<p>On this page: <a href="http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/costs.html">http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/costs.html</a></p>
<p>It is written that the total cost is approx $62k.
Also it is written: The following are the estimated two-semester costs for a full-time USC undergraduate. </p>
<p>I am an Indian student and I didn't understand what they meant by two-semester costs. Does that mean mean for completing my total undergraduation at SCA which is of 4 years, I need to pay $62k approx? :-/ </p>
<p>There are two semesters in every academic year at a cost of $62,000 for the year. For 4 years it is $62K x 4= $248K for a full pay student.</p>
<p>Srkukali, don’t worry about the sticker price - really. It’s weird and EVERYONE nowadays gets sticker shock because leading private schools in America charge ridiculous tuition, but that’s not necessarily what people actually pay. </p>
<p>The top private schools nowadays use what’s called the “high cost - high aid” model, meaning that their sticker price is for all intents and purposes a billion dollars, because there’s a critical mass of people who can pay that - the surgeons, CEOs, and investment bankers who can just write a check and not give it a second thought. The sticker price is inflated above and beyond the actual cost of educating each kid, and that premium is used to fund the financial aid for all of the other kids. So you likely will be a kid on some sort of financial aid (though international students are not eligible for a lot of American government programs, and there I don’t pretend to know what I’m talking about) and that means that you’ll have to fill out all sorts of forms to document your parents’ income and assets, with the gap between whatever your parents can pay and what the school charges being your “need,” which is where financial aid comes in. There, the devil is in the details and most students get some combination of grants, scholarships, loans, and a part-time “work-study” job. But the top schools do this because they want the money and because they know that they have a precious commodity that plenty of people will do whatever it takes to acquire.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>USC gives generous financial support to int’l graduate students who are working on their PhD. There are some merit scholarships that int’l undergraduates are eligible for, but it’s very competitive. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/international/”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/international/</a></p>
<p>Agree with gamer: Undergraduate will be ~$62K per year. Financial aid to international students is limited.</p>
<p>thanks guys for such helpful help. Now I can at least hope to go to the SCA. But still $248K for 4 years seems like such a ridiculous amount. Seems to me they just give the first number that popped in their heads.
I am an above average student with not many ecs, but I am super confident about the impressiveness of my other supplements. I may even go as far to say that I am quite confident about at least 1/2 tuition. Still that too is not enough as I have to pay for other stuff such as rooms, etc. getting in would be the best thing that ever happened to humanity.</p>
<p>I don’t understand - you can “pay” for 1/2 tuition, or you expect with your credentials to get merit aid of at least half tuition?</p>
<p>If it’s the latter, don’t pin all your hopes on it. There are not a large number of merit aid scholarships and the competition is pretty fierce. A lot of highly qualified students are turned down because the spots are limited.</p>
<p>I have never seen such an inaccurate post by alum05. It is so misleading to tell people they will not pay sticker price. True financial aid is more limited except for the very very low income, and there are way more students now than even 5 years ago that are above average with great ECs and supplements not getting a thing. Plenty of 4.0 high scoring kids with great supplements pay full price or take a lot of loans to get there. USC jacks up its aid stats because of things like Stafford loans, things many families wouldn’t call aid, but USC does. (BofA doesn’t call their loans financial aid, same thing, you are borrowing with fees.) OP, $60k a year is normal for private U.S. colleges, that is a fact. People do pay for it, that is another fact, many many borrow and a few get merit, more get debt, those are facts. People have to stop giving the impression that USC is giving everything to everyone, they are devaluing the education and breaking a lot of kids hearts. An above average student with few ECs does not fit the profile of a 1/2 tuition scholarship, there are probably 30,000 applying just like you. Harsh, yes, but that is reality and that is more helpful than believing above average gets you 1/2 tuition. If $248K is ridiculous to you, you should have many alternate plans in place. Because for many that apply it is not ridiculous, it is what they expected and worked for to provide for their kids.</p>
<p>^ This. College is extremely expensive in the US, there are many qualified students competing for limited merit awards, and many find themselves having to make plan B and plan C. Your best bet is college in your own country. </p>
<p>I have a plan B and C and D. I will get into a Film School no matter what. Period. But I won’t get into the schools in India; They just don’t share my vision and they don’t even have much budget. Just have do what I can to get in US film schools :bz God just gimme that 1/2 tuition. Then I maybe can think of joining.</p>
<p>@blueskies2day would you please mind telling me exactly what I said that wasn’t true? Colleges use their B.S. inflated sticker price as a starting point and if you’re paying full price then you’re a fool, unless you’re wealthy enough that that’s not an issue. Lots of places within the university give scholarship money once students are there, and the university uses all sorts of merit aid to attract students in the first place. International students are not eligible for a lot of government-related aid, but beyond that I don’t know the particulars and am curious to know exactly what I said is misleading.</p>
<p>@Srkukali I am a film school grad who’s worked in Hollywood for 10+ years now and film school is not a golden ticket to a career in Hollywood but it is a respected credential. There are several good film schools within the U.S. - USC, NYU, UCLA, AFI (American Film Institute, which is graduate-only), and probably Florida State and UT Austin. But a lot of people who work in the business aren’t film school grads and there are those who advise against film degrees because they think they’re too narrow or that they shouldn’t be taken at the undergraduate level. But all in all, USC is still the best film school around and I’m grateful to have gone there, although you should know that there are many paths, at least within Hollywood. Can’t say much about Bollywood, unfortunately.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that a lot of the cost calculators you’ll see won’t necessarily include the costs of making student films, beyond all the stupid lab fees and equipment fees you’ll run into. You have to do catering (not a bag of chips), maybe some rental fees wherever you’re shooting, permit fees, color filters for your lights, etc. … it adds up very quickly.</p>
<p>@USCAlum05, the comment about not paying sticker price is certainly true for a large number of students who get need based aid. But most US colleges do not meet need for international students, and many are also not need-blind in admitting those students. That translates into “international students who can pay full price have a much better chance at acceptance at most US colleges”. And many, many US families fall into that gap where they make too much to qualify for need based aid, but not enough so it is easy to pay full price. Designating people as ‘fools’ when they are caught in that spot is not helpful, nor do you seem very knowledgeable about how financial aid works.</p>
<p>Merit aid is reserved for students with very, very strong credentials vs the rest of the application pool. Although this student has certainly shown that he may be at the top of the pool in self confidence, he has given no stats (yet) that indicate that he would be a top candidate for merit at USC. Given that he is just figuring out the typical cost for a top college in the US, not sure yet if he knows what stats are required to be competitive for those types of awards. And honestly, it doesn’t sound like he could come up with the remaining money if he did earn half tuition (note that “half tuition” is not half of the $248K, because room and board is part of that $248K as well, so even a half tuition scholarship covers less than half the total cost).</p>
<p>@USCAlum05 I am not interested in Bollywood, only Hollywood. Can you elaborate on what you meant by " there are many paths, at least within Hollywood"? I am interested in becoming a director someday. I wanna know as much as I can about it.</p>
<p>@intparent you were helpful. I have seen the stats of previous year admissions and get a general idea of what it takes and how fierce the competition is. Also you were right; Getting even half tuition won’t ensure my going to USC SCA.
Anyway, I just want to ask which grades’ GPAs are considered for SCA and the scholarships? My GPAs of 9th, 10th, 11, 12 (not completed 12th but expecting) are: 3.8, 3.5, 3.5, 3.7 respectively.
I don’t have a lot ECs (BTW could anyone give me some EC examples? I dont know hat to include. I have seen the examples on the sca page. Can u share some other?). My storytelling skills and essays are very good. I have already prepared some supplements for BFA and to the creative supplements, I would give a rating of 9.9/10.0. They were my personal best.
I havent given SAT and some other exams necessary yet, but I am confident of getting 2200+.
Tell me if I have missed giving some info.
Does this mean I have a shot at getting merit for at least 1/2 tuition? At least interview?</p>
<p>^ Did you take the PSAT?</p>
<p>nope. sorry if I sound a little ignorant, but I’m new to this application and merit stuff. i just found out about scholarships for usc day before yesterday. i am reading all the stuff i can find about merits and scholarship and requirements on their site. I might have overlooked a few. this is nerve racking. also in india nothing is simple.
btw why is psat necessary? i didnt find any such thing in the requirements section. I gave a practice SAT test online.</p>
<p>The PSAT would give some idea what your SAT scores might be. Honestly… without real SAT (or ACT) scores it is impossible to say what your chances are. Standardized tests give colleges a way to compare students across the pool. Many students have high ambitions or expectations for those scores that don’t turn out so well. Sounds like you are going into your senior year; many US students take these tests junior year, then make an additional attempt fall of senior year to raise their scores. Because you haven’t taken one of them yet, you may not have that chance to make multiple attempts with sufficient study time in between. If you don’t have one yet, you should get a book to study for the SAT (College Board sells one, something like the Official Guide to the SAT, it is blue and you can find it on their website).</p>
<p>By US standards your GPA would be on the low end for this type of scholarship, but what also matters is your class rank (compared to your classmates). Not sure if you know that. Regarding ECs, colleges are looking for information on how you spend you time outside of studying and for evidence of accomplishment in those endeavors. For US students it is often sports, academic competition like debate or science olympiad or robotics, clubs at school. Some students work outside of school, that can go on the list. There are some solitary pursuits (art, writing, insect collectng, etc.) that can go on the applications – it doesn’t hurt to have some awards or prizes related to those items, though.</p>
<p>My suggestion to you is instead of focusing in on this one school and this one scholarship, you spend some time on the International forum out here (<a href=“International Students - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/</a>) to get more familiar with schools you might consider. I think if you get very high test scores, some of the automatic scholarships based on those would open up some schools to you. University of Alabama is not USC, for example, but if you are looking for an education in the US at minimal cost to yourself, it is a better possibility than 1/2 tuition at USC (easier to get and you don’t have to come up with over $120,000 to pay your portion of it).</p>
<p>So why don’t you spend some time reading and learning more, then come back and ask questions because you are coming off ambitious but lazy - wanting everyone else to solve everything for you, not a good sign. And you need to understand the odds of scholarships…with that GPA you are certainly not even a shoe-in for admission, yet a scholarship. If that was all that was required, everyone would be clamoring to get in. There are plenty of 4.0/4.5 with 2300+ SATs that don’t get a penny. Many people feel the school is worth everything they pay, they can demand that price because there is a strong supply of people that will pay for it. I really think you need to consider other options. Take advice of above posters, look in India or look around at other US schools.</p>
<p>@blueskies2day, I don’t think the OP earned that. He is new to the process, and I am guessing he doesn’t have a guidanc counselor to talk to who would know much about the US college system or access to a library with books like Fiske that might help him with his search. </p>