Should you apply?

Anyone who feels drawn toward advanced work in literature should consider graduate school. And if you think you might want to teach at the college level, you will need a graduate degree. But there are reasons to think twice: the job-market in academia is tough (many people qualified for academic jobs can't get them), and advanced degrees in the humanities can take a long time, and perhaps feel like a wasted effort if they ultimately lead nowhere. Then again, they never lead nowhere--the work itself is reward enough, and is very often excellent preparation for jobs other than teaching--and so your decision about whether or not to apply should probably be based on the intensity of your passion for the subject itself. What goes into your decision might also vary depending upon the kind of program you're considering (see below): the MFA, MA, and PhD require different things and lead in different directions, and demand different kinds of consideration.