Mel Rose

I just got a very kind email back from a faculty member at NYU—who my mentor connected me with…he said that as of Monday, they’ve received commitments from the full class, so unless someone drops at the last minute, it is unlikely there will be movement on the waiting list. It is of course impossible to predict if there are extenuating circumstances, but I hope this helps! I’m grateful he was transparent, honest and straightforward about it!

Did anyone end up hearing from the NYU waitlist? I've accepted my offer to CMU at this point as it is past the deadline, but my mentor is really encouraging me to remain on the list, as NYU is kinda the best fit for my interests for personal life reasons. I will cross that bridge if I come to it, but I'm curious if there has been any movement on that list yet? No one I know has heard anything and it seems super odd.

I'm so sorry you all are experiencing that. I would guess that it is the university overall and its antiquated software that are to blame, rather than individual faculty from the program(s), but all-in-all it seems like it is time for them to definitely address that as an ongoing problem. On another note, has anyone else heard NOTHING from UT Austin? I'm assuming all offers are out and see that some rejections are out, but I've still heard nothing and my portal is the same. That's the only school I've gotten nothing from at this point. As for my grad school journey this year...I have gotten: -one acceptance (CMU) -two waitlists (Iowa and NYU) -and the rest rejections. I have asked for an extension from CMU before making a decision. Trying not to get my hopes up but Iowa is my dream school so I'm hanging on by a thread.

The tension is real lol. Decision time is upon us. ? @Waves2021 @MischiefNotManaged et al I feel ya 100%. Grad school is not the only path and finances are a huge part of the deal. I am awaiting the final details on my fellowship from CMU, and I will be weighing that heavily in my decision to accept/decline the offer, as the financial realities (including the costs of relocating to a new city) are for me a major factor. I've also been getting some nice artistic opportunities with my work recently, and am weighing the pros/cons of staying in NYC for another year to build that network, vs being in another city for grad school. It's a really tough call rn. Personal and professional conundrums abound! I also just got an email that I am an alternate / waitlisted finalist at Iowa again this year, and that those initial 3 offers have been made (for team Iowa ppl). So I will be agonizing about Iowa and NYU's possible openings for the next month. Tough decisions only getting tougher. This is definitely harder than the application process lol.

Hey I didn't apply to Columbia so I know nothing of their process, but I saw last night on twitter that a friend of a friend just received an offer. Not sure if they all go out at the same time, just figured I'd relay the information, for those waiting!

Also waitlisted at NYU...didn't get an email, strangely, but checked the portal because I had feeling we'd get answers today. Kinda bummed as I really felt my application was exponentially stronger this year. The play I submitted has opened a lot of doors for me this year, just strangely not as many MFA programs ?‍♀️ Still keeping my name on the list at NYU just in case, but (barring any major plot twists) I'm leaning toward accepting my offer at CMU. I've been pleased with the program so far... ZOOMing with some current students/alumni and members of my cohort this weekend, and may take a road trip to scope out Pittsburgh next weekend just to be sure (if I can scrounge together the insane gas money right now lol). Still waiting on the final word from a few schools, but whatever happens, I trust I'll end up where I'm meant to.

Congrats @thefates! That’s awesome! I haven’t heard from Hunter either, which I’m pretty bummed about. I saw on Draft that someone got an interview request early last week, so I wonder if it is over :( disappointed for sure…We’ll see. Did anyone here interview at Hunter yet?

I cast a wide net this year, but ultimately tried to hone in more on the programs where I was waitlisted/finalist-ed last year (Iowa, NYU, CMU, Hunter, Northwestern) in my apps. I based my list on the faculty, and the kind of writers that graduate from the program. I only applied at places where I love the work of the teachers and alumni, and my favored programs are those that emphasize character driven work & story (more so than experimental theatre...not my thing). I also factored in funding or funding options (I wanted a fully funded program or program where there is at least a possibility of significant partial funding or major grants/commissions). I've been seeking a career-minded program that prepares you for both playwriting and film/tv writing, so that was also important. I hear a lot that my plays should be films, so I almost applied to screenwriting programs this year, but couldn't imagine abandoning playwriting for all of grad school, so focused on places that have both to some extent. A lot to consider, but yeah I ended up with a pretty varied list of schools.

I also spaced on that, but in previous years it has been consistently the week before spring break, which for NYU I believe is next week, so I'm kinda hoping we hear back this week !

Just got my first decision of the season...: also in at Carnegie Mellon for Dramatic Writing with a financial fellowship (which I still have to look over)! Excited and relieved to have a yes! Still going to wait on a few more results but nice to know that grad school is happening! Fingers crossed for more good news soon for everybody here. Thanks for the update on Iowa @tomlette ! hbd!

I interviewed with NYU last year as well. I think it can vary greatly based on who you are interviewing with, but it is very much a split of them interviewing you AND you interviewing them, so don't be afraid to ask questions! I don't know how heavily the interviews are actually weighted in terms of admission, as some of the faculty interviewers have mentioned they are not on the admission committee, but nonetheless, I had great conversation last year and learned a lot about the program. It feels very much about trying to see if the program is a match for what you are hoping to get out of grad school, and making sure those goals are aligned. Hope this helps!

Congrats all! Had my interview with Carnegie Mellon and also got the NYU interview request this week @seasickmermaid I also got the Yale rejection with the same wording so I'm assuming it's generic? Weird wording. Has anyone heard from Hunter yet?

CMU interviews have been sent out ? Did anyone here apply to UT Austin? Their interviews went out on Feb 1 last year, so I was just wondering if anybody heard anything today. Fingers crossed for everybody.

Was original planning to keep it small this round ( my second time) but ended up adding programs. the list: Yale, UCSD, NYU, Hunter, Brooklyn College, CMU, Brown, Iowa, Northwestern, UT Austin...whew. glad to be done with apps.

Mica at CMU confirmed it is supposed to be one page. It is confusing for sure.

I just emailed them to confirm what length they want. Last year it was 2-3 pages, and they have added even more criteria questions to address, so I sure hope it can more than one page!

Ah...I had been looking on a different page of the UCLA website, which had the deadline Jan 4, and somehow I missed it being changed to Dec 1! Super frustrating. Got NYU's in though.

Hi playwrights, I think I might be the first to post for this cycle. Starting this process again (this is my second time applying)! Question perhaps for others who have gone through this process...who do you ask to write your letters of rec? How do you decide who to ask? Just wondering what others have done. I know this is not the most important part of the app, but hoping to strengthen things this year from every angle. I have been out of school for a while, and went to school for acting, so for me, having a professor write one is not the strongest choice. I have one from an artistic director, one from a teacher, already. Trying to decide what would be a strong choice for a third... Any advice appreciated ! Thank you!

A friend shared on the socials that they got the same general response so I think it’s a form letter, but no less kind to hear! I’m also following your questions about revising the application for the second year. I’ll be rewriting my statement, but keeping a lot of the same content/sentiment as I also felt it came from the heart, but would like to shorten mine. And I’m hoping to get two new plays polished to send to my revised list...I think that will be the most important part to focus on! Would love to hear from others who were more successful on their second round.

Just got an email from Ohio saying that they are not taking a class this year...And that "The program is on pause until we have a clearer understanding of the path forward." Strange. I wonder if we can ask for our application fees back? I plan to try...

Letting go of my waitlist angst a little (just because I know NU and NYU notoriously can keep people on the waitlist through August ?)...) and I need to move on. But...I can't leave GradCafe altogether for this cycle because I still don't have a solid answer from Ohio. Assuming rejection, but I just would like to close out the cycle with some semblance of closure!

Just got the kindest, most supportive email from Lisa at Iowa releasing me from the waitlist, as the offers made were accepted. Oh well...looks likely I'll be here next year as well (barring any plot twists from NYU), so, gearing up soon for 2022! She did let me know (just wanted to share the info/details): Iowa accepts 3 students each year, fully funded/stipended, and you get full productions of your work throughout your time there. -- Thank you everyone for all the information/advice throughout my first application cycle! I learned a lot through this process, and will be much better equipped and focused next Fall, with a revised list of schools. I've decided I'm moving back to NY anyway in about two months, and would love to connect with other NYC based playwrights. Every program I have corresponded with has indicated that they had a record number of competitive applications this year, so we should all feel proud to have gotten this far. Plus, it's an extraordinary feat to have workshopped, written, or revised plays during a year when theatre is closed and we are basically doing our work in a vacuum (or on a ZOOM screen). Congrats all!

Congrats @oliveswatz and @space94! That’s so great to hear! Woot!!! Scholarship-wise, I would definitely ask for more if you need it! No news for me from NYU so I’m going to mentally count myself out. Sigh. Maybe next year. Still holding on hope for Iowa, as my correspondence with Lisa really made me feel that it might be a good fit aesthetically. I love so many of the writers who have come out of that program. Fingers crossed. Congrats to everyone who got good news today!

If tradition holds up, think we’ll all start hearing during the two weeks that follow April 15. I’m mentally moving on after the first week of May, but sometimes people get offers from the waitlist as late as the summer. Sounds stressful to me!

And...just finally heard from Lisa S at Iowa, after reaching out to admissions about my status. I’m a finalist/alternate candidate, which I assume is like a short waitlist. I thought for sure that I had been rejected, so I’m very pleasantly surprised. Now Ohio is my last to hear from. Waitlist count is now just about half of my total applications (the rest were rejections) so I feel mildly encouraged, generally speaking, but still antsy and wondering what I could have done differently to have gotten acceptances.