Well, to be fair, in the best MFA programs, this is by design. Programs like the Iowa Writers Workshop are run by people who already know great writing can be learned but not taught.

These programs are run more like writing groups where interaction with your peers is more important than a student teacher relationship.

You can get a lot out of writers groups/workshops outside the academic world, perhaps as much as you can get inside.

What you can’t get, as you’ve already intimated, are the connections that can make it much easier to get traditionally published.

Just graduating from one of the better programs can get you a literary agent and a book deal.

That’s probably not a fair/just situation, but it’s good to acknowledge.