Dear Tina,

I have been contemplating enrolling in an MFA program but have heard such mixed reviews. I want to further my writing career, but I worry about the time and expense. Are MFA programs really worth it? 

Signed,

Tentative 

Dear Tentative, 

Like most answers to life’s important questions, this one can only be answered one way: it depends. 

I see three hefty reasons topping the “yes, it’s worth it” column: an MFA offers community, motivation and industry connections. You will be guided and mentored by published authors and be offered some insider access to agents and publishers. More importantly, an MFA is a practice-based degree; therefore, you will be part of a writing community and commit to a daily writing habit fueled by deadlines and requirements. For many writers, this dedicated practice proves the “action begets motivation” theory. If you’ve been dawdling around your desk pretending to write, an MFA program will get your pen or keyboard hopping. 

Moreover, if you want to teach at the college/university level, an MFA is considered to be a terminal degree, meaning it qualifies you to serve as an adjunct instructor or tenure-track faculty member sans a PhD. While you may have no interest in teaching right now, it can augment a writing career and is a sure-fire way to improve your own craft. (Trust me, when you have to face a room full of people who think you’re an expert, you tend to step up your game). 

Remember, though, while an MFA may be a requirement to teach, it is not a requirement for becoming a published author, nor is it a guarantee of future publication.  

Which leads to the no less significant “it-might-not-be-worth-it” column: an MFA costs a lot of money without any assurance of a financial return on investment. Unless you happen to be accepted into a fully funded program, you will likely have to take out student loans. When you graduate, well, it ain’t medical or law school, that’s for sure. Still, not all ROI has to be financial, right? Any degree is ultimately an investment in yourself, in your craft and in your future. 

Besides cost, the most common lament I’ve heard from MFA graduates is that they did not receive constructive feedback, and/or the feedback via workshopping sessions was pointed and slanted toward other writers’ stylistic vibes. In short, they feel like they paid a lot of money to hear biased opinions and then walked away disappointed.  

To be fair, I’ve heard similar complaints from graduate degree holders in other fields. Perhaps we tend to start any educational program filled with optimism and high expectations. The journey can be much more fun than the destination. Once we see how the sausage is really made, the let down can be real. We may leave a master’s degree program feeling a lack of mastery over anything and may only realize the full value of the program after our framed diploma has gathered a good layer of dust. 

Overall, it’s a tough decision, Tentative; I know, because I’ve been tossing it around for…oh, just about 35 years myself. As you decide, consider some lower-cost alternatives to the MFA. Though they don’t lead to a degree, such programs may either whet or satiate your appetite for an MFA entirely.

For example, a few years ago I participated in one of Project Write Now’s year-long Memoir and Novel incubators offered through its book inc program. I served as a Peer Artist Leader and joined fellow writers—beginners and veterans alike—via bimonthly Zoom sessions to discuss craft and process. Through a supportive community, achievable word count deadlines, and structured reading rounds, we each completed a 50,000-word manuscript in less than a year! book inc also offers a six-month Book Revision Lab and a Book Submission Bootcamp for those who want to continue the process. 

At the end of such a program, you will have a solid first draft and a well-connected writing community for support. You’ll also either have ample material to submit with your MFA application or the motivation to bypass the MFA altogether. There are many Project Write Now writers who have done just that, with and without an MFA. Read some recent success stories here.

Finally, here are some resources to help guide your decision-making process. Best wishes to you and Happy Writing! 

• The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Guide to Academic Writing Programs
• Poets & Writers How to Pick an MFA Program and MFA Database
• ProFellow’s list of Fully Funded MFA Programs

Do you have a writing-related dilemma? Send your questions to asktina@projectwritenow.org. Selected questions will be featured in upcoming columns, and Tina will ensure her answers offer valuable insights for writers facing similar challenges.