<p>I posted this elsewhere and I though it might help those looking to transfer to the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. This is just for the cinema school, so it has no bearing on anyone else. Just us film kids. I hope it helps with questions those wanting to transfer to SCA have.</p>
<p>I’m an SCA Production graduate and I know quite a bit about the admissions process.</p>
<p>HOW APPS ARE GRADED!:</p>
<p>Everything is weighed pretty much equally on the application. I don’t remember the exact breakdown, but the application is graded out of 100 points. I think the writing sample, visual sample, and most emotional moment are all like 25 points a piece. The portfolio list, letters of rec and personal statement are like 5 to 10 points each. Like I said I don’t remember if this is the exact breakdown, but it’s something like this. So take everything seriously. Don’t go crazy about the letters of Rec or Creative portfolio list though. Do them and move on. I remember one kid had a letter of rec from the president of a major studio. He drove everyone crazy because he kept calling to ask why they haven’t received it (how the hell do you expect them to know why they don’t have it? They just don’t they can’t explain how the post office works), they couldn’t tell him that the letter itself is pretty much irrelevant compared to other things. (Although it may have gotten him admitted being that he is well connected in Hollywood, more on that later) He just annoyed people in the admissions office there. Don’t annoy these people. They have zero bearing on whether you get accepted or not, but just don’t get marked as a crazy person by them. They have a lot of crazy people.</p>
<p>I’m going to go into a little more detail how these apps are "graded. I’m sure I’m not allowed to say this, but the admissions committee is made up of several members. Each member is given a stack of applications to “grade”. They each go through and rate each application out of 100. The ones that they rate the highest they “recommend” for admission. Usually it’s 3 to 5 people that they recommend for admissions</p>
<p>The thing about this is that it’s subjective based on the committee member who receives the application and they’re comparing you to the other applications that they are grading. They don’t compare you to everyone just the other 10 to 15 people they have. One app that might get you accepted through one committee member may get you wait listed with another committee member. Overall it’s one person, not a committee that grades your app.</p>
<p>Your GPA isn’t graded on this sheet which is what gets you admitted to SCA. From what I know the Committee looks at you GPA, makes sure it’s at least okay, then looks at the supplemental.</p>
<p>Also, I saw somewhere online that a girl who graduated from USC SCA is selling her application she sent in. Don’t buy this. Please. It might give you an idea of what they expect, but those no guarantee that you’ll get the same committee member to look over your app and so if you base yours on hers then you probably get a different committee member reviewing it, they might have a different opinion, then reject you.</p>
<p>ABOUT RICH KIDS/ THOSE RELATED TO FAMOUS PEOPLE:</p>
<p>This is all irrelevant if you are very very rich or are related to somebody famous/well-known. Those people are pretty much admitted regardless their application. It’s not fair, but USC SCA has an image and they care about it. Getting rich and children of famous people there helps them get donations. These people are generally better taken care of at USC as well. These kids might get personal counselling from the dean, who never talks to “normal” students. It ain’t fair, but I guess it kinda prepares you for Hollywood in a way. Nepotism is alive and well at SCA. There were quite a few kids of famous people when I was there, and I doubt that they all would’ve gotten in if not for their family connections. Funny thing is, they’re guaranteed to have a career in Hollywood. Others of us are not so lucky. As you can tell, I myself am bitter about this. It’s the way the world works though, I guess.</p>
<p>ADVICE FOR PRODUCTION APPLICANTS :</p>
<p>With the production app my advice is to tell a story with everything. A good story telling ability will get you accepted. Watch short films like Pixar and the dreamworks shorts about Scrat from ice age. They all have “beginning”, “middles”, and “ends”. Remember “somebody wants something and is having trouble getting it”. Simple stories tend to work better for short 5 minute films. Sure you can do a short about a bank robbery, however note that while flashy it won’t give the audience something to connect to. An audience will probable be more moved by the short film about Scrat than your bank robbery film. The short about Scrat sticks with people. Flashy films are entertaining but don’t stick with people afterwards. Make an audience laugh, cry, and hope. That’ll stick with them more than an action film. By all means though, if you want to do action films then do an action short. Also, quality isn’t that important for the most part. The committee, from what I know, looks for storytelling ability more than quality. Shoot your short on an Iphone if you need to. At USC they’ll give you the equipment (it’s still kinda ****ty tbh) you need. They can’t teach you how to tell a good story though.</p>
<p>The people I know who got in did so because of the stories they did. There were a few who got admitted with me that had poor stories for their visual samples, but they were done well technically. Those students though tended to make weak films imo because their focus on making things “cool” rather than something moving. I can promise you though that a good story will work better with more committee members. Technically well done films might get you accepted with some of them, but I personally believe that a good story will give you a better shot.</p>
<p>ADVICE FOR CRITICAL STUDIES APPLICANTS:</p>
<p>For critical studies literally write about anything. Film history, motifs in a film (like “High Noon”), uses of color and it’s meaning in a movie like “Meet Me in St. Louis”, feminism in Thelma and Louise, You can also compare films of the same genre and how the genre has changed as we have we have gone through different eras like modernism and postmodernism. For example, the way the image of a gun is used is different in the Big Heat and LA Confidential. The way the police are portrayed are very different as well in these two films. Also something more well known like James Bond have undergone a huge transformation. Skyfall is very different from Goldfinger. These are the kind of things you’ll be writing about at USC in Critical studies. The most important thing is that you argue your point and how effective you are at doing it. The way the app is graded is pretty much the same as for production. I don’t know though if it’s for less points since there’s less supplemental stuff you have to send in. (Feel free to steal some of these, although I guess if 20 people talk about Skyfall and Goldfinger then it’s kinda weird, huh?). Go onto the schedule of classes on USC, look up the books they use in the critical studies classes. Buy those, read them, Drew Casper is a god at the Critical studies department, his books aren’t great but they’ll give you an idea of what the type of stuff you’ll be learning and writing about. </p>
<p>ACCEPTANCE LETTERS:</p>
<p>That’s my advice though. Also don’t call the admissions office to see if you got accepted before they send out acceptance letters. The decision is probably in the computer but the person on the phone will just lie and tell you that they don’t see anything. </p>
<p>Also acceptance letters ARE sent out before denies. Acceptances are all sent out before anything else. The sooner you receive your decision the better. If your a week and a half after the decisions are supposed to go out then I can almost guarantee that you’ve been rejected. Sorry :/. Try again though, maybe not with the exact same app, but maybe a different person will grade your app and you’ll get in because it works better with them.</p>
<p>WAITLIST:</p>
<p>I don’t know exactly how the waitlist works, but everyone recommended for waitlist are put on one. I don’t know how the order is determined. But when someone who was accepted denies acceptance, then an acceptance letter goes to the person ontop of the wait list and it slowly goes down the list until someone accepts the spot. Don’t ask admissions what place you are on the list. They don’t know or won’t tell you. Just be patient and reapply if you don’t get accepted.</p>
<p>DONT ANNOY PEOPLE PLEASE!:</p>
<p>Also, don’t ask what your “score was” or why you weren’t admitted. It annoys the people in the office and they WON’T tell you. Ever. They’ll just tell you to reapply. The people in the office have ZERO impact on the decision and don’t know anything about it besides what the decision was. At least the people who answer the phones. But crazy applicants always call and annoy them, don’t be one. Also look on the website before you call with questions. I guarantee you your question can be answered on the website. Don’t bug the admission office with dumb questions like what you need for the supplemental app.</p>
<p>INTERVIEWS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS:</p>
<p>I know very little about this, however, what I do know is that some people have interviews for scholarships. This is for freshman applicants. You interview with one of the SCA Counselors. Please tell them the truth. Don’t say Godard is your favorite film maker then when they ask you what films you like, you only can name one. Don’t say you love art films then can only name “The Tree of Life”. One person actually did this in the interview. They will make fun of you with other people in the admissions office when they get finished. Because the Counselors know a lot about film too. Don’t try to be deep with them, they can tell if you are BSing them. </p>
<p>If you don’t know your favorite film then be honest. Don’t say that you love the french new wave but can only name The 400 Blows. Be honest say that you saw The 400 Blows and are interested in that time period. That film piqued your interest and you want to learn and watch more. You can’t say it’s your favorite, but you liked what you saw and how it affected you. The key thing in these interviews are to be honest. I believe a kid who said he didn’t even know he wanted to do film for sure got a scholarship a few years back. He was honest and stood out. That’s all there really is to it. </p>
<p>SUMMER SCHOOL:</p>
<p>These are cool classes. Tbh, I always felt these were a little bit of a ripoff (depending on who you are). I could never afford them. If you can then more power to you and go for it if you want to. If it is going to strain you financially, then don’t go for it. Please don’t. Just don’t. It’s like 10k per class. What you learn isn’t worth it really if you can’t afford them. If you can and 10k is nothing then like I said, by all means, maybe it’s a good deal for you. They’re fun and interesting and not much different from the production classes at SCA during the fall and spring. If you’re poor like me, then skip them and write short films and shoot them with your friends or just by yourself on the weekends. Critique them and then do it again. You’ll learn almost just as much. These classes give you the opportunity to work with others and get their feedback, along with the professor’s. You’ll also have equipment that they’ll teach you to use. You won’t get that by yourself. But you’ll learn just as much about what works and what doesn’t. Like I said, if it’s a financial strain, then please don’t go to them. If you can afford it no problem then do it. It’ll give you a taste of SCA. Don’t think that I hate summer classes, like I said I myself could not afford these, for me they would not be a good deal. They are good classes overall though and I would only consider them if 10k is nothing to you. </p>
<p>This has been a lot, but I hope it helps some of you. Good luck everyone. Also know that USC is great. I loved the school of cinematic arts. However the videos they show online and everything you hear is way better than the school is (The Cinema School, not USC in general). I wish I went to the school that they advertise on the SCA website haha. It’s a good school overall though. It won’t guarantee most of you a job in Hollywood though. I’m a graduate and can’t find a job myself. Having gone to SCA will open some doors, it won’t guarantee anything though, I guarantee it.</p>