NYU - Tisch Grad Film Interviews (1 Viewer)

[h.cal]

Hi, Just wondering if anyone knows when NYU tells the Grad Film applicants whether or not they have got in. I think they interview in February so i guess we have to hear this month?

[EDIT - Tweaked topic title for relevance]

 

[RyuPhynix]

hey! I interviewed for Singapore!!! They said I'd hear back FOR SURE on May 1st if I make it.

 

[bilalka]

thats cool how'd the interview go?

 

[RyuPhynix]

well i blanked out for bits of it!!!! arrgghhhhh
well, cross fingers and toes

did you have to go to Singapore for the interview?

 

[Jerry Prokosch]

I interviewed in New York. Blanked out a little too. Awesome you applied from Japan.

 

[bilalka]

no i interviewed in new york, so cool that they are trying to get people who live in the area already, awesome how far is that from japan?

 

[RyuPhynix]

There were a couple of us who flew down to Singapore for interviews 28,29 & 30th March. My flight there took about 6 hours from Japan. Apart from interview there was also architect talk about campus site and 1 day tour of Singapore.

Some stats if you're interested...
According to official local press, Tisch received 300 applicants for its Singapore program, 97 were shortlisted for interviews and 36 final slots. That gives each of us about 1 in 3 chance??

Anyways, hoping for good news..

cheers

 

[Warren Tessler]

Hey guys,

My name is Warren and I'm new to this board, though I really wish I knew about it last fall when I started working on my applications.

I applied to Singapore and interviewed there on March 28. Actually, mine was the first interview in Singapore and I was pretty nervous! I agree with you all, that 30 minutes was pretty short, especially since I flew 20 hours from Los Angeles. I felt like it took me half an hour just to get warmed up!

They did not ask me to make up a story from a photo, though I know other candidates who interviewed that day got that one. Of course after the interview I thought of all the ways I could have responded better to their questions, but no point second guessing now.

I feel like it's an excrutiating wait to May 1st. Has anyone thought of trying to send in any supplemental stuff to the interviewers, like a letter confirming your intentions to attend their school and perhaps some better answers to the questios asked during the interview? I wouldn't want to do something like that if it would harm my chances though.

Well, to anyone who is in the same boat as me, good luck come May Day!

 

[Warren Tessler]

Some stats if you're interested...
According to official local press, Tisch received 300 applicants for its Singapore program, 97 were shortlisted for interviews and 36 final slots. That gives each of us about 1 in 3 chance??

I heard differently from one of the other candidates I met in Singapore who got some info I believe from the interview committee.

He told me that about 70 were shortlisted and that 35 would be selected, so I like those 50/50 odds better than 1 in 3. Also, he was told that only about 20 of the 70 went to Singapore to interview.

 

[Jerry Prokosch]

Hey Warren, good luck for Singapore. I was an applicant to the N.Y. program initially -- rejected from that but given an interview for Singapore. And I know a number of other Singapore applicants were also NY applicants initially, so the applicant pool may be a little larger.

Parts of my interview seemed to go well, parts didn't. I'm just trying not to think about it.

So, you're in L.A., with all the big L.A. film schools, what made you apply to Singapore?

 

[Warren Tessler]

Well, I did apply to AFI and I found out yesterday I'm on the waitlist for screenwriting. We'll see what happens with that.

I did my undergrad at UCLA (not in film though) and was not interested in going back there. I didn't have my materials ready in time for USC. I didn't know about Chapman until too late. And I grew up in Valencia where Cal Arts is and didn't feel like moving back in with my parents who still live there!

Jerry, did you go to Singapore too or did you interview in NY? Also, who interviewed you?

 

[Jerry Prokosch]

I had Tintori, Jannelli and Anania. Anania will be teaching in Singapore. Interviewed in NY, and it was really sort of bitter sweet to be there, since I'd applied for NY. But there are brilliant reasons for doing film outside of the U.S. and someone on the airplane told me Singapore is amazing. In fact, if I don't make it this year, I think I may choose Singapore over New York for next year's app.

How'd you like Singapore on your brief visit?

 

[Warren Tessler]

I had Tintori, Jennfer Ruff and Michael Burke. Ruff and Burke I imagine will be teaching in Singapore too if they came all that way to interview there.

I forgot to mention why I applied to Singapore. Well, I wanted to apply somewhere outside of LA, and of course NY came to mind. But when I saw the info on Singapore on NYU's site and read that applicants had to choose one campus only, there was no hesitation in me choosing Singapore.

I'm half Malaysian, and Singapore is an island at the southern-most tip of the Malaysian peninsula (they're connected by a causeway bridge). Even though Singapore is now an independent country, there are long historical ties between the two countries and there are still ethnic Malays who live in Singapore.

My entire mother's side of the family lives in Malaysia, but since I've been raised in the west, I've only spent a combined 2 months or less with them over my 27 years. The opportunity to live so close to them and learn about my roots while at the same time honing my creative talents just proved to be too irresistable to turn down applying for. Where else could I learn about an unknown part of my background and film it at the same time? Where my family live is only an hour plane ride from Singapore.

Also, Singapore is the perfect place to be able to explore that part of the world. Hong Kong, Shanghi, Seoul, Delhi, Tokyo, Sydney, and many more places are all a max 6-7 hour flight away. From LA, those places are always going to be 15-20 hour flights, and expensive. Plus, so many of the other students are from those places--I know because I got a chance to meet some of the candidates while I was there. Spring break and your Australian or Japanese classmate is going home and has a couch you can crash on for the week--awesome!

That's all good because one of the only negatives is Singapore itself. It's a very clean, very westernized place and would be a very comfortable transition for a westerner moving to Asia. But it's very small--the island is about the same size as London, and one gets the feeling that in about a week you could see all there is to see there.

I asked one of the Singaporean candidates how he liked living there. He replied it can be a little boring. The government is not exactly Big Brother, but they are kind of heavy handed. Living in a big American city like LA or Chicago, one can easily take for granted all the amazing culture and entertainment offered us. Singapore might be one of the world's premiere shopping destinations, but not exactly an artistic one, which is one of the reasons NYU's going there. The government is trying really hard to turn the island into a place that is nuturing and supportive to the arts, hence the invitation to NYU to eventually bring their entire Tisch school to Singapore over the next decade or so, starting with the film production dept.

The actual campus is not ready yet but will by by the time the school year starts. After the interviews, there was a presentation given by the architects doing the work. When I saw the artist mock-ups of the building along with photos of the site, it all because a lot more real to me. The building is going to be sweet and the few other candidates I met there were all really cool--me and one other fellow were the only Americans and everyone else was from all around the globe. We got together for dinner that night and spent the next 4 hours talking about movies. I can only imagine how amazing the experience of actually studying there will be. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[Jerry Prokosch]

You certainly sound like a good fit for the program -- family in the region and everything.

I'm not worried about Singapore being boring or too small or something. No matter what size it is, it isn't as over photographed (at least, for Americans) as New York. Americans don't typically have a mental image of Singapore already in their heads. To me, its unfamiliarity is a big plus.

Look, if we all get in, we'll go drink a beer in Tokyo or Hong Kong. Or, heck, Singapore. But no cigarette butts on the sidewalk! No jaywalking!

 

[Warren Tessler]

Ha, the best posted law I saw in Singapore was "Individuals not allowed to carry commercial quantities of chewing gum." Guess I won't be stocking up on Juicy Fruit at Costco before I go!

 

[Jerry Prokosch]

haha -- yeah, I know, they're insane about chewing gum. Man, they hate chewing gum. DO NOT bring chewing gum into Singapore, whatever you do.

 

[Ilis]

hey guys...I'm also a Singapore applicant from Texas. I interviewed in NY two weeks ago, and they also told me that they would be notifying people May 1st..As far as how it went, I don't know..there were a couple of questions that caught me off guard. I'm really excited, nervous, and impatient..so close.

 

[RyuPhynix]

hey! I've been living in Japan but I'm Singaporean... and Singapore's definitely NOT BORING..

hahhahaa... the other Singaporean you met probably has been going the wrong places

the wait is so AGONIZING!!!! 10 more days!!!

 

[Warren Tessler]

Hey, if I get in, it's going to be most exciting 3+ years of my life, so I don't expect to bored for one minute.

I hear you on the wait. Funny how time seems stretched to infinitiy when waiting on something like this, but our 30 minute interviews seemed to go by in an instant.

 

[Jerry Prokosch]

RyuPhynix -- did you apply to any other film schools? Any schools in Japan, any in the States?

 

[RyuPhynix]

nope... I only applied to NYU Singapore. It's the only school I want to get into at the moment.

If that doesn't work out, I'm gonna study investments...

it's a now or never with me for this one.

and yourself?