Getting in Without an Interview

[ilikealliteration]

Hey all, I know certain schools don't do interviews, for instance USC's Screenwriting program does not interview. I'm reading a lot about students getting interviews at NYU Dramatic Writing as well as the Columbia Film MFA.

I'm wondering if anyone knows if either of these two schools accept students without interviewing them?

I'm accepted at USC, which feels great, but I can't get rid of this anxiety.

 

[smell_the_glove]

Man, I wish I was you. Haha.

 

[Sonia]

I'm not sure about this, but word around this forum is that it's very rare to get in without an interview at Columbia. And UCLA. I don't know about the others.

I'm in your situation, too. I was accepted for screenwriting at USC but not offered an interview at Columbia, UCLA, or Northwestern. (Weird mystical application criteria.) Not rejected yet, either, but because I wasn't invited to interview anyplace, I'd given up hope on all of the schools before I got my USC letter over the weekend.

The fact that the other schools' decisions are up in the air doesn't really bother me because USC is where I'd wanted to go all along.

Are you holding out for a school that's a better fit for you than USC?

Good luck!

 

[ilikealliteration]

I can't decide really. I think if I get accepted into NYU or UT (where I'm waitlisted and don't have much hope), I'd have a really tough decision. Reading the section on USC in "Film School Confidential," the authors seem to think of USC's Screenwriting program as almost secondary. It goes so far as to say that, since it is mostly industry training and great for people who want to get into the techincal aspects, that "any art that happens is coincidental."

I don't know. Obviously if you want to work in films, Hollywood is the place to be, so going to a school that trains you to work in Hollywood would be great, but at the same time, I want to go somewhere that really promotes its screenwriters and encourages an artistic view of film.

So I won't be devastated if I don't have the decision to make, because obviously what I just said is based on just this one book, (and who knows if the authors have any kind of agenda or not) and USC would be a great screenwriting school to go to. Especially since I could definitely see myself writing for television.

 

[ilikealliteration]

And smell_the_glove, I'm sorry. I hope you don't feel like I'm rubbing it in or anything, that wasn't my intention.

What's your current status in the waiting game?

 

[smell_the_glove]

Oh, no, I don't think that at all. I just seriously wish I was you...haha. No worries, darling.

I am currently still awaiting some kind of notification. I hope I get it soon, cause I can't concentrate on anything else.

And seriously, I'm so happy for all of you who have gotten in. You honestly deserve it! I just hope I get to meet you all!

 

[smell_the_glove]

Oh, I was wondering whether your book mentioned a better school than USC? I can't wrap my head around that theory, but I assume they noted that some school was better than USC.

 

[Sonia]

From what I know about USC, it's certainly a school where you can learn how to write for Hollywood. But I don't get the impression that there's any pressure to do so. I wouldn't worry if your interests lie outside the mainstream (mine do).

On the other hand, the other schools you mentioned might encourage experimental/artsy writing more than USC will. I don't think USC will stifle anything, but it probably won't push you too hard to make offbeat films, either.

But I don't go there yet, so I'm speaking mostly from what I've read on this forum.

Take it from someone who knows: Jayimess, a screenwriter at USC, posted awhile back that Film School Confidential's review of USC isn't totally accurate. It might be worth it to get her opinion on what you've read.

 

[Suzako]

In my opinion, "Film School Confidential" treats screenwriting as secondary in general. But yeah, I completely understand wanting to have options and wanting to go to the school that's the best fit.

The top schools are all great, but they may be better fits for different styles, personalities, and aspirations.

 

[smell_the_glove]

Well, Mary Sweeney teaches there and she worked with David Lynch--I don't know if you can get any more offbeat than that! So I wouldn't sweat it too much. I'm sure they appreciate indie films just as much as we do!

 

[Sonia]

Hey, good point, STG. I feel like I have no authority to say anything accurate about this topic, so I don't know why I'm still blabbing.

 

[Jayimess]

Film School Confidential's assessment of USC is all wrong.

 

[smell_the_glove]

Sonia, if you have nothing accurate to say about USC, then I definitely am not qualified to speak about it. But I did go through all of the faculty and see what they've done, and I think that's cause enough to feel perfectly at ease with USC. As my interviewer told me (gasp! at UCLA!), you have to first know the rules of screenwriting to break them. SO they're going to teach you the rules and you can do whatever the hell you want with those rules as soon as you master them. At least, that's what she said.

 

[smell_the_glove]

Wow, that first line sounded really confrontational. Haha...

 

[Sonia]

Haha. It came off fine to me. Funny that we both posted about the content/tone of our posts right afterwards.

 

[smell_the_glove]

First you take my shtick, and now you're taking my self consciousness! When does it end with you, Sonia?

 

[Jayimess]

And I break all sorts of rules...the faculty all has different approaches, but I'm not writing a typical single protagonist linear three act script for my feature thesis, and I've received nothing but support. I've got a former chair, the current chair, and an adjunct on my committee, and it's been an amazing experience.

It's industry, don't get me wrong, but it's indie enough, if you want both. If you want nothing to do with the industry, it might not be the best fit for you.

Personally, I'm not all about the big studio system. I just want to make good movies, lil movies if that's all I can make. I'm also a director, though.

Point is, you will find people that are doing what you want to do, and you can work together to carve out your own little piece of the world, or a big one, for that matter.

 

[ilikealliteration]

Okay, I feel better after hearing that... I'll be on the fence about it anyways if I get into NYU or UT, because I'd much rather be able to work in the industry (and hopefully make some money) in Hollywood, so that I could eventually have the freedom to do whatever I'd want.