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I'm just going to send them a polite, brief, and casual email letting them know my circumstances and asking if there's any way to increase the scholarship amount. Maybe a paragraph long Thank you, friend! I think you still have a good shot with NYU or any of the other waitlists you're on this year. Don't count yourself out, yet!

Hey! I also just got in off the waitlist and was offered a small(ish) scholarship. I've been following the conversation on the drafts FB group about other schools, and from what I understand you should absolutely ask. I plan on asking as well, so you won't be the only one, if that helps! The worst they can do is tell us no!

Hey guys! I don't know if this will be helpful or frightening for some people, but I think I should just say that this was actually my third cycle, as well. In fact, it was my third time applying to some of these same schools. I was waitlisted at both USC and NYU this year, and because this is my third cycle I am obviously frustrated, exhausted, and probably a little wounded. The ultimate irony is to wait for so long (literally three years) to hear back in a positive manner from a single program only to be placed on a list literally titled "waitlist." As though I haven't been? But honestly, while I know graduate school is something I want to do for myself at some point, when I think about my life over the last few years, I've gotten a lot of opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise had. For example: between submitting my last application hearing back about the first interview, I was selected for a really cool residency for the exact play I submitted to all these schools. Last year while I was waiting, I got a request from a theatre company to produce the play for which I didn't get a single interview. And this is just writing-related stuff. I've had an amazing few years even without the validation of getting into a program. I don't know, I guess my point is that it really sucks to get rejected and/or not get in on first offer, but "career" has developed itself outside the incubator of graduate school. I still want to go (see some of you next year for round four) but I guess I'm just saying that life is crazy and your career doesn't stop--or end--when you enter graduate school. That's not to take away from anyone else who did get into a program this year. Congrats! It's a big achievement! This is the sad part of the year where we all slowly disperse from this site, but if anyone wants to link up outside the forum, feel free to DM me and I'll give you my Facebook/NPX/whatever. Otherwise, best of luck with everything to everyone!

I wouldn't take that as a no. NYU will literally send out requests up to two weeks apart. I think it has a lot to do with individual interviewer availability. Right now, anything can happen. It's just still a awaiting game.

Hey everyone! Just jumping in to say I also heard from NYU today.

Yay! Congrats! I'm wondering if anyone else happened to hear from them? There's not enough info in the results page from previous years to get an accurate picture about what this means for the rest of us.

Just want to jump in and acknowledge that this week and next is going to be heavy traffic for this forum/the results page. Based on last year and the year before, it looks like we can expect to hear back from Northwestern/Hunter this week, NYU next week. And those are just the ones I'm personally following. Good luck, all! And just remember your worth as a writer is not determined by a group of people huddled in an administrative office.

Hey everyone! It does not feel like it should be application season again. It feels like it's been a week and also like it's been three years. I just wanted to say hi to all first time applicants, but also wanted to give a special shout out to people whose names I've seen on this forum for literally years. Whatever reasons we all have for applying a third/fourth/maybe fifth time, I draw on that collective strength as January approaches.

I'm hoping this will mostly apply to schools who, like Yale, are also attached to professional production companies. A huge part of Yale's acting program is graduating with your equity card after working with the Rep and obviously no productions = no equity card. So hopefully other admission cycles will go relatively undisturbed?

I was offered a production out of the blue from my NPX account this February, so I'd say yes. (But since corona took over the world, who knows if that's actually going to happen.) It's only like $12 a year, so I just upload new drafts every few weeks and forget about it. It's also a great resource to get to know other playwrights and their work. I basically recon anyone I encounter virtually or if someone new joins my workshop group. Speaking of NPX, if anyone wants to connect that way and isn't comfortable putting their info out publicly, you can DM your link and in a few days you'll have a shiny new rec waiting for you. I'm a little leery of putting my link up publicly only because I'd rather stay as anonymous as possible to potential admissions folk who may or may not secretly stalk this thread so I can make sure I can remain, erm, candid going forward. Also I'm the worst twenty-something because I had to google what a "finsta" was, but that's really awesome!

Sorry to everyone currently experiencing the rejections. And to those sitting on waitlists: I have the highest hopes for your eventual acceptances! Something I think we should talk about maybe a little later down the line is maybe keeping this thread active throughout the summer for those of us planning on re-applying to keep connected and maybe trade statements, etc. We've got a good group here and the 2021 deadlines will be here sooner than we think. Just a thought

I was able to speak with a current student earlier this year who said her cohort is 24 and the cohort before hers was also 24, leaving 48 in the program overall.

Hi friends. Full disclosure: I've been a little absent this week because I started to sense things weren't going to blow my way on the grad school front, on top of several professional stumbling blocks that all just piled up in one huge mess. (It's been a week, folks. Trust me.) I'd be lying if I said I'm not disappointed, frustrated, and a little bamboozled, but I also know I'm not the only one in this boat, so before I depart like air from this forum until (likely) next year, I want to give a quick shout out to everyone who either a. didn't get an interview, b. doesn't feel great about their interview, c. did get an interview and ends up being waitlisted/rejected (not to put bad omens in the air). Despite another wipeout season for me, barring any potential but unlikely dark horse, I still believe everything I was saying a few pages back about optimism and liberation. I can tell you that the thought of being free from having to sit in anxiety any longer has brought a lot of relief; I can finally write again and work toward my looming deadline! Not that I would have preferred it this way, but I'm making it out of this without feeling too badly about myself. So I'll take it. Anyhow, congrats to all for making it even this far in this genuinely traumatizing process. Write, workshop, and get it out there.

On this note: before everyone starts getting decisions in and disperses, anyone in New York looking to connect is more than welcome to do so. Always up for readings/shows/etc. Thanks everyone for being kind and supportive of random strangers on the internet. The future of theatre is bright.

Did anyone else happen to hear from NYU yesterday? It looks like the film/TV applicants haven't heard anything, so I'm not really concerned. Also NYU sends out their requests in a TRICKLE, particularly on the playwriting side.

I think I've mentioned this is my second go at this. Last year after everything fell through for me, it sucked, but by early May I actually started to feel a little relieved. I think it was because I was no longer in that space where I didn't know what my next year was going to look like--I wasn't just waiting anymore. My ego was a little bruised, but honestly that needed to happen for me to realize how hard I would need to work. So I read a lot, wrote a lot(it was hard for me to write while I was waiting, and it has been this year, also), and workshopped so that by the time the applications opened again I would feel a little more confident. I'm honestly not sure how that process has impacted this year yet: I'm only officially out of the running for Yale. But I can say that I actually did feel good going into the applications, and regardless what happens I know I represented my work better in 2020 than I did in 2019. If I end up without an offer this year, I'll just do it all over again. I know I'm on the right path, so for me it's not an "if I ever get into a program" it's "when I do get into a program" because I'm still young and figuring these things out. I guess basically I'm saying that if you don't get an offer, the best thing to do is dust yourself off and try again until you do. In the end, if you start fall 2021 or whatever you're really only one extra year older, and that year might be necessary for your personal and artistic growth.

NYU should be later this week if tradition holds up--but early next week at the latest, probably. Columbia last year didn't notify about interviews until I think the second week of March.

Sorry to the Yale rejections--I was in the Friday batch. This week should prove to be emotionally draining for all of us, so I hope everyone's in a good state of mind. Mental health is first.

Was it by chance a Skype/video interview? I know they like to do in person interviews for those who can, and I happened to notice that many of us who didn't hear anything live in the NY area, so maybe I'm just trying to hold on to hope but I have a working theory they might be trying to get the long distance interviews done in one shot before they contact those of us nearby.

I hope you saw our Hunter discussion from last night--I wouldn't give up hope on that one, at least. I wish there was a little more transparency regarding what these programs would like to see. Otherwise, it feels like submitting to programs at random and just hoping there's at least one person on the committee who likes your style. And I totally get it's subjective and everything, but some of these applications are so expensive that "chance" knowing just a little bit about whether their committee is looking for quiet kitchen sink dramas or wacky experimental stuff would definitely inform my decision on whether to apply. But anyway, I'm NOT going to complain anymore because good vibes only.

This is good to know! I have a lot more hope hearing this, and also I was fully expecting you to make it to the interview process just based on your history with Hunter. Good to hear about your friend--I won't give up yet! And now that you mention it, I do actually remember Hunter sending out interview requests in batches last year. Good luck, guys!

You are a saint. Did you not hear anything, either?

Thanks and congrats! Did anyone else who applied hear from Hunter?

Aw, thanks. I'm trying to keep it together and distracted and I have my moments. But on the bright side, my apartment has literally never been cleaner.

I think that's what they normally do. So I'd expect we are still waiting on both.