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 file a FAFSA by August 10 or February 10 here. 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.
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 Ellen Bryant Voigt Scholarship – Awarded to a post-essay poetry student, the Ellen Bryant Voigt Scholarship covers the tuition for an Extra semester of study.
The Carol Houck Smith Scholarship directly supports a student at work on the thesis manuscript in an Extra or Final semester.
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.
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.
Grants for Change – Established in 2021 and fully endowed in 2023, Grants for Change provides support for writers of color and international students.
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.
Any student interested in receiving financial aid must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by August 10 for the Fall Admissions Cycle and February 10 for the Spring Admissions Cycle. All grants and scholarships in our program require that the FAFSA demonstrates financial need. Both American students and international students are eligible for need-based scholarships and grants if they file a FAFSA by August 10 or February 10 here and qualify for need-based support. Please note that in additionl to scholarships, federal loans, available to any student, also require submission of the FAFSA by the August 10 or February 10 filing date. If you are planning to file a FAFSA, please note the filing date on the application form.
