A friend who applied for painting just got a phone acceptance from UCLA without an interview. From what I've heard, UCLA's acceptance process is more organic than others.
I submitted a couple hours before deadline and I'm later in the alphabet ( I would sort of be surprised if either of those were factors though). The woman I spoke with to arrange the time said they were doing all of the interviews over two days.
For the painters out there, I received an email from Columbia on Thursday inviting me to interview at the end of March. I was bcc'd on it so I think it was sent out to a group.
Even though this is my first time posting, this forum has been really helpful throughout the whole intense process. So thanks to those who have been so active!