Columbia University School of the Arts Writing Division

Reviewer's Name:

Student X

Review Date

April 03, 2009

Year of Graduation:

2010

Review Title:

Becoming a better editor

Full Review of the Program:

The MFA at Columbia is intense: you're required to take almost 4 classes per semester, which apart from your workshop include seminars, lectures and master classes. All of these additional classes focus heavily on reading (around 800 pages per week) and class discussions revolve around these readings. I've found that these readings feed my writing - I'm a young writer and at this point need to be exposed to the different types of books out there and this program really exposes me to that aspect of becoming a better writer.
Additionally, the faculty is superb. As a Columbia MFA student, you don't need to go out of your way to network with great writers - they are right there, they are your professors who also become your mentors. It's great to go up to your professor and ask for advice because they have a lot of writing, publishing and teaching experience under their belt.
The negative thing about Columbia's MFA program is its funding - students should be receiving a lot more aid! But since it is a very large program in comparison to other programs, it is somewhat understandable that not every student can receive aid. However, that doesn't change the fact that many of us leave Columbia with a big debt.

Advice to Prospective Students:

APPLY! It's a great program, you're exposed to a lot of reading, writing, fantastic lectures by people like James Wood and Joyce Carol Oates. Each semester, you have a big selection of faculty members to choose from for your workshop unlike smaller programs.