UT Austin Screenwriting 2024

[Rose]

Hello! Anyone else awaiting an admissions decision from UT's screenwriting MFA program (Fall 2024)?

 

[Chris W]

Here's our current stats for the program:

UT Austin - MFA in Screenwriting Program Acceptance Rate (All Programs/All Years)

21.1%

Admitted

12 out of 57

14%

Waitlisted

8 out of 57

64.9%

Not Admitted

37 out of 57

Click here for our full Admission Statistics for this program including interview and acceptance notification dates, accepted GPAs, waitlist acceptance rate, demographics of accepted applicants, $ amount of scholarship awarded, and more...

Cool data in link above. Be sure to log your application if you haven't already.

 

[Rose]

Thank you for sharing! The data is very cool!
Desperately hoping decisions won't come as late as March 23 this year - yikes. And I knew that their admission rate was low, but seeing it as a graph, cements it in my brain in a new way. Perhaps a rejection won't sting quite so much if they don't select me.
I hope they will let us know soon. I hate this purgatory state. Feels like a pressure cooker.

 

[Chris W]

Thank you for sharing! The data is very cool!
Desperately hoping decisions won't come as late as March 23 this year - yikes. And I knew that their admission rate was low, but seeing it as a graph, cements it in my brain in a new way. Perhaps a rejection won't sting quite so much if they don't select me.
I hope they will let us know soon. I hate this purgatory state. Feels like a pressure cooker.

Did you just apply to UT? Don't worry if you don't get in the first time. Sometimes it takes multiple tries which is fine

After Three Years of Rejection, I Got Into The Two Best Film Schools in The World. Here Are The Five Things I Learned...

So...you’re applying for film school, huh? I mean, that’s just my assumption. Not sure why you would bother reading this otherwise, especially with where we are currently in The Cycle of Applications. These next couple weeks are pretty much when all the major film school programs have their...

• Septopus7
• Nov 19, 2020
• 5.00 star(s) 1 ratings
• Comments: 9
• Reviews: 1
• Category: Applying to Film School

 

[Rose]

Did you just apply to UT? Don't worry if you don't get in the first time. Sometimes it takes multiple tries which is fine

After Three Years of Rejection, I Got Into The Two Best Film Schools in The World. Here Are The Five Things I Learned...

So...you’re applying for film school, huh? I mean, that’s just my assumption. Not sure why you would bother reading this otherwise, especially with where we are currently in The Cycle of Applications. These next couple weeks are pretty much when all the major film school programs have their...

• Septopus7
• Nov 19, 2020
• 5.00 star(s) 1 ratings
• Comments: 9
• Reviews: 1
• Category: Applying to Film School

Wow! Amazing read! And totally hit on that anxiety of waiting. "Once You Submit…You Have No Control" - need to stamp this onto my forehead for the next couple months! Thanks @Chris W

 

[RandomLurker]

Hi Rose! Another UT applicant here for MFA in Screenwriting! Thanks for creating a thread <3 @unwinding-dreams

Definitely nervous, especially without the interview process. I'm trying to distract myself from thinking about admissions decisions. We still got quite some weeks to go. How are you holding up?

 

[Rose]

Hi Rose! Another UT applicant here for MFA in Screenwriting! Thanks for creating a thread <3 @unwinding-dreams

Definitely nervous, especially without the interview process. I'm trying to distract myself from thinking about admissions decisions. We still got quite some weeks to go. How are you holding up?

Hey there! YW! I'm excited to see another applicant!

It is SOOO nerve-wracking. I think you're smart to try and distract yourself. I hope it's working! LOL

I'm holding up for now. I've stopped checking the status page a gazillion times a day, finally. At the risk of sounding like a weirdo, I guess I'm coping in a nonconventional way. I'm planning on getting an astrology horary reading done. It's got to be better than asking my Magic 8 ball, though, right?

Just as a fellow writer, I'm curious - what kind of work did you submit for your creative sample? I submitted a 60-minute pilot. Fantasy genre. I don't know how well that will go over, but fingers crossed.

 

[RandomLurker]

I love that! I submitted two drama pilots. One family, one supernatural. I'm distracting myself with adulting I'm working on an animated feature screenplay that's a passion project. Something that helps is finding deadlines and commitments! I wrote my first (very short, one act) stage play, which was a fun break from the application. I find the best distraction is preparing for next year's application because all that really means is working on samples and writer's statements. It's a prepackaged deal!

Aren't all artists a little "weird?" Let's replace that line of thinking with fun! Is UT Austin your top choice? Fingers crossed!

 

[Chris W]

While you wait ...what are your picks for the Oscars?

Oscars 2024 - Who will get nominated? What are your picks?

Nominations come out tomorrow! Who do you think will be nominated? Emma Stone better be for Poor Things. Should be nominated for best adapted screenplay too. What does everyone else think?

www.filmschool.org

 

[Rose]

I love that! I submitted two drama pilots. One family, one supernatural. I'm distracting myself with adulting I'm working on an animated feature screenplay that's a passion project. Something that helps is finding deadlines and commitments! I wrote my first (very short, one act) stage play, which was a fun break from the application. I find the best distraction is preparing for next year's application because all that really means is working on samples and writer's statements. It's a prepackaged deal!

Aren't all artists a little "weird?" Let's replace that line of thinking with fun! Is UT Austin your top choice? Fingers crossed!

I think you're right about us all being a little weird fun! Haha

UT was the one basket for all my eggs! Their MFA program seems great in its own right, but the fact that they're just an hour away from where I currently live, takes it from aspirational to feasible. I'm a mid-career professional with kids, so pursuing this is a little thorny in some ways. Is UT your top choice? What put it in the running for you?

I adore that you're channeling the butterflies into new writing. An animated feature sounds really fun to write. Sending good writing vibes your way as you dive into that. Brilliant to focus on applications for next year, too! I need to steal that idea. I think that would quash this sense of helpless waiting. Plus, it's a way softer landing, in case we're not selected. Yep, you've totally convinced me!

I love playwriting. Specialized in that for my bachelor's a million years ago. That'll be great to add to your portfolio! And there are a lot of opportunities to submit those for production. I hope you send your one-act out there into the world.

Also, I'm clearly biased, but I think the fact that you sent in TV pilots is very cool. Do you hope to land in TV after you graduate? Your choice to send in two dramas with such different subgenres is really smart. It'll showcase your range. I'm rooting for you! You sound like such a gifted, dedicated writer. UT would be lucky to have you.

 

[RandomLurker]

I'm throwing all of those compliments right back at you! I'm in a similar situation, having only applied to two schools. It's hard not to fall in love with UT Austin's MFA program for screenwriting. What really pushed me to apply to UT was how much I could see myself there. The TV industry is a whole other monster. I've always imagined myself writing features screenplays, so I'm spending this year to add some to my portfolio. Depending how the application season goes, I might have to consider trying to break in without formal education.

I'm glad I convinced you! Between preparing for the next application, AFF next year, and work, I definitely have enough distraction. I blinked and two months passed.

I'm rooting for you too! Life experience is absolutely desirable as a writer. Your experience with kids and background as a playwright are both things people are looking for. There's something really inspiring about seeing someone branch out mid-career. It shows commitment, perseverance, and bravery because it's not easy. That's something that no one, especially an admissions team, can take that lightly. Did you apply for financial aid?

 

[Rose]

You totally made my day! Thank you for saying that!

It's so awesome that you're working on AFF! For real, it's very inspiring to talk to such a prolific writer. You have so much under your belt already and more creative irons in the fire. HOW are you balancing everything? Sell me your secret!

I haven't applied for financial aid yet. I was thinking they needed the 2023 tax return info, but I just Googled and it's 2022, so I'll probably knock it out, since it would be another way to feel less like I'm just suspended in limbo.

I had a similar experience in being able to visualize myself at UT. The program seems very welcoming and laid back. Also, fun! I want to do their writer's room class. And, for being outside of LA, they still appear to be well-connected.

I always wanted to do TV, but in recent years, I've read some horror stories about how toxic those writing rooms and showrunners can be. That's given me pause. I don't know how much better, if at all, it is for screenwriters, but I hope it is. I'm ghostwriting novels for now. As an introvert, I think I'd be very happy as an author, but nothing compares to the high of seeing your work performed! I guess if you get lucky, though, a studio will buy the rights from you.

 

[czu]

Hey peeps! I also applied to UT! Just made an account on here to keep up with all that's going on! Good luck to all of us

 

[Rose]

Hey peeps! I also applied to UT! Just made an account on here to keep up with all that's going on! Good luck to all of us

Hi @czu ! I'm glad you joined the thread! Wishing you good luck, too! Are you feeling nervous, or doing okay?

 

[czu]

Hi @czu ! I'm glad you joined the thread! Wishing you good luck, too! Are you feeling nervous, or doing okay?

Honestly just wishing the time would pass! I also applied to NW Screen and Stage so my last application was due last week, which means that up until then I was so busy!! Now I don't have much to do so the yearning has set in - haha!

 

[Rose]

Honestly just wishing the time would pass! I also applied to NW Screen and Stage so my last application was due last week, which means that up until then I was so busy!! Now I don't have much to do so the yearning has set in - haha!

Haha! That is completely relatable. Leading up to the deadline, I basically ate, drank, and slept my script. Turned it in, and felt really excited/relieved for a day. Then the maddening pain of the wait hit me.
Northwestern is a great school and Chicago seems beautiful - definitely on my travel wish list. And Austin is hot and humid AF, lol, but super fun. I hope you're going to land at your top choice, if you do have a preference between the two.
Did you submit a screenplay or did you do a pilot?

 

[czu]

Haha! That is completely relatable. Leading up to the deadline, I basically ate, drank, and slept my script. Turned it in, and felt really excited/relieved for a day. Then the maddening pain of the wait hit me.
Northwestern is a great school and Chicago seems beautiful - definitely on my travel wish list. And Austin is hot and humid AF, lol, but super fun. I hope you're going to land at your top choice, if you do have a preference between the two.
Did you submit a screenplay or did you do a pilot?

I submitted a screenplay! I changed the ending like a zillion times though, so I almost thought about doing it as a pilot just so that I wouldn't feel pressure to figure that part out before it was ready - haha. Hopefully it's alright though.

 

[RandomLurker]

It's so awesome that you're working on AFF! For real, it's very inspiring to talk to such a prolific writer. You have so much under your belt already and more creative irons in the fire. HOW are you balancing everything? Sell me your secret!

I wouldn't call myself prolific by any means! No secrets here! Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines! The best thing you can do for yourself is set a deadline, commit to it, and have an accountability partner, if need be. Showing up for the work is half of the battle. And, be realistic! If you miss the deadline you set for yourself, that's completely okay. Be kind to yourself!

Plus, you're ghostwriting novels! Talk about prolific and inspiring!

Just attending the Conference for AFF is inspiring. You meet so many people and learn so much. It's a crash course/pep talk/film school primer all in one. Not to mention a social event with a ton of kind people! Highly recommend!

 

[RandomLurker]

I submitted a screenplay! I changed the ending like a zillion times though, so I almost thought about doing it as a pilot just so that I wouldn't feel pressure to figure that part out before it was ready - haha. Hopefully it's alright though.

LOL, yes! Congratulations on getting it out though! Northwestern I have a soft spot for that school. And fully funded?

Look at us. Applying to only a few super competitive schools.

 

[Rose]

I submitted a screenplay! I changed the ending like a zillion times though, so I almost thought about doing it as a pilot just so that I wouldn't feel pressure to figure that part out before it was ready - haha. Hopefully it's alright though.

Oh my gosh! That is exactly why I ended up doing a pilot! LOL Started it as a screenplay, but it felt sooo weighty to nail down just right - ESPECIALLY the ending. I bet your ending is brilliant. Sounds like you gave it a lot of thought and put in a ton of work to make it satisfying!