Ask a Freshman (for anything but chances) - 10-11 Edition

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>So, I just went through a bunch of chancing threads. Phew.</p>

<p>I'd like to think I have a relatively level headed view on SC - loving of its good qualities, but honest disapproving of its bad sides; I figured people might appreciate a straightforward (i.e. non OMG-I'm-a-Cali-Girl-Who's-In-Love-With-All-The-Sororities-And-Dreamy-Guys or Ugh-FML-I-Hate-All-The-Stuff-Here) perspective that I'd like to think I have. </p>

<p>So feel free to ask me anything about freshman life at SC, and I will do my best to answer. Anything I can't answer, I will flat out say so, not make up some half-assed answer; but I will do my best to answer most questions asked, even if it means obtaining an answer from one of my other friends. </p>

<p>Please type your questions in a comprehensible manner that makes me believe you have some chance of getting into SC - if your question 1z tip3d lyk d1s, then I will automatically assume you won't get in anyway and not waste any time answering your question. </p>

<p>Any questions of a significantly personal matter can also be PMed to me, but please keep those to a minimum.</p>

<p>Ready, set, go. </p>

<p>DISCLAIMER: Keep in mind all my answers (besides stuff that just has to be flat out fact, obviously) are PERSONAL OPINIONS based on my own experiences and what I heard during the first semester - I am NOT affiliated with the University in any way, nor do I claim to represent all students. </p>

<p>About me:
Current Major: Interactive Entertainment - School of Cinematic Arts
SAT score: 2170
HS GPA: 3.64</p>

2

<p>Thank you for starting this thread!</p>

<p>What other schools were you accepted to and why did you choose to attend USC?</p>

<p>How is financial aid in general at USC?</p>

3

<p>Hi, Rosyhours.</p>

<p>1) I was accepted to Indiana U, U of Mary Washington, and Syracuse U (and their highly prestigious Bandier Program); for me, it came down to either Syracuse or USC. I chose USC because of (in no particular order):</p>

<ul>
<li>The sheer awesomeness of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. You really can’t get anything like this anywhere else. </li>
<li>Overall highest prestige/rank.</li>
<li>Location, location, location - lake effect snow vs. sun sun sun? Not a tough call. </li>
<li>A strong football following; I was raised on Alabama football, so having a team to root for did mean something to me. </li>
</ul>

<p>2) I can’t speak from personal experience since international students can’t get aid. What I’ve heard from many, even before I chose to go here, is that USC gives out scholarships like candy… which can admittedly partially be admitted to the fact that the caliber of students we take is going up each year. Bottom line, USC is very generous with financial aid - and if you feel like you didn’t get enough, you can always write them a letter, which seemed to have worked for two of my friends.</p>

4

<p>How has your transition gone from highschool to USC? Is the workload manageable?</p>

5

<p>Hi Lencias! </p>

<p>I am a spring admit that will start my second semester of freshman year in January. My question is how open are students to meeting new people?</p>

6

<p>@restlessabandon</p>

<p>Be very well aware (you seem to be aware) that there are two different types of adjustment that you will have to go through at SC - social and academic. Depending on the rigorousness of your high school and the social atmosphere of your high school, as well as your major and dorm choice, you are certain to find one more difficult than the other.</p>

<p>Coming from a nerd HS that was an absolute bubble - we had little to no problems with alcohol, drugs, weapons, fights, etc etc - SC was quite the adjustment; high school prepared me incredibly well academically but very poorly socially. I found my courseload (full 18 credits) easy and I had time to go to the gym, read out on McCarthy, take 1 or 2 naps, and procrastinate nearly every day. But socially, I was utterly unprepared for what I guess is the “real world” as I’ve experienced it at SC:</p>

<ul>
<li>Drinking is prevalent, partying is common</li>
<li>The hook-up scene is dominant, sex is no taboo topic</li>
<li>Somewhat lax view on… spending. </li>
</ul>

<p>But really, this “culture shock” was more a result of my high school than anything else. I think if you had the “typical high school experience,” you will have a fine time, if not an absolute blast, adjusting to SC socially - I didn’t drink a drop in high school. President Nikias wants to tone down the craziness and further bring up USC’s cred as an elite academic institution, so this’ll only get better. Academic adjustment will depend on your major, but common consensus from many of my (non-myHS-friends) friends also seems to be that college is easier than HS. I have not heard many complaints, even from TO kids. </p>

<hr>

<p>@10ninja </p>

<p>Hm. Well, let’s work for now with the assumption that the spring semester will mostly be like the fall semester. </p>

<p>I’ve noticed that people are very outgoing, very open to meeting and getting to know and hanging out with (and doing?) anyone and everyone for the first three or so weeks. This is your time to meet lots of people, build lots of connections (get lots of numbers), and find your “core” group of friends. But then it seems to me that after those weeks, peoples tighten/narrow their “vast” social circle, and start to only really hang with their core group; people you would say hi to the first few weeks you fall out of touch with. To put it in a judgmental way, by the end of those first few weeks, people have set mental stamps upon who they find “cool” or not, and control their interactions as such. </p>

<p>But beyond this, in the big scope of things, I’ve found most very nice and open to meeting new people. </p>

<p>If you would like me to provide an outlook… well, I don’t think that the beginning of the Spring semester will be quite as wild or “open” as the beginning of the Fall semester. It’ll be a little less crazy. I think you’re gonna actively have to try to “reach out” to people and groups to get involved and find your “crew.”</p>

7

<p>Not really a chances question, but my GPA and SAT are pretty much nearly identical to what yours was so I was wondering what part of your application do you think stood out most to the admissions committee? Thanks!</p>

8

<p>@Roylikeswaffles</p>

<p>I had a boatload of extracurrics tailored to my passion for the arts (music and cinema and such); I wrote a heartwrenching, dynamite essay (as everyone who read it put it); and I had a clear goal of what I want to do with my life as well as a clear knowledge of how being at USC would help that, which I delivered effectively in my essay. </p>

<p>Perhaps I should’ve listed my extracurrics as well. Since I can’t edit my original post, I’ll post it here below.</p>

<p>My HS extracurrics:
Manchoir; 11th – 12th grade; 4 hr/week; 40 week/year; the men’s a Cappella choral performance group at ___; Co-founder/Music Director/Arranger – started group, led rehearsals, arranged music for performance, organized concerts, organized and ran recording sessions. Group won 3rd place at Singstrong a Cappella competition in March 2009</p>

<p>Choir Council; 12th grade; 1.5 hr/week; est. 40 week/year; the student leadership body of the choral program at ___; Publicity Chair – in charge of publicity for choral events, making video commercials, fliers, etc.</p>

<p>Student Government Association; 11th grade; 3 hr/week; 40 week/year; the student government body at ___; Tech Coordinator - ran audio/video tech at SGA events, created video commercials, fliers, etc. currently organizing a benefit concert as part of the SGA sponsored community service week. </p>

<p>___ Society; 9th – 12th grade; 1.5 hr/week, 40 week/year; student service organization providing tours to visitors at ___; Senior Guide – have given 35+ tours as one of the most experienced, veteran tour guides in the organization.</p>

<p>2012 String Quartet; 11th grade; 2.5 hr/week; 20 week/year; string quartet consisting of ___ Class of 2012 students; arranger/recording technician - arranged multiple pieces that won 3rd place and best group act at events, organized and ran recording sessions. </p>

<p>BigSibs; 10th – 12th grade; 1hr/week, 20 week/year; student service organization to assist freshmen in getting accustomed to ___; Team Leader – Led team at Freshmen Orientation, assisted coordination of Back to School Bash.</p>

<p><em>__; 9th – 12th grade; 14 hr/week; 10 week/year; a non-profit organization based in </em>, VA, dedicated to helping the needy; Media Editor/Tech - edited videos, ran sound and video for events. </p>

<p>G@ME; 11th grade; 14 hr/week; 20 week/year; proposed video game music concert at ___; Producer/Coordinator – proposed and organized group/event - put on hold indefinitely due to scheduling issues. Got in touch with several industry composers and developers to serve as possible keynote speakers and sponsors. </p>

<p>Coreana; 10th grade; 2 hr/week; 30 week/year; Korean culture club at ___; Founder/President – founded the group, led meetings, taught Korean, coordinated Korean War veteran presentation. </p>

<p>Madrigals; 10th grade; 2.5 hr/week; 20 week/year; Mixed traditional a Cappella group at ___; Member (Bass) – Sang bass. </p>

<p>Drama; 10th – 11th grade; 8 hr/week; 20 week/year; Extracurricular theatre arts program at ___; Actor – was an actor in several plays (Inherit the Wind, Macbeth, Oklahoma!)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Choir; 10th – 11th grade; 2 hr/week; 20 week/year; extracurricular choral program at ___; Member (Bass) – sang bass as part of several choir concerts and Spring Show</p>

<p>___ HS Orchestras; 11th – 12th grade; 1 hr/week, 20 week/year; the curricular orchestra program at ___ High School; Arranger - arranged multiple pieces for the ___ High School orchestra program.</p>

9

<p>Yeah too much craziness at USC for me - I absolutely hate it when Im all happy about an A in WRIT 140 or some other huge project and ppl are like get a life youre in college so lets get drunk instead.</p>

<p>Im like dammit I came all the way from Asia shelling out 60k a year to become great and lead my future business to multinational success, not to waste my time resources on getting drunk and crap. But thats my opinion and obviously I dont tell people this openly (put on a poker face) because networking is still important, and you never know - maybe that alcoholic slacker will somehow come out as US senator in 15 years or has a richass, prominent family with significant clout - so better if you just befriend everyone and be wise about what you say llollz</p>

10

<p>I’m applying to USC screenwriting. I was just wondering how you’re liking SCA and if you know any screenwriting majors and if they’re liking the program or not. And when they tell you at the USC info sessions that alot of SCA grads get jobs with the big studios, if that’s actually true or if it’s a rarity. I mean, I know USC has a fantastic program, but are they building it up on the info session or does it carry that much weight?</p>

11

<p>@canada</p>

<p>Glad to hear you applied to SCA! :)</p>

<p>I’m having a terrific time in SCA and could imagine no better place in the world for someone who wants to be involved in the entertainment industry. I have many friends in the Screenwriting major, and all of them love it. It’s a BFA, not a BA, which means more major-specific courses - and they tell me as a result, their schedules are packed and what they take is pretty much predetermined for them. But they tell me this as a matter of fact, not a complaint. They’re a very close-knit group that loves what they do. </p>

<p>Depends on whether you’re going to be proactive or not. If all you’re going to do at SC is just go to the classes and such, then no, you probably won’t get much out of it. But as an SCA student, you will get emails all the time from SCA and your specific department about upcoming visits, presentations, and info sessions from big name companies (I’ve attended sessions held by Disney Interactive, Blizzard, Microsoft Games, etc etc.) all the time. If you go to these, meet people, and keep up with them, then you will have the time of your life. Half of being in the entertainment industry is MAKING CONNECTIONS, and USC gives you the unparalleled opportunity to do just that. To put in as an analogy: USC will provide you with many refrigerators for you to put your sandwiches in that no other school ever could - but it’s up to YOU to actually use those refrigerators. </p>

<p>My CTCS190 (Intro to Cinema, you’ll be taking it) TA told me that in the entertainment industry, at meetings and such, he’ll always see people from other schools (well, he specifically said UCLA, but I didn’t want to start trouble :P) scattered all about, but USC people sitting together, keeping up with one another, and sticking together. Even more so than the Trojan family itself, SCA itself is a great network. </p>

<p>Hope to welcome you to the SCA family in August.</p>

12

<p>Thanks so much for the respones. I think both will be adjustments for me. My school is very exposed to drinking/sex/alcohol, but I live in the middle of nowhere in a highschool of 66. Still, I am open to change and I love to meet new people. It is great to hear your academic adjustment has gone nicely. I hear of so many people at top tier colleges that suddenly drown in their workload. </p>

<p>I know you may not have an answer to this question but do you know anything about the Narrative Studies major? (job opportunities, # of people majoring, etc) I am entering in as an English major, but I also though that one sounded very interesting. If not, thanks anyhow.</p>

13

<p>@restlessabandon</p>

<p>Oh, and a note or two more regarding the social atmosphere at SC:
And this is a thing with the entirety of the state of Cali, but the cannabis leaf is <em>highly</em> common. Shockingly common.
If you’re a dude and a partier, it’s also a huge hassle getting into parties, since most of them are frat parties and they don’t allow non-frat guys in. In my opinion, this is utterly stupid since the girls ALWAYS complain that the parties end up being like 80% girls 20% guys and it gets boring for them. It’s disappointing, since I have friends at other schools (e.g. Duke) where this is not the case at all, anybody can get into any party regardless of gender. But hey, that’s what frat parties are for.</p>

<p>Anyway, to get down to your actual new question… well, lucky for you, I have two friends who are Narrative Studies majors, I sat next to them in CTCS190 (Intro to Cinema) every lecture. It’s very much an interdisciplinary major, they take courses in Cinema (Crit Studies and Screenwriting), Theatre, English, Music, et cetera et cetera. I’m not gonna lie, if I didn’t have a huge thing for cinema and music, that’s TOTALLY what I’d be doing right now (and for a while, I was considering double majoring), I think it’s really really cool. Since it explores pretty much anything and everything storytelling wise, I think it’s very good if you like to dabble in a lot of different things. I couldn’t tell you facts/stats on job opportunities and # of people majoring, but I imagine with a background in that, you could go on to do all sorts of writing - screenwriting, storytelling, playwriting, etc. -, become a critic, etc. etc. And keep in mind that the degree would come with the oomph of USC behind it - IMHO, it’s the closest thing to Cinema you can get without being in cinema.</p>

14

<p>Haha, thanks. I’m a girl btw. Guess that makes some things easier.</p>

<p>Oooh, i was so excited to hear that. I love english but I also love all aspects of storytelling and writing/reviewing/arts/etc. I may have to switch my major before i even go…haha. Thank you! =D</p>

15

<p>restlessabandon - I was actually seriously considering Narrative Studies but I talked to my English professor about it and even though it’s under the English department, the department is not a huge fan of it (he didn’t really go into detail as to why). I think it’s because it’s so scattered as a major, and to be honest, there aren’t really many job opportunities that come with it. Also a friend of mine who went to go see the advisor learned that only about 8 units outside the college can be counted towards the major. That means you can only take 2 cinema classes, and the rest have to be in the college. The English program at USC is really good, and I think you should stick with it and maybe look into minoring in film or screenwriting! You can always switch to Narrative Studies after you get there and find that you like it better.</p>

16

<p>^^ Debatable. If you look at the Narrative Studies major page (available here: [Bachelor</a> of Arts in Narrative Studies](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/general_studies/showcase/Narrative_Studies/requirements.html]Bachelor”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/general_studies/showcase/Narrative_Studies/requirements.html) ), you can take non CLAS classes (MUSC, THTR, CTCS, CTWR) in pretty much all but 2-3 of the 8 “categories” of classes required, not to mention that you can take pretty much anything for the “two additional four unit courses” part. I believe what your friend was talking about was just that - only 8 units outside what’s SPECIFIED can count toward the major. </p>

<p>Although, you do make a valid point. It’s understandable that any department in CLAS would not be a huge fan of the major as it has a good number of non-CLAS classes - if more students take, say, classes in SCA not classes in CLAS, more money goes to SCA that could’ve come to CLAS otherwise. How do I know this? My cinema professor told us that he used to be the GE coordinator or whatever, and during his time, he worked a LOT of SCA/CTCS classes into the GE curriculum; but then CLAS didn’t like the way he did that because that meant all that money (from the students taking SCA classes as GEs) was going to SCA instead of going to CLAS (and SCA is pretty well off as is), so he’s not GE coordinator anymore.</p>

17

<p>Haha I was there when Casper went on that rant about GE’s (I’m in Tuesday lecture). Anyway, I think the major is just really spread out. As you can see on the website, there are so many options for each requirement category. I know it’s interdisciplinary, but I don’t think it creates a focused strong set of skills in anything in particular. However, it might make for a good double major though. All the classes definitely look really interesting.</p>

18

<p>Hm, thanks for the other opinion. I will take both into consideration. I thought it was interesting because like I said, I have varying interests even though English is my primary focus. However, I was getting wary about majoring in it due to how much I hated my Brit Lit class this semester. I don’t know. I am also considering double majoring/minoring in fine arts too (if i can get in) because I am also a painter so not sure how possible it would be to do both, but we’ll see.</p>

19

<p>Regarding the double majoring in Fine Arts note, it’d depend on if you wanted to go for the BFA or the BA in Fine Arts. The BFA would be practically impossible to have as one of your double majors, but the BA is completely plausible. See here: <a href=“http://roski.usc.edu/docs/major_curriculum06.pdf[/url]”>http://roski.usc.edu/docs/major_curriculum06.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You only have 112 required major-specific credits (including GE and foreign language), leaving 32 open assuming you take a full 18 credit load every semester for the standard 8 semesters. If you just read that the Narrative Studies major is 36 units, it may look like it’s over, but considering that you can roll in several of the Narrative Studies reqs into your GEs and that one of your upperlevel art electives can count for the Narrative Studies major, it’s completely possible, and you may even be able to fit in a minor (or two if you’re tight with your advisor and he/she is willing to get some special clearances for you). Also keep in mind that if you maitain above a 3.75 or something, the school lets you take more than 18 credits a semester.</p>

<p>I’m meticulously planning all my ****, and I think I just might have barely enough room for double majors in Interactive and Narrative Studies with triple minors in Music Industry, Music Recording, and Songwriting.</p>

20

<p>o.o You are the most helpful person ever, lol. Yes, if I do pursue a double major, it would definitely be the BFA. I may contact the admissions office and talk to them about switching etc. afer I get my acceptance packet (I was accepted earlier for a scholarship program) and more consideration/research. There is a lot of time still, lol.</p>

<p>Good luck with your majors. Those sound like seriously awesome combinations. =D</p>