Again Congrats Jayimess! Man the next few weeks will be tough, trying to chose!

I want to view your film! How can I find it?

OH i saw it! It was awesome! GREAT JOB!

Hey, Philly, thanks. But so far I have no decision to make...until I hear from AFI that is.

Thanks, Winter...I'm proud of you, too!!

Surly, we gotta get together when I get to LA...and congrats.

How exactly did all of you guys match me to my movie? I'm way confused on how I'm coming up on Google!! But thanks for watching it...it's my first and only film...though I'm in production on my second one now...and I'm honored that you all liked it...even though I didn't get as far as the second round of a reality show I didn't really want to be on.

Congrats Jayimess and surlymonkey!

What was getting that e-mail like? Did you see the subject in your inbox and feel your heart start pounding? Ah, so excited for you both.

i got into florida state bfa as transfer!

ahhh i guess this is the graduate section my bad... oh well i have an aa does that count congrats to those who got into whatever you tried

It says "Please contact the Chapman University campus to whichyou applied for information about your status." for my status check through Chapman's website...

I don't know what this is supposed to mean but it looks more bad than good...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Airbum88,

Jayimess--Definitely let me know when you're coming out to LA! Love to get together.

RE: How I found your film... I've been trying to search for other people online who got into USC for Screenwriting so I could try to get in contact with some of my future classmates over the summer (not much luck so far). Some combo of search terms led me to your On The Lot blog, and I clicked through to your film from there.

Hey I just checked my application status! I got accepted into Chapman for cinematography! Wooo!

Wow... such a relief since it was the only school I applied too. It was them or nothing. Now I get to start figuring out how I'm going to pay for it.

Thanks to everyone in this forum for helping me stay sane through these past couple months. West coast here I come!

- Nick

Way to go ndakoulas!!!!! I'm so excited for you! I have to admit that my heart stopped when I read your post...I'm scared to log in and check my status now

Very impressive--Hopefully I'll get in too and we can start storyboarding the film you'll shoot for me next fall

so i've gotten into the MFA program for screenwriting at UCLA, NYU and Columbia... does anyone have an opinion, personal or professional about the east coast vs west coast debate? I know the obvious LA/Hollywood heart-of-it-all makes a strong argument. But I'm attracted to the 'idea' of living in NYC more... I don't want to base this decision on the wrong motivations and NYU and Columbia are both good schools... bit of a quandary.

quote:

Originally posted by Tima:
I just got my package from Columbia!!!! Im in!!!

But I have one concern. Can anyone help me? Its kinda like Winterreverie's. I have to mail them my 'enrollment confirmation' by April 16th. That is the same day AFI calls all the IN-directors and mails the rejection letters. So what should I do? Call Columbia for more time??? April 16th is literally giving me only 11 days to think about my decision!!!! (Which I still haven't made, but it would be nice to be sure)

quote:

Originally posted by Tima:
I just got my package from Columbia!!!! Im in!!!

But I have one concern. Can anyone help me? Its kinda like Winterreverie's. I have to mail them my 'enrollment confirmation' by April 16th. That is the same day AFI calls all the IN-directors and mails the rejection letters. So what should I do? Call Columbia for more time??? April 16th is literally giving me only 11 days to think about my decision!!!! (Which I still haven't made, but it would be nice to be sure)

hey Tima, i asked them for an extension till the end of April and they happily granted it. they are very nice and accessible at the grad-admissions office-if you ask them, they'll def give you more time.

Lily

(is Columbia your 1st choice? are you based on the East Coast?)

My impression of Columbia is that it has a strong screenwriting program.... and since you already have a preference for NY, I say that's your best bet. Besides, NY is just as good a place for filmmaking as LA.

Thanks, MattyMac. It was called "Admit Letter," so yeah, my heart was pounding.

Surly, that is just crazy...the internet, wow. I'll be seeing you in LA for sure.

Congrats, ND...well done.

Lily, congrats on getting in to such prestigious schools. I think that if NYC intrigues you, perhaps you should consider going there. It's all about inspiration, and perhaps new characters and tales will emerge for you there.

As for Columbia, my mentor graduated from there. She was not a big endorser of their "new" Screenwriting major. I can't recall all of her details, but when she went there, your first year revolved around all aspects of film production, and you chose a focus after tasting them all, not when you applied. She seemed to really be against the format change, so much that I opted not to apply there...though she was not the only factor in my decision.

That's just my two cents based on a second-hand opinion of which I forget most of the details, so take it with a grain of salt, or ignore it, no worries.

NYU, though...sometimes I regret not applying there.

Thanks Jayimess!
Although this is such a touch choice to make, I'm glad to be in this position for sure...

Money is an obvious issue-NYU offered me a 10K (over the 2 years of study) scholarship, so that sweetens the deal, but NYC is so painfully expensive to live in, so i'm still unsure...

I am actually going to contact the others and see if they can offer anything or match NYU's offers... I'll keep you posted on the outcome of that.

ps-I'm so excited to have happened along this blog-feels great to have a community of people in this similar time and space to gnash with!

Hey all,

So I just discovered this site a few days ago and am a little disappointed that I did so late in the process. For months after applying to MFA Screenwriting Programs I was going absolutely out of my mind waiting to hear back something, anything. To the point where even when I got back confirmation that one of my applications had been received it was a small victory.

It would have been nice to share my angst about this excruciating process with others, but better late than never I suppose. Now that the decisions are being handed down, I am pretty much in a constant state of checking email, phone messages, and when possible regular mail.

I applied to USC, AFI, UCLA, and Loyola Marymount. I got into USC and Loyola about a week ago which was a huge relief. I'm waiting on AFI for which I had an interview and UCLA, for which I didn't. I'm pretty sure that I'm not getting into UCLA since like I said I never had an interview and at this point in time I'd rather them just reject me so I can put that potential choice out of my head.

I'm really psyched about getting into USC and yet I can't help but still wonder about the other two. I've read that some of you already got into USC, UCLA,and Chapman while others are still waiting for AFI on monday. I'm curious if you get into multiple schools, which one do you think you will choose and why??

Hey Lily! Wow, congrats on your acceptance!

Yes, Columbia is most likely my first choice, unless AFI or Chapman give me a subsequent about of money.

My reason: I admire that they focus on narrative buildup. I am less concerned with 'production aspects' and more concerned with my stories, so Columbia is perfect. How bout you?

PS I asked for more time and they generously gave it to me!

And a lot of the "west coast' schools like AFI are shifting their focus after realizing that NYU and Columbia are receiving the most recognition at film festivals, (student academy awards, sundance, etc). I believe when I spoke to one of the AFI faculty they wanted to gear more towards working on the 'narrative' and away from their 'industry' focus. So, yes, all these schools are amazing, but I think (still not sure) that Columbia will be the best fit for me.

I haven't received any "official" offers, but an informal email discussion with UCLA sounds like they are going to make it very hard not to go there.....

(Oh, how I wish I was a California resident...)