In the beginning...

About a year ago, after getting my first story published, I began to think that maybe, just maybe, I could live the dream. Get into a top-notch creative writing program and get paid -- paid! -- to do nothing but write (and maybe teach) for two full years. So I went out and bought a copy of Tom Kealey's excellent MFA handbook and started to save money in the hopes of making my dream a reality.

Now it's almost October and applications are due in three months. Where do I stand? What have I done (or haven't done) that would convince a faculty to take me? What have I done (or haven't done) that would convince a faculty to throw my application into a garbage can and light that garbage can on fire?

The case for:

• I have a degree. So far so good. That degree happens to be a BS in Genetics from Purdue University, 2004. While that may sound impressive, it's actually quite horrible -- see the "The case against:" section down below.
  
  
• I currently have a job that I'm quite good at in the very relevant area of editing, and I even have the word "Senior" in my title.
  
  
• I've had two short stories published.
  
  
• My Verbal GRE score isn't half bad (650).

The case against:

• My GPA, weighing in at an awful 2.46. No, I'm not making that up. This, besides my manuscript of course, will be the thing that sinks me. To all you undergrads looking towards grad school: I can't stress how important it is to finish with a decent GPA. While having a sub-3.0 GPA won't immediately sink your chances for an MFA (an MFA in Creative Writing being one of the few degrees out there that don't always require a GPA minimum) it will be a barrier to you for a number of schools. Why? A GPA minimum is one that the Graduate School (not to be confused with the program) will often require. There are the occasions where the Creative Writing program has enough autonomy where they can take whomever they want, but as with a lot of places, you have to get accepted into the Graduate School first -- thus the GPA minimum.
  
  
• I lack a "relevant" degree. This is more important to some schools than others, but having a non-English degree ranges from very mildly important to not important at all. This is kind of a throwaway point.
  
  
• My referees are not former professors or teachers. Two of them are supervisors and one is a writing group chum. I don't know if this is a valid "case against," as I've been out of school for about four years, but it illustrates how important it is to kiss ass while in school and to keep in contact with past teachers.
  

So there we have it. To be honest, my GPA blemish scares me to death more than anything else. In compiling my list of schools, I've had to cross off at least a half dozen schools on that basis alone. I've also since emailed a handful others asking if the GPA requirements would immediately disqualify me from contention. Needless to say, it's been a huge source of stress for me of late, and I can't emphasize enough how important it is to get good grades in school. Yeesh. I sound like my mom.

Obviously all of the above is moot in relation to my writing. But I can't account for my manuscript, which no one can tell you is any good until you actually do the deed and submit your work. And, of course, it's always too late when you find out that your work isn't good enough, but that's the nature of the beast, isn't it?