"Put your best work first. Some readers are looking for a reason to stop reading from the moment they start your work. Don't give it to them." - Elizabeth McCracken, MFA Application Reader at UT-Austin
I started to write about this topic when I was still an applicant, searching for programs far and wide, and basically drowning in information. You can see the beginnings of my struggles in my blog post: It's So Hard to Find the Right MFA Program! And I wrote a measly 5 sentences before I got accepted to my first MFA program and was too excited to be frustrated anymore.
Now that I've enrolled in an MFA program, I have a lot more to say on the topic. Here's my advice:
1 - Know What You Want to Study
This may seem obvious, but with an MFA, it's difficult. Many topic differ. For example, I applied for a "Professional Writing" program which encompassed multi-genre creative writing and scriptwriting. I also applied for "Creative Writing" programs where I needed to choose between poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. I also applied to "Screenwriting" programs and "Dramatic Writing" programs which are actually different. I also applied to a "Creative Writing and Publishing" program which included book arts classes.
So many of the programs are different, so you need to know specifically what you want to do. If there are add-ons, great, like publishing arts, but I wanted to study "writing" so I was unprepared for questions like "poetry or fiction?" I didn't understand why I couldn't do both, because all I wanted to do was write, to learn everything I possibly could about every genre because in the end, learning one genre will definitely help you in another.
I applied to all these different programs, spending over $1,000 on application fees, GRE study materials, the exam, and sending my scores, plus gifts for the professors and employers who wrote recommendations for me. I did all this because I wasn't focused enough on what I wanted to do. I was, again, unprepared - not for the work, but for the decisions.
I applied to good schools, figuring if I wasn't good enough to get into the programs I really wanted, I should probably find a new field anyway. I was prepared for rejection; in fact, I hoped for it. I hoped I would only get into a few schools because that would make my job of deciding a lot easier.
I'm proud to say that I got into some amazing programs, but I'm sad to say that I wasn't happy when I received the news. When I found out I was accepted to three creative writing programs and one screenwriting program, I cried, and they were stress-tears, not tears of happiness. I would now need to actually decide for myself where my life would lead, and I didn't like it.
2 - Look at the Classes
When looking at screenwriting programs, specifically, I found a lot of "Screenwriting I," "Screenwriting II," and "Screenwriting III" classes. When I talked to current students (something you should always do), they said it was great because you could write whatever you wanted.
I didn't like that.
I had only learned screenwriting my senior year of college, and I fell in love with it, but I was still green. I wanted to learn the difference between comedy and drama and how to write fantasy without getting too fantastical. I needed classes and professors to teach me that.
Yes, obviously creative freedom was important to me, as it should be to anyone in a creative field, but I doubted that would be taken away from me in a more constructive class setting. When I found the program I'm currently enrolled in, I was drawn to their "Writing for Sketch Comedy" course and "Book Adaptations," "TV Drama," and "TV Sitcom" courses. They were all structured and different and I could really learn different skills.
3 - Research Professors and Staff
While most graduate professors aren't on RateMyProfessor.com, sometimes they are because they teach undergraduate classes as well. Still, most programs advertise their professors on their websites because they want to brag about the people who teach there. Definitely look at them. In fact, a lot of application questions ask what professors you want to work with.
It's definitely a good idea to look so you know what you're getting. Just like you should research classes, you could take it one step further and ask for some sample syllabi. Not only will this give you an idea of the workload but also the teaching style.
The program I'm in, for example, doesn't have full time faculty. The director pulls from working professionals to teach our classes, so the connections we make are real and the advice we get is current. This sounds fantastic, right? I was ecstatic when this was explained to me.
However, that also means there's a clause in all of our syllabi basically asking that we not bother our professors with work outside of what's required for class. The working professional professors are busy with their day jobs, and we should just feel honored they're teaching for us. So, in one class where we're required to write Act I of our movie, I can't send in Acts II and III because it wasn't required. So my idea is stunted, wasted.
4 - Location
Most graduate school programs - creative, business, psychology, anything - require an internship or some other kind of work experience. Even if you're not required to do one, you should anyway. It's smart and constructive.
For this reason, you should look into the location of your school. Look at the opportunities around you and the opportunities for after graduation. Screenwriting, you should be in LA or NY. Creative Writing, near a strong English program at a university. Luckily, I'm from New York, so it made it easy to apply to a lot of great schools while still being cost effective. Still, I somehow ended up in LA.
It's important because, with graduate school, you'll usually end up living in that state after graduation because that's where your certifications are, your familiarity lies, and your connections. A lot of jobs are more likely to hire locally because they know the reputation of nearby universities and colleges.
5 - What's the Cost
This is so important. All graduate school programs are expensive; there's no way around it. However - unlike medical school, law school, and most business schools - an MFA doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to pay back your loans right away. Make sure the cost is manageable.
You also need to consider cost of living wherever you are. While in a screenwriting program I know I need to be in LA or NY, the minimum cost for an apartment is like $1,000 a month, which means I'll need a job which means less time for classes which means probably an extra year of tuition.
It's hard.
Also, make sure you know what the cost is. Don't use last semester's tuition because tuition goes up basically every year. I remember even as an undergrad always getting letters saying they were increasing tuition. Graduate school is no different.
And make sure you find out from the financial aid office or bursar's office or student accounts office, whatever your school wants to call it, the definite amount. While being recruited, one of the professors told me that yearly tuition was $5,000 less than it actually was, so my first bill was a pretty big shock. The anger is still quite real.
The moral of the story is - choosing any graduate program is hard, but choosing an MFA program is, sadly, even harder because the programs are so different. You don't know what you're getting like in medical school. You can't just Google "Best MFA Programs" and know what to expect. Everyone's writing is different, so they'll require different things from an MFA program.
My advice, most of all, is to know yourself. Know what you want. Then, go after it.
Love Always,
Joanna
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