mfa programs that you thought had healthy environments and weren't stifling?
hey all, i hope you're doing well. i've graduated college and am taking some time off before applying for an MFA. i write literary fiction, not particularly bound to any genre. the main reason i want to get an MFA is because i love the craft of writing and i just want to learn and know more--my college experience didnt feel like enough!
but theres something that gives me pause, which is that i've heard that MFA programs may have a tendency to stifle the voices of writers or push them to create formulaic, overwritten content. now i'm a big believer in the value of education and i certainly do not believe all places are like this, but i can see how it might be the case, especially given how the market operates today. however i'm not sure WHICH places are said to be like this, or if it's just a subjective experience that sometimes crops up.
so i guess i just wanted to ask, for those who have been in MFA spaces--what has been YOUR experience? what sort of places would you recommend--particularly places that you felt like accommodated your vision for your work, but also genuinely improved you? somewhere where you weren't being fitted into a mold?
(this is not to say i consider myself a particularly eclectic or 'special' writer. i just worry, knowing how much i can be a teacher's pet/people pleaser, about being in an environment where i'd feel like i have to make myself small to succeed. you know?)
or maybe this is an entirely mistaken notion? who knows. i just want to talk about it!