<p>Their rejection ****es me off.</p>
<p>Just tell me I’m rejected instead of “We had many applicants”. DUH you had applicants…would have never guessed that one. </p>
<p>[/rant]</p>
<p>Has anyone decided on a workshop yet? They all sound great to me. Decisions, decisions. :(</p>
<p>My first choice is between Fiction with Madeline McDonnell and Creative Writing with Dan Rosenberg. My third choice will definitely be Nick Dybek’s Fiction class.</p>
<p>I went to Iowa last year and had a great time. Congrats to all who made it, and I hope those who didn’t find other great ways to spend their summer. It’s funny that Nick is teaching - he was an RA last year (some of our RAs switch between teaching and RAing year to year - they’re all really qualified writers). I never heard on Madeline or Dan. Do you know who else is teaching this year?</p>
<p>Anjali Sachdeva, Sarah Fay, and a few others are people who come to mind. I can’t really remember the other teachers. Hah.</p>
<p>I just got back from Session 1 – this is an amazing program! If anyone wants to apply next year, DO IT. It’s so worth it.</p>
<p>Good to hear. I’ll be leaving in six days; very excited.</p>
<p>Have fun. One of the female counselors for session 2, Madeline McDonnell, was my teacher…she could not be more amazing. Whose class are you in?</p>
<p>Bumping this up for this year’s impending deadline.</p>
<p>How “good” do you guys think the writing sample should be? I generally consider myself a decently strong writer, but this selectivity is scaring me. Now when I try to go back and find stuff everything I thought was good now seems mediocre at best. And I found out about Iowa, like, two days ago lol. What do you think? And how important is the rec?</p>
<p>Hi randomazn14,
I applied to Iowa as well, and I’m anxiously waiting for a reply.
I don’t know if these answers to your questions are too late, but I hope I can still be of use:
“How “good” do you think the writing sample should be”
Well, this IS one of the best writing programs. They’re looking for excellent writers, or at least for people with excellent potential. I’m making a blind assumption here, but I don’t think your transcript matters nearly as much as your writing sample. Why would they need to know if you’re any good at math?
As for your rec, I’m not sure. They definitely take it into account, but at our age, how likely is it that we have any teachers/mentors who are really familiar with our work? I think mine was good, because I get along well with the teacher that wrote it for me, but I don’t think it’ll be of extreme importance. That’s not to say it doesn’t matter - it must hold a certain amount of weight.
Hope this helps, and that we’ll both get in! (crossing my fingers!)</p>
<p>^I have a friend who applied to Iowa, tremendous poet but horrendous grades (she briefly considered dropping out of high school). She was rejected. There’s certainly a bit of academics at play in the admissions process.</p>
<p>I did not mean to say that the writing sample is all they look at, but I simply think it most logical that this is what holds most weight in the admission decisions. Obviously, Iowa IS incredibly competitive, and having straight As can only be a plus, but it’s more likely that someone will be accepted/rejected based on their writing samples than their transcripts. At the same time, I suppose your grades can testify of the amount of effort you put into a work, which is a factor I’m sure they consider.</p>
<p>-don’t take all of the things I’ve said here as granted facts, because I’m making a lot of assumptions (which I hope I’ve rightly justified)</p>
<p>glassesarechic, when did your friend apply to iowa? How in the world has she gotten her answer back already? (did she do it some other year??)</p>
<p>I went to IYWS as a rising junior; my grades at that point were exceptionally mediocre, but I explained in my essay (there’s a personal statement, right? I feel like I applied a million years ago) why that was. They were very understanding, or so I think, because I’m certainly not a shockingly incredible writer, and I got in (that’s not to say that the caliber of the program isn’t as people say it is! It’s a wonderful program, I just felt unduly lucky to be accepted). I would not be too worried about grades (although I only mean that to temper what glassearechic said- I’m sure she’s absolutely right about her friend’s experience). I think that my very strong letter of recommendation helped a lot, so I would recommend choosing someone who you know can speak to your talents.
Good luck to both of you! I hope that it works out; you’ll have an amazing time there.</p>
<p>Whoa, I definitely don’t check the threads I ask desperate questions in.</p>
<p>Yeah, thanks, Ses. In the end, I got a teacher who genuinely appreciated my writing (tone, technique, ideas) to write me a recommendation. I did get to see it, and actually felt immensely honored. Hm. Now that I look back, the personal statement might have been a bit off-color, and the writing sample a bit generic. Ah, but who cares now?!</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone! Hope you get in, Ses. ;)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, she applied last year.</p>
<p>Oh, right. Sorry, that sounded both frantic and panicked! </p>
<p>Good luck to you to, R-azn (i figured we were going for the nicknames here - to be read as “raisin”). Let me know if you get in!</p>
<p>Ugh. Your hopefulness nauseates me. 
Let’s assume the worst…then we can feel all the more joy whatever comes, eh?</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone answering our pleas for information, and tell me if you get in too, Ses. </p>
<p>And I do quite like Raisin.</p>
<p>My hopefulness was rewarded!!! I can’t wait 'til the summer!
And yes, I second Raisin - CC community, you’ve been a goldmine of information!
What about you raisin? Any news yet?</p>
<p>Oh, word, I’m so excited!</p>
<p>^ So you were accepted?</p>
<p>Hah! Yes, I was. I must’ve forgotten to state that (due to my excitment )</p>