gettingby: said:
Does anyone here have an MFA?
I don't have an MFA. What I have is an MA from a university that appears to have supplemented that old MA program with a new MFA one, as it appears I did almost everything the MFA degree requires ( plus a few things extra), with minor exceptions. The biggest difference appears to be that I didn't teach any classes, which the MFA requires. So I reckon I'm close enough to sitting in that boat to comment. Even if I'm not, I'll comment anyway...
gettingby: said:
I am thinking about getting one, but I know the programs are really competitive.
Really? My program was easy to get into. Good academic record, past record of fiction sales, a few modest writing awards, a genuine interest in the field of study, and an apparently successful interview with the chairman of the department.
gettingby: said:
Any advice on getting into an MFA program?
Give it a go. If you aren't already studying in this area, and writing and submitting stories, you may not be the shiniest candidate, but if you have money, a willingness to pay, and the gumption to write, you probably stand a good chance of getting in somewhere.
gettingby: said:
Financially, no. I spent money for which I probably had better use (the money was spent on books, as the tuition and general fees were covered by fee waivers). But I really liked reading and writing and learning about such things, so for philosophical reasons, yeah, it was probably worth it. But worth it job-wise? Not at all.
gettingby: said:
Did you come out a better writer?
I think almost anyone will become a better writer after dedicating 2 or 3 years to learning their craft, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll be a better
storyteller. Maybe they'll be a better putter-togetherer-of-words and a crackerjack structuralist, to boot, and if that's how you approach it, you'll probably not be disappointed. But if you're looking for the magic beans of writerly success, the MFA cannot deliver them.
That said, I think I came out a better
informed writer. That is, I learned about things I probably would never have investigated otherwise, namely, literary criticism.
Like Old Hack, I graduated with distinction, but unlike her, no one offered me a job. In fact, the MA appears to be completely useless as a job-getter, at least outside the adjunct-professoring world.
gettingby: said:
I just wanted to hear from people who have applied for MFA programs or gone through the program... All I am looking for is to become a better writer and get published in the literary journals.
Becoming a better writer and getting published in your target markets is often a matter of reading, writing, and persevering. But you have to work at honing your craft, and if self-study isn't doing it for you, an MFA program is
one way to go, but not
the only way.