Low-residency MFAs?

[SarahandSam]

I just finished my second semester at Goddard doing a low-res MFA in creative writing... any other low-res students or graduates out there?

I love the low-res format, and Goddard in general... going for the residencies is the craziest charge of creative energy I've ever had.

[Paige777]

I'm finishing my Senior year as an undergrad at the moment, and I've been considering a low res MFA - actually, Godard was one school I've been looking at. Mind if I ask you what you like about it, and what, if anything, you don't??

[SarahandSam]

People tend to either love it or hate it, from all the people I've talked to. Things I love:

Goddard just has a really great "vibe" to it. "Hippies" scare me and I am always leery of any sort of feel-good granola-y talk, but I have met some of the nicest, most genuine, most creative people in my life at Goddard, and developed friendships that were really important to me after only my first residency--the residencies are such an intense experience that it feels like you've known everyone forever after just a few days, which is really neat. Being totally immersed in a community of other writers or artists for a week, basically living and breathing it, is very inspiring--I get way more writing done when I'm there than anywhere or anytime else. Very non-pretentious and genuine people, and very talented.

I love the personal connection you get with the advisors, because they get so familiar with your work and how it has developed, and the advising groups are so small. The workshops at the residencies are also really varied and intense and fun to go to. As an undergraduate I hated doing writing exercises in workshops, for example, but I love them at Goddard because all of the exercises I've done have been so unusual and pushed me out of my comfort zone in an oddly comfortable way.

The Goddard campus is gorgeous--Vermont in the winter or summer, in the middle of the woods and mountains. Just being there is amazing.

Obviously a lot of those things are specific to Goddard, but I'm sure each low-residency program has its own particular vibe to it and the residencies are similarly intense. I like how individualized Goddard is, as far as developing your reading lists and the focus for your thesis project, and I like how varied the advisors are--there's really a good match for everyone, and the program director is very good at pairing new students up with advisors. I've had two, and both were very different but really challenged me one way or another, and gave really detailed feedback.

I also like that they focus more on actually reading and writing in your genre, rather than critical analysis. Reading annotations focus more on craft, and how to apply it to your work, rather than misogyny or Masonic symbols or whatever other theoretical crap that takes the focus away from the writing itself. The teaching practicum is also helpful because it gives MFA students a chance to actually teach, since so many of them go on to teach college.

The only thing I would say is difficult is that it's sometimes hard to motivate yourself when you're working on your own so much, but I always feel recharged after I get a packet response back, so that's not so much of a problem. I do always tend to run late sending out packets though, which means spending $20 on overnight shipping 5 times a semester. d;

If you have any specific questions about Goddard, PM me and I'd be happy to answer them! I looked into a lot of different programs but threw all my eggs in one basket when I applied to Goddard, so I'm not as familiar with all the details of other programs, but I'd be happy to help on the low-res format in general.