Playwriting MFAs

[KevinKlineLuvr]

hey all! 

I am a part of the MFA Draft 2024 page on Facebook, and while that is a lot of creative writing folks outside of playwrights, we have a pretty strong/growing group of folks waiting to hear back from Playwriting programs. 

if you'd like to join the page on Facebook, I can add you to a group chat that we have to track acceptances/interviews/waitlists/rejections/etc. !

hang in there, y'all. it seems like not a lot of folks have heard anything yet, which is a little maddening 🫠

[mranderson97]

Apropos of nothing (ha) I'm starting to think that Carnegie Mellon has already sent out interview requests. I received one last year on Feb 15 after an initial email on Feb 2nd explaining that they were running behind schedule. I haven't heard anything about them being behind schedule this year so I'm guessing they already reached out to applicants for interviews. Can anyone confirm or deny this theory?

Still waiting on responses from NYU, Hunter, and Northwestern as well.

[jck349]

1 minute ago, mranderson97 said:

Apropos of nothing (ha) I'm starting to think that Carnegie Mellon has already sent out interview requests. I received one last year on Feb 15 after an initial email on Feb 2nd explaining that they were running behind schedule. I haven't heard anything about them being behind schedule this year so I'm guessing they already reached out to applicants for interviews. Can anyone confirm or deny this theory?

Still waiting on responses from NYU, Hunter, and Northwestern as well.

I didn't apply to CMU this year, but some folks on the results page posted rejection notices.

I applied to Hunter and Northwestern and haven't heard anything either!

[rintea]

Has anyone received interview requests from Hunter or Boston?

[toreckonwithhenry]

3 hours ago, rintea said:

Has anyone received interview requests from Hunter or Boston?

I applied to Hunter, haven't heard anything yet. As far as I can tell based on the past we are probably still within the window where interview requests can be coming, so holding out hope I guess?

[rintea]

1 minute ago, toreckonwithhenry said:

I applied to Hunter, haven't heard anything yet. As far as I can tell based on the past we are probably still within the window where interview requests can be coming, so holding out hope I guess?

I got nervous because I received an interview request with UCLA, but it seems that this school is ahead of the curve, compared to others. Fingers crossed for both of us!

[toreckonwithhenry]

5 minutes ago, rintea said:

I got nervous because I received an interview request with UCLA, but it seems that this school is ahead of the curve, compared to others. Fingers crossed for both of us!

Congrats on the UCLA interview, exciting!! Fingers crossed!

[flipperdoodlegumgum]

I have my interview with Pace next week. First one ever, so I'm really curious what kinds of questions others have been asked in playwriting interviews? What are the kinds of things they're looking for? I assume part of it is seeing that you're not crazy, can handle the program, and will be a good member of their cohort, but any curve balls I should be prepared for?

I'm gnawing my fingernails off with the waiting. Every buzz of my phone makes my blood pressure spike, doubly so to see an email- followed by a quick crash when I read what notification LinkedIn pushed my way. It's strange to see other departments within the same school moving forward with interviews/acceptances while we live in a delicious limbo. Still haven't seen any acceptances/interview requests on the results page which oddly increases my worries. I'm taking some comfort in knowing things are moving forward. The silence there too makes me wonder if people are getting results and just not sharing them here. Or maybe it's a really competitive year and they're all in their conference rooms around the country building murder boards with our applications, grappling with the weight of our collective magnificence...!!!
A person can dream, anyway.

It's nice to check in on this forum and see we're all in the same boat. Though simultaneously, there's also an anxious part of my brain that's screaming "by posting in this forum you'll jinx your chances!" Trying to shut that up and focus on the wonderful possibilities.

[mranderson97]

11 hours ago, flipperdoodlegumgum said:

I have my interview with Pace next week. First one ever, so I'm really curious what kinds of questions others have been asked in playwriting interviews? What are the kinds of things they're looking for? I assume part of it is seeing that you're not crazy, can handle the program, and will be a good member of their cohort, but any curve balls I should be prepared for?

I'm gnawing my fingernails off with the waiting. Every buzz of my phone makes my blood pressure spike, doubly so to see an email- followed by a quick crash when I read what notification LinkedIn pushed my way. It's strange to see other departments within the same school moving forward with interviews/acceptances while we live in a delicious limbo. Still haven't seen any acceptances/interview requests on the results page which oddly increases my worries. I'm taking some comfort in knowing things are moving forward. The silence there too makes me wonder if people are getting results and just not sharing them here. Or maybe it's a really competitive year and they're all in their conference rooms around the country building murder boards with our applications, grappling with the weight of our collective magnificence...!!!
A person can dream, anyway.

It's nice to check in on this forum and see we're all in the same boat. Though simultaneously, there's also an anxious part of my brain that's screaming "by posting in this forum you'll jinx your chances!" Trying to shut that up and focus on the wonderful possibilities.

Never interviewed with Pace but other interviews I've had were all different experiences. Some programs are more curious about you as an individual, some are more interested in your writing samples/current projects, and some want to know about both.

My general advice after going through the process three times now is to use active language when you talk about your plays and what excites you. It's better to say "I do A and B well but I need to work on C and D" than being passive or vague when describing your work or what you want out of the program. But then again- I haven't been accepted anywhere yet so take this "insight" with a grain of salt! Best of luck to you!

Edited February 22 by mranderson97

[ghostinthegraveyard]

Hi all,

Received my first rejection of the cycle this morning from Michener. Womp womp.

I'm seeing very little info on Draft... seems like that's pretty fiction/poetry-dominated. That being said, has anyone heard anything from the following schools?

Boston University
Brown
Juilliard (Certificate)
Northwestern
Yale

TIA!

[jck349]

43 minutes ago, ghostinthegraveyard said:

Hi all,

Received my first rejection of the cycle this morning from Michener. Womp womp.

I'm seeing very little info on Draft... seems like that's pretty fiction/poetry-dominated. That being said, has anyone heard anything from the following schools?

Boston University
Brown
Juilliard (Certificate)
Northwestern
Yale

TIA!

Sorry about the rejection! Onwards and upwards!! Of your list, I only applied to Brown and Northwestern and haven't heard anything from either. The wait continues...

[ghostinthegraveyard]

1 minute ago, jck349 said:

Sorry about the rejection! Onwards and upwards!! Of your list, I only applied to Brown and Northwestern and haven't heard anything from either. The wait continues...

Fingers crossed the wait is worth it for us! Thanks for letting me know

[toreckonwithhenry]

48 minutes ago, ghostinthegraveyard said:

Hi all,

Received my first rejection of the cycle this morning from Michener. Womp womp.

I'm seeing very little info on Draft... seems like that's pretty fiction/poetry-dominated. That being said, has anyone heard anything from the following schools?

Boston University
Brown
Juilliard (Certificate)
Northwestern
Yale

TIA!

I applied to Juilliard as well, as far as I can tell it seems like they are typically much later with things than other programs, like acceptances not coming until April, so it'll probably be a while before any news at all from them!

[ghostinthegraveyard]

9 minutes ago, toreckonwithhenry said:

I applied to Juilliard as well, as far as I can tell it seems like they are typically much later with things than other programs, like acceptances not coming until April, so it'll probably be a while before any news at all from them!

Thank you! I really hadn't seen any info about them so this is great to know.

[ghostinthegraveyard]

If you happen to be a Brown playwriting applicant, one of the folks in the Draft FB group reached out to them and they said that they'll be notifying people next week. Not sure if that means for interviews or for full acceptance.

[rintea]

If you applied to Columbia, keep checking your email! I just received an interview request, although they could be sending the requests in rounds.

Has anyone interviewed with Columbia before? I saw someone say that theirs began with the faculty member asking if they had any questions, rather than asking them questions first, and I'm wondering whether this happens often.

[likeapantomime]

Hi all! I’m a little late to the game because I’m new to Gradcafe, but I wanted to contribute everything I know in case it helps somebody.

I had an interview with SIU Carbondale on February 8th. Their head of playwriting said they’d send out decisions in early March. These were the questions they asked me:

• Tell me about your academic/artistic background.
• Why do you want to get an MFA?
• Why playwriting?
• What attracts you to SIU in particular?
• Tell me about the next play you want to write or a topic you want to write about.
• What’s a play you’re excited about right now?

I went to Brown’s virtual info session back in November and they said they would conduct interviews in late February and send out decisions in early March. Part of me wants to hold out hope that they’re just running late with interviews and it’s not a flat out “no,” but I won’t hold my breath. 🫠

I haven’t heard anything from the other schools I applied to (Iowa, Indiana, Boston U, Yale, and UCSD). Does anybody know anything about Indiana’s timeline? I went to their fall info session, too, but they didn’t mention it and I didn’t think to ask.

Sending you all good vibes! ❤️

[KevinKlineLuvr]

4 hours ago, ghostinthegraveyard said:

If you happen to be a Brown playwriting applicant, one of the folks in the Draft FB group reached out to them and they said that they'll be notifying people next week. Not sure if that means for interviews or for full acceptance.

1 hour ago, likeapantomime said:

Hi all! I’m a little late to the game because I’m new to Gradcafe, but I wanted to contribute everything I know in case it helps somebody.

I had an interview with SIU Carbondale on February 8th. Their head of playwriting said they’d send out decisions in early March. These were the questions they asked me:

• Tell me about your academic/artistic background.
• Why do you want to get an MFA?
• Why playwriting?
• What attracts you to SIU in particular?
• Tell me about the next play you want to write or a topic you want to write about.
• What’s a play you’re excited about right now?

I went to Brown’s virtual info session back in November and they said they would conduct interviews in late February and send out decisions in early March. Part of me wants to hold out hope that they’re just running late with interviews and it’s not a flat out “no,” but I won’t hold my breath. 🫠

I haven’t heard anything from the other schools I applied to (Iowa, Indiana, Boston U, Yale, and UCSD). Does anybody know anything about Indiana’s timeline? I went to their fall info session, too, but they didn’t mention it and I didn’t think to ask.

Sending you all good vibes! ❤️

I am hoping that Brown saying they’ll ‘notify’ folks next week is for interviews, not for final decisions. I am only basing this on the fact that I haven’t heard of any Brown interviews going out yet. But who knows 🙃🙃 hang in there, all!

[mosscat]

Hi yall! 
This is my second year applying. Has anyone heard from any of these schools? I’m going crazy and I’m kind of assuming if I haven’t heard it’s not gonna turn out. But I just wanted to post and ask and maybe it’s just taking longer then I thought 

- UCSD

-USC

-University of British Columbia 

- University of Edinburgh 

- Trinity College Dublin 

- Indiana University Bloomington 

[Raja012]

1 hour ago, mosscat said:

Hi yall! 
This is my second year applying. Has anyone heard from any of these schools? I’m going crazy and I’m kind of assuming if I haven’t heard it’s not gonna turn out. But I just wanted to post and ask and maybe it’s just taking longer then I thought 

- UCSD

-USC

-University of British Columbia 

- University of Edinburgh 

- Trinity College Dublin 

- Indiana University Bloomington 

I haven't heard anything from UCSD or Indiana. At the University of Edinburgh, I have heard of at least one acceptance going out. The other schools I have no idea on. But I will say I have spoken and connected with several other playwrights both here and in other graduate school forums or groups and everyone has said this year has seemed very quiet thus far. I literally just got my first Interview from Columbia today and besides that, it was crickets all month long. This time last year a round of rejections from Yale had already gone out and that also hasn't seemed to happen.

I wouldn't lose all your faith yet. My read on the situation is it seems programs are a little behind their typical timelines.

Edited February 27 by Raja012
I meant to quote respond

[flipperdoodlegumgum]

Huge congrats to those who got interviews! Excited to see how things progress for us all. 

Hoping to hear from Columbia soon myself- crossing my fingers for everyone!

Edited February 27 by flipperdoodlegumgum

[mranderson97]

Received an interview offer from NYU. I hope others are hearing some positive news as well!

[rintea]

9 hours ago, mranderson97 said:

Received an interview offer from NYU. I hope others are hearing some positive news as well!

Congrats!! I hope it goes well for you!

[toreckonwithhenry]

has anybody heard anything at this point from brooklyn or hunter? 

[iknowiknow]

20 hours ago, toreckonwithhenry said:

has anybody heard anything at this point from brooklyn or hunter? 

Looks like someone heard from Brooklyn today with an acceptance! Congrats to whomever that is! Word is Hunter will be reaching out first week of March for interviews - but who knows!