Untapped Low-Res MFA Market: Agoraphobics

Today is Part Two of Rob Wilder’s take on MFA programs, and this time we’re talking about the low-residency variety. (Rob got his degree at what is considered the top low-res program in the country, Warren Wilson.)

Full-residency programs offer all sorts of opportunities you can’t get with low-res (read more about that here), but unless you’re totally unencumbered (like me) or have an extremely mobile and adventurous family, most people can’t just pick up and move to New York or Iowa or Michigan for grad school. For those folks, low-res is the way to get an MFA because you can study where you live. “Low-res programs were created for people who have full lives,” Rob said.

The thing with low-res is that since you don’t have weekly classes – you set your own writing/study schedule, turn in your work every week via postal mail or email, and communicate with your classmates and professors online – structure goes right out the window. There’s no one around to notice if you’re writing or not. Rob said, “You have to have tremendous self-discipline, or you’re wasting your time.”

When Rob did his low-res MFA he was a full-time teacher with a wife and new baby, so on top of all that activity he had 25 hours of writing and studying every week, which doesn’t let up until you graduate.

“Low-res is year-round, so once you’re getting done with one residency you’re starting another,” he said. “That meant for two years I got all my writing done on Saturday and Sunday. I’d do two 12-hour days. For me there were no birthday parties, there were no concerts, no barbecues.” Rob stressed that not only is that a hellacious schedule for a single person, it can be really tough on relationships, so if you do have a partner or children, make sure everyone understands just how scarce you’ll be while you’re in school.

The other downside is that low-res programs are often more expensive than full-res, and you can’t get a teaching assistantship to help you pay for it. Rob said to make sure you factor in travel costs to your low-res budget, because you’re required to be on campus twice a year and that generally means airfare, hotel, and rental car costs.

One big advantage to low-res is that you get direct attention from faculty, rather than risk getting lost in a sea of faces as you move from professor to professor every semester in a full-residency program. With low-res you have one supervisor who works with you one-on-one and reads your work very closely. The attention is focused and intense, which as I’m experiencing at Queens, is something you can’t take for granted.

All this debate about full-res versus low-res might be moot if you simply can’t or don’t want to move to go to grad school. If so, low-res is a great option, despite the drawbacks, and many of the programs have excellent reputations and because of that draw top-notch faculty and talented students. On Friday we’ll wrap it up with Rob, where he shares his final thoughts on the MFA. Stay tuned.

P.S. My friend Summer shared this quote from Anne Lamott (it’s Lamott’s daily prayer): “In the morning, Whatever, and at night, Oh well.” Brilliant.