<p>I’m not saying you have no chance at Iowa’s grad program. I’m saying there’s no way for you to know whether you will get in or not, and if you don’t believe me you are fooling yourself. Even if you made connections at UIowa, your place will not be secured. Also, MFA programs most likely do not care so much where you went to college, whether it’s Barnard or any other place. They are interested that you got your bachelor’s degree from somewhere and, most importantly, your writing sample. Your degree from Barnard will be impressive in the greater academic arena, maybe even to MFA admissions people who know Barnard has a history of encouraging and cultivating stellar creative writers. The Barnard name won’t crowd out your writing ability. It may have no effect, it may help. It will definitely not hurt you.</p>