How many applicants?

[Filipe]

Hi again!

Does anyone know the avarage of applicants for the MFA in Screenwriting of the following schools?

NYU/USC/AFI

Cheers!
Filipe

 

[Jayimess]

The acceptance rates tend to be between 3 and 5 percent, so the size of the incoming class should be your indicator.

If USC accepts 32 each year, and we assume that's a 4% acceptance rate, then they received 800 applications.

An imperfect formula for sure, but it doesn't matter how many applicants they get anyway, unless you're into bragging about the whole "more exclusive than Harvard Law" thing, or worse, psyching yourself out.

 

[Suzako]

Oh, but psyching myself out is so much fun!

I said with a maniacal grin.

 

[Filipe]

Hey Jayimess,

I am psyching myself out, of course! hahaha

But it's just out of curiosity, really. There's really not much I can do at this point...

 

[SimAlex]

Regarding psyching oneself out, I go through phases where I'm confident I'll get in to my top choice, then I'm confident that nobody will ever accept me anywhere.

Gah!

 

[Filipe]

Welcome to the club, SimAlex!

Where are you applying to?

 

[SimAlex]

Where am I *not* applying to? lol. USC, UCLA, AFI, Loyola, Chapman, Texas, NYU, Columbia.

 

[Icarus Ascending]

You're scaring the poor lambs, Jayimess. I had a prof last semester who sits on the MFA screenwriting selection committee, and he said the USC MFA SW program receives "as many as 400" applications for any given year. If we assume "normal" is about 350, that's an acceptance rate of a bit higher than 9%.

That sounds low, I know--but one has to imagine that at least half of those applications are the rather un-serious submissions of daydreamers, not well-prepared packages by folks serious about starting a career.

UCLA's MFA SW submission rate is, I understand, about the same as USC's. AFI's is higher--they say they get "nearly 100" SW applications a year, and I believe they accept 28.

--IA

 

[Jayimess]

Dude, I just read "FSC" and I don't know who to trust anymore.

If it's 9%, all the better. That doubles the chances!

Woo hoo!

 

[Filipe]

That's awesome, Icarus. Thanks for the good news.
Of course, it doesn't change anything since there's nothing I can do about it at this point, but it does help my psyching out process!

And I really thought AFI got a much lower rate.

Now I'm just wondering about NYU. I heard they accept only SIX students for their writing program. Is that right?

Cheers!

 

[Filipe]

Hey SimAlex,

I heard Texas has a very good program. I was gonna apply there, but I applied to Northwestern instead.

Good luck! And let's hope we'll meet next year.

 

[SimAlex]

Yes, Texas does have a very good program, plus I've nothing but good things about Austin, TX. And yes -- best of luck to both of us!!

 

[Icarus Ascending]

Filipe--

I'm not sure how big NYU's Dramatic Writing program is (although I think it's a good deal larger than six). What I can say is, based on what evidence I've seen, NYU seems to be looking more for playwrights than they are for screenwriters. In fact, the form of submission (play vs. screenplay) seems to be the single greatest predictor of applicant success.

It is not unknown for folks who are primarily screenwriters to be admitted to the DW program--but it's rare. And frankly, given DW's apparent emphasis, I think that if screenwriting is your primary interest, it's worth asking yourself whether you'd want to be in that program.

(BTW, I claim no inside-baseball knowledge with respect to NYU. If someone more familiar with the program has a conflicting opinion, I suggest you listen to them and not me.)

--IA

 

[Filipe]

Thanks a lot for your input, Icarus.
I'll sure take that into consideration if I'm lucky enough to have to choose! =)