yoinky

Final R just rolled in for me (UCLA at 2:08 AM for some goddamn reason; interviewed about a month ago). Was removed from the CMU waitlist a couple weeks ago, and everything else was Rs across the board, so that ends my season: no acceptances this time. Disappointed of course, but grateful to have gotten this far since I'm only one year post-undergrad. Honestly, this may have worked out for the best (which is NOT something I could have seen myself saying back in December lol). About to officially commit to living in a house with some queer friends (and an adorable polydactyl cat), and, assuming COVID keeps declining, I'm excited to do local theatre again next year. See you all when I inevitably apply for 2022, and keep writing! Have really appreciated the camaraderie and community this board brings.

Thanks for the tip! Just checked; it's an R here as well.

Hey all!! Congrats to those who have received acceptances. Anyone (especially others who interviewed there) hear from UCLA yet? I interviewed over a month ago; nothing but radio silence since. This is pretty much the last school hanging in the balance for me (~technically~ still waiting on Brooklyn and Juilliard as well, but, ha). I'm kind of assuming it's gonna be a no, but at this point I'd just like to know so I can get housing plans for next year squared away, whether in [current location] or LA.

Congrats to you as well @cheesy!!! How exciting!

So many congratulations @nickelmoop!!!

Apparently they stagger UCLA interview invites? Just got an email request from them! I'd incorrectly assumed I was already down for the count there, so this was a really, really nice surprise.

In the interest of crowdsourcing info: someone on the MFA Draft '21 Facebook page reported an acceptance to UC Riverside's playwriting program today. I didn't apply there but thought it might be useful knowledge in case someone here did. Best of luck to those with upcoming interviews as well as those still waiting on more schools!!

Omg CONGRATS!!! It's so exciting to see (if I'm not mistaken) the first official acceptance in this group. Proud of you!

@AgezThat's great to hear it was so chill! Hoping that means good things in your future ? And yes–best of luck to everyone with interviews yet to come! It's so exciting to see the admissions process moving forward, and I hope it results in the best possible outcome for you all.

Oh my goodness CONGRATS!!! That's so exciting! Out of curiosity, was it sent as an email blast or individually? Just want to know if I should mentally count myself out there, lol.

Thank you! I was not interviewed before being waitlisted; can't speak to interview advice since this is my first time applying, but I hope your upcoming one goes well!

I was also waitlisted!

Same boat over here—no emails/calls yet, and the application portal still just says "completed". Probably the whole pandemic situation's not helping matters.

aaaa congrats!!! Gonna assume I'm probablyyyy down for the count at Austin then. C'est la vie. I have a friend who applied for master's programs in microbiology last year; in her case, being a semifinalist meant "one of a slightly larger group that all got short virtual interviews," whereas "finalist" meant "one of the 6 people flown down to the school for interviews," and approximately 4 of the interviewed finalists got into the program. It was a STEM program (and we weren't in a pandemic!), so I'd take that info with several grains of salt, but that's how the semifinalist designation worked for her.

Oof, sorry to hear that–I was in your same exact Fulbright rejection situation last year, and it wasn't a fun time. (In retrospect, not getting it was probably a blessing in disguise given the pandemic, but. Still stung, lmao.) Best of luck for better news as the app season progresses!

Hello and welcome to the Waiting Zone! According to the confirmation email I got after completing Carnegie Mellon's application, anyone who applied there will get "an update on the status of [their] application by February 1st". So that's, uh, nerve-racking to say the least. @Agez is right about the other schools, though; I'm not expecting anything from those for a while yet.

@waitingandwaitingmaybe21Oh man, I feel that re: app fees—got a holiday bonus at my day job, which was super exciting, but it became a lot less exciting once I realized nearly all that $$$ would just be funneled into this process. Ah, the things we do to pursue our dreams... As we wrap up this application season, I'd also like to reiterate the above positive sentiments. The graduate school application process is exhausting, tedious, and demoralizing at the BEST of times. We're going through this process during a global pandemic. Pardon my French, but we're fucking superstars. You all should be ridiculously proud of yourselves for daring to dream big and putting in the work this year to apply, whether you filled out one application or 20. On a semi-related note, anyone got play recommendations to read and/or watch online during this time of waiting? I just read Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arbery and—as someone who (perhaps unfortunately) spent some of their youth in conservative-leaning Christian schools—it really hit home. Would definitely recommend that one.

Hello hello @Strelka! That's been a slight concern for me as well, but honestly I've found it reassuring to just look at all the profiles of admitted grad students and read their bios (if available online). There's quite a bit of age diversity in many places, and there are LARGE gaps between amount of production experience/fellowships/residencies/etc. It really does seem to be all about the writing. I think certain schools are more likely to take people of certain ages (Juilliard students seem to swing older, etc.), and you can kind of get a feel for that by looking at bios, but there's no hard and fast rule. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the only program I know of that explicitly does not take people straight out of undergrad is UCSD.

@AgezI feel you re: this year being a better time to apply—I'm technically a first-time applicant, but I came SO CLOSE to doing a last-minute slapdash application to a few programs last year. Very glad I didn't, not only because of corona but because my primary writing sample feels a lot stronger, and I've appreciated having the time to get my head on straight/figure out what I actually want from grad school. Glad you feel similarly! @brillantina thanks so much for the information re: Brooklyn! Honestly, its location in the English department is one of the reasons I chose to apply there in the first place. So good to hear you're having such a great experience!

@captbaka Wow, thank you SO much for this video! Really appreciate you taking the time to let us know about it. Will definitely be watching when I get off work. @sandringhamAs of now, my other programs are Northwestern, UCLA, and CMU. Had USC on the list originally and might still apply, but some of the negative comments in here have me...leery of that program now, to put it mildly. Guess we'll see.

Hello everyone—been on-off stalking this forum since quite literally last February; turns out I can only spend so much time re-reading posts at my desk job before giving in and making an account. Figured now was the best time to bite the proverbial bullet and join you all! (May I just say: it's been incredibly nerve-racking and inspiring in equal measure to see everyone's application stories. Also turns out @jamesprongs101 from a few years ago is The Jeremy O. Harris?? Wow. Just read YELL and I'm obsessed.) @sandringhamour lists look very similar! Except no Hunter for me (three other schools instead), and Dramatic Writing instead of Musical Theatre Writing at NYU. I dearly love and appreciate anyone who can write musicals because boy oh boy I would be so damn bad at that. ANYWAY: break a metaphorical leg or five, everyone!! Hope we all get into the best program possible for our artistic development. And also ideally get funding. Funding's good too.