in any discipline, money is a significant factor in deciding whether to continue education after GW. So, in considering an MFA in writing, know that getting into any program at all is a great accomplishment. Getting it paid for is even better, and it may be the deciding factor as to whether you can matriculate. Just because a program is ranked #1 doesn’t mean you’ll find employment after you earn your diploma.
Regarding the applications to MFA writing programs specifically: you will not get in everywhere you apply, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a terrible writer. Admissions committees have aesthetics just as you do; you may be a perfect fit in five programs, or one, or zero. This isn’t to say that your chances are random, only that graduate programs in writing each have different ways of thinking about and evaluating art. Rankings are somewhat insignificant, as you should consider where your art fits in within a program, its faculty, its students, and the physical campus location.
If you’re considering an MFA in fiction or poetry, reach out to a professor in our creative writing program or shoot me an email at Jacob.B.Garber@gmail.com. Choosing, preparing for, and applying to MFA writing programs is a nuanced, vexing, and sometimes vexed process. Speaking to as many people as possible would behoove any possible applicant. It absolutely helped me.