I know, I know... I have been MIA. My post-MFA life isn't so glamorous, as I work part-time at Georgia College teaching English composition and am spending my spare time submitting poetry like mad. For more information on me (or my poetry publications), please check out www.rachelm.com .
Now that the self-promotion is over, I wanted to come over here to post this link.
Creative Writing Profs Dispute Their Ranking–No, the Entire Notion of Ranking!
I know that I'm not the only one who has been interested in rankings throughout my whole MFA application process and during the time I spent in an MFA. I thought this might be a good place for us to discuss/debate a little bit!
I hope you are all doing well--whether you're still working on your MFA or you've moved onto the next stage of your life.
I wouldn't have applied for MFA programs if not for the rankings, simply because the rankings were the first list of MFA programs I had access to as an international student (together with the lists in the MFA Handbook). Without the rankings, most of these 200 professors' schools wouldn't have a chance at free global publicity...
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the view toward the rankings and the online applicant community presented in the letter is half ignorance and half sour grapes. These people don't know how much - and to what depth - Seth's applicant community, which includes many current and former MFA students, helps applicants with first-hand knowledge. They only see the numerical rankings and say, "These don't indicate the quality of programs numerically." Of course they don't. You *can't* rank MFA programs numerically. The overwhelming advice in the community is to use the information provided to find the program that best fits you.
ReplyDelete