Playwriting MFAs

[Mel Rose]

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!

[MischiefNotManaged]

40 minutes ago, seasickmermaid said:

Has anyone here gotten interviews at BU or Hunter?

I have not for either, but I also haven't heard anything at all from BU, so I sent an email to check in. Will update asap. 

[dramacut]

Hi there, haven't heard a peep from Hunter! Also, this thread is very comforting during this looong stretch of silence. Cheering for you all!

[eleanorv]

7 hours ago, Mel Rose said:

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!

Thanks for letting us know! Praying that they're sending out offers in waves. The waiting is the most excruciating part, I've been refreshing my email every 15 minutes ugh

[1lemon]

Hey all! Longtime lurker on this forum and second time applicant, looking for community during this time of anxious waiting. 

I had an interview with Hunter this week (my top choice) and I’m sweating out the next few days till decisions come out. Rejected from Northwestern and Brown and waiting on BU and Brooklyn (and a couple international programs). Really hoping Hunter works out, but also anxious to hear back from these other places (I had no idea there was so much notification staggering!)

How’s everybody else holding up? 

[ruthg18]

On 3/16/2022 at 1:09 PM, MischiefNotManaged said:

I have not for either, but I also haven't heard anything at all from BU, so I sent an email to check in. Will update asap. 

Did you end up getting a response to your email? 

Like half this thread I've also heard nothing from Hunter, Brooklyn, & BU and nothing since the interview from Columbia. Sending everyone strength!

[MischiefNotManaged]

1 hour ago, ruthg18 said:

Did you end up getting a response to your email? 

Like half this thread I've also heard nothing from Hunter, Brooklyn, & BU and nothing since the interview from Columbia. Sending everyone strength!

Hey there! I have not yet I will let you know when I do for sure. I'm assuming a rejection from Hunter, Brooklyn and Columbia on my end (my interview was fine but I didn't feel they were as interested in me as say, Carnegie), so the last two I'm waiting on are Carnegie to hopefully bump me from the waitlist to admission or Boston to offer me an acceptance. 

I'll be honest though I have been considering forgoing grad this year and staying in the city another year. I really love my apartment, I love my night job, and I produce a lot of my own theatre in the city and overseas and have a wonderful circle of collaborators who are itching for the next thing both here in NYC and across the pond. I really want to go to grad school to learn screenwriting because I think it's my weakest space (I just don't understand how to connect action to plot to shots in the way filmmakers do), but a few filmmaking friends of mine also have offered to collaboration in that direction, so I may get my start and see where that takes me? It's been a back and forth for me; I want to make films and video games but I also see my place as a playwright, so figuring out where to go next with that has been the journey. If I got into Carnegie or Boston though I'd likely go, but I also have a production offer that I'm contemplating taking for the fall that would absolutely conflict with grad school. I'm also considerably young and have had some amazing opportunities outside of school to develop my work; and I've noticed that being as young as I am isn't always the biggest interest to grad schools (I often get the good ol' "why are you applying at this age? go experience the world etc etc" haha) which is okay! 

Either way I think it's important in these grad cycles to remember that whether or not you get in and go isn't a determination of your talent or who you are as a person, really every program is looking for someone they can say they are proud to have as an alumni while also looking for someone they can teach. If they feel you are beyond their teaching or going to learn the same stuff without paying the graduate tuition, they may just be sparing you the pain of student loans for what may be as promising of a career ahead of you. That's how I'm taking it in, at least. Whether or not I go to grad school doesn't determine my worth as a writer, and it shouldn't determine yours as well. 

[Zebras4Ever]

Sorry once again to be the bearer of bad news, but I've heard Brooklyn has already chosen their people. I think, if I remember correctly what other people wrote in previous years, that Brooklyn is notorious for not telling people they are rejected until very late in the season.

[tomlette]

lol so I'm guessing it's a no from columbia... i'm gonna stay in denial until the official email rolls in. they said i'd hear back in about a week last thursday, and all i've seen is that twitter post about someone else getting in--mildly humiliating but we'll live...

it's also like, do i just want to get in because it's an ivy league in ny, or because it's actually a good fit? idk, my gradcafe fam. like a few of yall i def felt a more obvious connection with the folks at carnegie, but now that i'm facing down the possibility of moving to a city i know nothing about where i know no one, it's hard to tell what the right choice really is. gotta say this part of the process is way worse than the personal statement or sample stress LOL!! 

</vent> as they used to say... how is everyone else's decision making coming along? 

Edited March 19, 2022 by tomlette
tagged the wrong person lol

[eleanorv]

2 hours ago, tomlette said:

lol so I'm guessing it's a no from columbia... i'm gonna stay in denial until the official email rolls in. they said i'd hear back in about a week last thursday, and all i've seen is that twitter post about someone else getting in--mildly humiliating but we'll live...

it's also like, do i just want to get in because it's an ivy league in ny, or because it's actually a good fit? idk, my gradcafe fam. like a few of yall i def felt a more obvious connection with the folks at carnegie, but now that i'm facing down the possibility of moving to a city i know nothing about where i know no one, it's hard to tell what the right choice really is. gotta say this part of the process is way worse than the personal statement or sample stress LOL!! 

</vent> as they used to say... how is everyone else's decision making coming along? 

This is exactly how I'm feeling. I so wanted to be in New York and study under Lynn Nottage. But they also say no news is good news and being on the waitlist is still an achievement in itself. And I know a handful of current Columbia students who were offered spots way later in the application cycle so there's always a chance. 

Edited March 20, 2022 by eleanorv

[Waves2021]

Hey there! Longtime lurker here! I got admitted by Columbia through a personalized email from one of my interviewers(they might be sending out acceptance in waves?). Still waiting for the official letter and FA info. I got rejected by all the fully funded ones. I won't be able to attend without a HUGE amount of funding due to family issues(I heard that the chances of getting funding from Columbia are quite slim). I used to be quite anxious about not being able to enroll in a playwriting program this year and thought of it as a life-changing step for me to become a playwright. But now I'm gradually coming to acceptance that I won't be able to go for any program this year. I guess a big take-away for me is that application is an episode in my creative/playwriting journey. The key is to keep writing and reaching out to people with the work. Perhaps I'll apply again when I have enough money or perhaps not.

Nevertheless, hope you all can get your desired offers!!  Hope to see you down the road.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Waves2021

[Mel Rose]

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.

 

[Starpants]

For anyone who's either going through rejections this time around (which I did for years and years) or can't do it because of finances, I'd check out any writers groups where you live.

Particularly in New York where we have Youngblood at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, P73's writers group, Ars Nova Playgroup, or the Working Farm on SPACE on Ryder Farm. They're somewhat similar to MFA programs in that you meet with other writers every week or so over the course of a year and write 1-2 plays. It's also great because you form lasting relationships with the theaters that sponsor the writers groups. And best of all, it's free. 

[tomlette]

so...do yall think if I ask nicely and remind them they're my top choice, CMU will give me a brief extension on the march 25 decision deadline? both for practical reasons (it's still really early and i'm waiting on a few more schools) and "extenuating circumstances" reasons? 

Edited March 21, 2022 by tomlette

[WRRabbit]

Popping over from the MFA Directing 2022 thread to share that for other folks that have gotten offers, if there's any financial aid component in the offer and the school is are a part of the Council of Graduate Schools, they have to give you until April 15th to decide. (https://cgsnet.org/resources/for-current-prospective-graduate-students/april-15-resolution/) 

[FefuFornes]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:21 PM, Waves2021 said:

Hey there! Longtime lurker here! I got admitted by Columbia through a personalized email from one of my interviewers(they might be sending out acceptance in waves?). Still waiting for the official letter and FA info. I got rejected by all the fully funded ones. I won't be able to attend without a HUGE amount of funding due to family issues(I heard that the chances of getting funding from Columbia are quite slim). I used to be quite anxious about not being able to enroll in a playwriting program this year and thought of it as a life-changing step for me to become a playwright. But now I'm gradually coming to acceptance that I won't be able to go for any program this year. I guess a big take-away for me is that application is an episode in my creative/playwriting journey. The key is to keep writing and reaching out to people with the work. Perhaps I'll apply again when I have enough money or perhaps not.

Nevertheless, hope you all can get your desired offers!!  Hope to see you down the road.

I think you made the right choice. Columbia is what, 300k? The most I've ever heard of them giving is maybe a tenth of that. I know this sentiment has been reiterated ad nauseam here but please DO NOT go into debt for a playwriting degree. I've seen firsthand what that kind of debilitating debt does to a person and it's not pretty. Most of us are pursuing an MFA because we'd like a creative career and having thousands of dollars strapped to your back for a decade plus will seriously derail those prospects. And it's not just the work that will suffer: a close friend of mine fell into a deep depression because of those loans, and it messed with both her relationships and her credit. 

All that being said, you should still be really proud to have gotten in! That's no small feat. Take it as a win and keep writing and sending your stuff out. I know it sounds silly to be saying this here but a playwright doesn't need a terminal degree in order to be successful.

[1lemon]

Accepted at Hunter and going to commit! After two admissions cycles and a decade of wanting to do an MFA it feels exciting and unreal. I didn’t think it could happen for me and now I’m going to my dream program! Thankful for the thoughtfulness, info, and commiseration on this forum — though I’ve mostly just been reading posts, it’s been a supremely comforting space. Sending good luck vibes to everybody on here. 

[thefates]

1 hour ago, 1lemon said:

Accepted at Hunter and going to commit! After two admissions cycles and a decade of wanting to do an MFA it feels exciting and unreal. I didn’t think it could happen for me and now I’m going to my dream program! Thankful for the thoughtfulness, info, and commiseration on this forum — though I’ve mostly just been reading posts, it’s been a supremely comforting space. Sending good luck vibes to everybody on here. 

Congrats @1lemon !! That's so great!!

[eleanorv]

Sooo if people starting receiving acceptances a week ago and I still haven't heard anything does that mean I'm rejected? Or am I on an unofficial waitlist? What do y'all think? I just want to know so I can figure out my plan for the rest of the year. 

[tomlette]

3 hours ago, eleanorv said:

Sooo if people starting receiving acceptances a week ago and I still haven't heard anything does that mean I'm rejected? Or am I on an unofficial waitlist? What do y'all think? I just want to know so I can figure out my plan for the rest of the year. 

lol same boat. i emailed Columbia SOA admissions today to ask what the decision timeline was and they said "within a week" ... ay caramba man!!! expecting a no at this point but just want closure already.

also ended up asking CMU for an extension on the Friday deadline; unfortunately they are not part of the Council of Graduate Schools so i couldn't push the april 15 rule. i think i'm well within my right to ask for more time, but i feel like i'll have to forego some funding or something...or maybe they'll give me More funding? who knows.

Edited March 23, 2022 by tomlette

[Dro.]

Has anyone heard ANYTHING from BU? seems like either they're moving much slower than in other years, OR they've already sent out acceptances and it's just none of us lol

[ruthg18]

3 hours ago, Dro. said:

Has anyone heard ANYTHING from BU? seems like either they're moving much slower than in other years, OR they've already sent out acceptances and it's just none of us lol

I have heard nothing. In results there's record of 1 no, 0 yeses, 0 interviews, and 0 waitlists. 

It seems, from the 2020 section of this forum, that last cycle BU had a *very* large official waitlist. At this point my (fully unverified, anxiety-spiral-induced) theory is that they're releasing results on an unofficial waitlist system (which, at least according to Draft, seems to be a thing)/sending results in waves/whatever you want to call it. 

Or I'm totally wrong and all offers are out and there's just a delay in certain rejections. Who knows!

[seasickmermaid]

14 hours ago, ruthg18 said:

I have heard nothing. In results there's record of 1 no, 0 yeses, 0 interviews, and 0 waitlists. 

It seems, from the 2020 section of this forum, that last cycle BU had a *very* large official waitlist. At this point my (fully unverified, anxiety-spiral-induced) theory is that they're releasing results on an unofficial waitlist system (which, at least according to Draft, seems to be a thing)/sending results in waves/whatever you want to call it. 

Or I'm totally wrong and all offers are out and there's just a delay in certain rejections. Who knows!

I haven't heard anything either, but what I find weird about this is that no one on here has even gotten an interview request? Their deadline was like a month later than all the other schools so I'm thinking maybe they actually haven't started doing interviews yet? It just seems unlikely that no one on here would even get an interview. Unless they don't do interviews? Idk it's all very anxiety-inducing I agree. 

[ruthg18]

25 minutes ago, seasickmermaid said:

I haven't heard anything either, but what I find weird about this is that no one on here has even gotten an interview request? Their deadline was like a month later than all the other schools so I'm thinking maybe they actually haven't started doing interviews yet? It just seems unlikely that no one on here would even get an interview. Unless they don't do interviews? Idk it's all very anxiety-inducing I agree. 

I've put on my tinfoil hat: since they moved the Fall 2024 deadline back to January 15th on their website, maybe that's a sign it's taking them longer than expected to get through applications?

[ruthg18]

18 hours ago, ruthg18 said:

I've put on my tinfoil hat: since they moved the Fall 2024 deadline back to January 15th on their website, maybe that's a sign it's taking them longer than expected to get through applications?

jk got my rejection email just now