Columbia University MFA Fall 2019

[Cody Young]

Hey everyone, just checking in. I had my interview yesterday, in person, with Andy Bienen and Jodie Markell and similar to what @d890 said, the whole affair was very laid back. We started off the interview with the basic introductions and whatnot, with a big focus on where I came from. This was quite the same as my interview with AFI and it's a pretty easy going way to start off the interview. From that point, Andy took control of the interview more or less, with the majority of questions coming from him and concerning the writing samples in my submission. We spent a good chunk of time on this as the pair seemed really interested both in what I had already produced as a writer and what ideas I had for future pieces. We went over my treatment for a potential film and talked about sources of inspiration for me. Being that I'm a huge horror fan, they asked what horror creators I was a fan of. Lastly, Andy was really focused on my familial background and wanted to know more because I didn't really mention them at all in any of my essays, kind of put me in a weird spot because I wasn't really expecting it and if I had one area to criticize about my performance in the interview, it would be in this area. All in all interview took about 35 minutes or so, but it absolutely flew by. Overall, I think it went really well.


Side note: For those of you interviewing in person at Columbia, they give you a flash drive with a link and password to see all of the student films from the previous year. A neat little gift to be sure.

Best of luck to all of you that will be interviewing soon.

 

[Laika]

Hi everyone, I just finished my interview on zoom. 2 professors interviewed me, but basically one of them raise questions and react with u. They're friendly and glad to show the positive attitude to u. Most questions are about my portfolio, remember that the writing materials could be as important as your video. They also asked me some questions about my taste of film like what genre do I prefer and what's my fav film. And finally they gave me a chance to say my questions about the university.
Be relaxed and just believe in who u r! Make sure that you express what you want them to know and it's okay since they r very kind and patient.

 

[Cody Young]

Hi everyone, I just finished my interview on zoom. 2 professors interviewed me, but basically one of them raise questions and react with u. They're friendly and glad to show the positive attitude to u. Most questions are about my portfolio, remember that the writing materials could be as important as your video. They also asked me some questions about my taste of film like what genre do I prefer and what's my fav film. And finally they gave me a chance to say my questions about the university.
Be relaxed and just believe in who u r! Make sure that you express what you want them to know and it's okay since they r very kind and patient.

Who did you interview with?

 

[Laika]

Who did you interview with?

Sry I don't remember either one's name since I was a little bit distracted because of nervousness. All I can say is they are both male. lol

 

[Cody Young]

Sry I don't remember either one's name since I was a little bit distracted because of nervousness. All I can say is they are both male. lol

It’s all good, just curious lol. I was the same way though, because either they didn’t give me their names or if they did I was too nervous to pay attention. I ended up finding them on the faculty website after though.

 

[adelaidepal]

Hey guys got my interview today with Lance and Jack! They told me I was the second to last person to interview for Creative Producing, so the wait starts now... We're hearing end of march, right? I wonder why the decision process is so long

 

[happiernow]

Hey guys got my interview today with Lance and Jack! They told me I was the second to last person to interview for Creative Producing, so the wait starts now... We're hearing end of march, right? I wonder why the decision process is so long

most of the old spreadsheets say early/mid-march. Last year the earliest acceptance was march 9th.
Did they say end of march?

 

[JEC]

I interviewed on Tuesday with two very nice professors whose names I didn't catch (d'oh). My experience with it was good and generally similar to what people have already said. I'd highlight the following points for anyone interviewing at Columbia in the future or another MFA since they're probably looking for the same things:

1. Make sure they know that writing (or directing or producing) is your passion. Talk about what you're working on at the moment and make it clear that writing is a constant presence in your life...
2. They want to know that you can collaborate and take instruction. I think that's really what these interviews are all about. These places aren't charm schools and you don't have to boast the charisma of a young Warren Beatty to stand out. But you do need to demonstrate an enthusiasm for improving your craft, developing works with other people & showing an interest in writing about people and subjects outside your immediate life. That last point is probably more pertinent if you're a white guy from El Lay like me but they don't want to accept 15 people who write about straight white Millennials trying to make it in the big city. If your portfolio/samples showcased a more diverse set of characters and stories (as mine did), you're in good shape. If it didn't, you may want to mention something you're working on that deviates from the norm.
3. Don't sweat it. My interviewers were very pleasant, they're not prosecutors, they want you to do well and if you've ever spent time around professional writers, awkwardness and flop sweat are not impediments to success in the profession.

Hope this helps!

 

[adelaidepal]

most of the old spreadsheets say early/mid-march. Last year the earliest acceptance was march 9th.
Did they say end of march?

Hmmm i can't remember now... I dont think it was them but a student from the program who was there to answer questions. But maybe she was wrong

 

[Fernando González Ortiz]

Hmmm i can't remember now... I dont think it was them but a student from the program who was there to answer questions. But maybe she was wrong

I had my interview last week, Jack and Lance told me to wait a couple of weeks. They mentioned that mid March was the time when we could be getting news.

 

[Stephaniedupont]

Hi everyone long time lurker here. I was wondering if anyone from screenwriting/directing has been interviewed by Rania Attieh? If so how was your interview?

 

[Chelsie]

Hi everyone long time lurker here. I was wondering if anyone from screenwriting/directing has been interviewed by Rania Attieh? If so how was your interview?

Hey Stephanie! I had my interview with Katherine Dieckmann and Rania Attieh. They were both really nice and personable, albeit my interview felt short (It ran about 25 minutes out of the 30 of the allotted time). I talked for about 10-15 minutes and then they opened the floor up for questions I had about the program which took up the remainder of the time. Katherine did most of the question asking and talking but Rania did chime in every now and then and was super nice. I was pretty surprised (and initially thrown off) by how soon they asked me to ask them questions about the program, but I think each professor just runs their interviews differently. Hope that helps!

 

[miqueld]

Has anyone had an interview with Austin or Jon? Also, has anyone heard anything back yet?

 

[Kinz]

According to last year’s thread, people received phone calls this weekend about CP, starting on the Friday night...... so we could be finding out as soon as tomorrow.....

Do you guys think it’s likely?? Has their schedule matched consistently to last year?

The wait is killing me ahhhhhhh!

 

[MargosMango]

According to last year’s thread, people received phone calls this weekend about CP, starting on the Friday night...... so we could be finding out as soon as tomorrow.....

Do you guys think it’s likely?? Has their schedule matched consistently to last year?

The wait is killing me ahhhhhhh!

This is killing me too! So far they have been consistant with their interview notification schedule from previous years, so this weekend may be it! The suspense!!

 

[adelaidepal]

wooah no way? as soon as tomorrow??

 

[Yuk]

I wish schools would just post the dates they send out final admissions decisions like AFI ? the wait is killing me

 

[adelaidepal]

I don't know if I'm ready for this... I thought I would have one more week to chill haha

 

[clurrm]

According to last year’s thread, people received phone calls this weekend about CP, starting on the Friday night...... so we could be finding out as soon as tomorrow.....

Do you guys think it’s likely?? Has their schedule matched consistently to last year?

The wait is killing me ahhhhhhh!

considering interviews go until march 20th (for screenwriting/directing, at least), we probably won't hear anything til later this month

 

[Cody Young]

Not sure about Creative Producing, but my interviewer mentioned that they were looking at mid-March for decision notifications to be sent out for the Screenwriting/Directing track. Hope this helps.