What to look for in your "Dream School." There's more to it than you think.
There is an entire cottage industry built around the MFA application process, with lots of incredibly helpful information all over the Internet. There's even a Facebook group called the "MFA Draft" that renews itself every year in preparation for application season.
There's a lot of information out there, and links lead to more links. You know how the Interwebs work—you can find virtually any type of data in this day and age. But what kinds of information should you be looking for, and on what dimensions do you rate schools as you compile your target list?
Choosing Schools
Don’t look at rankings, if you can even find them. They're disappearing from sight because they're out of vogue. Ranking art schools is a bit like ranking artists. It's a matter of taste, and it's more than a little crass. Instead of looking at these arbitrary rankings, get a sense of the school’s vibe, teaching philosophy, funding, and the kind of writing they encourage. For example, if you enjoy traditional story arcs and punctuation, you may want to avoid Brown.* AWP's Guide to Writing Programs is a good place to start, if only because their database is incredibly robust. You can filter by program type, location, and genre—and if you want to learn more, you can go directly to the school's application portal for more info. What follows are some variables that distinguish one school from another, aside from the obvious (location and genre focus):
Residency or Low Residency
"Residency" programs require you to be on campus and part of the daily life of the program. Low-residency programs are taught mostly online, with a couple of required on-site visits that last one or two weeks. Low-residency programs are ideal for applicants interested in going to school while continuing to work, or applicants with families.
Funding
One of the bigger controversies is whether MFA students should have to pay for their education, being as the money at the end of the tunnel is, well, there isn't any. The MFA is a terminal degree that allows you to teach at the graduate level, but in general, prospects of making millions on one's writing alone are dubious, even for published authors. One popular perspective is that it's better to go to a school that's funded, i.e. tuition remission for all students, plus a stipend that may or may not be tied to a work arrangement (e.g. teaching undergrad composition). You'll want to shoot for schools that are fully funded, which means you don't have to pay a dime to go to school, except maybe moving or housing expenses if the campus is out-of-state. An MD, JD, MBA, MS, and even many PhDs give graduates access to high-paying careers. Not so with the MFA. Even capitalists support arts funding for a reason: It's a tough way to make a living, but art is necessary.
Program Duration
Most programs require a two-year commitment, others three. Some schools require two years of classes, and a third to work on a thesis. Plan accordingly.
Curriculum
Most MFA programs are built around a writing workshop but require their students to enroll in other classes. Schools offering teaching positions, for example, will require pedagogy classes. Others require PhD-level credits in English Literature. Others might require craft classes, and still others give students the option of. designing a customized "Independent Study" curriculum.
Culture
This is perhaps the most important component of choosing a school, and unfortunately, the hardest to get a handle on. Once you get in, of course, the administration will give you the chance to meet with current students. But when you're still in the application process, it's a lot harder to peek behind the curtain. Your best bet is to get your Google on to see if you can get a sense of what's happening behind the fortress walls. If you do get a chance to talk to current students or recent alums, ask about how workshop is handled—what kind of behavior is encouraged or discouraged? Are members of the cohort unnecessarily competitive, distrustful, or unhelpful? Or are they friendly, supportive, and helpful? What is the program's teaching philosophy? How big are classes? What is the professor/cohort ratio?
Alumni One indirect way of getting at the philosophy, if not the culture, of a school is to look carefully at the work of published alumni. If it's varied in style and subject matter, the program is likely to embrace a diverse pool of writers. If a book's "acknowledgements" page is full of colleagues and professors from the author's alma mater—or even a shout out to the program by name—it's a good bet that the culture is warm, welcoming, and encouraging of "lifetime membership." Acceptance Rate These are interesting if only for a reality check. Some schools boast that it's harder to get into their MFA program than it is to get into a top-tier medical school. If the stats on this page are any indication...I'll say they're not exaggerating. 0.86% at Vanderbilt? 2% at Syracuse? It's an old blog post, but from what I know, application numbers are only increasing, and MFA cohorts remain small—with only 6-12 members per year at most schools. To get a sense of the stress level, check out The Grad Cafe and search the MFA program of your choice for real-time updates on who's getting in where.
Generate your target schools by listing your top priorities and matching them against the schools' profile. App costs add up, so choose wisely.
Now...on to the applications!
*Brown is a tip-top school known for its experimental fiction, but I’m pretty sure they allow punctuation.
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