jck349

Sorry about the rejection! Onwards and upwards!! Of your list, I only applied to Brown and Northwestern and haven't heard anything from either. The wait continues...

I didn't apply to CMU this year, but some folks on the results page posted rejection notices. I applied to Hunter and Northwestern and haven't heard anything either!

Welcome! The waiting is the hardest part, but it's fortunately almost over. It's my third time applying, and I think you're right about the general timeline. Most interview requests (at least for programs that had January deadlines) will be sent out in the back half of February. Nobody's posted *anything* yet on the results page for Playwriting MFAs, but I imagine they'll start rolling in after Presidents' Day... Then decisions usually come mid-March, then it's the Waitlist Shuffle. I feel ya about planning for the future. I was in the same boat as you last year, considering changing my day job with the specter of grad school some months down the line... I changed my day job and didn't get into any MFA programs, the plus side being that I've been able to spend the last year at a MUCH better day job than if I had put all my eggs in the "moving off to school in the Fall" basket. Best of luck to you and to everyone!!

Hello! I didn't apply to Carnegie this year, but last year I got my interview invitation email on February 15. I'm pretty chill at the moment, but once we get past Valentine's Day and the decisions are imminent, I think my face will begin to melt as well.

That would be exciting! I'll definitely post as soon as I hear anything!

All finished with my apps! Submitted to Brown, Hunter, Iowa, Northwestern, and UCSD. It's my third time applying, so hopefully third time's the charm... Best of luck to everyone!!

Is anybody else applying to Brown? I submitted the application and the application status says "awaiting materials." Does anyone else have the same status? Just want to make sure they got everything!

Awesome! Just sent you a DM!

I was also going to ask the same people I asked last year for letters of rec... I don't know if it's "bad" or not, but I think some schools even keep your letters of rec on file (with the implication that they can be reused for future applications), so it doesn't seem like the kind of thing they look down upon.

Best of luck everyone! I'm applying to UT Austin, Northwestern, Iowa, Brooklyn, Hunter, Brown, San Diego, and Rutgers (if they're indeed opening their application this year)! This might be my last cycle applying, so it's definitely the most schools I've applied to at once...

This will be my third cycle, but last time I only applied to two schools, and the time before that I was a bit under-prepared... Where's everyone applying to this year? Also, does anybody know if Rutgers is accepting applications this year and if Ohio's program still exists?

So... Is anybody applying for Fall 2024?

Has anybody gotten a rejection or wait-list notice from Iowa? I know they've already sent acceptances, but they'll have to send official updates to the rest of us at some point soon!

Welcome and congrats!! 45 minutes seems like a long interview, so that's probably a good sign haha! Where else did you apply/hear back from?

I didn't apply this year, but when I applied in the past I got a rejection email on February 24. But by that point, they were already deep in the interview process, so it was pretty obvious that a rejection was coming. Check the application portal if you haven't!

Carnegie interview here as well! Has anybody heard anything (either personally or through the grapevine) from Iowa? Assuming there won't be any updates til early March, but ya never know.

Anybody hear anything re: Carnegie Mellon?

Did anybody end up hearing anything from Carnegie Mellon yesterday? Just wanna make sure I'm not alone haha!

Got the same email! When I last applied (for the Fall 2020 start), they delayed a week because they needed more time to sort through the large applicant pool. So this definitely isn't anything out of the ordinary!

Did UCSD give any info on why they're not accepting anyone this year? I found about their cancellation before I actually submitted my application, so I didn't get any emails from them. Best of luck with this round! At least we should hear from Carnegie on February 1!

Well, that's it... I've officially finished all my applications (just waiting on my recommenders to submit their recommendations)! I was planning on applying to three schools, but since UCSD closed their applications, that leaves me with just Iowa and Carnegie Mellon. Last time I applied was Fall 2019 for the 2020-2021 school year, and I ended up being interviewed/waitlisted at CMU and got full rejections from Iowa, UCSD, Yale, and UT Austin. Might have been a blessing in disguise, considering Covid. Wanted to wait until live theatre came back before applying again. Can't imagine the unique difficulty of a completely remote performing arts program! Anyway, I feel better about my applications overall this time around. The play(s) I submitted are more interesting and my personal statements are slightly less embarrassing. Hope to at least get an interview from either program. Happy Holidays (and keep an eye on those deadlines)! P.S.: anybody else think it's kinda weird how quiet the forum is this year? Have people just abandoned Grad Cafe, or do you think there are less people applying this year?

And to follow up... I emailed UCSD's application coordinator and this is unfortunately true... They'll be sending out official notice to applicants about this. Bummer! Hope the program is doing ok!

So... I just checked the UCSD website to confirm the application deadline, and it says they aren't accepting any applications for Fall 2023 and that they'll resume accepting applicants for Fall 2024?! Anybody know anything about this?

I'm applying! Haven't uploaded everything yet so I'm not to the point of submitting the application, but I haven't had any technical issues so far... Have you emailed CMU? They might be more helpful than GradCAS!

I've been thinking the same(ish) thing, but the last time I applied was pre-Covid, so some of my thoughts about theatre etc have changed. There was also a lot of cringe-worthy stuff I wanted to delete, haha. All that to say that there's some passages I was able to reuse from last time and a good chunk of new stuff. But since you just applied last year, you should probably update it? Have you had any experiences in the past year that have changed your goals or your process? (Regardless, double-check the requirements for each school! One place I'm applying changed the rubric to 1-page maximum, and last time I applied it was 2+ pages). But hey, I'm no expert. Where are you applying?