Comments | applyingtograd: Screenwriting MFA writing samples?

shanrina in applyingtograd

Screenwriting MFA writing samples?

Apr 12, 2012 02:47

So I've decided that next year I'm going to expand things a bit and apply to some screenwriting MFA programs. I'm looking at programs now, and a lot of them seem to have specific writing prompts they want applicants to submit. This is going to take a long time because some of them have a lot of different things they want, and I'd like to get ( Read more... )

writing sample, mfa, film

Comments 6

ext_303080 April 12 2012, 19:48:07 UTC

As a recent MFA applicant to 4 programs (haven't heard from any yet), I think it depends on the school and the department's requirements. For some MFA Screenwriting programs, while a strong writing sample is of utmost importance, it doesn't have to be a scriptwriting sample. Like, for USC, the only actual required script scenes are for the creative challenges. The other 15 page creative writing requirement does not have to be a script. For UCLA, the creative material you submit could be anything: a screenplay, a teleplay or a collection of poems, essays or short stories. NYU seems to want TV, feature or stage play scripts depending on the concentration you apply for. I didn't apply to UCLA, USC or NYU, but it's just what I've read up on. From my personal experience, talking with film school friends and hearsay, MFA programs just want to see if you can write, so depending on what the program asks for, I would just say submit your best work. A script sample (short or feature) was required for Chapman's MFA program, for example. I ( ... )

shanrina April 13 2012, 03:02:35 UTC

Thanks! I just had this vision of myself trying to write ten or fifteen different mini-scripts and essays for different schools, which kinda made my head start to spin. I already have some prose samples that would require fairly little work, but I don't really have anything ready to go for the script prompts that some programs seem to want, and those are going to take a bit of time.

candychic125 April 12 2012, 19:48:42 UTC

Hey buddy :3 I just finished applying for MFA programs last year, and I'm college bound this fall ( ... )

shanrina April 13 2012, 03:07:58 UTC

Thanks! I have prose samples already that are in pretty good shape, but a lot of the schools I'm interested in have specific script prompts and I don't have anything that matches, so I'm trying to be prepared. I'll definitely look for The Creative Writing MFA Handbook, too--I hadn't heard of it before.

candychic125 April 13 2012, 04:00:17 UTC

Yeah totally get that book. Besides one of my professors, it was the single most helpful thing in this entire process ( ... )

shanrina April 14 2012, 21:05:52 UTC

Thank you!