MFA Programs

Education aside, my most emphatic piece of advice regarding whether or not to attend an MFA program has to do with money: No one should go into debt to study creative writing. It’s simply not worth it. Do not think of it as an investment in yourself that you’ll be able to recoup later on. This is not medical school. There are many more MFA programs turning out many more writers than the market can possibly bear; the law of averages dictates that a great percentage of graduates are never going to make anywhere close to a living practicing their craft. Every MFA program has some level of financial aid that is based on how talented you are deemed to be, which is another way of saying how badly that program wants you. If you get into an MFA program without an offer of financial aid, sit out a year and then reapply.

ANN PATCHETT