Tuition and Fees

For the academic year beginning in July 2021, semester tuition is $9675 with an additional mandatory residency fee of $600 covering room/board/facilities use. In January residencies at Blue Ridge Assembly, rooms with a private bath are available for an additional $200. The MFA Program for Writers provides substantial need-based aid. Given the high standards set for admission into our MFA Program, we are equally eager for all admitted students to attend. All students who demonstrate need as determined by the FAFSA receive MFA grants and are considered for all scholarships for which they are eligible.

Tuition

In order to satisfy degree requirements, students are required to successfully complete four semesters and participate in five residencies. For the academic year beginning in July 2021, the six-month semester tuition is $9675 with an additional mandatory residency fee of $600 toward room (single-occupancy), board, and facilities use while on campus. Additional variable expenses include travel to and from Asheville twice a year, books (15-20+ each semester), and possibly postage.

Please note that the Free Tuition Plan for qualifying NC residents initiated in 2018 at Warren Wilson College applies to undergraduate students only.

Financial Aid

The MFA Program for Writers provides only need-based aid. Support for those who qualify include program-provided MFA grants which reduce the cost of tuition and scholarships provided by Friends of Writers. A limited number of work-study internships are also available. Any student may apply for federal loans.

Because MFA students are on campus only during two residency periods each year, we do not offer teaching assistantships. The low-residency format, however, allows students to attend a graduate writing program without moving or changing jobs, and to continue to work full-time while completing their graduate studies. Thus, in comparing the costs of graduate writing programs, one should recognize the absence of the multiple expenses of moving, and the advantage of maintaining income during the period of enrollment.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) serves as the application for financial aid. Students are encouraged to apply online prior to the application deadline (March 1 or September 1) at ttps://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. The Federal School Code for Warren Wilson College is 002979, Asheville, NC. The FAFSA processor will send you the results by email, and the results will be received electronically by Warren Wilson College but admitted students should also send a copy of the Student Aid Report (SAR) to the Program Director.

Admission into the MFA Program for Writers is need-blind. Once a student is offered admission, the Program will request your Student Aid Report (SAR), determine eligibility for grants, and will notify you or the aid offered. Supplemental Friends of Writers scholarships are all determined by the end of March or September.

Scholarships, Fellowships and Grants

All students who demonstrate need via the FAFSA receive an MFA grant which reduces their tuition. MFA grants are renewable for up to four semesters as long as the student continues to qualify. They are also considered for all Friends of Writers’ scholarships for which they are eligible as well as the Rona Jaffe Foundation Graduate Creative Writing Scholarship, described below. The FAFSA serves as the application for most of these scholarships. Our program application form provides an opportunity to state eligibility for the Holden Scholarship for writers of color and the Rodney Jack Scholarship for LGBTQ+ students.

Holden Scholarship

Inaugurated in 1995 by a generous donor, the Holden Scholarship was named for the late Dr. Reuben Holden, a revered President of Warren Wilson, who brought the MFA Program to the College and was its unfailing friend. Previous Holden Scholars to date have included Fred Arroyo, Natalie Baszile, R. Dwayne Betts, and A. Van Jordan.

Administered by Friends of Writers, this endowed scholarship provides full tuition and residency fees for a student of color’s entire 4-semester degree program. The student is responsible for travel, living, and additional expenses. Admitted students will be considered as fellowship candidates only at the time of application to the Program.

Holden Scholarship applicants should submit a FAFSA by the application deadline and should provide information about eligibility on the Submittable application form. The Program reserves the right to withhold the scholarship in any term in which none of the applicants have been first selected by the Admissions Committee. Up to three Holden Scholars can be supported at any given time.

The Rona Jaffe Foundation Graduate Fellowship in Creative Writing

Thanks to the generous support of The Rona Jaffe Foundation, one fellowship is available annually to an incoming female MFA Program for Writers student in fiction or poetry. The fellowship covers tuition and fees for the first two semesters, plus a $4000 stipend to cover books, travel to residencies, child care, or loss of income while attending each residency. The student must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. and must demonstrate need via the FAFSA. Admitted students will be considered as fellowship candidates only at the time of application to the Program; no additional application is required. This opportunity cannot be deferred or repeated. Recipients will not be eligible for MFA grants during their tenure in the Program.

Additional financial aid opportunities are also available:

MFA Grant

Provided by the Program, MFA Grants are awarded on the basis of the student’s ability to pay, as assessed by the FAFSA and the federally-determined figure for the cost of education. Grants are renewable for four semesters, as long as the student remains eligible.

The Barnhardt Family Fund

This one-semester grant covers the residency fee for students at the highest level of financial need.

Holden Opportunity Grants

Provided by the Holden Fund for Diversity, these grants cover residency fees for eligible students of color.

The Rodney Jack Scholarship

This renewable $1000/semester scholarship, in honor of alumnus and Holden Scholar Rodney Jack (poetry, 1999) is awarded to two entering students demonstrating financial need who identify as LGBTQIA. Candidates provide a statement of eligibility on the program’s application form.

The MFA Program would like to thank David Lanier for his ongoing support of the program through this scholarship.

Lisel Mueller Scholarship

This endowed fund provides an annual, non-renewable scholarship to enrolled students with small children. No application is required.

The MFA Program would like to thank Linda Nemec Foster for her ongoing support of the program through this scholarship.

The Carol Houck Smith Scholarship

The Carol Houck Smith Scholarship directly supports a student at work on the thesis manuscript in an Extra or Final semester.

Renate Wood Scholarship

Thanks to the generosity of the late Renate Wood and her husband Bill, their friends, and faculty and alumni who wanted to honor Renate’s years of excellent work as a poet and as a teacher of poetry, the MFA Program for Writers awards a Renate Wood Scholarship to an entering student in poetry who demonstrates both extraordinary merit and extraordinary need. The Wood Scholarship is renewable for up to four semesters.

The Wally Scholarship

This new scholarship, provided by a generous alumnus in support of his fellow “Wallies,” provides potentially-renewable single-semester support.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan Program

Student loans are the primary source of financial aid available to graduate students, and the best source of loans is the Federal Direct Loan Program. These loans are available through the Department of Education. Graduate students, if eligible, may borrow up to $20,500 in federal unsubsidized loans per academic year. Repayment begins six months after you cease to be enrolled or take a leave of absence. Students generally have up to ten years to repay their accumulated loans; however, there are minimum monthly repayments. Once your FAFSA has been processed and your eligibility determined, the Financial Aid Office at Warren Wilson will send you an award letter. If you wish to accept the student loans you have been offered, you will need to complete an MFA Federal Direct Loan Response form (found on the financial aid web page under forms) and complete the Master Promissory Note and the Entrance Loan Counseling (both may be found at www.studentloans.gov). You will use your FAFSA ID to log onto the web page. Your loan will be applied to your tuition bill when you have completed all the steps to accept it.

*Institutional financial aid awarded a student upon enrollment–including but not limited to MFA Grants, the Renate Wood Scholarship, the Holden Minority Scholarship, and Levis Funds–will be provided for four semesters of study, assuming the student earns academic credit each semester, progresses toward completion of the degree, and continues to demonstrate financial need as demonstrated by an annual FAFSA. For all students making satisfactory academic progress, Title IV aid is available for the first five semesters of enrollment.

Document Downloads:

“Financing Graduate Education: A guide for Prospective Students” brochure

MFA Withdrawal and Refund Policy

MFA Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards

MFA Verification Policy

For More Information:

Grants and scholarships are awarded and provided by the MFA Program for Writers and Friends of Writers, Inc.; please contact the MFA Office or “Financing Graduate Education: A guide for Prospective Students” brochure for more information.

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Federal loans are facilitated by the Financial Aid Office at Warren Wilson College.

Financial Aid Office, CPO 6342
Warren Wilson College
PO Box 9000
Asheville, NC 28815
[email protected]
(828) 771-2082 (phone)