Oh well. I can’t say I’m not disappointed by this news, but what are you going to do? It’s not fruitful to sit and fret about why I was not selected since there’s no possible way for me to ever know the truth. And, luckily, it was not the only thing going for me. Still, I’m bummed out about it. I don’t feel personally rejected, just disappointed not to be able to pursue something I was really excited about.
I guess there’s always the long shot that they come back to me as potential filler for a longer list if there are still empty spaces, but that’s an even slimmer chance than this was. I’m not even going to think about that.
There is, of course, always next year. I didn’t get into NYU the first time I applied either. Maybe history will repeat itself. Or not. Just got to keep creating, I suppose.
Now, let’s never talk about this again. Well, a few weeks at least.
This is a joke, an accredited school didn’t really send this to you, did they? Forgive me if I’m a little gullible, I live in Menlo Park now, and it causes mental problems for me sometimes.
You know, of all the rejection letters I’ve received, this has to be the nicest one. It’s a bummer, for sure, but better than the default letter I got through the school’s online admission form. That one was remarkably sterile. At least this is personable and forward. If nothing else, it’s just motivation to continue to improve my craft. And drink a bottle or 6 of red wine.
Okay, perhaps they got sued for being too insensitive in the letters of rejection they had previously been sending out?
Might I also add that I am surprised you are not being accepted to this MFA program; your fiction writing is quite good. Maybe I want you to end up in an MFA program because I chickened out of one and ended up switching to a Linguistics MA for fear that I would become an incapable and self-loathing writer who wouldn’t be able to keep up with the competition.
I guess you’re right, this letter is more sincere than most rejections.
I want to end up in an MFA program too, because I work best in small, focused groups where people can be totally ruthless with their commentary in a productive, helpful environment. Regarding the quality of my fiction, I appreciate your opinion. I put a lot of thought and work into that stuff, so the good feedback is nice. But, who knows, maybe there were just 8 applicants with better work and/or more interesting personal statements? Maybe the F I got in an undergraduate English class (Oops!) sealed my fate? We’ll never really know. It doesn’t matter. I just have to do better next time.