Room and Board

Submitted by setchmo on February 2, 2008 - 10:48am.

Greetings. I live in the Seattle area and plan to apply for the 2008 workshop. I am very interested to know if the possibility exists to forgo the room and board and just attend classes? Is this the correct place to post this question? Thanks!

In 2006...

Submitted by cyoachim on February 2, 2008 - 1:32pm.

Hi there! I attended the workshop 2006, and lived in the Seattle area at the time. Our year, we were required to do room & board, even if we were local. I'm pretty sure this is still the case.

But even if it wasn't required, I can't imagine doing the workshop but not living with the other students. Yes, the classes are great, but the experience of being around an entire houseful of serious writers 24/7 -- complete with meals, impromptu readings, late night discussions, etc etc -- is an important part of what made the workshop worthwhile for me.

So while the room and board is expensive, it's worth it, even if you live close by.

Hope that helps answer your question :)

Room and board is required

Submitted by Vylar Kaftan on February 3, 2008 - 8:46am.

I'm also fairly sure this is still the case. Trust us--you'll want to live in the workshop environment anyway. A great deal of the Clarion West experience happens outside of the classroom.

You can contact info@clarionwest.org if you want an official answer, but I'm almost certain that room & board is required.

Vylar Kaftan
CW '04, Clarion West Forum Master
http://www.vylarkaftan.net

Absolutely, Vy is right--you

Submitted by hautdesert on February 3, 2008 - 10:12am.

Absolutely, Vy is right--you want to live there, not just come back and forth to class. It's a really big part of what you get out of attending.

Thanks

Submitted by setchmo on February 3, 2008 - 6:47pm.

Thank you for the replies. I had a feeling that would be the case. Best of luck to everyone applying.

Room and board

Submitted by neile on February 15, 2008 - 1:54pm.

I just wanted to confirm that this is indeed the case. In fact, we no longer separate out the room & board from tuition--it's now just one lump sum that includes both.

There are two reasons for this: first, the practical reason that due to our contract with the sorority house, we have to pay for 18 rooms whether we use them or not, and as a small nonprofit organization, we can't afford to; secondly it really does make a difference when someone doesn't stay in the house. You do miss out on things and it lessens the experience. I speak as someone who back in the days when the class and the dorms were entirely different didn't stay in the dorms and while I didn't regret it at the time--I spent all the time I could at the dorms--I now see that my Clarion West experience wasn't all that it would have been, and I do regret not staying there and getting the full experience.

It took me several years of watching the workshop to really understand what I missed out on. I'm glad that it's not an option anymore.

--Neile

Neile Graham

writer; workshop administrator

http:www.sff.net/people/neile