<p>Wait, iamkoho, I’m confused as to what you’re trying to say. Are you saying that Zhang was good or bad?</p>
<p>Bingo77, which session are you in for?</p>
<p>I had Nick last year, and he was really great. Both Jenny and Madeline always seemed fantastic. If I had to pick over, I’d take Jenny.
Also, poetry always seemed the most fun - just my two cents.</p>
<p>Foreverfish- Session 1, you?
Retrohippo- awesome, thanks!!</p>
<p>Bingo77: Session 2 (: So excited even though i’ll be one of the youngest there</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, how old are you? I’m a young sophomore myself, so I figure I’ll be one of the younger ones there. Are you a freshman now though, because I know they accept a few each year? :)</p>
<p>the question wasn’t posed to me but i am a (young) junior! i am so jealous of you talented sophomores i got rejected every year since ninth grade! and it crushed me like a BUG under a STILETTO both times!!! #resiliencepays</p>
<p>My daughter was just accepted for Session 1 of Iowa Young Writers’ Studio. She is 16 and homeschooled, and vegetarian. We are all going out with her, and are all vegetarians. I am wondering about three things: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Any other vegetarians?</p></li>
<li><p>Anyone who has been there before, and has eaten at a veggie restaurant, do you have any recommendations?</p></li>
<li><p>Any vegetarian who has been there before, how are the veggie options offered by IYWS in their caf?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for any info.</p>
<p>I’ve been accepted for Session 1, too. I can’t decide between the workshops! Does anyone have any advice or experience with the workshop leaders? I’m thinking of Creative Writing with Joe, or Fiction with Nick…</p>
<p>Bingo77: I’m a sophomore (rising junior), but I’m younger than most sophomores because I have an unfortunate birthday. I don’t turn 16 until the end of September.
dictionaryparty: Aw, that sucks 
Still, it’s awesome that you got in this year! (Session 2, right?) I can’t wait to meet everyone!</p>
<p>Andthelightsblur: I was thinking fiction with Nick as well. Hey, maybe we’ll see each other there!</p>
<p>Only a few more days until we head off to Session 1, folks! Everyone else as excited as I am?!</p>
<p>Anyone who has McDonnell:</p>
<p>Let us know how she is!</p>
<p>Speaking as someone who got back from session one on Sunday, I can honestly say that IYWS was, hands down, the best two weeks of my life. The director, teachers, and counselors are just such a fantastic group, and I am sure session two’s will be just as good. If you’re going into session two a little bit nervous; don’t be. It’s better than you could have ever imagined.
@foreverfish- I didn’ thave McDonnell, but several of my friends did and they adored her. She seemed really awesome even though I didn’t get to work with her, and judging by the piece she read at the faculty reading night, she is an incredible writer and person.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone attending session two! Get ready to have the time of your life :)</p>
<p>Oh my God. Session 2 just ended this morning and I can’t even form coherent thoughts about my experience with the program. I’ll go more into it for future applicants when I’ve calmed down, but suffice it to say I hadn’t cried in public for eight years, and I bawled like a baby twice today–once when our shuttle pulled away from the dorm, and once when I arrived at the airport back home because I knew that I’d never get the opportunity to be in such an environment ever again.</p>
<p>Okay, I can’t possibly say everything about the program that I want to say here, but if anyone applying for future sessions has either general or specific questions, please feel free to message/email me. I would be delighted to share my experiences with you.</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I have a question regarding IOWA young writers workshop. My son is a freshmen at high school. He is planning to apply for this summer. They ask us to submit 10 pages of fiction, poetry,…etc. How many of them your kid submitted? Total ten page count. Please let us know.</p>
<p>Hi ForeverFish,</p>
<pre><code> Is there any writing samples that you guys wrote at IOWA young writers workshop? Do they take Freshmen?
</code></pre>
<p>@mumfor
Since apparently we’re the only people who think ahead on these things, I’ll try to answer your questions as best as I can. However, I’m a HS student whose experience with these things is limited to devouring the CC threads for the past year and web surfing these programs’ websites…and I just wanted to let you know that I’ve never been to any of these (although I am planning to apply to IYWS, UVA, and possibly NBTB and Stanford EPGY for summer 2014).</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The Iowa Young Writers’ Workshop lets freshmen apply. However, as it states on their website, they only “admit an exceptionally talented and mature 9th grader” if “there is space.” That’s not to say that your son isn’t those things - but just something to keep in mind - IYWS is competitive and upperclassmen tend to be better writers simply because they’ve had an extra two years of writing. I know in 2010 there was a CC poster who applied to Iowa as a freshman and didn’t get in, and I haven’t heard of any CC posters who have gotten in as freshmen.</p></li>
<li><p>The number of fiction pieces, poetry, and other stuff varies widely. Some people just send in one long story or a excerpt of a novel. Others do some excerpts, a short story, and a handful of poems. I even read somewhere that someone sent in a fictional story that had poems in it. Also what a lot of people seem to forget is that you can also send in creative nonfiction - like memoirs and such. The long story short (pun intended) is that it doesn’t really matter how much of each type of writing your son sends in (in the categories of fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction), as long as it’s his best work.</p></li>
<li><p>As for the samples of work that people at Iowa did last year…some Session I IYWS students read some work on a local radio station. Stephen Lovely (the director of IYWS) posted the audio on the website (link: [IYWS</a> students on KRUI Episode 3 | Iowa Young Writers’ Studio](<a href=“Loading...”>Loading...)). I haven’t listened to it yet, so I don’t know if it’s good, but you might want to check that out.</p></li>
<li><p>Also, just some advice (paraphrased) I saw on other creative writing threads…</p></li>
<li><p>Apply to more than one program if your son really wants to do a summer writing program because he might not get into IYWS. On the CC thread titled “Creative Writing Summer Programs” (which is now inactive but still has a lot of good information; link here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/645318-creative-writing-summer-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/645318-creative-writing-summer-programs.html</a>), it seems that most posters had applied to IYWS, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference (in Tennessee, more info here: [Sewanee</a> Young Writers’ Conference](<a href=“Sewanee”>Page has moved)), UVA’s Young Writers’ Workshop (in Virginia, website: [Summer</a> Program | Young Writers Workshop](<a href=“http://theyoungwriters.org/programs/summer-program]Summer”>http://theyoungwriters.org/programs/summer-program)), and, if they’re old enough, the Kenyon Young Writers’ Workshop (website: [The</a> Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop](<a href=“http://www.kenyonreview.org/workshops/young-writers/]The”>Young Writers Workshops)). Sewanee and UVA are easier to get into as freshmen, and just easier to get into in general (but they’re still really good programs). Kenyon is as hard as IYWS but sometimes people get into Kenyon and not IYWS. Some other good backups are Alpha (at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus, for science fiction/fantasy/horror writers, website: [Alpha</a> SF/F/H Workshop for Young Writers](<a href=“http://alpha.spellcaster.org%5DAlpha”>http://alpha.spellcaster.org)), the Interlochen Center for the Arts’ High School Creative Writing Summer Program (in Michigan, website: [High</a> School Creative Writing Summer Program | Interlochen Summer Arts Camp](<a href=“http://camp.interlochen.org/program/creative-writing/hs/summer]High”>Creative Writing Summer Program for High School Students | Interlochen Arts Camp)), and if he’s willing to give journalism a try, Newsroom by the Bay (at Stanford University, website: [Newsroom</a> by the Bay | We’re now accepting applications for Summer 2013 and admission is rolling. Apply now and reserve your space at NBTB 2013!](<a href=“http://newsroombythebay.com/]Newsroom”>http://newsroombythebay.com/)). I know there’s not a lot of web info on Newsroom by the Bay, but I have a (trustworthy) journalism classmate who went and loved it.</p></li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li>Don’t let your son get discouraged if he doesn’t make it into any of the programs this year. They are highly competitive. I think in 2011 IYWS admission rates were a little over 20%. Plus, he has three more years to get into one of these things.</li>
</ol>
<p>Hope this helps, mumfor, and anyone else who is thinking about applying to summer writing programs!</p>
<p>Oh yeah, one more thing. I didn’t list all of the summer creative writing programs out there, just the ones that I’ve either a) heard of the most and b) could remember off the top of my head. Here’s a more comprehensive list: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/1285279-writing-journalism-programs-list.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/1285279-writing-journalism-programs-list.html</a></p>