Northwestern 2011 - Who's applying?

[beezy16]

Hey everyone!

I learned about Northwestern last year after their due date, but I am applying this year. Anyone else?

 

[E.B.]

i live in Evanston actually. grew up here.

but i'm applying to places in NY.


Bring a warm coat. Mwuaahahahahhaa

 

[KrisKelvin]

I'll probably try for Writing for the Screen and Stage MFA--big surprise, I know, seeing as I'm applying practically everywhere. I recall reading that they only take 12, so I don't have particularly high expectations (especially since I have no playwrighting experience).

Funny you should mention the warm coat, E.B. When I was deciding between undergraduate schools, Northwestern was one of my top 3 choices among the places I was accepted, but when I visited it must've been below zero with the wind chill and I was WAY underdressed (having been raised in a city where it had snowed once in 18 years). I tell myself I didn't attend the school for reasons other than the weather (especially since it's in the teens where I am now!), but I've always wondered if I would've felt differently had it not been so freaking cold

 

[E.B.]

yeah its brutal along the lake, which is where the university sits. wind just sweeps right in.

 

[beezy16]

I turned in my app this morning! Anyone else! I don't know about everyone else but I'm pretty excited about Northwestern! I can handle the cold because their program is pretty amazing. Anyone else out there hoping for this school?

 

[beezy16]

Hey everyone! I hope everybody is doing alright through this whole waiting process, but according to last years posts, we should be hearing this week for interviews!

Anyone hear anything yet?

 

[BlueAlice24]

Got contacted for an interview by email!

I'm applying to this MFA because it seems awesome, but I've heard there's not much option in terms of funding--does anyone have any information on this/know anyone who's gotten funding?

 

[beezy16]

Congrats BlueAlice! I haven't heard anything yet. When did they contact you?

As for funding, Silverlenz has a great breakdown of Northwestern's program. You'll have to search this forum for it though. He posted it last year.

Good luck with the interview!

 

[BlueAlice24]

Hey Beezy, thanks! I got an email from them this afternoon. Thanks for the info, I'll look that up now!

Good luck to you too!

 

[beezy16]

Here's the info from Silverlenz:


quote:
Originally posted by Silverlenz:
Hey guys I just returned home from my trip to Northwestern University and all I can say is wow guys. They really rolled out the red carpet for myself and another student who was also visiting before making their decision. While in Evanston I had the luxury of visiting with 5 (two of which are graduating in June) students, the Director and Associate director of the program, and touring their amazing facilities. Below you will find updated information about Northwestern's program. Please forgive the length of my post. My hope is that future and prospective Northwestern students can get a better understanding of what the program can offer them. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to comment or pm me.

Ӣ5,400 scholarship for all first year MFA students. This money is equally distributed over three quarters.

ӢFree medical insurance (That's correct I didn't stutter)- One of the graduate students told me about this. I was shocked and definitely surprised that they don't advertise this on their website. BTW, I confirmed this with the Director of the program and the program assistant and this is indeed true.

ӢTA ship- you are offered a TA position during your 2nd year at Northwestern University and while you TA you pay no tuition or fees (a 14 thousand dollar value). In addition to no tuition and fees you also receive a $ 5,000 stipend while you teach. I don't know about you guys but I think this is a pretty sweet deal; especially for those of you who have expressed interest in teaching.

Ӣ$5,000 production grant- during your 2nd year you have the option of using this grant money to produce one of your pieces (play, short, screenplay). Students who have co-written pieces with other MFA students have the ability to combine their monies together. But what if you have no plans of producing a play or screenplay? Well, there's another option for people in that category. Northwestern recently passed a new rule that allows you to borrow up to $2,500 of the $5,000 and use it towards any expenses incurred while doing an internship in New York or Los Angles. If you decide to do an internship in Chicago, you can use up to $1,000 dollars of your $5,000 towards an internship cost incurred. Not bad huh.

Financial Aide Package at a glance

5,400-guranteed scholarship for all first year students
1,300-medical expenses (insurance)
14,000-TA ship
5,000- stipend while TA ing
5,000- Production / Internship grant (Please refer to info above)
$30,700 over two years of study at Northwestern University <----(Don't know of any other programs that give as much)


Things I didn't know before my visit / Interesting facts about NU

ӢThis will be their fourth cohort.

ӢThere are only 12 students admitted each year.

ӢYou are only required to write one Play if you consider yourself a screenwriter. They realize that not everyone is into playwrights.

ӢYou are only required to write one screenplay if you are more into plays.

ӢThey require all MFA's to take at least one production course but this can be waived and substituted for another course (elective or theory) if you can show

ӢDuring my visit I talked to five students. Two of the five were 2nd year students graduating in June, while the others where first year students. For the most part the all agreed that it's best to live in Evanston because they felt that it added to the cohesiveness of the cohort. They mentioned that in previous years students lived throughout the greater Chicago area and that it made it hard for them to meet up and gel outside of class.

ӢThe oldest person that ever went through the program was 54 years old. She was award winning (Peabody) documentary filmmaker.

ӢStudents in the program have been successful and landing great internship/job opportunities:

Comedy Central School Me (Paid) Internship in New York City
Original Programming department at Showtime Networks (LA) Internship
Ugly Betty Internship
Office Internship
Sara Silverman Internship
Sundance Channel Development Internship
MTV Networks, Logo Channels Original programming Department
Chicago Raven Theater Internship
Promo Producer for TBS's Lopez Tonight
Summer Internship at TP&R Casting
Apprentice for Richard J. Lewis, Director of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

http://www.communication.north...creen_stage/news.php


ӢThe students spoke highly of the program, faculty, and the sense of community within the program. They also spoke in great detail about the generosity of Northwestern Alums. Most of the students belong to the Northwestern University Entertainment Alliance (NUEA). Two of the students I talked with were able to land internships in Los Angles and New York because of NU alums.

ӢThe program is two years in length and is comprised of three 10-week quarters each year. Students can take up to four courses a quarter, although only one student I talked to actually took four. The other four students recommended that you take only three courses a quarter. Between the first and second year you are required to take a mandatory internship. The school prefers that you do it in New York, Los Angles, or Chicago. During my interview with the director I inquired about the possibilities of doing internships in other locations and he informed me that one of the students this year was approved to do their internship in Kenya. So good news guys they are open to doing internships in other locations. Also, another cool thing is that unlike other schools, they don't require you to pay for the internship credit (i.e. You don't pay tuition while taking your internship).

ӢIf you look at the degree requirements for the MFA in Screen and Stage, you will notice that they require a couple of theory courses. Well I talked with both students and the director and they informed me that are willing to substitute other courses in place of theater, film, production, and performance theory courses. For example, one of the students took a graduate level history course and used the information learned from the class to write historical/ time period screenplay. So this may be an option for if you either hate theory courses or have had your fair share of them during undergrad.

ӢThe general consensus among the students was that the program is getting better each and every year. In addition they mentioned that they felt that the administration listened to them for the most part. For example, several students felt financially burden by the cost incurred via their internship in LA and New York and because of this students are now allowed to use up to half of their production grant to offset costs.

ӢChicago is the third largest city in the United States but it's relatively inexpensive when compared to Los Angles and New York. I found two bedroom apartments and condos for about $850 a month.

ӢAlthough it's highly unlikely students can petition and qualify for a 2nd quarter of TA ship. Two of the students I talked with actually got selected for this and were very pleased. According to them the same offer applied and they were given free tuition and fees and a $5,000 stipend. Now that's a pretty sweet deal. The students who got a 2nd TA ship only paid for one quarter of tuition and fees. So they basically saved about 26 thousand (in tuition and fees) by TA ing for two quarters.


Thanks again guys for reading my extremely long post. I hope this helps and puts some of you at ease. Once again please feel free to pm me or comment if you have any other questions.

Best regards,
SilverLenz
________________________________-
Very Helpful!

 

[BlueAlice24]

Beezy, thank you so much for taking the time to re-post this; it's really fantastically helpful.

 

[beezy16]

No Problem! You can Thank Silverlenz! He posted this last year and it was the first time I heard that Northwestern even had a program.

Good luck with your interview! I'm hoping I get contacted soon for an interview!

 

[BlueAlice24]

I've read that in previous years they can take a long time to contact people for interviews; I was reading about people being contacted as late as March and April just for the interview. so I wouldn't worry.

thanks again!

 

[beezy16]

Hi BlueAlice24! Just wondering, but when is your interview? As you can tell, waiting is driving me crazy!

Anyone else out there heard anything?

 

[jackgradus]

Originally posted by beezy16:
Here's the info from Silverlenz:


quote:
Originally posted by Silverlenz:
Hey guys I just returned home from my trip to Northwestern University and all I can say is wow guys. They really rolled out the red carpet for myself and another student who was also visiting before making their decision. While in Evanston I had the luxury of visiting with 5 (two of which are graduating in June) students, the Director and Associate director of the program, and touring their amazing facilities. Below you will find updated information about Northwestern's program. Please forgive the length of my post. My hope is that future and prospective Northwestern students can get a better understanding of what the program can offer them. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to comment or pm me.

Ӣ5,400 scholarship for all first year MFA students. This money is equally distributed over three quarters.

ӢFree medical insurance (That's correct I didn't stutter)- One of the graduate students told me about this. I was shocked and definitely surprised that they don't advertise this on their website. BTW, I confirmed this with the Director of the program and the program assistant and this is indeed true.

ӢTA ship- you are offered a TA position during your 2nd year at Northwestern University and while you TA you pay no tuition or fees (a 14 thousand dollar value). In addition to no tuition and fees you also receive a $ 5,000 stipend while you teach. I don't know about you guys but I think this is a pretty sweet deal; especially for those of you who have expressed interest in teaching.

Ӣ$5,000 production grant- during your 2nd year you have the option of using this grant money to produce one of your pieces (play, short, screenplay). Students who have co-written pieces with other MFA students have the ability to combine their monies together. But what if you have no plans of producing a play or screenplay? Well, there's another option for people in that category. Northwestern recently passed a new rule that allows you to borrow up to $2,500 of the $5,000 and use it towards any expenses incurred while doing an internship in New York or Los Angles. If you decide to do an internship in Chicago, you can use up to $1,000 dollars of your $5,000 towards an internship cost incurred. Not bad huh.

Financial Aide Package at a glance

5,400-guranteed scholarship for all first year students
1,300-medical expenses (insurance)
14,000-TA ship
5,000- stipend while TA ing
5,000- Production / Internship grant (Please refer to info above)
$30,700 over two years of study at Northwestern University <----(Don't know of any other programs that give as much)


Things I didn't know before my visit / Interesting facts about NU

ӢThis will be their fourth cohort.

ӢThere are only 12 students admitted each year.

ӢYou are only required to write one Play if you consider yourself a screenwriter. They realize that not everyone is into playwrights.

ӢYou are only required to write one screenplay if you are more into plays.

ӢThey require all MFA's to take at least one production course but this can be waived and substituted for another course (elective or theory) if you can show

ӢDuring my visit I talked to five students. Two of the five were 2nd year students graduating in June, while the others where first year students. For the most part the all agreed that it's best to live in Evanston because they felt that it added to the cohesiveness of the cohort. They mentioned that in previous years students lived throughout the greater Chicago area and that it made it hard for them to meet up and gel outside of class.

ӢThe oldest person that ever went through the program was 54 years old. She was award winning (Peabody) documentary filmmaker.

ӢStudents in the program have been successful and landing great internship/job opportunities:

Comedy Central School Me (Paid) Internship in New York City
Original Programming department at Showtime Networks (LA) Internship
Ugly Betty Internship
Office Internship
Sara Silverman Internship
Sundance Channel Development Internship
MTV Networks, Logo Channels Original programming Department
Chicago Raven Theater Internship
Promo Producer for TBS's Lopez Tonight
Summer Internship at TP&R Casting
Apprentice for Richard J. Lewis, Director of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

http://www.communication.north...creen_stage/news.php


ӢThe students spoke highly of the program, faculty, and the sense of community within the program. They also spoke in great detail about the generosity of Northwestern Alums. Most of the students belong to the Northwestern University Entertainment Alliance (NUEA). Two of the students I talked with were able to land internships in Los Angles and New York because of NU alums.

ӢThe program is two years in length and is comprised of three 10-week quarters each year. Students can take up to four courses a quarter, although only one student I talked to actually took four. The other four students recommended that you take only three courses a quarter. Between the first and second year you are required to take a mandatory internship. The school prefers that you do it in New York, Los Angles, or Chicago. During my interview with the director I inquired about the possibilities of doing internships in other locations and he informed me that one of the students this year was approved to do their internship in Kenya. So good news guys they are open to doing internships in other locations. Also, another cool thing is that unlike other schools, they don't require you to pay for the internship credit (i.e. You don't pay tuition while taking your internship).

ӢIf you look at the degree requirements for the MFA in Screen and Stage, you will notice that they require a couple of theory courses. Well I talked with both students and the director and they informed me that are willing to substitute other courses in place of theater, film, production, and performance theory courses. For example, one of the students took a graduate level history course and used the information learned from the class to write historical/ time period screenplay. So this may be an option for if you either hate theory courses or have had your fair share of them during undergrad.

ӢThe general consensus among the students was that the program is getting better each and every year. In addition they mentioned that they felt that the administration listened to them for the most part. For example, several students felt financially burden by the cost incurred via their internship in LA and New York and because of this students are now allowed to use up to half of their production grant to offset costs.

ӢChicago is the third largest city in the United States but it's relatively inexpensive when compared to Los Angles and New York. I found two bedroom apartments and condos for about $850 a month.

ӢAlthough it's highly unlikely students can petition and qualify for a 2nd quarter of TA ship. Two of the students I talked with actually got selected for this and were very pleased. According to them the same offer applied and they were given free tuition and fees and a $5,000 stipend. Now that's a pretty sweet deal. The students who got a 2nd TA ship only paid for one quarter of tuition and fees. So they basically saved about 26 thousand (in tuition and fees) by TA ing for two quarters.


Thanks again guys for reading my extremely long post. I hope this helps and puts some of you at ease. Once again please feel free to pm me or comment if you have any other questions.

Best regards,
SilverLenz
________________________________-
Very Helpful!

OMG. I know where I am applying next year!!!!

 

[BlueAlice24]

Hi Beezy, my interview was on Friday. They said in my email they would be doing interviews on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday (today). I think this is the first round, and then they continue to notify/hold interviews until they find the people they want, which can go into March and April according to past years. I hate the waiting too! Where else did you apply this year?

 

[beezy16]

Cool! How'd your interview go? I check my email every couple hours just to see if I have anything.

I applied to:

Northwestern, UCLA, USC

I'm down to two though. UCLA sent me the rejection last week. Oh well.

And the wait goes on...

 

[BlueAlice24]

The interview was very straightforward, via Skype with four people, one of which was Rebecca Gilman, which surprised me, so be prepared for that if you are called. I really got the sense they wanted to know who I am as a writer and how I'd fit in with the class, the questions centered around what kind of films do I like/not like, that sort of thing. It was short, like 15 minutes. I felt good about it, but was definitely nervous, so who knows. I hate the waiting at this point. arrrgh...nothing to be done.

 

[HI FILM]

Hey Beezy

What discipline did you apply for at UCLA?

 

[beezy16]

Hey HI FILM,

I applied to the screenwriting discipline. Last year I got an interview and this year I did not. I think the changes I made to my personal statement weren't for the best. I really hope Northwestern looks at my writing samples more than my statement.

Did you apply to NU HI FILM?