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Playwriting MFAs


dampka

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14 hours ago, c.k.thompson.playwright said:

I'll hop on it. So far have applied to Brown, NYU, Columbia, Iowa, Northwestern, UCLA, UCSD, UT-Austin, and Carnegie-Mellon. Obviously really praying for 1 acceptance.

 

Currently I've heard back nothing other than automated confirmations - no yes/no/waitlist/interview from anywhere, which I'm hoping is normal!

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.

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Thanks for chiming in friends! @Agez and @yoinky

I do recall now the e-mail from CM saying there will be an update. Very nervewracking!

This is the first time I've really applied (I sent in a few right out of undergrad but didn't really prep, kinda like a "fuck it" moment lol)

Anyone have insight to the general trends of decisions based off the application vs. after interviews?

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@yoinky @c.k.thompson.playwright Good luck with CMU, friends!! Sending good vibes your way!

From looking on this thread, it seems NYU, Northwestern, & Brown do interviews. Brooklyn does not. I think it's possible to be accepted without an interview, but the interview is usually a sign that you've made it to the next round. 

I feel like I've already poured my whole soul into the application, so with the interview, I'm like...what else do you what to know? Lol. But, that's mostly just me being very terrified of screwing it up. Interviews are awks.

 

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20 minutes ago, nickelmoop said:

Welllll unrelated but just got a No from Fulbright! Good warm up for a season of apps responses. Yeehaw 

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!

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22 hours ago, broccolini said:

@yoinky @c.k.thompson.playwright Good luck with CMU, friends!! Sending good vibes your way!

From looking on this thread, it seems NYU, Northwestern, & Brown do interviews. Brooklyn does not. I think it's possible to be accepted without an interview, but the interview is usually a sign that you've made it to the next round. 

I feel like I've already poured my whole soul into the application, so with the interview, I'm like...what else do you what to know? Lol. But, that's mostly just me being very terrified of screwing it up. Interviews are awks.

 

From what I've come to understand almost everyone does do interviews, and Brooklyn is kind of a rarity in not doing so.

I also hate interviews, but I try to force myself to be calm and act like it's the casual conversation they claim it to be lol Most people can write convincingly, but the interview is getting to know you as a person and an artist, and see if you fit the culture of  the community, that you'd actually fit in there. 

Anyone else have interview insights?

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Thank you!! Grateful for anything to celebrate during this impossible year. I got the email from Kirk Lynn (Assoc. Professor and Head of Playwriting) at 11:30EST this morning. They used plural subjects throughout so I think it was a mass blast of some kind but thats not to say it will be the only one. I have to confirm by Feb 5th and the interview is 15 minutes on Feb 10th and will be attended by Annie B., Braden Jacobs Jenkins, Kirk Lynn and Pat Shaw. Oversharing bc I know I'm going to want the same from y'all in a few weeks. I'm still somewhat confused by the Michener/Dept of Theatre divide and how that's going to affect funding and programming for this year. If anyone's investigated make yourself known! 

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39 minutes ago, nickelmoop said:

Also the interview says "semi-finalist" this is probably one of those "is the deadline on the day or before the day" semantical probs but does that mean there will be another interview round for finalists or are the finalists the ones who get in? 

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.

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22 minutes ago, ruthg said:

For the folks who applied to CMU - has anyone heard anything back? I know an update was expected around ~Feb 1, so I wanted to see if anyone had news.

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.

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2 hours ago, ruthg said:

Congrats on UTA @nickelmoop!

 

For the folks who applied to CMU - has anyone heard anything back? I know an update was expected around ~Feb 1, so I wanted to see if anyone had news.

 

 

Only thing I've heard from CMU recently was a few days ago and it was just a "we've received all materials for your app, be in touch shortly"

It seems like my undergrad transcript took a while to be processed. Nothing beyond that

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Just now, c.k.thompson.playwright said:

Only thing I've heard from CMU recently was a few days ago and it was just a "we've received all materials for your app, be in touch shortly"

It seems like my undergrad transcript took a while to be processed. Nothing beyond that

Last year the interview invitations went out around 9:30 EST. Don’t know if that will be the same this year.

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3 hours ago, ruthg said:

Congrats on UTA @nickelmoop!

 

For the folks who applied to CMU - has anyone heard anything back? I know an update was expected around ~Feb 1, so I wanted to see if anyone had news.

 

 

Just got an email. It's a no, but just a heads up to check your emails for anyone else who applied.

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1 minute ago, Mel Rose said:

Just got the notification from CMU...I have been placed on the waitlist. Not exactly helping my stress level, but not all hope is lost!

Congrats to all who have gotten interview requests today!

Waitlist here as well. Did you apply in years past to CMU? I applied last year, got an interview and then was placed on the waitlist. 

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Just now, Mel Rose said:

Just got the notification from CMU...I have been placed on the waitlist. Not exactly helping my stress level, but not all hope is lost!

Congrats to all who have gotten interview requests today!

I was also waitlisted!

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15 minutes ago, Cowboy38 said:

Waitlist here as well. Did you apply in years past to CMU? I applied last year, got an interview and then was placed on the waitlist. 

Cool! I have not applied applied before. Wondering if anyone has insight on their process? Curious if they are doing things differently this year, or if some waitlist interviews take place only after a finalist spot opens up. I don't know. It's a mystery. ?

Trying to stay somewhat positive as I now give up hope on UT Austin ?

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Just now, Mel Rose said:

Cool! I have not applied applied before. Wondering if anyone has insight on their process? Curious if they are doing things differently this year, or if some waitlist interviews take place only after a finalist spot opens up. I don't know. It's a mystery. ?

Trying to stay somewhat positive as I now give up hope on UT Austin ?

A little befuddled here too. Don’t know if this is the general waitlist, or waitlist for interviews. The email I received said I will get an admission update in the coming months, so who knows!

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