UCLA MFA Screenwriting 2020

[Shade]

Update: They’ve resolved the scheduling issue and interviewers can now choose any of the 13 in-person interview spots available on both the 4th & 7th (Total 26 spots.)

Hey, Alfie!
Congrats on the interview! Were you initially invited to interview last week or today?
Also, are those 26 spots the ones counting the people being interviewed this week, or there are 26 spots available for next week (4th & 7th) but only 13 people who've had to reschedule have been given a chance to pick a slot?

 

[Alfie]

Hey, Alfie!
Congrats on the interview! Were you initially invited to interview last week or today?
Also, are those 26 spots the ones counting the people being interviewed this week, or there are 26 spots available for next week (4th & 7th) but only 13 people who've had to reschedule have been given a chance to pick a slot?

Thank you Shade. I was invited last week on Tuesday and asked to pick in-person or online. I counted 26 in-person interview spots for the 4th & 7th. I don’t think it includes anyone who rescheduled because I was told they wouldn’t reach out to in-person people without being done with online interviews. Hope this helps.

 

[princessjasmine]

I think maybe more interview requests have went out then we originally thought. Maybe around 50?

 

[Shade]

Thank you Shade. I was invited last week on Tuesday and asked to pick in-person or online. I counted 26 in-person interview spots for the 4th & 7th. I don’t think it includes anyone who rescheduled because I was told they wouldn’t reach out to in-person people without being done with online interviews. Hope this helps.

Thank you! Did everyone who interviewed online interviewed this week? I think they might have sent a batch of 50 interview requests last Tuesday. If you wanted to interview online, you interviewed either this Tuesday or Friday (23 people?), and all the in-person ones are next week (26 people)? Idk, or maybe it's a mix and the people who didn't get a link until now are being scheduled for next week and more requests will come out soon.

In any case my guess would be that more interview requests will come out soon. I think they usually interview around 100 people out of the 1500 or so applications, and they accept 24 to 32 students every year. Sometimes even 40-ish. So I think they definitely need to send another batch of 50 or so interview requests (I think?)

 

[Alfie]

Thank you! Did everyone who interviewed online interviewed this week? I think they might have sent a batch of 50 interview requests last Tuesday. If you wanted to interview online, you interviewed either this Tuesday or Friday (23 people?), and all the in-person ones are next week (26 people)? Idk, or maybe it's a mix and the people who didn't get a link until now are being scheduled for next week and more requests will come out soon.

In any case my guess would be that more interview requests will come out soon. I think they usually interview around 100 people out of the 1500 or so applications, and they accept 24 to 32 students every year. Sometimes even 40-ish. So I think they definitely need to send another batch of 50 or so interview requests (I think?)
[/QUO

Thank you! Did everyone who interviewed online interviewed this week? I think they might have sent a batch of 50 interview requests last Tuesday. If you wanted to interview online, you interviewed either this Tuesday or Friday (23 people?), and all the in-person ones are next week (26 people)? Idk, or maybe it's a mix and the people who didn't get a link until now are being scheduled for next week and more requests will come out soon.

In any case my guess would be that more interview requests will come out soon. I think they usually interview around 100 people out of the 1500 or so applications, and they accept 24 to 32 students every year. Sometimes even 40-ish. So I think they definitely need to send another batch of 50 or so interview requests (I think?)

There’s no way to say really. We’ll just have to wait and see.

 

[Alfie]

I think maybe more interview requests have went out then we originally thought. Maybe around 50?

More like 46. Only 23 in-person slots were taken.

 

[user_name]

Hi all! Just had my online interview with Phyllis and George. Very casual chat. 50% of the time was spent on the core questions I think everybody gets asked (why an MFA / why UCLA / what are your expectations for the program, plus their responses to some of those expectations to make sure I had a clear understanding of what's on offer) and the other 50% was us talking about questions I had for them. At the very end they asked me what I was writing at the moment, and that was it! They also said not to expect to hear anything back until the end of February.

 

[Maurizio L.]

Hey guys! Also had my interview today with Phyllis and George! Similar to user_name, it was pretty casual. They started just wanting to know the basic questions like why an MFA why UCLA, etc. Then we talked a bit about my writing sample and how i came to develop it and the idea behind it. And then they asked if i had any questions. To be honest, I didn't expect so much of it to be centered around the questions I had for them, so I'm glad i had some prepared! Also same thing about not hearing until end of February!

 

[ConODon]

I've got three hours until my interview. I'm REALLY looking forward to it and REALLY looking forward to being able to relax and enjoy the weekend once it's over.

 

[Shade]

Did anyone low-key happen to mention how many people they were interviewing this year total?
Like, oh, we accept 30 students max out of 100 interviews, or something like that?

 

[Shade]

I've got three hours until my interview. I'm REALLY looking forward to it and REALLY looking forward to being able to relax and enjoy the weekend once it's over.

Good luck! Fingers crossed for you!

 

[Filmstuff]

I had my interview on Tuesday. It went really well...I think. I’ve been lurking for a while. I’m curious what the tone was for everyone else’s interview?

 

[mjweerts]

Had a great interview today! Loved the conversation, but I can't remember much of it now. I prepared pretty thoroughly, with my aesthetic and influences all thought out, and then we ended up talking about other things. I really enjoyed both Professor Nagy and Professor Landau. I'm a feature writer for sure (I've never even written a pilot), and we talked a lot about the differences between the disciplines. If anyone has any questions they want to ask, I'd happily answer (if I know the answer). I did blank on responses a couple of times, but I'm blanking on when I blanked! I'm meta-blanking. I appreciate everything everyone has posted here, and I wish you all well in the selection process.

 

[Alfie]

Had a great interview today! Loved the conversation, but I can't remember much of it now. I prepared pretty thoroughly, with my aesthetic and influences all thought out, and then we ended up talking about other things. I really enjoyed both Professor Nagy and Professor Landau. I'm a feature writer for sure (I've never even written a pilot), and we talked a lot about the differences between the disciplines. If anyone has any questions they want to ask, I'd happily answer (if I know the answer). I did blank on responses a couple of times, but I'm blanking on when I blanked! I'm meta-blanking. I appreciate everything everyone has posted here, and I wish you all well in the selection process.

Congrats!
Were you asked if you were interested in the film track or tv track?

 

[mjweerts]

Congrats!
Were you asked if you were interested in the film track or tv track?

Hi Alfie, thanks, and good luck next week!

They did ask, yes. Possibly because my application was so slanted toward the film track--I even explicitly brought up the fact that I love features more than tv in my personal statement; I said that I've always written alone, and the idea of sitting in a writer's room sounds like torture. Plus, I love movies from all years and countries, but I'm not much on tv--nothing against it, it's just not have my heart the way movies do--so it was kind of natural that it came up in the interview. They were really affirming and true about it. They said--I'm paraphrasing here--that I should follow my interests. I think that, should I be admitted, I'll need to write one pilot, in a second-term course--which I'm totally cool with--and that's it.

One cool thing they said was that my personality fit that of a features writer. That just put a bounce in my step for some reason.

 

[Alfie]

Hi Alfie, thanks, and good luck next week!

They did ask, yes. Possibly because my application was so slanted toward the film track--I even explicitly brought up the fact that I love features more than tv in my personal statement; I said that I've always written alone, and the idea of sitting in a writer's room sounds like torture. Plus, I love movies from all years and countries, but I'm not much on tv--nothing against it, it's just not have my heart the way movies do--so it was kind of natural that it came up in the interview. They were really affirming and true about it. They said--I'm paraphrasing here--that I should follow my interests. I think that, should I be admitted, I'll need to write one pilot, in a second-term course--which I'm totally cool with--and that's it.

One cool thing they said was that my personality fit that of a features writer. That just put a bounce in my step for some reason.

Sounds like it was fun. All the best and thank you for the tips!

 

[DGorham95]

No interview yet over here. This is when it really starts to get nerve wracking!

 

[ConODon]

Okay, that was seriously so much fun! Started off with a three-part question - What did I want to get out of the MFA program? Why UCLA? What did I want to do with my MFA.

Then we switched quickly to talking about the fun stuff - my professional goals and the best strategy to get there, my life experiences, the various classes, workshops, electives, credit load, thesis requirements, etc. of the program. Talked about my Sundance script and my resume, what other schools I applied to, how my family would feel if I moved to LA for two years. It's hard to remember it all but it was very casual and friendly and they were both such amazing people it was fascinating listening to their experiences and advice.

So fingers crossed for everyone. Whoever gets in is going to have an incredible experience. Such a relief to have the interview portion over. Now I can relax until late February or whenever they make their decision.

 

[Shade]

Okay, that was seriously so much fun! Started off with a three-part question - What did I want to get out of the MFA program? Why UCLA? What did I want to do with my MFA.

Then we switched quickly to talking about the fun stuff - my professional goals and the best strategy to get there, my life experiences, the various classes, workshops, electives, credit load, thesis requirements, etc. of the program. Talked about my Sundance script and my resume, what other schools I applied to, how my family would feel if I moved to LA for two years. It's hard to remember it all but it was very casual and friendly and they were both such amazing people it was fascinating listening to their experiences and advice.

So fingers crossed for everyone. Whoever gets in is going to have an incredible experience. Such a relief to have the interview portion over. Now I can relax until late February or whenever they make their decision.

Side note: but congrats on the Sundance script!

 

[ConODon]

One cool thing they said was that my personality fit that of a features writer. That just put a bounce in my step for some reason.

We talked about that at my interview, too, but I'm the total opposite. I love the collaborative part of it and thrive in the writers room environment. I've written features before but didn't much care for the isolation aspect of it, so I'm totally working toward the television track. I really like that you don't have to commit to one track or the other until midway through the second quarter (even though most people probably already know where their interest is taking them).