<p>Hi
I am currently an undergraduate student who is looking for graduate schools for mfa writing, specifically poetry. I am interested in Brown University's program and was wondering some questions about the admissions.</p>
<p>Has anyone on College Confidential gotten into Brown for the mfa literary arts program?</p>
<p>What types of poems or writers do they search for when choosing who to admit?</p>
<p>If someone has gotten in, then what types of poems did you send for admission?</p>
<p>Are there any sample poems that I could look at to see how they match up to mine?</p>
<p>This is the wrong way to go about graduate admissions. Your poems shouldn’t “match up” with anyone else’s. They should express your own artistic creativity. There’s not going to be one type of poem they’re looking for that will get you in the door.</p>
<p>You should call the director of graduate studies in the MFA program to discuss admissions requirements in more detail.</p>
<p>I understand what you are saying and agree that everyone should express their own creativity. I was just wondering what types of poems brown looks for in the applicant pool since I have heard that brown admits a lot of experimental poets. I was looking for an idea of how my poetry stands along with past or other applicants. I think it is good but is it good enough for the five or four spots they have? Thanks anyway!</p>
<p>Actually, your poems DO need to match up, in a way. They need to express the same approach that the MFA professors have while still being highly original. My knowledge of Brown’s MFA program is decades old, but they used to favor students who pushed the boundaries of poetry and fiction; experimentalism ruled, both in style and subject matter. To see if that’s still the case, check out the writing of the professors currently teaching. Edited to add: I missed that you said that they are still experimental.</p>
<p>You’ll have a better chance of acceptance if your SOP reflects a solid philosophy/theory behind your poetry. Acceptance into MFA is tricky because they expect you to be both talented AND academic. You will be admitted/denied almost entirely on your work. If they don’t like your poetry, then you won’t be admitted. But they’ll also expect you to be somewhat self-aware of your literary intentions.</p>
<p>As with all graduate programs, fit is critical to acceptance. If you don’t like the professors’ work, chances are that they won’t like yours.</p>
<p>Don’t mind me asking, but why do you need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to learn how to write poetry? Couldn’t you just spend the money buying all the poetry books your e-reader/tablet can handle, and then traveling to all the writer workshops/poet’s hangouts to immerse yourself? I’m sure you will even have money leftover. You can hone and refine your craft without taking out massive loans to get an MFA, even if it’s from Brown.</p>