In Ann Patchett’s essay collection This is the Story of a Happy Marriage she writes a longish piece about the trajectory of her writing career. She mentions getting her masters degree in creative writing and how (I didn’t know this) if you’re trying to get into grad school, and you’re a really promising prospect, the schools will sometimes compete for you, usually with some kinda financial assistance. 

So then I started thinking of applying to grad school for an MFA in creative writing–but I think what I mainly wanted to see is whether I could submit a writing sample that someone in the admissions process might look at and say, “This is somebody worth having. Let’s make an offer.” That alone would be validating enough that I probably wouldn’t pursue it.