Playwriting MFAs

[Mday]

Also rejected from Michener!

Just got an interview + full script request from Northwestern though. What a rollercoaster.

[atreus85]

17 hours ago, bibsy said:

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. 

It does make me wonder if UCSD interviews are already out and just being unreported lol

[atreus85]

17 minutes ago, Mday said:

Also rejected from Michener!

Just got an interview + full script request from Northwestern though. What a rollercoaster.

Bummer about Michener, but good luck on the Northwestern interview!

[everythingsfine]

Congrats @Mday 🎉 Glad to hear some uplifting news!

I was also wondering the same thing about UCSD @atreus85. Seems like they usually tend to be on the earlier side of things…

[FewMusicians138]

Anyone hear from Yale yet? Seems they usually send out interview requests at the beginning of the month. 

[princesadurazno]

On 2/7/2025 at 1:17 PM, everythingsfine said:

Hey y’all! Longtime lurker and first time poster. This is my first cycle applying and I’m trying not to check my email 50,000 times per day 🥲 I applied to Yale, Brown, UCSD, and Northwestern. 
 

Besides my day job, I’ve been knitting and crafting like a madwoman to calm my mind. What have all of y’all been doing to keep sane? 
 

Also, thank you to @bibsy for all of the interview insight! The best of luck to all my fellow playwrights! We got this 💪

These are the exact same programs I applied to!

[everythingsfine]

4 minutes ago, princesadurazno said:

These are the exact same programs I applied to!

Eek! Best of luck to you! How are you holding up through this agonizing wait?

[princesadurazno]

i've been literally just trying to never think about it but now that rejections and interviews and potential acceptances are closer, I think I need to try a new method of thinking about it in small doses haha. playing the last of us and killing zombies has been a great distraction 😆 

have you heard anything from any of the schools? I just got an email for an interview with northwestern but radio silence on the other 3

super nervous for the interviewwww

[everythingsfine]

Congrats! Lol I’ve been trying to distract myself without success 🙃 still haven’t heard from any schools yet. Admittedly, my Northwestern app was a bit of a mess, but I’m remaining hopeful for the other three schools 😬

[putonash]

20 hours ago, princesadurazno said:

I just got an email for an interview with northwestern

Congrats!! Break a leg!!

[ArachnidGreedy75]

Has anyone heard back from USC? Or have any info about the process?

[bibsy]

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.

Edited 17 hours ago by bibsy

[ArachnidGreedy75]

3 minutes ago, bibsy said:

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.

It's still a big accomplishment! A huge congratulations to you! You never know what will happen, you may get off the waitlist. 
 

Do you have updates on any other schools? Sorry if you said it before earlier in the thread.

[Mday]

Also waitlisted for UT Austin!

[bibsy]

Just now, ArachnidGreedy75 said:

It's still a big accomplishment! A huge congratulations to you! You never know what will happen, you may get off the waitlist. 
 

Do you have updates on any other schools? Sorry if you said it before earlier in the thread.

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.

[everythingsfine]

Congrats @Mday and @bibsy! Rooting for everyone 🤗 

[atreus85]

@Mday and @bibsy congrats on the waitlist! It is a big accomplishment, even if it may not feel that way right now. I hope spots open up for both of you.

I do think that Iowa interview is real. I was on r/playwriting this morning and someone was asking for advice about how to approach their Iowa interview tomorrow. 

[bibsy]

23 minutes ago, atreus85 said:

@Mday and @bibsy congrats on the waitlist! It is a big accomplishment, even if it may not feel that way right now. I hope spots open up for both of you.

I do think that Iowa interview is real. I was on r/playwriting this morning and someone was asking for advice about how to approach their Iowa interview tomorrow. 

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.

[Monae]

Hi y'all, where can I find the results page y'all are talking about for iowa? I'm on my admissions profile and it only says "In Progress."

[bibsy]

7 minutes ago, Monae said:

Hi y'all, where can I find the results page y'all are talking about for iowa? I'm on my admissions profile and it only says "In Progress."

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.

[putonash]

For the folks who got an interview request from Northwestern… have they reached back out to confirm a time?

I responded to the doodle poll and submitted my full length, just wanted to make sure if anyone else has heard anything yet…

[princesadurazno]

3 hours ago, putonash said:

For the folks who got an interview request from Northwestern… have they reached back out to confirm a time?

I responded to the doodle poll and submitted my full length, just wanted to make sure if anyone else has heard anything yet…

Also still waiting!

[mranderson97]

Has anyone heard updates from Hunter, Brooklyn, or Columbia?

I was also waitlisted at UT. It’s definitely a bummer but still encouraging to have made it this far. Hang in there everyone!