hi everybody!! i’m applying again after getting rejected last year (i’m a sophomore now and i’ve been working on my fiction a lot in the past year so i’m applying first choice fiction and second choice poetry). idk, i won a gold key for poetry and a gold key for fiction from scholastics this year but haven’t won anything else since applying. i hope maybe they think i’ve improved 
anyway, i emailed them a few of the questions posted on here because i couldn’t find answers on the website and peter responded back:
"Thanks so much for your interest in the mentorship program! Happy to tackle your questions:
- Admissions aren't rolling this year, just our evaluation of applications. We read apps and vote them up or down for further consideration on a rolling basis, but we won't be deciding on actual cohort seats among the group of apps we're excited about until after all applications have been received and read.I recognize that saying we "read applications on a rolling basis" is a bit confusing so I won't be including that in future marketing blasts about the program. Sorry about that!
- While we hope those we accept into the program will be able to participate, participation definitely is not binding! Historically, we have not had to dip into the waitlist much (if at all), but with tuition as a factor and especially with everything up in the air with COVID-19, we are expecting that some who apply and are accepted may not ultimately be able to participate. We will definitely have a waitlist this year and look forward to making any seats that open up available to selected students from the waitlist.
- When we advise "tell us why this program" in our guidelines for the writer's statement, we're effectively asking you to potentially explore some or all of the following questions: 1) What specifically about Adroit's program (unlike Iowa, Kenyon, etc.) piques your interest? 2) What sort of relationship (if any) do you have to Adroit and its previous issues? Do you have favorite poems or stories that have appeared in our pages? etc. At the end of the day, we're looking to put together a cohort of students that we believe are ready to thrive. Please feel free to reference any awards, publications, etc. particularly as they're relevant to anything else you're saying/demonstrating -- but you're correct in assuming that awards/experience does not make the difference at the end of the day. All successful applicants clearly expressed their passion for writing, as well as what drives them to write -- and it felt authentic and honest. That, if anything, is the common denominator in successful apps.
- You can participate in the mentorship alongside other writing programs like Iowa, Kenyon, Penn, etc., yes.
- If you're applying in multiple genres, you can use up to 8-12 pages for each genre and both should be in the writing sample. We consider both genres independent of their ranking on your app until the final stage -- so students can make it to the final round for one or both of the genres to which they applied and then we look at expressed preferences from there.
Let me know if you have any further questions. Looking forward to your app, and thanks again. And stay safe!!
- Peter"
i’m so daunted by the mentorship program’s selectivity to the point where i haven’t even started my statement bc i don’t even know what i’d talk about 
Good luck with your application! Stay calm, I know you’re going to do great 