Choices and Voices: Professor Chernoff Comments on Applying to M.F.A. Programs

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY -- Letters of recommendation can come from writers who know the applicant’s work, former teachers or other close professional mentors or colleagues. Maxine Chernoff, director of San Francisco State University’s Master of Fine Arts program, finds them important, but not overwhelmingly so: “They help assure us that the applicant works reasonably well in an academic setting. Most importantly, the manuscript counts.”