# Stanford MFA Documentary Film Production



## JJV (Sep 19, 2019)

Hi
I am planning to apply for the mfa documentary programme offered by Stanford. Can somebody please tell me something more about the program. Any recent graduate or current student out there???
Thank you


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## BazookaB (Feb 22, 2020)

Hey @JJV did you end up applying? 

Any word from Stanford?


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## cinefan (Feb 22, 2020)

Hi Bazooka,
Yes. I applied for the MFA doc. Program. Still waiting for their decision...


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## BazookaB (Feb 23, 2020)

Oh awesome! 
Do you know if they do interviews?


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## BazookaB (Feb 26, 2020)

Hey @cinefan, did you get an interview notification?


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## Drew DP (Feb 29, 2020)

I had a short video interview with Stanford earlier this week, but I'm not sure if it is necessary for admission. They say on the website that decisions will come out by March 15th


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## BazookaB (Feb 29, 2020)

Congratulations @Drew DP! Hope you get through 

How did it go? I have an interview scheduled for Monday. What kind of questions did they ask?

Are you an international applicant?


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## Drew DP (Feb 29, 2020)

Thanks! I'm not an international applicant. I think the only question they asked that wasn't a specific question about my visual portfolio was how I would go about finding subjects for films if admitted to the program. They also brought up a film I mentioned in my writing sample. They were nice and it was pretty casual and quick (about 20 minutes), so don't stress too much! Good luck!


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## RobertBruceHope (Mar 15, 2020)

Has anybody heard anything from Stanford?


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## thisismaritza (Mar 16, 2020)

Hey everyone. I know I'm joining a little late, but I'm also waiting to hear back from Stanford. Has anyone heard anything yet? I know they were supposed to notify us yesterday but nothing. I just called their department and the call would not go through.


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## Drew DP (Mar 17, 2020)

Hi all, I was accepted through email on Friday - they said they would be sending out official acceptance letters this week.


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## thisismaritza (Mar 26, 2020)

So...still haven't heard back from Stanford, but I'm guessing it's a no. I just wish they'd notify me. When I logged into my portal it said that my application was incomplete. However, when I submitted a long time ago I received an email saying everything was successfully submitted. It says they never received my transcripts, but I have a confirmation from the transcript service I used.  I even called months ago to double-check with Stanford. They basically told me if anything was missing they'd let me know. 

I'm fine with not getting into Stanford, but just kind of bummed if the reason is that they never even looked at my application, even though it appeared everything was in order. Has anyone received a rejection letter? I emailed their office weeks ago and still have not heard back.


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## RobertBruceHope (Mar 27, 2020)

thisismaritza said:


> So...still haven't heard back from Stanford, but I'm guessing it's a no. I just wish they'd notify me. When I logged into my portal it said that my application was incomplete. However, when I submitted a long time ago I received an email saying everything was successfully submitted. It says they never received my transcripts, but I have a confirmation from the transcript service I used.  I even called months ago to double-check with Stanford. They basically told me if anything was missing they'd let me know.
> 
> I'm fine with not getting into Stanford, but just kind of bummed if the reason is that they never even looked at my application, even though it appeared everything was in order. Has anyone received a rejection letter? I emailed their office weeks ago and still have not heard back.



I have not heard back either, but yeah I think it's pretty sure it's a no. I'm thinking about emailing the program director for a confirmation.  I think it's pretty rude that we spent money on applying and then they respond with nothing. I think it will just give us a peace of mind to have a for sure no.


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## thisismaritza (Mar 27, 2020)

RobertBruceHope said:


> I have not heard back either, but yeah I think it's pretty sure it's a no. I'm thinking about emailing the program director for a confirmation.  I think it's pretty rude that we spent money on applying and then they respond with nothing. I think it will just give us a peace of mind to have a for sure no.



Just got the rejection email. Finally! Lol. I'm ok with not going. Looks like it's between Columbia and USC now. At least now I can begin to truly weigh the two without wondering about Stanford. Best of luck! Thanks for being here to share in my anticipation!


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## tr0624 (Feb 23, 2021)

thisismaritza said:


> Hey everyone. I know I'm joining a little late, but I'm also waiting to hear back from Stanford. Has anyone heard anything yet? I know they were supposed to notify us yesterday but nothing. I just called their department and the call would not go through.


hey! i sent in my application (for 2021) in late november and have been checking my portal like every day to see any update.

my portal also says incomplete... i called the school, and they said pretty much what you mentioned was said to you. do you know if they ever looked at your application or had any other communication with them? 

i'm so interested in the program, and it'll be a huge bummer to not hear from them.


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## user1234567 (Feb 23, 2021)

hi! I don't know if this will ease your mind at all but I applied to the program as well and my portal still shows as incomplete. I submitted through slideroom and also on the stanford internal portal way before the deadline and called then about it. lady in admissions said the same thing to me...


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## tr0624 (Feb 23, 2021)

user1234567 said:


> hi! I don't know if this will ease your mind at all but I applied to the program as well and my portal still shows as incomplete. I submitted through slideroom and also on the stanford internal portal way before the deadline and called then about it. lady in admissions said the same thing to me...


okay, so we are literally in the same boat!


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## User987654321 (Feb 24, 2021)

user1234567 said:


> hi! I don't know if this will ease your mind at all but I applied to the program as well and my portal still shows as incomplete. I submitted through slideroom and also on the stanford internal portal way before the deadline and called then about it. lady in admissions said the same thing to me...


Does it say the date your portfolio was received? Or other materials? Mine only says a received date for the personal statement and letters.


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## tr0624 (Feb 24, 2021)

User987654321 said:


> Does it say the date your portfolio was received? Or other materials? Mine only says a received date for the personal statement and letters.


Mine also only says my personal statement and letters were received. my portfolio received date is blank


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## User987654321 (Feb 24, 2021)

tr0624 said:


> Mine also only says my personal statement and letters were received. my portfolio received date is blank


Thanks! What about the writing sample or resume? Those words don't even appear in the checklist for some reason. But I definitely submitted all the application materials.


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## tr0624 (Feb 24, 2021)

User987654321 said:


> Thanks! What about the writing sample or resume? Those words don't even appear in the checklist for some reason. But I definitely submitted all the application materials.


same with me! i'm really not sure how to find out information, but it seems like last year, those who had been accepted had already been notified of interviews by this point


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## User987654321 (Feb 26, 2021)

Has anyone been asked to interview yet?


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## tr0624 (Feb 26, 2021)

User987654321 said:


> Has anyone been asked to interview yet?


i have not, personally


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## Chris W (Feb 26, 2021)

Just added the review page to the site. Anything I should add to it? What's the tuition? Going by credits it's hard for me to figure out.














 Stanford MFA in Documentary Film


						The MFA degree is designed to prepare students for professional careers in film, video, and digital media. Graduates are qualified to teach at the university level. The philosophy of the program is predicated on a paradigm of independent media that values artistic expression, aesthetics, social...
					


FilmSchool.org
Feb 26, 2021
Category: California


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## User987654321 (Feb 28, 2021)

That's in line with all the info I found, too!


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## LikeAnXray (Mar 2, 2021)

Same for me too


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## juno416666 (Mar 15, 2021)

anyone hear back with a final decision?


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## tr0624 (Mar 15, 2021)

juno416666 said:


> anyone hear back with a final decision?


i haven't gotten anything! i haven't seen that anyone else has too


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## User987654321 (Mar 15, 2021)

I haven't heard back yet, either. But I just got admitted to my first choice, Duke, so I'll be going there regardless of what Stanford says today. Good luck, everyone!


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## tr0624 (Mar 15, 2021)

you heard back from duke??


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## tr0624 (Mar 15, 2021)

tr0624 said:


> you heard back from duke??


i’m still waiting


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## Chika67 (Mar 15, 2021)

User987654321 said:


> I haven't heard back yet, either. But I just got admitted to my first choice, Duke, so I'll be going there regardless of what Stanford says today. Good luck, everyone!


Oh my!!!!! Congratulations 🌻


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## Chris W (Jun 3, 2021)

Be sure to update your applications on the with as much information as you have as it helps the site calculate a lot of important data for each school. See how the site uses this amazing data in the article below:














 Your Chances of Getting into Film School: Acceptance Rates, GPA Requirements, Waitlist Data, and More...


					You've been wondering how hard it is to get into film school and what your are chances getting into top film programs such as USC. Maybe you’ve heard that their acceptance rate is 2% — but what is it, really? You've been wondering what is the lowest GPA a film program will accept and what is the...
				


Chris W
Jun 3, 2021
Category: Applying to Film School






If you could update your application with all the important notification dates, your final status (accepted, rejected, off waitlist, attending... etc), how much scholarship money was awarded (if any), your undergraduate degree, GPA, test scores etc that would be AWESOME and very helpful to the site's members. If you could update your application with examples of your submitted material that would be even more awesome.

The Acceptance Rates & Data page for each school uses all this data to help future applicants. To see the data for a particular film school, find your school in our film school database and select the Acceptance Rates & Data tab. If there are enough applications in our database, you enjoy access to valuable tips and information.


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