The application process can be surprisingly complex. Get ahead of it with these simple planning tips.
Most jobs require some form of project management, otherwise known as doing a bunch of stuff very well and on schedule in order to meet a deadline. Creative-writing MFA apps are no different. Just like that successful widget or merch store you launched last year, there are dependencies and critical paths and internal milestones you need to stay on top of in order to call the project a success. But you can get it all done without a six-sigma black belt in graduate-school applications. Here’s how.
Know What Makes Each Application Different
Be aware that schools differ in a number of ways, including:
GRE (some don’t require it)
Due dates
Application platform (snail mail v. online)
Duplicate applications (this is the most confusing element of all): Some schools require two applications: one sent to the English Department or Creative Writing Program, and another to University admissions. Sometimes a separate and different set of essays is required for the university, but not the school—and vice versa. In many cases, some of the essays are required for university admission, but not critical for admission to the writing program. Most schools will outline these various subtleties for you online.
Number and type of essays
Manuscript format (length, hard or soft copy, staples vs. clips)
Number and type of letters of recommendation
Online vs. snail-mail
Transcripts: official vs. self-reported
CV requirement
Keep a Spreadsheet
In order to track your progress against each school’s varied and voluminous application requirements, keep and update a spreadsheet of critical deliverables. If you’re one of the 1000+ applicants who apply to ten or more schools in a cycle, keeping a spreadsheet is all the more important. As a former business manager, I didn’t like receiving incomplete or late material, and admissions committees are no different. If you don’t use Excel, you can keep track of your activity on a whiteboard or on a hand-written page. In your “Rows,” list the requirements. Assign schools to the “Columns.” In the cells, input each program's particular requirements and your own specific notes. Read the requirements carefully, and note important instructions so you don’t forget them.
Even if you're applying to only one school, there's going to be a lot of stuff to remember. Here's a sample spreadsheet. It includes deadlines, user IDs, writing sample word-limits, and more. Gray out the column only after you've completed the application. Create additional rows or columns for notes and updates.
Manage the Schedule
The three most critical pieces in the application that you're most in charge of are: Writing samples, essay(s), and letters of recommendation—in that order. With so many things to write and request, and with so many varying and subtle differences in the school requirements, it’s important that you think of the application process in terms of critical paths to completion. At any given moment, know what the pacing items are. For example...
If you’re requesting a letter of recommendation from an old instructor, it’s a good idea to send him or her a writing sample and a brief overview of what you’ve been up to in order to reacquaint the recommender with your work.
That means your writing sample is now a dependency—that is, the letter is dependent on your sample, making it a "critical path" item. It’s OK if the packet you send your instructor isn’t perfect at this stage, but you want to demonstrate your capabilities and give him enough time to read, react, recollect, and then write the recommendation. Because this all depends on the writing sample, which is now the bottleneck of your effort, you need to get started on that sample now. And, incidentally, the writing sample is the single-most important element of your application.
"Dream School" Schedules Keep more detailed work plans for your top schools. These backup spreadsheets will ensure you give yourself enough time to develop the best work, with attention to each school’s nuanced requirements which are all, thanks to the Internet, outlined on admissions Web sites. In the event you’re not clear on the guidelines, call the admissions office and ask – but you’d best be sure the info you’re seeking is not available anywhere else. These folks are swamped during application season (and remember, school’s in session for them as well), and you don’t want to create unnecessary work for the office.
Identifying Letters-of-Recommendation Writers Former writing instructors are probably your best bet. But if you don’t have many writing teachers in your Rolodex (to young people, that means contacts in your iPhone), go for people who have first-hand experience with your character, work ethic, cooperativeness (read: not a psycho), and/or your commitment to the craft. Learning to workshop is fundamental to a writers’ trajectory. Whether it’s getting notes from friends or working together in a group setting, providing respectful, insightful, feedback—and learning how to receive it—are a big part of writing well. All other qualities being equal, the better you’re able to demonstrate your ability to give and receive notes and take your MFA seriously, the better your chances of getting in. If a non-writer is writing your recommendation, you may provide some gentle suggestions to the referrer with regard to what areas you’d like her to cover. And she’ll probably appreciate it, because you're making the process easier on her.
Budget If money’s tight, it’s a good idea to know what you’re getting into by pulling together a quick budget. Application fees are as low as $0 and as high as $150. Those fees—coupled with transcript request fees and other incidentals—can add up fast.
Now you’re ready to start phoning for letters, ordering transcripts, getting notes on old stories, or starting new ones. If you’re serious about applying, you’ll be consumed by the process over the next few months. There's no time like the present to take a deep breath...and dive in!
Комментарии