Film School 2016

[Paul J.]

Sorry for the long post! Every school has their own way of going through this process, but hopefully this gives some insight into the strange world of MFA admissions!

This was awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time to type that down!

At the same time it does give me a tad of chills - since I am a bit uncertain on how schools will interprer my undergrad transcripts. Since not in a U.S. school, the grading system is a bit different (0-5) and many courses are just pass/fail. Standards are kept very high and the top grade (5) is not very easily given out. It's as if teachers are waiting for that one performance yet to be seen so they reserve that one grade for it We only had a few actual tests during the 4yrs of undergrad and grades were given out based on class performance, essays and the roll of a dice, I guess - Did not have time to even think of a GRE this time around so makes me a bit nervous. My grades weren't complete rubbish - I believe the gpa was around 3,6/5 or something. (not counting passes as any spesific number) But I am hoping this does not stop my application at the first guard dog, since I have faith in my portfolio being atleast semi-strong And at least 1 youtube hit so it had to have passed some criteria, right?

And on another matter, people who did not make the USC financial aid webinar - you probably got the reschedule e-mail (or additional webinar rather). If you fail to make it, PM me - I took screenshots of the webinar when I participated. Though it was not too heavy on info not already found on the USC webpage. I would not lose too much sleep over it!

 

[Solomon_E]

This was awesome! Thanks so much for taking the time to type that down!

At the same time it does give me a tad of chills - since I am a bit uncertain on how schools will interprer my undergrad transcripts. Since not in a U.S. school, the grading system is a bit different (0-5) and many courses are just pass/fail. Standards are kept very high and the top grade (5) is not very easily given out. It's as if teachers are waiting for that one performance yet to be seen so they reserve that one grade for it We only had a few actual tests during the 4yrs of undergrad and grades were given out based on class performance, essays and the roll of a dice, I guess - Did not have time to even think of a GRE this time around so makes me a bit nervous. My grades weren't complete rubbish - I believe the gpa was around 3,6/5 or something. (not counting passes as any spesific number) But I am hoping this does not stop my application at the first guard dog, since I have faith in my portfolio being atleast semi-strong And at least 1 youtube hit so it had to have passed some criteria, right?

And on another matter, people who did not make the USC financial aid webinar - you probably got the reschedule e-mail (or additional webinar rather). If you fail to make it, PM me - I took screenshots of the webinar when I participated. Though it was not too heavy on info not already found on the USC webpage. I would not lose too much sleep over it!

@Paul J. I understand having concerns over the transcripts and the different grading system on them. In my case, I have no concerns over my undergrad grades, but I had an nontraditional high school experience. I had to list my high school for my USC app and was worried about it. At 14, I became extremely ill and had to stop attending a public school because the school officials told my parents they could only give me Fs because I had lost so much school. Instead of enrolling me in a different public school, my parents had me get a high school diploma early through a private accredited program. So, I am hoping the folks at USC base their academic assessment on my performance in my university transcripts even though I didn't have much to provide on my high school.

I think you're a good communicator based on your posts here and the programs you applied to will appreciate that as well as your portfolio. I'm sure the programs you applied to will keep you in the running and evaluate you fairly regardless of how they interpret your transcripts.

 

[Solomon_E]

Yeah, it's tricky.
Sorry for the long post! Every school has their own way of going through this process, but hopefully this gives some insight into the strange world of MFA admissions!

Your post was very informative and interesting - thank you.

Re: the USC webinar yesterday - for the first 15-20 minutes, I couldn't get in like a lot of people here. Then, I noticed I could hear the audio of the host talking but couldn't see the meeting. The visual part of the meeting eventually appeared on my screen.

For me, the most informative portion of the meeting was the host answering questions. Before that, the topics she went over were from documents and pages on the USC financial aid website. She also stated this at more than one point. But I am glad I attended because it was helpful to hear her go over all of the most important financial topics in one place.

 

[Paul J.]

I think you're a good communicator based on your posts here and the programs you applied to will appreciate that as well as your portfolio. I'm sure the programs you applied to will keep you in the running and evaluate you fairly regardless of how they interpret your transcripts.

Thanks for the kind words. I truly hope you are right in this case - and hey, based on the schools we've both applied to, who knows - we might be class mates come fall Sorry to hear you had a rough childhood healthwise but I am sure that they can see past that. You probably had that part of your life mentioned in your personal statement as well? Weird that they would even be interested in studies from that far back.

Oh, what I'd give for a crystal ball right about now.

 

[Solomon_E]

Thanks for the kind words. I truly hope you are right in this case - and hey, based on the schools we've both applied to, who knows - we might be class mates come fall Sorry to hear you had a rough childhood healthwise but I am sure that they can see past that. You probably had that part of your life mentioned in your personal statement as well? Weird that they would even be interested in studies from that far back.

Oh, what I'd give for a crystal ball right about now.

I didn't think of including my childhood illness (a bad case of pneumonia) in my personal statement since USC wanted a creative essay or short story of 1-2 pages for the program I applied to. If USC had wanted a different type of statement and a longer one, I probably would have thought of including the illness in there. But for my creative essay for USC, I chose to discuss other events and data that revealed who I am as a person (and by extension, as a storyteller) and why I have the perspective I have now.

I'm crossing my fingers we both get accepted to programs we're happy with.

 

[katavi08]

@Paul J. Does your transcript show grades or is it just pass/fail? I also went to an undergrad institution that worked on a pass/fail system, so no grades. And instead of a GPA, we had a completion ratio. The ratio indicates how many classes you passed, and the general understanding was if you passed a class that meant you had A level work.
It's funny, I had an administrative assistant from the University of Miami email me a week ago and tell me that she didn't know how to read my transcript, and was putting my application on hold until I contacted her. Naturally, I called her right away to explain, and she said that she would have to bring it to the higher ups at the Graduate School to see how to proceed. I haven't heard back from her yet, but trying not to panic.
I actually had the same thing happen with USC and Chapman, and everything got resolved. Usually if a admissions counselor gets a transcript that is not average, they'll take it to the directors or some other higher position in the grad school to see how to proceed. Also, there is usually a person appointed to work specifically with international transcripts, and process them. In my admissions experience, I've never heard of someone not getting in because they had a weird transcript.

 

[Kevin Wilson]

Hi @Kevin Wilson! How are things at NYU? Are you in your second semester now?
Judging by the spreadsheet last year, it looks like people started getting interview invites from NYU around the second week of February. Yeah, that's coming up quick. *breaths into paper bag*

Yes! Loving Tisch.. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. We're starting the 2nd Semester on Monday. We shot a film over the holiday break... Be ready to work WHEN you get here! I got a call for my interview last year on the 2nd Tuesday in Feb.

 

[Paul J.]

@katavi08 The thing is that I have a mix of both grades and pass/fails in the same transcripts. If they consider them as an A (or a 5 respectively) then score for me! Bummer that you have had so much issues with your transcripts but hopefully all gets sorted out and that it doesn't affect your application in any way.

People have filled out the google doc nicely - keep it up guys!

@Kevin Wilson did you do a studio piece or on location shooting? Was it a good shoot? Does Tisch have studio space btw?

 

[katavi08]

Yes! Loving Tisch.. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. We're starting the 2nd Semester on Monday. We shot a film over the holiday break... Be ready to work WHEN you get here! I got a call for my interview last year on the 2nd Tuesday in Feb.

Nice! How do group projects work? Do you guys split tasks based upon your individual interests, or are you assigned roles by the faculty?

 

[katavi08]

@Paul J. My transcript has some grades as well, because some teachers insisted on giving grades to students. So, some classes have a random grade, and then others don't. haha. I think this is what the admission counselors are finding confusing. In all honesty, I'm not worried about transcripts. I am worried about the personal statement though. In my admissions office, I've seen more people not go through because of a weak personal statement than an issue with the transcript.

 

[Paul J.]

@katavi08 Yeah... The personal statenent is a tough one. Now you got me nervous about mine! Never thought that it was admissions' job to sort out applicants based on the personal letter. :/ I kind of made it into a narrative of a sort - or let's say the writers voice is present. Might have been smarter to go a more conservative route and just list facts and reasons? Who knows...

 

[katavi08]

@Paul J. Sorry! I didn't mean to make you nervous! Let me clarify: the reason the personal statement is so important (again just speaking from my experience!) is because it is looked at by both the admissions counselors and the faculty. When the admissions counselors look at it they are looking for things like sloppy writing, or any red flags. For example, we had an essay come in last semester that had some racist undertones to it. This person wasn't applying for an MFA, but the admissions team look for things like that in all essays that come through.
Faculty are busy, and looking over applications takes time. The job of the admissions counselors is to make things as easy as possible by cutting out any people who obviously won't make the cut. If you don't have at least a 3.0 GPA or equivalent you're out. If you're essay is sloppy, or causes concern you're out. Now sloppy essay does not mean you have two or three typos and that's it. It happens, and one typo is not going to hurt you. There is a clear difference between the writing of people who took the time on their essay and those that did not. At this level of education, there is an expectation that your writing will be at a certain level, and that you will take the responsibility to put effort into it.
The faculty use them as a way to get to know you as a person. So, it's better to have an essay that is true to who you are than something that sounds cliche and boring.

 

[katavi08]

All in all, I'm more worried that the faculty won't find my essay interesting than I am about the admissions counselors not understanding my transcript.

 

[Solomon_E]

@Paul J. Sorry! I didn't mean to make you nervous! Let me clarify: the reason the personal statement is so important (again just speaking from my experience!) is because it is looked at by both the admissions counselors and the faculty. When the admissions counselors look at it they are looking for things like sloppy writing, or any red flags. For example, we had an essay come in last semester that had some racist undertones to it. This person wasn't applying for an MFA, but the admissions team look for things like that in all essays that come through.
Faculty are busy, and looking over applications takes time. The job of the admissions counselors is to make things as easy as possible by cutting out any people who obviously won't make the cut. If you don't have at least a 3.0 GPA or equivalent you're out. If you're essay is sloppy, or causes concern you're out. Now sloppy essay does not mean you have two or three typos and that's it. It happens, and one typo is not going to hurt you. There is a clear difference between the writing of people who took the time on their essay and those that did not. At this level of education, there is an expectation that your writing will be at a certain level, and that you will take the responsibility to put effort into it.
The faculty use them as a way to get to know you as a person. So, it's better to have an essay that is true to who you are than something that sounds cliche and boring.

Thanks for sharing! All of that makes sense and is in line with what I've heard about the process. I definitely agree it's better to have an essay that is true to who you are, and so that is what I aimed for with each of mine (I wrote different personal statements for most of my 5 programs because the requirements varied).

 

[katavi08]

Personal statements are also important when it comes to things like institutional aid. Example: at my college, once students have been accepted, the director of graduate admissions will work with the counselors to make a list of students they recommend for scholarships, fellowship, etc. This list goes to financial aid, and things go from there. A lot of things go into determining a student's financial aid package, and this includes admissions materials. I’m not sure how this works with larger universities, but at my college we have a scholarship budget that is given to us every year by the institution. From this budget, the director decides who gets a scholarship, and how much. This amount is coming directly out of the graduate school budget, and once it's gone, it's gone.

Where does the personal statement come in? Well, like I said the director works closely with the counselors to determine who should get scholarships. Admissions is not looking at your FASFA, or any other financial documents. So, they make their recommendations based on what they know about each student from their essay, and other application materials. The sad truth is admissions counselor can and will pick favorites amongst a group of applicants. I've heard counselors in my office rave about certain students after reading their essays. Much like the faculty, they like essay that show them who you are as a person. A good essay will help you get through the rounds, but a great, truly personal essay can give you an edge throughout the whole process.

 

[Paul J.]

@katavi08 You are a real gold mine of information. Thanks for sharing! And don't worry - not losing my sleep over the personal statement and neither should you. Someone has been watching your youtube application video, right? So chilax - that has to count for something. Did you ever get the info on where your second hit was originated from?

 

[katavi08]

@Paul J. Haha! Glad I can share my experiences! You would think working in grad admissions would help calm my nerves, but I think it makes it worse! I know all the dirty secrets!
I haven't been able to figure out the new hits on my video. But, I did get an email from the University of Miami who said they resolved my transcript issue, and my file has been passed on for review. They said I should have a full decision by the 2nd week of February! That should also be the time we start hearing about Columbia/NYU interviews! Crazy!

 

[Paul J.]

Well hey, knowing the dirty secrets can only be an advantage! Any guestimates from previous years on how many they interview and what the acceptance rate is? The previous year's spread sheet probably gives a false picture since it seems so many from the forum got in! The total intake can't be big on any of the programs, right?

 

[katavi08]

The spreadsheet does look encouraging! I will say, the people who post on this forum do seem to have good luck! When it comes to percentage of acceptances, that's going to vary from school to school. Every year in admissions we face the same dilemma: How many students are we going to accept? Yes, we may cap our MFA cohorts at 20, but that doesn't mean we only accept 20 people. We have to make a gamble on how many students to accept, knowing that some will take the offer, and others won't. Admissions holds faith that a certain number of students will decline, but sometimes that doesn't work, and everyone accepts the offer. You can't take away an offer once you put it out there, so you get more students than you bargained for. Because our programs are only budgeted for a certain number of students, if we go over that number that means we go over budget. You would think accepting more people would mean more money for us, but that's not the case. Extra money goes to the institution, not the grad budget. Our budget is always the same, and if we go over that one year, that means we have to accept fewer students the following year to make up that loss. To avoid this, admissions will send out their acceptances in waves. From the first wave they see how many students accepted and how many declined, and then they will send out a second wave of acceptances. That's why some people don't hear from schools until late April-early May. If you go through past acceptance threads on here, you can see examples of this. Unfortunately, it's a crap shoot which wave you're going to go in, but usually admissions will send out acceptances to their top choices first. Other factors like money problems for the institution or changes within a department can also determine how many people get accepted a given year. It really all depends on the state of the institutional and department.

 

[katavi08]

As far as interviews, again I can only speak to what my school does. We offer interviews to twice the number of students we accept in each program. For example, if we know we want 20 students in the creative writing program, we'll interview 40. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It really depends on how the faculty are feeling about the applicants.