bibsy

to be fair, based on past results, it looks like iowa sometimes extends offers at the end of an interview call. i don't think that fast turnaround time is out of scope for them. i'm also surprised to see results from them this early on, but it's not unheard of for the outreach timelines of these programs to suddenly experience a drastic shift. i mean, yale used to notify in early february, and that's certainly not the case anymore! don't get me wrong - i'd love for iowa to extend more interview requests, and boy would i be thrilled to learn that more of those are on their way. just want to temper my own expectations, lol.

WashU is also pausing admissions rn. “recent federal guidance that requires careful interpretation” is certainly in regards to recent executive orders declaring no funding will be offered to entities engaged in DEI practices. those orders have been shot down by a federal judge, but the matter will def be escalated to the supreme court, meaning the consequences are just... in limbo. there's been a stringent crackdown on scientific funding, too, which is why WashU is held up - i believe their arts and sciences departments fall under one umbrella? not to mention the existential threat to the DoE. fun times abound.

i've been completely reabsorbed into the the world of the fiction podcast dreamboy, which is probably my favorite piece of art ever made. it's surreal and tender and erotic and breathtaking. i had the chance to hang out with the creator, dane terry, in new york a few weeks ago after admiring his work for the past five years or so, and we had a wonderful time. i'm a real "depth over breadth" kinda gal when it comes to content consumption.

fwiw, if it's an acceptance call, i think you can use it as a chance to celebrate, especially if phone calls aren't your forte. with job offers, for instance, i always express my gratitude and then offer the disclaimer, "i'll have to review the details of the offer over email, as i process information better through writing. when i formulate questions, i'll reach out that way."

i love reading y'all's good news!! congrats to everyone with acceptances!! over on my end, following my interview, i'm holding down a waitlist from UT Austin for playwriting. the head of their program was very kind and offered to schedule a call with me to discuss their process and encourage me to reapply if this year doesn't pan out. otherwise, it looks like iowa playwriting interviewed WAY early this year, so i'm counting that a soft reject. yale is still on the table, and boy oh boy are my fingers desperately crossed. no luck so far on fiction, but if nothing comes of those apps, it's okay! i did not go into this process prepared - it was a last-minute decision following a sudden layoff - and if this isn't my year, i'll take the time to actually workshop samples and shore up a stronger application. rejects/soft rejects so far from uc davis, csu, and ucsd. still waiting on uc irvine (i'm one of those fiction applicants who's still in limbo!), uc riverside, and university of houston. good luck and god speed, friends!!

@Mday and @mranderson97, between the three of us, somebody's gotta elbow their way into a spot! rooting for us. 💜 and congrats on the success with the festival circuit, @atreus85!

according to some others, fiction deliberations are ongoing at irvine, but poetry decisions have been made. since some fiction rejections have already gone out, if you're a fiction applicant for uci and haven't heard anything yet, i'd say it's reasonable to be hopeful! i don't have insight into the other schools, unfortunately.

there's an unofficial "results" page here on gradcafe where people self-report their progress. scroll up to the toolbar at the top, and you can find it right under the "gradcafe" logo.

thank you, guys!! and congrats to you as well, @Mday!! i think iowa is probably real as well, especially since the notice on the results page referenced lisa by name. would be a super weird thing to lie about in a pretty niche community.

thank you! i'm very hard on myself, and this was the school where i had my best shot, so i'm a little bummed - but i know that i'd be celebrating a waitlist for a school that selective if anyone else were telling me the same thing. 💜 i sure wish i had more insight into other schools, lolll! i'm considering iowa a soft reject right now, assuming the reported interview request on the results page is honest. if that was a fluke and more invites roll out around their usual time, then that's a happy surprise. otherwise, my only other remaining school for playwriting is yale, which i am confident enough to hold out hope for but not delusional enough to hang my hat on. all crickets on the yale front so far.

waitlisted at UT Austin. very aware that this is still an accomplishment! but it does sting when the semifinalist pool was quite small, and the implicit understanding post-interview is that applicants at that stage will be sorted into an "accepted" or "waitlisted" bucket. :(( ahhh i am certainly no stranger to this situation, though. i was waitlisted for CMU twice for undergrad and came off the waitlist my second year. and kirk was kind enough to offer a call to discuss their process and to encourage me to reapply next year, which i'm sure i'll take him up on.

thank you so much! and HUGE congrats on your acceptance!! (i love your signature sunflower emoji, btw. so cute.) i'll forge ahead with my tepid optimism, in that case!

anyone have any insight into uc irvine? looks like acceptance calls went out last week, and rejections appeared on the sheet two days ago (2/18) - but no new rejections were added yesterday. i haven't received an email to check my portal, and my app still only shows "submitted." i haven't seen anyone report a waitlist notif from uci, so i'm lightly hopeful that's a possibility without growing too attached to the thought!

wow yeah, that's SUPER early. like... a full month early, lol. i don't anticipate hearing back from iowa until mid-march. EDIT: sifted through past results, and i s'pose it wouldn't be a full month early. looks like iowa usually schedules their calls around march 3 - 5, though they sometimes happen a week later. this would definitely be about 2 weeks early for them, at least. then again, ut austin contacted me pretty early compared to past years, too. (though still no word on if i'm still in the running, ahh.) early outreach might be a trend this cycle.

just got back from ice skating class! i purchased symphony tickets for TWO separate concerts this week - one for $12, one for $24 (ty LA philharmonic CODA program!! i love you LA philharmonic CODA program!) my significant other is on his way over with vegan yellow curry and valentine's day presents! it's a good night!!