The Dreaded Visit

I've finally managed to find a clearing in my work schedule, and have set up a visit to the University of Illinois campus this weekend, March 29-30. I say "the dreaded visit" in the title of this post not because I don't want to visit, but because I have an almost allergic aversion to meeting new people, much less meeting new people that I inexplicably feel like I need to impress. Which makes no sense. Their aim is to impress me, not the other way around, right? Chalk it up to my neurotic personality.

At any rate, the application calendar season, while almost over with just three weeks left until April 15, is far from definitively finished for many applicants. Scanning the usual MFA resources (MFA Blog, the Speakeasy, TSE), it's clear that there are still countless individuals waiting to hear from half, sometimes nearly all their prospective schools. It strikes me as almost crazy that some people, through no fault of their own, have yet to hear from the majority of their schools with just three weeks to go. Uprooting your entire life and potentially moving halfway across the country in just four months is no small feat for any person. Throw in a girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other/wife/husband/children, then you've got a whole world of things to do, to prepare for, to worry about, never mind the whole process of actually considering offers between different schools and the hundreds of variables that can come out of that. Stress wrapped in a handbasket to say the least, and I haven't even mentioned wait lists. My heart goes out to all those who are still currently sitting on their hands, waiting for the phone to ring or the inbox to fill up. My advice? Call or email the program. We're sitting at three weeks from the April 15 deadline, and something (rude response or otherwise) is better than sitting in limbo.