Nick McRae (The Ohio State University, 2013)

Decision Time, at least for this exiled poet, is over. Last night, I very happily accepted a poetry spot at The Ohio State University. I cannot even express how satisfied I am in my decision, and how ridiculously glad I am that this thing is finally, FINALLY over. I hadn't expected to make the decision so early, but I did a lot of hard thinking this weekend, and I discovered that I already knew what I wanted. I can't say how grateful I am to have this opportunity. I look forward to joining the good Mr. Adkisson and the other fine people of Ohio State in Columbus this Fall. Thank you all for your support. It is truly appreciated.

Decision Time: Discussion Question No. 3

I've always believed that, as an aspiring college professor, gaining college teaching experience would be one of the most important and valuable aspects of an MFA program. Very recently (as in, as of this morning), though, I have had reason to consider the possible benefits (and drawbacks) of funding packages that do not include teaching as a requirement. My thought process:

On the one hand, being funded but not required to teach would free up a lot of extra writing time, and would be a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (because, I mean, how often does one get paid to write without anything asked for in return?). And if one were to plan on going to a PhD program anyway (as I am), one would inevitably gain teaching experience as part of the PhD study. Therefore, it might be a good idea to accept the non-teaching funding offer.

On the other hand, though, teaching experience is a lot more important for the aspiring professor than it is for people not interested in education as a profession, and perhaps one should take advantage of as many opportunities to get that experience as possible. Also, teaching is often said to energize the mind in ways conducive to writing, and so perhaps the extra time constraints dictated by a teaching position would not hinder writing very much if at all.

So, assuming the teaching and non-teaching offers are roughly comparable in monetary value, which would you recommend? Are there other factors not considered here that one should consider should one find him- or herself in this position? Thoughts?

Decision Time: Discussion Question No. 2

Hello again friends. Thanks for all the enthusiastic (and helpful) responses to the first discussion question. This next question is another one that has been covered at length, especially at the P&W Speakeasy, but one on which I would nonetheless appreciate your opinions.

Yes, it's the old MFA/PhD discussion again. Here's the scenario. Let's say that one receives offers with comparable funding to both MFAs and PhDs (with creative emphasis). No matter what, one's ultimate goal is the PhD, so MFA only is not an option. The options then become:

(a.) Go for the PhD. Some people spend as few as one or two years in MFA programs and still manage to find employment, finish manuscripts, etc. Spending five years in a PhD program, then, would just provide even more time to write and accumulate teaching experience, and afterward one would also still qualify for some of those jobs at small English departments out there that require a PhD for consideration. Oh, and one might hit the job market by the time he or she is 30.

(b.) Go for the MFA first, and then apply to PhD programs. This would maximize one's number of funded writing years as well as one's opportunities to acquire mentors and readers, etc., an added perk being that you end up with two terminal degrees after all is said and done. Of course, this significantly extends one's time in school, which means that one hits the job market later and with more gray hair and much more accrued interest on those unsubsidized government loans and (even worse) those ill-advised, vampiric Sallie Mae loans.

Those are the two sides as I see them anyway.

What do you all think? What would you advise, and why? Feel free to augment, complicate, or refocus the question as needed.

Very much looking forward to your perspectives.

Decision Time: Discussion Question No. 1

Good morning all. Welcome to the realm of the hypothetical. This is the first of what will most likely be a series of discussion questions concerning the decision-making process.

This first question is an old one, and I know it has been covered ad nauseam in various media by Tom Kealey, Seth Abramson, and others, but I would very much like to get all of your opinions on it:

Let's say that one is accepted to multiple programs, each of which offers a funding package that is roughly comparable to the others and, therefore, the funding question becomes moot. That being so, what factor or factors would you then prioritize in making the decision? Faculty, location, reputation (or "prestige"), success of alumni, teaching load, editorial opportunities, etc.? Something else entirely?

I look forward to getting your perspectives on this. What better group could I possibly ask?

Greetings from Nick McRae (as yet uncommitted to a program)

Dear MFA Chronicles friends. You may be surprised to see me posting here and, honestly, I'm not unsurprised myself, but here we go nonetheless. I've been an avid reader of this blog since the beginning (though I only recently started commenting) and I've often wished I could join in on the conversation, so when Josh(ua Gottlieb-Miller) mentioned to me the other day that I might be able to join up as a contributor, I jumped at the idea. And, so, here I am. I look forward to interacting with you all!

As you can see from the title, I haven't decided on a program yet (and it is still early in the notification season), but I do have a few offers already, so I know I'll be going somewhere this Fall. I was originally worried about joining this blog without yet knowing where I'll end up, but I consulted Josh and Jaytee about it, and they thought it might interesting to have a contributor who's still in the decision-making process. I hope it will be. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Now, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Nick McRae (as you know), I'm 24 years old, and I'm from the tiny Northwest Georgia town of LaFayette. That's Luh-FAY-et, not La-fay-ET (there's a town legend behind this that I won't go into here!). I did my undergrad in English at the University of West Georgia, a truly great school for creative writing that no one really knows about. Being an ambitious student of poetry in a relatively unknown program, I got a lot of great opportunities, such as editing the undergrad literary journal, going to AWP on the university's dime, acting as a research assistant for my poetry professors' collaborative poetry writing text, and copyediting for the scholarly journals a/b: Auto/Biography Studies and Lifewriting Annual, among other things. A couple of summers ago I got a chance to attend the Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets and spent three weeks in pastoral Central Pennsylvania writing poems with the good Mr. Gottlieb-Miller and others. I've had some poems published here and there, my most recent and favorite being this one at Linebreak.

Aside from poetry, I have a deep love for Central Europe that has determined a lot of my life over the past few years. When I was an undergrad, I spent a year as an exchange student at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, and I currently live and work in Slovakia as part of a Fulbright grant. Here, I teach anglophone literature and advanced English language at a gymnasium, or selective (in this case public) secondary school. This is a great gig, I love Slovakia and my school, but every day I feel more and more ready to get back stateside and start my grad program, wherever that might ultimately be!

So, friends, country(wo)men, I need guidance. I've been trying to decide how to approach blogging about the grad school waiting/decision-making process, and I'm honestly a little flummoxed. On the one hand, I would be very interested to have all of your input on the upcoming decision, the details of my offers, etc., and it might possibly be interesting to the MFA Chronicles' outside readership as well. But on the other hand, I know from spending a few years now hanging around the MFA Blog and the P&W Speakeasy that some people do not take kindly to folks making too big a deal about getting multiple acceptances and having a hard time making a choice, and that sort of thing can often lead to a lot of harsh words and hard feelings. And so I ask: what do you all suggest? Do you think it would be a bad idea to discuss these things publicly on the blog here, or should I not be so worried? What would you all be interested in reading? What guidance would you offer?

I'm so proud to be a part of this unique online collective. I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you. You're all rock stars.